644 



NA TURE 



[OcTOi!KU 31. 1S95 



fear that I shall not be u...^ . - ,,aish that most difficult task. 

 But I may note that my assertion that " Marennin " contains 

 principally iron, is base<l on the recent researches of Munlz and 

 Chatin. D. Carazzi. 



Spezia, Italy, October 12. 



Oxford Endowments. 



I A.M surprised that my friend Dr. Hickson, whose past re- 

 sidence among us lends authority to his words, should so 

 greatly misrepresent facts as to say, in Nature of October 3, 

 that " the income of the [college] endowments is frittered 

 away in the salaries of the heads, the stewards, the bur- 

 sars, and the tutors of the pass-men," the fact being that 

 these endowments do not provide the salaries of cither 

 the stewards or the tutors. It is fiirther difficult to see how- 

 estates can be managed without bursars, and how bursars can 

 exist without salaries ; how complex institutions can work with- 

 out heads, and how heads can live on nothing ; and how the 

 payments to bursars and heads — the latter at least with stipends 

 fixed by statute — is in any way connected with "the [alleged] 

 unfortunate competition that exists between colleges." 



Christ Church, Oxford. R. E. Baynes. 



I AM sorry^ that my friend Mr. Baynes should think that I 

 have "misrepresented facts" in my article on the " Linacre 

 Reports." I did not state, nor did I intend to imply, that the 

 whole of the salaries of the tutors and stewards is derived from 

 college endowments ; but surely it is true that in the majority of 

 cases these officers are fellows of their colleges, and as such 

 receive a substantial sum of money annually from the college 

 endowments. 



I am quite com|M;tent to understand that college estates 

 cannot be managed without bursars, and that bursars cannot live 

 without salaries ; but the estates of the Oxford colleges could 

 I* managed by less than half the number of bursars that now 

 exist in Oxford — provided thai they were chosen carefully from 

 among those who have had some training or experience in their 

 profession — and a large annual income would be saved from the 

 endowments. 



As to the heads. Speaking with every respect for these 

 august persons, I still feel that with judicious amalgamation 

 three or |x)ssibly four heads would be sufficient to carry on the 

 official work, they now perform, with efficiency and dignity. 



I should exceedingly regret if any remarks of mine should 

 give offence to my friends in Oxford ; but I never hesitated to 

 express my opinion there or in Cambridge, that the independence 

 of the colleges means a fearful waste of their endowments ; and 

 until, by .Vet of Parliament, a suitable amalgamation of these 

 institutions is brought about, there will be little margin left for 

 the endowment of research and the payment of those engaged in 

 pure scholarship. Syd.np.%"J. Hickson. 



Late Leaves and Fruit. 



IIf.rf., many of the roadside lindens have cast iheir summer 

 foliage, and put forth a garniture of new leaves ; these are fully 

 grown, and bear the vivid tint of .spring. In this city, on the 

 I lib inst., well-grown open-air strawberries were on sale in the 

 fruiterers' shops. The quantity altogether amounted to several 

 bushels. J. Li.ovD BozwARi). 



Worcester, Octoljcr 19. 



/•//£■ CENTENARY F^TES AT PARIS. 

 'X'HE latter part of last week has witnessed the cele- 

 ^ bration of the first centennial anniversary of the 

 foundation of ili<; Institut de Krancc. J'aris was certainly 

 not at its best, as far as meteorological features were con- 

 cerned ; the weather offered nothing " Queenly " or " Pre- 

 sidential " in its demeanour, and upon the whole was 

 what it generally Is at this time of the year— unpleasant, 

 wet. .mil I old. Hut it hardly interfered with the proceed- 

 1 'tivitics, and we trust none of the generally 



■'. . I-. of the Institute will be any the worse in 

 health for their rapid visit to I'aris. 



.•\ large number of foreign associates and corresponding 

 members had promised to come ; and the occasion was 



NO. T 357, VOL. 52] 



such a remarkable one, that we print in full the list of 

 acceptations. Of the.\caddmiedes Inscriptions et Belles- 

 Lettrcs, the .A.ssocies ctrangers present were MM. .-Xscoli, 

 Helbig, Max Midler, Whitley Stokes ; while the Cone- 

 spondants present were MM. Bailly,de Beaurcpaire, Blade, 

 Blancard, Champoireau, Chevalier, Comparetti, Uel.ittrc 

 (le P6re), De Smedt, Sir John Evans, (^.oeje, Gomperz, 

 de Grandmaison, loret, Kern, Mcrlct, Millardct, Naville, 

 Radloff, Saige, Sauvaire, Windisch. In the .\cad<$mie 

 des Sciences, the Associes dtrangers who attended were 

 Lord Kelvin and Dr. Frankland : and the Correspondants 

 were MM. .Amagat, .Arloing, Biicklund, de Baeyer, Bayct, 

 Bergh, Bichat, Blondlot, Brioschi, Cannizaro, Considere, 

 Crova, Engelmann, Sir .Archibald Geikie, Gosselet, 

 Grand Euiy, Haller, Herrgott, Ilouzeau, Kovalewski, 

 Laveran, Lepine, Lie (.Sophus), Lockyer, Maic-s, Marion, 

 Masters, Mathcron, Oilier, Pagnoul, Ramsay, Raoult, 

 Rayet, Relzius, Sir Henry Roscoe, Sabaticr, Sire, Sirodot. 

 Stephan, Sir G. Stokes, Sucss, .Sylvester, General 

 Tillo, Treub, \'allier. In the .-Vcademie des Beaux-.-\rts 

 there were the -Associes ctrangcrs, MM. .\lnia Tadcma. 

 Da Silva, Gevacrt, Pradilla ; and Correspondants, MM 

 Bertrand, Biot, Civiletti, Cui, Cuypers, Dauban, Deffifs, 

 De Geymiiller, Gouvy, Guffens, Israelis, Lanciani, Le 

 Breton, Locnhoff, Marionneau, Martenot, Penin, Ronot, 

 Salinas, Salmson, Sgambati, de X'riendt, Waterhouse, 

 Wauters. In the .Academic des Sciences Morales et 

 Politiqucs, the Associtfs ctrangers present were MM. 

 Carlos Cah o and Castclar ; and the Correspondants were 

 MM. .Aubcitin. Babeau, Barkaiisen, Bodio, Caillemer, 

 Ducrocq, Du Puynode, Kerrand. Lallcniand, Lecky, 

 Legrand, le Conite de Lucay, Molinari, .Moynier, Sir F. 

 Pollock, Polotsofl", Raffalovich, Stubbs, \'illey Des- 

 niescrets, Vi'orms. 



.At one time, it had been decided to choose the epoch 

 of the centennial anniversary for the transfer of Pasteur's 

 mortal remains from the vaults of Notre Dame to their 

 final resting-place at the Pasteur Institute. The plan 

 was not carried out, and it was better so. The frame of 

 mind which is suitable for festivities is not so for a 

 funeral, and it would not have been in good taste to 

 mingle the one with the other. The plan was dismissed 

 after short, but wise, reflection. The festivities were 

 carried out in strict accordance with the announcements 

 made, and published in N.\Tl'KK. 



On the first day, the 23rd, a religious service was 

 celebrated in Saint (iermain des Prirs, in memory of all 

 members of the Institute deceased since its foundation, by 

 Monseigneur Perraud, Bishop of .Autun, a inember of the 

 Acadi!mie Kranqaise, and a very distinguished writer and 

 philosopher. It must not be thought that, even in the 

 land of X'oltaire, all men of science consider atheism as 

 "the " proper form of philosophy. The Institute is very 

 conservative, and whatever oi)inions most members 

 may hold concerning religion and dogmas, every man 

 has his own conception of the universe, more or less, 

 and entertains " son petit religion Ji part soi," as a witty 

 (ierman princess put it, in her own barbarian French. 

 This first ceremony was largely attended, although more 

 national than international in character. The re.il general 

 opening of the celebration look place the same day at 

 2 p.m., when the foreign associates and correspondants were 

 received and entertained in the salon of the Institute by 

 I the members of the latter. Each ///:v/t' was announced 

 I by the /iiiixsii-rs, and after having been introduced to the 

 masters of the house, joined his own personal friends and 

 acquaintances in pleasant conversation and numerous 

 introductions to fellow-workers of every land. The 

 masters of the house were M. .Ambroise Thomas 1 the 

 author of Mii^non)^ member of the ,A( .idemie des Beaux- 

 Arts, and for this year President of the Institute, assisted 

 by MM. Maspcro, Marey, Lc'on .Say, Count Dclaborde. 

 delegates of the four other .Academies. The last function 

 of the day was a general reception of all members. 



