August 28, 1890] 



NATURE 



431 



(Anarrhichas) 20 inches (?). In most cases these small specimen^ 

 were males, as in the even more remarkable case of the salmon 

 — in which the milt of a parr a few inches long can be utilized 

 for the successful fertilization of the ova of an adult female 

 salmon. There would therefore be grounds for saying that fishes 

 of a less size than the foregoing are immature. P'rom these ob- 

 servations it will be seen that the minimum size of 12 inches for 

 turbot and brill — adopted by the representatives of the sea- 

 fishing industry of the United Kingdom in June of this year — 

 does not err on the side of excess. Further, since the mature 

 males are often so much smaller than the females, it is apparent 

 that the same restrictive size would not be practicable, though 

 the numbers of the mature females are of greater importance for 

 the welfare of the fisheries than those of the males. 



While, therefore, many difficulties beset legislative measures 

 for the preservation of the young fishes, there need be no halt in 

 the efforts of the fishery authorities in investigating the deep-sea 

 fishing grounds far from shore ; and this should be carried out as far 

 as practicable and as frequently as possible every month of the 

 year. A comparison of the surface, mid-water, and bottom 

 fauna there with that already known to exist in such bays as 

 St. Andrews could not fail to give valuable and interesting data. 

 Besides, the gaps in the life-histories of the post-larval and young 

 stages of many fishes would thus be more or less bridged over. 

 Finally, there can be little doubt of the expediency of at once 

 providing suitable open-air tanks, e.g. at St. Andrews, in com- 

 munication with the tidal water for the study of the post-larval 

 and young stages of food-fishes, especially with regard to their 

 rate of growth. It has yet to be proved also whether it would 

 be best to place the larvae of valuable fishes, such as turbot, 

 brill, and soles, in the sea, or to keep them till the post-larval 

 or young stages are reached. W. C. McIntosh. 



ESTABLISHMENT OF SCIENCE SCHOLAR- 

 SHIPS. 

 \A7'E have already called attention to the science scholarships 

 which are being established by the Commissioners for the 

 i;xhibition of 185 1. The official statement on the subject is as 

 follows : — 



In their seventh report to the Crown, presented in July 1889, 

 the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851 announced their 

 intention of appropriating an annual sum of not less than ;^5000 

 a year to the establishment of scholarships, to enable the most 

 jjromising students in provincial colleges of science to complete 

 their studies either in those colleges or in the larger institutions 

 of the metropolis, care being taken that these scholarships should 

 be a supplement to, and not in competition with, scholarships 

 already existing through either public action or private endow- 

 ment. 



The decision to restrict the scheme of scholarships to provincial 

 colleges was due to the feeling of the Commissioners that the 

 provinces, which took so large a part in supporting the Great 

 Exhibition of 1851, had a just claim to receive as direct a benefit 

 from the funds derived from that Exhibition as is afforded to the 

 institutions on the Commissioners' Estate at South Kensington, 

 which, although unquestionably of national importance, confer a 

 more immediate advantage on the metropolis. 



To assist them in preparing a scheme for the distribution and 

 regulation of the scholarships' the Commissioners obtained the 

 services of a committee of eminent men of science — namely, 

 I'rof. Garnett, Prof. Huxley, Prof. Norman Lockyer, Sir Henry 

 Koscoe, and Sir William Thomson. To these were added two 

 Commissioners, Mr. Mundella and Sir Lyon Playfair, the latter 

 of whom acted as chairman of the committee. 



On the iStli of June last this committee presented the accom- 

 panying report on the scope and objects of the scholarships, and 

 it has been adopted by the Commissioners. 



The committee then considered the manner in which the 

 scholarships should be distributed. On this point they were 

 hound by the restriction of the present scheme to students in 

 provincial institutions, in which term, however, they suggested 

 that colonial Universities might be comprised. They thought 

 it unnecessary to include in the scheme the Universities of 

 ( )xford, Cambridge, and Dublin, in view of the large endow- 

 ments of those bodies. The committee decided upon the allot- 

 ment of an annual series of seventeen scholarships in the manner 

 >hown by the accompanying list, and the institutions named in 

 the list will be invited to nominate scholars, subject to the con- 



NO. 1087, VOL. 42] 



ditions laid down in the report of the committee, and provided 

 that they possess scholars worthy of the purposes explained 

 in it. 



The present allotment is to be considered experimental and 

 temporary, and the selection now made of institutions to which 

 nominations are offered will be subject to modification in the 

 future, having regard not only to the manner in which the nomi- 

 nations are exercised, but also to the claims of other Universities 

 and colleges which may from time to time be brought under the 

 consideration of the Commissioners. 



The following is the first report of the committee for considering 

 the regulation and distribution of the science scholarships : — 



The committee have had their attention drawn to the fact 

 that there is a large number of scholarships in the country ; that 

 they are increasing at a rapid rate ; and, if the Commissioners 

 act on the same lines as those already occupied, it is possible 

 that education will gain little by their action, as the endowment 

 of the Commissioners may interfere with the establishment of 

 new scholarships by private liberality. 



Hence it is desirable that the scholarships with which this 

 committee have to deal should be of a higher order than most of 

 those now existing ; in fact, their functions should begin where 

 the ordinary educational curriculum ends. This system has been 

 adopted with excellent effects by the French Ecole pratique des 

 hautes eludes. 



The committee propose :— (l) That the scholarships shall be 

 of ;i^l50 a year in value, and shall be tenable for two years, but 

 in rare instances may be extended to three years by special re- 

 solution of the Commissioners. The continuation, each year 

 after the first, shall depend upon the work done in the previous 

 year being satisfactory to the scientific committee which it is 

 suggested shall be appointed by the Commissioners. 



(2) That the scholarships shall be limited to those branches 

 of science (such as physics, mechanics, and chemistry) the 

 extension of which is specially important for our national 

 industries. 



(3) That the Commissioners shall from time to time select a 

 certain number of provincial and colonial colleges in which 

 special attention is given to scientific education, and give to each 



