September 2, 1920] 



NATURE 



Zl 



which presents the most prominent enhanced-line 

 stiige. The nova spectra mdicaie <lark hvdrogt-n 

 absorption lines only a little broader than inose in 

 a Cvjini, and the dark enhanced Imes are sharp and 

 well Uetined, and correspond line tor line with those 

 in a Cygni. The only conspicuous bright lines are 

 those at Hy and at h/3 and to the rea side ot h/i. 

 The nova had increased in magnitude by August J4, 

 and all the lines in the spectrum became mon-.ditfus*- 

 and broader, the bright lines increasing in number 

 towards the violet. 



On August 25 the star was estimated to have re- 

 tained tlH; same magnitude as on August 24. Alt 

 lines appeared a little more diffuse and the bright 

 lines more conspicuous. 



Dimming down to magnitude 28 on the night of 

 August 2b, the main spectral changes indicated an 

 increase in intensity and wid'th of the bright lines, 

 so much so that the dark hydrogen lines tjecame 

 less broad, owing to the overlapping of the bright 

 components. By .August 2S the magnitude of the 

 nova had reduced considerably, but the spectrum 

 exhibited no great changes except that the bright 

 hydrogen components showed signs of splitting up into 

 two parts. On the night of .August 2() the fall in 

 magnitude had decreased somewhat, the star . Ix-ing 

 about 38. The splitting up of the bright hydrogen 

 components was more pronounced. .Ml photographs 

 exhibit e.\lensive movement in the line of sight. 



The foregoing general features illustrat<- only the 

 most conspicuous changes in the spectrum up to date. 

 The nova seems now to be following the ordinary 

 course of the setjuence of ph«.'nomena of pn'vious now 

 st.ir-. William J. S. I.ockvkr. 



Thi> <ibjeci loiitinued to brighten until tin- night 

 of August 2j, when it attain«xl the second magnitude ; 

 since that date th<! decline of lustre has been con- 

 ^iderabk;, and on .August 29 I estimated the magni- 

 tude as 3-(). 



It is probable that in a w«-ek's time the star's light 

 will \n: reduced to the sixth magnitude, in which case 

 it will only be just visible to the naked eye on a 

 clear, dark night. 



The astronomical world has l)cen fortunate during 

 the last twenty years in l)eing able to study the phc- 

 iionK-na of thre«- bright temporary stars, viz. .\nder- 

 son's Nova Persei of H)oi, Nova .\quil<e of u)i8, and 

 the one now vLsiblc. \V. F. Denning. 



British Agriculture during Great War 

 Periods. 



AVERY interesting article by Lord Ernie appears 

 in the June issue of the lottrnal of the Ministry 

 ''t Agriculture. The subject is " .\griculture during 

 Two Cireat Wars," and the state of agriculture in 

 I ireat Britain during the Napoleonic wars is com- 

 jiared and contrasted with that prevailing during the 

 1 'Cent struggle. 



.Shorl.'ige of corn was the great fear of our ancestors, 

 uul if the home harvests were defici<'nt the deficiency 

 had to l»e m<'t by supplies from Northern Europe. 

 Hut, sinc«> the climatic corKtilions of the two regions 

 lie practically the same, scarcity at home generally 

 meant scarcity abroad. The weather was of the 

 utmost importance, and everyone watched the skies 

 v\ ith great anxiety. Provision for such a deficiency 

 \as, therefore, one of the main features of the Corn 

 Laws down to 1815. If home harvests were abun- 

 dant, llwn exiKjrts were encourag<>d by a bounty and 

 imports of foreign <<>rn were limit<-d. Foreign corn, 

 \vith its addilion.'tl costs of freight and insurance, 

 xiuld rarely have lowerp<l the price of English corn, 

 while during scarcity home consumers Ix'rM'fited from 



sn. rT)- : -.- ' 106! 



the large corn acreage which was maintained by the 

 export bounty. Bei.veen iSoi and i»ib the yearly 

 average of foreign wheat imported was under txx),ooo 

 quarters, while in 1821 the imports were only 450,000 

 quarters. \et between 1801 and 1821 the numt>er of 

 people supplied with home-grown breadstutfs had 

 risen from i4,ooo,o(X) to 20,500,000. 



VN'eather conditions were adverse for the greater 

 part of the Napoleonic wars, yet food was not 

 rationed, neither were prices controlled. The Govern- 

 ment probably relied on the high prices to prevent 

 extravagance in the use of a scanty supply. The 

 condition of some of the poor people was improved 

 by increases in wages and by the distribution of 

 privately raised funds. To give relief the Poor Law- 

 was invoked, and this was a fatal blunder, the full 

 cons<'quences of which appeared only after the peace. 

 Various other measures were adopted at dilferent 

 times : bread could not be sold until it was 

 twenty-four hours old ; the manufacture of spirits and 

 starch was suspended ; rice and maize were imported 

 to mix with cornflour; the growth of potatoes was 

 encouraged, and the corn bounties rose continually. 



In spite of all this, the war period was a time of 

 great prosperity for landowners and farmers. 

 Enormous sums were spent on the erection of 

 farm buildings, cottages, etc., and on the reclama- 

 tion and improvement of land. .\ much higher 

 standard of farming was adopted, and a better class 

 of men was attracted to the land. .After the war 

 wages fell, unemployment was rife, and a period of 

 great poverty followed. During the succeeding 

 hundred years the economic importance of agriculture 

 dropped from one-third to one-twentieth in terms of 

 gross national assessment. The breadstuffs grown in 

 182 1 would have supplied double the number of people 

 provided for in 1<)I4, and tin- agricultural interest, 

 which was fwramount in 1814, has now lost tlie 

 greater part of its political power. 



Naturally, these changes have been reflected in the 

 agricultural policy adopted during the recent war. 

 .\lthough the agricultural industry has prospered, its 

 prosperity has been small as compannl with the perio<l 

 1 793- 18 15. The incentive of high gains, which pro- 

 vided th«- spur for great efforts during the French 

 war, was not allowed to operate fully. During 

 the latter part of the recent war much more was done 

 for the consumers than for the producers, and the 

 great exertions of the farmers in the face of un- 

 exampled ditMculties were therefore all the more 

 creditable. Fixing a flat maximum price for wheat 

 meant that what was a good price in a good vear 

 woukl be a bad price in a bad year, and the whole 

 loss fell on the farm<'r. In the French war the 

 poorest consumers were subsidised out of the rati-s, 

 while in the late war all consumers were sub- 

 sidised out of the taxes. In all probability the farmer 

 saved the taxpayers about 25,o(x>,<kx)J. between the 

 years 1917 and 1919. The farmers exjierienced further 

 difficulties in the shortage of labour, and to have 

 secured an increased food-supply under these condi- 

 tions was not only a notable achievement, but al«o a 

 most v,-»luable contribution to victory. 



The labourer was the worst sufferer after tlv* Fr»>nch 

 war, but <Iuring the recent war and since the .irmi- 

 stice agricultural wag<'s have been increased and ttv 

 hours of labour have been shortened. It is now uni- 

 versally recognise<l tliat the position of agricultund 

 labourers must be improved. If high waijes and 

 shorl<'r hours result in greater efficiency, then the 

 industry will prosper; if thev do not. tln-n the industry 

 will exist only under conditions which restrict employ, 

 ment. Lord Ernie concludes : " It rests with the 

 men— and their lenders. I'niess a new earth is 

 Treated, there can be no new heaven to inherit." 



