August 27, 1903] 



NATURE 



407 



THE VIENNA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 

 IXT'E have lately received the Proceedings (vol. cxi.) of 

 *' the Imperial Academy of Sciences at Vienna 

 (Sitzungsberichte der kaiserlichen Akademic der Wisscn- 

 schaftcn) for part of 1902. The volume is an important 

 publication now, and is divided into four sections, dealing 

 with different branches of the natural and physical sciences. 

 Section i. (April to July) includes mineralogy, crystallo- 

 graphy, botany, physiology of plants, zoology, palaeonto- 

 logy, geology, physical geography, and travels. We 

 notice several important papers on systematic zoology and 

 botany; by F. Siebenrock, on Podocnemis, Wagl., a genu? 

 of tortoises ; by A. Zahlbruckner, on Brazilian Lichens ; by 



E. Lampa, on liverworts ; and by A. Attems, on the 

 Myriopoda of Crete. There are also papers by O. Richter, 

 on magnesium in its relation to plants ; by F. Pischinger, 

 on the structure and regeneration of the assimilative 

 apparatus of Streptocarpus and Monophyllaea ; by A. Abel, 

 on asymmetry in the skulls of the toothed whales ; by 

 H. Hofer, on petroleum ; and by F. Berwerth, on the struc- 

 ture of a meteorite from Mukerop, German West Africa ; 

 and several other papers, chiefly dealing with geology and 

 palaeontology. 



In section iia. (May to July), devoted to mathematics, 

 astronomy, physics, meteorology, and mechanics, we have a 

 large number of important papers, of which those relating 

 to meteorology are perhaps of most general interest, such as 

 those by J. Haan, on the meteorology of the equator, from 

 observations taken at the Museum Goeldi at Para ; by 



F. M. Exner, on the variations of the pressure of the air 

 from day to day; and by J. Valentin, on the fall of dust 

 between March 9-12, 1901. There are also several interest- 

 ing papers on electricity, magnetism, photography, &c., 

 as well as on mechanics and applied mathematics. 



Section lib. (April to July) includes chemistry, and com- 

 prises a large number of papers by various writers, among 

 which we notice one, by R. von Hasslinger, on the form- 

 ation of artificial diamonds by the fusion of silicates. 



Section iii. (January to December) deals with the anatomy 

 and physiology of men and animals, and also with 

 theoretical medicine. There are only a few papers of im- 

 portance in this section; by C. Storel, on caseine in asses' 

 milk ; by F. Winkler, on the infiltration of the vessels of 

 the skin, when stimulated by heat ; by F. Ballner, on the 

 disinfective effect of saturated vapour of water at different 

 boiling points ; by O. Low, on the chemiotaxis of sperm- 

 atozoa in the female genital tract ; by S. von Schuhmacher, 

 on the cardiac nerves of men and Mammalia ; by K. Toldt, 

 jun., on the development and structure of the zygoma in 

 man ; and by J. Seegen, on the influence of alcohol on the 

 diastatic energy of the ferments of saliva and of the secre- 

 tion of thfe pancreas ; and also on the formation of sugar in 

 liver preserved in alcohol. 



This imperfect sketch may serve to illustrate the activity 

 of Austrians in various branches of science, and it will 

 also be seen that, while the separation of the journal into 

 sections is convenient, it can only be rough and imperfect, 

 fo*" the various sciences trench upon each other to such an 

 extent that many papers might almost as well be referred 

 to a different section to those in which they have been with 

 equal propriety placed ; thus a paper on organic chemistry 

 would not be out of place in the section on physiology, or 

 perhaps even zoology or botany, and so in other instances. 



We may also direct attention to another point. All the 

 papers in this volume (apart from their publication in it) 

 are separately priced, and can be bought separately. In 

 Britain, except where a paper fills the whole of a part, this 

 is not the case, and separate papers are only furnished to 

 authors to give away, on the tacit understanding that they 

 are not to be sold. Perhaps this is sufficient for British 

 needs, owing to the much smaller number of students who 

 are engaged in special scientific work in Britain, as com- 

 pared with German-speaking countries. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 



INTELLIGENCE. 



On more than one occasion it has been pointed out in 



these columns that the study of economic botany is neglected 



by our universities and colleges. But though educational 



authorities have failed to make provision for students and 



NO. 1765, VOL, 68] 



research in economic botany, Kew has long been a training 

 school from which men have been sent to all parts of the 

 world, and a centre of expert advice on vegetable pro- 

 ducts. For thirty years or more a course of lectures on 

 economic botany, intended to prepare men fcr service in 

 India and the colonies, has been given in the museums of 

 the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ; and th«? course just 

 finished, by Mr. J. M. Hillier, the keeper was attended 

 by twenty gardeners in training. It is <iesirable that 

 the study of vegetable economics should be encouraged 

 in great commercial centres such as Glasgow, Liverpool 

 and Belfast, as suggested by Prof. Bower in an address 

 referred to in Nature of December 18, 1902 (vol. Ixvii. 

 p. 165) ; but it must not be forgotten that, while universi- 

 ties and educational authorities have practically ignored 

 the subject, Kew has been steadily training practical 

 botanists and investigators for botanic gardens and other 

 establishments at home and abroad. As a result there is 

 now scarcely a botanic garden in India and the colonies 

 which has not on its staff one or more men trainefd at Kew 

 or recommended by the director of the Royal Gardens. 

 Kew affords facilities for scientific and technical training 

 in botany unequalled by any other institution, and it is 

 satisfactory to know that so many members of the staffs of 

 our botanic gardens have been trained there. 



We have received two publications from the United 

 States concerning the education of deaf children. One 

 pamphlet is the sixth report of the home in Philadelphia 

 for the training in speech of deaf children before they are 

 of school age, and the other is a special report, by the 

 superintendent of schools, of the school for the deaf and 

 the normal training department for teachers of the deaf in 

 connection with the Board of Education of the City of 

 Detroit. These booklets show clearly enough that it is 

 quite possible so to educate deaf children that they can 

 understand ordinary speech, and so work satisfactorily with 

 normal persons. 



We have received a copy of the report of Prof. Starling, 

 the Dean of the Faculty of Science of University College, 

 London. The report was read at the assembly of the 

 P'aculties of Arts and Laws and of Science which took 

 place in July last, and reference was made to it in our 

 issue for July 9. Referring to the amount of scientific re- 

 search done at University College, Prof. Starling says : — 

 " I believe I may safely assert that in no utiiversity does 

 the quality and the quantity of the original work turned 

 out exceed that which we have to record at University 

 College. Our success in this direction is attested by the 

 continued increase in the number of research students, that 

 is of men of the highest ability who are seeking the best 

 form of training for their subsequent careers. Whereas 

 last year we had seventy-two research students, this year 

 we have eighty-seven on our books. These men are drawn 

 from all parts of the world, the British Isles, colonies of 

 Canada, Australia and South Africa, and our Indian depen- 

 dencies, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, and so on. Much 

 of the work which they have turned out represents im- 

 portant advances in our knowledge, and will be of lasting 

 value. It is satisfactory to know that, whereas a few years 

 back all our best students and we ourselves regarded a visit 

 to Germany as a necessary part of a science curriculum, 

 the conditions are now beginning to be reversed." Ihe 

 list of original papers and other publications from the 

 scientific departments of University College during the past 

 year, with which the report concludes, contains more than 

 a hundred entries. 



A Blue-book showing the amount spent on technical 

 education by local authorities in England and Wales, with 

 the exception of five which have made no return, during 

 the year 1901-2 has been issued by the Board of Educa- 

 tion. The return shows that the total amount thus ex- 

 pended on technical education in England and Wales 'during 

 th-i year 1901-2 was 1,057,399/. This amount is exclusive 

 of the sums allocated to intermediate and technical educa- 

 tion under the Welsh Intermediate Education Act, i88f. 

 The amount raised by loan on the security of the local rate 

 under the Technical Instruction Acts was 206,426/., the 

 amount of loans, so raised, outstanding was 1,030,952/., 

 and the balance in hand of moneys received and allocated 

 to technical instruction was 658,319/. 165. 



II 



