148 



NATURE 



[April 25, 1918 



from 53 to 74 per cent., but these contained a very 

 small percentage of water-soluble potash, the 

 highest being 27 per cent. Special attention was 

 paid to the spent liquor, of which the specific 

 gravity, total solids, ash, and water-soluble potash 

 were determined ; and the authors discuss various 

 methods of separating the mineral values from the 

 tarry matter, which greatly hinders evaporation. 



In the case of one firm the authors have drawn 

 up a balance sheet showing the amounts of potash 

 in the raw materials cha:rged, and its distribution 

 in the products. In one case where 7*6 lb. were 

 charged per ton of pig-iron, 6*04 lb. per ton were 

 accounted for, of which i'4 lb. were contained in 

 the spent liquor, 1*7 lb. in the pitch, o'2 lb. in the 

 tube cleanings, 0*04 lb. in the flue- and stove-dust, 

 and 2'7 lb. in the slag, leaving i'6 lb. unaccounted 

 for. This balance sheet is very different from that 

 obtained by Wysor, but too much stress should not 

 be laid upon it, because the figures refer to one 

 plant only. The authors estimate finally that about 

 1667 tons of water-soluble potash are recoverable 

 per annum from the 102 Scotch furnaces. They 

 give, however, no estimate of the total amount 

 of insoluble potash, and refer only briefly to the 

 possibility of its being rendered soluble. It does 

 not look as though the prospect of recovering 

 potash profitably in Scotland after the war was 

 at all promising, and this view was emphasised 

 in the discussion which followed. 



H. C. H. C. 



WAR-TIME RESEARCH IN THE UNITED 

 STATES. 



IT is difficult to find in this country in these 

 days a scientific worker, however recondite 

 his studies may have been in pre-war days, who 

 is not engaged in problems connected with the 

 war, the development of industry, or the extension 

 of trade. A similar state of things, at an earlier 

 stage, is to be seen in the United States, where 

 the National Academy of Sciences has formed a 

 National Research Council, which is organising 

 research on current problems. The council is 

 nothing if not catholic in its ideas of war-time 

 research, and the subjects allocated to its com- 

 mittees and sub-committees range from palaeonto- 

 logy to psychology. 



The council has apparently been much con- 

 cerned to secure for American libraries and scien- 

 tific institutions supplies of German scientific 

 literature, held up in Amsterdam and London as 

 a result of the British blockade. The difficulty 

 has been satisfactorily solved, and official forms 

 have been duly evolved for the liberation of con- 

 signments, certified by the Library of Congress in 

 Washington and the United States Consul in 

 London. 



The Geology and Palaeontology Committee of 

 the council has published a brochure entitled 

 "What a Geologist can do in War." This has 

 been freely distributed among Army officers, with 

 the view of explaining what service they can expect 

 from geologists. The same committee is collect- 



NO. 2530, VOL. lOl] 



ing information as to the materials available in 

 the coastal States for the construction of roads 

 and fortifications. 



In association with other organisations the Com- 

 mittee on War Minerals has made a census of all 

 minerals required for war purposes, with notes 

 on their production, stocks held in the. United 

 States, sources of supply, and other matters. 

 Special surveys have been undertaken in some 

 cases to complete information regarding minerals 

 and to secure data necessary to permit of the rapid 

 exploitation of deposits. Dr. Dean, curator of 

 the Department of Arms and Armour in the Metro- 

 ix)litan Museum and of Fossil ^ Fishes in the 

 American Museum, and a member of this com- 

 mittee, has designed models for modern body 

 armour, which are now being made for trial in 

 field operations. 



The Committee on Zoology has organised an 

 extensive field of work in connection with the 

 elimination and control of animal pests, especially 

 those known to be carriers of disease, the exam- 

 ination of pathological specimens, investigation of 

 water and soils from camp-sites, and the disposal 

 of garbage and drainage. Even more important, 

 perhaps, in view of the urgency of the food prob- 

 lems caused by the war, is the work this com- 

 mittee intends to undertake on the improvement 

 of breeds of domestic animals,, better methods of 

 increasing and conserving stock, and possible 

 remedial measures against food-destroying in- 

 sects. Another interesting problem in its pro- 

 gramme is the study of limbs and joints with the 

 view of improving the construction of artificial 

 limbs. The utilisation of aquatic birds in locating 



I submarines, a subject which has not escaped the 

 attention of the popular Press in this country, is 

 also being considered. 



The programme of the Botanical Raw Products 

 Committee is perhaps the most far-reaching of all, 

 since it aims at establishing for the use of manu- 

 facturers a kind of "clearing house of informa- 

 tion" regarding raw materials, exclusive of food 

 staples. This committee proposes to collect all 

 available information regarding plants of economic 



i value with the view, among other things, of pro- 

 ducing supplies of essential raw materials at home, 

 providing substitutes for materials previously im- 

 ported, and investigating the possibilities of new 

 raw materials. This committee points out that 

 " often a great industr>' buys its raw material from 

 a broker or an importing house without know- 



1 ledge of either the geographic or the specific 

 source. When this source is cut off, as has 



I frequently been the case during the past 



' three years, and as possibly will be more 

 frequent during the next few years, the 

 manufacturer has been placed in an uncom- 



i fortable position. Curiously enough, such a pre- 



, dicament is many times brought about by the 

 curtailment of a product used in such relatively 

 small quantities that the fact that it is essential 

 to the finished article is overlooked or forgotten 

 during times of plenty." This opinion is worth 

 quoting, as it diagnoses accurately a predicament 



