May 13, 1915] 
NATURE 295 

stances in which electric heating is advisable are 
mentioned. Later, a brief but lucid account is 
given of the nature of steel, including the modern 
alloys of iron and manganese, chromium, nickel, 
and tungsten. A separate chapter is devoted to 
the electric furnace. An interesting and instruc- 
live chapter is devoted to the artificial production 
ef cold, including liquefaction of gases and the 
methods used in cold storage. At the present 
time, when the advisability of increasing the pro- 
ductiveness of agricultural land is receiving 
attention, the chapters on “soil and crops” will 
be read with interest. 
Railways, tramways, and motor-cars next 
receive consideration, and the wonderful develop- 
ments of ship-building are ably dealt with. Great 
skill has been shown by the author in pointing 
out the scientific principles which have been 
utilised in each new technical advance. Thus, in 
connection with the speed of ships, Prof. Hele 

admire the painstaking erudition displayed by the 
author. Books of this character are apt to take 
the form of undigested summaries of inven- 
tions, only partially understood. This is not the 
case with the book now under review. The author 
could not hope, and has not attempted, to give 
exhaustive descriptions of the multifarious tech- 
nical inventions with which he deals; but these 
are always described in a stimulating manner, 
and great accuracy is displayed throughout. The 
letterpress is illustrated with 281 figures and a 
coloured frontispiece. Epwin EpseEr. 
THE GOVERNMENT AND CHEMICAL 
RESEARCH. 
HE President and Council of the Royal Society 
and of the Chemical Society have recently 
had under consideration the state of chemical 
industry in this country as revealed by the effects 
of the war, and have prepared 
memorials to his  Majesty’s 


Fic. 2.—Telescope at lower erd of periscope tube. 
‘Tweutieth Century.” 
From ‘ Discoveries 
Shaw’s experiments in fluid motion, and Froude’s 
method of determining the power required to 
drive a full size ship from experiments on a small- 
scale model, are described and illustrated. Natur- 
ally enough, aerial and submarine navigation 
receive their due share of attention; the most 
important types of monoplanes, biplanes, dirigible 
balloons, and submarine ships are described, and 
an interesting section is devoted to the gyrostatic 
compass. Details of the construction and method 
of firing of the torpedo are also given. The illus- 
trations showing the interior of a submarine 
(Figs. 1. and 2) will excite considerable interest. 
In reviewing this book, which contains an 
immense amount of material of the highest 
interest, it has been found impossible to do more 
than indicate the aim and scope of the work. 
Points of scientific interest are mentioned on 
almost every page, and the reader cannot but 
NO. 2376, VOL. 95] 

and Inventions of the 
Government directing attention 
to the necessity for immediate 
action. On Thursday last a 
deputation was received by the 
President of the Board of Trade 
and the President of the Board 
of Education at the Board of 
Trade offices for the discussion 
of the questions raised in the two 
memorials. Mr. Runciman’ and 
Mr. Pease were accompanied by 
Dien ANd disontes Vine wees iin eke 
Llewellyn ‘ Smith, Sir’ L. A. 
Selby-Bigge, Mr. Ogilvie, Dr. 
Heath, and Mr. Percy Ashley. 
The deputation was introduced 
by Sir William Crookes, who 
explained the functions of the 
several societies represented, 
and it consisted of Prof. A. W. 
Crossley, Dr. H. J. H. Fenton, 
Dr. M. O. Forster, Prof. W. H. 
Perkin, Prof. W. J. Pope, Prof. 
A. Schuster, Prof. A. Smithells, 
Prof. J. F. Thorpe, and Mr. R. W. Harrison, 
representing the Royal Society; Dr. A. Scott, 
Prof. F. G. Donnan, Prof. P. F. Frankland, 
Prof. J. C. Philip, Sir W. A. Tilden, and Dr. S. 
Smiles, representing the Chemical Society; Mr. 
A. C. Chapman, President of the Society of 
Public Analysts, Dr. G. G. Henderson, President 
of the Society of Chemical Industry, and Prof, 
H. Jackson and Mr. E. W. Voelcker, representing 
the Institute of Chemistry. Sir H. E. Roscoe and 
Prof. R. Meldola were prevented from attending 
by ill-health. 
Prof. W. H. Perkin, Sir W. A. Tilden, Prof. 
P. F. Frankland, Prof. W. J. Pope, and Dr. 
M. O. Forster spoke on behalf of the deputation. 
It was urged that the main causes of the com- 
paratively backward state of many branches of 
chemical industry in this country are the general 
failure to realise that modern technical industry, 
