622 



NA TURE 



[April 30, 1903 



branchs which devour Balistes. It is only due to my excel- 

 lent assistant, Mr. James Hornell, to state that our observ- 

 ations on pearl formation are mainly due to him. During 

 the comparatively limited time (under three months) that I 

 had on the banks, I was mainly occupied with what seemed 

 the more important question of the life-conditions of the 

 oyster, in view of the frequent depletion of particular 

 grounds. It is important to note that these interesting 

 pearl-formation parasites are net only widely distributed 

 over the Manaar banks, but also on other parts of the coast 

 of Ceylon. .Mr. Hornell has found Balistes with its Cestode 

 parasite both at Trincomalie and at Galle, and the sharks 

 also occur all round the island, so that there can be no 

 question as to the probable infection of oysters grown at 

 these or any other suitable localities. 



There is still, however, much to find out in regard to all 

 these points, and other details affecting the life of the oyster 

 and the prosperity of the pearl fisheries. Mr. Hornell and 

 I are still in the middle of our investigations, and this must 

 be regarded as only a preliminary statement of results which 

 may have to be corrected, and I hope will be considerably 

 extended in our final report. 



It is interesting to note that the Ceylon Government 

 Gazette of December -'2 last announced a pearl fishery, to 

 commence on February 22, during which the following 

 banks would be fished : — 



The South-East Cheva) Paar, estimated to have 49 million 

 oysters. 



The East Cheval Paar, with 1 1 millions. 



The North-East Cheval Paar, with 1 ;, millions. 



The Periya Paar Kerrai, with 8 millions — making in all 

 more than So million oysters. 



That fishery is now in progress, Mr. Hornell is attend- 

 ing it, and we hope that it may result net merely in a large 

 revenue from pearls, but also in considerable additions to 

 our scientific know-ledge of the oysters. 



As an incident of our work in Ceylon, it was found 

 necessary to fit tip the scientific man's workshop — a small 

 laboratory on the edge of the sea, with experimental tanks, 

 a circulation of sea-water and facilities for microscopic and 

 other work. For several reasons [discussed in the lecture] 

 we chose Galle at the southern end of Cevlon, and we have 

 every reason to be satisfied with the choice. With its large 

 bay, its rich fauna and the sheltered collecting ground of 

 the lagoon within the coral reef, it is probably one of the 

 best possible spots (or the naturalist's work in eastern 

 tropical seas. 



In the interests of science it is to be hoped, then, that the 

 marine laboratory at dalle will soon be established on a 

 permanent basis with a suitable equipment. It ought, 

 moreover, to be of sufficient size to accommodate two cr 

 three additional zoologists, such as members of the staff 

 of the museum and of the medical college at Colombo, or 

 scientific visitors from Europe. The work of such men 

 would help in the investigation of the marine fauna and in 

 the elucidation of practical problems, and the laboratory 

 would soon become a credit and an attraction to the colonv. 

 Such an institution at Galle would be known throughout 

 the scientific world, and would be visited by manv students 

 of science, and it might reasonably he hoped that in time 

 it would perform for the marine biology and the fishing 

 industries of Ceylon very much the same important func- 

 tions as those fulfilled by the celebrated gardens and labor- 

 atory at Peradeniva for the botany and associated economic 

 problems of the land. YV. .\. H. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Mr. F. C. McClellan has been appointed to the new 

 chair of forestry and estate management at the Roval 

 Agricultural College, Cirencester. 



Tin: new science buildings of the Colston's Girls' School, 

 Bristol, will be opened on Friday, May 15, by the Right 

 Hon. Henry Hobhouse, M.P. 



We have received a copy of the University of Colorado 

 Hulletin for December, 1002. It contains a detailed account 

 ■:f the quarto-centennial celebration held at the end of last 



NO. 1 748, VOL. 67] 



year in connection with the University of Colorado, when 

 addresses were delivered by Profs. A. Reed, F. S. Lee. 

 D. C. Jackson, and others. 



The Council of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical 

 Society has appointed Mr. A. P. Hunt, sublibrarian of 

 Balliol College, Oxford, to be assistant secretary and 

 librarian to the Society, in succession to Mr. Charles Leigh, 

 who has been appointed deputy librarian of the Owens- 

 College, Manchester. 



The second volume of the Report of the U.S. Com- 

 missioner of Education for the year 1900-1901 runs, like the 

 former part, to mere than twelve hundred pages. A large' 

 portion of the volume is concerned solely with statistics, and 

 these refer to every grade of education. Uninteresting 

 though these masses of figures are likely to prove to ordinary- 

 teachers, they will be found of great value by the student 

 of educational problems. The descriptive article which will 

 most directly appeal to men of science is one on instruction 

 in mining engineering. It appears that the first school of 

 mines in the United States was established in New Ycrk 

 City in 1863, in connection with the institution which later 

 developed into the existing Columbia University. At the 

 close of 1901 there were thirty-seven institutions offering 

 courses in mining engineering, two of the courses — those 

 in connection with the University of North Carolina and 1 

 the University of Texas — having been instituted in 1901. 

 The article also contains short accounts of the systems of 

 instruction in mining in each of the thirty-seven institu- 

 tions holding courses. A chapter is given to consular re- 

 ports sent home to the United States by its consuls in 

 different parts of the world, and these reports contain many 

 hints likely to be of practical value to the lecturers and 

 others in American colleges. One chapter appears out of 

 place in an educational report, since it is concerned with 

 the introduction of domestic reindeer into Alaska. 



The first part of vol. xiv. of the Transactions of the South 

 African Philosophical Society contains an instructive papei 

 by the Rev. Dr. F'lint on the legal and economic bases of 

 some colonial teaching universities, which concludes with 

 the local application of the results of the inquiry. The 

 paper summarises the salient facts in the history of the 

 important colonial universities, but it is only possible here 

 to refer to one or two points of interest. The Government 

 of New South Wales voted at its establishment 50,000/. for 

 the buildings of Sydney University. An endowment of not 

 more than 20,000/., with an annual sum of 500/. for the 

 stipend of the principal, was provided for each college in- 

 corporated within Sydney University upon the condition that 

 10,000/. at least shall have been subscribed by its founders, 

 the whole to be voted to the erection of buildings on land 

 granted for the purpose. New Zealand University has also 

 been generously treated by its Government, from which 

 source it receives an annual grant of 3000/. But in addition 

 to this the four affiliated colleges have received land grants 

 to the extent of 40,000 acres, and Otago, for instance, re- 

 ceives in rent from lands granted in this way about 6500/. 

 per year. Similarly, the University of Adelaide received 

 from South Australia a grant of 50,000 acres. The Uni- 

 versity of Melbourne appears to receive in Government 

 grants some 13,500/. It is well that these examples, which 

 do not by any means exhaust the instances given in the 

 paper, should be brought prominently before the people of 

 South Africa, in view of the growing feeling that a worthy 

 teaching university for the whole of South Africa is much 

 needed. 



The annual discussion before the Washington meeting 

 last January of the American Society of Naturalists dealt 

 with the question : How can endowments be used most 

 effectively for scientific research ? The speeches on this 

 occasion are printed in Science for April 10. Prof. T. C. 

 Chamberlin advocated the special endowment of chairs of 

 research. There ought no longer, he said, to be a struggle 

 on the part of the capable investigator to free himself from 

 obligations to teach that he may devote himself to creative- 

 work. From 20,000/. to 40,000/. would effectively endow a 

 chair of research, though Prof. Chamberlin argued later 

 that the endowment should be made to the department 

 rather than a specific chair, thus distributing the function 

 of research among the members of the staff according to 



