May 30, 19 1 8] 



NATURE 



245 



viewed from the g^reatest distance possible the 

 effect becomes more attractive, and the lights and 

 shadows of the clouds blend into one another in 

 a more harmonious whole. A very similar effect 

 is produced in the smaller, work by the same 

 artist, "Welsh Hills near Barmouth" (602). 



When looking^ at a wide stretch of country, 

 whether it be an extensive plain as seen from the 

 top of a range of hills, or the hills and valleys of 

 a mountainous country viewed from some vantage 

 point, the most attractive effects are often obtained 

 on a day when the sky is covered with detached 

 clouds of the cumulus type, causing a bright 

 -contrast between the light and shade on the 

 country below. A scene of this kind is depicted 

 by Bertram Priestman in "The Walls of Lang- 

 strothdale " (114), but to the critical observer the 

 whole is spoilt by the unreality of the clouds 

 themselves, though the shadow effect on the 

 ground is more successful. The only type of 

 ■cloud which is almost uniformly well dealt with 

 is where the "clouds" appear as mountain mists, 

 and one concludes that artists must subject this 

 type to much more study than the clouds in the 

 ■sky above. Some of these mountain mist effects 

 are notably good. "The Head of the Glen," by 

 Peter Graham (439), and " Yarrow : ' The Vapours 

 'Linger Round the Heights,'" by Alfred Parsons 

 (126), may be mentioned amongst others in this 

 connection'. In " Easedale Tarn, Westmorland" 

 .(207), J. H. Crossland has shown us clouds over 

 a mountain-top which are delightfully real. 

 Attempts to indicate showers passing over a land- 

 '«cape generally lead to a more successful por- 

 trayal of the dark falling rain in the shower than 

 •of the cumulo-nimbus cloud above. This appears 

 'to be a- subject that might give far more real- 

 istic and attractive results than any shown in this 

 year's exhibition. "The Gravel Pit," by Arthur 

 Friedenson {583), seems to be the most successful 

 of those exhibited. The high cloud at sunset in 

 B. W. Leader's "Still Evening" (175) raises an 

 interesting speculation as to the probability of the 

 conditions shown being true to life. Bands of 

 high doud are brightly tinted pink in the rays of 

 the setting sun, whereas other clouds in the same 

 part of the sky, but at an apparently higher level, 

 are illuminated, but without colour. The writer 

 does not remember a case of this kind coming 

 under his observation, although it appears not to 

 be impossible. The interesting and quite common 

 case where the high clouds are illuminated with 

 a pink glow, while the lower ones have already 

 passed into the shadow of the earth, does not 

 seem to have attracted the artist's imagination. 

 Very interesting information as to the relative 

 heights of different cloud layers may sometimes 

 be obtained in these circumstances. 



Observers often, in dealing with Nature herself, 

 have difficulty in deciding to which of the arti- 

 ficial types of the international classification a 

 cloud belongs, so infinite are the varieties which 

 occur, but all meteorological observers who visit 

 the Academy will undoubtedly give a sigh of relief 

 that they are not expected to classify the strange 

 NO. 2535, VOL. lOl] 



shapes which appear in the sky in "Evening" 

 (233), to mention one case only, though it does 

 not stand alone. In "Wind from the South" 

 (383) the artist presumably set out to portray 

 falling snow ; but surely with a title so meteoro- 

 logical he might have given more careful atten- 

 tion to the meteorological elements in his picture. 

 Finally, all who hold that gunfire has an influence 

 on rainfall should undoubtedly visit the Academy 

 for confirmation of their views. If the clouds over 

 the battlefields of France really take the forms 

 shown in some of the pictures (notably "Dawn," 

 333)» few will have the hardihood to maintain that 

 the rainfall or even the entire climatic conditions 

 of the neighbourhood may not be seriously 

 affected. J. S. D. 



THE CARNEGIE TRUST FOR THE 

 UNIVERSITIES OF SCOTLAND. 



A FEW months ago (Nature, January 10, 

 p. 369) attention was directed to a report 

 of a special committee appointed by the British 

 Science Guild and published in the journal of the 

 Guild for December last. The report discussed the 

 manner in which the trustees of the Carnegie 

 Trust for the Universities of Scotland were carry- 

 ing out their purpose of strengthening and de- 

 veloping scientific research, a question which was 

 raised by Prof. Soddy in Science Progress for 

 January, 1917. The recent issue of the sixteenth 

 annual report of the Carnegie Trust seems to 

 call for some further comment in connection with 

 the criticisms then advanced. 



The report shows how the grants have been 

 distributed during the year 1916-17. Since 

 this is the fourth year of the third quinquennial 

 period, no vital changes in the general character 

 of the report are to be expected. A new feature 

 is the list of the trustees and the members 

 of the executive committee, which is printed 

 on the back of the title-page. When it is 

 borne in mind that one of the main pur- 

 poses of the Carnegie Trust is to improve and 

 extend the opportunities for scientific study" and 

 research, it is matter for some surprise that of 

 the twenty trustees four only can be regarded as 

 men of science with direct knowledge of the mean- 

 ing and methods of research. There is improve- 

 ment, however ; for originally there were only 

 two, and for a short interval none, who could be 

 ranked as men of science. 



As regards distribution of grants under 

 Clause A of the trust deed, the present war con- 

 ditions have naturally had important effects. 

 Large sums granted towards the cost of new 

 buildings have not been expended. In the case of 

 the Universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen these 

 sums are simfily held over; but in the case of 

 Edinburgh a sum of 31,000/., originally allo- 

 cated over the five years for buildings and 

 permanent equipment in chemistry and anatomy, 

 has been diverted for the endowment of a 

 professorship of chemistry in relation to medi- 

 cine, a professorship of French, and two new 



