March 7, 1895] 



NA TURE 



451 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



OxroRD. — An examination will be held at Merton College 

 on Tuesday, July z, 1S95, and following days, beginning at 

 10 a.m., for the purpose of electing to three open Natural 

 Science Scholarships, of which one will be at Meiton College, 

 one at New College, and one at Corpus Christi College. 



The scholarships are of the value of ;^So per annum, and are 

 open to all candidates whose age on July 8, 1895, will not ex- 

 ceed nineteen years. The subjects of examination will be (l) 

 Chemistry, Mechanics and Physics, or (2) Biology. An English 

 I essay, and a paper in Algebra and Elementary Geometry, will 

 also be set to all candidates. Candidates will have an oppor- 

 tunity of showing a knowledge of higher m.i hematics. Can- 

 didates who offer Biology are requested to send to the Tutor in 

 Natural .Science, Merton College, at least one fortnight before 

 the examination, a general statement as to the portions of the 

 subject which they have studied, and the practical work which 

 they have done. All such candidates will be required to show 

 ■ iiiiie acquaintance with Chemistry, .Mechanics and Physics. 



('AMiiRii)GE. — The following is the speech delivered on 

 Ki.bruary 28ih by the Public Orator, Dr. Sandys, Fellow and 

 i'utor of St. John's, in presenting for the honorary degree of 

 Doctor in Science .Sir William MacGregor, M.D. (.\berdeen), 

 K.C.M.G., Administrator of British New Guinea : — 



Orbis terrarum inter insulas, praeler Australian! latissime 

 p.itet insula Australiae parti septentrionali ex adverso po'iiia. 

 Tota quidem insula insulis Briiannicis dupio ma'or : insulae 

 autem pars a liritannis occupata Anglia ipsa maior aimidio. 

 Nostrae vero coloniae ibi administrandae praeposi'us est vir 

 insignis, olim in Academia Abeidon'ensi ir edicinae doctor, nuper 

 scientiarum complurium non modo fautor et adiutor, sed etiam 

 ipse auctor atque investigator indelessus. Praesidis nostri 

 auxilio, Anthropologije, Geographiae, Geologiae, aliis denique 

 ^cientiis nova lux affulsit, adeo ut coloniam illam remotissimam 

 non tarn imperii nostri propugnaculum quam scientiarum arcem 

 ft castellum longinquum appellaverim. De Caledoniae fiiiis, 

 quibus uhique terrarum plurimum debet Britannia, nonnum- 

 quam dicitur, cum peregre absint, turn demum sese seniire esse 

 'l')mi. Iluic Caledoniae filio paullisper reduci gratias hodie id- 

 ciico a'^imus, quod, a patiia vocatus, non modo imperii nostri 

 in utilitatem, sed etiam scientiae ad fructum, palriam relinquere 

 est dignatus. Gens autem ilia antiqua, ex qua ortus esse 

 dnlitetur, olim sedibus paternis expulsa et ipso nomine prorsus 

 [uivata, hodie, talium virorum auxilio, non sine nomine, non 

 sine gloria est. Etenim gens ilia Alpina, gentem fortissimam 

 a poel;i Romano quondam laudatam aemulata, 



duris ut ilex tons.i bipennibus, 

 nigrae feraci frondis in Algido, 

 per damna, per caedes, ab ipso 

 ducit opes animumque fcrro. 



Duco ad vos equitem insignem, Willel.mu.m M-\cGregor. 



The Report of the Syndicate for the encouragement of advanced 

 study and research has just been issued. It proposes that 

 approved graduates of other universities, of not less than twenty- 

 one years of age, should be admitted as Advanced Students, 

 with certain special privileges. Such students ate to pursue, 

 under the supervision of committees of the special Boards of 

 Studies, (a) courses of advanced study, or {b) courses of research. 

 The former chus may be admitted, after three terms, to a part 

 of a Tripos examination, and if they attain therein a sufficiently 

 high standard, their names will appear in a special list distinct 

 from the Tripos list. After residmg two years, tliey may be 

 admitted to the B..\. degree, and thereafter proceed in the 

 usual course to the M..\. and other higher degrees. Research 

 students are, after three or more terms' residence, to present a 

 dissertation adjudged by a Degree Committee to be **of dis- 

 tinction as an original cintnhution to learning, or as a record 

 of original research." Kor this a special "Certificate of Re- 

 search " is to be granted by the University. Holders of the 

 certificate who have resided at least two years, are to be entitled 

 to the B. .A. degree, and to proceed to higher degrees in the 

 ordinary course. Cambridge graduates may, on like terins, 

 obtain the "Certificate of Research." The original proposal to 

 establish new degrees (B. Lilt, and B.Sc.) for the class of 

 advanced students, has been dropped ; but the possil)ility of 

 proceeding to the higher degrees of the University is a new 

 feature of importance. The Report is signed by all the twelve 

 members of the Syndicate, including the Vice-Chancellor and 



NO. I-?2^, VOL. 51] 



eight professors, representing both the literary and the scientific 

 departments of University study. It will come before the 

 Senate for public discussion during the present term. The 

 main lines of the scheme resemble those of the plan provision- 

 ally adopted at Oxiord, with the important difference that 

 Oxford has taken up the idea, discarded at Cambridge, of 

 founding special literary and scientific degree; for post-graduate 

 students, and does not propose that they shall be eligible for 

 the degree of M.aster of Arts. 



A University Lectureship in Pure Mathematics will be vacant 

 at the end of the present term, by the resignation of Dr. For- 

 syth, elected Sadlerian Professor. The lecturer will hold office 

 for five years from Midsummer, 1895. Applications are to be 

 sent to the Vice-Chancellor before Wednesday, -April 24, 1895. 



An examination for diplomas in .Vgricultural Science will be 

 held in Cambridge in the week beginning [uly i, 1895. The 

 names of candidates are to be sent to the Registrary by 

 June 12. 



One or two of the new provisions in the Revised Code for 

 Elementary Day Schools, presented to the House of Commons 

 last week, are worth noting here. Kindergarten methods of 

 instruction have been recognised in in.'ants' schools for some 

 time, but they have usually ended in the infant school. 

 " Object-lessons and suitable occupations" are now, however, 

 to be counted as class subjects in the lower standards of elemen- 

 tary schools, so that the lessons which are so valuable in 

 training the intelligence of the infant children will be extended. 

 Properly carried out, these natural methods of instruction are 

 of extreme importance in developing such powers of obser- 

 vation and reasoning as young children possess. .Another 

 commendable addition which Mr. Acland has introduced into 

 the Code permits visits to be made, during school hours, to 

 museums and art galleries ; not more than twenty hours in the 

 school year to be thus employed. Visits to the museums at 

 South Kensington cannot but have a beneficial influence upon 

 the minds of children, and if the guide is competent, they may 

 be made of great value. Perhaps the new feature will lead to 

 the establishment of science museums in towns where none at 

 present exist. It may also assist in the reduction of the bric-a- 

 brac element (which makes many small museums little more 

 than variety shows), and improve the arrangement and character 

 of the collections. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



American Meteorological yoiirna!, February. —The cause of 

 the cyclones of the temperate latitudes, by W. H. Dines. Two 

 theories have found considerable support : (l) the convectional 

 theory, commonly known as Ferrel's, because he so fully ex- 

 plained it, and showed that cyclones were caused by the con- 

 vectional ascent of a current of warm air in the central parts, 

 the heat necessary to sustain the current being supplied, at 

 least in part, by the latent heat set free by the condensation of 

 aqueous vapour ; (2) the theory proposed by Dr. Hann, who 

 considers that the storms are merely eddies formed in the 

 general easterly drift of the atmosphere in temperate latitudes, 

 just as small whirls are formed in a river. Dr. Hann found 

 that the temperature at high mountain stations in the Alps is 

 higher during aniicyclonic conditions than during the passage 

 of storms. Mr. Dines thinks that the evidence is in favour of 

 Ferrel's theory, as mathematical laws show that it is a possible 

 one, and that the latent heat set (ree by the condensation of 

 moisture will, if it take the form of kinetic energy, be 

 sufficient to produce a most violent storm. — Recent foreign 

 studies of thunderstorms : Russia, by R. De C. Ward. The 

 Imperial Geographical Society of Russia instituted a special 

 study of thunderstorms in 1871, which has been continued until 

 the present time. This service, and others subsequently 

 established, such as that in south-west Ruisia by Prof. 

 Klossovsky, have led to some valuable results. The district of 

 greatest thunderstorm activity is the Caucasus, then the 

 southern central region. The predominant direction of move- 

 ment is north-east, and the storms occur most frequently in 

 June and July, the maximum frequency being in the afternoon. 

 — The y.<K;-«i:/also contains other articles of minor importance, 

 including one on the moon and rainf.ill, by Prof. H. .-X. 

 Hazen. The figures for Boston show a remarkable maximum 

 at the day of new moon, and an equally remarkable minimum 

 two days after full moon. 



