250 REPORTS ON THE STATE OP SCIENCE. — 1920. 



of which will shortly be published. The Committee has also followed with 

 close attention the work recently published (a) by Drs. Marie Stopes, B. V. 

 Wheeler, and Eudolph Lessing upon the four macroscopically distinguishable 

 portions of banded bituminous coal and their respective behaviour on car- 

 bonisation and oxidation, (b) by Mr. S. R. lUingworth at the Treforest School 

 of Mines, and (c) by Mr. F. S. Sinnatt and collaborators of the Lancasnrre and 

 Cheshire Coal Research Association. 



Future Standards of Gas Supplies. 



Since it reported its views on the above subject to the Bournemouth Meeting 

 of the Association last year, the Committee has followed up the matter, and on 

 February 2 last a deputation, consisting of the Chairman, Sir Robert Hadfield, 

 Messrs. W. H. Patchell and H. James Yates, waited upon the then President 

 of the Board of Trade (the Rt. Hon. Sir Auckland C. Geddes, K.C.B.) to lay 

 before him the views of the Committee upon the subject, with special reference 

 to impending legislation. 



In introducing the deputation. Professor Bone called the attention of the 

 President to (a) the Report on Gas Standards which had been made by the Fuel 

 Research Board, (6) the conclusions thereon that had been arrived at as the 

 result of a conference between representatives of consumers, local authorities, and 

 gas undertakings, and (c) the announcement by the President of the Board of 

 Trade that a Bill would shortly be introduced in Parliament to give effect to 

 the recommendations of the Fuel Research Board.' He explained that the Com- 

 mittee had looked at the question primarily from the view of the national 

 interests as a whole, and particularly from that of domestic and industrial gas 

 consumers. It agreed with the Fuel Research Board that the future basis of 

 charge to the consumer should be the actual number of thermal units supplied 

 to him in the gas which passed through his meter, but desired that the charge 

 should be based upon the ' ascertained net calorific value ' of the gas supplied 

 rather than its ' declared calorific value,' as proposed by the Fuel Research 

 Board. It also endorsed the Fuel Research Board's original recommendation that 

 the gas should be supplied at a pressure of ' not less than two inches of water 

 at the exit of the consumer's meter,' but expressed its disagreement with the 

 Board's subsequent view that the pressure condition might be reduced to one 

 of ' not less than two inches of water in any main or service pipe of two inches 

 in diameter ' ; because what mattered to the consumer was the adequacy of the 

 pressure in his own pipes rather than in the gas mains outside his premises. 



It was also stated that the Committee attached great importance to the 

 pressure being maintained as constant as possible, as ■well as to gas undertakings 

 being required to pay greater attention than ever to the removal of cyanogen 

 and sulphur impurities from the gas. Finally, it was explained that the Com- 

 mittee, whilst agreeing generally with the proposals in regard to the new thermal 

 basis for the sale of gas, and to the restriction of its inert constituents, con- 

 sidered that its chemical composition would need some statutory regulation, and 

 that in particular no public gas supply should be allowed to contain less than 

 20 per cent, of methane or more than 20 per cent, of carbon monoxide. 



After Sir Robert Hadfield had endorsed the views of the Committee from thp 

 point of view of industrial consumers of gas, Mr. H. James Yates outlined 

 his views as a maker of gas fires who had for many years given much attention 

 to the scientific investigation of domestic heating and ventilation. He laid 

 stress upon the importance of maintaining a constant pressure of not less than 

 two inches water-gauge on the consumer's side of the service pipes, and th;it 

 the gross calorific value of the gas supplied should not be allowed to fall below 

 450 B.Th.U. per cubic foot, stating that if gas undertakings supplied gas of 

 lower calorific value a large part of the existing gas appliances would become 

 useless. 



Sir Auckland Geddes, in his reply, promised to give full consideration to 

 the facts and opinions which they had laid before him. Also, he said that he 



1- 



* The Bill was subsequently introduced by Sir Robert Home in the House of 

 Commons on May 19, 1920. 



