100 YEARS AGO

Alcohol as a motive power has formed an interesting set of experiments in France at the present time, the object being to produce a home-made substitute for petrol which all has to be imported. According to Heilden's Magazine for July the results obtained are of a satisfactory nature, both for the heavier and lighter types of cars, and it is stated that passenger cars driven by alcoholic traction have been proved to hold their own against those with petrol as a motive power. The price of alcohol at present is higher, but by the use of beetroot in its manufacture its market value has been greatly reduced. The experiments showed that the amount of alcohol consumed by the engines (which were designed to burn petrol) was 50 per cent. higher than that of petrol, but it is stated that with engines properly constructed to use the new motive power this difference would be greatly reduced... Attention is also directed to the ease with which it can be prepared from potatoes, and consequently, on account of its general utility for heating, lighting, &c., it would seem that an opportunity is open for Ireland to create a most important industry.

From Nature 24 July 1902.

50 YEARS AGO

Last season, following the reports that rearing under the bright emitter type of 'infra-red' lamp caused an increased incidence in chicks of a crooked-toe deformity, we reared several hundred chicks from our own stock on solid floors so that we could study the problem at first hand. Despite the fact that we did everything possible to induce the condition... we failed to produce a single case of crooked toe. Towards the end of the season... we were able to obtain some growing birds from an outside source, which had been reared under 'infra-red' and which showed the deformity... Chicks, apparently normal on hatching, from the crooked-toe parents have been reared along with some of our own chicks under the same 'infra-red' lamp, and whereas 100 per cent of the progeny from the crooked-toed parents have developed the deformity, our own chicks have remained quite normal. When second batches of chicks from both sources were reared together, neither the progeny from the crooked-toed parents nor our own stock developed the malformation. It would therefore appear that this particular type of crooked toe is of a hereditary nature.

From Nature 26 July 1952.