September 22, 192 1] 



NATURE 



133 



Glare may arise through the presence of unduly 

 bright lights in the direct field of vision or on the 

 •edge thereof, or through inconvenient direct reflection 

 ■of light from shiny or polished material. Four 

 requirements bearing on the above points are now- 

 suggested : — 



(1) Every light source (except one of low bright- 

 ness ') within a distance of loo ft. from any person 

 ■employed shall be so shaded from such person that 

 no part of the filament, mantle, or flame is distin- 

 guishable through the shade, unless it be so placed 

 that the angle between the line from the eye to an 

 unshaded part of a source and a horizontal plane is 

 not less than 20°. or in the case of any person em- 

 ployed at a distance of 6 ft. or less from the source 

 not less than 30°. 



(2) . . . "Adequate means shall be taken, either by 

 suitable placing or screening of the light sources, or 

 by some other effective method, to prevent direct 



1 I.e. with an intrinsic brilliance not exceeding 5 candles per sq. in. 



The World's Wheat Supply. 



reflection of the light from a smooth or polished sur- 

 face into the eves of the worker." 



(3) . . . "Adequate means shall be taken to prevent 

 the formation of shadows which interfere with the 

 safety or efficiency of any person employed." 



(4) ..." No light sources which flicker or undergo 

 abrupt changes in candle-power in such manner as to 

 interfere with the safety or efficiency of any person 

 employed shall be used for the illumination of a fac- 

 torv or workshop." 



In view of the fact that extensive alterations may 

 be occasioned bv compliance with these requirements, 

 it is further prescribed : — 



(5) "That, as regards existing installations, a 

 reasonable time limit should be given before the above 

 requirements become operative." 



An appendix to the report contains extracts from 

 codes adopted in various American States and recom- 

 mendations made by the Illuminating Engineering 

 Society in Germany. 



5 



T 



HE statistics dealing with the wheat supply of 

 the world are discussed by Sir James Wilson 

 in an interesting and exhaustive paper entitled "The 

 World's Wheat," contributed to the Journal of the 

 Royal Statistical Society (vol. 84, part 3, May, 

 1921). 

 . Having pointed out the varying accuracy of avail- 

 able statistics and explained the system of calculation 

 adopted, the author gives the pre-war five-vear 

 average yields for all wheat countries, together with 

 the exports and imports. For this period the world's 

 vield was 107 million metric tons, of which 222 mil- 

 lion metric tons — more than one-fifth of the whole 



were produced by Russia. The net world exports 

 amounted to 18-5 million metric tons, of which Russia 

 again contributed the largest proportion, nearlv one- 

 fourth of the whole ; while of the net imports of 

 r8-o million metric tons Great Britain was the largest 

 importer with 59 million metric tons, fol'owed bv 

 Germj^ny with 19 million metric tons. Naturally, 

 these figures were all profoundlv affected bv war 

 conditions. Statistics are not available for such 

 Irnportant countries as Germanv, Austria, and Bel- 

 gium among the importers, nor for Russia, Rumania. 

 Hungary, and Bulgaria among the exporters, but for 

 the twenty-one countries where figures have been 

 published the average yield was 66-8 million metric 

 tons during the war, compared with 631 million 

 metric tons before the war. The importing countries 

 on the average produced less than before the war, 

 but they also imported less. Britain increased her 

 average yield from i-6 to 19 million metric tons and 

 reduced her average net import from 59 to 52 million 

 '"f-tric tons and her average consumption from 75 to 



million metric tons. The exporting countries — 

 - nited States, Canada, and .\rgentina— all increased 

 their yields considerably, and also their exports. 

 Australia increased her yield, but her average 

 < xport was much the 'same as the pre-war 

 average, probably on account of the large loss of 

 stored wheat by mice and weevil depredations. 

 India's average yield during the war was practicallv 

 the same as the pre-war average, but owing to the 

 export restrictions enforced by the Government in the 

 interests of the consumers her average net export fell 

 from 135 million metric tons before the war to 

 i<-2 million metric tons during the war period. 



With regard to the supplies of 19 19 and 1920, 

 excluding Russia and Rumania (which ;n the pre-war 

 average exported nearly one-third of the world's net 

 NO.' 2 708, VOL. loSj 



exports) and India (export from which country was 

 practicallv prohibited), the other exporting countries 

 began the cereal vear on August i, 1919, with about 

 61 million metric tons of exportable supplies still in 

 hand, while there was also a large quantity on its 

 wav to the importing countries. .Ml the importing 

 countries together in 1919-20 imported 182 million 

 metric tons, which is about the pre-war average, and 

 during that vear the Argentine and Australia got rid 

 of their embarrassing surplus, while- towards the end 

 of the vear the United States had practically a mono- 

 polv of export, and so obtained very high prices. Sir 

 James Wilson estimates that for the current year 

 ending Julv 31, 192 1, there will be 18-9 million metric 

 tons available to meet the estimated demand of 

 170 million metric tons, which will leave a sufficient, 

 though not excessive, margin on the eve of the 

 ripening of the new harvests in the ncM-thern hemi- 

 sphere. 



It is to the temporary advantage of consumers 

 that there should be an excess of supply over demand, 

 and to the temporary advantage of producers that the 

 demand should exceed the supply; but for the world 

 as a whole it is better that supply and demand 

 should approximate. In the author's opinion, from 

 the information available at the time, this condition 

 should be reached as regards wheat on August i, 

 192 1, and according to present prospects (excluding 

 Russia, Rumania, and India) the hardest to be 

 reaped after that date will vield sufficient to meet 

 the world's probable demands'. For the more distant 

 future fears are sometimes expressed that the growth 

 of the world's population, and especially of the 

 number of wheat-eaters, will result in a permanent 

 dearth of wheat, but it must be remembered that the 

 great majoritv of mankind prefer grains other than 

 wheat, and even the wheat-eaters substitute other 

 grains without much sense of hardship. 



With regard to wheat prices, in most European 

 countries at the present day the high prices of wheat 

 are largelv due to the depreciation of the various 

 paper currencies. The author discusses the different 

 factors which will affect the wheat prices— rates of 

 exchange, freight charges, etc. — and concludes that, 

 so far as Britain is concerned, the price of wheat 

 will be lowered if "the rate of exchange with the 

 United States of America improves, and if Asia and 

 South America continue to absorb gold at a great 

 rate, and so help to reduce the prices of all com- 

 modities, measured in gold, all the world over." 



