May I, 1919] 



NATURE 



175 



Venus will be in geocentric conjunction with the 

 second star on August id. i8h. 40m. G.M.T., which is 

 6h. 10m. in the evening of August 2 by New Zealand 

 standard time, and it is computed by Mr. Burnet that 

 the occultation, which will be of twenty minutes' 

 duration, may be seen from that part of the globe. 



CIVILIAN AIR ROUTES. 



T"' HE ban on civil aviation is raised from to-dav, 

 ' as announced in the House of Commons on 

 April 14, and the Air Ministry has issued details of 

 some of the aerial routes which will be declared open. 

 The routes are to be regarded as provisional, since 



Air routes and stations. Reprodu 



from the Times. 



experience alone can decide upon the arrangement of 

 aerodromes which is most suitable for carrying out 

 the aerial business of the country. The accompanying 

 map shows the routes and aerodromes which have so 

 far been decided upon. 



At the date of the armistice there were 337 aero- 

 dromes and landing grounds in the British Isles. 

 About 100 will be required for the Royal Air Force, 

 while 1 16 have already been relinquished for cultiva- 

 tion and other purposes. This leaves about 120 aero- 

 dromes, some with extensive accommodation, which 

 will ultimately be available for civilian purposes. It 

 is considered probable that many of these will 

 eventually be acquired by public bodies and com- 

 mercial firms, and a list will shortly be issued giving 

 particulars of the aerodromes in question, with the 

 facilities they possess and their distances from im- 

 portant centres, in order to assist intending purchasers. 



Nb. 2583, VOL. 103] 



The main routes at present outlined are sum- 

 marised below, the London terminus being situated at 

 Hounslow :— (i) London-Scotland; (2) London- 

 Dublin; (3) London-Manchester-Belfast; (4) Con- 

 tinental route via Lympne ; (5) Dutch route via Had- 

 leigh ; (6) Scandinavian route via New Holland ; 

 (7) London-Plymouth; and (8) London-Bristol. 



The various aerodromes along these routes are 

 clearly shown on the map, and when any route has 

 been declared open pilots using it will find petrol, 

 accommodation, and, where possible, mechanics to 

 handle their machines at each of these aerodromes. 

 Such pilots must, of course, comply with the regula- 

 tions as regards licensing and inspection of machines. 

 The Government makes no promise of 

 help to aviators who descend, whether 

 by choice or by force of circumstances, 

 at places other than the official "air 

 stations." 



It has been decided to limit the overseas- 

 traffic for the present to four " appointed " 

 aerodromes. Three of these will be those 

 named under routes (4), (5), and (6) of the 

 above list, while the fourth will be at 

 Hounslow in order to facilitate direct corn- 

 munication between London and the Coli- 

 tinent. These arrangements are, againj 

 only provisional, the problem of the control 

 of overseas traffic being a particularly 

 difficult one, so that it is impossible to 

 t\x definitely the Customs stations at tht 

 outset. 



Rigid supervision with regard to the 

 construction and airworthiness of machines 

 intended for passenger services will be 

 insisted upon, but progress will not be ham- 

 pered by any inspection of inventions or of 

 purely experimental machines. 



It is very encouraging to see the situa- 

 tion so well in hand, and, with the assist- 

 ance that the Government proposes to give 

 to civil aviators by means of the above 

 scheme, commercial aviation will receive 

 an excellent start in this country. There 

 seems little doubt that full advantage will 

 be taken of the facilities offered, and, in 

 view of the experience gained during the 

 war in the theory and practice of aero- 

 nautics, the development of the purely 

 commercial machine should be even 

 more rapid than that of the military 

 aeroplane has been. It is verA- difficult 

 to attempt a forecast of the future of 

 commercial aviation, but the enterprise 

 invited by the present announcement of 

 the Air Ministry may be expected to provide experi- 

 ence which will very soon give a clear indication as 

 to the possibilities of commercial aircraft. 



FORESTRY RESEARCH IN SWEDEN.^ 

 'T'HE Swedish Institute of Experimental Forestrv, 



A which occupies itself with systematic studies in 

 sylviculture, the botany cf trees, forest mensuration, 

 and applied entomology, acquired new buildings near 

 Stockholm in May, 19 17, which will add much to its 

 efficiency. The institute continues to publish excellent 

 memoirs on these subjects. The combined volume, 

 Nos. 13 and 14, of 19 16-17 contains more than 

 1300 pages of Swedish text, supplemented by short 



1 Memoirs of the Swedish Institute of Experimental Foreitry. No«. ij-^4. 

 pp. 1301+clxxii. (Stockholm, 1916-17.) Price 18 kroner. Also Ho. 15^. 

 pp. 288 + xxxii. (1918.) Price 4.50 kronor •' ' 



