126 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council 

 of the United States. Part of this sum is to be used for the erection of a 

 suitable building to house these two organisations in Washington. The 

 National Research Council, unlike the corresponding departments in England, 

 Australia, and Canada, is not supported or controlled by the Government. 



Mr. A. G. Webster, in a letter to Science (April 9), refers to the very excellent 

 manner in which the French are organising the University of Strasbourg, 

 where, he states. Prof. P. Weiss will have the best facilities in the world for 

 the study of magnetism. 



Convocation at Oxford, on March 2, decided that Greek should no longer 

 be compulsory at Responsions for candidates in any pass or honours school. 



Nature (May 6) discusses the bearing of the increased cost of printing 

 and paper on the publication of Society Proceedings and Scientific Journals. 

 It is quite obvious that the very limited funds which are available will not 

 stand the strain much longer, while it is even more obvious that the members 

 of these societies cannot afford to pay increased subscriptions. Nature itself 

 has been forced to double its price, while Science Progress, with its modest 

 increase of one-fifth, has long ceased to be a commercial proposition. In 

 the same number Prof. Bayliss deals with the restrictions on the import 

 of scientific apparatus from abroad. This forces scientific workers in many 

 cases to purchase high-priced and less satisfactory appliances of home manu- 

 facture. Mr. A. E. Miall writes also concerning the impossible cost of the 

 laboratory equipment, which is so badly needed now that science teaching 

 Is becoming of more importance in the school curriculum. The Government 

 seems quite able to realise that a pound is worth about eight shillings when 

 it goes into the pockets of a coal-miner ; but seems to expect its purchasing 

 value to be three times as great when it is to be employed for scientific pur- 

 poses, either for equipment or for the salary of the unfortunate teacher, who 

 remains more than ever the only cheap item in the science laboratory. 



Every zoologist who has had to teach zoology will have met with the 

 amoeba difficulty. The older earth culture methods at best produce rather 

 small amoebas, which failed to satisfy the critical first year medical. Sister 

 Monica Taylor, of Glasgow University, has put all zoologists under a debt 

 to herself, for she has invented a culture method whereby one can produce 

 enormous quantities of large amoeba proteus, and keep the cultures going 

 steadily for months, or even years. To pots or flat jars of rain-water one 

 adds a few grains of boiled wheat. The latter soon grows moulds, which 

 bring in their train many micro-organisms. Such jars are inoculated with 

 individuals of A. proteus, which must be found in ditches or ponds. After 

 a few weeks it will generally be found that the scum at the bottom of the 

 vessel is swarming with amoebae. From time to time a few more boiled wheat- 

 seeds are added. It is also well to place a small piece of green water- weed 

 in each jar. 



We find all kinds of London water will produce positive results, though 

 the tap-water is not very good and should be boiled. References to Sister 

 Monica's papers are: Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edin., xx, and Nature, April 22, 1920, 



Dr. J. Bronte Gatenby has been entrusted with the task of bringing out 

 a new edition of the Microtomists' Vade-mecum. Collaborating with him 

 in this task, and in cases writing special sections, are Prof. W. Bayliss, Dr. 

 Drew, of the Imperial Cancer Research Review, Dr. Da Fano, of King's 

 College, London, and Mr. H. M. Carleton, of the Histology Laboratory, 

 Oxford. It has been planned to have new sections on the theory of staining, 

 on Protistology, on tissue culture and cell, manipulation apparatus, such as 

 that of Bridges, etc. There will be special treatment of the techniques of 

 mitochondria, fat, Golgi apparatus, and also a new treatment of the neurology 

 section, by Dr. Da Fano. Workers in all branches of zoology, botany, and 



