Atlantis is being made by the government at the present time. The inception, constitution and methods of procedure of the department, which was constituted in 1915, were fully described by Sir Frank Heath in his paper to the Royal Society of Arts last February, and it was there stated by Lord Crewe that, so far as he knew, this was the only country in which a government department of research existed."

It is obvious that the work of a department of this kind must be one of gradual development with small beginnings in order that it may be sound and lasting. The work commenced by assisting a number of researches conducted by scientific and professional societies which were languishing as a result of the war, and grants were also made to the National Physical Laboratory and to the Central School of Pottery at Stoke-on-Trent. The grants for investigation and research for the year 1916-17 totalled £11,055, and for the present year are anticipated to be £93,570. The total income of the National Physical Laboratory in 1913-14 was £43,713, and, owing to the great enlargement of the laboratory, the total estimate of the Research Department for this service during the current year is £154,650.

Another important part of the work of the department has been to foster and to aid financially associations of the trades for the purpose of research. Nine of these associations are already at work; eight more are approved, and will probably be at work within the next two months; and another twelve are in the earlier stage of formation. There are also signs of great increase of research by

4 The Italian government are now establishing a National Council for Research, and a bill is before the French Chamber for the establishment of a National Office of Scientific, Industrial and Agricultural Research and Inventions.

individual factories. Whether this is due to the indirect influence of the Research Department or to a change in public opinion and a more general recognition of the importance of scientific industrial research it is difficult to say.

The possibility of the uncontrolled use on the part of a nation of the power which science has placed within its reach is so great a menace to civilization that the ardent wish of all reasonable people is to possess some radical means of prevention through the establishment of some form of wide and powerful control. Has not science forged the remedy by making the world a smaller arena for the activities of civilization, by reducing distance in terms of time? Alliances and unions, which have successfully controlled and stimulated republics of heterogeneous races during the last century, will therefore have become possible on a wider and grander scale, thus uniting all civilized nations in a great league to maintain order, security and freedom for every individual and for every state and nation liberty to devote their energies to the controlling of the great forces of nature for the use and convenience of man, instead of applying them to the killing of each other.

Many of us remember the president's banner at the Manchester meeting in 1915, where science is allegorically represented by a sorrowful figure covering her eyes from the sight of the guns in the foreground. This year science is represented in her more joyful mien, encouraging the arts and industries. It is to be sincerely hoped that the future will justify our present optimism.

CHARLES A. PARSONS

5 For instance, it might some day be discovered how to liberate instantaneously the energy in radium, and radium contains 2,500,000 times the energy of the same weight of T.N.T.

CYRIL G. HOPKINS

DR. CYRIL G. HOPKINS, head of the department of agronomy of the University of Illinois, passed away at the British Military Hospital at Gibraltar, on October 6, of congestion of the brain with malarial complications.

He had finished a year's work in the study of the exhausted soils of Greece under the auspices of the American Red Cross, had made his official report, had seen to the preparation of a Greek translation, had been decorated by the King of Greece "for distinguished service," and had taken ship for home when, without warning, the third day out from Gibraltar, the fatal illness struck him and at the age of fifty-three at the very zenith of his powers, his service was brought to an end. Just what that service was, I shall attempt to state as clearly as it is possible for a layman to state it.

Dr. Hopkins was a chemist both by training and by instinct. He had the chemist's conception that everything about us is built up of well-known elements in varying but definite proportions. He carried this conception into crops and into the study of soils which provides certain of the necessary elements in crop production. He was keenly impressed with the fact that most crops are produced out of the natural store of plant food just as coal is produced from the mines without restoration, and that this being the case, the individual can not compete against an agriculture which mostly draws upon virgin stores if he undertakes to apply to his land anything more than what is necessary to increase the amount "of the limiting element." this, he meant the particular form of plant food which chances to be lacking and, therefore, which limited the combinations which might be made in the form of plants. He announced the doctrine that the farmer should first know his soil by an inventory of its constituents, particularly those likely to run short as a merchant takes frequent inventory of his stock and places timely orders where the stock is running short, leaving the full shelves alone until they shall begin to run low.

By

With this view of the situation, he made

scientific objections to the whole theory of prepared mixed fertilizers just as he did to the idea of a patent medicine, believing with the physician that the first step is to diagnose the situation and then to find the particular remedy that is needed and apply it. He particularly objected to the use of "acid phosphates" partly because of cost arising from the fact that a full half of the weight consisted of sulphuric acid which is not a fertilizer and partly because of the fact that the acidity of soils, even under normal conditions needs frequent correction in order that the bacteria may thrive upon the roots of legumes and the store of nitrogen be properly increased.

Again with this conception of maintaining fertility, Dr. Hopkins believed, and his experiments seemed to confirm the belief, that sufficient amounts of nitrogen for ordinary farming purposes could be obtained by proper rotation of crops introducing the legumes with reasonable frequency, provided that soils were not allowed to become acid and that suitable measures were taken to promote bacterial growth.

The great slogan which Dr. Hopkins constantly employed was that of a "Permanent Agriculture," by which he meant that in the application of fertility, regard should be had, not only for the immediate results, but for the permanent effect upon the land, the test of which lay in this question: "Am I applying in my fertilizers as much phosphorus or potassium as I am removing in my crops and am I abstracting from the atmosphere by my rotations enough nitrogen to restore the draft upon the land?" He insisted that every farmer should not only be able to answer this question in the affirmative, but that if he chose for application the cheapest sources of plant food, he would be able to apply a little more year by year than he took out.

For this reason, the system which Dr. Hopkins advocated was the application of enough fertilizer to replace what would be taken out by a hundred bushels of corn, fifty bushels of wheat and so on for the other maximum yields. In this way, he argued and seemed fully able to prove that the American farmer

could build up an agriculture that would be not only profitable but also permanent and increasingly productive.

E. DAVENPORT

SCIENTIFIC EVENTS

ATOMIC ENERGY

Ar the second day of the James Watt centenary commemoration at Birmingham those present heard an address by Sir Oliver Lodge foreshadowing the possible employment of atomic energy.

According to the report in the London Times Sir Oliver Lodge said that, in view of the fact that the sources of molecular energy are beginning to show signs of exhaustion, he ventured to assume that if James Watt were living to-day he would be directing his attention to discovering whether there are other stores of energy at present almost unsuspected. The fact was that contained in the properties of matter there was an immense source of energy so far inaccessible, but which he saw no reason why the progress of discovery should not make available. He referred to atomic energy which, if it could be utilized on an extensive scale, would, he believed, greatly ameliorate the conditions of factory life. There would be no smoke due to imperfect combustion and no dirt due to the transit of coal or ashes, while the power would be very compact and clean. Possibly there might occasionally be explosions due to the liberation of power more quickly than it was wanted, but in general he presumed that the conditions of utilization would be good.

Sir Oliver explained that the secret of this power began to be given away when radio-activity was discovered, and said that at present we were hardly at the beginning of its utilization. The discovery of radium, which soon followed, excited universal interest and aroused great surprise, because radium appeared to give off energy continually without being consumed. The truth was that it did disappear as it gave off its energy, but the disappearance was so slow and the energy given off so remarkable that it was not surprising that one was noticed before the other.

The energy of radium, however, was not under control, and it went on emitting energy at its own proper rate without regard to accidental circumstances. What happened was that every now and then a particle was projected. The energy stored in an atom was something enormous, and if we could make the atoms fly off when we wanted there would be available a source of energy which would put everything else into the background. This energy was contained in all forms of mater and was not confined to radio-active substances. If a stimulus could be found the utilization of this source of energy would be possible. We appeared to be on the verge of utilizing a minute fraction of it, and it was this energy which had made wireless telephony possible.

STATISTICS OF THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY

A REPORT on "Natural Gas and Natural Gasoline in 1917" by John D. Northrop, just published by the Geological Survey, gives statistics of the production and consumption of natural gas and sketches the condition of the industry in 25 states. It gives also statistics concerning gasoline made from natural gas in that year.

More than 2,100 cities and towns in the United States are supplied with natural gas, which is furnished to domestic consumers at rates that should arouse the envy of those consumers of artificial gas who have to pay about a dollar a thousand cubic feet. The average price per thousand cubic feet charged to consumers of natural gas in the United States in 1917 was about 30 cents. The average price charged to manufacturers was less than 12 cents.

Most of the towns and cities supplied with natural gas are in New York Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kansas, Oklahoma and California. In Ohio 872,000 domestic consumers were supplied in 1917, In Pennsylvania 480,000, in California 239,000, in Kansas 188,000, in New York 164,000, in West Virginia 129,000, and in Oklahoma 95,000. The industrial consumers, by whom the gas is used for manufactures or for generating power, use twice as much gas as the domestic users.

The recovery of gasoline from natural gas has now become a large industry, which contributes materially to the supply of motor fuels. Experiments in the conversion of natural gas to gasoline were made as early as 1903, but experiment did not give way to commercial production until about 1910. The growth of the industry since that year has been remarkable. In 1911 there were in operation 176 plants, which produced about 7,400,000 gallons of raw gasoline from natural gas. In 1917, only six years later, there were 886 plants, which produced nearly 218,000,000 gallons. Prior to 1916 most of the gasoline recovered from natural gas was derived from casing-head gas obtained from oil wells, by methods involving compression and condensation, but from year to year an increasingly large proportion of the annual output of natural-gas gasoline has been recovered by the absorption process, which has now been applied not only to gas from oil wells but also to so-called gas, which occurs independent of oil and constitutes the main supply of natural gas. Dry gas can not be profitably converted into gasoline by compression.

wet"

66

dry"

LEATHER FROM AQUATIC ANIMALS THE Bureau of Fisheries reports that excellent progress in the tanning of fish leather is to be recorded, and a number of the difficulties that have retarded the development of the industry have been overcome by tanners in this field.

One company which is tanning fish-skins has established a station in North Carolina and another in Florida for the capture of sharks and porpoises, and is meeting with success in its fishery for sharks. It is understood that the number of stations will be increased as rapidly as possible. Another company which has recently acquired a site for a tannery in Washington plans to tan the hides of sharks, beluga, hair seals, etc.

fected for the Bureau of Standards to make tests of later products as to durability, porosity, tensile strength, pliability, water absorption, wearing qualities, etc.

The nets which the Bureau developed for the capture of sharks are proving successful and are being adopted for the fishery. At the fishery stations the liver oil is extracted and the flesh is converted into fertilizer, so that none of the material is wasted.

The supplies of walrus leather, which is cut into wheels and used for polishing fine metal surfaces or for removing mars and scratches on bright metal objects, have heretofore been imported. Last year the bureau furnished several interested persons with pieces of walrus hides for tanning and has recently received a sample of leather made therefrom for which tests are being arranged to determine its suitability for such purposes.

VACATION NATURE STUDY

BELIEVING that a better knowledge of wild life will bring about better conservation of it, and that when people are on their summer vacations they are most responsive to education on wild life resources, the California Fish and Game Commission backed by the California Nature Study League instituted this past summer a series of lectures and nature study field trips designed to stimulate interest in the proper conservation of natural resources. Six different resorts in the Tahoe region were selected for the work, and here illustrated lectures on the game birds, song birds, mammals and fish, given by Dr. Harold C. Bryant, of the University of California, furnished evening entertainment and early morning trips afield gave visitors an introduction to mountain wild life.

The motto of the field classes was: "Learn to read a roadside as one reads a book." Special excursions for children gave surprising results owing to the rapidity with which they absorbed information about the living things encountered.

Compact nature study libraries were placed at the resorts by the California Nature Study League and an exhibit of colored pictures and other illustrated material was on display.

Thus visitors were further able to increase their fund of information regarding wild life by a study of pictures giving full colors, by specimens and by books giving detailed facts.

This experiment in making conservationists out of "vacationists" proved so successful that another year will doubtless see the work expanded and the opportunity to study under a nature guide offered to thousands of those on their holidays in all parts of the state.

A COMPENDIUM OF CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CONSTANTS1

SCIENCE played so important a rôle in the war that one of the war's outcomes has been a national stock-taking by each of the principal countries engaged in the struggle of its condition, both as regards the scientific knowledge and resources already in its possession and the means it has for increasing this knowledge. England, Japan and America have all established departments or councils of national scientific research, either supported by government, as in the case of England and Japan, or by private funds, as in the case of our own National Research Council.

Out of this stock-taking has come the realization that certain scientific knowledge and the means of access to it have been largely in the hands of the Germans, and that other countries have been obliged to rely on German publications in order to make any use of it at all. A notable instance of this is afforded by the situation as regards the chemical and physical constants so indispensable for precise work in all chemistry and physics and in the application of these sciences to industry.

The National Research Council, therefore, with the cooperation of the American Chemical Society and the American Physical Society has planned to compile and issue a critical American compendium of chemical and physical constants which shall be up to date and correct, which, by the way, the German publications were not. And yet these badly organized and inaccurate German compendia

1 Press bulletin issued by the National Research Council.

were the only ones available to the American experts during the war in connection with their all-important scientific work on the pressing problems of war technique.

This will be a tremendous task and will involve the expenditure of at least $100,000 which must be obtained from private sources. The committee representing the National Research Council and the American Chemical and Physical Societies will have to scour all the university and research laboratories of the country for the needed facts. In addition the committee will attempt to find out from the business and industrial concerns of the country whose work is based on applied chemistry and physics a list of all the constants required in their work, and then will undertake to have these determined by scientific investigators and included in the compendium. A successful outcome of this large undertaking will be of inestimable value to the scientific and material strength of the nation.

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS

AT the October meeting of the executive board of the National Research Council Professor Vernon Kellogg, of Stanford University, was elected executive secretary of the council. He will hold this position in addition to that of chairman of the council's division of educational relations which he assumed last July. Professor Kellogg's work with Mr. Hoover's relief organizations and the Food Administration, which extended from May, 1915, to the present, is now practically at an end, although he remains one of the directors of the American Relief Administration European Children's Fund, which is the one still active organization under Mr. Hoover's direction.

Ar its meeting held on October 8, the Rumford Committee of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences voted the following appropriations: To Professor Frances G. Wick, of Vassar College, in aid of her researches on the phosphorescence of hexagonite and of fluorite at ordinary and low temperatures, $300; to Professor Robert W. Wood, of the Johns Hop