BRITISH ADVISORY COUNCIL. 
The position predicted by Professor Jevons has occurred earlier probably 
than he himself anticipated owing to the scientific advance made by 
Germany. Coal has assumed a new importance and its by-products are 
now put to an infinite variety of uses, from driving motor cars to making 
scents or delicate shades of colour. Therefore, the men of science have 
been summoned to the assistance of British manufacturers.. 
Although distinct from the main lines of inquiry which the Fuel 
Research Board is engaged upon, it is interesting to learn that “ during 
the year the improvements it is hoped to secure in the construction of 
kitchen ranges alone will save far: more in the annual cost of coal 
consumed than is being spent each year upon all our activities.” 
The creation of the Food Investigation Board is another development 
of the highest practical importance. The main heads of its programme 
are fish preservation, engineering, meat preservation, fruits and 
vegetables, oils and fats, and canned goods. “ Engineering” in this 
respect means cold storage, and it requires but little imagination to. see 
the vast improvement that can be made in the conditions of life through 
the provision of adequate and suitable means of refrigerated transporta- 
tion. and storage. In Australia the study of this problem would 
probably be of relatively greater importance. Any advance must 
re-act beneficially upon all our primary industries. 
The report shows a strongly increasing tendency on the part of 
British industries to ally themselves with the new Department, and it 
also shows how great is the benefit that co-operation has conferred. In 
the last issue of Science and Industry an outline of the organization and 
policy of the Department, given by Sir Frank Heath, Secretary of the 
Advisory Council, was published, and the conclusion of his description 
appears in this number. That outline explains the formation of trade 
associations for scientific research, and indicates their sphere of useful- 
ness. The British scientific instrument makers, whose industry was 
substantially strengthened during the war, and is now in a better position 
to withstand foreign competition, have formed an association which will 
receive a State grant of. £70,000 in five years if it raises £7,000, and 
carries out a scheme of scientific investigation that would benefit this 
pivotal industry. Science also came to the aid of the glass industry 
during the war period, and the glass manufacturers have allied them- 
selves to the Department. Other associations which have been formed 
include the photographic industry, the cotton, linen, and woollen trades, - 
the motor industry, and the boot and shoe trade, the iron, Portland 
-cement, and sugar industries. 
In dealing with the general principle of the organization of research 
the Advisory Council pointed to the danger of interference, and 
expressed the opinion that while it was possible for the State by means 
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