:i;m: 28, I'liX 



NATURE 



249 



France, and Germany are demanding similar con- 

 solidation oi 1 Hint from their respect rnments. 



Fishermen know their business, and there is a strong 

 presumption thai theii demands are reasonable. 



Tin Times for November 25 gives an interesting 

 the ti porl of the Civil Aei ial Transport 

 Committee, which has now bi d to Parlia- 



ment, but will nut be published until the New Year. 

 It will bi remembered that this Committee wa 

 pointi I to consider the 1 egulation of 



commercial air traffic and the possibility of employing 

 existing machines and personnel for commercial pur- 

 poses aftet thi war. The Committee has divided 

 itself into various sub-committpes, dealing with 

 various issues, and the main conclusions reached, as 

 hi rimes, an hen summarised. 

 With regard to the sovereigntj of the air. it has been 



m 1 ded that anj country must exercise sovi a 

 rights over the superincumbent air if commercial 

 aviation is to be properly regulated and controlled. 

 Such points as the qualifications for using aircraft, 



1, ami the problems arising in conn 

 with damaj aircraft have been thoroughly 



discussed. In dealing with the possibilities of exist- 

 ing ma him -. four types have been considered, repre- 

 I bj the Handley-Page, the de Haviland, the 

 R.E.J Sopwith "Pup." The first two types 



an- naturally the most interesting, being both capable 

 of carrying considerable loads. The lighter machines 

 may, however, be of much assistance to commercial 

 activities in connection with the rapid transport of 

 nd small quantities of goods. 



Tin Committee referred to a sses th< 



opinion thai speed of aircraft is prohably the chief 

 ' --, especially for inland 



ervice is avail- 

 ! pots and sea 

 peed will not be so important. A speed of 

 1 hour is suggested, and this is sufficiently 

 difficult to attain with heavy machines on account of 

 the high landing speed involved, 1 pi tall) if the wing- 

 loading is high. The Committee directs attention to 

 this point, stating definiti Ij that a high loading is a 



1 suggesting thai 

 a development of air-brakes or arresting devices ma\ 

 meet the difficulty. Night-flying is considered 

 itial. particularly in relation to mail services, and 

 the development > acilities should be en- 



couraged. Those interested in commercial aero- 

 nautics will await with interest the publication of 

 the full report, but the abovi brief remarks will 

 suffice to show that the difficulties to be surmounted 

 able, ami will tax fhe powers of designers 

 e utmost. The wonderful progress thai has 

 made with military aircraft should provi a gnat 

 stimulus, and if similar facilities for 1 xperimental re- 

 search can be applied to the commercial problem, we 

 mav well look forward to a period of rapid develop- 

 ment and sin 



Rapid strides have been made by the Meteorological 

 1 wi aib. . kni '\\ 1' dj [1 during the progress ol 

 the war, and the information available for the news- 

 Press is vastly superiot now to that of four 

 The rapid development of the Air Set 

 entailed .1 more minute stud; of the upper air, 

 and facts <,f really scientific value are bring secured. 



It is now suggested that the changes in atmosph 



he earth' mtn illed b\ thi 



iherii pressure at the elevation of about five or 



si\ miles. Pilot-balloon observations are now ml 



daily in many different parts of thi British Isles, and 



these are charted for the several elevations up to 



10 ft. Since the weather has again 1 



NO. 2561, VOL". 102] 



me public information, the pilot-balloon observa- 

 tions have shown manj points of interest. During the 

 progress ol a storm area on its north-easterly course to 

 the westward ol Ireland on No' 1 tnbi 1 20 the surface- 

 wind at Valencia was travelling at twenty-nine miles 

 an hour, whilst at zooo-ft. elevation it was travelling 

 sevent) miles an hour. On November 22, with a 

 surface-wind of thirteen miles an hour, the rate per 

 hour at 4000 ft. was fifty-three miles, the direi 

 in both cases being south-easterly. 



The Registrar-General's return for the week ending 

 Novembei r6 shows a very decided decrease in the 

 deaths in London from influenza, the number being 



while for November 9 it was j-^}, a di 

 ol 768. At many places in the English provinces the 

 complaint is still virulent, and the deaths show no 

 ibatement. The death incidence at the several ages 

 is well maintained, the deaths between the ages of 

 twenty and forty-five being 46 per cent, of the total, 

 and the deaths below forty-five years being 77 per 

 cent., whilst above forty-five years the percentage is 

 only 23. Influenza was responsible for 40 per cent, of 

 the di aths from all causes during the week, pneumonia 

 for 14 per cent., and bronchitis for 7 per cent. For 

 the whole six weeks of the epidemic influenza has 

 caused 48 per cent, of the deaths from all causes, 

 pneumonia 12 per cent., and bronchitis 6 per cent. 

 Chicago, with nearly two-thirds of the population of 

 London, had 571 deaths from influenza in the week 

 ending October 12, when London had eighty deaths 

 only, showing that the disease was rampant earlier 

 in Chii 



An appeal has been issued by the president of the 

 Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, supported 

 by representatives of other associations interested in 

 Irish antiquities, on the subject of an inventory of the 

 local archaeological remains. The writers point out 

 that the antiquities of Ireland possess more than local 

 interest, and that in comparison with those of Great 

 Britain they are more numerous. In recent years, 

 owing to the changing conditions of land tenure, the 

 abandonment of old superstitions, the imperfection of 

 the system of local education, the extension of tillage, 

 and other causes, much damage has been done to 

 these monuments. It is pointed out that in iqoS three 

 Royal Commissions were appointed for the purpose 

 of making detailed inventories of the ancient monu- 

 ments of England, Scotland, and Wales, as a result of 

 which a large mass of important information has been 

 collected and published. But, so far, no steps have 

 been taken to institute a similar survey in Ireland, 

 and an appeal by the Royal Society of Antiquaries 

 and the Royal Irish Academy has been rejected. The 

 request of this important body of antiquaries is 

 clearlv reasonable, and will, we have little doubt, 

 receive hearty support from antiquaries in Greal 

 Britain. 



It has long been recognised that whilst the open 

 fire is at once attractive, and furnishes practically the 

 only means of ventilation of ordinary dwellings, its 

 heat efficiency is remarkably low. The shortage of 

 coal and its high price — the latter a legacy which will 

 probably remain to the householder — furnish ample 

 incentive to improve the efficiency of the domestic 

 I nit the replacement of even a small part of the 

 number by more scientifically constructed appliances 

 is obviously out of the question. Landlords will not go 

 to the expense to save tenants' pockets, and tenants 

 aih averse to incurring expense which in most 

 cases would benefit others. Means mav, however, 

 be Found to improve the efficiency of existing grates, 

 and Prof. C. V. Boys has invented an economiser in 

 which the flue-gases are diverted mi their way to the 



