In Belgium, following on regulations issued under royal decree in 1905, in which, among other things, quarterly periodical medical examination of house-painters was required, the law dated August 20, 1909, came into force, prohibiting the sale, transport, and use, of white lead in the form of powder, lumps, or small pieces, and requiring, if intended for the purpose of painting, the white lead to be mixed ready ground in oil. Dry-rubbing and sandpapering are also prohibited. In the German Empire the work of house-painting is controlled by regulations dated June 27, 1905, of which the following are the main provisions: (1) Prohibition of actual contact with white lead in grinding and mixing, and adequate protection from the dust so created; (2) mechanical incorporation of the white lead with the oil or varnish, and prevention of the escape of dust into the workroom; (3) preliminary moistening prior to scraping, chipping off, or rubbing down, dry oil colours; (4) and (5) provision of overalls and washing accommodation, including soap, nailbrushes, and towels (in erection of new buildings the workmen must be able to wash in a place free from frost); (7) instruction of the workman by the employer as to the risk attaching to the work by supplying him with a copy of the regulations and cautionary notice. Further, where painting operations are carried on in factories or workshops as subsidiary to other processes, there must be (8) provision of washing accommodation in a special room capable of being heated, and of a place in which to keep clothing; (9) periodical medical examination at half-yearly periods; and (10) prohibition of smoking and consumption of alcohol in the workrooms. The Austrian Regulations, dated April 15, 1909, follow the German Code closely, but differ in that they (1) prohibit the use of white lead paint for the interior surfaces of houses or of any surfaces not exposed to the weather; (2) affixing of a notice on the can or cask that it contains lead; and (3) periodical medical examination at quarterly instead of half-yearly periods. At the present time committees appointed by the Home Office are inquiring into the coach-painting and house-painting industries in this country. The results of careful and detailed experiments made by the White Lead Commission appointed by the Dutch Government, which inquired into the subject, are summarized as follows: I. Zinc-white paints are much better able to withstand the action of sulphuretted hydrogen gas than white-lead paints. II. Zinc-white paints do not withstand the action of sulphurous acid in the atmosphere as well as white-lead paints. As this gas is present in coal-smoke of locomotives, steamers, tall chimneys, etc., zinc-white paint much exposed to such smoke--for instance, in railway-stations, etc.--will soon become corroded, and cannot then replace white lead.