242 



NATURE 



[May 29, 1919 



Mappin appears to believe that there is a 

 desperate need for an alteration in the conduct of 

 affairs in this country, simply because similar 

 affairs are undertaken on different lines else- 

 where, and apparently he does not recognise that 

 the success of national plans depends principally 

 on the character, customs, and environment of 

 the people, and that on this account what is 

 successful in one country may be a failure in 

 another. 



Dealing- with minor aspects of the book, many 

 readers who have had opportunities of considering 

 the matter will not agree with the author that 

 British universities and technical colleges are so 

 lacking as he maintains in their abiUty to display 

 clearly the kind of courses that they provide'. 

 While many will agree that our public schools 

 need much in the way of reform, they will scarcely 

 support the contention that a boy goes to such a 

 school merely to get information. 



The author urges the claims of works schools, 

 but is apparently unaware of the fact that there 

 are numbers of well-established works schools in 

 this country — some of very long standing. His 

 suggestion that such schools should be supported 

 financially by the premiums obtained from gentle- 

 men apprentices is deplorable. Fortunately, the 

 premium system in connection with manufactur- 

 ing firms is fast dying out, and in this respect we 

 have little to learn from Germany, 



In reading the chapter relating to co-operation 

 in works, one wonders whether the author is 

 aware of the Whitley report, or of the wide- 

 spread adoption of works committees. 



In an appendix on technical universities em- 

 phasis is laid on the importance of practical w^ork 

 in co-ordination with the university training, and 

 it is pointed out that in German universities one 

 year of practical training is required before a 

 degree is conferred. Apparently, Mr. Mappin is 

 not aware that almost everyone in this country 

 who has made a study of engineering training, 

 and particularly the university authorities, are 

 fully agreed that not one year, but at least two 

 or even three years of practical training are neces- 

 sary in addition to the university course, and that 

 this practice is the prevailing one in this country 

 for engineering students. 



It is manifestly impossible to deal with the 

 entire reform of industry, commerce, and educa- 

 tion in this country in a volume of 159 pages, and 

 the best that can be expected is the creation of a 

 consciousness for a need for reform. This the 

 author accomplishes to a considerable extent, but, 

 to be convincing, the English conditions require 

 much more thorough and accurate treatment than 

 is accorded to them. 

 ^ Throughout the book the author seems to con- 

 sider only what he believes to be the deficiencies 

 of this country, and falls to take into account our 

 assets. The war was won largely because of the 

 character of the people— their individuality, 

 adaptability, and inherent industrial capacity. 

 These factors will be predominant in the competi- 

 tive times of peace. 



NO. 2587, VOL. 103] 



ESSEX WATER SUPPLY. 

 The Water Supply of Essex from Underground 



Sources. By W. Whitaker and Dr. J. C. 



Thresh; the Rainfall by Dr. H. R. Mill. 



(Memoirs of the Geological Survey. England 



and Wales. Sir Aubrey Strahan, director.) 



Pp. iv + 510 + iv maps. {London: His Majesty's 



Stationery Office, 1916.) Price 15s. 

 nPHE issue of this volume, actually printed in 

 -*• 191 6, was delayed by the War Office until 

 November of last year. It is an important addition 

 to the series of county water-supply memoirs, of 

 which a dozen have already been published. Tn 

 consequence of the wide extent of the county, and 

 the many interesting problems connected with its 

 water resources, this memoir exceeds in size any 

 previous volume of the series. Along with the 

 latest information concerning water supply, it 

 contains many extracts from old records, showing 

 the conditions in past times, and furnishing an 

 instructive illustration of the progress that has 

 been made in public health. 



The separate sections are contributed by our 

 leading authorities in these special subjects. Thus 

 the geology and water resources have been treated 

 in great detail by Mr. W. Whitaker, who during 

 his official connection with the Survey obtained 

 an intimate knowledge of the geology of the 

 county, and since his retirement has devoted par- 

 ticular attention to its sources of water. Dr. J. C. 

 Thresh, for many years the medical officer of 

 health for Essex, through a prolonged study of 

 the chemistry of the local waters, has contributed 

 a remarkably comprehensive account of the 

 subject, that is of the greatest general interest. 

 Again, as in previous memoirs, the rainfall of 

 the county has been dealt with by Dr. H. R. Mill, 

 the director of the British Rainfall Organisation. 



With the exception of the metropolitan area, 

 Essex is dependent for its water supply on wells, 

 with some slight assistance from springs. The 

 chalk is the chief source, though in many parts, 

 where reached only at great depths, it fails to 

 yield large supplies. This is attributed to the 

 relatively narrow and tight fissures, which probably 

 exist beneath a considerable thickness of overlying 

 beds. Second only to the chalk as water-bearing 

 strata follow the sands, clays, and gravel beds of 

 the Lower London Tertiaries, which in Essex are 

 of more importance from a water-supply aspect 

 than in any other county. Finally, the- Boulder 

 Clay, London Clay, drift gravels, and sands afford 

 small local supplies of water at a relatively low 

 cost, although their quality is not always above 

 reproach. 



One of the most interesting sections of this 

 volume is that in which the chemistry of the chalk 

 waters is discussed by Dr. Thresh. The waters 

 obtained from the chalk, where deeply covered 

 by Tertiary beds, are soft, and contain sodium 

 carbonate, with a considerable amount of salt, 

 in contrast to the normal hard chalk-water occur- 

 ring at, or near, the chalk outcrop itself. Dr. 

 Thresh shows by experiment that, by mixing dif- 



