oe = me 
rates Jie 
_ January 27, 1923 
foul and smells badly, and at 6-4 we have the condi- 
tions produced by seaweeds rotting in a jar of water. 
From the change in pH-values the quantity of carbon 
removed from solution in the sea in the form of 
carbon dioxide, and built up, by photosynthesis, into 
‘the tissues of marine plants, can be calculated. 
Represented as a hexose, the author gets the sur- 
ey great production of 250,000 kilograms pro- 
uced square kilometre of sea, in the English 
_ Channel between July and December. From similar 
observations made at Port Erin, Moore found a pro- 
_ duction of 300,000 kilo: uare kilometre 
during the six months that included the vernal 
maximum of diatom reproduction. 
___ The other researches are equally aah especi- 
ally as they deal with methods. e practice of 
determining organic matter by oxygen consumed in 
water samples is criticised. e reaction of the sa 
in the cells of marine alge has been studied: it is 
_ shown to be almost neutral, in contrast with the acid 
sap of most land plants. Methods of finding the H-ion 
concentration i: living algal cells are developed, and 
the influence of changes in #H is shown to be a factor 
in the distribution of shore weeds. Finally—a most 
useful result—the preparation of permanently acid- 
free formalin solutions is described. This series of 
Bitocist. Dr. Atkins has particular interest for marine 
©) ts. 1a 








The Structure of Coke. 
CIR GEORGE BEILBY has contributed an 
interesting paper entitled “ The Structure of 
Coke, its Origin and Development,”’ to the Trans- 
actions of the Society of Chemical Industry (November 
5, 1922). The paper contains a critical discussion 
of the changes that have been observed in coal and 
similar substances during the process of carbonisa- 
tion, and an account of ee work carried 
out on the micro-structure of coke and charcoal. 
Use has been made of the new knowledge concern- 
ing solids and their internal constitution, for which 
Sir William Bragg is so largely responsible; and, 
in another direction, of the technique for cutting 
and studying sections of coal, introduced by Mr. 
Lomax. A number of specimens for examination 
were photographed at their natural size, and with 
different magnifications and illuminations. It was 
observed how very much the structure of coke was 
determined by the size of the bubbles blown in 
the viscous mass during the semi-liquid stages of 
carbonisation, and even what have hitherto been 
commonly regarded as the solid vitreous cell-walls 
of the pores have been shown to be permeated by 
minute bubbles. Bound up with this is the control 
of the bubble formation which can be effected by 
blending coals of different behaviour, and the 
— possibilities forthcoming in this way are 
i at some length. It is shown, for example, 
that the blending of a coal which swells and froths 
inordinately with another coal of the non-caking 
variety may be utilised for securing a strong and 
firm coke with small and evenly distributed pores. 
The relevance of work by Messrs. Sutcliffe and 
_ Evans on the briquetting of pulverised coals as a 
iminary to carbonisation is indicated. It has 
claimed by them that the control of structure 
could be extended almost indefinitely by the briquet- 
ting of finely ground.coal by pressure as a preliminary 
to carbonisation. It was by working along such 
lines that Sutcliffe and Evans were able to produce 
a material stated to have at least three times the 
-gas-absorbing capacity of the best wood charcoal, 
NO. 2778, VOL. 111] 
NATURE 
133 
and specially suitable for use in gas masks. Sir 
George Beilby points out that the combustion of 
these close- grained “ pressure’’ briquettes proceeds 
definitely from the outer surfaces inwards, show- 
ing that the internal circulation of the oxidising 
gases is much more restricted than in the case of 
metallurgical coke — which raises an interesting 
question. 
Seventeen figures are used to elucidate the argu- 
ment of the text. They are all photo-micrographs 
of coke produced commercially in gas retorts, coke 
ovens, etc., or in the laboratory under special and 
controlled conditions. he oi 

University and Educational Intelligence. 
ABERDEEN.—The Thomson Lecturer for 1923 at the 
Aberdeen United Free Church College is Prof. J. 
Arthur Thomson, LL.D., whose subject is ‘‘ What is 
Man? The Nature of Man Scientifically Considered.” 
EpinpurGcH.—Mr. G. G. Chisholm, reader in geo- 
graphy, is to retire at the end of September next, in 
consequence of which the University Court will shortly 
roceed to appoint a lecturer who will be responsible 
or, and in charge of, the teaching of geography in 
the University. The status of reader may be attached 
to the office. Applications for the post must reach 
the Secretary by, at latest, February 28. 

Tue late Mr. C. T. Milburn, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, 
bequeathed the sum of 10,000/. (in addition to 
20,000/. given in his lifetime) to Armstrong College, 
expressing a wish that the legacy should be used for 
the endowment of a chair for the education of mining 
engineers or of naval architects, and that his name 
should be associated with it. 
Tue annual prize distribution at the Sir John Cass 
Technical Institute, Aldgate, E.C.3, will be held on 
Wednesday, January 31, when Sir Thomas Holland, 
after making the presentations, will deliver an address 
on “ Humanism in Technical Education.” 
Messrs. NorTON AND GREGORY, LTD., offer two 
engineering scholarships to be competed for annually, 
one of value roo/. per annum, and one of value 5o0/. 
per annum, tenable for three years at any university 
in the United Kingdom or British Dominions. The 
honorary committee which will award the scholarships 
consists of Sir Joseph Petavel (Chairman), Prof. C. E. 
Inglis (Vice-Chairman), Prof. E. G. Coker, Mr. J. 
Talbot, Mr. G. H. Burkhardt, and the Chairman and 
Managing Director of Messrs. Norton and Gregory, 
Ltd. Candidates must have reached the age of 17 
but not the age of 19 on March 1 in the year of 
examination, be domiciled in the United Kingdom, 
and undertake to pursue a three years’ course in 
engineering with the view of following it as a profession. 
Papers, which will cover two days’ examination, will 
be set in English, mathematics, mechanics, and 
general physics. The main object of the examina- 
tion will be to prove that candidates have received 
a good general education on broad lines and not 
necessarily specialised in engineering. The examina- 
tion for the 1923 scholarships will be held in March 
at a date to be fixed later, and all application forms 
must reach the committee not later than February 
15. Official application forms may be obtained from 
the Secretary, Scholarships Committee, Messrs. 
Norton and Gregory, Ltd., 1 and 2 Castle Lane, 
Westminster, London, S.W.1. 
