Nov. 23, 1871 J 



NATURE 



69 



much interest. The Guano deposits of the Chinchas weie tho- 

 roughly explored by the doctor, who found them to be of a much 

 more complicated structure than has hitlrerto been supposed. 



Mr. Mestre, the secretary of the Academy of Sciences of 

 Havana, has lately offered on its behalf certain prizes for memoirs 

 on subjects of medicine and natural history, indicating a grati- 

 fyinfj condition of scientific activity in Cuba. Competition is 

 open 10 persons of all nations, although the memoirs are to be 

 written in the Spanish language. Among the prizes mer.'wcncd 

 by Mr. Mestre is one of three liundred dollars, proposed by the 

 president of the society. Dr. Gutierrez, for the best paper upon a 

 certain beetle, which is very destructive to the sweet-potato. A 

 full account of ihe animal and its habits is required, and the 

 best method of protecting the plants against its ravages. The 

 Zayas premium of one hundred dollars is offered for a paper 

 upon the hygiene of children — to be written as an aid to mothers. 

 Competition for tliese prizes is to close on the ist of March, 

 1S72. 



The Royal Geographical Society has again invited the fol- 

 lowing public schools to take part in the competition for its prize 

 medals in I'&l^ :— English Schools. — St. Peter's College, Radley, 

 Abingdon ; King Edward's School, Birmingham ; Brighton 

 College ; Cathedral Grammar School, Chester ; Cheltenham 

 College ; Clifton College ; Dulwich College ; Eton College ; 

 Haileybury College ; Harrow ; Hurstpierpoint ; Liverpool Col- 

 lege ; Liverpool Institute ; London, — Charter House ; Christ's 

 Hospital ; City of London Scliool ; King's College School ; St. 

 Paul's ; University College School ; Westminster School ; fvoyal 

 Naval School, New Cross ; — Manchester School ; Marlborough 

 College ; L^niversity School, Nottingham ; Repton ; Rossall • 

 Rugby; King's School, Sherborne; Shoreham ; .Shrewsbury; 

 Stonyhurst College, Blackburn ; Uppingham School ; Welling- 

 ton College ; Winchester School. Scotch Schools. — Aberdeen 

 Grammar School ; Edinburgh Academy ; Edinburgh High 

 School ; Glasgow High School. Irish Schools. — Royal Aca- 

 demical Institute, Belfast ; Dungannon Royal School ; Ennis 

 College ; Portora Royal School, Enniskillen ; Foyle College, 

 Londonderry; Rathfarnham, St. Columba's College. Examina- 

 tions will be held in both Physical and Political Geography, the 

 special subjects for 1872 being as follows : — In Physical Geo- 

 graphy ; the Physical Geography of South America and the 

 adjacent Islands, Trinidad, Galapagos, Falkland Islands, and 

 Tierra del Fuego. In Political Geography ; the Geography of 

 the same districts. 



The Bussey Institution School of Agriculture and Horticul- 

 ture, in connection with Harvard University, has been established 

 in execution of the Trusts created by the will of Benjamin 

 Bussey, to give thorough instruction in Agriculture, Useful and 

 Ornamental Gardening, and Stock-Raising. In order to give the 

 student a sound basis for a thorough knowledge of these Arts, 

 the school supplies instruction in physical geography, meteoro- 

 logy, and the elements of geology, in chemistry and physics, in 

 the elements of botany, zoology and entomology, in levelling and 

 road-building, and in French and German. Connected with it 

 are the names of such eminent professors as Asa Gray in 

 botany, Whitney in geology, Shaler in zoology, and Trowbridge 

 in physics. 



A Report on the Physical Laboratory of the Massachusetts 

 Institute of Technology, has been presented to Prof. J. D. 

 Runkle, President of the Institute, by E. C. Pickering, Thaver 

 Professor of Physics. The object designed by the establish- 

 ment of the laboratory was to provide apparatus and other con- 

 venience for the performance of the more common lecture- room 

 experiments, to supply a place where investigations of a high 

 order can be carried on, and to train instructors in physics for 

 the numerous colleges now springing up all over the Continent 



of America. Particulars are given of a number of experiments 

 of high order successfully carried on in the laboratory during 

 the past year. 



England is beginning to acknowledge her forgotten scientific 

 worthies. We learn that a public meeting was held last week 

 at Birmingham, for the purpose of taking steps to establish a 

 memorial to Dr. Priestley. It was resolved that the memorial 

 should embrace three objects, viz., the purchase of a site, a 

 sch^larjiip, and a statue, so as to pay honour to Dr. Priestley 

 both as a pioneer of science and as a champion of civil and religious 

 liberty. A committee was appointed to carry the resolution 

 into effect. It was stated that a sum of 3,000/. would be required, 

 and several handsome subscriptions have been promised. The 

 proposed site is that of the house at Fairhill, where Dr. Priestley 

 resided for eleven yeais. The building was burnt down by 

 rioters in 1791, after which he went to America. 



The Hartley Institution at Southampton has issued its Report 

 for the year ending June 30, 1871. Although the managers of 

 the Institution appear to have especially cultivated the training 

 of engineering students for the Cooper's Hill College and else- 

 where, the report refers with satisfaction to the increased num- 

 ber of students who have entered for general educational training 

 as compared with former years. 



The Proceedings of the Bristol Naturalists' Society, vol. vi., 

 part I, for January to May 1S71, contains the following papers : — 

 The Natural History of the German People, by Dr Beddoe ; 

 On the Origin of Species in Zymotic Diseases, by D. Davies ; 

 Personal Experiences in the Deep-sea Dredging Expedition in 

 H.M.S. Poraipiiu; by W. L. Carpenter; On the Strata com- 

 prising the shores of Waterford Haven, with especial Reference 

 to the Occurrence of Llandeilo Fossils in that Locality, by Major 

 T. Austin ; On the Development of the Carboniferous System 

 in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, by E. W. Claypole ; and 

 On some Gravels in the Valley of the Thames in Berkshire, by 

 E. W. Claypole. Valuable as these papers may be in them- 

 selves, it will be seen that not one of them has any special 

 reference to the natural features of the neighbourhood of Bristol. 



Here is a grand opportunity for our young teachers of science ; 

 we give the trustees the benefit of the advertisement gratis : — 

 " Grammar .School of King Edward VI., Morpeth. — Wanted for 

 the above school during the year 1S72, a competent Master, to 

 instruct the boys in modern languages (French and German indis- 

 pensable). He will be required to attend at least forty days in 

 each half year, and to teach not less than three hours each day. 

 Salary, 50/. per annum. Travelling expenses at the rate of 10/. 

 per annum will be allowed if the master does not reside in Mor- 

 peth. Also, a Master to teach elementary science (botany, che- 

 mistry, and geology indispensable). He will be required to attend 

 twenty days in each half year, and devote three hours each day 

 to teaching. Salary, 25/. per annum. Travelling expenses at 

 the rate of 5/. per annum will be allowed as above. Also, a 

 Master to teach practical drawing (to include mapping, planning, 

 mechanical and architectural drawing). He will be required to 

 attend twenty days in each half year, and devote three hours each 

 day to teaching. Salary, 25/. per annum. Travelling expenses 

 at the rate of 5/. per aimum will be allowed as above. The trus- 

 tees will not object to one master holding the two latter appoint- 

 ments. Applications, accompanied with testimonials, &c., to be 

 sent to me on or before Friday, the istday of December next. — 

 By order, Be.n'j. Woodman, Clerk to Trustees. Morpeth, ist 

 November, 1871." Seriously, we had thought the days gone by 

 when it was deemed possible to teach "botany, chemistry, and 

 geology," to say nothing of the other branches of "elementary 

 science," in sixty hours in each half year, and to remunerate the 

 teacher who is competent to instruct in all these subjects, at the 

 rate of \zs. 6d. per diem and 2s. (sd. extra for travelling expenses ! 



