;8S 



NATURE 



[January [6, 191,9 



underground supplies of petroleum do nol '\ist 

 in this country. Small deposits have been Coma 

 in the past, and will no doubt be found in the 

 future, bul the presenl search for large commel 

 cial supplies is not justified bj the scientific cvi- 

 dence, though there is no doubt that the bores will 

 yield useful scientific data. V. C. ILLING. 



THE BRITISH DYE INDUSTRY. 



THE report, in the Times of January 6, of the 

 annual meeting of shareholders in Leviifc 

 Stein's, Ltd., held on December 23, contains one 

 important announcement— namely, that the long- 

 contemplated amalgamation of the company with 

 the Government company known as " British 

 Dyes, Ltd.," is now practically an accomplished 

 fact. The new company is to be called the 

 "British Dyestuffs Corporation, Ltd." 



As reported in NATURE of December 5 last, a 

 scheme had been adopted by the President of the 

 Board of Trade in response to a memorandum 

 presented by the Association of Chemical Manu- 

 facturers urging the desirability of a more general 

 utilisation of the industrial and scientific resources 

 of the country, and avoidance of overlapping and 

 competition. The White Paper which contains 

 the scheme was summarised in Nature of 

 November 21 last. 



As a result of the amalgamation of the two 

 great companies, an important step has been taken 

 in the direction of presenting a more united front 

 in the great commercial struggle which will in all 

 probability begin so soon as Germany assumes a 

 more settled condition. At the present time the 

 outlook is less formidable for the British colour- 

 maker than it was before the armistice, as the 

 economic position of Germany will continue for 

 some time to be more than doubtful. Labour will 

 undoubtedly command higher wages, raw- 

 materials will not be so freely at the disposal of 

 German manufacturers, competition in America 

 and other countries is developing, and there is a 

 widespread reluctance on the part of the Allied 

 nations to resume business relations with the 

 Central Powers severally or collectively. 



On the other hand, the works and appliances 

 of the German firms remain substantially undim- 

 inished in extent and unimpaired as to organisa- 

 tion, while they still possess a large body of expert 

 chemists and engineers fully acquainted with the 

 details of the business, though doubtless there 

 have been serious losses in the course of the war. 

 It is, however, satisfactory to learn from the 

 address of Lord Armaghdale, the chairman of 

 Levinstein's, that, in his opinion, provided suffi- 

 cient financial support is forthcoming, this 

 country may be rendered independent of German 

 dyestuffs. On the scientific side, he added, success 

 is certain. There is in this country a larger 

 amount of chemical talent than has hitherto been 

 recognised, and during the war many university 

 professors and others occupied with purely scien- 

 tific research haveigiven valuable assistance to the 

 colour industry, as well as in other departments 

 of manufacture. 



NO. 2568, VOL. I02] 



Considering the difficulties to be overcome in 



the revival of chemical industries in this country 

 at the beginning of the war, and, as compared 

 with Germany, the serious lack of organisation 

 and of scientifically trained assistance, the suc- 

 cess so far achieved is encouraging in the 

 highest degree. There is no justification tor the 

 gloomy view of the situation sometimes taken, 

 and if the scheme now working under the Board 

 i.l IVadr is nol perfect, it is, at any rate, a step 

 in the right direction, and has been accepted by 

 the dye-makers and the dye-users. 



The trade and licensing committee referred to in 

 the scheme has now been constituted under Lord 

 Colwyn as chairman. The following are the other 

 members : Mr. Henry Allen, Mr. Milton Sharp, 

 and .Mr. Lennox B. Lee, nominated by the Colour 

 Users' Committee; Mr. T. Taylor, representing 

 the paint and varnish manufacturers; Dr. Herbert 

 Levinstein and Mr. J. Turner, nominated jointly 

 by British Dyes, Ltd., and Levinstein's, Ltd. ; Mr. 

 W. J. Uglow Woolcock, M.P., nominated by the 

 Association of British Chemical Manufacturers; 

 and Mr. \Y. H. Dawson, nominated by the Presi- 

 dent of the Board of Trade. The Commissioner 

 for Dyes, Sir Evan Jones, M.P., will he an ex 

 officio member without a vote. Dr. H. Levinstein 

 is the well-known managing director of Levin- 

 stein's, Ltd., and he will control the scientific and 

 manufacturing operations of the new corporation 

 resulting from the fusion of British Dyes and 

 Levinstein's. Mr. J. Turner has been a director of 

 British Dyes, Ltd., for several years, and he will 

 be largely influential in the business arrangements 

 of the conjoint firms. 



The functions of the committee now constituted 

 will be to determine the colours and intermediates 

 which shall be licensed for import into the L T nited 

 Kingdom after the conclusion of peace, and to 

 advise the Commissioner for Dyes as to the colours 

 and intermediates the manufacture of which in this 

 country should be specially encouraged. 



It is satisfactory to find that the Port Ellesmere 

 indigo factorv has been in full work for some 

 time, and that land has been secured for consider- 

 able extensions of the works :n the near future. 



THE PRELIMINARY EDUCATION OF 

 MEDICAL STUDENTS. 



THE education committee of the General 

 Council of Medical Education and Registra- 

 tion has presented a report on " The Nature of 

 the Recognition to be Extended to the Schools 

 Examinations recently established by the Board 

 of Education in England." It will be remem- 

 bered licit the English Board of Education has 

 established two "schools examinations," to be 

 known respectively as the "first" and "second," 

 or "higher," examination, the former for. pupils of 

 about sixteen years of age, and the latter for 

 those a year or two older. The standard of tin 

 former is to be such that a "pass with credit" 

 would entitle the candidate to admission to a 

 university, and a slightly lower standard should 

 b( accepted for an ordinary pass. The "second 



