132 



NATURE 



[October 17, 19 18 



which ii is kept should be dry and an efficient pro- 

 tection From rain. Sack-. of sulphate of ammonia 

 should bi piled on a platform raised 6 in. from the 

 layei "i some < I ■ j substant 1 being placed 

 , thi platform to absorb am moisture draining 

 from the sacks. The dry substance ma) l» either 

 ii. rape-meal, bone-flour, or raw-bon< meal 

 (which can be afterwards used as fertilisers), but 

 chalk, lime, 01 basic slag must not be used, as thej 

 would liberate ammonia From the sulphate. When 



the sulphate of ammonia is I" be stored in a heap, 



tlie floor should first be covered to a depth of n in. 

 with one of the absorbent substances mentioned above 

 (failing these, a layer of dry soil, sand, or sawdust 

 ma\ he used). Before being applied to the land the 

 sulphate should I"' freed from lumps, and may with 

 advantage he pissed through a }-in. riddle. This will 

 not he necessary in the case of "neutral" sulphate 

 (i.e. containing less than 0-025 per cent, oi free acid), 



which contains no lumps and dues not cake-. Fanners 



an recommended i" secure the neutral sulphate 

 wherevet possible, as this does not rot the bags, and 

 can, ii applied to the land through a drill. 



I i-awakening of interest in Canada in the 



shipbuilding and engineering industries some years 



aye 1. line at an opportune lime, in view of the world- 

 war, and the various establishments organised are 

 doing most useful service, hoth in the production of 

 ships and in the supply of munitions. One of the 

 leading establishments is thai of the Canadian Vickers 

 at Montreal, and these works form the subject of 

 articles in Engineering, the first of which appeared 

 in the issue for October 11. These works wen started 

 In o 10, and had attained full influence on the ship- 

 building resources of Canada in 1015. The illustra- 

 tions of the produce of the yard, which covers thirty- 

 five acres, deal almost exclusively with merchant ship- 

 building and high-speed motor-boats, of which.a great 

 fleet has been built. The company has also manu- 

 factured a large number of projectiles. The great 

 floating dock, which forms such an interesting feature 

 of the establishment, was roofed in so as to provide 

 a workshop for the building of motor-boats, and thirty 

 boats could be in progress simultaneously within the 

 dock, while others were built in other departments on 

 the shore. The transporting of the boats overland to 

 a convenient Atlantic port was accomplished by load- 

 ing them on exceptionally long and well-trussed 

 trucks, with a four-wheeled bogie at each end, the 

 bow and stern of the boat overhanging. It is not 

 permitted, meanwhile, to enter into details of these 



• 



No. ^ ot the Department of Scientific and 

 Industrial Research, which deals with cutting lubri- 

 cants and 10. .ling liquids, and with the skin diseases 

 causi 1 ants, should prove very useful to 



engim h it contains no new work. The 



information comprised in the first part of the bulletin 

 has been bj Mr. T. C. Thomsen, who 



divides cutl ii its and cooling liquids into the 



four ilasses ; 1 Solubli oils which form an emulsion 

 when mixed with water, (2) soluble compounds (or 

 cutting compounds), i.e. greasy compounds which 

 emulsify with water, (3) cutting emulsions formed 



bv mixing eith soluble compounds 



with water, and (4) cutting oils such as lard-oil, rape- 

 oil, mineral oils, or 1 mi hese, The prin- 

 cipal uses of these classes 1 substances are: (a) Cool- 

 (b) lubrication, (e) to produce smooth finish, 

 wash awa\ chilis, and ect from rust 

 or corrosion. Efficient cooling of the tool edge ce- 

 ll, wear and im 1 1 .is, - ou tput ; it is most 



NO. 2555, VOL. I02] 



apparent with high-Speed Steel. Lubrication is of 



little importance in cutting brittle material, but very 

 important where the metal is tough. If cooling and 

 lubrication are efficient, a good finish will result. 

 To produce a perfeel finish, cutting oils oi great oili- 



ness must l» applied. The washing awa\ of chips is 



frequently an Important function, and il the cutting 

 emulsion is too weak it will not be efficient!) per- 

 formed. The important factors to be considered in 



the selection ol cutting lubricants are cutting speed 



and depth oi cut, the material employed, the system 



of application, and the production of skin diseases. 

 The lam 1 an dealt with by Dr. J. C. Bridge, who 

 describes then as of two kinds: (a) Plugging of the 

 glands ol the hair follicles, and (b) mechanical injury 

 of the skin 1>\ metallic particles. The first sets up 

 inflammation round the hair (folliculitis) and max 

 lead to suppuration. For prevention of the diseasi 

 cleanliness oi the worker and Frequent cleaning of 

 the lubricant and machines arc- recommended. The 

 addition of antiseptics to the lubricant has not proved 

 altogether satisfactory, but it has been suggested to 

 siei ilise the i utting oil b) heat. 



When a beam, the weight of which can be- neg- 

 lecled. has oni end built into a wall and the other end 

 loaded, the M- xure of the beam is accompanied by a 

 twist of successive sections with respect to each other 

 unless these sections are symmetrical* The- relation 

 between the flexure and torsion has been worked out 

 for beams of certain simple sections by Mr. A, YV. 

 Young, Miss E. M. Elderton, and Prof. K. Pearson 

 in a Diapers' Company research memoir recently pub- 

 lished. Some- of the conclusions have bi en verified 

 experimentally, and the authors hope- th.i the re- 

 search will serve as a first step tow aids the- under- 

 standing ol the relation between flexuri and torsion 

 in propeller-blades. 



Ax article in NATURE of April iS (vol. ci., p. 138), 

 de scribing contributions in the Journal of the Scottish 

 Meteorological Society, referred to a chart called -a 

 climograph, devised to give a graphic representation 

 ol 1I1. various climatic conditions. It was staled that 



1I1. idea originated with Prof. Huntington," but we 

 learn that this is incorrect. The method is due to 

 Dr. Griffith Taylor, of the Meteorological Bureau, 

 Melbourne, and Prof. Huntington acknowledged its 

 origin and value in a lengthy review in the Geo- 

 graphical Review (New York) for November, [917, 



Messrs. Henri H01.1 and Co. (New York) give 

 notice of a book by W. Beebe — en titled "Jungle 

 Peace" resulting from the author's experiences whilst 

 in charge of the tropical research station of the New- 

 York Zoological Society in British Guiana. It will be 

 illustrated from photographs. 



OUR ASTRONOMICAL COLUMN. 

 Large Meteors.— Dr. F. J. Allen writes from Cam- 

 bridge that be observed a brilliant meteor on Sep- 

 tembet 7 at 10.7 pass rather slowl; across the 

 eastern meridian in a nearly horizontal S. to X. 

 direction at an altitude of about 6o°. Anothei fine 

 meteot was seen from London, \Y., at ro.15 on the 

 same evening. Mr. Denning observed from Bristol 

 on Octobet |, x.-p,. a large meteor, brighter than 

 Venus, travelling slowh from the N. region of 

 Pegasus into Cygnus. The same- object was seen at 

 Totteridge, V, by Mrs. Wilson, and it seems to 

 have been rather low in thi atmosphere, the height 

 being from \2 to .; i miles, and tin- length of path 

 44 miles. The radianl point was .,1 13 io° near 



