SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
in distillation processes. About 78 per cent. of the coal tar produced annually 
in the United States is obtained from coke ovens equipped to recover by-products. 
This, however, only represents between 40 and 50 per cent. of the total quantity 
of bituminous coal converted into coke. The remaining 50 or 60 per cent. is coked 
in brick “ beehive” ovens not adapted to recover the gas, ammonia, or tar, thus 
constituting a waste running into many millions of dollars annually. The ten- 
dency, in the United States, however, is to replace these ovens with types adapted 
to recover the by-products. The comparative cheapness of bituminous coal in 
America, and the low price commanded by the products, has been responsible 
for the wastage; but changed economic conditions are bringing American practice 
close to the practice of some European countries. 
Mr. Abraham explains that, in view of the vast amount of ground covered in 
the volume, he took it upon himself to draw freely from contemporary text-books 
and journal articles. The enormous number of references indicate the author’s 
industry, and adds to its value. Nevertheless, there is included a substantial 
amount of original data accumulated by the author during the past nineteen 
years, most of which, he states, appears in print for the first time. 
If science is to come by its own the nation as a whole 
must be brought to recognise the fundamental importance of 
the facts and principles of science to the right ordering of our 
national life. The more closely the work of our legislators 
touches the life of the people the more intimately it is 
concerned with questions of food supply, housing, &c., the 
utilization of natural resources and the conditions making 
bodily health, the more dependent it becomes on the skilled 
advice and assistance of those who can bring this knowledge 
of science to bear on social and economic problems. 
—Report of Committee appointed by the British Prime Minister to 
inquire into the position occupied by Natural Science in the 
Educational System of Great Britain. 
SOT 
SRA 
