NATURE 



[March 4, ,1920 



Our Astronomical Column. 



OccuLTATiON OF A StAR BY Saturn.— Mr. A. Burnet 

 has pointed out that the star Lalande 20654 (mag, 7-3) 

 will be occulted by Saturn on the evening of March 14. 

 Mr. L. J. Comrie gives some further details and a 

 diagram in the Journal of the British Astronomical Asso- 

 ciation for January. At Greenwich the star disappears 

 at yh. 5m. in position angle 281°, just to the north of 

 the ring, reappearing at 8h. 4Gm. in angle 121°. The 

 star will pass very close to Titan about i2h. 15m., 

 and an occultation by that satellite will probably 

 occur somewhere on the earth ; hence it is important 

 to observe the conjunction with care, and, if an 

 occultation occurs, to take the times of disappearance 

 and reappearance, as a useful determination of Titan's 

 diameter might be made from such observations. A 

 central occultation would last about five minutes. 



The Nautical Almanac for 1922. — This volume 

 has lately been issued, and is of interest as being the 

 last almanac in which the places of the moon are based 

 on Hansen's tables; these were first used in the 

 1862 almanac, but, starting with 1883, Newcomb's cor- 

 rections have been applied to them. For ten years^ 

 after this the errors of the almanac places of the^ 

 moon were very small, then they began to mount up, 

 and now^ reach nearly i sec. in R.A. The introduc- 

 tion of Brown's tables in the 1923 volume will greatlv 

 reduce this error, but will not remove it entirely, since 

 Dr. Brown has preferred not to introduce a term of 

 some sixty years' period which is indicated by the 

 observations. 



Calendar Reform. — ^This question, which was sus- 

 pended during the war, is again coming to the front. 

 The majority of the reformers agree on the following 

 points : — (i) That each quarter should have ninety- 

 one days (thirteen weeks), there being two months 

 with thirty days and one with thirty-one, these lengths 

 repeating themselves in the same order in each 

 quarter; (2) that one day in each year, and a second 

 day in leap year, should stand outside the week, so 

 that the week-days repeat themselves alike in every 

 year; and (3) that the leap day should come at the 

 end of the year, its position in the second month 

 being extremely inconvenient. Mr. Alexr. Philip pro- 

 poses to begin the year with March, thus restoring the 

 meaning of the names September, etc. He further 

 suggests that the day outside the week should be 

 Whit-Sunday, which is put at the end of the first 

 quarter (May 31); it is immediately followed by an 

 ordinary Sunday, taking advantage of the fact that 

 the day following Whit-Sunday is already a general 

 holiday. Easter Sunday on this plan would always 

 be on April 12. The leap day would come as now, at 

 the end of February, but this would then be the last 

 month of the year. ' He further suggests that, if it be 

 desired to keep the months as nearly as possible at 

 their present lengths, his scheme would involve no 

 greater change than that August should give one day 

 to February. 



M. Flammarion's scheme, reprinted in the Annuaire 

 Astronomique for 1920, is similar, but more revolu- 

 tionary. He would begin the year at the vernal 

 equinox, giving new names to all the months. Their 

 lengths in each quarter would be 30, 30, and 31 days. 

 Easter would be the 21st of the first month (corre- 

 sponding with April 10). The extra-week day and 

 the leap day would both come at the end of the year. 

 It would seem desirable that all reformers should 

 agree to adopt one of the many schemes that have 

 been proposed, as unanimity is required to give 

 suflRcient driving power to carry any reform. The 

 fact that the present most illogical calendar has sur- 

 vived so long is a forcible illustration of the strong 

 conservatism of mankind. 



NO. 2627, VOL. 105] 



The Association of Technical Institutions. 



T^HE twenty-seventh annual general meeting of the 

 ^ Association of Technical Institutions was held in 

 the Cordwainers' Hall, E.G., on Friday and Saturday 

 last, February 27 and 28. The meeting was opened by 

 the retiring president, Lord Sydenham. The Marquess of 

 Ct^we, K.G., was elected president for the year 1920, 

 and delivered his inaugural address, in which he dealt 

 at length with the working of the Education Act of 

 1918, especially in its relation to continuation schools, 

 and went on to plead strongly for better education 

 and training in the science and methods of agriculture, 

 certainly our oldest, and possibly our largest and most 

 vital, industry. No industry demands for its success- 

 ful prosecution a sounder knowledge of the various 

 sciences, including chemistry, botany, geology, bac- 

 teriology, entomology, meteorology, and engineering. 

 Modern agriculture is a complex business, and 

 measures should be taken for the due training of all 

 concerned, whether engaged in it on a small or a 

 large scale, and especially in the scientific study and 

 practice of forestry. One of the fruits of the great 

 war was seen in the newly awakened interest of em- 

 ployers in the applications of science to industry, and 

 in their greater readiness to find appointments and 

 opportunities for students who, on the foundation of 

 a good general education, had specialised in scientific 

 subjects and showed themselves willing and able to 

 undertake important research. In this regard we 

 could learn valuable lessons from American practice. 

 It was gratifying to observe also the keenness dis- 

 played by the general class of workers, who, under the 

 auspices of the Workers' Educational Association, are 

 now, with shorter traditions and scantier leisure <^h.in 

 other social classes, interesting themselves in liberal 

 studies relating to literature and history, and in social 

 and political economy. It is all to the good in the 

 building up of an educated nation. 



The report for the year 19 19 was submitted, show- 

 ing that the membership of the association now com- 

 prised 108 institutions, the highest in its history, being 

 an increase of ten over that of 19 14. Steps have been 

 taken to bring before the Board of Education the 

 necessity for providing not only facilities, either in full- 

 time or vacation courses, for persons desiring to be- 

 come teachers in the new continuation schools set forth 

 in the Education Act of 1918, but .also opportunities 

 for present continuation-school teachers who need 

 further training in this special form of educational 

 work. It was suggested by the council that full-time 

 courses might be of one year's duration or not shorter 

 than six months, and that in the event of approved 

 teachers so devoting themselves the Board might con- 

 sider favourably the question of granting a mainten- 

 ance allowance for such teachers. The council was 

 assured of the sympathv of the Board in this matter, 

 especially in the case of demobilised officers, and that 

 a maintenance allowance would be made. 



The question of pensions for teachers in technical 

 institutions had also been considered and information 

 thereon sought from the Board, which states that, with 

 the approval given bv the Treasury, the following will 

 be accepted as counting for qualifving service, namely, 

 in private schools (prior to April i, iqiq), provided 

 they are conducted on the same standards of efficiency 

 as schools under public management ; as inspectors of 

 schools under anv Government Department in Eng- 

 land. Scotland, or Ireland: as officials of the Board 

 of Education or of the Scotch or Irish Education 

 Denartment; as officials of a local e<'ucation 

 authority whose salaries are paid out of the educa- 

 tion rate; as officials of any school or educational in- 

 stitution (not conducted for private profit), including 

 a universitv. if the institution is one, teaching service 



