364 



NATURE 



[December 4, 1919 



tion of the great Tata hydro-electric power project at 

 Bombay, which has recently been completed. The 

 country is Unown to abound in hydraulic possibilities, 

 but, owing to the paucity of important manufacturing 

 industries, no serious attempt has been made to 

 exploit these possibilities, except in a few rare 

 instances. 



The difficulty in regard to the .promotion of power- 

 development schemes is the erratic incidence of the 

 rainfall. India differs very greatly in this respect from 

 other countries. The rainfall is seasonal, often tre- 

 mendously heavy, followed by protracted spells of 

 drought. In amount it ranges from 500 to a few 

 inches. 



Apart from canals, the mountainous regions, where 

 the rainfall is a maximum, are the natural sources 

 of water-power, but here there is a certain disabilitv 

 in that they lie largely in unsettled districts in the 

 north inhabited by uncivilised tribes. "Except in 

 localities where storage on a large scale is possible, 

 such as the Western Ghats and possibly the uplands 

 of the Central Provinces, the greater part of the mon- 

 soon rainfall of India must necessarilv pass to the 

 great rivers and canals undeveloped for power pur- 

 poses." The Jaldaka River in the Bengal Duars is 

 instanced as a case in point. The catchment area is 

 250 square miles, and the annual rainfall not less than 

 150 in. — probably 200 in. as an average. In the seven 

 months from .\pril to October the total fall amounts 

 to some 75,000,000,000 cubic ft., giving an average 

 flow of nearlv 4000 cubic ft. oer second, yet the flow- 

 gauged in April this year was only 170 cubic ft. per 

 second, .^dd to this that a single day's rainfall may 

 reach, and even exceed, 10 in., and the difficultv of 

 controlling such extremes becomes at once apparent. 



In consequence of the prevalence of conditions such 

 as these, many Indian rivers during the dry season 

 sink to insignificant streamlets. Storage, therefore, 

 during the monsoon period is the only possible means 

 of obtaining continuous supplies of water. But in 

 most localities this is not economically possible. Cer- 

 tain seasonal industries, such as tea-drving and 

 kindred processes, might be served bv intermittent 

 supplies, but the cost would be relatively higher than 

 by a continuous supply. 



As indicating the backward state of electrical 

 development in India, the following figures are 

 interesting. The number of watts installed per head 

 of population in Canada is 148, in Australasia 62, in 

 South .Africa 57, in the British Isles 33, and in India 

 less than i. 



The total brake-horse-power of all kinds is set 

 down approximately as follows : — 



Assam 22,550 



Bengal 201,518 



Bihar 2,325 (apart from collieries) 



782,872 

 '7750 (exclusive of rice mills, etc.) 

 32.77^ 



39.568 • 



1 5,734 (steam only) 

 38,548 



Bombay 



Burma 



Central Provinces 



Madras 



Punjab 



United Provinces 



Grand Total ... 1,153,638 



No estimate of the total water-power available for 

 development is given or attempted. Mr. Meares states 

 that it would take several years to ascertain it, even 

 approximately. .-V statement is set out of existing 

 hvdro-electric plants and a number of possible sites 

 for develooing water-power are discussed. The 

 report concludes with a series of practical notes and 

 suggestions on methods of collecting and tabulatint; 

 the necessarv data, with a view to the future work of 

 the survev. Brvsson Cunmngh.'vm. 



NO. 2^1 4, VOL. 104] 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



C.v.MBRlDGE. — .\ further benefaction of loool. has 

 been received by Prof. Nuttall on behalf of the institute 

 for parasitology from the executors of the late Lord 

 Strathcona and Mount Royal, in fulfilment of a 

 promise made in 19 10 to contribute that sum when 

 the sum of 6oooi. had been collected from other 

 sources. 



Dr. F. H. A. Marshall, fellow of Christ's College, 

 has been appointed reader in agricultural physiology. 



Mr. P. Lake, of St. John's College, has been ap- 

 pointed reader in geography. 



Mr. W. B. R. King, of Jesus College, has been 

 appointed assistant to the professor of geology, and 

 .Mr. T. C. Nicholas, fellow of Trinity College, to be 

 demonstrator in geology. 



O.XFORD. — On November 2 an amendment to the 

 Responsions statute was moved in Congregation by 

 Prof. Gilbert Murray. This, if carried, would have 

 had the effect of restricting the exemption from com- 

 pulsorv Greek to candidates in the pass schools and 

 in the honour schools of natural science and mathe- 

 matics. The amendment was lost on a division by 

 104 votes to 123. This decision will, no doubt, lead 

 to a reopening of the question of exemption before 

 Congregation, with a possible appeal to Convocation 

 before a final settlement can be reached. 



O.v Friday, December 5, the Marquess of Northamp- 

 ton will distribute prizes and certificates at the 

 Northampton Polytechnic Institute, Clerkenwell, 

 E.C.I. 



Owing to the lack of fuel for heating purposes, the 

 University of Budapest has been unable to resume its 

 activities this session. It is not anticipated that the 

 resumption of work will be possible until next spring. 



The Right Hon. Viscount Hald.\ne of Clo.w, 

 president of Birkbeck College, will receive the college 

 graduates and deliver an address on " What is 

 Truth?" at the celebration of the ninety-sixth anni- 

 versary of founder's day of the college on Friday, 

 December 12. The chair will be taken at 8 p.m. 



The Dean of the faculty of medicine of the L'ni- 

 versity of Paris has directed our attention to the re- 

 organisation of the courses of instruction and the re- 

 opening of the laboratories and clinics in this faculty. 

 \ booklet has been published by Messrs. Masson 

 (price I franc) giving a valuable and interesting 

 historical account of the school, together with com- 

 plete information with respect to the various courses. 

 The booklet is admirably produced, and illustrated 

 with tw'enty-one well-executed photographic plates. 

 It should be in the hands of all those who wish to 

 make use of the great resources now open to them. 

 There should be many of these. Some of the clinical 

 courses are given in vacation time — a fact which 

 makes them available to those who might otherwise 

 find it impossible to make a visit to Paris. 



The Prime Minister has appointed a Committee " to 

 inquire into the position to be assigned to the classics 

 (i.e. to the language, literature, and history of ancient 

 Greece and Rome) in the educational system of the 

 United Kingdom, and to advise as to the means by 

 which the proper study of these subjects may be main- 

 tained and imnroved." The constitution of the Com- 

 mittee is as follows : — The Marquess of Crewe (chair- 

 man). Sir George Adam .Smith, the Rev. C. -A. Alinj?- 

 ton, Mr. S. O. Andrew, Miss M. D. Brock, Prof. 

 H. J. Browne, Prof. I. Burnet. Mr. T. R. Glover. Sir 

 Ilenrv Hadow, Miss K. Jex-Blake, Prof. W. P. Kor, 



