460 



NA TURE 



[September 6, 1894 



was, on the balance, practically no advantage. In the dis- 

 cussion which followed, Mr. Charles Wood said that when iron 

 ore and limestone were calcined together there was a distinct 

 gain. We gathered from Sir Lowthian's reply to the discussion 

 that he had not tried the plan Mr. Wood referred to — -and which 

 the latter had been following for twenty five years — but that he 

 would make further e.xperiments on those lines. Perhaps the 

 most stnking feature in connection with this paper and dis- 

 cussion is its illustration of the value of societies of the nature 

 of the Iron and Steel Institute. Here we have one practical 

 detail which cheapens the cost of iron-making — at least, that is 

 the opinion of a very competent ironmaster — in use for years, 

 and it might have remained unknown to the majority of manu- 

 facturers had not the fact been elicited in this discussion. If 

 Mr. Wood be right in his contention, he will doubtless receive 

 confirmation from Sir Lowthian Bell at a subsequent meeting. 



.Mr. Hogg's paper followed, and in it were given the results 

 of a large number of e.xperiments, from which the author 

 concluded that in the purer classes of iron the tendency of 

 carbon to be retained in a combined state is prevented by the 

 addition of I per cent, of aluminium, but curiously enough 

 every increase above that percentage has an opposite tendency. 

 It was also stated that the more rapidly cooled ferrocarbon 

 alloys containing aluminium also contain a larger proportion of 

 graphite. A short discussion followed the reading of this paper, 

 and the meeting was then adjourned until the next day. 



On the members reassembling on the following day, 

 Wednesday, .•\ugust 22, Mr. Sslby Bigge's paper was first read. 

 The author gave some interesting particulars of the progress 

 that has been made in Belgium in using electricity as a means 

 of distributing power in factories and workshops. The 

 question has become one of commercial expediency, and the 

 author boldly attacks it from this point of view, stating that 

 his " whole contention in advocating electricity as the 

 right and proper agent of operating new works, and 

 as a means whereby old works can be remodelled, may be 

 summarisad by the one word 'economy.'" As an instance in 

 point, he quoted the National .\rms Factory at Herstal, near 

 Litrge. These works were recently founded to execute, in the 

 first instance, an order for 200,000 rifles, the production being 

 guaranteed at 250 rifles every twelve working hours. The 

 Compagnie Internationale d'Electricile supplied the electric 

 p.wer insiallaiion, laying down thirteen motors, ranging 

 beiiveen 16 and 37 horse-power, and giving a total of 260 horse- 

 power. For the former size of motors they guaranteed a com- 

 mercial efficiency of S7 per cent . and for the latter 89 per cent. 

 Th: total power of the motors (260 horse- power) would therefore 

 be obtained by 296 '9 initial horse-power. There was a large 

 amount of electric lighting to be done also, so that an engine and 

 d) namo of 500 horse-power was installed. The ratio between the 

 electric energy available and the energy transmitted to the shaft 

 by ihe engine was guaranteed to be 90 per cent. The electric 

 motors drive the line shafting of the machines, and the efficiency 

 of transmi-sion — that is to 5.iy, the ratio between the power 

 available and the eflfeclive hor.se-power developed by the steam 

 engme — is given by the product of three efiiciencies, as follows; 

 — 90 per cent, for the dynamo, 98 per cent, for the conductors, 

 and 87 per cent, f^ir the motors = "')'6 per cent. The instal- 

 lation has now been tunning for three years without being the 

 cause of cessation of work lor a single minute. 



It is a very difficult matter to form comparisons between the 

 lespective efficiencies of different methods of power distribu- 

 tion, and it may be pointed out that in the Hetslal case the 

 electric system does not appear to its greatest advantage, as the 

 motors drive line shafting in place of being attached directly to 

 the machines. There is no doubt, however, that a very strong 

 ca-« can tc made out for electricity, and electiical engineers 

 may look forward with confidence to a large extension of their 

 field of activity in regard to power distribution. 



The paper of M. Lcncauchez dealt with a novel description 

 of open hearth lurnace in which jets uf air and gas appear 

 to be blown on the bath of molten metal to assist oxidation. 

 'I he device did not receive much commendation in the discussion 

 which followed the reading of the paper, but in the absence 

 of illustrations referred to by tbt author, it was very difficult for 

 those who had not h.id the advantage of seeing the furnace to 

 follow Ihe description. 



The paper of Mr. McMillan, on colour gauges, was read in 

 brief absti.tcl, and Mr. Wilnin's paper was also considerably 

 curtailed in delivery, the lime of Ihe meeting having expired. 



There were several excursions in connection with the meeting. 

 The first, on the Tuesday afternoon, was to the .-Vntwerp Exhibi- 

 tion, and on Wednesday evening members were received by 

 the King of the Belgians, at the Royal Palace in Brussels. This 

 was the chief feature of the meeting, the King receiving his 

 guests in person, and apparently thorouijhly enjoying the many 

 conversations he had with the English metallurgists and 

 engineers present. On the Thursday and Friday of the meeting, 

 visits were paid to steel works, collieries, glass works, and 

 engineering establishments. The last excursion on the list was 

 to the important works known as the SicieteCockerill at .Seraing, 

 near Lie.!e. These works dale from the beginning of the century, 

 having been founded liy a British subject, we believe a Scotch- 

 man, .^t present 5500 workmen are employed. According to 

 particulars given to members in the shape of a handbill, there 

 are five blast furnaces, an open steel plant, a basic steel 

 plant, 250 coke ovens, 40 puddling, 15 reheating furnaces, 10 

 rolling mills, 3 foundries, 9 winding engines, 5 pumping 

 engines, 4 blowing engines, 2S engines for rolling mills, 204 

 machine tools, 14 locomotives, and 184 steam boilers supplying 

 17,000 horse-power. The Company has also a shipbuilding 

 establishment at Hoboken. 



PHYSIOLOGY AT THE BRITISH 

 ASSOCIATION. 



'T'HE meeting of the Association this year was a memorable 

 one for physiology, since this subject was for the first 

 lime placed by the Council on an independent fooling. This 

 action of the Council has been amply justified by the success of 

 the new Section I, there being a very representative attendance 

 of English and continental physiologists, and great wealth of 

 material for their consideration. The number of papers was so 

 large that even when the sittings were extended to the final 

 Wednesday morning, the business of the Section could only be 

 got through with dirticulty, and the opinion of all concerned 

 was emphatic as to the high quality and great interest of many 

 of the communications. In addition to the sectional meetings, 

 advantage was taken of the presence of so many physiologists 

 to dovetail a meeting of the Physiological Society into the pro- 

 ceedings ; this was held on Saturday afternoon, when several 

 interesting communications were made, and the meeting was 

 followed by the dinner of the Society in Magdalen College, 

 under the presidency of Prof. Burdon Sanderson. 



The following summary will furnish a general .account of 

 some of the chief points in the many varied papers read before 

 this Section : — 



T/iursilay, August 9. — The proceedings opened with a com- 

 munication by Mr. M. S. Pembrey, on the reaction of animals 

 to changes of external temperature. The observed reaction 

 was that of the production of heat, this being estimated by the 

 amount of CO.j discharged from the animal. Experiments upon 

 the mouse were described, which showed that in proportion as 

 the external temperature was lowered, the CO.j output of the 

 animal was rapidly increased (in one minute the increase 

 amounted to 60 per cent, when the temperature fell from 33° to 

 17 C), and concurrently with this increase the animal's 

 muscular activity became far more vigorous. Experiments 

 made upon the developing chick showed that up to the twenty- 

 first day the eflect of external cold was to decrease the ("O, 

 output, the chick in this stage behaving like a cold-blooded 

 animal, but that a compar.atively sudden change took place 

 from this day onwards, the chick reacting like the warm- 

 blooded animal previously referred to. This change in reaction 

 is probably related to the development of the neuro-muscular 

 mechanisms, and is undoubtedly influenced by the activity of 

 the animal. Observations made upon newly. hatched pigeons 

 showed that these birds, being more or less helpless when 

 hatched, react for the first few days like cold-blooded animals, 

 the output of CO5 decreasing with a fall in the external tem- 

 perature ; it is probably for this reason that these young binls 

 are kept warm by the parent until their muscular activity is 

 more developed. The influence of the muscular activity upon 

 the prcKluction of heal was further shown by details of observa- 

 tions made upon mice after section of the spinal cord, as well as 

 during an.xsthcsia ; in both cases Ihe muscular paralysis wa^ 

 accompanieil by a change in the reaction, which now resemliled 

 thai of a coldblooded animal. 



Mr. Harris described the results of an investigation into the 



NO. 1297, VOL. 50] 



