February 2, 192 2 J 



NATURE 



149 



lication of it being helped or hindered by spells of 

 It or cold. 



English engineers are glad that it is highly probable 

 It the contract for the electrification of the South 

 ican Railway between Pietermaritzburg and Glen- 

 will be given to the Metropolitan-Vickers Co., of 

 jchester. In the early days of the electrical in- 

 try in South Africa German competition was 

 erely felt, but much of the foreign-made plant then 

 lased has given great trouble to the users, due 

 only to faulty design, but also to the fact that it 

 Jt much too hot at full load. English machines were 

 found to be more desirable. The contract will involve 

 the construction of seventy locomotives. The line 

 carries very heavy mineral traffic on its way to the 

 coast in Natal and goes through a hilly district. It 

 is, therefore, very suitable for electric traction, as 

 regenerative braking can be used on the descending 

 grades. In addition to pumping back into the line 

 most of the f>otential energy lost, it obviates all the 

 wear and tear on wheels and brake-shoes inevitable 

 with steam traction. Each of the locomotives will 

 be equipped with four large electric motors, and the 

 construction of these and the necessary control gear 

 will, unless the unforeseen happens, provide employ- 

 ment for many workpeople in Sheffield and Man- 

 chester. 



The thirteenth meeting of the International Geo- 

 logical Congress is to be held in Brussels on August 

 10-19. Excursions to places of geological interest in 

 Belgium will be held before the congress, on August 

 1-9, and afterwards from August 21-September 3. An 

 interesting programme of geological discussions on 

 subjects including tectonics, the geology of the Car- 

 boniferous system and of petroleum, and the geology 

 of Africa— a subject to which Belgian geologists have 

 contributed greatly. The committee of organisation 

 has decided not to admit "... nationals of those 

 countries lately at war, in defiance of Treaty obliga- 

 tions, with Belgium " — a phrase which only an inter- 

 national lawyer could confidently interpret. It might 

 be intended to exclude Germans only, but might admit 

 of considerable extension. The admission of Germans 

 and Austrians to the social functions of the congress 

 might be reasonably regarded as premature, but their 

 complete exclusion from an international scientific 

 congress will be regretted by many British geologists. 

 The president of the organising committee, who will 

 naturally ^e president of the congress, is M. J. 

 Lebacqz, Director-General of Mines, and president 

 of the Geological Council in Belgium. The secre- 

 tary is M. Renier, the head of the Geological Survey 

 of Belgium. There will be five excursions before the 

 congress to examine respectively the central and 

 eastern districts, the Tertiary beds, the Devonian, and 

 buiUling materials. There will also be ten local ex- 

 -ions, most of which are for a single day, during 

 congress. Five excursions after the congress 

 will be devoted to the study of the Cretaceous and 

 Tertiary rocks near Mons, the metamorphic rocks at 

 Bastogne, the Palaeozoic tectonics, the Carboniferous 

 limestones, and the Westphalian. These excursions 

 vary from four to twelve days. 

 NO. 2727, VOL. 109] 



The Secretary of State for Air, Capt. Guest, re- 

 ceived a deputation from the council of the Royal Aero- 

 nautical Society on January 17 and heard views for 

 safeguarding the applied scientific research of the Air 

 Ministry. Attention was directed to the danger of 

 dealing exclusively with the needs of the moment, 

 particularly by routine methods, and to the fact that 

 present and future economy called for systematic inquiry 

 on scientific principles. The high insurance rates re- 

 quired to cover aviation risks and the loss of the air- 

 ship R38 are instances which will occur to readers of 

 Nature as matters needing more than passing atten- 

 tion. The deputation consisted of Col. M. O 'Gorman 

 (chairman), Prof. L, Bairstow, Sir Mackenzie 

 Chalmers, Prof. B. M. Jones, and Lt.-Col. A. Ogilvie, 

 and represented the council of the Royal Aeronautical 

 Society, except that Service members felt that their 

 appointments debarred them from expressing an 

 opinion. A marked distinction was made between 

 "applied scientific research" and "ad hoc experi- 

 ments," and it was stated that experience showed 

 that the latter take precedence and tend to the 

 extinction of research on the ground of urgency when 

 both are under a common direction. The cessation of 

 airship research both on the full scale and in the 

 laboratory and the proposal to close the Aerodynamics 

 Department of the National Physical Laboratory 

 (happily not being fully pressed) indicate how serious 

 has been the position in the past yea'. The deputation 

 suggested that the remedy lay in the appointment of 

 a scientifically trained head of a department specially 

 devoted to applied scientific research. As applied to 

 a new science the difficulties are great, but it is under- 

 stood that the proposals are receiving the serious and 

 svmpathetic consideration of the Secretary of State for 

 Air. 



The report of the "Wireless" Telegraphy Com- 

 mission which has just been issued is of value, as it 

 represents the reasoned and deliberate judgment of 

 three well-known experts. In his preface Dr. Eccle? 

 comments on the "severely technical" nature of the 

 report, but as the terms of reference definitely ask for 

 advice on the preparation of specifications for machinery 

 and apparatus this was unavoidable. The Commis- 

 sion is to be congratulated on the thoroughness with 

 which it has done its work. As in all engineering 

 projects, however, unless the scheme is begun at 

 once further discoveries may make it advisable to alter 

 appreciably the detailed specifications. It recom- 

 mends that, a radio-chain be established, none of the 

 steps being greater than about 2000 miles. The radio- 

 telegraphic energy is to be generated by thermionic 

 valves. The first step is to be from Leafield to Cairo, 

 which the Post Office will shortly operate by means 

 of Poulsen arcs. Then valve stations will be erected 

 at Poona, Singapore, Hong Kong, and in Australia 

 at either Port Darwin or Perth, Valve stations would 

 also connect England and Canada. The stations are 

 to be capable of delivering at least 120 kilowatts to 

 the antenna. They will be larger, therefore, than 

 the Carnarvon station of the Marconi Company. It 

 has been found that there is a considerable loss of 



