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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1131 



Dibdin, curator of the "Walker Art Gallery, 

 Liverpool, addressed the delegates, taking as 

 his subject the effect of the war upon the art 

 museums of the country. He had sent a series 

 of questions to eighty-two art museums in 

 Great Britain, and from their answers was 

 able to give some interesting details as to 

 their experiences. Briefly summarized, his re- 

 marks indicated that whereas several London 

 galleries have been closed by the action of the 

 government, and one or two others report a re- 

 duced attendance, the majority of the provin- 

 cial institutions show an increased attendance, 

 and only one has been closed. It thus appears 

 that the protest lodged with the prime minister 

 by the Museums Association against the gov- 

 ernment retrenchment committee's suggestion 

 that provincial museums and art galleries 

 should be closed has been thoroughly justified. 

 At the coming convention of the American 

 Electrochemical Society which will be held in 

 New York from September 27 to 30, one of the 

 sessions will be devoted to " Made in America " 

 products of the electric furnace and electric 

 cell. These products include many of our 

 most important staples such as copper, alum- 

 inum, abrasives, bleach and many more. It is 

 an interesting fact that whereas other chem- 

 ical industries, such as the coal-tar dye indus- 

 try are primarily European, the electrochem- 

 ical industry is largely American. It is here 

 that the production of aluminum was invented 

 and put on a commercial basis. The first 

 plant for the electrical synthesis of the ele- 

 ments of the air and the production of artificial 

 fertilizer nitrate was erected at Niagara Falls. 

 At the Falls, also, tons of abrasives are pro- 

 duced in large powerful electric furnaces. The 

 importance of these abrasives can best be ap- 

 preciated by the fact that if these supplies were 

 to cease to-day practically every mill and fac- 

 tory in the country would have to shut down 

 within three months' time. Other electro- 

 chemical products of decided economical im- 

 portance and value are graphite, phosphorus, 

 hypochlorite of lime, magnesium, metal, car- 

 bon bisulphide, calcium carbide, hydrate of 

 sodium, ferro silicon and other iron alloys 

 which are indispensable to the steel trade. 



We learn from the London Times that the 

 British Advisory Council for Scientific and 

 Industrial Research announces that it is ap- 

 pointing standing committees of experts to 

 report on proposed researches of great impor- 

 tance submitted to it. Committees in mining 

 and metallurgy have already been formed, con- 

 sisting both of scientific men and of leaders of 

 the industries concerned. Each committee 

 will have two sections. Sir "William Garforth, 

 the coal owner, is chairman of the mining 

 committee and of its nonmetals section, and 

 Mr. Edgar Taylor, of the firm of John Taylor 

 and Sons, owners of mines in various parts of 

 the world, will preside over its metals section. 

 Sir Gerard Muntz, of the Muntz Metal Com- 

 pany (Limited), Birmingham, has accepted the 

 chairmanship of the metallurgy committee and 

 of its non-ferrous section, and Sir Robert 

 Hadfield, F.E.S., of Hadfield's (Limited), 

 Sheffield, is chairman of its ferrous section. 

 A similar committee for engineering is con- 

 templated. The council is making grants to 

 various societies to enable them to continue 

 researches already in progress for which the 

 necessary staff and equipment are obtainable, 

 and quite recently valuable results have been 

 obtained from researches connected with the 

 production of optical glass. The council has 

 also recommended a grant in aid of an im- 

 portant new research into the manufacture of 

 hard porcelain, especially for domestic pur- 

 poses. This has been undertaken by the 

 Stoke-on-Trent Central School of Science and 

 Technology, and the Staffordshire Potteries 

 Manufacturers' Association, with a view to es- 

 tablishing the manufacture of hard porcelain 

 in this country. Particulars have been ob- 

 tained of the research work, not only of the 

 scientific and professional societies, but also 

 of the universities and higher technical 

 schools, with a view to establishing a register 

 of research. The possibility of collecting in- 

 formation under the seal of confidence as to 

 the research work of particular firms is also 

 being considered. The training of an ade- 

 quate supply of research workers will be an 

 important branch of the advisory council's 

 work. It is impossible to announce definite 



