February 27, 19 13] 



NATURE 



703 



warping the wings, a freely connected cross- 

 warp lending to eliminate the effect of dihedral 

 angle. If for the time being we neglect the com- 

 plication introduced by the warping mechanism, 

 the system reduces to one of the cases considered 

 by INIessrs. Harper and Bryan, who state that, 

 "for stability, the distance of the tail fin behind 

 the centre of gravity must not be less than a 

 certain inferior limit." The condition is closely 

 connected with the covering of the tail girder, as 

 the covering means that the equivalent fin is 

 Iirought nearer to the centre of gravity of the 

 machine. 



The only representative at the exhibition of 

 another method of obtaining lateral stability is the 

 Handley Page monoplane. In common with other 

 well-known machines, such as the Dunne and 

 Etrich, the Handley Page monoplane has wings 

 of special shape and disposition arranged so as to 

 give righting couples to the machine when rolling 

 or turning occurs. The experimental information 

 available is not yet sufficiently advanced to show 

 that this system of specially shaped wings is either 

 better or worse than the more usual one previously 

 referred to, which depends on wings of a simpler 

 form. 



Perhaps the best indication of the position ol 

 the subject of lateral stability is to be found in 

 the fact that the whole of the warp and rudder is 

 left to the personality of the pilot, and that both 

 are powerful controls. As the periods of the 

 oscillations are comparatively long, it is quite 

 within the bounds of possibility that a pilot would 

 be able to keep his balance without the aid of 

 inherent stability devices. If, however, the treat- 

 ment of longitudinal stability is any indication ol 

 the trend of construction, then in the near future 

 we may expect considerable attention to be paid 

 to the problems of lateral stabilitv, and that the 

 final solution will not be inconsistent with the 

 principles of stability deduced from mathematical 

 investigations of the stability of small oscillations. 



THE SCIENTIFIC WORK OF THE LOCAL 

 GOVERNMENT BOARD.'^ 



IX the introduction to the report before us Dr. 

 Newsholme surveys the public health of 

 England and Wales during 191 1, and reviews the 

 work of the medical department of the Board 

 for the year ending March 31, 191 2. The varia- 

 tions in mortality from various diseases since 

 1901 are illustrated by charts, as in the previous 

 report. The percentage increase of population 

 for igoi-ii remains the same (i2'4) as in the 

 preceding decade, but this is due to a fall in 

 the death-rate by 3'o per cent., which just 

 counterbalances the decline in the birth-rate. The 

 deaths from scarlet fever continued to decline 

 during 191 1, those from diphtheria and enteric 

 fever increased slightly, but those from diairhoeal 

 diseases showed a considerable increase over 



1 Forty-first Annu.il Reoort of the Local Government Board, 1911-12. 

 Supplement cont.iiiiin:; the liepjrt of llie Medical Officer for 1911-12. 



NO. 2261, VOL. go] 



previous years, due to the abnormally hot season ; 

 even so, however, there was less diarrhcEa, 

 still less infant mortality, in 191 1 than in 

 1899. 



The previously plague-infected district in East 

 Anglia has been kept under observation, and 

 during July-October, 191 1, 15,332 rats were 

 examined, and twenty-seven farms or other 

 premises were found to harbour plague-infected 

 rodents. 



Of the auxiliary scientific investigations carried 

 out for the board, the first is a report on arterial 

 degeneration by Dr. Andrewes. Dr. Newsholme 

 points out in his introductory remarks that while 

 there has been a great reduction in the general 

 death-rate during the past thirty or forty years, 

 this reduction only affects ages up to forty-five 

 years, while higher ages participate in it little or 

 not at all. In fact, for males between fifty-five 

 and seventy-five, the death-rate actually tends 

 to be going up. Inasmuch as one-third of the total 

 deaths for the age period fifty-five to sixty-five 

 is caused by diseases of the heart and blood- 

 vessels, a knowledge of the causation of arterial 

 degeneration is of importance. Dr. Andrewes's 

 report is of a preliminary nature ; he considers 

 that the use of tobacco appears at most an 

 adjuvant cause, while the inllucnce of alcohol 

 cannot be satisfactorily demonstrated. 



Studies on the frequency of non-lactose fer- 

 menting and non-liquefying aerobic bacilli in 

 young children have been continued at Birming- 

 ham by Dr. Lewis, and at Liverpool by Dr. 

 Alexander, and Dr. Graham-Smith has investi- 

 gated the incidence of the same organisms in 

 flies. Prof. Nuttall and Messrs. Strickland and 

 Merriman record observations on the species and 

 number of fleas on British rats. 



Prof. Hewlett and Dr. Nankivell have investi- 

 gated the influence of the Porter-Clark water- 

 softening process on the bacterial content of water 

 treated by it, and find that considerable purifica- 

 tion is effected thereby. 



Dr. Blaxall finds that o'l per cent, of oil of 

 cloves is a valuable aid in the preparation of 

 glycerinated calf lymph free from micro- 

 organisms. 



Altogether this volume contains matter of much 

 scientific value and importance. R. T. H. 



THE MOUNTAINS AND THEIR ROOTS.^ 

 (i) TT would be difficult to conceive a greater 

 ^ divergence in character and scope between 

 two books, nominally dealing with cognate sub- 

 jects, than between the two first-named on our 

 list. Prof. Bouncy, in his metaphorical use of the 

 w ord " building," follows popular usage, for how 



1 (1) "The Huilding of the Alps." Uy Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S- 

 I'p. 184. (London: T. Fisher Unwin, igi:.) Priceiw.6rf.net. 



(2) Survey of Indi.l. Professional I'.iper No. 12: " On the Origin of the 

 Hlin.-it:iy:i Monni.iins : n Considcr.nlion of the Geodetic Evidence." By 

 Colonel S. G. Burr.trd, F.K.S. Pp. iil-26 (C.ilcull.1, 1912.) 



(5) Survey of Indi.t. Professional Paper No. i-^, "Investigation of the 

 Theory of Isostasy in Indi.i." By Major H. L. Crosthwait, R.E. Pp. 

 iii + 14. (Dehra Dun, 1912.) 



