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The realization of the importance of browse in meeting the nutritional needs of ruminants in the dry season in the tropics has put a serious pressure on the already known browse plants. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the nutritive value of Ficus thonningii (FT), which is a less known fodder tree.

A total of 25 West African dwarf goats (age range = 7‐9 months, live weight range = 5.0‐7.5 kg) were used for the study, and lasted for 98 days. FT was fed with Panicum maximum (PM) grass in different proportions of 0:100 (only grass), 25:75, 50:50, 75:25 and 100:0 (only Ficus) to five groups of goats. A completely randomized design was used to collect data on feed intake, digestibility, weight gain and nitrogen utilization.

Results showed that FT is higher in crude protein (CP) (20.51 per cent) and lower in neutral detergent fibre (NDF) (55.79 per cent) than PM (CP = 8.25 per cent, NDF = 76.16 per cent). Dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), CP intakes (g/d/kg w^0.75) improved significantly with more FT in the diet and were best in 75 per cent FT (values = 79.84, 76.72 and 14.78, respectively) and lowest in solely PM (corresponding values = 21.06, 18.21 and 1.59). Weight gain (g/d) patterned nutrient intake and were best in 50 and 75 per cent FT (mean = 14.78) and least in solely PM (5.36). Digestibility values were generally good, but highest in 50 per cent FT, similar in 25, 75 and 100 per cent FT and least in solely PM. Nitrogen balance (g/d) and retention (per cent) were highest and similar in both 50 and 75 per cent FT (mean = 4.8 and 48.79) and lowest in solely grass (0.24 and 14.25).

FT displays no practical limitations to its utilization in ruminant feeding and could be used solely or in mixture with grass.

Being well consumed and utilized even as sole forage, FT will be a good insurance in alleviating feed scarcity problem for ruminant animals in the dry season.

THIS article is not intended as a catalogue of the types at present in service with the various branches of the Regia deronautica, nor is it meant to be a historical survey of the development of Italian aviation during the last few years. It is meant to give in idea of the appearance and construction of the more recent machines used in the various branches of the military service.

THE performance of civil aircraft having pure jet engines as opposed to turbine‐propeller engines will be considered since it is thought that for the latter the methods usually adopted for piston‐engined aircraft are on the whole applicable. It will be assumed that the performance of the jet engine (i.e. its thrust and fuel consumption at various r.p.m., forward speeds and altitudes) is given and that the aerodynamic properties of the aircraft in its various configurations are known.

IT is unfortunate that the date of the 17th Salon de l'Aeronautique made it impossible to include a review of it in the December issue of AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING, although perhaps its consideration in retrospect may be of rather greater value.

The marketplace has never been as dynamic as it is today. In real estate, many factors are affecting the validity and usefulness of traditional valuation techniques. Rent levels in many markets have risen so rapidly in the last two years that a wide margin exists between current economic rents and contract rents — resulting in a greater market differential. As leases expire and space is released at much higher rent levels, opportunities occur for rapidly increasing cash flows. (The occurrence of lease expirations and subsequent releasing of the space is commonly referred to as ‘lease rollover’.)

THE rapidly growing technology of vehicles that are either totally supported or partly supported by air cushions has many branches along which future development may progress. Perhaps the most important of these, which cover most of the field, can be divided into the following six groups:—

By application of the analytical method to a wide range of current aircraft types an approximate form of the method is developed for the quick estimation of tail load maxima and associated torques during the checked manoeuvre and the same is also confirmed for the unchecked manoeuvre of Ref. (3). Numerical values of critical elevator actions to be associated with the airworthiness design case are considered and hence, from a comparison with the approximate method, the limitations of the present empirical approach given in British and American civil airworthiness regulations are brought to light.

The solution of the problem of estimating the take‐off distance to a height of 50 feet has to a certain extent been limited by the absence of a theoretical analysis of the airborne part of the take‐off manoeuvre. The three main physical quantities associated with the motion immediately after an aircraft leaves the ground are aircraft speed, the angle the flight path makes with the horizontal and the lift coefficient increment. This latter quantity is the lift coefficient in excess of that required for level flight at the unstick speed, and is produced when the pilot pulls the stick quickly back at take‐off. A linear theoretical analysis is obtained by assuming that variations of the physical quantities already mentioned are small enough for squares and higher powers of such variations to be neglected in comparison with the variations themselves. The results of the analysis depend on the solutions of a pair of ordinary simultaneous linear differential equations with constant coefficients. If the aircraft speed never falls below the unstick speed, the limiting values of the lift coefficient increment which define the safe range of take‐offs can be determined. By considering the mean value of the lift coefficient increment over the safe range of take‐offs it is possible to define a mean safe take‐off, and for such a take‐off, the mean safe airborne distance from the unstick point to a height of 50 feet can be estimated. The application of the theory as a means of estimating the take‐off performance of a bomber aircraft is given as an example at the end of this work.

A set of experiments was conducted to determine the suitability of the Colon Classification as a foundation for the automated analysis, representation and retrieval of primary information from the full text of documents. Primary information is that information embodied in the text of a document, as opposed to secondary information which is generally in such forms as: an abstract, a table of contents or an index.

THE relation between aerodynamics and the design of an aircraft and its power plant is unique in engineering; it is only in aircraft design that good aerodynamics is a prerequisite for success. Of course the structure must be good (though this is true of ships or bridges) and so must the motor (but this also applies to motor cars and railway engines) and the electrics must be efficient (and so must they be for a television set); and so on through many other technologies. But the start, and the heart, of the design is aerodynamics, the one feature that distinguishes aeroplanes from all other forms of transport. At the present time Handley Page Limited is engaged in the production of a new turboprop business cum feeder‐liner aeroplane the H.P. 137 Jetstream, which made its first flight on August 18.