October 8, 19 14] 



NATURE 



16 



instructing its students. The courses in gas engineer- 

 ing and the technology of fuel meet the requirements 

 of students who are preparing for responsible positions 

 either as gas engineers or in fuel and metallurgical 

 industries. In agriculture the instruction has been 

 arranged to meet the requirements of young men who 

 intend to become farmers, land agents, valuers, or 

 teachers of agricultural science. Other examples could 

 be given of the efforts of the University authorities 

 to provide instruction and guidance for all parts of 

 the community in its area and the support which is 

 being given to the University by all sections of society 

 augurs well for its future usefulness. 



From Prof. H. S. Carslaw we have received a 

 report, presented to the International Commission, 

 dealing with the teaching of mathematics in Aus- 

 tralia, and now published by Angus and Robertson, 

 Sydney, 19 14. Up to the present the education in the 

 schools has been mainly influenced by examinations 

 of the " local " type, controlled by the Australian 

 universities. Prof. Carslaw condemns this system, 

 which, of course, tends to lower the educational ideal 

 of the schools to mere examination cramming. A 

 comparison of the syllabuses of these examinations 

 with those now being introduced into the State high 

 schools, and the system of leaving certificates, fully 

 supports what Prof. Carslaw states. The older ex- 

 aminations contain much work that is difficult, use- 

 less, and unstimulating, while the new syllabuses are 

 much more practical, interesting, and educationally 

 valuable. Coming next to the universities, we find 

 that the system of combining mathematics and 

 physics in one department still prevails in the newer 

 institutions, and the numbers of students taking 

 mathematics is on the whole distinctly small, having 

 regard of the fact that the subject is compulsory- for 

 engineering students. The course in insurance 

 mathematics is a valuable feature of the Melbourne 

 University, and one which we should like to see 

 copied elsewhere and made attractive to candidates 

 for general degrees in arts and science. 



The calendar for the present session of the Arm- 

 strong College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has been re- 

 ceived. The college ranks, together with the " Dur- 

 ham colleges," and the College of Medicine, as one 

 of the three constituent units of the University of 

 Durham. The faculties of science and commerce in 

 the University are seated entirely at Armstrong Col- 

 lege, in which alone are held the classes and examina- 

 tions requisite for bachelor degrees in these faculties. 

 In addition to pure science, the college gives instruc- 

 tion in the various branches of engineering, mining, 

 metallurgy, naval architecture, and agricultural 

 science. The agricultural department directs the 

 Northumberland County Agricultural Experimental 

 Station and the Durham County Station for 

 Dairy Research. For the purpose of forestry 

 instruction the college possesses 900 acres of 

 wood, and its zoological equipment includes a labora- 

 tory of marine biology. College diplomas in engineer- 

 ing, naval architecture, mining, mine surveying, agri- 

 culture, and commerce, are open to students who are 

 unable to take a complete degree course. A list of the 

 various fellowships for research, scholarships, and ex- 

 hibitions, of which there is a large number, is given 

 in the calendar. We notice that a fellowship of the 

 value of 125Z., and two research studentships of the 

 value of 62L los. each, are offei'ed for competition in 

 June of each year. The holders must engage in ad- 

 vanced study or research to the satisfaction of the 

 council and be graduates of the University of Durham. 



A COPY of the calendar for 19 14-15 of the Man- 

 chester Municipal School of Technology- has been 



NO. 2345, VOL. 94] 



received. It is arranged in two parts, one dealing 

 with university courses and the other with part-time 

 courses. The school offers systematic training in the 

 principles of science and art as applied to mechanical, 

 electrical, municipal, and sanitary engineering; archi- 

 tecture and the building trades ; the chemical indus- 

 tries ; the textile industries ; and photography and the 

 printing crafts. Its work includes advanced study 

 and research ; university courses in the faculty of tech- 

 nology in the Victoria University of Manchester, of 

 which the school is an important constituent ; part- 

 time day courses for engineers' and other apprentices 

 whose employers allow them to devote one whole day 

 a week to study ; part-time evening courses, involving 

 attendance on three evenings a week for five years; 

 and other part-time classes for advanced study and 

 research, or in preparation for the external degrees of 

 the University of London, or for other purposes. 

 Students who, having passed the matriculation exam- 

 ination or its equivalent, satisfactorily complete a 

 three years' university course in accordance with the 

 regulations, become entitled to the degree of Bachelor 

 of Technical Science. A fourth year's course of ad- 

 vanced study and research prepares such graduates for 

 the higher degree of Master of Technical Science. 

 These degrees give the holders exemption from further 

 examination when desirous of entering certain pro- 

 fessions and learned societies, which are enumerated 

 in the calendar. Very full particulars of the equip- 

 ment, the various courses, and the general arrange- 

 ments of the school are given in a manner which 

 makes very simple reference by the intending student. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



P.\R1S. 



Academy of Sciences, September 14. — M. P. Appel! in 

 the chair. — A. Lacroix : The recent eruption of -Ambrjm 

 (December, 1913J and the constitution of the lava from 

 this volcano. The lava is of the angitic labradorite 

 type, too poor in olivine to be considered a true basalt. 

 A complete chemical analysis is given. — Kr. Birkeland 

 and M. Skolem : Calculations of the lines of equal 

 intensity in the zodiacal light. — B. Jekhowsky : The 

 eclipse of the sun of August 20-21, 19 14. Particulars 

 of observations taken at the Observatory of Mont- 

 souris. — Ch. Vaillant : The replacement of photo- 

 graphic plates by gelatino-bromide paper in radio- 

 graph)'. By the use of a reinforcing screen with 

 exposures of from 4 to 30 seconds good negatives 

 were obtained. The cost is about one-thirtieth of the 

 ordinary plates. — ^Julien Loisel : The monographic re- 

 presentation of the mean direction of the wind. 



September 21.— The President announced the death 

 of M. Perez, correspondant for the section of anatomy. 

 — Maurice Hamy : Remarks relating to the construc- 

 tion of an equatorial coudd. — Marin Molliard : 

 Chemical modifications of plant organs undergoing a 

 true fermentation. 



Calcutt.\. 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal, September 2. — W. Ivanow : 



The language of the g^'psies of Qainat (in eastern 

 Persia). The gypsies of eastern Persia are a wander- 

 ing tribe who live exclusively in tents and present signs 

 of their Ar\an origin, with Shemitic, Turkish, and 

 even Dravidian admixtures. They seem to be allied 

 to the Jats, the well-known Kshattriya tribe of India, 

 to the Da-Yueti tribe to which Kaniska belongs, and 

 to other kindred tribes. They dress like Persian 

 peasants, and their religion is Islam of the Shia Sect. 

 Their language has lost its original purity and is now 

 about the same as Persian spoken in Qainat. There 

 are still some genuine g}'psy words which are used to 



