576 



'NATURE 



]^Ogtober 15, 1903 



suffice to refer to an imperfect skeleton of Plesiosaurus 

 homalospondylus, and another of Ichthyosaurus 

 platyodon from the Lias of Luxembourg. The special 

 interest attaching to these specimens is that, unlike 

 the majority of " halosaurians " from the English 

 Lias, the bones are separate, so as to admit of the 

 skeletons beingf mounted after the fashion ■ of the 

 Oxfordian plesiosaurs in the British Museum. 



Turning to Tertiary fossils, the magnificent series 

 of cetacean remains from the Pliocene of Antwerp is 

 too well known to n.eed more than passing reference. 

 Special attention may, however, be directed to the 

 beautifully preserved skulls of long-nosed dolphins 

 (Eurhinodelphis) from the Miocene deposits of the 

 same locality, which have been recently described by 

 Dr. Abel, and are some of the most interesting of all 

 cetacean fossils. Neither is the collection lacking in 

 valuable remains of sirenians, one case containing no 

 less than five more or less imperfect skeletons of a 

 representative of the widely spread Oligocene genus 

 Halitherium, while in a second is displayed the skele- 

 ton of the body of an allied Miocene type, for which 

 Monsieur Dollo has proposed the name of Miosiren. 

 Evidently a large and specialised form descended from 

 Halitherium, this genus is characterised by the 

 enormous stoutness and solid structure of the ribs, 

 which are so close together as to simulate a massive 

 carapace in the region of the thorax. The specimens 

 of the rhynchocephalian Champsosaurus, from the 

 Lower Eocene, are likewise unique treasures of the 

 collection. 



The collection of remains from the cavern and other 

 Pleistocene deposits forms another striking feature of 

 the museum. Among the mounted specimens are 

 three skeletons of the cave-bear, one of the cave-lion, 

 and three of the woolly rhinoceros. The mammoth 

 skeleton from a superficial deposit is one of the finest 

 in existence out of Russia ; while of especial interest 

 is the imperfect skull of a ver}' young individual of the 

 same species, with the earlier milk-molars in position, 

 A skeleton of the much rarer Elephas antiquus is like- 

 wise noteworthy, first, because the tusks are strongly 

 curved, and, secondly, on account of the peculiar 

 manner in which their tips are worn. This curvature 

 of the tusks suggests that the title of straight-tusked 

 elephant, which has been proposed for this species, 

 is not so diagnostic as it might be. As regards the 

 tips of the tusks, each has been ground into a blunt 

 wedge — a mode of wear never observable in those of 

 either the Indian or Airican species, and the cause of 

 which is at present inexplicable. 



Owing to lack of space, the fossil collections are 

 now mingled with the series of skins and skeletons 

 of recent animals in a manner calculated to confuse 

 the non-scientific visitor, while at the same time the 

 proportions of many of the specimens are not so well 

 displayed as is desirable. All this, however, will soon 

 be remedied, for the magnificent new wing, destined 

 to contain the entire collection of indigenous Belgian 

 animals, is, as already mentioned, fast nearing com- 

 pletion, the whole of the building itself being finished. 

 A notable feature is the entire absence of any archi- 

 tectural decoration in the interior, a feature which 

 might advantageously have been adopted in our own 

 museums. The main hall of this magnificent build- 

 ing is no less than 100 metres in length by 30 in 

 width. The floor Is on four different levels, rising in 

 terraces one above the other from the entrance. On 

 the entrance level will be arranged the recent and 

 Quaternary vertebrates (other than fishes) ; on the first 

 terrace the Tertiary vertebrates, on the second the 

 Upper Cretaceous vertebrate fauna, and on the third 

 and highest the iguanodons and other reptiles of the 

 VVealden. The visitor will thus obtain a coup-d'oeil 



NO. 1772. VOL. 68] 



of the whole effect immediately on entering. The 

 iguanodons will be represented by no less than thir- 

 teen skeletons, of which nine are to be mounted and 

 erect, while the remainder are to occupy a large tank- 

 like excavation in the floor, in which they are to lie 

 as in their native quarry. In the gallery running 

 round this hall are to be arranged the recent and fossil 

 fish-fauna of Belgium, while the invertebrates are to 

 be housed on the floor above. By an ingenious- 

 arrangement of details, space has been found for a 

 numerous series of large and well-lighted work-room>. 

 Some idea of the lavish scale on which the new build- 

 ing is planned may be gathered from the fact thai 

 the space available for the display of the Belgian 

 fauna alone is four times as great as that allotted in 

 the Paris Museum to the fossil vertebrate fauna oi 

 the whole world. 



Eventually, I am told, it is hoped that a similar 

 wing may be built on the opposite side of the museum 

 for the exhibition of the fauna and products of the 

 Congo Free State. At present the large collection 

 from that territory (which is the private property of 

 King Leopold) is housed at Tervueren, reached by a 

 tram-ride of about fifty minutes from Brussels. In 

 addition to many interesting anthropological and 

 ethnological objects, the collection contains a fine 

 mounted pair of okapis, as well as numerous antelopes 

 and other representatives of the mammalian fauna of 

 the Congo State, not to mention specimens of the 

 birds, reptiles, fishes, and lower forms of life. 



R. L. 



TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND INDUSTRY. 



THE national importance of a close and strong re- 

 lationship between science and industry is shown 

 by Sir William Ramsay in a letter in Monday's Times. 

 Two points upon which emphasis is laid are that 

 numerous scholarships awarded by county councils re- 

 present an expenditure of public funds which can do 

 little to promote industrial progress, and that our 

 manufacturers offer few openings for men who have 

 received a sound and scientific education. Technical 

 education, as it is understood in this country, and as 

 most of our technical schools are compelled to under- 

 stand it if they wish to obtain students, consists of 

 lectures on the rudiments of science, illustrated by 

 practical work of a very elementary kind. It is 

 scarcely necessary to say that the training thus 

 received is of "little value to the students or 

 to the community in comparison with the work 

 carried on in the technical high schools of Germany. 

 Sir William Ramsay recently had an opportunity of 

 conversing with the manager of a large chemical 

 works in Germany, which manufactures no product 

 of which it sells "less than 100 tons a year, and he 

 directs the attention of our manufacturers to^ the 

 following facts as to the connection between science 

 and industry in Germany. 



The company has seventy chemists, of whom twenty are 

 employed in analysing the raw materials and intermediate 

 and finished products ; twenty-five are engaged in super- 

 intending the processes of manufacture ; and the remaining 

 twenty-five are exclusively employed in scientific work — i.e. 

 in endeavouring to improve the present processes^ of manu- 

 facture, and in trying new suggestions, either their own, or 

 those brought to the notice of the firm by patentees. Almost 

 all these chemists have been trained in universities, but a 

 few come from technical high schools or Polytechnika. It 

 is common for the best of such men to receive a " call " 

 to a chair in a university or a Polytechnikum, and it is also 

 usual for a company to offer a lucrative post to one who 

 already holds a chair, even though he may have had no 

 technical experience, and in this way a close bond has been 



