May 23, 1895] 



NATURE 



I plex kind, (Icpendiiig on the volume of the clearance, the action 



' of the cylinder wall, the loss of the toe of the diagram, the waste 



'■\|)ansion between the cylinders, and other causes of loss, that 



: li.se also can he expressed as a simple linear function of the 



horse-power. 



Now, in the first edition of his treatise on the steam engine, 

 which ajipeared in 1878, Prof. Cotterill had seriously attacked 

 the prolileni of cj'linder condensation from the theoretical side. 

 I'rof. Cotterill found it possible to give a partly rational, partly 

 (.riipirical, formula for cylinder condensation. 



IJut, according to his formula for unjacketed simple engines, 



. the initial coiulensation has a fixed ratio to the steam present at 



I cut-off. In the diagram, lines for steam present at cut-off are 



j given, calculated in the manner already described. Above these 



has oeen set up the condensation by Cotterill's law, and the 



total steam consumption at various loatls is then given by a line 



ver)' nearly straight and closely agreeing with a Willans' line. 



The curves on the two diagrams agree well with Willans' re- 

 sults, and they differ from Willans' lines in being obtained 

 entirely by calculation without experimenting on the engine. It 

 would not be right to make too nuu'h of the coincidence, but I 

 thought it woultl be interesting to sh<JW that theory and experi- 

 ment converge. .\ good deal has yet to be explained, but the dis- 

 cussion in Prof. Cotterill's treatise has done more than anything 

 else to throw light on the conditions which promote or hinder 

 cylinder condensation, and on the means useful in securing 

 economy of working. 



Since 1S45, purely scientific men, scientific experimenters, and 

 practical engineers have all been engaged in the study of the 

 steam engine. I do not believe that any one of the three can 

 claim all the credit for the improvement of the steam engine to 

 the exclusion of either of the others. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



0.\FORD. — At a Congregation of the University held on Tues- 

 day, 2lst Inst., the proposed Statute on Degrees for Research 

 W.1S |)assed in its final form, ncininc coittradiante. It only re- 

 mains for the .Statute to be passed by Convocation, and it will 

 come into force. 



.\t the same meeting, the addition to Statute conferring the 

 title of Professor of .\nthropology on Dr. E. B. Tylor, so long as 

 he shall hold the office of Reailer in Anthropology, received the 

 final sanction of Congregation. .-\ proposal recognising Anthro- 

 pology as a subject for the Final-Honour School of Natural 

 Science was then brought forward. .\fter some debate the 

 preamble was passed. Placets 24, non-placets 16. 



Cambridge. — The following is the Speech delivered by the 

 I'lililic Orator, Dr. .Sandys, in presenting for the honorary 



I' L;rec of Doctor in Science, .Mr. Francis (lalton, F.R.S. 



"scdes olim sibi notas hodie revisit alumnus noster, qui flumine 

 ^il'iquondam explorato, et Africa .Vuslrali postea perlustrata, 

 \'--Uit alter Mercurius omnium qui inter loca dcserta et inhospita 

 peregrinanlur adiutor et palronus cgregius exstitit. Idem, velut 

 nlliT .Veolus, etiam ipsos ventos caelique tempestates suae pro- 

 Mrnae audacter .adiunxit. Hodie vero .Vcademiae nemora nuper 

 I'picellis nimium vexata non sine misericordia contemplatus, e 

 li'iidlbus nostris caducis capili tani venerabili coronam diu de- 

 I'li.un imponi patitur. Tcmpeslatum certe in scientia iamdudum 

 vcisalus, ventorum cursus talmlis fidelibus olim mandavit, gen- 

 i<'s.|iie varium caeli morem praediscere docuit, laudem philosopho 

 I in.fim anti<)uo a Nubium choro .\ristophanico quontlam Iribu- 



nii uno saltern verbo mutato meritus : -ou 7ap tiv 6.\Kai y 

 I'-rraKoiKTat^eu roiv vvv p.iTiu>po\oyovvTuv. Longinn est avorum 

 'I ]iroavorum ingenia magna inipsorum ])rogenie continuata ab 

 li'«- viro, Caroli Darwinii cognato, virorum insignium exemplis 

 illiistrata percensere. Longinn est tot honores tituloscpie ab ipso 

 (jer tot annos cumulatos connnemorare. Hoc autem in loco, 

 eloquentiae eius undecim alihinc annos conscio, instituti anthro- 

 IJologici praesidem non corporis tantmn sed etiiim menfis 

 humanac mensorem appellaverini. Inter antiquos quidem cele- 

 bratinn erat illud Protagorac, omnium rerum mcnsuram esse 

 honiinem. Inter recentiores autem notum est hunc praesertim 

 virum hominum omnium, imprimis |iessiniorum, mensuram ad 

 ainussim velle exigere. Ceterum plura hodie dicere supervaca- 

 neum est ; constat enim ne opt imorum quidem virorum a laudi- 

 bus abesse debere mensuram. 



NO. 1334, VOL. 52] 



Duco ad vos virum de scientia anthropologica et meteorologica 

 praeclare meritum, caeli et terrae indagatoreni indefessum, 

 studionmi denique geographicorum etiam inter nosmet ipsos 

 fautorem insignem, P'ka.nciscum Gai.ton. 



Lord -Vcton will deliver his inaugural lecture as Regius Professor 

 of Modern History on June II, at noon. 



Prof. I^'wis amiounces courses of lectures and demonstratioas 

 in Crystallography during the Long Vacation, beginning on 

 July 9. 



Prof. Roy announces a practical course in Bacteriology, to be 

 given by Dr. Wesbrook and Dr. Lazarus- Barlow, in the Long 

 \'acation, beginning on July 8. There will also be a course of 

 lectures with practical work in Elementary' Pathology, beginning 

 on July 9. 



-Mr. H. F. Baker, Fellow and Lecturer of .St. John's College, 

 has been appointed University Lecturer in Pure Alathematics, in 

 the place of Dr. Forsyth, now .Sadlerian Professor. 



A YEAR ago a committee, representing various educational 

 bodies, was formed, at the instance of the Association of Head- 

 masters, to formulate an examination syllabus on which to 

 award major scholarships, offered by County Councils and 

 similar bodies, and tenable at places of higher education. All 

 who know how very different are the scholarship schemes of the 

 County Councils, agree that a larger degree of uniformity should 

 prevail in the examinations held for the purpose of selecting 

 candidates for the scholarships. The -Association's scheme for 

 major scholarships has been so drawn up that only candidates 

 showing ability and intelligence distinctly above the average 

 can be elected. Candidates must not be more than eighteen 

 years of age in case of boys, and nineteen years in case of girls, 

 and must have passed a preliminary examination to test their 

 general education before they can compete for the scholarships. 

 The scheme provides that the final scholarship examination 

 shall consist of three groups — science, connnercial, and literary- 

 each containing obligatory and optional subjects. The subjects 

 of examination for science scholarships have been carefully 

 selected, and with due consideration to the claims of practical 

 work. 



The second annual report of the Technical Education Board 

 of the London County Council appears in the Technical Educa- 

 tion Gazc-lle. A sum of nearly ^15,000 was granted, during the 

 year covered by the report, to intermediateand secondary schools. 

 The fact that the Board has now over six hundred scholars at- 

 tending these schools indicates how- .seriously it is concerned with 

 technical education. While the question of the Teaching 

 University for London has been in abeyance, the Board has not 

 been able to act upon the proposal in Mr. Llewellyn Smith's 

 report to contribute ;{,"io,ooo a year towards the technical 

 departments of the University. It was thought undesirable, 

 however, to wholly abstain from helping institutions of univer.sity 

 rank until the establishment of the C.resham University, so a 

 grant of ^1000 was made to' University College, and £'^00 to 

 Bedford College. The polytechnic institutes are rapidly increas- 

 ing in extent and .advancing in efficiency. The total annual ex- 

 penditure of the eight institutions open last year amounted to 

 about ;^90,000, their total number of students to over 27,000, 

 and their aggregate numlier of separate classes or courses of 

 lectures to over 1250. It is believed that the polytechnics now 

 give probably nine-tenths of all the evening instruction in techno- 

 logical subjects in Limdon, and three-fourths of the evening 

 science instruction. All this represents an immense advance on 

 the state of things five years ago, and indicates that the Board 

 has remarkably extended the facilities for technical education 

 during the two years it has been at work. 



Thk fourth annual report (2 vols.) of the U.S. Commissioner 

 of lulucation has been received. The volumes provide a mine 

 of information on educational methods in France, Austria, 

 Oermany, .Sweden, .Switzerland, Alaska, (he United .States, and 

 our own country. A fidl account is given of the character and 

 develo]iment of tJerman Universities, by Prof. Paulsen, of 

 Berlin, sui)plemenled by a statistical review of the subject by 

 Prof. Conrad, of Halle. School museums in various ]3arts of .the 

 world form the subject of a separate chapter. There is also an 

 elaborate paper in which methods of physical training are very 

 fully treated. 



