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772 Courcil, on Sept. 20th, prosecuted a farmer who had supplied milk of which a sample showed 50 per cent. deficiency in milk-fat. The bench dismissed the case, though holding the deficiency established, because it was not proved that the milk had been tampered with. The analyst reported that the sample did not contain added water ; the prosecution suggested that there had been an addition of scalded milk. This the farmer denied, though in cross-examination he admitted scalding his evening milk which he said he gave to his calves and pigs. The statement made on behalf of the defence, as summarised in the North Devon i Herald, was that the farmer kept shorthorns and I crossbreds which were not rich milkers. One cow had a calf running by her side ; another had just had the calf taken from her. In such circumstances, it was frankly admitted, cows would hold their milk back and it was said to be well known that the fat was contained in the last of the milk. If farmers will agree in this admission they will appreciate the purchaser’s point of view. Calves are entitled to their natural nourishment, but the law must somehow I manage to prevent the nourishment of the calf z, interfering with that of invalids and children. Chemist’s S1tpposed Error: Doctor’s Initials Illegible. ’ A year or so ago in an action for damages in the High Court there was a question of the proper propor- ’i tion of a drug prescribed by a doctor, and its decision turned upon the correct deciphering of the figures in the prescription. This case, in which the plaintiff did not succeed, is indirectly recalled by a recent incident in which a Birmingham chemist is said to have sold in error pills containing one-fourth instead of one-fortieth of a grain of strychnine. The purchaser had presented a prescription dated 1921, but the doctor’s initials could not be deciphered, and the chemist, on discovering his error, was unable to identify and warn the purchaser. The prescription bore the name of Mrs. Penn. In the hope of retrieving the pills and avoiding any unfortunate consequences of the error he believed himself to have committed, the chemist is understood to have sent telegrams to all persons named Penn in the Birmingham directory and to have invoked the aid of the police and the publicity of the press and of the British Broadcasting Company. It was a case apparently of absence of mind, not of misunderstanding the specified proportions of drugs. The lay public, however, will doubtless connect the incident with its habitual pessimism as to the legibility and intelligibility of doctors’ prescriptions. Custom has sanctioned the use of the doctor’s initials just as, in the different field of marine insurance, custom has sanctioned the initialling of brokers’ slips. Initials are accepted by the law courts as equivalent to full signature (if intended as such) in cases under the Wills Act or in the authentication of agreements within the Statute of Frauds. In connexion with the Dangerous Drugs Acts, where it may be important to identify the writer of a prescription, regulations have enacted that the prescription " must be in writing, must be dated and signed by the medical practitioner, registered dentist, or registered veterinary surgeon as the case may be, with his full name and address." Parliament has insisted upon clear hand- writing in dealing with another vocation. The Pawn- brokers Act of 1872 obliges pledge-books and pawn- tickets to be written " in a fair and legible manner." There is probably no other example of an express statutory obligation of legibility, though there are plentiful occasions when the law requires written signatures to certificates, records, and other documents. A deliberately illegible signature might conceivably be held no signature at all. THE LISTER CENTENARY.—The centenary of Lord Lister’s birth falls on April 5th next year, and the Royal Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, the Corpora- tion of the City, the University, and other local public bodies are conferring as to the best method of celebrating the occasion. THE HUMAN FACTOR IN INDUSTRY. REPORT OF THE INDUSTRIAL FATIGUE RESEARCH BOARD. REFERENCE was made in our issue of Sept. 18th to the contents of the latest report 1 of the Industrial Fatigue Research Board ; some of the investiga- tions into human activity brought together in the admirable analysis given of the Board’s work since its inception call for more extended notice. Hours of Labour. The topical subject of hours of labour has received much attention ; here is a matter of which Mr. W. L. Hichens rightly says2 it is " to-day a subject of political controversy rather than of scientific inquiry ; this is to be regretted...." Many studies of output by the hour of each shift, by each shift of the day, and by each day of the week, have been made. Curves representing the results exhibit human activity as varying with the type of work performed ; for physical work the curve rises as the muscles warm up, but falls as fatigue comes on ; for monotonous work the curve gradually declines, to rise as the spell draws to an end. Maximum output, as exemplified by the curves for the best workers. is found associated with curves which rise steadily from hour to hour, from shift to shift, and from day to day. Output being the objective of industry, study of curves so that their shape may be improved by modifications in length of spells, and in number of hours worked, and by organised rest pauses, becomes a subject for scientific research. Thus inquiries in steel smelting, tin-plate mills, and glass-making, when contrasted with textile processes, show that increase in hourly output follows reduction in hours of work in pro- portion to the extent to which the process is manual rather than automatic. The optimum periods for work can clearly be determined by simpler and more accurate means than the hit-or-miss methods of present-day disputes. Other Factors : Ventilation, Illumination. Hours of work, however, can only refer to prevailing conditions of labour ; if these latter are modified bv introducing labour-saving devices, adequate ventila- tion or improved illumination, the problem alters. Here the subject of ventilation, including the tempera- ture and humidity of the air, has been the subject of extended research following up the fundamental principles laid down by J. S. Haldane and L. Hill. Thereby the whole outlook on ventilation has been profoundly changed ; the objective now is to produce the correct cooling power of the air, having regard to the work in progress, more for heavy work, less for sedentary work ; no longer are chemical impurities and emanations called in to explain the ill-effects of stagnant air. Instances are quoted from a number of industries of output varying from 10 to 15 per cent. with variations in the cooling power of the air. Ventilation is for the most part under direct control ; ;- but the different standards found in such diverse places as laundries, potters’ shops, shoe factories, and weaving sheds, indicate that this control is not well exerted. Moreover, ventilation should be at least as cooling for the head as for the feet ; the reverse more usually prevails, but when correct adjnstment is made comfort and output are increased. One’ of the most striking points throughout the investigations is that optimum conditions for output, whether by arrangement of hours or of environment, are found to coincide with a minimum of sickness and of accidents-in other words, the greater is the attention paid to the human factor in industry the ’ Sixth Annual Report of the Industrial Fatigue Research Board to Dec. 31st, 1925. H.M. Stationery Office. 1926. Pp. 126. 3s. 2 The Physical and Mental Effects of Fatigue in Modern Industry. By W. L. Hichens, Brit. Med. Jour., Sept. llth, 1926, p. 480.
