302 
clearly how the lamentable waste of nitrogen involved 
in present practice may be most effectively reduced. 
Passing reference may also be made to his further 
discovery that under certain conditions an actual gain 
of nitrogen may be secured. The communication by 
Dr. T. Goodey of an experimental verification of the 
view advanced by Messrs. Russell and Hutchinson 
as to the réle of protozoa in controlling the activities 
of soil bacteria is also worthy of note, and must have 
given special satisfaction to the president. 
The subject of ‘‘ Economy in Meat Production’ was 
introduced by Messrs. T. B. Wood and K. J. J. Mac- 
kenzie by the contribution of interesting and valuable 
data as to the food requirements of animals under 
various conditions of feeding. The differences 
in the economy of _ utilisation of fodder for 
the supply of the different forms of animal produce 
used for human consumption prove to be most stril- 
ing. Whereas the good milch cow will yield, in the 
form of milk, energy equivalent to one calorie for 
every 54 calories consumed in the form of fodder, the 
production of mutton requires practically double, and 
the production of steer beef nearly three and a_ half 
times, the expenditure of energy. 
The subject was further discussed from quite 
different aspects by Prof. D, A. Gilchrist. Experience 
in the familiar expverimients at Cockle Park led him 
to urge the possibility of securing considerable 
economies in meat production by reforms in manuring 
and cropping. On many farms the cost of production 
of meat and mill could be sensibly lowered by an 
increased use of basic slag or other phosphates and a 
reduced expenditure on oil-cakes. 
Brief reference only can be made to the further 
interesting contribution by Mr. Mackenzie on ‘* The 
Inheritance of Mutton Points,’ in which a summary 
of interesting investigations at Cambridge was given. 
Much of the land of Great Britain is naturally in- 
capable of yielding high returns to agriculture, and 
for such the respective claims of agriculture and sylvi- 
culture must be duly weighed. In an interesting sur- 
vey of the past ‘and future of British forestry Prof. 
Somerville directed attention to the fact that nearly 
twenty million acres of land in the United Kingdom 
are used as rough mountain grazing or as deer forests, 
some 15% millions being less than 1500 ft. above sea- 
level. This land, which produces no more than 153 Ib. 
of meat (chiefly mutton) per acre per annum, would,’ 
if rationally afforested, produce a crop of one ton of 
timber, besides providing employment for ten times 
the population occupied with pastoral farming. Our 
forest practice in the past has been seriously defective 
in many respects. Our woods have been much under- 
stocked; there has been little. appreciation of specific 
individual requirements in respect of crowding, and 
zround game has taken a heavy toll of young trees, 
or has in other ways been a serious charge on profits. 
Government action in the past has led to some im- 
provement in education, management, statistics, etc., 
but has not prevented a marked shrinkage in ‘our 
wooded area. If a large extension is to be secured, 
State action will be necessary, and, in the opinion of 
those who have given most thought to the subject, 
such extension on a scale commensurate with the 
nation’s requirements can only be attained by purchase. 
A further feature of interest in forest economy was 
dealt with by Mr. S. H. Collins. For some time Mr. 
Collins, in association with Mr. J. F. Annand, has 
been examining the possibility of economic utilisation 
of branch wood and other forest waste by distillation 
in a portable plant, whereby charcoal, tar, and acetate 
of lime are-obtained as saleable products. Under their 
guidance members of the Association had an oppor- 
tunity of seeing the experimental plant in operation 
in the Crown Woods of Chopwell. Shortagé of labour 
NO. 2459, VoL. 98] 
NATURE 
ih | 
[DECEMBER 14, 1916 | rf 
has hampered the experiment in its preliminary stages, — 
but the results so far obtained promise well for future — 
success. The inspection of the*woods under the guid- — 
ance of Mr. Annand added further to the interest of © 
the excursion. wee 
It is gratifying to note that despite the exceptional 
difficulties of the times an excellent attendance was 
obtained throughout the sectional meetings, and 
adequate discussion thereby secured. : 
UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL. 
INTELLIGENCE. 
Wirn the desire to encourage the study of Russian, — 
in view of the commercial intercourse between Russia — 
and Hull, Capt. H. Samman has expressed ito the Hull 
Chamber of Commerce his willingness to ‘start an 
endowment fund for the purpose with a sum of 1o0,o00l. 
Tue annual meeting of the Mathematical Associa- 
tion will be held on Friday, January 5, 1917, at the — 
London Day Training College, Southampton Row, 
London, W.C., under the presidency of Prof. A. N. 
Whitehead. The subjects of papers are :—The school 
syllabus in geometry, T. P. Nunn; Some of the work 
of the Teaching Committee, Mr. A. W, Siddons; 
Technieal education and its relation to literature and 
science, Prof. A. N. Whitehead; An accuracy test set 
in some public schools, Mr. A. W. Siddons; The place 
of mathematics in educational reconstruction, Mr. 
P. Abbott. A joint meeting of the Mathematical and 
the Geographical Associations will be held on Satur- 
day, January 6, at 10.30 a.m., when Prof. T. P. Nunn — 
will read a paper on ‘‘ Map Projections.” Mr. H. J. 
Mackinder, M.P., will take the chair. 
In October last an invitation was extended by the 
Universities of Leeds and Sheffield to the Circle of 
Scientific, Technical, and Trade Journalists to form a 
party of journalists to visit these two cities. A similar 
visit to the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester 
took place on December 1c-13. In the absence, — 
through indisposition, of the Vice-Chancellor of Liver-_ 
pool University, the party was received by Prof.. 
Gonner, the deputy-chairman of Senate, and Mr. — 
Carey, the registrar. Prof. Herdman-gave an address, — 
in which he referred specially to the! departments of 
modern languages and geogranhy, the School of Trop- — 
ical Medicine, and the researches being undertaken in 
connection with sea-fishery. These departments, to- — 
gether with those devoted to chemistry, engineering, - 
etc., were visited by the party in the course of the 
day. The University of Manchester and the Man- — 
chester Municipal School of Technology were visited 
on Tuesday. Sir Henry Miers, Vice-Chancellor of the 
University, addressed the party, and in the course of 
the inspection of the laboratories short lectures were 
delivered by Prof. Harold Dixon on ‘Explosives’ 
and Sir Ernest Rutherford on ‘‘ Radium Emanations.” 
At the Municipal School of Technology the work was _ 
of a very varied and comprehensive character, inelud- 
ing special departments for cotton spinning, printing — 
and paper manufacture, organic chemistry and dye- 
ing, engineering and electrometallurgy. The visitors 
were entertained by the Lord Mayor of Manchester to 
luncheon, when an address on the work of the Muni- 
cipal School of Technology was delivered by Principal 
Garnett. At a dinner and reception in the evening 
speechess were made by Sir Henry Miers, several of 
the professors. and some of the visitors, the hope 
being expressed that such visits would lead to closer 
relations between the scientific and technical Press 
and the universities, and to a more general apprecia- 
tion among manufacturers of the benefits of scientific 
research. The proceedings were concluded by a visit 
to the works of the British Westinghouse Electric and 
Manufacturing Co., Ltd. 
_- 
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