April 17, 19 19] 



NATURE 



139 



able to visit the experimental farms belonging to the 

 University of Bonn, where they see the results of 

 various experiments and actual farm operations. In 

 this way men who are farmers obtain an insight into 

 the scientific principles of their subject, while the 

 novices receive a grounding which will be of value in 

 later years. The students are allowed to use the 

 excellently equipped laboratories of the University, 

 and at weekly meetings students give their agricul- 

 tural experiences in various parts of the world, and 

 the discussion at these meetings supplies some valu- 

 able information. 



The Ministry of Health Bill passed its third reading 

 in the House of Commons on April 9. When before 

 the Standing Committee dealing with the Bill, the 

 measure was, in opposition to the wish of the Govern- 

 ment, amended in such a way as to transfer from the 

 Board of Education to the Ministry of Health the re- 

 sponsibilitv for the medical inspection and treatment of 

 school children. In the House of Commons on April q, 

 when the Bill returned for further consideration. Dr. 

 Addison proposed to add to it words to the effect that 

 the Minister of Health may make arrangements with 

 the Board of Education 'respecting the submission 

 and approval of schemes of local education authorities 

 and the payment of grants to these authorities, 

 so far as such schemes and payment relate to or are 

 in respect of medical inspection and treatment; and 

 the powers and duties of the Minister may under anv 

 such arrangements be exercised and performed bv the 

 Board on his behalf and with his authority under such 

 conditions as he may think fit. After some discussion, 

 and the insertion of words in the amendment confining 

 its scope to medical inspection and treatment, it was 

 agreed to. In other words, it is now possible for the 

 Minister of Health, should he so desire, to delegate 

 to the Board of Education those of his powers which 

 have hitherto been administered by the Board. 



In School Hygiene for November last Dr. James 

 Kerr writes on " Congenital or Developmental 

 Ai)hasia." He points out that although the biblio- 

 graphy on the subject is fairly large, yet little attention 

 has been paid to the theoretical importance and wide 

 bearings of congenital aphasia, when it exists apart 

 from coarse nervous defects. The cases may be con- 

 veniently grouped, according to the leading symptom, 

 as graphic and auditory aphasia, of which auditory 

 aphasia, being more fixed by heredity, is less common. 

 Dr. Kerr reviews and criticises the various theories put 

 forward with regard to these cases, and points out 

 that aphasics are sufficiently numerous to warrant 

 more care than they can receive in the ordinary 

 schools. Children who suffer from word-blindness 

 may be highly intelligent in all other respects, and 

 for their best development require special treatment in 

 a children's institute or psychological observational 

 school. Every school population exceeding 100,000 

 requires some such institute. If the particular brain 

 defect is diagnosed early, many, though not all, are 

 capable of much educational improvement, and the 

 defect so compensated that for practical purposes the 

 individual may be considered normal. If not treated, 

 such children tend to swell the numbers in prisons and 

 asylums. 



The League for the Promotion of Science in Educa- 

 tion, formed bv the Committee on the Neglect of 

 Science, which arranged a very successful conference 

 at the Linnean Society in 1916, is organising another 

 conference, to be held at the Central Hall. West- 

 minster, S.W.. on April 30, at 2.30 p.m. The fol- 

 lowing resolutions will be submitted to the confer- 

 ence : — (i) That this cqn^ference directs attention to 

 the continued neglect of science in the country, and 



NO. 2581. VOL. 103] 



calls upon the Government to make immediately such 

 changes in all administrative Departments as shall 

 ensure therein an adequate representation of scientific 

 men. (2) That this conference anxiously awaits a 

 statement on the part of the Government as to the 

 measures it proposes to take to carry out the recom- 

 mendations set forth in the report of Sir J. J. Thom- 

 son's Committee on Natural Science in the Educa- 

 tional System of Great Britain. (3) That this con- 

 ference, whilst fully recognising the value of a literary 

 training, is, nevertheless, of the opinion that the 

 present public school and university system fails to 

 produce that activity of mind and breadth of know- 

 ledf^e which are essential in a liberal education and 

 necessary for dealing satisfactorily with modern 

 problems. It therefore calls for a closer co-operation 

 between education and industry, and for this purpose 

 emphasises the importance of appointing to head- 

 masterships men of high scientific attainments. No 

 tickets of admission are required, and the Council of 

 the league hopes that there will be a large assembly 

 at the conference to support these resolutions, and 

 thus assist in securing action upon them. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Linnean Society, April 3. — Sir David Prain, president, 

 in the chair.— W. B. Brierley : An albino mutant of 

 Botrytis cinerea, Pers. The fungus Botrytis cinerea 

 possesses characteristic black sclerotia, the colouring 

 matter being deposited in the. walls of the outer two 

 or three layers of cells. Among the black sclerotia in 

 a pedigree culture a single colourless sclerotium was 

 formed, and on isolation this gave rise to a strain 

 characterised by colourless sclerotia. Morphologically 

 and physiologically the parent and mutant strains are 

 identical, and the only difference is the lack of colour- 

 ing matter in the latter. .A generation of the fungus 

 may be obtained in three days, and the two strains 

 tested over very many generations under the most 

 diverse conditions have proved absolutely constant. As 

 the colourless form arose in a "single-spore" culture, 

 it cannot represent a strain selected out from an 

 original population; and as Botrytis cinerea is asexual, 

 the possibility of the new form being a segregant 

 from a heterozygous parent is eliminated. Further- 

 more, the occurrence of colourless sclerotia in this 

 funf'us has heretofore been unknown either in Nature 

 or when the fungus was grown on culture media. There 

 would, therefore, seem no reason to doubt that the 

 colourless form described is an instance of true muta- 

 tion in the fungus Botrvtis cinerea. — Dr. J. D. F 

 Gilchrist : The post-puerulus stage of Jasw; lalandii 

 (Milne-Edw.). Ortmann. This paper carried on the 

 investigation already published in the Journal of the 

 Linnean Society. Zoology (vol. xxxiii., 1916. pp. 101-25, 

 pis. 12-17, with 12 text-figures), as "Larval and 

 Post-Larval Stages of Jastis lalandii" etc. The New 

 Zenland crayfish is now considered to be identical 

 with this Cape species, and found to be of wide dis- 

 tribution. The stage here described is that imme- 

 diately following the "puerulus" stage; it represents 

 the transition to the adult form. The specimens were 

 obtained by trawling in Table Bay and taken to the 

 marine laboratory at St. James, near Cape Town, 

 where the observations now recorded were made. 

 The author gives minute descriptions, illustrated by 

 drawings similar to those in his previous paper. — 

 Dr. H. H. Mann : Variation in flowers of Ja<:mintim 

 v^nlaharirum. Wit'ht. In the forests of the Western 

 Ghats of Bombay, during the month of April, the 

 jungle is covered with flowers of this fragrant and 

 attractive climber. Between April 13 and 20. T916, 



