September 5. 1918] 



NATURE 



great herring fisheries of the North Sea. As an 

 example of the extent of this variation the follow- 

 ing- figures from Dr. Johnstone's paper may be 

 quoted (p. 31) : — 



Manx Summer Herrings: Fisheries of 1916 and 



1917. — Composition of the Flesh of the Fish: 



Monthly Means. 



The most striking variation is in the fat, which 

 rises from about 2i-per cent, at the beginning of 

 the season to more than 36 per cent, in August, 

 when the fish are not far from the spawning phase. 

 After spawning has taken place a great reduction 

 in the percentage of fat occurs, spent fish obtained 

 in September, 1914, showing a reduction to about 

 9 per cent. 



In addition to many analyses of fresh herrings 

 the paper contains similar figures for cured fish 

 of various kinds, pickled herrings, kippers, 

 bloaters, and red herrings. A few samples of 

 sprats were also analysed. 



It must be clearly stated that the figures given 

 apply only to the "flesh" of the herrings, in- 

 cluding the skin (minus scales). The author makes 

 the curious statement that "from the point of 

 view of dietetics it is only the flesh that matters," 

 But surely the roes and milts of "full" herrings 

 are about the best and most nutritious parts of 

 the fish, and the value of the fish as food will not 

 have been adequately dealt with until we have 

 figures in which these are included in their due 

 proportions. 



Amongst other aspects of the question discussed 

 by Dr. Johnstone are the effects of cooking and 

 the chemical effects of salting herrings, as well as 

 a number of physiological matters, such as the 

 locus of the fat, the nature of the fat, and the 

 seasonal metabolic phases. The paper is one of 

 great interest, and it is to be hoped that the sub- 

 ject will be followed up. E. J. A. 



THE METALLIFEROUS ORES OF THE 

 IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY. 1 

 TN June, 1917, the Department of Scientific and 

 *■ Industrial Research published a report deal- 

 ing with the metalliferous raw materials of the 

 iron and steel industry of the United Kingdom, 

 the Allies, and the neutrals. Its object was to 

 collect and summarise in a form which can easily 

 be consulted as much information as possible from 

 the principal literature pertaining to the sources 



1 " Report on the Sources and Production of Iron and other Metalliferous 

 Ores used .n the Iron and Steel Industry." (H M. Stationery- Office 1 



NO. 2549, VOL. I02] 



of iron ores, and other metalliferous ores acces- 

 sory to the metallurgy of iron and steel ; to de- 

 scribe their composition and character, giving 

 analyses where possible, together with indications 

 as to the geographical position and the accessi- 

 bility of the minerals. The report did not claim to 

 give the results of independent researches, but 

 merely to provide for the inquirer information for 

 which he would otherwise have to search through 

 a great variety of publications ant! monographs 

 issued by technical and scientific societies and 

 geological surveys. How useful this publication 

 has been to the iron and steel industry is shown 

 by the fact that the stock of copies was almost 

 exhausted three months after publication. 



It soon became apparent that the value and the 

 scientific completeness of the report would be 

 greatly enhanced if an account were given of the 

 supplies of the ores in enemy countries also, and 

 the issue of a new edition has provided the oppor- 

 tunity of adding this information. Some later 

 statistics are also given, and various errors and 

 omissions have been corrected. The second edi- 

 tion accordingly consists of three parts : (i) Notes 

 on the iron ores of the United Kingdom and 

 British dominions ; (2) notes on iron-ore deposits 

 in foreign countries ; (3) notes on the ores of the 

 principal metals, other than iron, used in the iron 

 and steel industries. The last-named part de- 

 scribes the occurrence and composition of the ores 

 of chromium, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, 

 nickel, titanium, tungsten, vanadium, and zircon- 

 ium, and the principal uses of the special steels or 

 ferro-alloys made from them. 



The German steel industry is based upon, and 

 was rendered possible only by, a discovery of two 

 Englishmen, Sidney Gilchrist Thomas and Percy 

 Carlyle Gilchrist. This discovery, which in their 

 hands became also an invention, brought within 

 the scope of economic development the vast sup- 

 plies of phosphoric ores (Minette) of Lorraine and 

 Luxemburg, and of the Salzgitter and Ilsede dis- 

 1 iicts, which were thus made available for the 

 manufacture of commercial steel on. a great scale. 

 As the industry grew its requirements were sup- 

 plemented by imports from the Briey orefield in 

 France, which is the main part of the same ore 

 body which extends to annexed Lorraine and 

 Luxemburg. These ores were all treated by the 

 " basic " process. For the raw materials of acid 

 steel and steel of special quality, Germany had 

 to depend on imports derived mainly from 

 Sweden, Spain, and Russia. 



In May, 1915, a secret memorial, drawn up by 

 six great industrial and agricultural associations 

 in Germany, was presented to the Chancellor. A 

 translation of this was published by the Comite' 

 des Forges de France in August, 19 15, and from 

 it the following quotation is taken : " Concern- 

 ing France . . . besides the iron-ore region of 

 Briey, it would also be necessary to acquire the 

 coal region in the Departments of Nord and the 

 Pas de Calais ; the security of the German Em- 

 pire imperatively requires the possession of all 

 the Minette mines, including the fortresses of 



