502i: 



NATURE 



lJune 17, 1920 



in the hope that it will help to force the present 

 difficult situation of the universities upon the attention 

 of/ th*' public. 



Henry VI., 1422-bi. You probably all think of him 

 as a weakling, the monarch whose forces were cleared 

 out of the best part of France by Joan of Arc— a 

 mah naturally almost imbecile, and dominated by his 

 Queen and a succession of dukes, and finally deposed 

 by the . victorious House of York. I feel otherwise 

 towards him. For forty-live years I have worked 

 under his image in a niche of rny library. On my 

 rare visits to Cambridge I would raise my hat to his 

 statue on the front lawn of the college he founded. 

 He may have been a poor King, but I owe the six 

 most useful years of my life to the freedom his 

 benefaction gave me to travel and to study. Despised 

 as a King, there are many of us who respect our 

 Royal benefactor as a scholar and a gentleman. 



The spirit in which the members of old Cambridge 

 colleges regard their founders and benefactors is one 

 that should take deeper root in our new universities. 



It is not merely the recognition of the name, but the 

 insight that shall appreciate what the benefactor 

 desired us to achieve, and the determination of suc- 

 cessive generations that the purpose of the benefaction 

 shall be carried out. 



There are only too many ways of disposing of 

 money ! In 1441 it might be done by wars in France, 

 by endowing monasteries to expedite the, passage of 

 your soul through purgatory, but those who founded 

 or extended great centres of learning have remained 

 in men's affection for all time. Nowadays you can 

 dispose of your money to party funds or to charities ; 

 your name will survive just as long as your money is 

 unspent "or you have more to give. But the man who 

 gives generously to a great academic institute will, 

 if he chooses wisely, be certain of an ever-green 

 memory. 



In this- institute we have had a number of bene- 

 factors, but three stand out for special mention on 

 such an occasion as the present. The Worshipful 

 Company of Drapers, who from 1903 onVvards have 

 assisted one section of our enterprise. Sir Francis 

 Galton, who came of a family which has founded no 

 fewer than three academic chairs, the Sedleian, the 

 Savilian, and my own chair. Under his inspiration 

 we work, and we are more than pleased to be better 

 able to keep) his memory fresh in our new buildings 

 here than has been possible in the past in our cramped 

 and temporary homes. 



Lastly, we come to the benefactor whose benefac- 

 tion is the subject of our gathering to-day. To him 

 not only I, but every member of my 'staff feel daily 

 gratitude for providing us with a more fitting, and, 

 I . will add, a* more healthy environment, than we 

 ever imagined would be ours, and I trust that the 

 tradition will remain long after I have ceased to 

 share the comfort of this building and the possibilities 

 for the studious life it provides- : 



Those who have gone round this laboratory will 

 have noted that v/e try to keep, before us not only the 

 portraits of great ieaders of thought, but the por- 

 traits of the men who have. made our work possible, 

 and in this respect I should hope to be. pardoned if 

 r reminded Sir Herbert Bartlett of how deeply we 

 should all appreciate^ the addition of such a memorial 

 of his- gift, so that w:e may have .his form as well as 

 his good works before us. 



■ iThfe war, has left all academic enterprise s.tnanded. 

 In '19 1 4 we could have equipped and .fitted: this build- 

 ing from, .basement to top..storv> Qur. contracts .were, 

 rescinded, and for five years this laboratory was .used 

 as a military hospital. At present the fine buildings 

 Sir Herbert Bartlett has provided lie to a large extent 

 NO. 2642, VOL. 105] 



unoccupied. In 1871 the German nation made the 

 extension of old and the founding of new universities 

 a first claim on their war indemnities. In 1920 we 

 hear no suggestion that from our universities a new., 

 national life has to spring, and that if they are to 

 accomplish their task it can only be if the State 

 and private friends come to their help in the present 

 critical state of affairs. In this resf>ect we qan only 

 trust that others will be as wise both for the present 

 and for the future as Sir Herbert Bartlett has been. 

 The winning of the war has been attributed in suc- 

 cession to many causes. One factor is rarely referred 

 to, namely, the unselfish way in which the academic 

 staff of university after university gave up their 

 academic repose, broke through all their scholarly 

 studies and their scientific researches, and, where thev 

 could not sacrifice their lives, at least sacrificed manv 

 of their best years of work for national service. 

 Voluntary, and unpaid, and unpayable gifts ■ for 

 national welfare! It is absurd that' the universities 

 should have to prate of such labours ; but here is the 

 fact, regard it in what aspect you like, that with a 

 greater task than ever before them, they are left with 

 far less power to carry it out than thev had before the 

 war, and it is that knowledge which makes us the 

 more deeply grateful to the special benefactor whom 

 we wish to honour in this vote of thanks. He saw 

 our necessity and responded to it. 



The Imperial Entomological Conference. 



'X'HE Committee of the Imperial Bureau of 

 A Entomology may be congratulated on the 

 success of the Entomological Conference which met 

 on June i-ii in the Linnean Society's rooms, Bur- 

 lington House, London. The conference was attended 

 by twenty official delegates representing most of the 

 British Dominions, Colonies, and Protectorates, as 

 well as by members of the committee of the Bureau, 

 while a number of entomologists were invited to the 

 meetings and discussions which occupied most of the 

 appointed days. At the opening of the conference 

 the delegates were received by Viscount Harcourt, 

 chairman of the committee, and business meetings 

 were held on the first and final days. On Friday, 

 June 4, the conference visited the Rothamsted Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station in conjunction with a 

 meeting of the Association of Economic Biologists ; 

 an account of this interesting day appeared in 

 last week's Nature (p. 464). On Tuesday, June 8, 

 the members journeyed to Oxford, and on Thursday. 

 June 10, to Cambridge. Prof. E. B. Poulton acted 

 as host on the former, and Sir Arthur Shipley on the 

 latter occasion. While the entomological collections 

 in the University museums were the chief objects of 

 interest, time was found for brief inspection of some 

 features of the historic cities ; for example, after enter- 

 taining the conference to lunch in Christ's .College, 

 Sir i\rthur Shipley took the Overseas delegates into 

 the rooms occupied ninety years ago by Charles 

 Darwin. 



Of the meetings held on the other five days of the 

 conference it may be said that several subjects of 

 much importance and of general interest \vere well 

 and earnestly discussed. On the morning of June 2, 

 under the. presidency, of Dr. R. Stewart MacDougall 

 (Edinburgh), Mr. C. P. Lounsbury (Entomologist to 

 the Union of South. Africa) spoke on " Legislation in 

 Regard to Plant Pests in the. British Empire," insist: 

 ing that the official entomologist should have authority 

 to draft and enforce regulations against the introduc- 

 tion of plants which might harbour harmful insect? ; 

 he advocated the drastic exclusion of such plants 

 except in . certain . special case;s,. an,d expressed the 

 opinion that little or no reliance can be placed on 



