846 



NATURE 



[February 24, 1921 



In pronograde apes, as in four-footed animals, the 

 tail is made up of two parts which are structurally 

 and functionally quite different. The free or terminal 

 part is put to many uses ; the pelvic or basal part is 

 always associated with a visceral function. To it the 

 rectum is always attached, and certain muscles which 

 guard the pelvic outlet act upon the pelvic segments 

 of the tail and use it as a perineal shutter. It is the 

 external or post-pelvic segment of the tail which has 

 disappeared from the body of man and the orthograde 

 apes ; the pelvic part has survived as the coccyx, and 

 its visceral musculature as the levator ani muscle. 

 With the evolution of the upright posture the pelvic 

 muscles which act on the tail had to bear the steadv 

 burden of the abdominal viscera — had to be in action 

 as long as the orthograde posture was maintained. 

 They could not serve in the support of the viscera 

 and the movements of the tail at the same time. 

 Hence only the pelvic part of the tail was retained — 

 the part on which the pelvic musculature acted. In 

 pronograde apes the pelvic visceral musculature is 

 attached to the peculiar chevron-like bones (haemal 

 arches) placed beneath the pelvic vertebrae of the tail ; 

 the reappearance of hsemal arches in the human 

 embryo during the second and third months of 

 development may be regarded as definite proof that 

 man comes of a pronograde ancestry. Tarsius spec- 

 trum, for which Prof. Wood-Jones claims a special 

 human relationship, is devoid of all features which 

 mark the orthograde group of Primates ; in its tail 

 and tail musculature Tarsius is a pure pronograde 

 Primate. 



University and Educational Intelligence. 



Birmingham. — The Doncaster Laboratory for Re- 

 search in Mining is to be transferred to Birmingham 

 University, under the directorship of Dr. J. S. Hal- 

 dane^ who has accepted the post of honorary pro- 

 fessor. 



Cambridge. — The council of St. John's College has 

 appointed Dr. T. J. I 'A. Bromwich to be praelector in 

 mathematical science. 



An interesting report issued by the Board of 

 Research Studies shows that there are at present in 

 residence seventy-two students admitted as candidates 

 for the Ph.D. degree. The largest number working 

 at any one subject is thirteen for physics. Botany 

 and chemistry with eight each come next, followed 

 by English and history with seven each. Graduates 

 of British universities number thirty-three ; sixteen 

 come from Colonial universities, ten from India, and 

 six from the United States. 



An analysis of the voting last term on the admis- 

 sion of women as members of the University shows 

 that there was a majority of 33 out of a poll of 405 

 among the resident teachers in the University in 

 favour of their admission. The University professors 

 also supported the proposal by 27 votes to 15. 



Honorary degrees of LL.D. were awarded on 

 Saturday to Sir Patrick Manson, G.C.M.G., and Dr. 

 Albert Calmette, of the Pasteur Institute, Paris. 

 Prof. J. Hjort, the oceanographer and marine bio- 

 logist, was also given the honorary degree of Sc.D. 



Mr. H. G. Carter has been appointed director of 

 the Botanic Gardens. 



London. — The Prince of Wales has consented to 

 attend the graduation dinner on the evening of May 5, 

 on the afternoon of which day he will receive the 

 honorary degrees of Master of Commerce and Doctor 

 of Sciences, and will reply to the toast of "The New 



NO. 2678, VOL. 106] 



Graduates." The Guildhall has been kindly placed 

 at the disposal of the University for this purpose by 

 the Lord Mayor and Corporation, and the Lord Mayor 

 has accepted an invitation to be present. 



Dr. Anne Louise Mcllroy has been appointed to 

 the University chair of obstetrics and gynaecology 

 tenable at the London School of Medicine for Women. 



Prof. J. P. Hill has been appointed to the Uni- 

 versity chair of embryology tenable at University 

 College. 



The degree of D.Sc. in botany has been conferred 

 on Miss K. M. Curtis, an internal student of the 

 Imperial College (Royal College of Science), for a 

 thesis entitled "The Life-history and Cytologv of 

 SvnchyUium endobioticum (Schilb.), Perc, the Cause 

 of Wart Disease in Potato." 



The Graham Legacy Committee has appointed Mr. 

 V. R. Khanolkar to tlie Graham scholarship in patho- 

 logy for two years from April i, 1921. The value of 

 the scholarship is 400^. a year. Since October last 

 Mr. Khanolkar has been assistant bacteriologist in 

 LTniversity College Hospital. 



In response to the recent appeal of the University 

 of Edinburgh for 500,000^., the sum of 2oo,oooZ. has 

 now been subscribed. 



Mr. W. D. Eggar will deliver a course of four 



lectures on Greek mathematics at Gresham College, 



Basinghall Street, E.C., on Tuesday to Friday, 



March 1-4, at 6 p.m. Admission will be free. 



Prof. E. W. Scripture, formerly of Yale Univer- 

 sity, has been appointed to the faculty of the Uni- 

 versity of Hamburg for the summer semester. He 

 will lecture on English philology and experimental 

 phonetics. Two articles by Prof. Scripture on the 

 nature of vowel sounds appeared in Nature for 

 January 13 and 20. 



An election of Beit fellows for scientific research is 

 to take place on or about July 15 next, and the 'ates: 

 date upon which applications can be received is 

 April ig. Forms of application and information 

 respecting the fellowships are obtainable by post from 

 the Rector, Imperial College of Science and Techno- 

 logy, South Kensington, S.W.7. 



In connection with the 1920-40 Science Research 

 Fund of Girton College, Cambridge, a fellowship o*' 

 30oi. a year tenable for three years is being offered 

 by the college for research in the mathematical, 

 physical, and natural sciences. Particulars of the 

 fellowship may be obtained from Miss Clover, Coleby, 

 Grange Road, Cambridge, and applications for the 

 felk)wship will be received by her not later than 

 March 31 next. 



A course of four public lectures on "The History 

 of Plant Delineation" will be given in the lecture- 

 room of the botany department of University College, 

 London, on Wednesdays at 5 p.m., beginning on 

 March 2. Dr. Charles Singer will deal with the art 

 of the ancient empires and of the Dark and Middle 

 Aires, and Dr. .\gnes Arber with the period from the 

 invention of printing to modern times. The lectures, 

 which will be illustrated by lantern-slides, are open 

 to the public without fee or ticket. 



The formal opening of I'lnstitut Fran^ais, Crom- 

 well Gardens, S.W., will take place on Saturday, 

 February 26, at 3 o'clock, under the presidency of his 

 Excellency M. le Comte de Saint Aulaire, .Embassa- 

 dor of France. The Minister of Public Instruction, 

 M. L6on B^rard, will represent the French Govern- 

 ment. The English Board of Education and the 



