488 



NATURE 



[December 9, 1920 



the present proposal. But no details are f*iven, and 

 the fact that some of the signatories in favour of the 

 new and unknown scheme have been on a syndicate 

 for twelve months charged to prepare a suitable 

 scheme, and have so far failed to meet their own 

 and their friends' requirements, does not inspire 

 much confidence in their future operations. The 

 results of the vote and a forecast of the later develop- 

 ments will appear in the next issue of Natire. 



Dr. J. N. Pring, reader in electro-chemistry, Uni- 

 versitv of Manchester, has been appointed head of 

 the Physical Chemistry Branch, Research Depart- 

 ment, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. 



Sir Richard Gregory will deliver an address on 

 "Scientific Fact and Popular Fallacy " to the students 

 of the Journalism Diploma course at the University 

 of London, South Kensington, S.W.7, on MondJiy, 

 December 13, at 5 p.m. The chairman will be Prof. 

 C H. Lees. 



In connection with the London Countv Council 

 lectures for teachers, a lecture on " The .\ntiquity of 

 Man " will be given by Prof. Arthur Keith at the 

 Regent Street Polytechnic, W.i, on Saturday morn- 

 ing, December 18, at 10.30 o'clock. The chair will 

 be taken by Major J. E. K. Studd. 



The University College (University of London) 

 Committee will shortly elect a Quain studentship in 

 biology. The studentship is open to past or present 

 students of the college who have taken a course in 

 ■botany. The value of the studentship is 150/. per 

 annum for three years. Candidates should com- 

 municate with the Secretary, University College, 

 Gower .Street, W.C.i, before December 16. 



The annual meeting of the Geographical Associa- 

 tion will be held at the London Day Training College 

 on Friday and Saturday, January 7 and 8, 192 1. 

 There will be a discussion on Historical Geography, 

 opened by Mr. J. Fairgrieve and Capt. W. \V. Jervis, 

 and one on Geography in Continuation Schools, 

 •opened by Mr. L. Brooks and Capt. V. h. Bell. Dr. 

 Unstead will lecture on The Study and Teaching of 

 International Relations, and Dr. Haddon on Racial 

 and Cultural Distributions in New Guinea. The 

 presidential address by Prof. Gilbert Murray will be 

 delivered on the afternoon of January 8. 



At a time when almost every university and 

 technical institution in Great Britain has to close its 

 doors to new students because of their already con- 

 gested condition, it is difiicult to believe that anv 

 circumstances could justify the extinction of a college 

 which has been a pioneer of the most effective type 

 in the work of technical education. Such, however, 

 IS the position of Finsbury Technical College, and a 

 defence committee has been formed to consider the 

 possibility of helping in any way to carry on the 

 work of the college and thus to obviate its contem- 

 plated closing in July next. The college was given 

 its distinctive character by Profs, .\rmstrong, .\yrton, 

 and Perrv, who were followed by Profs. Meldola and 

 Silvanus Thompson, and the educational methods they 

 introduced were both practical and sound, with the 

 result that every student who took advantage of the 

 opportunities afforded him was well equipped for his 

 work in life. The college was founded by the City 

 and Guilds of London Institute, and has in every 

 way been worthy of its founders. In the last financial 

 year the expenditure was about 12,400/., of which 

 about 7600/. was contributed by the institute and 

 4800?. was received, in students' fees. It will thus 

 lie seen that the students' fees were nearly 40 per 

 ■cent, of the income expended, which is a much 



NO. 2667, VOL. 106] 



higher ratio than in universities and colleges 

 generally. The average proportion of tuition fees in 

 universities and colleges in receipt of Slate aid in 

 England and Wales is 28 per cent., and in the United 

 .States 10 per cent. .Assuming that the City and 

 Guilds Institute contribution is continued, a suni of at 

 least 5000/. a year additional is required to enable the 

 college to continue its work, and double that annual 

 amount would not be too much to pay to .secure its 

 development. The defence committee has a strong 

 case to put before the City Companies and the public, 

 and it invites all who are interested in the preserva- 

 tion of the college to become meinbers. Applications, 

 with an entrance fee of 2.v. 6d., should be sent to 

 Dr. Atkinson, Finsburv Technical College, Leonard 

 Street, E.G. 2. 



Societies and Academies. 



London. 

 Royal Society, November 25. — Sir J. J. Thomson, 

 president, in the chair. — Prof. L. Hill : The growth 

 of seedlings in wind. Mustard-and-cress seeds have 

 been grown on lamp-wicks in a continuous wind of 

 approximately 5 metres a second, and the control 

 seeds in still air. The seeds grown in the wind are 

 stunted and bent, and contain less water, more ash, 

 less protein, and, presumably, more cellulose. To 

 counterbalance the drying effect of the wind the seeds 

 have been irrigated with water, and to balance the 

 ccx)ling effect of the wind due to evaporation this 

 water has been warmed, so that a part of the irrigated 

 wick in the wind has been as warm as, or warmer 

 than, the control wick. By the combining effect of 

 thorough wetting and warming the growth of the 

 seeds in wind has been made much more nearly equal 

 to that of the control. While the right amount of 

 moisture is the most important factor, the cooling of 

 the germinating seeds by the wind is also a factor in 

 explaining the stunting of growth in wind-swept 

 places. —Prof. P. T. Herring : The effect of thyroid- 

 feeding and of thyroparathvroidectomy upon the 

 pituitrin content of the posterior lobe of the pituitary, 

 the cerebro-spinal fluid, and blood. (i) Neither 

 thyroid-feeding nor thvroparathyroidectomy in cats 

 affects the pituitrin load of the posterior lobe of 

 the pituitary body as tested by the action of similar 

 strengths of extract upon the rat's uterus and the 

 blood-pressure of the pithed cat. (2) There is no 

 evidence of the presence of pituitrin in the cerebro- 

 spinal fluid of the fourth ventricle in normal, thyroid- 

 fed, and thyroparathyroidectomised cats. (3) The de- 

 fibrinated blood of normal, thyroid-fed, and thyro. 

 parathvroidectomised cats has no appreciable action 

 on the rat's uterus. The blood of thyroid-fed cats 

 has a greater depressor action upon the circulation of 

 an anaesthetised cat than has the blood of the normal 

 animal. The blood of thyrop>arathyroidectomised c;.ts 

 has a pressor effect upon the circulation accompanied 

 by contraction of the kidney and a diminution in the 

 secretion of urine. — W". .\. Jolly : Reflex times in the 

 South .African clawed frog. The reflex times of the 

 homonymous and heteronymous reflexes in the hind 

 limbs of the spinal clawed frog have been measured 

 at temperatures ranging from 14° C. to 30° C. The 

 average heteronymous time (66 observations) is 187 <t 

 (00187 second). The average homonymous time (68 ob- 

 servations) is i4-q <T. That is to sav, the crossed reflex 

 time is longer than the same-side reflex time bv 38 cr. 

 —Prof. J. .A. Gunn and R. St. A. Heathcole : Cellular 

 immunity. Observations on natural and acquired im- 

 munity to cobra venom. (a) Natural Immunity. — 



