November 25, 1920] 



NATURE 



415 



of experience in factory production, and while he is 

 obtaining this knowledge some sort of protection must 

 be afforded him. Three methods of safeguarding the 

 infancy of the industry have been suggested. The 

 first, by tariffs, is regarded as useless on account of 

 the fluctuating rates of exchange ; the second, by 

 subsidy, is also ruled out owing to the difficulty of 

 allocating a grant in an industry which has numerous 

 by-products ; and the third, by prohibition and 

 licensing, is regarded as the only practicable scheme. 

 Only dyes the home manufacture of which was in- 

 adequate in quantity or quality would be admitted 

 under licence as im])orts. Under the Peace Treaty 

 Germany must sell a proportion of her dyestuffs to 

 this country until 1925 at rates similar to those which 

 she obtains from other customers, so that the consumer 

 is protected until that date. The manufacturer receives 

 no benefit, and probably will reauire financial assist- 

 ance to enable him to establish his industry. Assum- 

 ing that after January. 1925, a licensing body were 

 set up, the State, the dye makers, and the dye con- 

 sumers should be represented on it ; the last should 

 h.-ive the preponderating voice because they will bear 

 the brunt of the expense and inconvenience caused, and 

 are the persons w^ho can best gauge the effects on 

 export trade, but the Government would retain the 

 right of veto. The Government urges that this would 

 place the power to defeat legisiation in the hands of 

 the consumers, and therefore negotiations between the 

 association and the Government have proved unsatis- 

 factory. 



A DECISION which will be of interest to all scientific 

 w orkers was given by Mr. Justice Eve in the Chancery 

 Division of the High Court on Wednesday, Novem- 

 ber 17, on the motion for an injunction to prevent 

 Messrs. Brunner, Mond, and Co. from distributing 

 100,000/., as it was authorised to do by an extra- 

 ordinary general meeting on .August 5- '' will be 

 remembered that at this meeting the directors were 

 ••mpowcred to distribute that sum to such universities 

 or other scientific institutions in the United Kingdom 

 as they might select for the furtherance of scientific 

 education and research. The money was to be pro- 

 vided from the investment surplus reserve account. It 

 was urged that in carrying out the resolution the 

 directors would be acting in a way which was outside 

 the scope of the stated objects of the company, but 

 Mr. Justice Eve ruled that the resolution came within 

 the bounds of what was likely to lead to the direct 

 advantage of the company, and therefore refused to 

 make an order on the motion. 



From time to time scanty information has reached 

 this side of the .Atlantic of developments in the use 

 of "colloidal fuel," and experts have looked forward 

 to receiving fuller information by which they could 

 judge the value of the many claims put forward. Mr. 

 I.indon W. Bates, with whom has been associated 

 .Vfr. Haylctt O'Neill, has been the pioneer of colloidal 

 fuel, and these gentlemen read papers before the 

 Institution of Petroleum Technologists on Novem- 

 ber 16 in which they put forward all Ihat could 

 IKWsibly be claimed for this particular type of fuel. 

 It w.-i<i described as a stable, mobile, alomisablc fuel 



NO. 2665, VOL. 106] 



displaying colloidal characteristics, comprising par- 

 ticles of solids, droplets of liquids, or minute bubbles 

 of gas suspended in one or more varieties of liquid 

 hydrocarbons. For commercial purf'>ses it contains 

 25 to 40 per cent, of pulverised coal, which is held in 

 stable suspension in oil, so that the product can be 

 handled and fired with the usual oil-burning ap- 

 paratus. The solid components may be coal, coke, 

 charcoal, hard pitch, or any grindable carbonaceous 

 substance, for the best results ground so fine that 

 97 per cent, will pass through a loo-mesh screen and 

 at least 85 per cent, through a 200-mesh screen, and 

 but little is stated to settle out in reasonable periods. 

 The colloidal fuel is often volumetrically richer in 

 heat units than the straight oil, and a saving of cost 

 as compared with straight oil is shown, but this is 

 far from holding as compared with powdered coal. 

 In general, the efficiencies of oil and colloidal fuel 

 are claimed to be substantially the same, and it is 

 stated that there is some evidence that a surface 

 combustion effect on the myriads of fine particles of 

 solid is favourable to efficiency. 



Sir Frederic Kenyon has been elected a foreign 

 associate, and Sir George Grierson a foreign corre- 

 spondant, of the Paris .\x:ademy of Inscriptions and 

 Belles I.ettres. 



By the will of Mr. E. W. Smithson, who died on 

 .August II, leaving estate of the value of 40,010!., 

 the ultimate residue, after the death of his wife, is 

 bequeathed to the Royal Society " for the furtherance 

 of research in natural science, with a view of new laws 

 or principles rather than the exploitation of what is 

 known." 



The Cavendish Society, Cambridge, has decided 

 to reinstitute its annual dinner, and has fixed the 

 date this year for December 10. This dinner, with 

 its post-prandial proceedings of topical physics songs, 

 is a well-known function to former physics research 

 workers at Cambridge. Information may be had 

 from the Secretary, Cavendish Laboratory. 



The King has given orders for the following ap- 

 pointments to the rank of Commander of the British 

 Empire (C.B.E.), to be dated June 5, 1920 :— Dr. 

 ,A. C. Jordan, for work in connection with radiology 

 at Queen .Alexandra's Hospital; Mr. H. .A. Madge, 

 principal technical adviser on the wireless telegraphy 

 staff of H.M. Signal School; and Dr. F. Mollwo 

 Perkin. for valuable services rendered to various 

 Departments of State. 



The Secretary of State for the Colonies has ap- 

 pointed a Committee to consider and report what 

 steps can be taken to secure the assistance of the 

 universities of this country in carrying out the re- 

 search work which is essential to the protection of 

 the inhabitants of the Colonies and Protectorates from 

 disease and to the successful development of their 

 veterinary, agricultural, and mineral resources. The 

 members of the Committee arc :— The Right Hon. 

 Lord Chalmers (chairman), Sir H. Birchenough, Sir 

 J. Rose Bradford. Sir W. Fletcher, Prof. E. B. Poulton, 

 Sir D. Prain, Sir H. Read, Sir S. Stockman, and Sir 

 A. Strahan. Mr. A. B. Achcson, Colonial Office, is 

 the sccretarv of the Committee. 



