August 15, 1918] 



NATURE 



477 



The incomes of the colleges of agriculture and 

 mechanic arts in 1913-14, excluding the grants for 

 experiment stations, amounted to 7,ooo,oooi., made up 

 as shown in Table 12. 



12. — Incomes of Agricultural and Technical Colleges, 

 U.S.A. 



Sources Amount Per cent. 



F"rom States ;^3,6oo,ooo 52 



Federal Government ... 700,000 10 



Tuition fees and endowments* 2,700,000 38 



;£'7, 000,000 



The total income of these technical colleges is thus 

 nearly ten times that of the whole of the universities 

 and colleges in England and Wales in receipt of 

 Exchequer grants ; and 60 per cent, is derived from 

 State or Federal grants in comparison with 40 per 

 cent, from Parliament and local authorities combined 

 in the case of universities and colleges of England. 

 It may be added that the normal State expenditure 

 per annum on higher agricultural education in England 

 and Wales is about 2o,oooZ., and 35,000^ for agricul- 

 tural research, or not much more than a single State 

 in America receives for similar purposes. 



The incomes of twenty^one German universities in 

 1913-14, not including the technical high schools, 

 amounted to nearly i,Soo,oooi. ; and of this the State 

 provided 1,500,000/., or mor* than 80 per cent, of the 

 total. The universities with incomes approaching 

 100,000?. or more are shown in Table 13. 



13. — Incomes of Eight German Universities. 



University Income State grants Per cent. 



Some of the points brought out by the foregoing 

 tables may be stated as follows : — 



(i) In proportion to papulation, the United States 

 has more than twice as many students of university 

 standard as are in England ; Scotland has more than 

 three times as many ; and Germany nearly three times 

 as many. 



(2) There are only 5000 full-time students of science 

 and technology in the United Kingdom in comparison 

 with nearly 17,000 in Germany and 34,000 in the 

 United States. 



(3) The total income of universities in the United 

 States amounts to about 20,000,000/., and that of Ger- 

 many to nearly i,8oo,oooi. The total income of all 

 the universities of the United Kingdom is about 

 2,ooo,oooZ. 



(4) Eighty per cent, of the total income of German 

 universities' is derived from State grants, in comparison 

 with 34 per cent, contributed in Parliamentary grants 

 to the modern universities of England and Wales. 



(5) Thirty per cent, of the income of universities in 

 the United' States is derived from invested funds and 

 donations, in comparison with 15 per cent, in the 

 modern universities of England and 6 per cent, in 

 those of Wales. 



(6) The tuition fees at universities of the United 

 Kingdom form a much higher percentage of the total 

 income than they do in the United States and Ger- 

 many. 



(7) Nine universities in the United States have 

 individual incomes exceeding the total amount granted 

 annually bv Parliament to universities and institutions 

 of like standard in the United Kingdom. 



NO. 2546, VOL. lOl] 



(8) Five States of the United States give grants to^ 

 their universities exceeding the amount of the Parlia- 

 mentary grants to universities and colleges of England 

 and Wales. 



(9) Private benefactions to universities and colleges 

 in the United States amount to more than 5,000,000/. 

 annually ; in the United Kingdom they do not average 

 one-twentieth that sum. 



(10) The colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts 

 in the United States have a total income of 7,000,000/., 

 or ten tim^s that of the whole of the modern universi- 

 ties of England and Wales. 



(11) The University of Berlin receives annually from 

 State funds a grant nearly equal to the total annual 

 Parliamentary grants to the universities and colleges of 

 England and Wales. 



It will be evident from these facts that in the domain 

 of higher education the United Kingdom compares- 

 very unfavourably with the United States and Ger- 

 many. No doubt one reason for this is that in America 

 and Germany there has been a greater demand for 

 highly trained men than in the British Isles, where 

 posts for such men have been few, salaries low, and 

 prospects poor. Conditions are, however, improving; 

 and the industrial research associations being formed 

 in connection with the Department of Scientific and 

 Industrial Research, as well as associations established 

 on the lines suggested by the Whitley Report, need for 

 their successful operation the employment of men 

 capable of undertaking research. The conditions of 

 industrial development and the competition of other 

 countries make it essential to secure an adequate 

 supply of trained workers of this type. 



Increased grants to universities and technical institu- 

 tions are needed to enable the tuition fees to be reduced 

 and to ensure that the staffs are paid salaries com- 

 mensurate with the high qualifications demanded. The 

 present aid given by Parliament is in no way adequate 

 to modern needs, and compares very unfavourably w ith 

 what is available in the United States and Germany. 

 The grand total of all Parliamentary grants to universi- 

 ties and technical colleges of university rank in the 

 United Kingdom is about 500,000/., whereas the 

 Federal and State grants in the United States amount 

 to 7,000,000?., and in Germany to nearly 2,000,000/. 

 The provision made by Parliament for higher educa- 

 tion is thus obviously' not that which should^ be ex- 

 pected of a State which intends to maintain its posi- 

 tion among leading Powers. R. A. Gregory. 



SCIENTIFIC ORGANISATIONS OF THE 

 ALLIED NATIONS. 



AT the invitation of the Royal Society, a conference 

 between representatives of the Allied nations 

 will be held in London on October 9 to discuss the 

 future conduct of scientific organisations. It is ex- 

 pected that representatives from the academies of 

 Paris, Rome, Tokyo, and Washington, as well as 

 nominees of the Governm'ents of Belgium, Portugal, 

 and Serbia, will attend. A memorandum proposed 

 by a committee of the Royal Society points out that 

 international scientific organisations and conventions 

 mav be divided into four groups, according to their 

 objects and methods of procedure. A first group con- 

 sists of those important agreements which fix the 

 standards of measurements, and are essential not only 

 in purely scientific investigations, but also in the de- 

 velopment of many industries. A second group con- 

 tains associations definitely formed for the investigation 

 of scientific problems in which co-ordination of ob- 

 servation is essential. .\ third group, which hitherto 

 has not been large in numbers, but presents some 

 special features, embodies the efforts to organise 

 undertakings that might be carried out in one locality^ 



