November ii, 1920] 



NATURE 



353 



of skilled botanists. Knowledge of the ecology of 

 maritime-strand plants is, however, very small, and 

 the necessity was emphasi,sed for the establishment 

 of experimental stations where such problems could 

 be studied. Dr. Russell considered the reclama- 

 tion of inland tracts of country, such as moor and 

 fen, sandy commons, etc., and lands deficient in 

 particular mineral constituents. Each class of waste 

 land was discussed in turn with illustrations drawn 

 from a wealth of personal experience, and the dif- 

 ferent procedures required in the several cases were 

 described. Prof. Farmer, Dr. Voelcker, Mr. Lobjoit, 

 Dr. Salisbury, Mr. Bernard Davis, and Sir David 

 I'rain took part in the discussion. 



" Our Wasteful Use of Coal and a Remedy " is 

 the title of an article by Mr. \V. O. Horsnaill 

 appearing in the November issue of the Fortnightly 

 Review. The author discusses in turn various recent 

 publications, and concludes that "it is quite evident 

 from the foregoing facts that coal should never be 

 burnt direct for the production of heat if the greatest 

 economy in its use is to be realised." He mentions 

 the proposals tnade by Dr. Ferranti in Jgio, according 

 to which all coal would be consumed centrally for 

 the generation of electricity, and points out once nore 

 the fundamental weakness of any such proposal, viz. 

 that any attempt to deal with heating bv such a 

 scheme would mean an extravagant expenditure of 

 fuel. The author finds that " the recommendations of 

 the Coal Conservation Sub-Committee which was 

 appointed by the Reconstruction Committee closely 

 accord with the suggestions made " in his article, and 

 goes on : "Put briefly, the Sub-Committee recom- 

 mendations comprise the establishment of sixteen 

 super-electric generating stations for supplying the 

 whole country and the gradual suppression of the 

 existing 600 undertakings. At these stations the 

 coal would be so treated as to extract the tar, sul- 

 phate of ammonia, and gas, the latter, together with 

 the coke, being utilised to produce the electricity. So 

 far as practicable, the super-stations would be estab- 

 lished near the coal-pits." There is a lack of pre- 

 cision about this paragraph which is observable in . 

 oflicr parts of the article. The soundness of treating 

 coal for by-products at the proposed super-stations 

 was regarded by the Sub-Committee as requiring con- 

 sideration. Moreover, the position of modern suptT- 

 stations is of necessity determined by supplies of con- 

 denser water, and not by proximity to coal-pits. Mr. 

 Horsnaill concludes : " Whether the use of electricity 

 for heating and cooking is contemplated is not clear, 

 l)ut, in view of heavy losses already set forth' as 

 accruing from this practice, it is to bo hoped that 

 coke and gas will be employed for these purposes " — 

 with which surely anybody who h.-is looked inio the 

 subject at all carefully will agree. 



Wb arc glad to welcome a new contemporary in 



the Minitti; EUtlrical Ettgintet, of which the first 



iwiue is now before us. This publication is the 



>Hcial journal of the Aasociiition of Mining Elec- 



c:al Engineers, a society which has Insen doing 



Ml |i t.int work for the last eleven years in the 



-|ir. uling of knowledge regarding the use of eJer- 



NO. 2663, VOL. 106] 



tricity in mines. Such a journal is of particular 

 interest at the present time, when the need for the 

 application of scientific methods to the aid of labour 

 in improving the output of the coal-mines is so 

 urgent, and we are pleased to see this sign of vitality 

 in a society which from its earliest days has worked 

 hard to break down prejudice against the use of elec 

 tricity in collieries, to facilitate the interchange of 

 experience, and to encourage those researches which 

 conduced so much to improved safety and trust- 

 worthiness in this field. Besides some sound 

 common sense regarding the industrial situation, 

 there are several interesting technical articles, in- 

 cluding a discussion of the ventilation of enclosed 

 motors by Mr. W. M. Landon, and a fully illustrated 

 description of an electrically driven main shaft 

 winding plant, employing a geared three-phase motor. 

 .■\ complete system of electrical signalling in collieries, 

 worked out in great detail by one of the well-known 

 electrical firms, is also described. The proceedings 

 of the various branches of the association are re- 

 corded, and many interesting notes on matters of 

 electrical interest appear. 



The October issue of the Scienti'/ic Worker — the 

 official organ of the National Union of Scientific 

 Workers — contains the report of the Executive Com- 

 inittee on the policy and administration of the Govern- 

 ment Department of Scientific and Industrial Re- 

 search. .After describing the present regulation .for 

 the formation of research associations under the 

 Department, the report condemns the policy of assist- 

 ing these close corporations with public funds, and 

 would substitute for tliem the universities, colleges, 

 and other national institutions at which research has 

 been carried out so satisfactorily in the past. The 

 report alleges that the faults of the present arrange- 

 ments are due mainly to the constitution of the 

 Advisory Council of the Research Department and to 

 the absence of members with first-hand knowledge of 

 the working of modern faculties of applied science at 

 our universities and colleges. It is held that scientific 

 eminence should not be the only qualification for 

 membership of the .Advisory Council, but aptitude for 

 the conduct of affairs should be essential. These 

 questions are to be discussed at the meeting of the 

 council of the union on November 13. 



Prof. F. Gowland Hopkins is to deliver the 

 eleventh biennial Huxley lecture on "Recent .Ad- 

 vances in Science in their Relation to Practical .M-^li- 

 cine " at Charing Cross Hospital at 3 o'clock on 

 Wednesday, November 24. 



During the coming session tl>e meetings of the 

 Rontgcn Society will be held in the physics lecture 

 theatre. University College, Gower Street, W.C.i, on 

 the Thursday before the third Friday of each month 

 at 8.15 p.m. 



The opening meeting of the new Masion of the 

 Institution of Electrical Engineers will be held on 

 Thursday, November 18, and not to-day (Novcm- 

 ber 11), as originally announced, at the Institution of 

 Civil Engineers at (> p.m., when the presidt-nt, Mr. 

 LI. B. .Atkinson, will deliver his inaugural address. 



