250 
NATURE 
[NovEMBER 30, 1916 
(secretary); Mr. G. McFarlane, Board of Education 
(assistant secretary). 
COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL Poricy COMMITTEE.— 
To consider the commercial and industrial policy to 
be adopted after the war, with special reference to the 
conclusions reached at the Economic Conference of 
the Allies, and to the following questions :— 
(a) What industries are essential to the future safety 
of the nation, and what steps should be taken to 
maintain or establish them. 
(b) What steps should be taken to recover home and 
foreign trade lost during the war, and to secure new 
markets. 
(c) To what extent, and by what means, the re- 
sources of the Empire should and can be developed. 
(d) To what extent, and by what means, the sources 
of supply within the Empire can be prevented from 
falling under foreign control. 
Members: The Lord Balfour of Burleigh, K.T., 
G.C.M.G. (chairman), Mr. Arthur Balfour, Mr. H. 
Gosling, Mr. Richard Hazleton, M.P., Mr. W. A. S. 
Hewins, M.P., Mr. A. H. Illingworth, M.P., Sir Wil- 
liam McCormick, Mr. A. McDowell, Sir J. P. Maclay, 
Bart., the Rt. Hon. Sir A. Mond, Bart., M.P., Mr. 
John O'Neill, Mr. Arthur Pease, Mr. R. E. Prothero, 
M.V.O., M.P., Sir Frederick H. Smith, Bart., Mr. 
G, J. Wardle, M.P., together with the following gen- 
tlemen, who are presiding over Board of Trade com- 
mittees on the position of important industries after 
the war :—Sir H. Birchenough, K.C.M.G., Sir A. A. 
Booth, Bart., the Lord Faringdon, Sir Clarendon 
Golding Hyde, Sir Gerard A. Muntz, Bart., the Hon. 
Sir C. A. Parsons, K.C.B., F.R.S., the Lord Rhondda, 
Mr. G. Scoby-Smith; secretaries, Mr. Percy Ashley, 
Board of Trade, and Mr. G. C. Upcott, Treasury. 
Boarp OF TRADE COMMITTEES. 
In Nature of January 6 (vol. xcvi., p. 525) par- 
ticulars were given of a number of Government 
and other committees appointed to consider 
national scientific problems. In addition to these 
committees and the sub-committees of the Re- 
construction Committee, the following have been 
appointed in connection with the Board of Trade 
“to consider the position of ” the various trades 
in question “after the war, with special refer- 
ence to international competition, and to report 
what measures, if any, are necessary or desirable 
to safeguard that position.” 
ExecrricaL Commitrre.—The Hon. Sir Charles <A. 
Parsons, K.C.B., F.R.S., Mr. J. Annan Bryce, M.P., 
Mr. ‘T. O. Callender, Mr. J. Devonshire, Sir John 
Snell, Mr. P. Ashley, Prof. S. J. Chapman, Mr. B. M. 
Drake. 
TextTILes INDUSTRIES COMMITTEE.—Sir Henry Birch- 
enough, K.C.M.G., Sir Frank Forbes Adam, C.I.E., 
Mr. J. Beattie, Mr. T. Craig-Brown, Mr) EB. 1B: 
Fielden, Mr. J. W. Hill, Mr. A. H. Illingworth, M.P., 
Mr. J. H. Kaye, Mr. E. H. Langdon, Mr. J. W. 
McConnel, Mr. H. Norman Rae, Sir Fredk. H. Smith, 
Bart., Mr. T. C. Taylor, M.P., the Rt. Hon. Robert 
Thompson, M.P., Mr. C. T. Smith, Mr. Frank 
Warner, Mr. T. M. Ainscough (secretary). 
SHIPPING AND SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRIES COMMITTEE. 
—-Sir Alfred A. Booth, Bart., Sir Archibald Denny, 
Bart., Prof. W. S. Abell, Sir Edward Hain, Capt. 
H. B. Hooper, Mr. Summers Hunter, Sir Joseph 
Maclay, Bart., Mr. J. Readhead, Mr. O. Sanderson, 
Mr. J.. Brown. 
Non-Ferrous Metats _ CommittEr.—Sir Gerard 
Albert Muntz, Bart. (chairman), Mr. C. L. Budd, Mr. 
C. Cookson, Mr. C. W. Fielding, Lieut.-Col. A. J. 
Foster, Mr. A. W. Tait, Mr. A. H. Wiggin, J.P. 
NO. 2457, VOL. 98] 
Coat Trape Commirrer.—Messrs. Cory Brothers 
and Co., Ltd., Messrs. Mann, George, and Co., 
Messrs. Hull, Blyth, and Co.,*Messrs. William Math- 
win and Son, Messrs. Mackenzie and Phylson, (etd. 
Messrs. Pyman, Bell, and Co., Mr. ‘T. E. Watson, Sir 
Richard Mackie, Mr. A. E. Bowen, Mr. N. Dunn, Mr. 
F. J. Jones, Mr. A. Nimmo, Mr. A. F. Pease, Sir 
Daniel M. Stevenson, Bart., Mr. R. Warham, the 
Rt. Hon, Lord Rhondda. - 
ENGINEERING CommiTTEE.—Sir Clarendon Hyde 
(chairman), Mr. Arthur Balfour, Mr. A. J. Hobson, 
Mr. W. B. Lang, Sir Hallewell Rogers, Mr. H. B. 
Rowell, Mr. Douglas Vickers. 
IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRIES ComMiTTEE.—Mr, G. 
Scoby Smith (chairman), Sir Hugh Bell, Bart., Mr. 
A. Colville, Mr. J. E. Davison, Mr, J. Gavin, Mr. Te 
Hodge, Mr. J. King, Mr. G. Mure Ritchie, Mr. H. 
ran i Mr. B. Talbot, Mr. C. R. Woods (secre- 
tary). 
GOVERNMENT CONTROL OVER FLOUR. 
N view of the shortage of wheat, steps have 
been taken by the Government to ensure @ 
larger yield of flour from the same quantity of 
grain. The actual proportion of wheat endo- 
sperm that can be extracted as commercial flour — 
varies with the nature of the wheat, but may be 
taken as approximately 70 per cent. The re- 
mainder consists of what are known in the milling ~ 
trade as “offals”; these are subdivided accord- | 
ing to the fineness of the particles into bran, 
pollard, and sharps or middlings. For some time 
millers have been more than usually careful in 
thoroughly separating the flour from offal, and. 
have succeeded in lengthening their flour yield 
from 70 to about 714 per cent. It was intimated — 
in Parliament in the first place that directions were — 
likely to be given for an increase of yield of 84 per 
cent. From this it was foreshadowed that 80 per — 
cent. war-flour would be the rule in the immediate — 
future. 
On promulgation, the Board of Trade Order as 
to the milling of flour was found to be much 
more moderate in its demands. A fairly exhaus- 
tive schedule of whedts is given, together with 
the percentage of flour that must be extracted 
from each. This has been made to vary with 
the natural white-flour yield of each variety. A 
reference to the Dictionary of Wheats given on 
pp. 284-289 of the writer’s “Technology of Bread- 
making ” shows that the wheats mentioned in the 
schedule have collectively an average white-flour 
yield of 7o per cent., whereas the average now 
required by the Government to be extracted is 
>5°3 per cent. This means an average extra yield 
of 5°3 per cent., with a maximum of 8 per cent. 
in the case of “Red Western” and a minimum of 
4 per cent. with “No. 3 Manitoba.” The Dic- | 
tionary averages quoted are those of the respec- 
tive wheats for a number of years, while no doubt 
the figures in the Government Order are based 
on actual current crops. It is further enacted that 
after January 1, 1917, no bread or other article 
of food shall be manufactured from any wheater 
flour of a lower amount of yield than that quoted 
in the schedule. 
The first problem which arises is the saving in 
