.May 2^, 1918] 



NATURE 



229 



cent, of combined nitrogen as compared with 212 per 

 5 cent, in sulphate of ammonia. This tendency in 

 I German fertiliser production merits especial considera- 



• tion b\ those responsible for the erection of a Haber 

 ? plant in this country, as indicated in the recent com- 

 > munication of Mr. Kellaway to the House of 

 I Commons, since, as a post-war proposition, such a 

 f plant would be employed for the manufacture of agri- 

 ': cultural fertilisers. By close co-operation between 



those concerned in the production of hydrogen for 

 synthetic ammonia and the experts in fertiliser values 

 a decision should readily be reached, as to the efficacy 

 of carbonaceous ammonia compounds and derivatives, 

 and consequently as to the best course of procedure 



• in regard to hydrogen productipn. 



; In La Nature of May 4 Prof. L. de Launav pub- 



lishes an authoritative article upon the econorriic im- 



■ portance of Alsace-Lorraine. As might be well sup- 

 posed from its authorship, the article deals par- 

 ticularly with the mineral products, but refers also to 

 the well-developed textile industries and the various 

 forms of agricultural produce of this region. The 

 author shows that in 1913 German Lorraine produced 

 21 million tons of iron ore out of a total production 

 of 27-5 millions for Germany (including 65 million 

 tons from Luxemburg), whilst French Lorraine pro- 

 duced 19-5 million tons out of a total of 2 17 millions 

 from the whole of France, or a total of 47 million 

 tons of iron ore produced by the whole Lorraine basin. 

 He points out that the possession of this Lorraine 

 iron-ore deposit was the basis not only of Germany's 

 industrial strength, but also of her military power; it 

 is onlv owing to the possession of this supply of iron 

 ore that Germany has been able to continue the 

 struggle for the last four years. Once, however, 

 Lorraine becomes again a French possession, Ger- 

 many will be unable to maintain in their present ex- 

 tension the works that produce her engines of destruc- 

 tion, and thus a result would be obtained which other- 

 wise no league of nations, no international tribunal, 

 no treaty capable of being torn up as occasion might 

 require, could secure. Restitution of the Lorrame 

 iron ore to its rightful French owners means, in fact, 

 a guarantee of peace to the world. Of great import- 

 ance, too, to France would be the Sarre coalfield, 

 which belonged wholly to France up to 1815. When 

 France re-enters into possession . of this field, it will 

 be able to supply a certain portion of her needs for 

 coal, having an output of some 17 million tons 

 of coal vearlv. Another most valuable mineral pro- 

 duct is to be found in the potash deposits of Mul- 

 house, discovered in 1904, but only slowly developed ; 

 the first pit was cornpleted in 191 1, in which year the 

 output was 127,000 tons. It mtist be remembered, 

 however, that Prussia, the owner of the Stassfurt 

 potash deposits, was by no means anxious to see the 

 Alsatian potash deposit's developeti in competition with 

 the former, and that the Mulhouse deposits can pro- 

 duce very much more than they have done hitherto. 

 Finally, there is a small oilfield just to the north-west 

 of Strasburg, first discovered in 1880, and though 

 far inferior in value to the iron, coal, and potash 

 deposits, nevertheless, with its production of 50,000 

 tons of oil yearly, it is by no means devoid of irnport- 

 ance for France. 



The concluding Friday evening discourses at the 

 Roval Institution are as follows : — On May 24, Lt.- 

 Coi. A. G. Hadcock on "Internal Ballistics"; on 

 May 31, Mr. Laurence Binyon on "Poetry and 

 Modern Life"; and on June '7, Sir Boverton Red- 

 wood on "The Romance of Petroleum." 



The Duke of Northumberland, who died on 

 May 14 at seventy-two years of age, was n familiar 

 NO. 2534, VOL. lOl] 



figure in the scientific world. He became a fellow of 

 the Royal Society in 1900 under the rule which permits 

 of the special election of Privy Councillors and men 

 distinguished in the scientific or educational service 

 of the State ; and he had been for many years presi- 

 dent of the Royal Institution. He was president of 

 the Royal Arcliaeological Institute from 1884 to 1892, 

 and was elected a trustee of the British Museum in 

 1900. 



Capt. Roald .Amundsen's long-delayed North Polar 

 Expedition is now announced to start from Norway 

 next month. The Maud, the new vessel built for the 

 expedition, is lying ready at Christiania. According 

 to La Gdographie (vol. xxxii., No. i), the Maud is 

 built on the lines of the Fram, and is a three-masted 

 schooner furnished with a petrol motor and capable 

 of a speed of nine knots. Her length is 120 ft., her 

 beam measurement 40 ft., and her draught 12 ft. 

 The screw can be raised to avoid ice-pressure. The 

 petrol capacity of the vessel is 100 metric tons. The 

 original plan of Capt. Amundsen was to enter the 

 Arctic Ocean by Bering Strait. He now proposes to 

 follow the route of the Fram through the Barents and 

 Kara Seas along the coast of Asia, and to enter the 

 polar pack about 250 miles east of the New Siberia 

 Islands, allowing his vessel to be caught in the cur- 

 rent which crosses the Arctic Ocean. 



In La Nature for May 11 Lieut. Lefranc, of the 

 French .Air Service, gives very complete particulars 

 of the armament and bomb-dropping arrangements of 

 the modern types of German aeroplane. The arma- 

 ment comprises one or more machine-guns, generally 

 mounted on turrets for securing motion in everv direc- 

 tion, some firing through the propeller and syn- 

 chronised by the aeroplane engine. Standard types of 

 bombs are 22 lb., ^ cwt., i cwt., 2 cwt., and 6 cwt., 

 charged with high explosive (T.N.T. and hexanitro- 

 diphenylamine). The ratio of charge is very high. A 

 special type of fuse is fitted in order to secure instan- 

 taneous or to delay action. Special frames (vertical or 

 horizontal) are fitted for dropping the bombs, which 

 are discharged in a direction tangential to their trajec- 

 tory. .\n adapted Goerz sighting telescope in con- 

 junction with a range-table and a direction or route 

 corrector is employed for securing accurac}-. Most 

 bombs are fitted with stabilising vanes at their base 

 in order to ensure the bombs falling nose-on, and to 

 give them a certain amount of spin. 



At the annual meeting of the Illuminating Engineer- 

 ing Society on May 14 the report of the council for 

 the past session was presented. The society has been 

 in communication with the authorities on various sub- 

 jects, including economy in lighting with a view to 

 fuel-saving, lighting arrangements for air-raid shelters, 

 and the preparation of fuller statistics on the relation 

 between illumination and street accidents. Two com- 

 mittees are carrying on researches for the authorities 

 on parachute flares and luminous gun-sights. It is 

 proposed to form a joint committee with the Ophthal- 

 mological Society, to which matters of mutual interest, 

 comprising the effect of illumination on eyesight, can 

 be referred. Following the conclusion of formal busi- 

 ness, a discussion on the Lighting, Heating, and Power 

 Order (1918) took place. Mr. L. Gaster, in opening 

 the discussion, said that the society is anxious to 

 assist the authorities to achieve the objects of the 

 Order by preventing waste of light, but it is not desir- 

 able to diminish illumination to a value prejudicial to. 

 health or eyesight, liable to cause accidents, and inter- 

 fering with efficiency of work. The maximum saving 

 in fuel possible by the complete carrying out of the 

 Order as regards lighting is small- probably within 

 ^ per cent, of the normal total home coal consump- 



