June 26, 1919] 



NATURE 



337 



work and influence of the association since its incep- 

 tion in 1900. Mr. Durrant, of Marlborough supplies 

 a contribution dealing with ions in solution, and gives 

 many valuable suggestions for the treatment of the 

 subject in schools. Sir William Tilden deals with 

 the aims, objects, and methods of science teaching, 

 and lays stress upon the value of research work in 

 science classes. Mr. Hough (Oundle), in an il- 

 luminating article on research, appeals for an exten- 

 sion of such work among school pupils, and gives 

 definite examples of how school researches have 

 helped to solve industrial problems. Mr. Hart-Smith 

 (Battersea) contributes an account of recent advances 

 in chemistry", and space is found for notes on ap- 

 paratus and experiments, reviews, and current topics. 

 The Review, which is to be published four times a 

 year, is replete with interesting matter, and the editor 

 (Mr. .Adlam, City of London School) may be warmly 

 congratulated on the excellence of the publication. 



The Lords Commissioners of his Majesty's 

 treasury, in consultation with the President of the 

 Board of Education, the Secretary for Scotland, and 

 che Chief Secretary for Ireland, have appointed a 

 Standing Committee " to inquire into the financial 

 needs of universitv education in the United Kingdom 

 and to advise the Government as to the application 

 of any grants that may be made by Parliament 

 towards meeting them." The first members of the 

 Committee, which will be known as the " University 

 Grants Committee," are as follows : — Sir William 

 M'Cormick (chairman). Prof. W. Bateson, F.R.S., 

 Sir Dugald Clerk, K.B.E., F.R.S., Sir J. J. Dobbie, 

 F.R.S., Miss S. M. Frv, Sir F. G. Kenyon, K.C.B., 

 Sir Stanlev Leathes, K.C.B., Sir William Osier; 

 Bart., F.R'.S., and Sir J. J. Thomson, O.M., F.R.S. 

 It may be recalled that in Nature for August 15 last 

 an article was published in which particulars were 

 given of the position of university and higher 

 technical education in the United Kingdom in 1913-14 

 in comparison with the United States and Germany. 

 The article was afterwards made the basis of a report 

 issued by the British Science Guild upon " Industrial 

 Research and the Supply of Trained Scientific 

 Workers." Since then the' Civil Service Estimates 

 for 1919-20 have been issued (see Nature, April 10), 

 and thev show that the total amount of the grants 

 to be paid out of the Exchequer for the maintenance 

 of universitv institutions is i,ooo,oooZ. instead of about 

 5oo,oooi. There is also a supplementary non-recurrent 

 grant of 531,000/. in aid of maintenance of universi- 

 ties and colleges. The Committee just appointed is 

 apparentlv to inquire into financial needs only. What 

 is wanted is a Commission to make a broad survey 

 of the whole subject of university and higher technical 

 .ducation from the point of view of national needs 

 •1(1 how far the existing provision satisfies them. 



In the form of a thirty-two-page pamphlet, Mr. 



t^rank Stevens, the resident curator, has sent us 



'Some Account of the Educational Work at the 



^nlisbury Museum, 1916-19." This work consists 



-entiallv of classes for school children, beginning 



i(h the elementary schools of the city, extending to 



chose of the adjacent villages and to some of the 



secondary schools, and, finally, to some bodies of 



adult students. The school classes, begun in 1913 as 



private and informal talks by Mr. Stevens, developed 



bv I9r6 into an historical course sanctioned by the 



rducational authorities as part of the school lessons. 



riie first course dealt with prehistoric and early his- 



(iric times, in relics of which the neighbourhood and 



:o museum of Salisbury arc so rich. The pamphlet 



\es svnopses of this and later courses, and indicates 



ic objects used in illustration of each lecture. " Tlit> 



NO. 2591. VOL. 103] 



museum specimens," as Mr. Stevens happily puts it, 

 '■ took the place of the experiments at a chemical 

 lecture in impressing the facts of the lecture." But 

 they did more than that ; they emphasised the relation 

 of the home locality to national life, and showed how 

 the general course of history was reflected in Salis- 

 bury. Thus a living interest was given to a lesson 

 that is too often a dry memorising of names and 

 dates, intelligence was trained, and citizenship cul- 

 tivated. The value to the children is obvious. But 

 the museum has also been a gainer. The number of 

 adult visitors has increased every year, and this growth 

 of the public interests in the collections has led to an 

 increase in donations and subscriptions. Further, 

 under the terms of the Wilkes bequest, a sum of 

 3ooL per annum has been allotted for the continuance 

 of the school classes. Mr. Stevens has laboured, and 

 now writes, with a justifiable enthusiasm. His 

 example is most worthy to be followed, and those 

 who would follow it should beg a copy of his 

 pamphlet. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Royal Society, June 5. — ^Sir J. J. Thomson, president, 

 in the chair. — Dr. P. Phillips : The relation between 

 the refractivity and density of carbon dioxide. — P. N. 

 Ghosh : The colours of the striae in mica, and the 

 radiation from laminar diffracting boundaries, (a) The 

 striae are shown by an examination of the Haidinger's 

 rings in mica (and otherwise) to be the boundaries 

 between parts having slightly different thicknesses. 

 (b) The colour of any stria as seen in the Foucault 

 test is complementary to the colour of the central 

 fringe in the laminary diffraction-pattern produced by 

 it. (c) The colours are altered by holding the mica 

 obliquelv, or bv immersing it in a cell containing 

 liquid, '{d) The luminosity of a stria in the Foucault 

 test is approximately a maximum when the phases of 

 the wave-front, after passing through the plate on the 

 two sides of the stria, are opposite, and practically 

 zero when the phases are identical, (e) Attempts to 

 reproduce the phenomenon by etching glass pi? ces with 

 dilute hvdrofl'uoric acid were not very successful, 

 owing, apparently, to a want of sufficient sharpness in 

 the boundarv thus produced. This is indicated by the 

 fact that such a plate shows distinct asymmetry with 

 reference to the "direction of the incident light, both 

 in the Foucault test and in laminar diffraction. (OThe 

 striEe in mica appear doubled (with a black line in the 

 centre) when the light coming to a focus is screened 

 in a symmetrical manner, instead of by a knife-edge, 

 as in 'the Foucault test.— Dr. E. F. Armstrong and 

 Dr. T. P. Hilditch : A studv of the catalytic actions at 

 solid surfaces. The rate of hydrogenation of a number 

 of unsaturated fattv oils in presence of finely dis- 

 seminated nickel has been studied and the results 

 expressed in the form of curves. These are charac- 

 terised bv an initial linear segment followed by an 

 abrupt change of direction to a segment of gentler 

 slope, which is also linear at first, but subsequently 

 mav exhibit considerable curvature. The point of m- 

 flexion is at a corresponding part of each curve. The 

 two well-defined linear components of the curves cor- 

 respond with the hvdrogenation of glycerides more un- 

 saturated than olein and to the hydrogenation of olein. 

 The curves never approach the logarithmic type 

 required for a unimolecular action. The general 

 aspect of the curves obtained for catalytic hydrogenat 

 tion is markedly similar to those obtained in the case 

 of enzvmes. arid they undoubtedly represent related 

 nhonoinrna. 



