540 



NA TURE 



[OCTOCER I, 1 90S 



subject, the list extends to forty pages, and includes the 

 titles of 700 serials, every serial's name being followed 

 by initials indicating some library or libraries in I^ondon, 

 Cambridge, Oxford, Dublin, Eomburgh, or Glasgow where 

 the serial is to be seen. This list, like the index which it 

 precedes, is an immense boon to mathematicians. \\\ 

 honour to those concerned in its preparation, and may the 

 other volumes soon follow ! 



What now remains, in order to satisfy the reasonable 

 demands of students of mathematics, is the preparation 

 of a one-page supplement making the list complete up to 

 the present day. There may be differences of opinion as 

 to what such a supplement ought to include. My original 

 proposal to the London Mathematical Society in 1904 was 

 to take as a gm'de the list of journals published by the 

 council of the International Catalog;ue, and to the extent 

 of one subject Prof. Armstrong's ideal would thus be at- 

 tained. A more thorough course would be to associate 

 with this list the corresponding lists which form the bases 

 of the Jalnhuch iihcr die Fortschriite tier Mqthematik and 

 the Revue seinestrielle des Piihlicatioiis mathcmatiques. 

 Doing this, I find that our supplement, to be exhaustive, 

 would need to include between thirty and fortv entries 

 instead of four-and-twenty ; as, however, a number of these 

 would concern journals of a very elementary character, 

 the most prudent course at the outset might be to select 

 only those that are included in all the three lists. The 

 number thus reached would be a dozen, and the following 

 are their names : — American Mathematical Montlily, 

 L'lntermediairc dcs Mathematicicns, Revue de Matlit'- 

 matiques sprcinles, Zcilschrijt f. math. n. natur-v. Vnter- 

 richt, Ahhaudl. zur Geschichte d. math. Miss., Mathemaiikai 

 is Phys. Lapok, Pericrdico de matcmatiche . . . , Supplc- 

 mento al Periodica . . . , II Pitagora, Boll, di Bibl. c 

 Sioria delle sci. mat., Tokyo sugaku Butsurigaku Kwai 

 Kiji, Proceedings of the Intern. Math. Congress. Some 

 even of these may not be very important, but surelv so 

 long as mathematicians are referred to them by the three 

 standard annuals above mentioned it is eminently desir- 

 able that one should know where they can be consulted. 

 Libraries, therefore, which possess sets of them should 

 make themselves known at such a centre as the office of 

 ■the International Catalogue, where possibly a suitable op- 

 portunity might present itself for placing the information 

 at the disposal of the public. Thos. Ml'ir. 



Cape Town, S..\., .September i. 



Research Woik on Natural Indigo. 



My attention has been directed to a review of the report 

 on indigo research work at Leeds L'niversity, recentiv 

 made by Mr. Bloxam and others to the Government of 

 India, which appeared in your issue of July 30. In the 

 course of this review Prof. Meldola directs attention to 

 the contention, which has been made by Jlr. Bloxam, that, 

 by means of new and improved methods of analysis, he 

 has shown that there is yet scope for considerable improve- 

 ment in the process of indigo manufacture. Prof. Meldola 

 believes that a good case has been made out, and severely 

 criticises the planters, and those who have advised them, 

 for having neglected to take advantage of the possibilities 

 which have been indicated by Mr. Bloxam 's work, since 

 he considers that therein lies the sole hope of the salvation 

 of their industry. 



As representing the planting community of Bihar, I 

 feel bound to say a word in our defence and in that of 

 our advisers, ^\"e cannot agree with Prof. Meldola that 

 the only hope of the survival of our industry lies in a 

 realisation of the possibilities which Mr. Bloxam believes 

 to e.xist in the improvement of our process of manufacture. 

 This process has, indeed, been considerably improved in 

 recent years, and, thanks to this, to changes in our agri- 

 cultural practices, and to the substitution of the Java for 

 the Sumatrana plant, we are now in a position to turn 

 out our indigo at half its former cost, and we have every 

 reason to hope that, with a few seasons of favourable 

 climatic conditions, we shall be able to compete with the 

 synthetic product at the lowest price at which it is likelv 

 to be able to be produced. There is also, as Prof. Meldola 

 points out, a biological side to our problem, and we 



NO. 2031, VOL. 78] 



anticipate that investigation from this aspect, which is yet 

 in its infancy, will ultimately lead to considerable further 

 benefit. 



But it is nevertheless totally unjustifiable to describe 

 our attitude towards Mr. Blo.xam's work as a hostile one. 

 It is perhaps true that we delayed calling in scientific aid 

 to our industry too long, but investigations directed 

 towards the improvement of indigo manufacture have now 

 been in progress in India for ten years, and as a result of 

 these investigations and by the aid of the new methods 

 which have been introduced, our scientific advisers now 

 tell us that nothing further can be done in improving the 

 main processes. ."Vs practical business men we are inclined 

 to accept this verdict rather than the opposed one, not 

 because it mitigates our "past neglect," for surely it 

 would not do so even if no improvement on our original 

 process had been found possible (which is far from being 

 the case), but because it seems to us more probable that 

 investigators on the spot, who have been daily handling 

 the fresh plant and the products of manufacture for a 

 term of years, are more likely to be in a position to form 

 a correct opinion than those who have dealt with pre- 

 served material for a comparatively short period. Further, 

 it would seem that no motive other than an honest con- 

 viction could influence those who declare that their work 

 has reached a conclusion. 



We are, of course, totally unable to judge of the scien- 

 tific arguments which have been advanced on either side 

 in the recent controversy, but it is doing the gravest 

 injustice to those who have advised us to imply, even 

 remotely, that they have chosen to disregard the researches 

 at Leeds lest they should disprove their own contentions. 

 Far from having ** deliberatelv brushed aside " the con- 

 clusions drawn by Mr. Bloxam and his colleagues, our 

 advisers have devoted a great deal of time to close 

 examination of the evidence whereon these conclusions 

 are based. Thev have satisfied themselves that this 

 evidence is erroneous, and continued investigations of the 

 crucial points at issue have only served to confirm their 

 original views. Nevertheless, they have repeatedly 

 impressed upon us the enormous benefit which might 

 accrue to our industry even if Mr. Bloxam 's contentions 

 were only partially correct and became realisable in prac- 

 tice, and thev have urged us to use every effort to obtain 

 an entirely independent opinion in the matter for this 

 reason, and in spite of their settled conviction that such 

 independent opinion is bound to confirm their own. It is 

 solely owing to this urging on their part that we have 

 taken steps to do this. T. R. FiLr..^LT. 



(General Secretary, Bihar Planters' .Association.) 



Mozuffcrpore, .\ugust 26. 



I CAN assure the secretary of the Bihar Planters' 

 Association that the comments upon their neglect of 

 scientific method when they were first brought into com- 

 petition with synthetic indigo which I felt bound to make 

 were prompted solely in the interests of the native industry. 

 It is practically conceded in the foregoing communication 

 that there has been such neglect, and that the practical 

 outcome of the revision of their processes has been the 

 halving of the cost of production of the natural product 

 in the course of a few years. This is satisfactory so far 

 as it goes, but the main issue is still left very doubtful. 

 In spite of the reduction of the cost of production by one- 

 half, it appears that they are still in India at the mercy 

 of climatic conditions, and even then, supposing these to 

 be favourable for a few seasons, thev have only " every 

 reason to hope " that they will be able to compete with 

 their coal-tar rival. Those who have at heart the welfare 

 of our Indian Empire will cordially endorse the wish that 

 their hope may be realised, but the point at issue between 

 the report to the Indian Government and the Planters' 

 Association is really whether finality has been reached in 

 the way of improvement. .'According to the statement of 

 the secretary, they have been advised that no further 

 improvement in the " main processes " is possible. The 

 results of the application of the newer methods of analysis 

 indicate clearly enough that there is more indigotin in 

 the plants than has hitherto been suspected. The advisers 

 10 the association certa'niv do " brush aside " this work 



