640 



NATURE 



[January 13, 1921 



Referees. The Board has also appointed Mr. H. C. 

 Honey to be Director of Gas .\dministration in the 

 Power Transport and Economic Department, Board 

 of Trade Offices, Great George Street, S.VV.i. In 

 pursuance of the provisions of .section 2 (4) of the 

 .\ct, the Board has appointed .Sir William Pearce 

 (chairman), Dr. T. Carnvvath, Mr. W. D. Gibb, and 

 Dr. T. Gray to be a Committee to inquire whether 

 it is necessary or desirable to prescribe any limitation 

 of the proportion of carbon monoxide which may be 

 .supplied in gas used for domestic purposes. It has 

 also appointed Mr. J. H. Gray (chairman), Mr. 

 W. J. .\. Butterfield, and Dr. C. H. Lander to 

 be a Committee to inquire whether it is necessary or 

 desirable to prescribe any limitations of the propor- 

 tions of incombustible constituents which may be sup- 

 plied in gas. Communications should be addres.sed to 

 the Secretary to each of these Committees at the 

 Power Transport and Kconomic Department, Board 

 of Trade, Great' George Street, S.W.i. 



The .\ir Ministry announces that the Cabinet has 

 approved, subject to Parliamentary sanction, the 

 grant of a sum for the direct assistance of civil avia- 

 tion. During the financial year 1921-22 payments 

 under this grant will be limited to a maximum sum 

 of 60,000?., and will be made to British companies 

 operating: on approved aerial routes. The routes at 

 present approved are London to Paris, London to 

 Brussels, and London to .\msterdam. Extensions to 

 these routes and additional routes, such as England- 

 Scandinavia, on which the possibilities of a service 

 employing flying boats or amphibian machines or a 

 mixed service of sea and land aircraft can be demon- 

 strated, may be approved from time to time if .satis- 

 factory proposals are received by the .\ir Council. 

 The maximum time allowed for journeys between 

 London and Paris, between London and Brussels, 

 and between London and .\msterdam will be four 

 hours from aerodrome to aerodrome (or such other 

 time limit as may be determined later by the .Air 

 Council). Any British company intending to run on 

 the routes and notifying the .\ir Council of this inten- 

 tion will become an "approved" organisation by ful- 

 filling the conditions laid down. Such notification 

 should be addressed to the Secretary (C.G.C.A.), .\ir 

 Ministry, Kingsway, W.C.2, to whom requests for 

 further particulars in respect of the grant should be 

 addressed. 



The King, on the recommendation of the Home 

 Secretary, has approved the appointment of a Roval 

 Commission to inquire into the existing provision 

 for : (i) The avoidance of loss from fire, including 

 the regulations dealing with the construction of build- 

 ings, dangerous processes, an4 fire risks generally, the 

 arrangements for inquiry and research and for fur- 

 nishing information and advice to public authorities 

 and others on matters relating to fire prevention ; and 

 (2) the extinction of outbreaks of fire, including the 

 control, maintenance, organisation, equipment, and 

 training of fire brigades in Great Britain ; and to report 

 whether any, and if so what, changes are necessary, 

 whether by statutory provision or otherwise, in order 

 to secure the best possible protection of life and pro- 



NO. 2672, VOL. 106] 



perty against risks from fire, due regard being paid 

 to considerations of economy as well as of efficiency. 

 The t'ommission will be compo.sed as follows : — The 

 Hon. Sir Perceval M. Laurence (chairman), .Mr. J. T. 

 Burns, Sir Vincent H. P. Caillard, Mr. S. L. Dixon, 

 Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice, Capt. V. L. Henderson, 

 Sir Joseph E. Petavel, Mr. H. Peters, Lt.-Comdr. Sir 

 Sampson Sladen, Mr. H. Stilgoe, and Lt.-Col. G. 

 Symonds. In addition, there will be representatives of 

 the County Councils' .'Xs.sociation, of the .Association 

 of Municipal Corporations, and of the Fire Offices' 

 Committee. The names of these representatives will 

 be announced later. The secretary is Mr. J. C. 

 Maclver, of the Home Office. Any communications 

 on the subject should be addressed to him at 5 Old 

 Palace Yard, S.W.i. 



Until its work is completed and the materials are 

 collected, published, and exhibited, it is somewhat pre- 

 mature to forecast the results of the Mackie Expedi- 

 tion to Central .Africa under the conduct of the Rev. 

 John Roscoe. It is clear from letters received that much 

 success has been achieved among the Bunyoro tribe, 

 which occupies the country to the east of Lake .Albert 

 in the Lganda Protectorate. This information has 

 been summarised in an important paper by Sir J. G. 

 Frazer, published in the December issue of Man. 



.Mr. W. W. Rolse Bali, has reprinted through Messrs. 

 Heffer and Sons, Cambridge, the interesting- lecture 

 which he delivered last spring at the Royal Institution 

 on string figures, which we noticed at the time in 

 these columns. He has added full directions for the 

 construction of .several easy typical designs, arranged 

 roughlv in order of difficulty, and, for those who wish 

 to go further, lists of additional patterns and refer- 

 ences. This fascinating art can be practised with the 

 simple aid of a piece of good string some 7 ft. long. 



The Welsh Department of the Board of Education 

 has issued, under the title of "Scheme for the Col- 

 lection of Rural Lore in Wales," a pamphlet con- 

 taining a series of rules and suggestions for secondary 

 schools and colleges. The scheme has been financed 

 by members of the Honourable Society of Cymmro- 

 dorion with the object of preparing a kind of Welsh 

 Domesda\ Book, the material of which is to be col- 

 lected bT teachers and pupils. One part of the scheme 

 is the collection of all Welsh place-names from the 

 ordinary Survey maps and other sources. Rural in- 

 dustries, survivals of old or curious customs and 

 crafts, peculiar words, local proverbs, primitive agri- 

 cultural implements, marks on sheep or ponies, notice 

 of places where old pottery and the like have been 

 discovered — in fact, all kinds of information on 

 rural and industrial life are solicited. The scheme is 

 well conceived and the instructions are helpful. 

 Educational authorities in other parts of these islands 

 may well consider how far the Welsh scheme can be 

 adapted to local conditions. 



The Gem Drv Plate Co., Cricklewood, \.W., has 

 forwarded to us a pamphlet on photomicrography. A 

 simple account is given of the process, which includes 

 a description of apparatus, illumination, focussing, 

 exposure, the use of light-filters, printing, and develop- 



