EDITORIAL. 
shakes. Representative sections in the Norfolk-Washington line showed 
that after seventeen. years’ service, of the 1,614 poles inspected 1,469 
were sound, 92 decayed at the top, and 105 decayed at the ground-line. 
The decay at the top was caused chiefly by cutting off the poles. In 
those decayed at the ground-line, the causes of failure, as determined 
in 88 per cent. of the.cases, were checks or shakes. Here again, as in 
the ties, the preservative outlasted. the mechanical life of the wood. 
Unless some other factor than protection from decay is considered 
important, therefore, there is apparently no need to specify high-boiling 
oils.. The important point is that any coal-tar creosote which is not 
extremely low-boiling or extremely high-boiling will satisfactorily prevent 
decay; and in the selection of an oil, factors such as price, penetrability, 
and convenience in handling should receive greater consideration than 
moderate differences in volatility. 
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 
“The ironfounding industry of Great Britain, through the Institu- 
tion of British Foundrymen, have decided to form a Research Associa- 
tion. It is intended primarily for the grey and malleable cast-iron 
trades, and the scheme will be under the attspices of the Government 
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, which has £1,000,000 
for furthering such work. It is proposed to have the offices and 
laboratories, and bureau of information, in Birmingham, and Mr. T, 
Vickers has been appointed technical adviser. He is secretary of the 
Birmingham Metallurgical Society. Ironfounding is greatly in need 
of the aid of science, and hitherto it has not drawn a good class of 
labour. There are 2,800 foundries in. Great Britain—285 being in 
Scotland, and 50 in Ireland. In the Midland area there are 828; 
and Birmingham has the most foundries of any town—118. Yorkshire 
has the largest number of any county—415. 
SEA-WEED FOR PAPER MAKING. 
The Thames Paper Company Limited has carried out an experiment 
on the sea-weed that is to be found in the estuary of the Thames, and 
which is a fairly common type along the shores of this country. This 
was dealt with in the company’s laboratory, and the chemist’s report 
is given below. From this it will be observed that the fibre contents 
of this sea-weed is practically nil. It is probable, however, that 
the type of sea-weed suitable for this purpose is somewhat different, 
for companies have been formed in Italy and Japan for the purpose 
of exploiting sea-weed in this way. As the possibility of utilizing 
this raw material in the manufacture of paper is of great, interest at the _ 
present time, further inquiries afte being made into the question. The 
chemist’s report referred to above is as follows:—Samples from the local ~ 
foreshore have been carefully examined from the above stand-point—: 
water content, 73.50 per cent (as received), bone-dry weight, 26.50 
per cent. This latter was chiefly dirt and foreign matter, salt (sodium 
chloride and other haolgens), and colloidal substances akin to gelatin. 
The amount of fibre was practically negligible, and was extremely 
difficult. to isolate on account of the “colloids.” Cellulose was not 
worth estimation, and the sample was useless as a raw material for 
paper making. - ves 
519 
