I02 



NATURE 



[September 15, 1921 



University and Educational Intelligence. 



Birmingham. — Under the will of the late Mr. 

 Morton, of Moseley (who, in response to the^ Univer- 

 sity's appeal for funds, gave io,oooL last year), a sum 

 of 2000L is left to the University for the foundation 

 of scholarships. 



The Birmingham Post of September lo publishes a 

 letter from the Vice-Chancellor (Sir Gilbert Barling), 

 the Principal (Mr. C. Grant Robertson), and the Dean 

 of the Faculty of Medicine (Mr. W. F. Haslam) to 

 the Board of Management of the Birmingham General 

 Hospital, in which is pointed out the serious effect on 

 the clinical teaching of the students of medicine which 

 will arise from the closing of two wards of the hos- 

 pital. In a sympathetic reply the Board states that it 

 is with the greatest reluctance that the wards have 

 been closed, but the failure of voluntary contributions 

 to meet the increase in cost of upkeep of the hospital 

 has left no alternative. It is much to be desired that 

 the public will realise the seriousness of the situa- 

 tion and that the necessarv funds may be forthcoming 

 to enable the wards to be reopened. 



Glasgow. — Mr. S. Horwood Tucker has been ap- 

 pointed to the lectureship in organic chemistry. 



LoxDON.^The programme of University extension 

 lectures for the coming session has just be^n issued. 

 Courses of lectures will be given and classes held at 

 about seventy local centres in different parts of 

 London and the surrounding district. The subjects 

 treated cover a wide range, and lectures in the depart- 

 ments of literature, history, science, art, architecture, 

 and economics are included in the list. Arriongst the 

 courses is a series of lectures on " Some Problems 

 of Modern Biology, "to be delivered by Dr. W. B. 

 Brierley at Gresham College. 



Mr. R. M. C. Gunn, of Montrose, has been ap- 

 pointed lecturer in veterinary anatomy and surgery 

 in the University of Sydney. 



It is announced in Science of August 26 that by 

 the will of the late Frances Appleton ' Fostef, of 

 Weston, Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Institute 

 of Technology wilt receive the sum of one million 

 dollars and AVellesley College, Massachusetts, half a 

 million dollars. 



Leeds University has issued as a small pamphlet 

 a prospectus of evening courses in technology which 

 will be available at the University during the coming 

 academic year. In the departments of civil, 

 mechanical, and electrical engineering advanced 

 courses extending over four or five years are provided ; 

 they are intended to meet the requirements of the 

 examinations for membership of the Institutions of 

 Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineers respec- 

 tively. A four years' course on coal-mining, designed 

 to. enable miners to qualify for managers' certificates, 

 and special courses on dyeing and leather manufac- 

 ture will also be given. An interesting feature of the 

 pamphlet is the section dealing with "Courses 

 Qualifying for Research Work and Trade Investiga- 

 tions." Lectures and demonstrations will be ar- 

 ranged with the idea of training students in the 

 methods of research adopted in the textile industries, 

 and, as a general, rule, only students over twenty-two 

 years of age will be admitted. 



In the prospectus for the session 1921-22 of the 

 Technical College, Bradford, full particulars are given 

 of the courses of instruction which will be given 

 during the coming year. Three- or four-year courses 

 leading to the college diplomas are provided in the 

 departments of textile industries, chemistry, dyeing, 



NO. 2707, VOL. 108] 



and civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering. .Ml 

 these courses have been modified so that students 

 for college diplomas hiay now present themselves for 

 degree examinations at London University. Part-time 

 courses, Consisting chiefly of evening work, will also 

 be given in the various clepartments. These lectures 

 are provided principally in order to meet the needs 

 of students who are employed in technical industries 

 during the greater part of their time. Research work 

 can also be undertaken at the college, and it is antici- 

 pated that when the new engineering laboratories, in 

 which accommodation will be provided for heat treat- 

 ment, metallography, oxy-acetylene and electric weld- 

 ing, etc., are available, this side of the activities of 

 the college will receive a big impetus. 



A USEFUL idea which has been adopted by Battersea 

 Polytechnic is to issue an abridged calendar of the 

 afternoon and evening classes provided during the 

 coming session. It consists of 18 pages, but in that 

 small space the authorities have contrived to indicate 

 the subjects which will be dealt with, the lengths of 

 the various courses, and, in many cases, a time-table 

 of the lectures. A brief account of the full-time day 

 courses is also given. Full instruction in prepara- 

 tion for London L^niversity examinations in science 

 and engineering is provided in both day and evening 

 classes, while there are also day courses in mechanical, 

 civil, and electrical engineering, chemistry, physics, 

 and sanitary science which lead to the college dip- 

 lomas in the various subjects. Evening courses of 

 similar scope are also to be given. In addition, special 

 courses for honours students in chemistry have been 

 arranged ; Dr. F. W. Aston will lecture on atomic 

 weights and isotopes, Dr. S. S. Zilva on enzyme 

 chemistry, Mr. Greenberg on the microscopy of foods 

 and drugs, and Mr. A. R. Pearson on the technology 

 of fuels. Research by students of post-graduate 

 standing is permitted only when the accommodation 

 required is not such as to interfere with the routine 

 work of the polytechnic. The pamphlet can be ob- 

 tained free of charge on apolication to the Principal, 

 Battersea Polytechnic, London, S.W.ii. 



The sixteenth report (for the year 1919-20) of Leeds 

 University, which has recently been published, pro- 

 vides a brief but interesting account of the many 

 activities of the University, together with some 

 interesting figures relating to the cost of L'niversity 

 education. Taking the University as a whole, the 

 cost per student for the past year was about 75Z. 

 This figure is less than that for the year 1913-14 by 

 some 7L The fall in the. cost is accounted for by the 

 fact that the number of students has greatly increased, 

 while the salaries of the professorial staff, as we have 

 said repeatedlv in these columns, shows but a rela- 

 tively small increase. However, of .this 75L the 

 average fee paid bv the student is 27Z., leaving some 

 48Z. per head to be found by the University. An 

 analvsis of the total income available for 1920-21 

 reveals the fact that 36-1 per cent, was provided by 

 students' fees, 327 per cent, bv Government grants, 

 16-4 per cent, bv grants from local education authori- 

 ties, and 14-8 per cent., bv endowTnents, subscriptions, 

 etc. The most noteworthv gift was a sum of 4000Z. 

 from the Clothworkers' Companv of London, which 

 brings the total of that company's list, of benefactions 

 to the Universitv to no less than 77,250^ Some valu- 

 able plant and machinery have also been presented bv 

 various engineering firms. The officials responsible 

 for the finance of the X^niversitv are to be congratu- 

 lated on the fact that, in spite of building new lecture- 

 rooms and laboratories and making other, costly ex- 

 tensions, the Universitv will enter upon the year 

 1921-22 without a deficit in its acrounts. 



