2/2 



NATURE 



[December 5, 191S 



Spectrum 01 the Corona. — Several additional faint 

 lines have been fuund in the spectrum of the corona 

 by tin- Rev. A. L. Cortie, S.J., un photographs taken 

 at Hemosand, Sweden, during the total eclipse ol 1 In- 

 sun on August 21, 1014 '(Monthly Notices, R.A.S., 

 vol. lxxviii., p. (i(>5,)- 1" the region exti nding from 

 66157 to 4780 A thirty-six line-- urn- measured, of 

 which twenty-four do not appear in any previous 

 records. The nave-length of Hie prominent red line 

 which was tirst noted al this eclipse is given as 

 6373-3- 



AGUE IN ENGLAND. 1 



IN 1917 there were reported ijb military, 19 naval, 

 and 23 civilian eases of malaria contracted in 

 England, i.e. in people who had not been out ol the 

 country. Fifty-three of the mihujry cases occurred 

 in the Sheerness and Sheppey areas, and fifty- 

 three in the Sandwich area. As these cases, all of 

 simple tertian malaria, began to arise, the attention 

 of medical officers of health and other medical men 

 was directed to the matter by the Local Government 

 Board, ami the problem of the possible danger to the 

 civilian population of the influx of malaria-infected 

 soldiers from abroad was considered. This report 

 records the action that was taken to deal with the 

 situation, and that it is proposed to take should the 

 cases assume any serious magnitude in 19 18. 



It would appear from the information collected that 

 the evidence is fairly clear that malaria had not com- 

 pletely died out in this country, as was generally- 

 thought to be the case, perhaps, with very rare excep- 

 tions; but, on the other hand, the cases in 1917 were 

 a new phenomenon, and there can be no reasonable 

 doubt that the cause of these cases was the new 

 supplv of infection, viz. soldiers from overseas. 



Whether the whole official action as recommended 

 in this report has not been "much ado about nothing" 

 it is, perhaps, a little premature to saw but it was 

 noticeable in some areas in 1917 that, although there 

 were numerous infected soldiers, the number of in- 

 digenous cases that occurred amongst the surrounding 

 non-infected population was in some instances a soli- 

 tary one, giving ground for the hope that in 1918 the 

 number of cases might still be small, and not such 

 as to be dignified by the term "epidemic." Should, 

 however, an epidemic occur, the problem of the best 

 line of action has to be faced. We agree with the view 

 expressed in the introduction of the report, that " com- 

 prehensive anti-mosquito work is impracticable," and 

 believe that the use of quinine would make such work 

 unnecessarv. It is true that we cannot by the use of 

 quinine "disinfect," i.e. destroy all the parasites in a 

 person's system, hut we can readily do so partially — 

 i.e. we can, in these cases of simple tertian malaria, 

 bv adequate doses of quinine, render the blood com- 

 pletely free from all parasites, sexual as well as 

 asexual, for long periods (months), so that, as regards 

 Anophelines, such cases are ^non-infective, and, of 

 course, equally so are the Anophelines. We believe 

 that civilians would readily acquiesce in such treat- 

 ment, all the more when thev appreciated the fact that 

 thereby thev were kept free from fever and got a 

 better chance <>f ultimate recovery. The report con- 

 tains' a special article on the microscopic diagnosis of 

 malaria, but medical men can be taught this only by 

 practical work in a laboratory. 



The map showing the distribution of Anophelines in 

 England, prepared bv the British Museum authorities, 

 contains some omissions which might have been filled 

 had inquiries been made in likely quarters. 



1 Reports to the Local Government Board on Public Health and Medical 

 Subjects. (New Series No 119.) Reports and Papers on Malaria contracted 

 in England in 1917. (London: H.M.S.O., iq,8) Price 4>. net. 



NO. 2562, VOL. I02"| 



NATURAL INDIGO MAM FACTURE. 



IN " Indigo Publication No. 3," issued by the Agri- 

 tural Research Institute at 1'usa, Mr. \\ . A. 

 Davis, indigo research chemist to the Government of 

 India, diiecls attention to a method of avoiding the 

 loss of dyestuff which frequently occurs in the manu- 

 1,1. him ol natural indigo, due to finely divided particles 

 of the dye remaining suspended in the large volume 

 of extraction water (sect water) which is run nil after 

 "beating" is finished and tin indigo has apparently 

 settled. In indigo factories where working conditions 

 an good the water running from the tillering tables is 

 of pale sherry colour, but where fermentation in the 

 vats is unsatisfactory, or the quality of the indigo 

 plants grown in the neighbourhood is poor, the v 

 finally run off may be distinctly green in colour, due 

 to finely divided, suspended indigo. Of the two kinds 

 of indigo plant grown in India the loss from this 

 cause is greater with the Sumatrana than with the 

 Java variety, as the former requires a large volume of 

 water for extraction. 



The settling agent which Mr. Davis suggests for 

 general use is Dhak gum, a ruby-coloured gum pro- 

 duced by the Dhak or palas tree (Batea frondosa). 

 This material has occasionally been employed for 

 the purpose in the United Provinces, and was first 

 brought to Mr. Davis's attention by Mr. Kenyon, of 

 Sultanpur. Trials of the gum as a settling agent 

 were made at a number of indigo factories in Bihar 

 last season, and gave excellent results, the yield from 

 Sumatrana plant at one factory being increased by 

 ;;' per cent., and from Java plant at another fac- 

 tory bv 16 per cent., these being average increases 

 throughout the working period. The results of 

 analyses of indigo made at various factories, with 

 and without the use of Dhak gum, showed that tin 

 addition of this material to tin- settling-vat had no 

 appreciable effect on the quality of the 'dyestuff pro- 

 duced. Further, it was at the factories where tin 

 fermentation conditions were unfavourable, or the 

 quality of the plant used was poor, that the use of 

 Dhak gum gave the best results, both in facilitating 

 settling and filtration and in Increasing the yield of 

 dyestuff. 



DYES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF 

 BRITISH CHEMICAL INDUSTRY. 



THE Association of British Chemical Manufac- 

 turers sent to the President of the Board of 

 Trade on November 1 the following memorandum, 

 setting forth the views of the executive council of the 

 association on the present situation in that section 

 of chemical industry directly concerned with tin- pro- 

 duction of dyes : — 



(1) A wider and more comprehensive scheme of a 

 completely national nature is immediately requisite if 

 a supplv of the colours, in variety and quantity 

 essential to the conduct of our great textile industry, 

 is to be forthcoming within a reasonable period of 

 years, and especially with a view to the early elimina- 

 tion of all dependence on overseas supplies. 



(2) The fundamental error which resulted in an in- 

 adequate policy in British dvc production is the failure 

 on the part of the originators of that policy to recog- 

 nise tin fart that the manufacture of dyes IS not. In 

 itself, an industry apart; but is precise!} an i 



part of, and is dependent upon, the operations coven d 

 by the chemical manufacturing industry as a whole 

 i.e. the manufacturer of heavy chemicals, of fine 

 chemicals, of tar products, and of explosives havi 

 each and all separate functions to perform in develop- 

 ing a successful dve-producing industry in this 

 country. 



