4i6 



NATURE 



[December 25, 1919 



At anj' rate, no scientific liability is involved if 

 he persists in the use of the necessarily unequal 

 calendar month when a more convenient uniform 

 period might Be substituted. The French com- 

 mittee approves of M. Delaporte's economic 

 calendar for its own special purposes, and recog- 

 nises that it stands apart from the question of a 

 civil calendar properly so called. H. C. P. 



NOTES. 



Promixexce has been given in the daily papers to 

 an intfrview with Dr. J. O. Arnold, who has recently 

 resigned from the chair of metallurgy at the Univer- 

 sity of Sheffield, relating to a new alloy tool-steel, the 

 cutting powers of which are claimed to be far in 

 advance of those of any rapid-cutting tools at present 

 in the market. The element conferring this property 

 is stated to be molybdenum. It was reported in the 

 interview that Dr. Arnold had taken out British and 

 American patents, but that, owing to the veto of the 

 War Office, the .Admiralty, and the Ministry of Muni- 

 tions, he was not allowed to exploit his discovery, and 

 that he was forbidden to communicate its details 

 e.xcept under censorship to anyone in Great Britain. 

 Meanwhile, representatives of the United States 

 Government were said to be conducting inquiries in 

 Sheffield. On December 19 it was announced, how- 

 ever, that Dr. Arnold had received notice from the 

 Government that the restrictions had been removed. 

 I'ntil more information is forthcoming as to the pre- 

 cise chemical composition of the steel tools in question 

 it will be well to suspend judgment on the matter. 

 That rapid-cutting tools can be made with molyb- 

 denum as the alloy basis has been known for many 

 years. Such tools, however, have hitherto been 

 regarded as peculiarly sensitive to heat conditions, 

 and therefore liable to injury by improper treatment. 

 This has stood in the way of their exploitation in 

 practice. 



More than ninety years ago alcohol was synthesised 

 from ethylene gas by Hennel. The gas was absorbed 

 in sulphuric acid, with which it combined to form 

 ethvl hvdrogen sulphate. On distilling this with water 

 alcohol' was obtained in the distillate. Until recently 

 the process has remained a purely laboratory opera- 

 tion. During the war, however, investigations were 

 made into the practicability of utilising for the com- 

 mercial production of alcohol the small proportion of 

 ethvlene present in the gas given off from coke- 

 ovens. A good deal of progress was made and the 

 possibility proved, but the process was not fully worked 

 out. It appears that this has now been successfully 

 accomplished. In a paper read at a meeting of the 

 Cleveland Insdtution of Engineers, Middlesbrough, 

 Mr. .E. Bury, of the Skinningrove Iron and Steel 

 Works, states that practical working has given a yield 

 of 1-6 gallons of alcohol per ton of coal carbonised. 

 The best results were obtained by absorbing the 

 ethvlene at a temperature of 6o°-8o° C. It is cal- 

 culated that the coal used for coke-making in this 

 countrv would vield more than 23,000,000 gallons of 

 alcohol vearlv, and the ethvlene present in ordinary 

 coal-gas, if similarly treated, would supply a further 

 27,000,000 gallons. 



We have received from the Royal Statistical Society 

 a copv of a petition which has been forwarded to the 

 Prime Minister urging the immediate appointment of 

 a Roval Commission or Select Committee to 

 inquire into the existing methods of the collection 

 and presentation of public statistics and to report on 

 the means of improvement. The lack of co-operation 

 NO. 2617, VOL. 104] 



between the different Departments charged with the 

 preparation of statistics, and the consequent lack of 

 co-ordination f)etween their publications, excellent 

 though these are in many respects, and the absence 

 of any sufficient information on points that are now 

 of the first importance {e.g. wages, incomes, and 

 home production), arc so notorious that some action 

 in the direction indicated is most urgently called for. 

 Adequate information is the very basis of right reform, 

 but in scarcely any case is it forthcoming. The peti- • 

 tion received the most widespread support from 

 members of both Houses, from learned societies, from 

 county and municipal authorities, and from those 

 interested in social questions and the use of statistics « 

 generally — support which will, we hope, secure its 

 acceptance. 



The Electricity Supply Bill has had many vicissi- 

 tudes in its passage through Parliament. In its final 

 form it elicited little opposition, if no great enthusiasm. 

 The appointment of Commissioners is universally wel- 

 comed. They can do much to co-ordinate the working 

 of new schemes, and can effect great economies 

 by standardisation. They will erect one or two super- 

 stations which will effect an economy of fuel. Thev 

 will probably also use a certain number of internal- 

 coiTibustion engines, which, theoretically at least, have 

 a higher economy than steam turbines. The appoint- 

 ment of district boards with powers of compulsory j 

 purchase was strongly opposed by the electric supply ; 

 companies, mainly on the ground that it was a breach 

 of the Parliamentary bargain made in 1888. It was 

 pointed out that electric supply was initiated by 

 private enterprise, and that many of the pioneer com- 

 panies had an anxious and unremunerative time m 

 their early days. To take away the opportunity they 

 had of bettering their financial position in the few 

 remaining years of their concession was not just. 

 The Government, influenced by the strong opposition 

 to the suggested district boards, and possibly also by 

 the approach of the end of the session, dropped ail 

 the contentious proposals. There is now a golden 

 opportunity for the companies,' both private and muni- 

 cipal, to enter into combination as "joint electriciiy 

 authorities " for themselves, and it would be good 

 policy for them to make a move in this direction, bin 

 at present we see no signs of such a movement. The 

 proposals for district boards, which were all thoroughly 

 discussed in Committee, will doubtless be revived 

 either in this or in a future Parliament. 



The report of the Council of British Ophthalmo- 

 logists on the desirability of a special qualification in 

 ophthalmology presents a strong and well-considered 

 case. The qualifications required by the principal 

 hospitals of candidates for the post of ophthalmic 

 surgeon — usually the fellowship of the College of 

 Surgeons of England, Edinburgh, or Ireland — furnish 

 no evidence of special knowledge of ophthalmology. 

 The council concludes that there should be a special 

 examination for those who propose to devote them- 

 selves to this branch of medicine ; and that, owing to 

 the importance of a sound knowledge of the general 

 principles of surgery, pathology, etc., this examination 

 should form part of the examination for a higher 

 degree pr diploma, such as the M.S. or F.R.C.S.. 

 rather than that it should be a special examination 

 in ophthalmology alone. The council rightly lays 

 stress upon an exhaustive curriculum, including 

 anatomy, pathology, optics, systematic and clinical 

 ophthalmology, and operative surgery. The Council 

 of British Ophthalmologists is doing excellent work 

 in striving to improve the teaching and practice of 

 ophthalmology. It has already reported upon the 

 teaching of these subjects to undergraduates, the 

 lighting of test types, and other matters. It deals 



