July 6, 1876] 



NATURE 



217 



class." " To what conditions of deposit do fossils of the 

 following groups of genera respectively point? — i. Unio, 

 Paludina, and Cyrena. 2. Nautilus and Globigerina. 

 Illustrate this by reference, in each case, to a British 

 example." 



"Explain what is meant by 'arterial tonus.' State 

 generally what is the origin, course, distribution, and 

 mode of termination of the nervous channels by which 

 the brain and spinal cord influence arterial tonus." 

 " Describe the rhythmical respiratory movements of the 

 glottis in mammalian animals, referring to the mode of 

 action of the most important muscles which are concerned 

 in their production." 



I only wish to point out the contrast in difficulty be- 

 tween the above sets of questions, without offering any 

 opinion as to the suitability of either. In zoology and 

 comparative anatomy the following question seems rather 

 unusual for such an examination. — " Briefly describe the 

 internal economy of a beehive, and the mutual relation- 

 ships of its inmates." Here is a question in geographical 

 distribution : — " In what countries are the following ani- 

 mals found. — the orang-utan, vampire-bat, tapir, leopard, 

 elk, emu, and python ? State what principles of zoo- 

 geography are deducible from their distribution." It seems 

 to me that a knowledge of the distribution of all the more 

 important species is far beyond the pass qualification for 

 an honours' examination. In admitting men to such a 

 qualification, tests should rather be applied which every 

 student of a subject ought to be able to respond to ; but 

 it is questionable whether we can yet expect every student 

 of zoology and comparative anatomy to " state concisely 

 the doctrine of evolution as employed in biology." 



It is not stated in how many subjects a candidate must 

 pass in order to obtain honours ; nor are any named as 

 essential. There is a strong feeling that elementary 

 chemistry and physics should be made compulsory on all, 

 and that students should be allowed to present them- 

 selves in these subjects at an earlier period of their 

 course. G. T. Bettany 



NOTES 

 We are glad to learn that upwards of 1,000/. has been sub- 

 scribed towards the Chemical Society Research Fund, so that the 

 Council are now in a position to accept Dr. Longstaff's generous 

 oiTer of 1,000/. to form a permanent fund. We only hope that 

 the fund may still be largely increased. 



The Albert Medal of the Society of Arts for "distinguished 

 merit in promoting Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce," has 

 this year been unanimously awarded to Sir George B. Airy, 

 K.C.B., the Astronomer Royal, for "Eminent Services rendered 

 to Commerce by his Researches in Nautical Astronomy, and in 

 Magnetism, and by his Improvements in the Application of the 

 Mariner's Compass to the Navigation of Iron Ships. " A prize 

 of a Gold Medal was awarded to Mr. Hearson for the best 

 " Revolution Indicator," which should accurately inform the 

 officer on deck, and the engineer in charge of the engine, what 

 are the number of revolutions of the paddles or screw per 

 minute without the necessity of counting them. For papers 

 read before the Society medals have been awarded as follows: — 

 To Mr. Clements R. Markham, C.B., for his paper "On the 

 Cultivation of Caoutchouc-yielding Trees," Mr. W. T. Thornttn 

 for his paper " On Irrigation Works in India," Mr. E. Hutchin- 

 son for his paper "On the Development of Central Africa," 

 Mr. W. Valentin for his paper " On Dextrine- Maltose, and its 

 use in Brewing." 



Mr. H. N. Moseley, M.A., has been elected to an Extra- 

 ordinary Fellowship at Exeter College, Oxford, tenable for five 

 years under a special ordinance sanctioned bylhe Visitor. Mr. 

 Moseley, who was educated at Exeter College, proceeded to his 

 B. A. degree in 1868, having obtained a "first class" in natural 



science in Trinity term of the same year. He was elected in 

 1869 Radcliffe Travelling Fellow, and has recently been one of 

 the scientific staff of the expedition of H. M. S. Challenger. 



M. Waddington intends to establish Fellowships in the 

 several French Academies in imitation of the Fellowships of the 

 English Universities. The French Fellowships are to hold good 

 only for a limited period, and will not be subject to the restric- 

 tion of celibacy. The credits will soon be asked for from the 

 French Assemblies. 



In the University of London D.Sc. Examination Mr. Thomas 

 Carnelley and Mr. Frank Clowes have passed in Inorganic Che- 

 mistry, Mr. James Gordon MacGregor in Electricity (treated ex- 

 perimentally), Mr. Edward Bibbins Aveling in Vegetable Physi- 

 ology, and Prasanna Kumar Ray in Logic and Moral Pkilosophy. 



On Thursday last the master and other members of the London 

 Clothworkers' Company visited Leeds, in order to inspect the 

 working of the Textile Industries' department of the Yorkshire 

 College of Science, which was founded and endowed by the 

 munificence of the Company. The visitors expressed their 

 satisfaction with the results of the endowment, and the master, 

 Mr. Wyld, in replying to the toast of the Company, showed that 

 he had an unusually high idea of the duties which devolved on 

 the London Companies as trustees of the large funds which 

 belonged to them. While placing a high value on technical 

 education, moreover, he expressed the opinion that any special 

 education divorced from, or not based on, wide general ctdture, 

 would be defective and inefficient. 



Mr. Lloyd, the president of the trustees of the Fisk donation 

 for the construction and fitting up of the San Francisco Obser- 

 vatory, arrived in Paris at the end of June. His first visit was 

 to M. Leverrier, who gave him every assistance in his power to 

 enable him to fulfil the object of his mission. Mr. Lloyd is at 

 liberty to use the observatory grounds for any experiments in 

 connection with his large refractor, which it is intended to con- 

 struct. M. Leverrier concurred with him in not attempting to 

 construct a lens of more than one metre in diameter. The 

 money at the disposal of Mr. Lloyd is 200,000/. The law-suit 

 is at an end, and the donation of a siir.ilar sum for the museum 

 is cancelled, but the astronomical donation has been confirmed. 



Prof. H. G. Seeley has been appointed Professor of Geo- 

 graphy at the Queen's College for Ladies, Harley Street. 



The Geologists' Association are to make an excursion to the 

 North Wales Border on Monday, July 17, and five following 

 days. 



The forty-second annual meeting of the Statistical Society 

 was held on June 27, at the Society's Rooms, the President, Mr. 

 James Hey wood, F.R.S., in the chair. The report read showed 

 that the Society continues to advance steadily in numbers and in 

 public estimation. 



We have before us the commencing number of " The Pro- 

 ceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales," which 

 contains papers by Mr. Brazier, C.M.Z.S., on a new species of 

 Australian and Solomon Island shells ; by Mr. Ramsay on a 

 new species of Ptilotis from the Endeavour River, with some 

 remarks on the natural history of the East Coast Range near 

 Rockingham Bay, and by Mr. Maclean, the President of the 

 Society, on a new species of Dandrophis from Cleveland Bay. 

 We are convinced that a work so well commenced has the 

 good wishes of all interested in the diffusion of science. 



Mr. Alexander Agassiz, in his recent trip to Peru, found 

 occasion to conclude that the Pacific, within a comparatively 

 recent time, extended through gaps in the Coast Range, and 

 made an internal sea which stood at a height of not less than 

 2,900 feet, and probably much above this. This is proved by 

 the fact of the occurrence of coral limestone 2,900 or 3,000 feet 



