NovEMBER 23, 1916| 
NATURE 
#37 
familiar to all. But the war has profoundly affected 
both the circumstances and the minds of men, and 
has gravely accentuated the complexities of the situa- 
tion and the peril in which our industries stand. It 
is strongly urged, since industry as a whole is in- 
extricably interwoven with the social and political life 
of the nation, that we cannot too soon bring to bear 
upon the various intricate questions involved the best 
intelligence and experience at our command with the 
object of formulating a policy based upon a compre- 
hensive survey of all aspects of industrial conditions. 
A further article appears in the Review dealing 
with British trade and manufactures and the necessity 
for better organisation and more efficient methods of 
production if we are to succeed in maintaining not 
only our position in the markets of the world, but also 
our ability to meet the vast expenditure which the 
war has entailed. We have failed, says the writer, 
as compared with America and Germany, in our 
methods of production, transport, and marketing, in 
the neglect of co-operative effort, in fertility of design 
and invention and in adaptability to the needs of the 
foreign consumer, in our provision for commercial 
education, and, finally, in the support of the Govern- 
ment in aid of trade. Before the war German goods 
were extensively sold in this country, and the foreign 
trade of Germany, whilst not so large as our own, 
was extending much more rapidly. It is stated that 
there is not the slightest doubt that we have fallen 
behind Germany in efficiency of manufacture of certain 
products in respect of both design and price, and that 
in order to achieve success we must produce better 
and cheaper goods. So far as our home trade is con- 
cerned we may exclude German goods by high tariffs, 
but that will not help us in foreign markets, nor is it 
the true remedy, which can be found only: in better 
provision for education and a higher standard of 
efficiency. © A strong plea is put forward for the 
establishment of a Ministry of Commerce, the duty of 
which it shall be to foster and assist British trade 
both at home and abroad. 
BOTANY AT THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION. 
4 Roos president in his address struck the economic 
note, which was sustained throughout the meet- 
ing, probably the most notable contributions being the 
discussions on plant disease; on the utilisation of waste 
lands; on the botanical aspects of coal; and on the 
medicinal plant industry. 
The discussion on plant disease was opened by Prof. 
Potter, of Newcastle, who laid stress on the enormous 
importance of the subject in relation to the world’s 
food supply and to many other commercial products. 
He stated that, on an average, about one-third of 
these crops are lost by disease, and that a loss of 
two and a half millions sterling occurred in Australia 
one year through ‘rust”’ of wheat alone. The destruc- 
tion of timber, as of many Colonial products, such as 
sugar, rubber, coffee. etc., is very serious. He showed 
how manifold are the problems underlying the treat- 
ment of plant disease, and dwelt upon the importance 
of various aspects demanding investigation, not alone 
in mycology, but in the associated physiological and 
pathological relations of host and parasite, and host 
and soil. Prof. Potter suggested two desiderata: (1) 
the improvement of the training of the investigator ; (2) 
the establishment of a British Central Institute for the 
supply of pure cultures, which, with aniline dyes and 
optical glass, ceased at the outbreak of war. 
Mr. Brierley, in a separate contribution, elaborated 
a suggestion for the formation of an Imperiai Bureau 
of Mycology comparable with that recently established 
NO. 2456, VOL. 98] 
in entomology, but providing, in addition, facilities for 
research and supply of pure cultures. 
Mr. Ramsbottom alluded to the backward condition 
of British phytopathology, and spoke strongly of the 
lack of adequate training and subsequent support 
given to our investigators. He advocated a central 
station for research and advice. 
Mr. Salmon and Dr. Eyre struck a _ hope- 
ful note with regard to the readiness of farmers 
to make use of scientific results, which it therefore 
behoves us to produce. They referred to the necessity 
for co-operation between botanist, mycologist, and 
chemist for the elucidation of the very complex problem 
of plant disease and its treatment. 
The discussion of the botanical aspects of coal was 
opened by Dr. Marie Stopes, who urged the import- 
ance of co-operation between palzobotanist, chemist, 
and ecologist for the discovery and right application 
of our coal resources. While Prof. Seward, who spoke 
later, was a little doubtful as to the great utilitarian 
value of botanical examination, the opener suggested 
that researches already indicated the possibility of 
association between the parts of plants making up the 
bulk of the coal and the particular by-product which 
it yielded. She pointed out the danger of confining 
investigation to Carboniferous fossils in view of the 
fact that the coal of India, for example, is for the 
most part Tertiary. 
Prof. Weiss spoke of the correlation which had been 
demonstrated between the presence of spores and the 
chemical nature of the seams. 
An interesting series of papers on utilisation of waste 
land was introduced by Prof. Oliver, who also gave a 
paper on the possibilities inherent in maritime waste 
land. He illustrated his remarks by special reference 
to sand dunes and to salt marshes, and showed that 
in both cases there are two modes of utilisation avail- 
able: (1) to take advantage of the natural product; 
(2) to convert or reclaim, so that the land is available 
for more general purposes. In both habitats the 
natural product may be a grass capable of being cul- 
tivated at a profit for paper-making. But if capital 
and labour be spent on their reclamation, sand dunes 
add profitably to our timber area, and salt marshes are 
kknown to give very fertile soil. It might well be that 
in the time immediately following the war this would 
afford excellent transitional labour for our soldiers. 
Mr. Martineau, of the Reafforesting Association, de- 
monstrated by means of lantern-slides the success of 
the society’s planting on pit: mounds in the Black 
Country, and gave every reason to suppose that it 
would prove a sound financial undertaking. 
Dr. W. E. Smith developed in some detail the com- 
plexity of the problem of improvement in utilisation of 
mountain and heath land. He showed, however, that 
improvement could be effected by more frequent burn- 
ing, as recommended by the Grouse Committee, by 
inclusion of more cattle with sheep grazing, as well as 
by the more drastic measure of restriction of deer 
forest and grouse moor to the more inaccessible up- 
lands. 
The possibility of converting moorland into. food- 
bearing soil by means of the application of bacterised 
peat was brought forward by Prof. Bottomley, who 
quoted successful laboratory and field experiments in 
support. He stated that at Entwistle, in Lancashire, 
the yield of oats and mangolds had been doubled by 
its application. 
The discussion on the collection and cultivation of 
medicinal plants was opened by Prof. H. E. Greenish, 
of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, who 
outlined the steps that had been taken during the last 
two years to make good the shortage of drugs conse- 
quent upon the war, and to establish a permanent 
