73« 



NATURE 



[February 3, 192 1 



a continuous film of oil on the surface of water need 

 not be so much as a ten-millionth part of an inch in 

 thickness. "On the basis of his figures it may be 

 calculated that the ocean could be covered by 500,000 

 tons of oil — not beyond the carrying power of a fleet 

 of very large ships." 



Sir Robert Hadfield contributed recently an 

 article to the Iron and Coal Trades Revieiv on "The 

 World Hunger for Steel." It appears that in 1913 

 the exports of steel from the three chief steel- 

 producing countries were as follows : — Germany, 

 5,500,000 tons; Great Britain, 5,000,000 tons; and 

 the United States of America, 2,750,000 tons. Against 

 this the estimates of the e.\ports in 1920 were as 

 follows: — Germany, 200,000 tons; Great Britain, 

 3,300,000 tons; and the United States, 4,300,000 tons. 

 The statistics of production reinforce the lesson given 

 by the export figures. In 1913 the world's production 

 in pig-iron amounted to about 76,000,000 tons ; last 

 year it is estimated to have been not more than 

 56,000,000 tons. Taking these figures as well-founded, 

 it will be recognised readily that the world is very 

 short of supplies of iron and steel. Sir Robert Had- 

 field points out that this shortage is a very serious 

 matter, and that the development of modern civilisa- 

 tion must be greatly hindered unless increasing sup- 

 plies can be obtained. He estimates the shortage of 

 steel at from 25,000,000 tons to 30,000,000 tons. He 

 then goes on to consider the question of costs of 

 production, and points out how vital is the price of 

 fuel. Two months ago it is estimated that the cost 

 of coal at the pit's mouth in this country was 34s. a 

 ton, whilst in America it was about half that figure. 

 In both countries it takes about if tons of coal to 

 produce i ton of iron. There are, however, countries 

 where coal is produced more cheaply than in America, 

 and Sir Robert states that in South Africa, India, 

 and China it is being raised and sold at very little 

 more than 5s. a ton. In spite of these considerable 

 differences of price, he holds the view that there is 

 no reason why there should not be a greatly increased 

 production in this country owing to the demand 

 caused by the shortage of steel, which has been 

 emphasised. Whether this will prove to be the case 

 depends principally upon the extent of co-operation 

 between employers and employed. 



From the Brooklyn Mtiseum Quarterly for April, 

 1920, we learn that the expedition sent by that 

 museum to make collections in the coastal waters of 

 Peru has been most successful. Mr. R. C. Murphy, 

 who was in charge of the expedition, reports large 

 collections of marine animals and plants and geo- 

 logical specimens. A series of kincmatograph pictures 

 of wild life on the coast and of the Peruvian guano in- 

 dustry was also obtained. Special attention was paid 

 to the investigation of the conditions of marine life 

 dependent on the Humboldt current. 



In the Museums Jotirnal for January Mr. E. N. 

 Fallaize formulates a scheme for the classification of 

 the subject-matter of anthropology, in which human 

 structure and activities rank before divisions of time 

 and space. The reasons for the arrangement are dis- 

 NO. 2675, VOL. 106] 



cussed, and the actual scheme will follow in the 

 February issue. The Headmaster of Winchester 

 gives sound advice on lantern-slides of Renaissance 

 art ; Prof. Aldred Barker, of Leeds, reviews a guid.- 

 to carpet-knotting and weaving; and Mr. R. L. 

 Hobson, of the British Museum, writes on Pountney's 

 "Old Bristol Potteries." A technical criticism of th' 

 Wallace Collection from the museum curator's poin 

 of view, and other reviews and notes, make up an 

 interesting number. Dr. Bather, who has taken 

 charge of the journal for ten months, now hands 

 over the editorship to Mr. J. Bailey, who is retiring 

 from the Victoria and Albert Museum. 



We have recently received the July number (vol. ii., 

 No. 3) of the Queensland Naturalist, which, owing to 

 the difficulties of the past few years, has been m 

 abeyance since April, 1917. It is the organ of the 

 Queensland Field Naturalists' Club, and is described 

 in the foreword of the present number as the only 

 journal of its kind published in a State which is, from 

 a natural history viewpoint, probably the richest fiekl 

 in the whole of .Australia. The editor refers to the 

 success of the club in initiating or aiding efforts for 

 the better protection of the fauna and flora of the Mac- 

 pherson and Bunya ranges, and of particular birds 

 and animals. Among the short articles included in this 

 number is a description of a new fossil plant from 

 Petrie's Quarry, near Brisbane, and a critical account, 

 by Mr. C. T. White, of two native phalloid fungi, on'- 

 of which is endemic in South-Eastern Queensland. 



The myriopods, or more correctly the Diplopoda. 

 of the sub-family Pyrgodesmina, are small creatun v 

 from J in. to J in. long, with the back curiously 

 covered with processes or tubercles, and bearing also 

 bristles or papillae. These latter gather the dirt, and 

 often so encrust the body as to mask its form and 

 merge its colour in that of the ground, so, though 

 they cannot really be rare, from the Orient we have 

 hitherto known representatives of only two genera, the 

 Pvrgodesmus and Lophodesmus of Pocock (1892). 

 Now in the Records of the Indian Museum (vol. xis., 

 part 4) Dr. F. Silvestri describes five new genera 

 based on species from Cochin, Ceylon, and New 

 Guinea. His Latin descriptions are illustrated by 

 excellent drawings, which, in the absence of an 

 artist's name, we must assign to the author's own 

 pen. Some of these show the body humo induttmi, 

 others humo denudatum. 



In spite of war difficulties. Dr. .^nnandale, in his 

 Report on the Zoological Survey of India for the 

 years 1917-20, has been able to record an amount of 

 work important in itself and remarkable as con- 

 ducted by a scientific staff of four persons only. The 

 purely zoological inquiries happened to deal with 

 various aspects of river- and lake-life. Thus the 

 return to India of troops infected with Schistosoma 

 and the fears that the infection might spread led to 

 an extensive search for possible moUuscan hosts ; 

 the results, fortunately negative, saved the expendi- 

 ture of large sums of money on needless precautions. 

 Some interesting points of wider application crop up 

 in some of these investigations. The resemblance of 



