October 22, 1914] 



NATURE 



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13^ I 



If 



remain, and 90 per cent, of this gives 855 lb. of clean 

 steam available for the turbine. " Since modern ex- 

 haust steam turbines with a full load and a vacuum 

 of 285 in. can be guaranteed under the above con- 

 ditions to use not more than about 27 lb. per horse- 

 povvcr, this gives 31-6 horse-power per hour per ton 

 of slag' per hour." 



In his paper on the use of liquid ferro-manganese 

 in the steel processes, Mr. Axel Sahlin points out most 

 of the methods of adding ferro-manganese are waste- 

 ful both from the point of view of heat efficiency and 

 the percentage of manganese oxidised. He describes 

 a new type of arc furnace invented by Mr. Ivar Renner- 

 felt, which he claims has been successfully used for 

 this purpose. This furnace is fitted with three elec- 

 trodes so placed that, when the current is turned on, 

 the arcs, instead of passing directly between the points 

 of the electrodes are deflected downwards, forming an 

 inverted arrow-head or '' fieur-de-lys " with a height 

 of 6 to 12 in. Adjustment is made so that the point 

 of the "arrow-head" impinges on the surface of the 

 metal. Manganese smoke was noticed for a few- 

 minutes after charging, but then ceased to be evolved. 

 The tests which have been carried out indicate that 

 for the melting of one ton of 79 per cent, ferro- 

 manganese, charged into an empty and pre-heated 

 furnace, about 450 units are required. This corre- 

 sponds to a furnace efficiency of 78-79 per cent., and 

 is very much better than anything that has been 

 achieved with other types of electric furnace. More- 

 over, analyses showed that there was not only no loss 

 of manganese and iron in the melting process, but 

 even a gain of 06 per cent, in each case. 



The industrial production of electrolytic iron 

 now appears to be entering the "practical" 

 stage. An account is given by Prof. Guillet 

 of the manufacture of such iron in the form 

 of tubes of considerable size. The direct pro- 

 duction of sheets is also contemplated. The iron is 

 deposited on a revolving kathode from a neutral solu- 

 tion of iron salts (the composition of which is not 

 given), the electrolyte being maintained neutral by the 

 circulation of the liquid over the surface of the iron. 

 From time to time the liquid receives additions of iron 

 oxide with the object of reducing the deposition of 

 hydrogen on the kathode. In this way currents of 

 1000 amperes per square metre have been successfully 

 employed, and an iron of excellent qualit}' is said to 

 i'have been obtained. Analyses show that it is very low 

 in the usual impurities even when prepared from very 

 impure pig-iron. When freshly prepared it is hard and 

 brittle, partly on account of the fact that it has been 

 deposited in a condition of strain and partly because 

 it contains hydrogen. The former aspect is well seen 

 in the photomicrographs, which reveal a typical mar- 

 tensitic structure, and it is interesting to observe that 

 the normal polygonal structure of a pure metal is not 

 obtained until the annealing has been carried to 

 8oo°-9oo° C. Photographs of the crushing tests of 

 tubes indicate a very remarkable degree of plasticity. 

 The direct production of sheets without rolling would 

 certainly be an important technical achievement and 

 such material on account of its high degree of purity 

 would have important applications in electrical 

 machiner\'. H. C. H. Carpenter. 



PAPERS ON HEREDITY. 



STUDENTS of heredity have followed with the 

 greatest interest Dr. L. Doncaster's experimental 

 and cytological work with the Magpie Moth {Abraxas 

 grossulariata). In the last number of the Journal of 

 Genetics (vol. iv, 1914, pp. 1-21, plates i-iii) he brings 

 forward JFurther interesting results on the relations 

 between chromosomes, sex-limited transmission, and 

 NO. 2347, VOL. 94] 



sex-determination in that insect. He confirms the 

 observation that in a strain of Abraxas, which in each 

 generation produces families consisting entirely of 

 females, the oogonia have only fifty-five chromosomes 

 instead of the fifty-six normal to the species. It is 

 thus established that the females are here heterozygous 

 as regards sex-character, whereas in many insects the 

 males are known to be heterozj-gous. Dr. Doncaster 

 found that one female of this remarkable strain carried 

 fifty-six chromosomes, while other females of the same 

 brood hac^ clearly fifty-five. " In the same brood there 

 was failure of sex-limited inheritance of the grossu- 

 lariata character [as contrasted with the factor pro- 

 ducing the variety lacticolor] in two cases, in such a 

 way that the grossulariata mother transmitted tliis 

 character to two of her daughters (out of a total of 

 sixteen) instead of, as normally happens, only to her 

 sons. It is suggested that this may be correlated 

 with the extra chromosome found in one female of 

 this family, the grossulariata-hearmg chromosome 

 having become separated abnormally from the sex- 

 chromosome." 



Another noteworthy recent paper on the proHems of 

 inheritance is Dr. Leon J. Cole's account of the rela- 

 tions of the principal colours in Pigeons {Rhoie Island 

 State College, Bulletin 158). He concludes I'lat there 

 are four principal factors concerned — two ior the pig- 

 ments black and red, an intensity and ar. extension 

 factor. The absence of the intensity factor makes 

 black dun and red yellow, while the absence of the 

 extension factor produces blueness. " Reversion to 

 the wild blue Rock Pigeon t>'pe in domesticated 

 pigeons is due simply to a recurrence of the particular 

 combination of factors which are present in C. livia."'' 

 White plumage is explained by the presence of an 

 unknown number of pigment-inhibiting factors which 

 are supposed to check the appearance of colour on 

 different regions of the body. 



THE PLACE OF WISDOM {SCIENCE) IN 

 THE STATE AND IN EDUCATION ."^ 



''So soon as men get to discuss the importance of a 

 thing, they do infallibly set about arranging it, facili- 

 tating it, forwarding it, and rest not till in some 

 approximate degree they have accomplished it." — 

 Carlyle. 



THIS, doubtless, is a true statement ; the difficulty 

 is, however, to persuade men of the importance 

 of a thing. We come to persuade you. As an asso- 

 ciation we are now eighty-four 5'ears old : our main 

 purpose has been to obtain a more general atterition 

 to the objects of science and a removal of any dis- 

 advantages of a public kind which impede its progress 

 ^let me also add, its application to culture and to 

 the public service. 



By holding meetings, year after year, in the prin- 

 cipal towns of the British Isles, the association has at 

 least brought under notice the fact that science is a 

 reality, in so far as this can be testified to by several 

 hundreds of its votaries meeting together each year to 

 consider seriously and discuss the progress of the 

 various departments. On the whole, dilettanti have 

 had little share in our debates. The association has 

 already carried the flag of knowledge outside our 

 islands, thrice to Canada and once to South Africa; 

 now, at last, we make this great pilgrimage to your 

 Australian shores; still we are at home. What 

 message do we bring with us? 



In 1847, when this city was but an insignificant 

 town, it was visited by an Englishman who after- 

 wards became eminent not only in science but also 



1 From an address to the Educational Science Section of the Britisb 

 Association at Melbourne, .\ugust 14, by Prof. Henry E. Anmstrong. F.R.S. 



