434 



NATURE 



ANUARY 30, 1 9 19 



rs, barrel, and hindquarters. Winn 

 eithei parenl is ol Vberdeen-Angus breed the offspring 

 show the characteristic type of bead and heavy, deep- 

 fleshed forequarters. The body and hindquarters 

 nil, 1 im diate, but resemble most the dairy 

 its. From His results so far the author concludes 

 that for the improvement of the beef qualities of 

 dairy breeds the first-generation crossi s show an in- 

 creased value of the beef qualities in the forequarters 

 without materially influencing the hindquarters. 



(8) A few dala are supplied as in the production of 

 milk and butter-fat by some of tie cross-breds. The 

 results indicate that milk and fat production behave 

 separately in inheritance, High milk production is 

 dominant to low, but, unfortunately, a high fat 

 percentage in the milk- is recessive to a low fat per- 

 centage. Tin' authoi supplies ., useful bibliography 

 and numerous illustrations. 



SOME DEVELOPMENTS IN INDUSTRY 

 Dl RING Till-: WAR. 1 

 Ui, a The electrical industry lias proved to be a 

 great wai industry. It is bound to become an even 

 greatei peace industry. Previous to the war Germain 

 bad established a predominant position in this industry, 

 but Ibis would not have been possible without the 

 supplies of mica brought from India and other parts 

 of the British Empire. 



Mica is absolutely essential to the electrical industry, 

 and the position of the British Empire in regard to 

 mica supplies was, and is, far and away the strongest 

 of any country in the world. India produces 50 per 

 cent, of the world's supply of mica, and Canada 15 per 

 cent. Germany within her own Empire obtained 

 10 per cent, of the world's supply, this being found in 

 German East Africa. But, in spite of the overwhelming 

 national advantages of our position at the outbreak of 

 war, the mica market of the world was at the point of 

 being transferred from London to Hamburg, thanks 

 to the skill with which Germany had obtained a large 

 measure of control of the Indian mines and the suc- 

 cess with which she had captured the electrical 

 industry. The Indian mica was either exported direct 

 to Germany (she took 47,000 cwt. in 1913) or re- 

 exported from this country to Germany, 50 per cent, of 

 our total imports from India in that year being so re- 

 exported. 



The Indian mica can at present be exported to 

 London only, and the mica in German East Africa is 

 now being worked for, and obtained by„ the Ministry 

 of Munitions. Thanks to these measures, and to the 

 necessities of war, the British electrical industry has 

 taken the place previously held bv Germany and 

 Austria, and is now the first in the world. 



The demands for mica for the electrical industry are 

 bound to increase, and the expected developments of 

 1 ial aircraft, wireless telegraphv, and motor 

 iii lake ii essential that the Empire's supplies of 



this vital raw material should be safeguarded. The 

 lustry is bound to be of such importance to 

 the future industrial development of (bis country that 

 we can I to take risks with the valuable raw 



material ol with which the Empire has been so 



bountifulK 



Tungsten.- .1 en is essential to the manufac- 



ture of high-speed t< 1 ! and high-speed steel is a vital 

 war material. In fsten is also us, d in the manu- 

 facture of metallic lil.n , 1 for electric lamps, in cer- 

 tain appliances for wireless and othei electric uses, 



1 From an address to tlie In. I. 

 November 29. 191?. by Mr. F. G. K*IU 

 to the Ministry of Munitions. 



when to some extent it has taken the place of 

 platinum, but its principal use is in the production 

 of high-speed steel. Before the war the British 

 Empire produced 40 per cent, oi the wolfram-ore from 

 which tungsten is made, but so successfully bad Ger- 

 man} captured the trade that no British manufacturer 

 was able to establish the industry in this country. 

 Germany owed her gnat superiority in munitions pro- 

 duction in the earlier stages ol the war to tie success 



with which si,e had captured the industry of tui 

 production. All that has been changed. We are now 

 able to produce all the high-speed steel needed for our 

 own industries and to export at a reasonable price 

 to our Allies. British manufacturers are now in a 

 position to deal with all the British Empire pro- 

 duction of ore, and could, if necessary, convert the 

 whole world's output into tungsten metal or ferro- 

 tungsten. 



Ferro-chrome. — Ferro-chrome also is an essential 

 material in the production of certain classes ol 

 Alloyed with steel it acts as a toughener, and is used 

 as chrome-steel for armour-piercing shells, in armour- 

 plate, and for the wearing parts of aeroplane engim - 

 and gears in motor vehicles. For peace purposes it 

 will be largely employed for such various purposes as 

 motor parts, stainless cutlery, and rustless steel. 



Before the war the United Kingdom production was 

 practically negligible. We have now established at 

 Newcastle-upon-Tyne a plant sufficient to meet our 

 requirements for many years to come. Previously we 

 imported our supplies from Norway, where it was pro- 

 duced by hydro-electric power. At Newcastle the 

 power is obtained from the waste gases from coke- 

 ovens, and the industrv will be in the unique position 

 of competing successfully with the cheap water-power 

 of Scandinavia. 



Spelter. — Spelter (or zinc, to give it its correct name) 

 occupies the third place in point of importance amongst 

 non-ferrous base metal. The world's consumption in 

 1913 was 1,012,000 tons, as compared with copper 

 1,044,000 tons and lead 1,106,000 tons. It is an essen- 

 tial material in industry in the making of a large 

 number of domestic articles and in building construc- 

 tion. Its main uses are for galvanising or coating 

 iron and steel to prevent rusting, and for mixing with 

 other metals to form brass, gun-metals, and other alloys. 

 It is also rolled into sheets for roofing and electrical 

 purposes. The oxide of zinc forms, next to white lead, 

 the most important pigment. It is an indispensable 

 compound of manufactured rubber, and is extensively 

 used for medicinal purposes. 



The British Empire is fortunate in possessing in 

 Australia practically unlimited supplies of zinc ore 

 (concentrates), these being amongst the largest in the 

 world. For reasons which it is not my present duty 

 to examine, Germany obtained control of these im- 

 portant ore supplies. She imported from Australia a 

 large portion of her supplies of zinc ore, and on 

 these was able to extend her important zinc industries. 

 Our own position previous to the war was that we 

 used annually 240,000 tons of spelter in various forms, 

 of which 77 per cent, was imported — practically all 

 from Germany, Belgium, and Holland — Germain 

 being the largest exporter to this country, sending us 

 in [913 i.ym.onnl. worth of spelter, besides smaller 

 values ,,1 sheet-zinc, zinc oxide, and lithopone. 



On the outbreak of war these supplies leased, and 

 we were faced at the same time with a tremendously 

 increased demand for spelter to be used in the making 

 of brass for fuses, cartridge-metal, and so on. Our 

 immediate needs were principally met by imports from 

 North America. The price bounded up from 2 \l. per 

 ton to 1 .mi/, pei ton. This figure led the U.S.A. 



NO. 2570, VOL. I02 1 



