NA TURE 



[December 22, 1904 



.4 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF AGRICULTURAL 

 SCIENCE.^ 



HTHE yearly increasing output of scientific worI<ers, like 

 the fleas that have "lesser fleas to bite 'em," has 

 called into being another class of workers who have to 

 abstract the papers into Jahresberichte, Centralblatter, 

 records, and the like, the next step in the ad infinitum 

 process being represented by the indexes which appear every 

 decade or so to the abstracts themselves. By no other 

 means would the investigator be able to " read up the 

 literature " before attacking a new problem, and though 

 there may be two opinions as to the wisdom of so doing, 

 there can be none as to the desirability of having the power 

 if need be. The present volume consists of a subject index 

 to the first twelve volumes of the Experiment Station 

 Record, the well known series of abstracts of both American 

 and European papers in agricultural science which is issued 

 monthly by the United States Department of Agriculture, 

 and distributed so liberally to all foreign workers. The 

 Experiment Station Record is, indeed, something more than 

 a journal of abstracts ; it contains from time to time special 

 articles resuming the current state of knowledge about par- 

 ticular subjects, and written by some acknowledged expert ; 

 for example, in this index we find mentioned special articles 

 by Kiihn, Stohmann, Kellner, Zuntz, and Hagemann on 

 nutrition investigations alone. 



The abstracts proper in the Experiment Station Record are 

 generally very full ; like all abstracts, they vary much in 

 value, but generally they fulfil their real purpose of telling 

 one whether it is worth while to read the original paper or 

 not. Naturally, with a subject like agriculture, touching 

 on so many sciences, the abstracts cover a very wide field ; 

 chemistry, botany, zoology, geology, all have their special 

 journals which must be looked through lest any article 

 bearing on agriculture escape ; meteorology, bacteriology, 

 veterinary science, horticulture also contribute, in addition 

 to the great volume of journals in every country which 

 are devoted solely to agricultural topics. The present index 

 only adds to the debt of gratitude which all British workers 

 in this field have long owed to the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture; in fact, if one wants to find the 

 reference to some English experiment, by far the best if 

 not the only way of tracing it is to hunt up its abstract 

 in the Experiment Station Record. Such a pursuit will 

 now be greatly facilitated by the present general index, 

 which represents a putting together of the very full indexes 

 to each of the annual volumes. A further feature of value is 

 a complete list of Bulletins issued by the various divisions of 

 the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with references to the 

 abstracts in the Record, When we add that the department 

 has also published card indexes to the more important 

 foreign agricultural publications, as, for example, to the 

 well known Landw. Versiichsstationen, we get a further idea 

 of the completeness with which the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture is pursuing its self-imposed task of 

 bibliography. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



At the Darmstadt Technical College Mr. Clarence Feld- 

 mann has been appointed professor of electrotechnics. 



Prof. W. Nernst, director of the departments of physical 

 chemistry and electrochemistry at Gbttingen, has accepted 

 the chair at Berlin previously occupied by Prof. Landolt. 



Prof. Arrhenius has declined the appointment offered 

 him at Berlin, the Swedish Academy of Sciences having 

 founded a Nobel Institute of Physical Chemistry with Prof. 

 .Arrhenius as director. 



Dublin University has conferred the degrees of Master 

 in Surgery and Doctor in Medicine honoris causa on Sir 

 Frederick Treves, C.B., and the degree of Doctor in Science 

 honoris causa on Major Ronald Ross, C.B., F.R.S. 



Dr. E. W. Skeats, demonstrator in geology at the Royal 

 College of Science, has been appointed to the chair of 

 geology and mineralogy in the University of Melbourne in 



I "General Index to Experiment Sl,ition Record," Vols. i. to xii., 1889- 

 igoi. Pp. 671. U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Washington, 1903.) 



succession to Prof. J. W. Gregory, F.R.S., now professor 

 of geology at Glasgow University. 



Chairs for research and teaching in protozoology and in 

 helminthology are about to be established at the London- 

 School of Tropical Medicine, the funds being provided by 

 certain colonial Governments. The importance of these 

 branches of research in tropical medicine is unquestionable, 

 and it is gratifying to know that this is appreciated by the 

 Governments which have thus assisted the study of the 

 subjects. 



Dr. Jolv has been appointed ordinary professor of mathe- 

 matics at Lausanne ; Dr. Heinrich Liebmann, hitherto, 

 recognised teacher in mathematics, has been appointed 

 assistant professor of philosophy at Leipzig ; Dr. Roland 

 Scholl, assistant professor of chemistry at the technical 

 college, Carlsruhe ; Dr. Arthur Wehnelt assistant professor 

 of theoretical and applied physics at Erlangen ; Dr. Georg 

 Edler von Georgievics, hitherto professor of chemical 

 technology at Bielitz, is to succeed Prof. Karl Zulkowski at 

 the German Technical College at Prague. 



The annual conference of teachers, arranged by the- 

 London County Council, will be held on January 5-7 next 

 at the Medical Examination Hall, Victoria Embankment. 

 At the first meeting, addresses on the teaching of arith- 

 metic will be given by Mr. C. T. Millis and Mr. S. O. 

 Andrew, and the discussion will be opened by Mr. A. W. 

 Siddons. Other subjects to be brought forward at sub- 

 sequent meetings are : — the psychology of dictation, the 

 teaching of reading, art teaching in Japan, the influence 

 on handicraft of art teaching in elementary and secondary 

 schools, the art training of the artisan, and true and false 

 applications of Froebel's principles. 



The promoters of the movement for providing the Uni- 

 versity College of North Wales with new buildings on the 

 site presented by the Corporation of Bangor have within 

 the last few days been greatly encouraged in the task by 

 an announcement that Mr. Owen Owen will contribute 

 1000/. to the building fund. This donation, taken in con- 

 junction with the recent bequest to the college by the late 

 Dr. Isaac Roberts of the sum which is expected to reach 

 about 15,0002., and by the late Mr. John Hughes, of Liver- 

 pool, and Mr. Richard Hughes, of Llanfwrog, Anglesey, of 

 5000/. and 1500/. respectively for the purpose of establish- 

 ing scholarships, affords a welcome indication of the interest 

 which is now being taken in the fortunes of the college by 

 Welshmen having the like means and wish to benefit the 

 cause of higher education. 



At a recent meeting with reference to Swanley Horti- 

 cultural College, presided over by Lady Brassey, Mr. J. C. 

 Medd urged the claims of the college to recognition by the 

 Board of Agriculture, and showed how the institution now 

 fulfilled the conditions which it ought to do, if it were to 

 e.xpect an annual grant from that Government department. 

 He also alluded to the nature-study course for teachers, 

 which was held at Swanley during the summer holidays. 

 Sir John Cockburn pointed out that all educational establish- 

 ments that did their duty were in need of funds, and that 

 Swanley College was no exception. Mr. Buckmaster, chief 

 inspector to the Board of Education, spoke of the efficiency 

 of Swanley College at the present time, and thought that 

 all energy should be directed towards maintaining and im- 

 proving the position which Swanley had attained rather 

 than to inaugurating similar undertakings. 



Addressing the boys at St. Clement Danes' Holborn; 

 Estate Grammar School on Monday, Lord Alverstone re- 

 marked that it was the knowledge acquired in youth which 

 lasted longest. The effort to retain impressions in later 

 life was in marked contrast to that made when the brain 

 was younger. Modern languages, therefore, should be 

 earnestly and carefully studied at school. He was glad ta 

 see a considerable number of pupils had gained honours in 

 English literature. In the hurry and race of modern life 

 there was a tendency to advocate education which would 

 be of immediate assistance to professional life; but he was- 

 strongly of opinion that up to the age of sixteen or seven- 

 teen a boy's education shou'ld be general, and the tempt- 

 .ition to specialise too much should be resisted. A boy 

 vould be a better student and would make a better man. 



NO. 1834. VOL 71] 



