April 2'], 1876] 



NATURE 



527 



that it was almost impossible to distinguish it from Perono- 

 spora. 



As rf gards the unfortunate criticism of Montague and 

 Berkeley as to the size of the oospores De Bary eflfectually 

 refutes himself. Worthington G. Smith 



SCIENCE IN LEEDS 



THE Annual Meeting of donors and subscribers to the 

 Yorkshire College of Science was held in Leeds last 

 Friday. Financially the College seems to be fairly pros- 

 perous. The subscriptions promised prior to the inaugu- 

 ration amounted to 28,000/., and of the special fund of 

 io,oco/. started by Sir Andrew Fairbairn's conditional 

 offer of a second donation of 1,000/., about 8,000/. have 

 been raised. The Council are most anxious that this 

 should be completed without delay. The College will 

 also participate yearly in the proceeds of William 

 Akroyd's Foundation. Of the present condition of the 

 Yorkshire College as regards efficiency, the following 

 communication from Mr. G. T. Bettany wiU afford a fair 

 idea : — 



A recent visit to Leeds enabled me to inquire into the 

 working of the Yorkshire College of Science, which has 

 now been in existence for nearly two years. In the build- 

 ing which has been temporarily adapted to the purposes 

 of the College, I found abundant evidence of labour and 

 study on the part of both professors and students. The 

 attendance of seventy-five day and more than two hundred 

 afternoon and evening students during the present session 

 shows that the advantages offered by the College are be- 

 coming widely appreciated. Although youths are ad- 

 mitted at the age of fourteen, most of the students are 

 much older ; I was informed that the average age was a 

 year and a half greater than at Owens College. The 

 chemical department has the lion's share of accommoda- 

 tion ; the lecture-room is large and good, and the labora- 

 tory would allow of forty students working at the same 

 time. There have been few vacant benches during the 

 past term. Prof. Thorpe has a room fitted up as a 

 museum and reference library, and has also a private labo- 

 ratory. A considerable amount of work is done in the 

 department of mathematics and physics, but physical 

 teaching suffers from want of space. Piactical work can 

 only be carried on in Prof. Riicker's private room. Geology 

 has been fairly attended, though the day class is but small 

 at present. Prof. Green is forming most instructive series 

 of rock- specimens, illustrating stratigraphical geology, 

 volcanic phenomena, and transitions in metamorphism. 

 Mr. Miall's biological lectures have resulted in some very 

 good work. He has prepared a large number of dissec- 

 tions for demonstration, including a series illustrating 

 Prof. RoUeston's " Forms of Animal Life ; " practical 

 work has been undertaken by several students, including 

 ladies, one of whom gained the highest place in an exa- 

 mination at the end of last term. Finally, the instruc- 

 tion on textile industries, under Mr. Beaumont, has been 

 made scientific in many respects, especially in relation to 

 the theory of colouring. 



It can hardly be considered a misfortune that the 

 College has been started in temporary buildings ; for by 

 means of its present effort science will become more 

 widely appreciated, and much larger donations will come 

 to hand than those already received ; and the construc- 

 tion of the permanent college buildings cannot fail to be 

 advantaged by the experience now being gained by the 

 professors. It is to be hoped that many wealthy York- 

 shire manufacturers who have at present given little or 

 nothing to the College will be induced to follow the 

 example of men in other localities, and liberally support 

 a system of teaching which will be of great intellectual 

 and material benefit to Yorkshire. I was struck with the 

 large amount of work undertaken by the professors. 

 When more prosperous times come, it will be for the 



good of the College not to exact so much work from them 

 as their zeal is now leading them to perform. 



The Leeds Philosophical Museum is becoming yet more 

 interesting under the care of Mr. Miall, who has worthily 

 succeeded the late Mr. Denny. The whole of the 

 Museum is gradually being arranged in the most edu- 

 cative manner, and very great progress has been made. 

 The casual visitor cannot fail to be instructed as well 

 as interested, which can hardly be said of many more 

 pretentious museums. Brief and clear printed descrip- 

 tions or explanations abound, showing the particular 

 interest of a specimen, or giving the general characters of 

 a class of animals or of a geological formation. If an 

 additional skilled curator could be appointed, who should 

 reheve Mr. Miall from the care of several departments, 

 the Leeds Museum would advance still more rapidly than 

 at present, and would soon be worthy of any provincial 

 college. 



THE LATE SIR WILLIAM WILDE 



SIR WILLIAM ROBERT WILLS WILDE, M.D., 

 &c., was born in Castlerea, county of Roscommon 

 in Ireland, in the year 1814, and he died at his residence 

 in Dubhn on the 19th instant. He was educated at the 

 Royal School at Banagher and at the Diocesan School at 

 Elphin ; when scarcely eighteen years of age he was 

 bound apprentice, according to the practice of those days, 

 to the well-known surgeon, Abraham Colles, and he ac- 

 quired his professional knowledge from such men as the 

 Cramptons, Marsh, Wilmot, and Cusack. Early in 1837 

 he became a Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons 

 in Ireland, and shortly after he resolved to devote himself 

 to ophthalmic surgery, in which he attained a position of 

 the highest eminence. 



However distinguished as an oculist, however renowned 

 as a uTiter on statistics, in these columns we lament in 

 his decease the departure from among us of one who, as 

 an earnest, devoted, and painstaking student of the early 

 history of the Irish races, has left in his \vritings on this 

 subject a great and an enduring monument. 



Sir W. Wilde was elected a member of the Royal Irish 

 Academy in June, 1839, having previously read two papers 

 before the Academy, which were published in abstract in 

 their Proceedings, and exhibited a collection of ancient 

 spear-heads found in his native country. At this time 

 the Academy had no museum (the Underwood purchase 

 was not arranged), but in the same month that Wilde was 

 elected, Prof. M'Cullagh munificently presented them 

 with the Cross of Cong, " in order that he might contri 

 bute to the formation of a national collection, the want of 

 which was regarded by Sir Walter Scott as a disgrace to 

 a coimtry which, hke Ireland, so aboimded in valuable 

 remains." This noble gift bore speedy fruit, and meeting- 

 after meeting witnessed the presentation of donations, 

 many of which were from time to time described by W^ilde, 



In 1855 Wilde was elected member of the Council of 

 the Academy, and Secretary of Foreign Correspondence 

 in 1857. In 1852 the Academy had moved to the pre- 

 mises that they at present occupy, and the Council took 

 steps to have a catalogue of their museum made. The 

 task was entrusted to Dr. Petrie. The resolution of the 

 Coimcil would seem not to have been carried into effect, 

 and after some years of anxiety the Council and the 

 Academy were but too happy, in March, 1857, to accept 

 Wilde's liberal proposal to arrange and catalogue their 

 museum. The energy that he brought to bear on this 

 task may be judged from the fact that Part I. was ready 

 in the month of August in the same year, when the British 

 Association met for a second time in Dublin. Part II. 

 was published in i860. Part III., concluding Vol. I., in 

 1863. Part I. of Vol. II. had been published in the pre- 

 vious year. Part II. of this volume, although in great 

 part ready, was never printed ; let us add that the best 



