562 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LI. No. 1327 



scientific and medical research. When he re- 

 ported to him what had passed that day, they 

 might be sure the Prime Minister would give 

 it the most sympathetic consideration. He 

 was far from laying it down that the state 

 should not on occasion imitate our forefathers 

 in the case of Jenner and offer a pecuniary 

 reward to some great man of science whose 

 services had been exceptional and whose 

 achievements were obviously his own. But he 

 would not wish that to be a part of the regu- 

 lar system of dealing with discovery in this 

 country. He hoped that what the govern- 

 ment had already done would be found to be 

 far greater in its idtimate results than per- 

 haps the public at large, or even men of 

 science, as yet had realized. He feared that 

 they had not been supported as they might 

 have been by men of great wealth in this 

 country. There had been admirable excep- 

 tions, but either we had fewer millionaires 

 than the Americans or we were less lucky in 

 them, for there was no doubt that private 

 individuals across the Atlantic had contrib- 

 uted on a scale which did justice to their 

 generosity and was likly to produce great re- 

 sults for the whole world. Probably it was 

 out of the question to hope completely to 

 emulate them, but he did not despair that 

 among the wealthy men in this country some 

 might be found, in addition to those who 

 had already shown themselves generous bene- 

 factors, who would do much to aid and stim- 

 ulate that research into the laws of nature 

 and that application of those laws upon which 

 our main hopes for the amelioration of the 

 lot of the human race must depend. 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



THE MANUFACTURE OF SYNTHETIC AMMONIA 

 IN ENGLANDi 



The Ministry of Munitions announces that 

 Lord Inverforth has arranged for the sale of 

 H. M. Nitrate Factory of Billingham-on-Tees 

 to Messrs. Brunner, Mond, and Co., Ltd. The 

 purchasers wiU form a company to take over 

 the factory, and will be responsible for all 



1 From Nature. 



outstanding liabilities of the ministry in con- 

 nection with the project. This factory, the 

 erection of which was commenced early in 

 1918 by the Department of Explosives Supply, 

 was designed for the manufacture of synthetic 

 ammonia and for the production of 60,000 to 

 Y0,000 tons of ammonium nitrate annually. 



During 1916 the Nitrogen Products Com- 

 mittee had established a laboratory in prem- 

 ises placed at its disposal in the new Ramsay 

 building of University College, London, and 

 the Committee's research staff, under the 

 direction of Dr. J. A. Harker, was engaged 

 in an experimental investigation of a number 

 of problems relating to nitrogen fixation. 

 Although it was not anticipated that there 

 would be any shortage of supplies of am- 

 monia, yet it was deemed desirable, in view of 

 the special ability of the synthetic ammonia 

 process for the needs of this country, that an 

 experimental study of it should be made 

 forthwith, so that the required information 

 should be available if necessary. 



After a year's experimental work, the prog- 

 ress made was considered so encouraging that 

 the Committee decided to establish a mod- 

 erate-sized technical trial unit, and funds for 

 the purpose were allocated by the treasury. 

 It was hoped, by means of this plant, that a 

 study of the chemical engineering problems 

 could follow upon that already made of the 

 pure chemistry of the reactions involved, but 

 the committee did not suggest the establish- 

 ment of the process as a war measure upon an 

 industrial scale. In 1917, however, the Ex- 

 plosives Supply Department considered that 

 the position reached in the experiments justi- 

 fied it in recommending the erection of a 

 large works, in substitution for the com- 

 mittee's cyanamide project, and a site at Bill- 

 ingham, some 260 acres in extent, was ulti- 

 mately chosen for this purpose. But a num- 

 ber of difficulties supervened, and construc- 

 tion was slow, and at the time of the armistice 

 only a few permanent buildings and a number 

 of temporary structures had been erected, 

 though a large amount of plant had been 

 ordered. 



The purchasers of the factory now undertake 



