August 



919] 



NATURE 



451 



The fourth report of the Advisory Committee, asso- 

 ciated with the Meteorological Office, on Atmospheric 

 Pollution, dealing with observations in the year 

 19 17-18, is published as a supplement to the Lancet 

 for June 14. The first r^ort gave the results 

 obtained for the year 1914-15, and appeared in the 

 Lancet of February 26, 1916. Uniformity of system 

 is maintained in publishing the results, which adds 

 much to the value of the observations. The stages of 

 pollution are grouped under the first four letters of the 

 alphabet, A having the smallest, and D the greatest, 

 deposit per sauare kilometre; this method of 

 classification greatly simplifies comparison. A list 

 of the observing stations in different parts of the 

 British Isles is given, showing in each case the posi- 

 I tion of the deposit gauge and the nature of the ex- 

 posure. The Malvern gauge is representative of un- 

 contaminated country air, whilst the gauge at New- 

 castle-upon-Tyne gives the highest degree of con- 

 tamination. The air was much contaminated during 

 April, 1917, the total solids at Newcasitle-upon-Tyne 

 amounting to 44-28 metric tons per square kilometre, 

 which is more than double the amourft in any other 

 month except August, 19 17, when the amount was 

 2850 metric tons per square kilometre. At Malvern 

 the largest amount of total solids was 5-15 metric tons 

 per square kilometre in May, 1917. The report 

 says : — *' While the deposit of soluble matter is not 

 strictly proportionate to the rainfall, it is obvious that 

 there is a general tendency to vary directly with the 

 rainfall." The insoluble matter and the amount 

 of rainfall bear no such relation. Details are given 

 relative to the experimental work carried on in the 

 investigations. The report includes some notes from 

 the Director of Botany in British Guiana ; they repre- 

 sent quite different conditions from those holding in 

 the United Kingdom. 



Meteorological tables and notes are given for 

 Falmouth Observatory for the year 1918 in a report 

 of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. Observa- 

 tions have been continued for the past forty-eight 

 years, and the average values with which the records 

 are compared are for forty-five years — a period which 

 ensures a great degree of dependence. The mean 

 atmospheric pressure for the year was 1016-4 millibars 

 (30016 in.), which is 1-3 mb. above the average. In 

 February the barometer attained a maximum of 

 1047-2 mb. {30-923 in.), and there have only been four 

 higher readings previously, all of which occurred in 

 Januarv. The minimum barometer reading during the 

 vear was 9762 mb. (28-83 i"-) '^^ November. Sep- 

 tember had the lowest mean temperature on record 

 for that month, the mean being 55-9°; 'the 

 previous lowest mean was 56-4° in 19 10. The 

 rainfall and general weather fully account for the 

 abnormally low temperature. The total rain measured 

 for September was 21 1-9 mm. (8-34 in.), which is the 

 greatest for the month since 187 1, and it was 524 in. 

 above the mean for the month, and 1-56 in. more 

 than the previous highest total for September. The 

 rainfall for Julv to December was nearly double that 

 in the first half of the year. Bright sunshine was 

 registered for 1752 hours, which gives a daily average 

 of 48 hours During two severe gales in January 

 and November the wihd in gusts attained the velocity 

 of 70 and 78 m.p.h. in the respective gales. A tabular 

 statement is given of the sea temperature near the 

 centre of the harbour for all months, and interesting 

 and valuable comparisons are made with the corre- 

 sponding air temperatures. 



A LECTURE entitled " How the Cotton Plant Provides 

 us with Foodstuffs and other Commodities as well as 

 with Clothing " was delivered at the British Scientific 



NO. 2597, VOL. 103] 



Products Exhibition by Mr. Ed. C. de Segundo on 

 July 23. In the course of his remarks Mr. de Segundo 

 said that, although it had been confidently asserted at a 

 conference held in Atlanta (Georgia) in 1907 that the 

 production of cotton in the United States would be 

 increased in the measure required to keep pace with 

 the home (American) and the world's demands, 

 the United States production had declined on the 

 whole since that year, while the proportion of the 

 crop taken by American spinning mills had risen 

 from about 40 per cent, in 1907 to nearly 60 per cent. 

 in 1918. Further, the world's production had de- 

 creased each year for the last four years, whereas^ 

 according to Prof. Todd, the world required a cumula- 

 tive increase in the cotton crop of about 800,000 to- 

 1,000,000 bales per annum, and therefore the vital 

 importance of the rapid extension of cotton cultivatioa 

 within the Empire must be patent even to the least 

 discerning mind. Mr. de Segundo also dealt with the 

 industrial utilisation of the residual cotton fibres re- 

 tained by cotton-seed considered as a factor in cotton 

 economics, and with the remarkably rapid develop- 

 ment of the cotton-seed oil and feeding-cake industry 

 during the past fifty years. Attention was directed to 

 the value of cotton-seed flour which is prepared from 

 the decorticated cake produced under the American 

 system of milling cotton-seed, and contains about 

 five times as much protein and fat as wheat flour. 

 It was stated that the United States Government 

 had officially recommended cotton-seed flour as a 

 diluent for wheat flour. Cotton-seed flour .was of 

 a bright yellow colour, and thus the admixture of 

 even a small proportion with wheat flour gave bread 

 baked from the mixture a yellow tinge. Mr. de 

 Segundo stated that if cotton-seed flour could be suc- 

 cessfully bleached it might become of great economic 

 value, having regard to the fact that about 80 per cent, 

 of our annual consumption of wheat had to be im- 

 ported. A number of small rolls made from a 

 mixture of cotton-seed flour and wheat flour were 

 exhibited and distributed among the audience, .^t 

 the close of the lecture one of Mr. de Segundo's 

 cotton-seed defibrating machines was exhibited in- 

 action. 



Circular 79 of the U.S. Bureau of Standards gives 

 an account of the methods of testing and the charao- 

 teristic behaviour of the various types of dry cells in 

 use in America. It provides a summary of the in- 

 formation at present available on the subject, and' 

 with a view to the ultimate standardisation of the 

 manufacture of such cells it gives specifications for 

 the various types, their sizes, cardboard cases, zinc 

 cans, carbons', cloth bags, mixtures, seal, terminals, 

 tests, voltage, and short-circuit currents. Copies of 

 the circular may be obtained from the Bureau. 



The new monthly review L'A^onautique, published 

 by Messrs. Gauthier-Villars et Cie, of Paris, bids fair 

 to become a journal of considerable interest to those 

 interested in aviation. The first number (June) is divided 

 into three sections, viz. general, technical, and his- 

 torical, the last being a chronicle of current events. 

 The general articles are very well written and excel- 

 lently illustrated. They are intended to appeal to the 

 average reader and are non-technical. The technical 

 section is independently paged, apparently so that it 

 may afterwards be separately bound for reference. The 

 chief article in this section of the present number is 

 concerned with the determination of the best condi- 

 tions for obtaining the greatest distance of flight for 

 a given machine — a problem of much importance. 

 The treatment is, however, ver\' elementary, and some 

 doubtful assumptions are made which prevent the 

 attainment of a complete general solution of the 



