76 



NATURE 



[September 15, 192 1 



Section i, on mathematics and natural philo- 

 sophy, is by Dr. C. G. Knott, with subsections 

 on astronomy by Prof. Sampson, actuarial 

 science by Dr. A. E. Sprague, and meteorology 

 by Mr. Andrew Watt. Here we find chronicled 

 the important advances made by Napier, Gregory, 

 Stirling, and Maclaurin in mathematics ; by Leslie, 

 Forbes, Balfour Stewart, Waterston, Tait, and 

 Maxwell in experimental and mathematical 

 physics ; by Buchan in meteorology ; by Dr. T. B. 

 Sprague in actuarial science ; and by Henderson 

 in astronomy. In section 2 Dr. Dobbin treats of 

 pure chemistry ; Principal Laurie of industrial 

 chemistry ; and Mr. Steuart of the shale oil in- 

 dustry. Black, Rutherford, and Hope receive 

 particular notice ; the share the industrial chemists 

 of Edinburgh took, and still take, in the produc- 

 tion of certain important drugs is duly chronicled, 

 and also the remarkable work of James Young in 

 initiating the manufacture of paraffin. Section 3 

 is devoted to geology, and Messrs. E. B. Bailey 

 and D. Tait, of the Scottish Geological Survey, 

 tell the story of the pioneer work of Hutton, and 

 bring down the record of the work done by Hugh 

 Millar, Maclaren, Traquair, and the Geikies to 

 quite recent days, when botanists and geologists 

 mutually rejoice in the revelations of the fossils 

 of the Rhynie chert. 



In section 4, on engineering. Prof. Hudson 

 Beare recounts Symington's early attempts to 

 propel ships with steam power ; tells of Nasmyth, 

 of steam-hammer fame ; and shows forth the 

 labours of Robert Stevenson and his descendants 

 in designing and building lighthouses and im- 

 proving lighthouse illumination. 



Section 5, zoology, is from the pen of Dr. 

 James Ritchie, who brings out (what is further 

 established by the later articles on botany, geo- 

 graphy, and medicine) how greatly the study of 

 natural history was fostered by the teachers and 

 students in Edinburgh's medical schools. The 

 most conspicuous names among these are Edward 

 Forbes, Allman, Wyville Thomson, and Charles 

 Darwin, who spent two years studying natural 

 science at Edinburgh Although largely a branch 

 of zoology, oceanography is treated as a separate 

 section, and in it Prof. Herdman (himself an 

 Edinburgh graduate) traces the succession of 

 oceanographical developments in Edinburgh 

 through the life labours of Edward Forbes, 

 Wyville Thomson, and John Murray, bringing the 

 story down to W. S. Bruce 's Scotia expedition 

 and Murray's last voyage in the Michael Sars. 

 Section 7, botany, is by Mr. W. W. Smith, of 

 the Royal Botanic Gardens. It is interesting to 

 note that the first chair of medicine in the uni- 

 NO. 2707, VOL. 108] 



versity was the chair of botany and medicine, 

 and that the founding- of this chair followed the 

 institution of the "Medicine Garden," which ulti- 

 mately developed into the Royal Botanic Garden. 

 Of the many mentioned in connection with Edin- 

 burgh, the most conspicuous are Hope, Arnott, 

 Hooker, Graham, Balfour, Robert Brown, and 

 Dickson. A brief subsection on forestrv, by Sir 

 John Stirling-Maxwell, emphasises the strong lead 

 taken by Edinburgh in the promotion of forestry 

 as a science. 



In section 8, on agriculture, Mr, J. A. S. 

 Watson records the invention of the threshing 

 machine by Meikle, of East Lpthian, and the 

 important work done by Shireff in the improve- 

 ment of cereals. The Edinburgh chair of agri- 

 culture, founded in 1790, seems to have been 

 the earliest in any country. Mr. G. G. Chisholm, 

 in the article, "Geography," section 9, begins by 

 giving an impressive list of travellers and ex- 

 plorers who, born or trained in Edinburgh, have 

 notably extended geographical knowledge. A 

 brief history is also given of the two well-known 

 cartographical firms which have brought fame to 

 the city. Section 10 deals with anthropology 

 under the two headings of "Archaeology," by Mr. 

 J. H. Cunningham, of the Society of Antiquaries 

 of Scotland, and "Physical Anthropology," by 

 Prof. Robinson. The systematic excavation of 

 ancient sites is now the great feature of archaeo- 

 logical research, and the very recent discoveries 

 at Traprain Law have excited great interest. On 

 the other hand, the remarkable collection of skulls 

 and skeletons now in possession of the university 

 anatomical department has been only partially dis- 

 cussed by Turner, Cunningham, and others. 



Section 11, on medicine and surgery, constitutes 

 the largest of all the sections, and is the work of 

 three authors, Dr. J. D. Comrie and Prof. Ritchie, 

 treating of the Edinburgh Medical School, and 

 Dr. Alexander Miles, who treats of surgery. The 

 chairs of botany, natural history, and chemistry 

 were all originally chairs in the medical faculty of 

 the university, a fact which explains the valuable 

 work done in pure science by leading Edinburgh 

 physicians and others trained in the medical 

 school ; and the same keenness was shown down 

 the centuries in the scientific study of anatomy,^) 

 physiology, materia medica, and other branches"! 

 of medical and surgical knowledge. The uni- 

 versity professors and the teachers in the extra- 1 

 mural school alike brought renown to their city j 

 as a great centre of medical training. Monro 

 secundus, Charles Bell, Benjamin Bell, Sharpey, 

 Goodsir, Christison, James Young Simpson, and 

 Lister are a few of the manv whose names are 



