WHAT SCIENTISTS SAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3006, 25 October 1911, Page 83

WHAT SCIENTISTS SAY.

AB OUT MAN-POWER—RADIUM—EVO-i LUTION—RESEARCH—BREEDING —MENDEL WAGES ETHER—COTTON. j Interesting stores of scientific facts were poured out by scientific men at the British Association meeting. The papers are studded with most valuable matter, and we make a brief collection from them, j —Man-power and Horse-power.— I Sir William Ramsay, the president, asked, "How many man-pow<sr are equal to a horse-pewer ''. I have arrived at an estimate thus: A Bhutanese can carry 2301 b plus his own weight, in all 4001 b, up a hill 4000 ft high in eight hours; this is equivalent to about one-twenty-fifth of a horse-power; seven million hoise-power are therefore about 175 ' million _ manpower. Taking a family as consisting on the average of live persons, our 45 millions would represent nine million families; and dividing the total man-power by the number of families, we must conclude that each British family has, en the average, nearly 20 slaves doing his bidding, instead of the five of the Athenian family. We do not appear, however, to have gained more leisure thereby, but it is this that makes it possible for the British Isks to support the population which it does." —The Energy of Radium. — Sir William Ramsay says: "Suppose ; that the energy in a ton of radium could be utilised in 30 years instead of being evolved at its invariable slow rate of 1760 years for half-disintegration, it would suffice to propel a ship of 15,000 tons, with engines of 15,000 horse-power, at the rate of 15 knots an hour, for 30 years—practically the lifetime of the ship. To do this actually requires a million and a-half tons lof coal. And if we know for certain that 1 radium .and its descendants decompose spontaneously, evolving energy, why should : not other more stable elements decompose , when subjected to enormous strains? This I leads to "the 'speculation whether, if ele- ' ments are capable of disintegration, the 1 world may not have at its disposal a hitherto unsuspected source of energy. It j can be safely affirmed that the production 1 of radium will never surpass half an ounce I *a year. If, however, the elements which . we'have been used to consider as perma- ;' hent are capable of changing with evolution of energy; if some form of catalyser could be discovered which would usefully increase their almost inconceivable slow rate of change, then it is not too much to say that the whole future of our race . would" be altered." —Men the Goal of Science. — "I venture to think that, in spite of the remarkable progress of science and of its applications, there never was a time when ! missionary effort was more needed," added j Sir William Ramsay. . "Although most I people have some knowledge of the results ' of scientific inquiry, few, very few, have ; entered into its spirit. We all live in hope that the world will grow better as ' the years roll on. Are we taking steps to secure the improvement of the race? I plead-jor recognition of the fact that pro- ! gress in science does not only consist in ! accumulating information which may be j put to practical use, but in developing a I spirit of prevision, in taking thought for . the morrow; in attempting to forecast the future, not by vague surmise, but by orderly marshalling of facts, and by deducing from them their logical outcome; and chiefly in endeavouring to control con> l ditions which may be utilised for the lasting good of our people. We must culI tivate a belief in the 'application of trained ; intelligence to all forms of national activity.'" .

—Challengers of Evolution.— Dr W H. A. Rivers, president of the Anthropology Section, had some interesting things to say as to the way in which the theory o.f Evolution was being chal«fi> main problems of the history of human society were little if at all nearer their solution," he said. "The reason for this was not far to seek; it was that they had no general agreement about tne fundamental principles upon which the- theoretical work of their science was to be conducted. In England, for example, theoretical anthropology was inspired primarily by the idea of evolution founded on a psychology common to mankind as a whole, and further, psychology differing in no way from that of civilised nun. In Prance, as among ourselves, the chief interest was also in evolution. In America there seemed to be a distinct movement in. progress which put the evolutionary point of view on one side and was inclined to study social problems from the purely psychological point of view. "It was when they cam© is> that they found the most fundamental difference in standpoint-and method. _ In recent years there had been a very decided movement opposed to the whole evolutionary school. In some cases this had formed part of that general revolt not merely against Darwinism, which was so prominent in Germany, but itseunedeven against the whole idea of evolution. In everv case where British anthropologists saw "evolution the modem German school saw only the evidence of mixture of cultures, either with or without an accompanying mixture of the races to which these cultures belonged. When they found the chief workers of two t3&itts MKts approaching their subject from two radically different, and it would seem incompatible, standpoints it was evident that there muct be something very wrong."

—Scientific Material Vanishing.— "In many other sciences these new facts ■were discovered by experiment.. In their science they must be found. by exploration. And here, woe the hopeful aspect) ot their subject. Waiting to be collected there was a vast body of knowledge by means of which to test the truth of schemes of the history of mankind. It was cruel irony that just as the importance of the facts and conclusions of ethnological research was becoming recognised, the material of their science was vanishing with the march of our civilisation. Fortunately the need fofc ethnographical research was now forcing itself on the attention of those who had to deal with. savage or barbarous peoples. Still there was ample scope, indeed urgent need, for individual effort and for non-official enterprise. They had before them one of those critical occasions which must be seized at once if they were to be seized at all; the occasion of a need which to future generations would seem to have been so obvioua that its neglect would be held an enduring reproach to the science of our time. "In several islands of the Pacific, soma of which had had European settlers on them for more than a century, a most im» portant position in the community was occupied by the father's sister. If any. native of tbsse islands were asked who 'was the meet important person in the determination of his life-history, he would answer, 'My father's sister,' and yet the place of this relative in the social structure had remained absolutely unrecorded, and, he believed, absolutely unknown to the European settlers in these islands."

—Science Assists Nature.— One of the most interesting papers was that by Mr W. Bateson, F.R.S., on "Modern Genetic Science" —that science which helps Nature to breed new -types of animals and plants. Mr Bateson said: —"As regarded the application of Genetics to practice, when he wenit to the Temple Show or to a great exhibition of live stock, his first feeling was one of admiration and deep humility. Where all was so splendidly done and results so imposing were already attained, was it not mere impertinence to suppose that any advice they were able to give was likely to be of value?" Among the problems which this science set out to solve were such,as these : Could Australian sheep be bred so as to combine a certain length of wool with a certain fineness and right degree of crimping? South African farmers want to combine, the qualities of a certain strain of ostriches which had extra long plumes with those of another strain which had its plumes extra lustrous. . Flax-spinners, too, ask for a strain ot flax which will have a maximum length •with maximum fineness of fibre. In India it was necessary to have•■ an early-flowering cotton plant for the United Provinces, and Mr H. M. Leake achieved what was necessary.

—Menders Triumph.—Mr Bateson admitted that but for thework of the priest Mendel such practical achievements could not have been made.- • "If Mendel's eight years' work had been done in an agricultural school supported by public money he could imagine much shaking of heads on the county council governing that institution, and yet it wm no looser in dispute that he providedL the one bit of solid discovery upon which all breeding practice would' henceforth ; be based. °He knew few lines of pure research more attractive, and at the same time more likely to lead to economic results, than an investigation of the nature of variation in size of the whole organism, or of its parts. By what factors was 1 caused? By what steps did it proceed? By what limitations was it beset?

—Psychology and Wages.— , Professor E. Waxweiler, president of the Insbitut Solvav, Brussels, in a paper on "How Do Wages Vary?" raid:— "The question of the laws that governed wages movements had been, met by several 0 economic theories—'supply and de* mand,' 'wages fund,' 'productivity at labour,' 'standard of living,' 'bargain, _ to recall only soon© of them. In his opinion they -were all the outgrowth of a mosb precarious method of scientific theorising—namely the generalisation of concordances that were merely likely to appear. He claimed that the only way to build up a well-founded theory- of wages variations was to investigate, in the reality oi social life the process of such variations—that was to observe accurately, both from the side of the employers and the employees, what were the circumstances that initiated a rise or a deline of wages. He himself undertook some years ago investigations in this direction, and he had already collected a large amount of facts giving rise to conclusions of which he mentioned "some only as instances:—(l) The process of variation was quite different according as the work was piecerated or time-rated ; (2) there was a special chance for rise when the places of employment were numerous; (3) the more the rates of wages were differentiated in the same trade and place of employment, the, more wages were liable to rise by means of a kind of social 'leading-on' ; (4) the process of variation was thoroughly changed when both bargainers (or one of them) were organised; (5) the degree of knowledge of the economic conditions of their industrv anions working men affected the process of variation ; (6) the process of variation depended as much on the psychological standard of working men as on their material standard of living."

—Ether in Operations. — *• Sir F. Hewitt stated- that ether is replacing chloroform in general surgery, and that in the future -vve shall hear of fewer deaths under anaesthetics.

"An important lesson which they had learnt was that gradual methods of indue-, tio.ii, although certain slight disadvantages srs compared to rapid methods',' had the great advantage of securing during* the operation a degree of muscular tion and general quietude which were rarely to be obta'utfd when rapid and oodql-i

plicated methods of induction had been employed. "During the past year he had given a very thorough trial to so-called, 'aswn ether,' and with such results as tst him', he thought, in predicting a L-sng and successful reign for the method. He was desirous of placing on record his complete conversion to 'open' as opposed to 'close' etherisation. A new era in anaesthesia was commencing in this country. They were completely abandoning the ether cone and its countless modifications. They ysyw almost completely abandoning tb« timehonoured and ingenious inhalers of Cleveir and Ormsby, over the intricacies of "vftich so much valuable time had been ex pemded." —The Shortage of Cotton, — Mr J. Howard Reed, in a paper on "India With Respect to the World's Cotton Supply," observed that "shortage of raw cotton ahad become an almost chronic condition with which the cotton manufacturer had to contend. It had produced abnormally inflated prices, given an opportunity to cotton gamblers, caused loss and emibarrassrn&nt to manufacturers, and produced distress among cotton operatives. 'Shortage' had not been produced by a falling off of the world's output of ra.w fibre, nor by an increased demand by Lancashire for cotton, but by an enormous growth in the manufacture of cotton goods on the Continent of Europe and in the United States of America.

"In 18 years prior to 1910 Britain's demand for raw cotton had fallen 4. per cent., while during the same period Europe's requirements had increased 70 per cent., and this on a figure much larger tha.n ours. America, during the sarnie time, had increased her demand 90 per cent., and her total consumption of fibre now exceeded that of Britain by no less than 54 per oent. Thirty years ago the total American crop of cotton was less than seven million bales, but, supplemented by the small crops of other countries, wa,s sufficient to supply the world's demands and leave a surplus each sea-sen, keeping the price reasonable and fairly regular. Now, with an American crop nearly double the figure just quoted, and with increased supplies from other fields, and with the demand of Lancashire stationary, the price of raw fibre had doubled, and 'shortage' had become rampant, notwithstanding the restricted time worked in the mills. The difficulty apparently got worse month by month, and unless measures of amelioration were successfully pressed, the cotton industry of Lancashire must decline, and ultimately-be starved out of existence.

"India at present produced almost half the weight of cotton grown in the American fields, and had roughly 20,000.000 acres under cotton crops. Indian fibre was, however, of short staple and, therefore, very little used in Lancashire. Britain consumed only 87,592 bales during the year ended August 31, 1910. Many experts believed that with properly directed effort the crop of- Indian' cotton might be double in the course of a few years. If this could be done, even if the staple was not improved, it would take the place of much long-fibred cotton now used throughout the world, and set free for Lancashire a proportionate amount of better material." —Facts or Theories.—

Professor H. H. Turner, Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford, set himself the task of dealing with the opinion put forward h" Sir G. H. Darwin at Birmingham in 1886 that a mere catalogue of' facts never led to any important scfentific generalisation, and that "a theory is a necessity for the advance o.f science." "I formulate," he said, "the view that the perception of the need for. observations, the faith that something will come of them, and the skill and energy to act on that' faith—that these qualities, all of which are possessed by any observer worthy the name, have at least as much to do with the advance of science as the formulation of a theory, even of a correct theory. The work of the observer is often forgotten—it lies at the root of the plant; it ?s easier to notice the theories which blossom and ultimately produce the fruit. But without the patient work of the observer underground there would be neither blossom nor fruit. It is also easy to fix attention on the mechanical nature of much observation; but this is not the principal feature of observing any more than is numerical computation of mathematics."