552 



NATURE 



[January 14, 19 15 



of the schoolmaster's calling, and to discourage the 

 working for degrees. 



The growth of the day training colleges and their 

 intimate connection with the universities has, how- 

 ever, rendered of slight effect the attempt to divert 

 students from the degree studies, and the present 

 tendenc}' seems to be rather to encourage this uni- 

 versity training by the grant of facilities for lengthen- 

 ing the training college course beyond its normal two 

 years' duration. 



The universities and university colleges had a third 

 source of income from the State, although a very 

 small and variable one, in the fees paid by the Science 

 and Art Department for the attendance of teachers 

 at science courses, and in the aid given toward the 

 establishment of local exhibitions tenable at the 

 colleges. Though the amount of the aid has been 

 trifling so far as the actual sums are concerned, the 

 effects have been remarkably good. Many a man now 

 holding a good position in the scientific or industrial 

 world can trace his success to the opportunities given 

 him by these local exhibitions to pursue a course of 

 systematic study in a fairly well-equipped institution 

 of university rank. This is still more true of the 

 VVhitworth scholarships and exhibitions which were 

 at one time generally held at an institution of this 

 type. 



But the most elastic source of Government aid to 

 science work in the university was tapped for tlie 

 first time when it was made clear to the university 

 authorities that the Regulations of the Technical 

 Branch of the Board of Education definitely offered 

 assistance to "any institution in which systematic 

 instruction in science or science and art was given." 

 It only remained for the university to place, under 

 the supervision of the Board of Education, the work 

 in the applied sciences which the Treasury officers 

 declined to recognise. After the first plunge was made 

 one after another succumbed to the fascinating bait, 

 and now all the universities in the country receive 

 aid from the Board of Education for at least some 

 portion of their work. The fears at first naturally 

 felt that the acceptance of the Board's aid would result 

 in fettering the teaching or the administration have 

 so far proved in practice to be unfounded. 



Following the example of the universities came the 

 medical schools attached to the London hospitals, and 

 the same elastic regulations enabled them, loo, to be 

 admitted to their share in the sums available for 

 technical instruction. The first grant under this head 

 was one of i,oooZ. to St. Mary's Hospital Medical 

 School in the year 1908-9. For the last financial year 

 for which figures are available, a sum of 15,600?. 

 was distributed among eleven medical schools — a very 

 substantial and acceptable increase — while the total 

 grant, including the universities and the university 

 colleges, was 44,600/. — a sum, be -it remembered, in 

 addition to the Treasury grant. 



It will therefore be seen that State aid towards 

 science teaching of university standard has shown a 

 distinct upward tendency, but a tendency more marked 

 in regard to applied science, less obvious in regard 

 to pure science. 



Siaie Aid, jor Agricultural Education. 

 State aid towards agricultural education began in 

 1888-9 with a grant of 5,000/. to the Agricultural 

 Department of the Privy Council, and in 1890-1 the 

 Board of Agriculture came into being. In the year 

 following the creation of the new Department the 

 amount voted had grown to 8,000/. It remained at 

 this figure till 1895-6 when 1700/. was transferred to 

 the Scottish Education Department. 



NO. 2359, VOL. 94] 



By 1897-8 the expenditure had risen again to 7200/. 

 In 1 90 1-2 it was 8900/., and ten years later had 

 grown still further to 19,500/. In this year the Board 

 of Agriculture captured the president of the Board 

 of Education, and shortly after completed its triumph 

 by annexing almost all the agricultural instruction 

 formerly aided by the Board of Education and 6oco/. 

 of its grant. The Board of Education still controls 

 and aids the pleasing and harmless fad of school 

 gardens in connection with elementary schools and 

 with evening schools for youths not over sixteen years 

 of age. Thus, one whole branch and that not the 

 least in importance has been definitely removed from 

 the control of the State Department specially created 

 to deal with education and put under another 

 responsible for swine fever and cattle disease, ord- 

 nance survey, and the regulation of commons. 



The change appears to have commended itself to 

 the country and to the farming interest, for the grants 

 for the present year are on a scale far in advance 

 of anything before. The vote for agricultural educa- 

 tion is ,98,250/., for forestry education 1000/., for 

 general agricultural research 43,815/., for forestry 

 research 1200/., and for animal and plant pathology 

 18,650/., making a total grant of 163,000/., as against 

 one of 78,000/. for the preceding year. But this is 

 not all the State aid to agriculture. Scotland gets 

 51,184/. and Ireland 49,750/. In addition, there is a 

 grant of just over 7000/. for fishery investigations. 

 The obvious moral of these figures seems to be that 

 technical instruction and research develop rapidly 

 when confided to the care of an authority specially 

 entrusted with this duty, instead of to one immersed 

 in other and more immediately popular types of 

 education. 



State Aid for Scientific Research and to Learned 

 Societies. 



Finally we come to the aid given by the State 

 towards scientific research. The total amount of the 

 aid is, however, uncertain, and it is easy to omit 

 items in various votes which might conceivably be 

 properly classified under this heading. For our pur- 

 pose the most important portions of this aid are (i) 

 the research grant administered by the Royal Society. 

 This began in 1850 with a sum of looc/. and con- 

 tinued, in spite of some alarms of a possible with- 

 drawal, till 1876, when an additional grant of 4000/. 

 for five years was made. In 1882 the original grant 

 of 1000/. and the additional grant of 4000/. were 

 replaced by a single sum of 4000/., and it has re- 

 mained at that sum to the present time. An applica- 

 tion for an increase was made in 1894, but not 

 granted, but, possibly as a compromise, a grant of 

 1000/. was made towards the expense of the publica- 

 tion of scientific researches, and this grant still con- 

 tinues to appear annually in the estimates. 



State aid to the various scientific societies of the 

 countrv mav be best dated from the year 1854-5, when 

 a grant of 500/. was made to the Royal Geographical 

 Society, and the grant has continued at the same 

 amount. As already stated, the Royal Society grant 

 of 1000/. was in 1856-7 definitely inserted in the 

 Annual Estimates, but similar amounts had in fact 

 been granted since 185 1, the amounts for the succeed- 

 ing years to 1855 being looked upon as special and 

 not necessarily annual. In 1866-7 the Royal Society 

 of Edinburgh secured 300/., and in 1869-70 these three 

 votes, with the grants for scientific investigations, 

 were classified together as Votes for Learned Societies 

 with a total of 12,300/. The subsequent history of 

 this Vote is shown in the following table : — 



