~~ 7) ae 
‘ 
DECEMBER 14, 1916] 
recognised as efficient by the Board of Education 
should be eligible for State scholarships for prolonging 
secondary education, or tenable at the universities. 
Many capable students will continue to be debarred 
from the universities, with consequent loss of national 
efficiency, if these scholarships are limited to ‘ aided” 
schools. In secondary schools pupils should remain 
as a rule until the end of the term in which the seven- 
teenth birthday occurs. Financial provision should be 
made -to enable suitable pupils to continue at school 
until they enter the university. The Reform Council 
expresses complete agreement with the view advanced 
by the Consultative Committee that large additional 
funds should be provided by the State for scholarships 
for higher education. The amount suggested—329,500l. 
per annum—is not too large. The selection of students 
for scholarships to the universities and institutions for 
higher education should be based upon an expert re- 
view of the relevant qualifications rather than upon a 
central competitive examination. Such relevant quali- 
fications are the school record, examination record, 
probable career, and general personal fitness. The 
amount of assistance given should be such as to enable 
the scholar to live in a manner befitting a university 
student during the normal course required for gradua- 
tion, and for the necessary post-graduate preparation 
for professional practice. 
The opinion is expressed that for most professions, 
and for research in pure science, at least one year of post- 
graduate preparation is necessary. In determining the 
number and incidence of the awards, the main con- 
sideration should be the national need to strengthen 
the learned professions (including teaching), and_ to 
further industry, commerce, and agriculture. The 
Board of Education should allocate grants for higher 
scholarship purposes to the provincial boards; the pro- 
vincial boards should make the awards, their action 
being co-ordinated by the Board of Education or by a 
special national board, 
‘THE WORLD’S SUPPLY OF PHOSPHATES. 
PROF: J. W. GREGORY, in his presidential ad- 
dress to the Geological Society of Glasgow, gave 
an account of the chief sources of the world’s supply 
of phosphates, in the course of which he pointed out 
that an instructive lesson in the conservation of 
mineral resources was to be learnt from this ‘subject. 
He showed that Britain has but limited supplies of 
natural phosphates, and these were being left un- 
worked owing to the introduction of cheaper and 
richer products from foreign deposits. Prof. Gregory 
dealt only with the natural phosphates, but he could 
well have strengthened his argument by reference to 
‘the artificial phosphates; that is to say, to basic slag, 
-which has been such a very important source of 
phosphorus supply to the agriculturist during recent 
years, 
The world’s production of natural phosphates in 
1913 Was approximately six million tons (of which the 
United States produced one-half), whilst that of basic 
slag was approximately three million tons. Great 
Britain is now producing considerable quantities of 
low-grade basic slag, a by-product from the basic 
open-hearth steel process, and is likely to produce 
much more in the near future, but much of this valu- 
able material is being wasted to-day owing to the in- 
-sistence of the authorities upon the citric acid solubility 
test, a test devised in Germany, and adopted without 
proper investigation in this country; its real object 
was, of course, to favour the slag produced by the 
Basic Bessemer, or Gilchrist-Thomas, process, a pro- 
.cess to. which German iron ores. are well adapted, to 
the prejudice of slag produced in. the basic open- 
NO. 2459, VOL. 98| 
NATURE 301 
hearth process, which latter suits British iron ores 
better. Many of our best agricultural authorities hold 
that, in spite of the above empirical test, our slags are 
quite as efficient as manurial agents as are the Basic 
Bessemer slags, and if we had in this country a 
department charged with the care of the proper utilisa- 
tion of our own mineral resources, this subject would 
no doubt have received the attention that its import- 
ance merits. 
Prof. Gregory has done valuable service in again 
directing attention to our supply of phosphates, and 
it is clear that, from the point of view both of the 
natural and of the artificial phosphate supply, the 
question is one of vital importance to our great agri- 
cultural interests. 
AGRICULTURE AT THE BRITISH 
ASSOCIATION. 
WITH the continuance of the state of war it is 
inevitable that where agriculturists forgather 
for discussion the central theme should be the problem 
of the more efficient utilisation of British soil, The 
task of British agriculture is the dual one of securing 
on one hand a more efficient, and on the other a more 
economical, utilisation of our resources in land and 
labour. The prolongation of. the war renders more 
and more difficult the task of extending cultivation, 
and it becomes all the more necessary to devote atten- 
tion to the consideration of economy. 
It was thus timely and desirable that such considera- 
tions should bulk largely in the proceedings of Sec- 
tion M at the recent meetings. The topics discussed 
may be roughly grouped under the three heads of 
‘Economy in Crop Production,” ‘‘Economy in Meat 
Production,” and “Economy and Reform in Timber 
Production.” 
The first group of problems received a fitting intro- 
duction in the presidential address, in which the possi- 
bilities of securing increased output of crops and the 
directions in which economies can be effected in exist- 
ing practice were aptly summarised. In subsequent 
discussions more detailed consideration was given to 
the possibilities of motor cultivation and of the prac- 
tice of ensilage. 
Mr. C. B. Fisher introduced the former subject with 
a critical consideration of the possibilities of the ex- 
tended application of steam and other mechanical 
tractors in the cultivation of the soil. His own experi- 
ence led him to advocate warmly the extended use 
of motor tractors, although conscious that existing 
models left much room for improvement, and that _ 
more extensive and precise tests under experimental 
conditions are urgently needed. The general trend of 
the discussion substantially. confirmed these views, 
although a disappointing experience in Scotland re- 
lated by Mr. Alex. McCallum served to emphasise the 
need for caution under existing conditions. 
In introducing the subject of ensilage for discussion, 
Mr. A. Amos gave the results of experience on Norfollc 
farms with this method of preserving green crops, 
which led him to advocate warmly its merits, not 
the least of which was the possibility of reducing or 
eliminating the costly root crop. Further testimony 
to the valuable results obtained in East Anglia was 
given by Messrs. Oldershaw and Wilson. 
The importance of climate as a limiting factor in 
crop production was discussed by Mr. T. Wibberley, 
who once more urged the advantages of a rational 
system of continuous cropping as a means of securing 
increased output and greater economy. 
A further contribution to the subject of economy in 
crop production was made by Mr. E. H. Richards 
in his summary of studies made at Rothamsted of the 
economy .of the manure-heap, which demonstrate 
