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MOTORING NOTES.

Flexible Glass.ON Jan. 19th the Motor announced the invention of ’’,

flexible glass, and in a later issue of the same journalsome interesting facts about the discovery were

disclosed. This " organic " glass is said to be a

condensation product of formaldehyde and urea,similar to the imitation tortoise-shell of formaldehydeand phenol; many investigators had been trying tomake it before 1920, when Drs. Fritz Pollak andKurt Ripper, of Vienna, commenced their researchwork. They have overcome some formidable diffi-culties, especially in finding a way to keep flaws outof the larger pieces, but they now claim to haveperfected a simple and sure method of making products" having the transparency of glass, resilient, insolubleto the highest degree, insensitive to differences intemperature, and adapted to be worked." The newglass is colourless, transparent, strong, and light ; it isreasonably hard and so flexible that it will not splinterbut fractures harmlessly. It is transparent to ultra-violet rays, can be coloured and etched, and itsrefractive index can be varied within certain limits.It requires little imagination to foresee some of theuses to which tough flexible glass could be put, notonly in motor-car body-work but also in parts likepetrol- and oil-tanks, where transparency would beextremely useful. It would minimise many of the risksof laboratory work and would take a heavy load offthe mind of the practitioner, who often has to transportexpensive and sometimes destructive fluids in a

handbag. The inventors hope also to make lenses forgiant telescopes far more cheaply than is possible withordinary glass. We understand that arrangementshave been made to market the glass in Great Britain,the interests of the proprietors in this country beingrepresented by Mr. J. C. Vredenburg, 2-3, Charter-house-square, London, E.C. 1, but we understandthat no specimens of the glass are as yet availablefor inspection.

Current Prices of Second-hand Cars.Although everyone would sooner have a new car,

not all can afford it, for the value of nearly all carsdrops 25 per cent. in the first year. The price is a bigone to pay for a depreciation in appearance that isoften hardly noticeable, especially considering thatwhen a good car is a year old it generally runs betterthan it did when new. It is therefore often worthwhile to consider buying a year-old car. The second-hand market is lower this year than it has been for along time, and there are many firms, both in Londonand the provinces, who can be trusted to give whatthey advertise. Few good English cars lose mechanicalcondition after a year or less, but when examining asecond-hand car it is as well to take a competentadviser to examine the state of the tyres and batteries.The Automobile Association assist their members inthis way for a small fee. The doctor had better notbuy anything sold before 1925 unless it is one of thefew first-class makes.

Examples of current prices for last year’s cars are :Austin 7 .6105 ; Morris-Cowley two-seater :6110,coupé .6145 ; Clyno 11 occasional-four .8125, four-seater .6130 ; Standard 11-4 two-seater .8125, saloon.6180 ; Ariel 10 two-seater .8145 ; Wolseley 11 two-seater 6155, four-seater 6175 ; Morris-Oxford four-seater .6175, saloon .6265 ; Bean 12 four-seater 2220Austin 12 four-seater with four-wheel brakes 2265Crossley 14 two-seater with four-wheel brakes 6285 ;Alvis 12-50 four-seater 6350 ; Bentley four-seater2795. A 1924 Daimler 16 saloon is advertised for2425 and a 1923 Bentley for 575.

These examples show an average of about 35 per cent.under the present new prices. Many dealers sellshop-soiled unused cars at 15 per cent. under theircatalogue price. Intending purchasers should bequick about it, as the market rises with the springdemand. I

The Problem of Dazzle.By inventing the electric self-starter the electrical

engineers made motoring very much more comfort-able in one way, but very much less in another, for thedazzle problem is undoubtedly a direct result of theiringenuity. A self-starter means a 12-volt battery,and a 12-volt battery is an irresistible temptationto makers to fit powerful headlights. If these were asefficient as the starter no harm would be done, butuntil the problem became acute it never occurred toany designer that something more was required froma lamp than just a more or less parallel beam. Theordinary headlight, as any night-driver can testify,sprays its light all over the road as well as directly infront of the car, and to meet a string of cars at nightis one of the most terrifying experiences of motoring.The driver is completely blinded for several seconds,during which he may either run his car off the roador overtake and collide with an ill-lighted cart orunlighted bicycle. In self-defence he may hide behinda piece of tinted glass on the off-side of his screen orgoggles, a shield of doubtful value. He can fit a spot-light on his near dumb-iron, set to light up the sideof the road ; this is an expensive fitting and does notprotect him against obstacles on the road itself.What he does too often is to have as bright headlightsas he can get and keep them on, and this, although itpreserves him most of his view of the road, completesthe vicious circle of the dazzle problem. Mostmotorists are considerate and would willingly mitigatetheir dazzle if they could do so safely, but so far hardlyanyone has shown them how to. Dimming isappreciated by meeting traffic, but the dimmer runsa grave risk of failing to see an obstruction ; it istherefore only a palliative. Besides this he is often toooccupied to have any attention to spare for a dimming-switch. The problem of fog is allied to that of dazzle,and indeed a solution of one would solve theother. Tinted bulbs are of some use, but they againare only a palliative, for they cut off much light andso waste a great deal of current. The only remedy isto use a lamp which will throw a flat-topped beam,so that the light will not be reflected back from thefog to the driver’s eyes. ’"

Similarly, to avoid dazzle it is necessary to keepthe beam down, so that its upper rays shall be belowthe eyes of other users of the road. The dippinghead-lamp partly secures this result, especially if it ismounted high, but most makers fit their lamps toolow. Even if the lamp is mounted in the right place,which should be just below the driver’s line of sight,the ordinary head-lamp throws so much light above themain beam that it cannot be dipped far enough toprovide safety for both parties. Besides this theprocess of dipping occupies one hand at a critical time.A lamp especially designed to throw a flat-topped beamis a better solution. The beam need not be a verynarrow one, as if the top of the beam is below eye-levelit does not matter to people in front where the lightgoes. At least one lamp on the market (the Strange)supplies such a beam. The top half of its reflector hasa smaller radius than the lower half, and its screenhas vertical ribs. Above four feet its beam is absolutelycut off, and one can walk straight up to it and stare atit without being dazzled. It gives a good drivingbeam, with diffused light at both sides and overhead.A French model is a lamp called the Parallux, in whichthe beam is held down by horizontal strips of yellowtape. It is said to be very good, but is not yet on theEnglish market. Both these lamps cost no more thanthe ordinary first-class head-lamps. In the absence ofa special device the least every car driver can do is tosee that his own lamps are in proper focus and, ifpossible, that they are not pointing upwards. It iseasy enough to focus head-lamps, and bad focus isresponsible for a good deal of dazzle.

The New Clyno " 13."The doctor wanting a low-priced car should examine

the new 13 h.p. model made by Messrs. Clyno. For theprice, 2260, it is very good value. The steel body iswell built, the cushions are comfortable and covered

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with real leather. The side screens are rigid and neatin their thin steel frames, and a rear screen is part ofthe standard equipment. The floors have black

druggets, besides a rubber covering. On the dash-board are a speedometer, clock, lamp, and

" strangler "

for starting ; throttle and ignition controls are fittedon the steering-wheel and the gear and brake leversare on the right-hand side. The engine is not reallya 13 but an 11.9, for its capacity is only 1500 c.cm.It is well designed, except that the magneto andcarburettor are rather inaccessible ; it would be an

improvement to change the magneto and generatorabout, for the latter is mounted high up on the off-sideand is very easy to get at. The brake adjustmentsare placed conveniently, and the tool-kit is adequate.The chassis is lubricated with a grease-gun in accord-ance with the latest practice. The driving positionis comfortable, and the front seat will slide back farenough to give long legs plenty of room, but only,of course, at the expense of any passengers behind.Possibly a very tall driver might find that the gear-driven screen-wiper and the top rail of the screen gotrather awkwardly in his line of sight, but a lesser manwould drive comfortably enough. The hand-brakelever is a shade too near the side of the body, butmight perhaps be bent inwards a little. The gear leverhas a long travel and gives a comfortable and quietchange.The new Clyno is a nice car to drive, as the engine is

quiet and well behaved, the steering is extremelydelicate, and the four-wheel brakes will work gentlyas well as pull the car up abruptly when reallynecessary.The gear-box has only three speeds, and perform-

ance on middle is a little disappointing, this gearbeing far too low. It seems to be impracticable tobalance mass-production engines so accurately thatthey will spin up to the top of their power-curvewithout complaining. The remedy is either to havefour speeds with a fairly high third-and this isexpensive-or to have an engine so large that it willtake nearly everything on top, like an American car.The Clyno engine is not big enough for this. It is,however, an excellent car of its class, and may wellbecome popular among medical men.

BERLIN.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Combating Venereal Diseases in Recsza.AT a joint meeting of several Berlin medical societies

Prof. Bronner, head of the venerological departmentof the Russian Commissariat for Health, recentlydescribed the campaign against venereal disease inRussia. In Moscow, he said, there is a central institute Ifor the training of medical men as specialists. Thecourse lasts a year and 600 medical men have alreadyhad instruction. At first a course of three to sixmonths was the rule, but this proved too short. Thetimes of attendance are early in the morning and latein the evening, so that workmen may have time tovisit the institute without losing time at their work.The law allows only qualified medical men to attendpatients, and quackery is nearly extinct in present-day Russia. Great stress is laid on the education ofthe public in hygiene. Persons suffering from venerealdisease are advised to undergo treatment, but thereis no regulation compelling them to do so. In theprovinces there are similar institutes to the one atMoscow, and arrangements have been made to supplyinformation to correspondents who lack the time tocome themselves. Prostitution, says Prof Bronner,almost disappeared during the time when workingwas compulsory for everybody, but after the neweconomic policy was adopted prostitution beganagain, and is tolerated because the authorities considerthat as long as they are unable to procure work foreveryone, it would be wrong to hinder women fromearning their living in any way they like. An energetic

war is, however, being waged against brothels, andinfected prostitutes are conveyed into a home calleda prophylacterium, where they find not only medicalattendance but also food and work. To inquire intothe state of things in the country at large commissionsof medical men with assistants have been sent out,and it has been ascertained that in some villages upto 45 per cent. of the population have venereal disease.In about 90 per cent. of these the infection is extra-genital, and is due to the primitive housing accom-modation and the deficient hygiene of the ruralpopulation. On an average in the provinces 1.5 to4 per cent. suffer from syphilis, but in regions likeTurkestan, with a native population, the percentagerises to 15 or 25, whilst amongst the Mongols of theBaikal provinces it is as high as 45. The reduction inthe population of these tribes is ascribed in largemeasure to their being affected with venereal diseasein a severe form. Prof. Bronner states that, whilstthe cases of chancre are increasing, secondary syphilis,on the other hand, is diminishing, obviously owing toearlier treatment than formerly. In 1920 the amountof salvarsan produced in the Russian chemical factorieswas 65 kg. : in 1925 the output had risen to 1800 kg.,besides 100 kg. imported from abroad. Before it isdispensed to the public the drug is submitted to athorough chemical and biological test. Prof. J.Jadassohn, the President of the Association for thePrevention of Venereal Diseases, stated at the meetingthat in his visit to Russia he had gained a very goodimpression of the work done by the Russian Govern-ment. In Russia more than elsewhere the prevalenceof syphilis was due to failure of personal hygiene.Similar conditions had existed in Germany during thewar and shortly afterwards.

The late Prof. Israel.The death in Berlin on Feb. 20th of Prof. James

Israel removes one of the most celebrated of Germansurgeons. Born in 1848 in Berlin, he studied inthe university there, and after qualification continuedhis medical training at Vienna, London, and Edin-burgh. Returning to Berlin, he became assistant atthe Jewish Hospital under Langenbeck, the surgeon,and Traube, the physician, and when fully equippedby all his experience was appointed chief surgeon tothe Jewish Hospital, where he remained until hisretirement in 1913. It was Israel who first describedactinomycosis in men as early as 1878 ; formerobservers had not clearly understood its nature. Hisresearches covered many branches of surgery, but hisprincipal work concerned the kidneys, and in 1901he published his standard treatise on renal diseasefrom a surgical point of view. Only two years beforehis death he issued, in collaboration with his son,a new work on the diseases of the urogenital system.Amongst other things, he showed that removal ofone kidney may prevent the spread of the disease toother organs. Prof. Israel was not a universitylecturer, but trained a large number of assistants,of whom his successor at the Jewish Hospital, thelate Prof. Karewski, may be mentioned as one. Hehad a very large international practice, and wasfrequently called into consultations abroad, on oneoccasion being called to St. Petersburg to see theCzarevitch, who was suffering from haematuria dueto haemophilia. He enjoyed special renown among theJews of the East, who before the war used to flockto consult him, not only on surgical matters, but for.many bodily and psychical ailments. He was a manof high culture and very representative. Although78 years of age, he was engaged in practice until afew weeks before he died.

Financial Difficulties of German Universitit’’.The number of German universities is undoubtedly

much too large. Apart from the older ones, whosefoundation partly dates back to the Middle Ages,there is a number of others recently established.Shortly before the war Frankfort was made the seatof a university which is not supported, like the others,entirely by the State, but largely out of municipalfunds and by private endowment by the inhabitants