Go2 
this class of stars is somewhat less at this greater 
distance from the sun. Following out this line of 
reasoning, I have found that the diminution of 
density of the stars to be as follows :— 
Distance Density Distance Density 
At 50 parsecs "30 At 300 parsecs 0748 
100 . 1°00 400 5 O32 
200 “ 0'70 500 55 O21 
Although much weight cannot be attached to the 
exact figures, one seems justified in saying that there 
must be a very considerable falling off in the density 
of the stars between the distances of one hundred and 
five hundred parsecs. A falling off in the total density 
of the stars would affect the tables giving the pro- 
portion of stars of different brightness, and would 
increase considerably the proportion of bright stars. 
Although the conclusions presented in this paper 
have been derived from a study of the proper motions 
of the stars in a small area of the sky, and may be 
somewhat modified by the investigation of other 
regions, they may be considered as fairly applicable 
to the stars in general. The limiting magnitude of 
the stars that have been considered is nearly 11-0 (on 
the Potsdam scale), and there are, in the whole sky, 
half a million stars brighter than this limit of mag- 
nitude. 
It may be said of them that :— 
(i) On the whole, the yellow stars, the stars like 
the sun in physical conditions, are the nearest. 
(ii) They lie within fairly narrow limits of distance 
—8o0 per cent. are between one hundred and five 
hundred parsecs, Io per cent. nearer than one hundred 
parsecs, and 1o per cent. further away than five 
hundred parsecs. 
(iii) Going from the yellow to the blue or the orange 
stars, the average distances increase. 
(iv) The red stars are at great distances—an averegc 
of about one thousand parsecs. 
(v) The stars vary greatly in intrinsic brightness. 
The red stars are specially luminous, being on an 
average one hundred times as bright as the sun. 
(vi) Considering all the stars down to this limit of 
magnitude, from 90 to 95 per cent. are intrinsically 
more luminous than the sun. 
(vii) When, however, the luminosity of the stars in 
a given volume of space is considered, there are found 
to be far more faint than bright stars. There is no 
contradiction between this conclusion and the last 
one, because the more distant bright stars are visible, 
while we only see the faint ones which are compara- 
tively near. 
(viii) Evidence has been found that the stars thin 
out very materially at great distances from the sun. 
These conclusions are in harmony, with the con- 
ception of a finite stellar universe. Most of the stars 
we see, and a great many fainter ones, are within the 
distance of one thousand parsecs. Doubtless the stars 
extend to much greater distances, perhaps ten times 
as far or further, but we can scarcely doubt that we 
are near the middle of a finite group of stars, and 
that the extent of this sroup is of the order of one 
thousand to ten thousand parsecs. 
UNIVERSITY. AND EDUCATIONAL 
INTELLIGENCE. 
Lonpon.—Two lectures on studies in historic mas- 
netism will be given in the autumn by Prof. S. P. 
Thompson. 
The Rogers prize has not been awarded this vear. 
It will be again offered for award in 1916, and the 
subject of the essay or disser tation will again be ‘‘ The 
Nature of Pyrexia and its Relation to Micro- 
organisms.” 
NO. 12336, VOL“ @2\ 
NAT ORE 
' of the University 
Agricultural Society 
[AUGUST 6, 1914 
Applications are invited from suitably qualified 
biologists wishing to engage in research work for 
the use of the University table at the laboratory of 
the Marine Biological Association at Plymouth. Pre- 
ference will be given to members of the University of 
London. Applications should be sent to the secretary 
of the Board of Studies in Zoology, the University of 
London, South Kensington, S.W., and should be 
accompanied by a statement of the qualifications of the 
candidate and a brief account of the investigation 
which he proposes to undertake. 
LONDON (UNIVERSITY COLLEGE).—The Drapers’ 
Company has made a grant of 5ool. a year for three 
years, in aid of the work of the department of applied 
statistics, including the Galton Laboratory of Eugenics 
and the Drapers’ Biometric Laboratory. 
Tue Russian Imperial Duma has voted in favour of 
the proposal to establish a faculty of medicine in the 
University of St. Petersburg. 
THE Hele-Shaw prizes in the faculty of engineering 
of Bristol have been awarded as 
follows : to Mr. John Rogers (a day student) and Mr. 
Arthur George Adams (an evening student). 
THE trustrees of the University of Pennsylvania have 
sanctioned the admission of women to the medical 
college of the University. The new regulations will 
come into force.in the autumn of the present year. 
ACCORDING to a Reuter telegram honorary degrees 
have been conferred upon the following members of 
the British Association by the University of Perth, 
Western Australia :—Prof. W. Bateson, Prof. Herd- 
man, Dr. A. D:. Waller, and @Dr, AiG. Haddone 
THE twenty-fifth anniversary of the opening of the 
Johns Hopkins Hospital will be celebrated in October 
next. The celebration will begin on October 5 with 
a meeting to be presided over by Dr. W. H. Welch, at 
which Prof. Sir William Osler will speak. ‘On 
October 7 the new Brady Urological Institute will be 
dedicated. 
Tue Board of Education has issued [Cd. 7531] the 
regulations for technical schools, schools of art, and 
other forms of provision of further education in 
England and Wales which came into force on 
August 1. This year the Board has included in the 
same volume with the régulations for evening schools, 
day courses in technical institutions and schools of 
art, the regulations for junior technical schools and 
those for university tutorial classes. No changes of 
substance are made in the regulations for junior 
technical schools or in those for university tutorial 
classes. Other alterations, which are not numerous, 
are printed in distinctive type so as to male reference 
and comparison easy. 
THE annual examinations of the National Agricul- 
tural Examination Board in the science and practice 
in dairying will be held for English students on Sep- 
tember 12, and following days, at the University Col- 
lege and British Dairy Institute, Reading, and for 
Scottish students on September 19 and following days 
at the Dairy School, Kilmarnock. All candidates 
must have spent at least four months on a dairy 
farm, and present certificates from approved institu- 
tions testifying (1) that he or she has received at least 
six months’ instruction in practical dairy work, and 
(2) that he or.she has attended approved courses in 
chemistry, bacteriology, and botany, and has satisfied 
the authorities of the institution of his or her fitness 
for admission to the examination. Entry forms and 
all further particulars may be obtained from the Royal 
of England, 16 Bedford Square, 
