:8 



NATURE 



[March 8, 1917 



forward it must claim the part to which it is justly 

 entitled. The steps which are necessary here for this 

 work are as follows : — 



.1. Prelivtinary. — (a) A complete census of existing 

 laboratories and workers; (b) a complete census of 

 facilities for the education of scientific workers of all 

 kinds and classes; (c) a complete census of all manu- 

 factures, their location, methods, raw materials, and 

 •output ; (d) a complete census of all known existing raw 

 materials of the country, which might be put to use 

 for manufacturing or other purposes ; (c) the collection 

 of information from, and reciprocity with, organisa- 

 tions having similar objects throughout the Empire, 

 *ind in Allied or friendly States. 



2. Standardisation. — (a) Of scientific instruments of 

 all kinds, whether used in laboratories or works ; 

 {b) and scientific control of apparatus and materials 

 required in research. 



3. Initiation. — The appointment of a central council 

 -which shall (a) receive and suggest problems for re- 

 search ; (b) bv the organisation of manufactures of the 

 «ame or similar products, ascertain what is necessary 

 for their progress ; (c) keep in close touch with all the 

 universities and scientific societies in the country. 



4. Assistance. — (a) Bv endowments to laboratories 

 and workers; (b) by the collection, publication, and 

 •dissemination of information ; (c) by the establishment 

 and endowment of libraries ; (d) by the advancement 

 of scientific education in schools, colleges, and uni- 

 versities; (e) by increasing the equipment, etc., of 

 existing laboratories, and the establishment of nev\' 

 ones; (f) by the provision of laboratories for carr^'ing 

 •out suggested industrial processes on a small com- 

 mercial scale with the sanction and approval of the 

 central council. 



5. Co-ordination. — (d) By annual reports from all 

 laboratories; (h) by bringing alb workers , in the same 

 branch toirether; (c) by the dissemination of informa- 

 tion respecting similar work being done elsewhere; 

 id) by annual congresses of all scientific societies ; 

 (e) by annual congresses of manufacturers and trade 

 interests. 



If research should show that new industries can be 

 established in this country with advantage, of which 

 I cannot entertain the slightest doubt, it will be pos- 

 sible, bv legislation if necessarv, to assist their incep- 

 tion by the establishment of industrial banks which 

 would advance funds for the purpose of financing them 

 in their early stap-es, provided that the methods to be 

 emp'oved had been sanctioned bv a competent authority 

 as mentioned above. In addition to this, protection 

 could be given, for a time at least, bv oatent laws, 

 which, if unsuitable, could be amended, but this is a 

 shtpld upon which too much reliance should not be 

 placed. 



Historv has shown that •"^ars in the past have proved 

 a itimul'i": to industry. There is no valid reason to 

 believp that th^ nresent one will prove an exception to 

 that rule, and hence the urc^ent necessity for the imme- 

 ■diate orfran^sation of all our resources, even were that 

 not dpsir^ble on other more fundamental grounds. 

 Co-operation is the kev, and science, education, com- 

 merce, pnd manufacture must form one organic whole, 

 each con«^nbutine its share to the common stock, their 

 united effort for the common weal. 



UNTVERSTTV AND EDUCATIONAL 

 JNTETJJGENCE. 

 Oxford. — The committee for geographv has issued 

 its third annual renort, iqi£;-i6. The school remain^ 

 under the acting-, directorship of Mr. H. O. Becki*^ 

 pending the aocointment of a successor to the late 

 Dr. A. J. Herbertson. The number of students de- 



voting the whole or a great part of their time to 

 geography during the year was twenty-three, and 

 there was also a number of part-time students. 

 Despite depletion of the staff, the whole v.ork of the 

 school was successfully carried out, thanks to the 

 assistance of past students. Dr. R. N. Rudmose 

 Brown was appointed an examiner in succession to 

 Mr. A. R. Hinks, whose tetm of office had expired. 

 The eighth biennial vacation course, held last August, 

 was attended by 125 students. 



At a conference of directors of public instruction 

 held at Delhi on January 22 Lord Chelmsfrrd, Vice- 

 roy of India, in an address of welcome referred to the 

 paramount importance of education in India. From 

 the Pioneer Mail we learn that, speaking of technical 

 training, he said at the present moment, when the 

 Government of India is hoping for a lead from the 

 Industrial Commission in the direction of industrial 

 development, technical training looms large in the 

 educational sphere. The term " technical " should, he 

 urged, be used in its widest and not its narrowest 

 sense — that is to say, the claims of agricultural and 

 commercial education should not be overlooked. 

 "There are," he continued, "some who say we have 

 nothing to teach the men on the land in this country. 

 I cannot claim to talk with authority on such a ques- 

 tion, but having seen something of the work of 

 scientific agriculture in other parts of the world, I take 

 leave to doubt such a statement. The great advance 

 made by scientific agriculture during the last half-cen- 

 tury justifies us in pressing forward with a policy of 

 agricultural education, and though you would not claim 

 to speak as experts on the agricultural side, your 

 educational experience qualifies you to give us useful 

 hints with regard to an advance along this road." 

 Referring to the commercial side of education, the 

 Viceroy expressed surprise to find how little has been 

 done, in spite of India's large and growing comrnerce, 

 to develop commercial education. Compared with a 

 technical institution, a commercial school is, he said, 

 a relativelv cheap institution, and one would think 

 that there was a p-reat opening in big towns for good 

 commercial schools. The second point on which Lord 

 Chelmsford laid emphasis is that in technical training 

 in its narrower sense we must not lose sight of work- 

 shop practice in outside works. Laboratory training, 

 however good. Is no real substitute for the discipline 

 of the workshop. Technical training divorced from 

 workshop experience is likely to prove a snare and 

 a delusion. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Koyal Society, February 22. — Sir J. J. Thomson, 

 president, in the chair. ^ — S. A. Smith : The fossil 

 human skull found at Talgai, Queensland. This is 

 a description of the fossil human skull that was shown 

 by Profs. Edgeworth David and T. T. Wilson at the 

 rnee'ting in Sj'dnev of the British Association. Before 

 the specimen could be studied it was necessary to 

 clear away a hard mineral incrustation of carbonate 

 of lime which was coloured with iron salts. It was 

 then found to be the highly fossilised and much frac- 

 tured skull of a male youth not more— probably some 

 vears less — than sixteen years of age. The brain- 

 case, the capacity of which was at least 1300 c.c, is 

 well within the range of variation of modern abori- 

 ginal Australian skulls, to which it presents a very 

 striking similarity in general conformation, as well 

 as in respect of the distinctively Australian charac- 

 teristics. But the facial skeleton reveals an important 

 contrast. The exceptionally large teeth — the canines 



NO. 2471, VOL. 99] 



