384 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



the position of one of these nations on the list ; but for the 

 larger nations the numbers are more decisive. It will be 

 observed that Holland, France, and Germany have been by far 

 the most successful among these ; that Belgium, Britain, Spain, 

 and Italy come in a second class ; and that the United States 

 and Russia are in the third class. 



Neither Britain nor the United States can be congratulated 

 on the result. The table probably gives a good rough measure 

 of intellectual development in the respective nations, and one 

 which would be likely to be confirmed in other lines such as 

 mathematics, zoology, and botany, art, music, and even inven- 

 tion during the present century. The failure of Britain and the 

 United States is probably due to their attitude towards 

 intellectual effort, to their preoccupation with politics and 

 game-playing, and possibly to the unreality of their education. 

 It is probably due, however, still more to the poor payment 

 made for scientific work in comparison with other lines of 

 effort or of no-effort. How little interest is taken in this 

 country in the higher intellectual work may be gauged from the 

 very small references to the Nobel Prizes which appear in the 

 British press, compared with the endless talk about such matters 

 as the so-called Olympic Games. But the country of Shakespeare 

 and Newton can scarcely be second to any in fertility of genius- 

 production, and there are probably secondary factors at work 

 to-day which are suppressing that invaluable asset. 



The University of Bristol 



In the July Number we inserted a brief note on the affairs 

 of the University of Bristol, mentioning some of the criticisms 

 which had previously been published upon the management of 

 this institution. Since then we have been asked to make a 

 thorough examination of the questions at issue. We have 

 consequently studied all the documents on the subject which 

 have already been published, including papers on both sides of 

 the controversy. 



We have no bias at all in the matter ; and it is one which 

 concerns science only in regard to the general influence of 

 university management upon scientific work and teaching. To 

 us, as to all, it is unpleasant to have to criticise any public 

 institution; but it must be confessed that the study of the 



