July 15, 1920] 



NATURE 



627 



leading from pi-imitive gratitication of the senses to 

 man's relation to the unseen. 



One of the outstanding problems which a museum 

 curator has to face is that of the lighting of his 

 building, and a paper given by Mr. Hurst beeger on 

 "The Lighting of Museums and Art Galleries " was 

 particularly instructive on this point. He dealt 

 especially with the question of reflection in the glass 

 of pictures and museum-cases, and pointed out those 

 principles of construction whereby such reflections 

 could be avoided. 



Mr. Lowe explained the Public Libraries Act of 

 19 19, stating that, in his opinion, it gave their charter 

 to the museums and art galleries of this country. 



A discussion as to the desirability of a diploma for 

 museum curators was opened by Dr. Hoyle, who 

 was of opinion that without some recognised diploma 

 the status of curators could not be assured. In the 

 course of the discussion Mr. Bailey outlined a scheme 

 suggested by Sir Cecil Harcourt-Smith for the train- 

 ing of museum curators at the Victoria and Albert 

 Museum. 



A paper on the museum and art gallery of Baroda, 

 dealing particularly with the difficulty of preserving 

 pictures in hot climates, was read by Mr. Dibden. 



Mr. M. J. Rendall, Headmaster of Winchester 

 College, gave a paper, illustrated by lantern-slides, on 

 the teaching of art in local museums, emphasising the 

 part played in such teaching by good lantern-slides. 

 He demonstrated the vast difference made by the 

 quality of the slides used, and explained how and 

 where the best slides could be obtained. 



Dr. A. Loir gave an account of the formation of an 

 Association of Curators of French Museums, and 

 suggested a joint committee of English and French 

 curators for international co-operation. Papers were 

 read on "The Winchester City and Westgate 

 Museum," by Mr. Hooley; "The Winchester College 

 Museum," by the Rev. S. A. McDowall ; "Selection 

 of Pictures for Municipal Art Galleries," by Mr. 

 Howarth; "Biography of the Comte de Lac^pMe," 

 by Prof. Louis Roule; "The Child and the Mummy," 

 by Mr. T. Peart; and "Suggestions for a Bureau of 

 Exchange through the Medium of the Museums 

 Journal,^'' by Mr. Allcbin. 



A full account of all paf)ers and discussions will be 

 published in the September issue of the Museums 

 Journal. 



The University of Edinburgh. 



New Science Buildings. ' 

 'T^HE foundation-stone of the new chemical labora- 

 -■■ tories of the University of Edinburgh, the first 

 of what will be known in future as the "King's 

 Buildings " of the University, was laid on July 6 

 by the King, who was accompanied by the Queen and 

 Princess Mary. These buildings are to be erected as 

 separate blocks on a site of 115 acres acquired by 

 the University in November, 19 19, mainly for the use 

 of the scientific departments. They are situated on 

 the southern outskirts of the city, near the Royal 

 Observatory on Blackford Hill, and are about two 

 miles distant from the Old College. Thousands of 

 sp>ectators assembled, notwithstanding the drenching 

 rain which fell before and throughout the ceremony. 

 The general lay-out of the chemical laboratories 

 w^as planned by Prof. James Walker, who has worked 

 in collaboration with Mr. A. F. Balfour Paul, the 

 architect of the building. The building is rectangular 

 in plan, having a frontage of 220 ft. and a depth of 

 320 ft. Three corridors, one central and one on each 

 side, run backwards through the whole length, and 

 NO. 2646, VOL. 105] 



are connected by a cross-corridor in the front portion. 

 This arrangement permits of indefinite extension by 

 increasing the depth of the building. Between the 

 central corridor and the side corridors are situated the 

 main laboratories with their stores- and service-rooms, 

 as well as the lecture department. Each main labora- 

 tory (of which there are five) measures 70 ft. by 45 ft., 

 and receives north light from a saw-tooth roof. 

 Smaller rooms used in conjunction with the main 

 laboratories are situated across the outer corridors, 

 and are lit from the side. The whole building is of 

 one story, except the frontage block and the front 

 part of the east and west wings, which are two 

 stories in height. In these will be housed administra- 

 tion, library, special laboratories, and research-rooms. 

 When complete the department will provide places 

 for about four hundred students working simul- 

 taneously. It is estimated that the total cost of the 

 chemical laboratories with fittings and equipment will 

 be approximately 250,000!. 



His Majesty, in replying to the address of the Vice- 

 Chancellor, Sir Alfred Ewing, expressed the hope that 

 generous donors would be found able and willing to 

 complete the plan of extension which had been 

 sketched with so bold a hand. At the conclusion of 

 the ceremony of laying the foundation-stone the 

 degree of LL.D. was conferred on the Queen. 



Lessons from the Smithsonian. 



'pHE report of the secretary of the Smithsonian 

 ■■• Institution for the year ending June 30, 1919, is, 

 as always, full of interest, and it differs from similar 

 reports issued in this country in that the points of 

 interest are clearly brought out and not left to be 

 dediiced by the reader from masses of undigested 

 detail. The institution controls the work of the 

 National Museum, the Bureau of American Ethnology, 

 the International Exchange Service, the National 

 Zoological Park, the Astrophysical Observatory, and 

 the United States contributions to the International 

 Catalogue of Scientific Literature. The Astrophysical 

 Observatory seems a little out of the picture, but the 

 association of the other bodies tends to co-operation 

 and the prevention of overlap. 



The National Museum itself embraces every form of 

 museum activity and combines subjects which in London 

 are distributed among the two sections of the British 

 Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science 

 Museum, the Museum of Practical Geology, the 

 National Galleries of Art, and several other collections. 

 The Washington people are as well satisfied with their 

 system as we (to judge from perennial complaint) are 

 dissatisfied with ours. The single administration, it 

 is claimed, " not only ensures greater economy in 

 management, but permits of a more logical classifica- 

 tion and arrangement, the elimination of duplication, 

 and a consequent reduction in the relative amount of 

 space required." 



Those in this country who are advocating the co- 

 ordination of our museums and allied establishments 

 under a single board would be well advised to study 

 the conditions in Washington. The most obvious 

 danger of such a system is too great rigidity and un- 

 necessary red-tape. It is, however, clear that such 

 an objection does not apply to the Smithsonian 

 Institution. The constitution of the various bodies 

 permits of far more flexibility and enterprise than we 

 are accustomed to in some, at any rate, of the similar 

 bodies in this country. This, it seems to us, is because 

 the Smithsonian is not a Department of State run by 

 politicians or clerks without experience of the varied 



