700 



NATURE 



[February 25, 191 5 



several weeks and some courtesy showed me by the 

 local authorities I received the bluntest refusal to my 

 request for a small supply of duty-free alcohol at my 

 private laboratory in Cambridge, and this in spite of 

 the fact that owing to an accident I am permanently 

 prevented from leaving my house and availing myself 

 of the duty-free alcohol at the biochemical laboratory 

 of the University. H. Onslow. 



II St. James's Square, S.W., February 19. 



Many who, like myself, are privately engaged in 

 biological research, will feel grateful to Sir William 

 Ramsay for having directed attention to the difficulties 

 which are unreasonably put in their way in regard 

 to the supply of alcohol. May I take this opportunity 

 of adding that, for those not connected with some 

 university or museum, the only methylated spirit 

 obtainable is adulterated to make it undrinkable, 

 which also makes it absolutely useless for the opera- 

 tions of the biologist, who is thus driven to incur great 

 expense in the purchase of alcohol. Some time ago 

 I applied to the excise officers here for a licence to be 

 supplied with methylated spirit for use in research 

 work, and I offered to enter into any bond and to 

 comply with any regulations they liked to impose to 

 ensure its safe custody and honest use. After a corre- 

 spondence extending over nearly three months, this 

 licence was refused. I hope that Sir William 

 Ramsay's letter may receive attention in the proper 

 quarters, and that reasonable facilities may be given 

 for the supply of both alcohol and methylated spirit 

 for the purposes of research. 



Arnold T. W.^tson. 

 • Sheffield, February- 22. 



Cement for Polarimeter Tubes. 



I SHALL be much obliged if any reader of Nature 

 will suggest a cement suitable for fastening the end 

 discs to polarimeter tubes. The cement I should like 

 to hear of should be capable of withstanding the action 

 of organic liquids at temperatures between 20o°-3oo°. 

 Fusion of the discs to the tubes would, of course, be 

 best, but would be almost certain to introduce strain. 

 There is no great difficulty in working without cement 

 up to about 200°, but beyond the temperature at which 

 rubber melts — and is, therefore, unsuitable for washers 

 — the problem of keeping the liquid in its tube is by 

 no means a simple one. Possiblv someone engaged 

 in work rnaking similar demands may be able to assist 

 '^^- T. S. Patterson. 



University of Glasgow, Februarv 20. 



The Prices of Chemicals. 



"J. J.'s" complaint against chemical dealers for 

 unduly raising prices in consequence of the war seems 

 t6 have been unjustifiable in the case he "mentioned, 

 but it would apply in some other cases. A few weeks 

 ago I wrote to several dealers for some racemic acid; 

 one firm, who had a stock of onlv half an ounce, let 

 me have it at the pre-war price, whilst another, with 

 a larger stock, charged me just double, S. P. 



THE MANUFACTURE OF DYESTUFFS. 



The Government's Modified Scheme. 

 nPHE discussion on the various aspects of the 



-*- problem of producing- in this country an 

 adequate supply of dyestuffs proceeds without 

 intermission. The question has for some time 

 assumed a national aspect and has been the sub- 

 ject of Parliamentary debate or question on at 



NO. 2365, VOL. 94] 



least three occasions. It has also been debated 

 at meetings of the Chambers of Commerce in the 

 chief industrial centres, and people most directly 

 interested have had many opportunities of ex- 

 pressing their opinions at meetings of their 

 various organisations, or at gatherings specially 

 convened for the purpose. 



To a great extent the discussions have centred 

 round the adequacy and equity of the commercial 

 proposals involved in the official scheme now 

 before the public. These have received much 

 more general acceptance than those put forward 

 in the first scheme, and it appears probable that 

 the committee has now received promises of 

 support to an amount representing a substantial 

 proportion of the initial capital proposed for the 

 new company. 



The members of the committee themselves 

 admit that it is an easy matter to criticise the 

 scheme adversely, and it is obviously impossible 

 to devise a solution of the problem satisfactory 

 to all minds. 



If the matter is to be viewed as an ordinary 

 commercial proposition, if questions of free trade 

 or protection are to be taken into account, or if 

 early dividends are to be assured, then any scheme 

 which might be put forward could be show^n to 

 be unworthy of support. But whilst criticism on 

 these lines has been plentiful, there has latterly 

 been a rally of support by those taking broader 

 views — a support which has probably been largely 

 induced by a sense of national need, and has 

 certainly been greatly developed by the action of 

 the Government in offering to endow the research 

 W'Ork which is essential to the extent of ioo,oooZ. 

 This action has engendered a feeling of con- 

 fidence that the Government will take any further 

 steps which the future may show to be vital to 

 the success of the British dye manufacturing 

 industry. 



It is to be hoped that the committee in charge 

 of the scheme will shortly be able to announce the 

 results of its inquiries and that these will show- 

 that the great textile trade of the country has 

 responded adequately. In the meantime, the 

 arrangements for carrying out the necessary pre- 

 liminary chemical work should be proceeded with. 



A Mobilisation of Chemists. 



Speaking in Bradford on February 8, thea 

 present writer advocated immediate action by thai 

 Government or the Board of Trade Advisory 

 Committee in the direction of utilising the services 

 of British chemists. There is on one hand a largej 

 amount of chemical work to be done before the! 

 industry can be greatly developed, and on thel 

 other, there is a great number of well-staffed and" 

 well-equipped laboratories in our universities and ' 

 technical colleges which might render great ser- 

 vice to the industry. To avoid wasteful duplica- 

 tion of work and to co-ordinate the results, it is 

 essential that some organised scheme and allot- 

 ment of work should be arranged, and it is 3 

 suggested that a conference of those concerned 



