March 27, 1879] 



NATURE 



497 



and replacing the hoop when he had passed through. On 

 returning from his ride the gate was still shut, when, to his 

 surprise, his horse, without any hesitation, took the hoop in his 

 mouth and tried to lift it off the gate. He, however, was not 

 successful in his efforts, and Mr. Chamberlayne had to finish 

 the operation for him, but the exhibition of memory was 

 certainly remarkable. 



Mr. T. B. Groves, of Weymouth, sends the following account 

 given to him by a relative, a gentleman well known in the dis- 

 trict, and who would be everywhere accepted as a trustworthy 

 and competent observer : — 



In the wine-ceUar two vessels, one an open earthen jar 

 containing hazel-nuts, the other a wooden sieve, tub, or some- 

 thing of the kind, full of wine-corks, stood side by side. It 

 \\as°observedthat the nuts were gradually diminishing, owing to 

 the depredations of mice ; but after a time this seemed to have 

 altogether ceased, and it was inferred that the difficulty of egress 

 had^caused the mice to abandon the enterprise as soon as the 

 level of the nuts had reached a certain depth from the mouth of 

 the jar. Matters so remained for some little time ; but after- 

 wards, on visiting the cellar, it was found, to the owner's great 

 surprise, that his nuts had now entirely disappeared, and in 

 their place were discovered the corks ! The only explanation 

 that could be suggested was this : that the mice, reflecting on 

 the difficulty of making their exit from the partially-emptied 

 jar, had conceived and carried out the plan of providing for their 

 escape by dropping into the jar from time to time sufficient corks 

 to enable them to make a safe retreat with their plunder, 



Mr. R. Howson sends us the story of a terrier-like dog of no 

 particular breed, named Uglymug, who had a poodle for com- 

 panion. Whenever Uglymug saw signs of a family meal being 

 laid out, he inveigled the poodle into a labyrinthine shrubbery 

 under pretence of seeking for rats, and when the latter was 

 fairly intent on its game, Uglymug sneaked back to enjoy all 

 by himself what he could get from the family table. 



V. I. writes : — The following instance will show that in the 

 case of the mule intelligence has a limit. We had a mule 

 \\ ho could take the staple out of a gate and open it (he never 

 shut it). This mule used to go to the water-butt, J;um the brass 

 tap, and drink, but never turned the water off. Common sense 

 would have forbidden a human being neglecting such a pre- 

 caution. 



Mr. E. Parfitt, of the Devon and Exeter Institution, writes 

 of a favourite cat : — She would frequently come and sit near 

 the door opening into the library of the institution. The door only 

 divides my house from the library ; puss would place herself 

 here mostly at dinner-time, and, as I am informed, not be- 

 fore ; she would wait here until she heard my footsteps down 

 the library ; she would then proceed directly to the kitchen, and 

 inform the ser\-ant, either bymewing or looking up into her face. 

 She would then come to me and teU me in her way that she had 

 ordered dinner. I have seen her scores of times trotting along 

 the passage to the kitchen, when I have opened the library door, 

 to inform the servant that I was coming. How Topsy ascer- 

 tained the time to proceed to the door I do not know, except 

 that she saw that dinner was preparing ; but how did she know 

 the time it would be ready and the time that I was expected to 

 come in? 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE 



The Association for promoting the Higher Education of 

 Women in Oxford is to open two halls in Oxford in October for 

 the reception of lady students. One of these is to be an 

 ' ' Academical house on the principles of the Church of England, " 

 and in the other, ' ' Somerville Hall " (after Mrs. Somerville), 

 care will be taken that members of different religious denomina- 

 tions are placed on the same footing. The charges in the latter 

 will be considerably lower than in the former. 



Two Combe Exhibitions of 35/. each will be open for compe- 

 tition in May next at Trinity College, Oxford. Candidates will 

 be at liberty to offer classics, mathematics, chemistry, and physics, 

 a period of history, or any two or more of these branches of 

 study. There is no fixed limit of age. The examination, which 

 will be combined with the ordinary Matriculation examination, 

 will commence ou Tuesday, May 20, at 9 a,m. Names, with 



subjects offered and testimonials of good conduct, to be sent to 

 the president not later than May 12. 



The Astronomer-Royal continues to give evidence of his 

 intense desire for the promotion of sound mathematical training, 

 and has published to the Cambridge Senate his views as to the 

 papeis set in the Smith's Prize examinations of recent years, 

 classifying the questions set, and showing that several subjects, 

 more valuable, in his opinion, to men of science and to students, 

 than all the others together, have had no questions set upon 

 them. Among these are attractions, higher dynamics, perturba- 

 tions, figure of the earth, thermodynamics, waves and tides, 

 sound, physical optics, &c. He says very pertinently : "The 

 use of an examination is to test the power of a candidate to 

 command the application of mathematics when required. The 

 use of publication of examination is to guide students in the 

 subjects recommended for their study. The guidance which too 

 many of these subjects intimate is this : that clever and abstruse 

 algebra, without any reference to its benefit as an application of 

 a tool to other purposes, is the suminum bonum." He believes 

 this guidance is against the instincts of many residents at 

 Cambridge and the desires of undergraduates. 



Progress is evident at Cambridge in response to the memorial 

 we recently referred to against the compulsory study of Greek by 

 all undergraduates. Very few votes prevented reform years ago ; 

 no doubt the claims of science students and of liberty for all will 

 now be more fairly listened to. The syndicate on the subject 

 includes Dr. Humphry, Professors Liveing and James Stuart, 

 and Mr. Todhunter, and thus the real interests of mathematics, 

 physics, biology, and medicine, as regards the education of 

 students, as well as the progress of science, will be sure of 

 recognition. 



The examiners in the Cambridge natural sciences tripos this 

 year are Dr, Humphry, Prof. Bonney, Mr. J. F. Walker, 

 (Lecturer on Chemistry at Sidney Sussex College), and Mr. 

 Yule, of Magdalen, Oxford, the foregoing being re-appoint- 

 ments, and Prof, Liveing, the Rev, J, W, Hicks (University 

 Demonstrator of Chemistry, and Lecturer on Botany at Sidney 

 Sussex College), Mr. W. Gamett, Demonstrator of Experimen- 

 tal Physics, and Mr. F. M. Balfour ; the latter three are fresh 

 nominations. 



In the last Cambridge Local Examinations (December, 1878), 

 among 626 senior boys there were 92 candidates for the chemis- 

 try paper and 44 for practical chemistry ; of 997 senior girls, 

 29 took the paper and only 4 the practical examination ; 21 boys 

 and no girls entered for experimental statics and dynamics, &c., 

 38 boys and 24 girls for heat, 30 boys and 4 girls for electricity. 

 The result is that only 3 boys, 2 from the Liverpool Institute 

 and I firom Newton College, Devon, obtained the mark of dis- 

 tinction in the section "natural philosophy," in which all these 

 subjects are included ; and no girls. It should be added that a 

 pass may be attained on two of these subjects, and only three in 

 all may be taken by any candidate. Is it possible to show more 

 strongly the lack of attention to and interest in the elementary 

 forces of nature in English schools and by English parents ? 

 These are boys and girls between sixteen and eighteen years of 

 age, most of them supposed to be ready, or almost ready, to 

 leave school and take part in the battle of life. Among 3,329 

 junior boys and 1,483 junior girls, 423 boys and 13 girls took 

 the chemistry paper, 169 boys and i girl the practical chemistrj', 

 76 boys and no girls statics, &c., 178 boys and 12 girls heat. 

 Seven boys, the majority from Liverpool College, and no girls, 

 obtained distinction. We do not become further consoled by 

 finding that 15 senior boys and 79 senior girk took zoology, n 

 boys and 177 girls botany, 24 boys and 150 girls geology ; for 

 girls have no more right to a scientific training than boys. Most 

 likely, however, boys and their teachers wUl seek to know more 

 of the life and the past history of the globe when they find that 

 girls can really hold their own in and enjoy these studies, and 

 look with amazement on men for being so unwilling to learn or 

 teach them. Among the juniors, 75 boys and 148 girls took 

 zoology, 45 boys and 238 girls botany . These numbers, how- 

 ever, represent no great attainments as yet, for the standard of 

 passing is very low ; severity would only kill the tender growth. 

 But evidently there is in secondary schools little belief in the 

 educative and attractive power of the study of natiu-e. Why is 

 it not considered that mathematicians are fostered by neglect and 

 hindrance ? It appears to be thought capital training to produce 

 physicists and naturalists. Really, conservatism and tmwilling- 

 ness to take a little trouble are the enemies. 



