26o 



NATURE 



[January 12, 1905 



be too late for the dissemination of the forecasts by the 

 morning papers. Under the existing arrangements it was 

 found that sixteen out of twenty-four " radiation " fogs 

 and four out of eight '* smolve " fogs were anticipated. 

 The three " cold surface " fogs and four " cloud " fogs 

 were not forecasted. The present forecasts rarely, if ever, 

 contain any indications of the intensity of the fog expected. 

 The problem of the issue of fog warnings for individual 

 districts has been approached from two points of view. 

 As was pointed out in the previous report, the observations 

 of drift smoke, during the incidence of fog usually show 

 an indraught of air to some central district of London, but 

 this is rarely symmetrical ; a preponderating direction, 

 usually identical with that due to the barometric gradient, 

 can in most cases be identified, and plays a most important 

 part in determining the region of thicliest fog. Out of 

 forty-four days of fog twenty-seven showed the thickest fog 

 to leeward, five showed it to windward, while in the remain- 

 ing twelve cases no particular preference for any one locality 

 could be identified. Captain Carpenter had suggested that 

 a more detailed study of the distribution of temperature 

 might prove useful in this connection, and .Mr. Lempfert 

 reproduces diagrams which show conspicuous differences of 

 temperature within the London area, in which the thickest 

 fog is also to be found in the coldest region. Four out of 

 the five apparently e.xceptional cases in which fog was 

 thickest to windward show the lowest temperatures also on 

 the windward side. It is the more to be regretted that 

 the inquiry has had to be discontinued as the winter proved 

 to be singularly free from fog. Investigation of the thick 

 fogs of the present season from this point of view would 

 probably have yielded interesting results. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 

 Edinburgh. — The annual report for 1904 shows that the 

 total annual value of the university fellowships, scholar- 

 ships, bursaries, and prizes now amounts to about 18,270/. 

 In addition, a sum of upwards of 6ooi., being the income of 

 the Earl of Moray endowment fund, is annually available 

 for the encouragement of original research. .-Vs alreadv 

 announced, in response to the appeal for subscriptions to 

 provide for the further development of the university, Sir 

 Donald Currie has made the munificent gift of 25,000/. He 

 has expressed a wish that the revenue from his money 

 should be applied to the remuneration of a staff of lecturers 

 such as the authorities of the university may find it advisable 

 from time to time to appoint. The university court, being 

 desirous of permanently associating his name with the fund, 

 has resolved to designate it " The Sir Donald Currie 

 Lectureship Endowment Fund." Other contributions to the 

 extension scheme have also been intimated to the extent of 

 15,000;., including a sum of 5000!. given by Sir John 

 Jackson to the Tait memorial fund, for the encouragement 

 of physical research. 



Liverpool. — The committee of the institute of archae- 

 ology has been enabled by the munificence of Sir John 

 Brunner to take in hand the publication of a " History of 

 Egypt," to include all the results of modern research, and 

 to be, so far as possible, a complete history of the Egyptian 

 civilisation from the earliest times down to the conquest 

 by Alexander the Great. It is estimated that the work will 

 take two years to complete, and it will be published with 

 full photographic illustrations. 



A CONFERENCE On school hygiene has been arranged bv 

 the Royal Sanitary Institute, to be held in the University 

 of London, under the presidentship of Sir Arthur W. Riicker, 

 F.R.S., on February 7-10. 



A COURSE of ten lectures on " Enzymes " will be given 

 by Dr. \V. M. Bayliss, F.R.S., at University College, 

 London, commencing on January 18. The lectures are open 

 to all internal students of the university, and also to medical 

 men on presentation of their cards. 



The sixteenth issue of the " Public School Year Book " 

 — that for 1905 — with its select list of preparatory schools, 

 is as useful as ever. The information given respecting 



NO. 1837, VOL. 71] 



each public school connected with the Headmasters' Con- 

 ference is of just the kind to help parents to a decision as 

 to where to send their boys to be educated. 



Prof. Fritz Heise, of the Berlin School of Mines, has 

 been appointed director of the Bochum School of Mines, and 

 Mr. Georg Baum, the author of several works on coal- 

 mining, has been appointed to succeed him in the Berlin 

 chair. Mr. August Schweman, mine manager of Neurode, 

 has been appointed professor of mining at the Aachen 

 Technical High School to fill the vacancy caused by the 

 death of Mr. Lengemann. 



In view of the educational and scientific progress which 

 Japan has made in recent years, the two lectures on " The 

 Japanese Spirit," which will be delivered by Mr. Y. 

 Okakura, of the Imperial University, Tokyo, at the London 

 School of Economics, Clare Market, W.C., on January 17 

 and January 20, should be of special interest. Tickets of 

 admission may be obtained free from the secretary of the 

 school. 



Science reports that -Mr. W. A. Riebling, of Newark, 

 N.J., has sent an additional 2000/. to the Rensselaer Poly- 

 technic Institute, Troy, N.Y., to be used in replacing the 

 building destroyed by fire. Mr. Riebling gave 2000/. last 

 June. A gift of 1000!. from Mr. George B. Cluett is also 

 announced. Wellesley College has received 3600/., we also 

 learn, from the Robert Charles Billings fund, the income 

 of which is to be applied to the department of botany. 



The West Riding Education Committee has resolved, 

 says the British Medical Journal, subject to certain con- 

 ditions, to make grants, which will doubtless be renewed 

 annually, to the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield of 

 4500/. and 1500/. respectively. In thanking the county 

 council for the grant to Leeds, the Pro-Chancellor, Mr. 

 A. G. Lupton, stated that of the 100,000/. for which the 

 university was now asking a sum of 64,000/. had already 

 been subscribed. 



The 1905 edition of the " Schoolmaster's Yearbook and 

 Directory " follows on the same excellent lines as the issue 

 of last year. It contains an immense amount of well 

 arranged information, and has become indispensable to all 

 engaged in educational work. If the publication continues 

 to increase in size, as it seems to do annually, the section 

 on the books of the year might be dispensed with, as in- 

 formation of the same kind can be obtained from many 

 educational periodicals. The editor is to be congratulated 

 on the fact that this useful work of reference has become 

 established so securely. 



A research scholarship or scholarships, founded by Mr. 

 .Andrew Carnegie, will be awarded shortly on the recom- 

 mendation of the council of the Iron and Steel Institute. 

 Candidates, who must be under thirty-five years of age, 

 must apply on a special form before the end of February 

 to the secretary of the institute. The object of this scheme 

 of scholarships is not to facilitate ordinary collegiate 

 studies, but to enable students, who have passed through 

 a college curriculum or have been trained in industrial 

 establishments, to conduct researches in the metallurgy of 

 iron and steel and allied subjects, with the view of aiding 

 its advance or its application to industry. There is no 

 restriction as to the place of research which may be selected, 

 whether university, technical school, or works, provided it 

 be properly equipped for the prosecution of metallurgical 

 investigations. 



.A conference of teachers from elementary and secondary 

 schools and technical institutes was held under the auspices 

 of the London County Council at the Medical Examination 

 Hall, Victoria Embankment, on January 5, 0. and 7. On 

 the first of these days, under the presidency of Sir William 

 Collins, the teaching of arithmetic was discussed. Mr. 

 C. T. Millis, principal of the Borough Polytechnic, said 

 that what is needed in the teaching of arithmetic is that 

 some of the time now spent in teaching special rules in 

 money sums should be devoted to giving a sound know- 

 ledge of general principles. Mr. S. O. .'\ndrew, during the 

 course of a paper on the same subject, remarked that what- 

 ever part of arithmetic may be given up or postponed, there 

 is a general agreement that it must still include a know- 



