June 14, 1900] 



NATURE 



165 



mapia of spectroscopic explorations, we may surely feel con- 

 vinced that after-times will neither fail to be gratified with results 

 of scientific consequence, nor find it easily possible to overlook 

 the great accessions made by the late Prof. Piazzi Smyth to 

 spectroscopic science, by his boldly-planned recourses to, and 

 ingeniously contrived employments of, great optical power and 

 very high dispersions. A. S. Herschel. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 

 Oxford. — At a meeting of the Junior Scientific Club, 

 held on Friday, May i8. Dr. Mann gave a rhiitnc of the 

 history of the nerve cell from Malpighi's and Leeuwenhoek's 

 time up to the present. He showed the advance due to the 

 introduction of new methods, viz. chromic acid by Hannover, 

 Golgi's and Ehrlich's methods, and the Picrocorrosive sublimate 

 method of the author. Ehrenburg in 1833 discovered the nerve- 

 cell, Beale in 1863 the nerve-fibril. Flamming and Nissl the 

 basophil substance of the cell, which, as Mann was the first to 

 show, becomes used up during functional activity. Hohngren's 

 observations on material fixed by Mann's methods had demon- 

 strated the universal occurrence of intracellular lymph channels 

 in nerve-cells. Finally it was suggested that the basophil .sub- 

 stance (Nissl's bodies) should rather be regarded as the homo- 

 logues of Zymogen granules than as reserve material in the strict 

 sense of the word. — Mr. A. D. Darbishire (Balliol) showed a 

 number of living crustaceae by microscopic projection on to a 

 transparent screen. 



Cambridge. — The honorary degrees in law, science, and 

 letters, were conferred in presence of a large and brilliant assem- 

 blage on June 12. Prof. Langley was unable to arrive from 

 America in time to be present, but the American Ambassador, 

 Lord Rosse, Sir Benjamin Baker, Sir Walter Buller and Prof. 

 Poincare attended, and received a cordial welcome. The follow- 

 ing are the speeches delivered by the Public Orator, Dr. Sandys, 

 in presenting to the Vice-Chancellor the under-mentioned reci- 

 pients of honorary degrees for distinction in science : — 

 The Right Hon. the Earl of Rosse, LL.D. 



Assurgit proximus Universitatis Dubliniensis Cancellarius, 

 cuius pater munere eodem ornatus atque etiam Regiae Societati 

 praepositus, Hibernia in media instrumentum ingens stellis ob- 

 servandis olim construxit ; cuius de fratre autem, navis eel- 

 lerimae inventore soUertissimo, omnibus notum est "quo 

 turbine torqueat " undas. Ipse famam inter peritos adeptus 

 est, non modo de lunae calore subtilius inquirendo, sed etiam 

 stellarum nebulis remotissimis (ut Aristophanis a Nubibus ali- 

 quantulum mutuemur) b/xfiaTi TTjAeo-zcJir^observandis. Habetis 

 exemplar domus praeclarae scieniiarum amore conspicuae, cuius 

 caput dignitatis Academicaeheresdignissimusexstitit. Qui abhinc 

 annos octo Universitatis suae inter ferias saeculares tot honores 

 in alios contulit, hodie fortasse nobis ignoscet, quod honos ipsi 

 olim debitus praecepto illi Horatiano nimium paruisse visus 

 est : — " nonum prematur in annum." 



Sir Benjamin Baker, Sc.D. 

 Quantum miratus esset historiarum scriptor, Gaius Cornelius 

 Tacitus, si providere potuisset fore aliquando, ut Caledoniae 

 fretum,Bodotriae nomine sibi notum, duobus deinceps pontibus 

 immensis iungeretur ! Quantum miratus esset historiae pater 

 ipse, Herodotus, si audivisset fore aliquando, ut vir quidam, ab 

 insulis Britannicis sibi prorsus ignotis oriundus, fluminis Nili 

 aquas redundantes duplici mole et aggere magno coerceret et 

 Aegypti regioni immensae irrigandae conservaret ! Operis 

 utriusque magni conditorem magnum hodie praesentem con- 

 templamur, qui non pacis tantum triumphis contentus, velut 

 alter Archimedes, etiam Martis tormentorum inventor et ma- 

 chinator admirabilis exstitit. Atqui ne Martis quidem inter 

 opera pacis causam revera deseruit ; etenim scriptoris antiqui 

 de re militari monitum non ignotum est: — "qui desiderat 

 pacem, praeparet bellum." 



Sir Walter Lawry Buller, Sc.D. 

 Coloniae nostrae remotissimae. Novae Zealandiae, inter 

 decora conspicua numeratus, adest hodie vir regionis illius indi- 

 genarum linguae imprimis peritus, cui, propter merita eius 

 egregia, gratiae saepenumero publice sunt actae. Adest vir 

 qui etiam regionis illius avibus summa cura describendis atque 

 arte eximia depingendis opus magnum dedicavit. Quantum 

 autem liberalitati eius etiam nostra Academia debeat, Musei 



NO. 1598, VOL. 62] 



nostri parietes, avium et animalium aut prorsus aut prope 

 extinctorum exemplis ornati, satis clare loquuntur. Ergo quem 

 ipsa Regina, quem et Gallia et Germania et Italia honoribus 

 cumulaverunt, eundem etiam nosmet ipsi, tot munerum nori 

 immemores, laudis nostrae diademate decoramus. 



M. Henri Poincare, Sc.D. 

 Sequitur scientiarum Academiae Gallicae socius illustris, 

 scientiae mechanicae caelestis inter Parisienses professor insignis, 

 societatis Regiae Londinensis inter socios exteros olim numer- 

 atus, astronomorum denique a societate Regia numismate aureo 

 nuper donatus. Quantam laudem meritae sunt investigationes 

 illae subtilissimae, de aestuum maritimorum natura universa, de 

 molium liquidarum sese rotantium aequilibrio, de planetarum 

 denique et satellitum cursu vario, ad exitum felicem ab hoc viro 

 perductae ! Studiorum mathematicorum in utraque provincia, 

 et analytica et physica, propter scientiae suae prope infinitam 

 varietatem inter principes numeratus, quam egregie nuper 

 ostendit quantum provinciae illae vicinae invicem inter sese 

 deberent ! Quam pulchre studiorum suorum voluptatem cum 

 artis musicae et artis pingendi voluptate comparavit ! Quam 

 ingenue mathematicam physicam confitetur novam quandam 

 linguam desiderare ; linguam cotidianam nimis exilem, nimis 

 ambiguam esse, quam ut aliquid tam delicatum, tam subtile, 

 tarn varium, possit exprimere. Et nos idem hodie libenter 

 confitemur : viro tali pro meritis eius tam variis laudando lingua 

 nostra vix sufficit. "Conamur tenues grandia." 



The Knightsbridge Professorship, vacant by the resignation 

 of Dr. Sidgwick, will be filled up on Saturday, June 30. 

 Candidates are required to send their names to the Vice- 

 Chancellor by June 25. 



Mr. G. F. C. Searle has been appointed a university lecturer 

 in experimental physics ; and Dr. G. H. F. Nuttall, university 

 lecturer in bacteriology and preventive medicine. 



The first award of the Raymond Horton-Smith Prize has 

 been made to Mr. A. B. Green, for his M.D. thesis on amyloid 

 disease. 



Mr. W. A. Macfarlane-Grieve, M.A., Oxford and Cambridge, 

 of Impington Park, has offered to the University a farm of 

 about 145 acres near Cambridge, free of rent till Michaelmas 

 1909, for the purposes of the Department of Agriculture. This 

 handsome offer has been gratefully accepted on behalf of the 

 Board of Agricultural Studies, to whom the management of the 

 experimental farm is assigned. 



The University Reporter for June 12 contains an interesting 

 report on Mr. W. W. Skeat's exploring expedition to the Malay 

 provinces of Lower Siam. 



The Right Hon. A. J. Balfour, M.P., will deliver the 

 inaugural address to the students of the Vacation Course?, 

 arranged by the University Extension Syndicate, at 12 noon on 

 Thursday, August 2. 



The Arnold Gerstenberg Studentship in moral philosophy for 

 graduates in natural science has been awarded to Mr. T. J. 

 jehu, of St, John's College, who holds a Heriot Fellowship in 

 geology from the University of Edinburgh. 



The Mathematical Tripos list is unusually short this year. 

 The sixteen wranglers are headed by Mr. J. E. Wright of 

 Trinity, Mr. A. C. W. Aldis of Trinity Hall being second 

 wrangler. An Indian student, Mr. Balak Ram of St. John's 

 is fourth ; and Miss W. M. Hudson of Newnham College, 

 sister of the senior wrangler of 1898, is bracketed eighth 

 wrangler. Miss E. Greene, also of Newnham, is equal to 

 tenth. St. John's claims five of the wranglers, Trinity four^ 

 Clare two. 



In Part II. , the bracketed senior wranglers of last year, Mr.. 

 Birtwistle of Pembroke, and Mr. Paranjpye of St. John's, are 

 placed with two others in the first division of the first class. 



Mr. Chamberlain, Chancellor of Birmingham University, 

 has received a letter from Mr. W. H. Foster, Apley Park, 

 Bridgnorth, offering a donation of 2000/. towards the endow- 

 ment fund. 



Mr. J. G. Clark, whose death is announced from Worcester^ 

 Massachusetts, was a generous promoter of the interests of 

 education in the United States. By his efforts the Clark Uni- 

 versity at Worcester, Mass., was founded "to increase human 

 knowledge and transmit the perfect culture of one generation to 

 the ablest youth of the next ; to afford the highest education 

 and opportunity for research." He gave a close study to the 



