February 8, 191 2] 



NATURE 



501 



stablishment of the biological and medical schools at 

 Cambridge. 



The General Board of Studies has reported in favour of 

 stablishing a lectureship in experimental morphology, and 

 -hould the report be adopted it asks for powers to appoint 

 I '. Shearei, of Clare College, subject to the confirmation 

 it the Special Board for Biology, as the lecturer for a 

 P riod of five years. 



Applications for the John Lucas Walker studentship, the 

 holder of which shall devote himself (or herself) to original 

 research in pathology, are invited, and should be sent, 

 before February 19, to Prof. G. Sims ^^'oodhead, Patho- 

 logical Laboratory, New Museums, Cambridge, to whom also 

 applications for further information regarding the student- 

 ship may be addressed. The studentship is of the annual 

 value of 200/. (grants may also be made for assistance 

 iiid apparatus), and is tenable for three vears from 

 April 18. 



The Special Board for Biology and Geologj- reports that 

 I he Gordon Wigan income for 1911 has been applied as 

 follows : — (a) 50Z. to Prof. Hughes, being 40^. for a motor 

 lor driving a rock-slicing machine and loi. for the forward- 

 ing of Pleistocene research ; (b) 50/. to Prof. Punnett in 

 order that the Botanic Garden Syndicate may continue to 

 offer special facilities for plant-breeding experiments ; 

 (c) 50L to Prof. Gardiner for the care and development of 

 the collections of insects. 



Oxford. — ^The Weldon memorial prize has been awarded 

 to Prof. Karl Pearson, F.R.S. This prize was founded in 

 memory of the late Prof. \\'eldon, and is awarded to the 

 person who, in the judgment of the electors, has during 

 the last six years published the most noteworthy contribu- 

 tion to biometric science. 



Dr. Merry, Rector of Lincoln College, has addressed a 

 letter to the Vice-Chancellor in which he says that the 

 college is now in a position to respond to the appeal made 

 some time ago for help to the University in the way of 

 contribution to the endowment of some of the professor- 

 ships. A fellowship in the college has been offered to and 

 accepted bv the professor of pathology (Prof. G. Drever). 



Sir E. 'Ray Lankester, K.C.B., F.R.S. , Mr. M. E. 

 Sadler, Vice-Chancellor of Leeds University, and the Duke 

 of Northumberland, K.G., F.R.S., have been elected 

 honorary students of Christ Church. 



A Reuter message reports that Sir Charles N. E. Eliot, 

 K.C.M.G., formerly Commissioner and Commander-in- 

 Chief for the British East Africa Protectorate, and Vice- 

 Chancellor of the University of Sheflfield, has been 

 nominated principal of Hong Kong University. 



.A. SERIES of nine free popular lectures is being given in 

 the new lecture hall of the Horniman Museum, Forest 

 Hill, .S.E., at 3.30 o'clock on Saturday afternoons. The 

 lectures commenced on Saturday last, when Dr. H. S. 

 Harrison, curator of the museum, lectured on " .\ Museum 

 of P2volution." 



We learn from Science that the will of the late Mrs. 

 E. H. Hitchcock provides that the Hitchcock mansion 

 and the estate of forty-five acres, valued at 10,000/., shall 

 go to Dartmouth College. To the Howe Library of 

 Hanover, occupying the ancestral home of Mrs. Hitchcock, 

 an endowment of io,oooZ. is left. To the Pine Park 

 Association, a society formed to preserve the natural 

 beauties of the town, is bequeathed a large tract of wood- 

 land adjoining the Vale of Tempe. 



The fellowship of the City and Guilds of London Insti- 

 tute has been conferred upon Mr. Noel Deerr and Mr. 

 Leonard P. Wilson. This distinction is conferred upon 

 students who, having obtained the associateship and spent 

 at least five years in actual practice, produce evidence of 

 having done valuable research work or of having otlnr- 

 vvise contributed to the advaiuement of the industry in 

 which they are engaged. Sim ■ Mr. Noel Deerr gained 

 his associateship at the City .uul Guilds (Engineering) 

 College he has been occupied as chemist to cane-sugar 

 factories, and has rendered signal services to the cane- 

 sugar industry. Since Mr. Leonard P. Wilson gained his 

 diploma he has held the Leathersellers' Company's research 

 fellowship. He is now a chemist nt one of the artificial 

 silkworks at Coventry. His work in connection with the 

 artificial silk industry has been of special value. 



NO. 2206, VOL. 88] 



A COPY of the report of the Librarian of Congress and 

 the report of the superintendent of the library building 

 and grounds for the year ending June 30, 191 1, has been 

 received from Washington. In the internal affairs of the 

 library the record of the year shows rather a steady pro- 

 gress along lines now well established than any novelty 

 of importance, except the more systematic and extended 

 distribution of copyright duplicates to other Federal 

 libraries. The library has recently been the beneficiary of 

 two bequests from Europe. One, in 19 10, was by the 

 late Mr. Henry Harris.se, an American long resident in 

 Paris, the cartographer and historian of the period of 

 Columbian discovery; the other, in May, 191 1, by the 

 late Dr. A. B. Meyer, director of the Dresden Museum of 

 Zoology, of the letters of Prof. F. Blumentritt, of Leit- 

 meritz, on account of the many items of information 

 relating to the Philippines. -We notice that the grants to 

 the library in 191 1 amounted to 133,400/., and that the 

 expenditure during the same period reached 131,000/. 



The future of the London Institution has been under 

 the consideration of the board of the institution for some 

 time. The Government has been approached on the ques- 

 tion of the inauguration of a scheme to utilise the institu- 

 tion as a school of Oriental languages. At a meeting of 

 the board, held on February i, it was decided to issue a 

 circular to the proprietors of the institution reviewing the 

 situation and enumerating proposals for founding the 

 I.,ondon Institution for Oriental Languages. The circular 

 was published in Tlie Times of February 2, and we notice 

 that it is proposed to provide, say, 20,000/. to 25,000/. by 

 grants from Government, and an annual income, towards 

 which the Government has agreed to contribute 4000/. a 

 year. It is also proposed to transfer to the new govern- 

 ing body, or to the Government for the use of the new 

 governing body, the freehold property of the institution 

 and all other properly of the institution, except its funds 

 at present invested in Consols. It should be pointed out 

 that in order to carry the proposals into effect an Act of 

 Parliament will be required, but as the proposals meet 

 with the approval of the Government, it is not anticipated 

 that this would be a matter of difficulty. 



A FEW months ago reference was made in these columns 

 to a movement to ensure that a girl's education should 

 include some knowledge of the science which affects home 

 problems and some practice in the domestic arts. To give 

 practical effect to the views then expressed, it was neces- 

 sary for a university to open its doors to special courses 

 for training women in the study of the science of the 

 household, and thus ensure for schools a continual supply 

 of teachers trained to impart the knowledge on which the 

 necessarv reforms must be based. King's College for 

 Women had made a most successful start in educating 

 women on these lines, but the movement could not be 

 carried on successfully without adequate endowment. The 

 sum of 100,000/. was needed — 20,000/. to provide a hostel 

 for the practical training in domestic arts find as a resi- 

 dence for women students, ao.ooo/. for building and 

 equipping laboratories, and 60.000/. for the endowment of 

 salaries for professors and lecturers. A trust fund com- 

 mittee was formed to receive moneys given for this pur- 

 pose, and the announcement is now made that the whole 

 of the 100,000/. required has been subscribed privately in 

 the course of a few months. The Marquis of Anglrsey 

 gave 20,000/. to build and equip the laboratories, and 

 another 20,000/. was given anonymously to found the 

 hostel, which her Majesty has allowed to be called Queen 

 Mary's Hostel. Mrs. Wharrie gave a sum of 20.000/. to 

 provide for the teaching of chemistry, in memory of her 

 father, the late Sir Henrv Harben, and when »t was known 

 th.it yet 30,000/. was required, another donor, who had 

 ilr.adv bv his influence rendered .splendid service to the 

 niovement. at once came forward and gave this amount 

 to complete the endowment. The fund will be .Timinisiered 

 in .accordance with the terms of the trust <\-<\ l>v an 

 executive conuuitlee composed of representai.v.s -.I the 

 subscribers and of King's College for Women, includmg 

 Ladv .Meyer and Lndv Riicker. who were the pioneers of 

 tile scheme. Negotiations are now proceeding respecting a 

 site for the hostel and for the new buildings of King s 

 College for Women, in which will l?e inrorpornlod the 

 laboratories of the home science department. 



