November 28, 1918 



NATURE 



245 



known report on the resources and production of 

 iron ores, etc-., by Mr. G. C. Lloyd, issued by the 

 Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, 

 which appeared in May, 11)17, a second, revised 

 .m<l enlarged edition being issued towards the end 

 <>t the same year. 



In the spring of this year an important paper 

 was read by Dr. F. II. Hatch before the Iron and 

 Steel Institute b) permission of the Controller of 

 Iron and Steel Production, Ministry of Munitions, 

 the data for this having been collected by Dr. 

 Hatch working for that Ministry. It deals with 

 the Jurassic ironstones of the United Kingdom, 

 and, as lias alread) been shown, these constitute 

 by far the most important of the British iron 

 n-s. .n :•( es f i ' >m the economic point of view. The de- 

 l>osit> dealt with comprise the Northamptonshire, 

 Cleveland, Leicestershire, Oxfordshire, Lincoln- 

 shire, and Raasay ironstones, and full descrip- 

 tions are given of their geology, mode of occur- 

 rence, and chemical composition, the numerous 

 tables of analyses being particularly valuable, 

 illy, Dr. A. Strahan, Director of the Geo- 

 logical Survey, has recently issued his annual 

 report, in which he presents very interesting esti- 

 mates of the quantity of iron ore that may fairly 

 be assumed to exist in the various deposits. This 

 is a summary of an extensive series of investiga- 

 tions upon British iron-ore deposits which the 

 Geological Survey has been recently conducting, 

 the detailed reports upon which are being awaited 

 with much interest. It constitutes a portion 

 of the very valuable "Special Reports on the 

 Mineral Resources of Great Britain," the first 

 volume of which was issued in November, 1915; 

 in the introduction to this volume Dr. Strahan 

 has set out clearly the object of these reports 



and their economic significance. 



The present report summarises as follows the 

 iron-ore resources of Great Britain under two 

 hiads: (d) reserves more or less developed, and 

 (/') probable additional reserves. The figures 

 are : — 



H.xniatites etc. ... 42,500.000 tons 



Mcso/oic ores ... 1,775,052,160 ,, 

 : mstones and 



mils ... 1,065,637,000 ,, 6,248,475,600 „ 



Dr. Strahan says that the estimates are 

 "framed in a cautious spirit," and this statement 

 may readily be accepted. Indeed, as regards the 

 last 1 lass, the figures are palpably under- 

 estimated; thus the probable additional reserves 

 are given as about 6250 million tons, of which 

 four-fifths are credited to South Wales and Mon- 

 mouthshire, the coalfield which Dr. Strahan prob- 

 ably knows best. There is no reason to suppose 

 that the other British coalfields fall so far short 

 0l South Wales in iron contents as collectively to 

 contribute only one-fifth of the whole, and in some 

 - are clearly wrong. For instance-, 

 for the whole of the great northern coalfield he- 

 only 15 million tons, apparently taking the 

 Redesdale area alone, whilst Durham is not even 

 mentioned. Vet such ironstones were worked 

 NO. 2561, VOL. I02] 



(6) 



75,000,000 tons 

 2, i04,s\S6,ooo ,, 



extensivel) at Shotlej Bridge and other places in 

 Derwent Valley, as well as at Waldridge Fell, 

 L'rpeth, Birtley, Tow Law, and other points in 

 the county of "Durham, whilst in Northumberland 

 they were worked at Wylam and Lcmington in the 

 extreme south of the county, and at places so far 

 apart as Haltwhistle, Hareshaw, Redesdale, and 

 Brinkburn. There is no evidence whatever that 

 the ironstone was worked out at any of these 

 places, but quite the contrary, and there is at 

 least a probability that it underlies the entire coal- 

 field, though whether it will ever prove to be 

 workable is another question; Dr. Strahan, how- 

 ever, points out that he is "concerned only with 

 the quantities that exist," quite apart from their 

 workability. It must indeed be admitted that 

 this part of the question is one of scientific rather 

 than of economic interest, and in any case the full 

 reports are not yet available, though it is to be 

 hoped that they soon will be. All contributions 

 to our knowledge of our own mineral resources 

 are of the greatest value to the nation at the 

 present time. H. Louis. 



TROPICA L Q 1 1EENSLA ND. 1 



rHH author does well to remind us that much 

 of Queensland is tropical, and that it pos- 

 sesses the largest barrier reef in the world, enclos- 

 ing a lagoon of immense size and possibly of great 

 potential wealth in pearls, pearl-shell, beche-de- 

 mer (trepang), fish, and perhaps some day 

 sponges as well. Here, on Hinchinbrook, a 

 coastal island made known to us by his " Con- 

 lessions of a Beachcomber," the author ruminates 

 on the birds, beasts, and plants around him, a 

 true beachcomber far from and almost uninte- 

 rested in the world's affairs, content to bask in 

 the suns of his Arcady. All is delightful; the 

 greatest men of the past are those born in the 

 lands cf the sun; the planter tills not, but "per- 

 mits Nature to have her own wayward will with 

 his dutiful trees"; "vegetation does not tolerate 

 any period of rest," and here are "many lusty, 

 fat, sleek, good-humoured, straight-backed, 

 frolicsome calves." It is impossible to criticise 

 from the point of view of science, since the 

 author's writing partakes of the Arcadian nature 

 of his pursuits. The power of observation of, and 

 .1 feeling for, the important facts of life in all 

 living Nature the author certainly has, but we 

 have the uneasy feeling that he has set out to 

 write a book, whereas in his "Confessions" he 

 poured out his soul and gave us a book of per- 

 manent value. "Tropic Days" is, however, 

 thoroughly pleasant chat, well fitted for one's 

 Lighter hours, and as such likely to appeal to a 

 w ide circle of readers. 



Descriptions of trees and plants are always ex- 

 cellent, and a charming individuality is given to. 

 certain trees of the domain. A chapter on beach 

 plants reveals in this environment practically the 

 same types of growths and plants as are found in 



' "Tropic Days." By E. |. Bantie'tl. Pp. 313. (London: T. Fisher 

 Unwin, Ltd., 191S.) Price i£r. net. 



