Feb. I, 1 872 J 



NATURE 



271 



The Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the 

 Nervous System. — (F) Leuret's and Gratiolet's Anatomic 

 Comparde du Systeme Nerveux, Tom. ii., par M. Pierre 

 Gratiolet, 1857 ; (F) Vulpian's Lemons sur le Systime 

 Nerveux; Broivn-Sdquard's Lectures, 1S65. 



The Comparative Anatomy and Pliysiology 0/ the Re- 

 prodiieiive Systems. — Physiological Catalogue of the 

 Royal College of Surgeons, vols. iv. and v. ; (G) Kolliker's 

 Entwickelungsgeschichte, 1861 ; (F) Milne-Kdwards 

 Legons, vol. ix. 



Ethnology. — Brace's Races of the Old World, ed. 2, 

 1870. 



5. Candidates who offer themselves for examination 

 in Geology, Zoology, or Botany will be required to ex- 

 hibit practical acquaintance with those subjects to at least 

 the same extent as candidates who offer themselves for 

 examination in any one of the special subjects above 

 mentioned are required to do with reference to those sub- 

 jects. But they will not be required to go through the 

 same amount of practical work in the departments of 

 Biology not specially connected with Geology, Zoology, 

 or Botany as candidates who do not bring up any one of 

 these three subjects. 



NOTES 



The Senior Wrangler for the present year is Mr. Robert 

 Rumsey Webb, son of the late Mr. Thomas Webb, of Mon- 

 mouth. He was educated under the Rev. C. M. Roberts, M. A. 

 (St. John's College, Cambridge), at the Monmouth Grammar 

 School, and entered at St. John's College in October 1S6S, 

 having previoubly obtained a Somerset Exhibition by open com- 

 petitii-n. Mr. Webb's college tutor was Mr. J. E. Sandys ; his 

 private tutor Mr. Routh, of St. Peter's. Mr. Horace Lamb, the 

 Second Wrangler, was born at Stockport, in November 1S49, 

 was educated at the Stockport Grammar School, and for a sh^rt 

 time studied at Owens College, Manchester. In the year 1868 

 he gained a minor scholarship at Trinity College, and in 1870 

 was elected to a Foundation Scholarship. He was placed in the 

 first class in the First B.A. Mathematical Honour Examination 

 in the University of London in 1870 ; and in the succeeding year 

 gained the Sheepshanks Astronomical Exhibition at Trinity 

 College. His college tutor was Mr. Prior ; private tutor, Mr. 

 Routh, of St. Peter's. Mr. Juhn Bascombe Lock, the Third 

 Wrangler, son of Mr. Joseph Lock, of Dorchester, was educated 

 at the Bristol Grammar School. In the Easter Term of 186S he 

 obtained an open Mathematical Scholarship at Caius College, 

 where he obtained a Foundation Scholarship in May. Mr. 

 Routh was his private tutor, and Mr. N. M. Ferrers his college 

 tutor. 



The following are the lectures on Science at the University of 

 Oxford this term : — The Rev. Bartholomew Price, the Sedleian 

 Professor of Natural Philosophy, on Light ; theSavilian Professor 

 of Astronomy, Rev. C. Pritchard, on Newton's "Principia" and 

 the Lunar Theory ; Prof Clifton, Professor of Experimental 

 Philosophy, on Experimental Optics ; Prof. Westwood, Professor 

 of Zoology, on the Classes and Orders of Articulated Animals ; 

 Prof Phillips, Professor of Geology, on the Geology of the 

 country round Oxford ; Prof. RoUeston, Professor of Anatomy, 

 on Digestion. In addition to these lectures Prof Clifton an- 

 nounces that the physical laboratory of the University will be 

 open daily for instruction in Practical Physics from 10 to 4 

 o'clock each day. Prof. RoUeston proposes to form classes for 

 practical instruction as in former Terms. The Chemical 

 Laboratory is open as usual for Quantitative and Qualitative 

 analysis. Dr. Aclmd, the Regius Professor of Medicine, als : 

 annuunces that, in addition to his course ol clinical instruction ai 

 the infirmary, he "will also on days and places to be hereafter 



mentioned demonstrate on the spot sanitary defects in a town and 

 in a village, illustrating thereon principles of general and special 

 sanitary administration." In the Laboratory of the Medical 

 Department at the University Museum various methods of exa- 

 mining water and other subjects connected with sanitary science 

 will be taught, commencing on February i, by Mr. C. C. Pode, 

 M.B., Exeter College, with the assistance of Mr. S. J. Sharkey, 

 B. A., of Jesus College. Those lectures and demonstrations on 

 sanitary matters are a novel and peculiarly-interesting feature in- 

 troduced this Term for the first time. 



Dr. Paget has been appointed Regius Professor of Medicine 

 at the University of Cambridge. 



The Professorship of Botany in the Royal College of Science 

 for Ireland is vacant by the resignation of Prof. W. T. Thiselton. 

 Dyer. 



The King of Italy has conferred upon Mr. Edward Whym- 

 per, Vice-President of the Alpine Club, the decoration of 

 Chevalier of the Order of St. Maurice et Lazare, "in recognition 

 of the value of his recently pubUshed magnificent work upon the 

 Alps." 



We have to record the death, on Saturday last, of Dr. W. 

 Baird, F. R.S., of the Zoological Department of the British 

 Museum, at the age of 69. 



The American Academy of Arts and Sciences on the 9th of 

 January presented the American Rumford Medals to Mr. J. 

 Harrison, jun., of Philadelphia, for his invention of safety 

 boilers. The medals are provided for by an endowment fund or 

 gift of 5,000 dols. in the United States Funds, to the Academy, 

 made by Count Rumford in 1796. By the conditions of this 

 endowment the interest of the fund is to be applied " every 

 second year" to the procuring of two medals, one of gold and 

 one of silver, in value equal to the amount of two years' interest 

 of the fund (600 dols.), and these medals (or their equivalent in 

 money) are to be awarded to the author of the most impor- 

 tant discovery or useful improvement in the application of 

 heat or light, which shall, in the opinion of the Academy, 

 "tend most to promote the good of mankind." Although 

 the fund was provided at that early day no discovery or im- 

 provement of sufficient importance, in the opinion of the 

 Academy, appeared until 1S59, when the first award was 

 made to Dr. Robert Hare, of Philadelphia, for his compound 

 oxy-hydrogen blowpipe and improvements in galvanic apparatus. 

 Since then the awards of the medal have been as follows ; — 1S62, 

 Jo'nn B. Ericsson, for his caloric engine ; 1S65, Prof. Daniel Tread- 

 well (Harvard College), for improvements in the management of 

 heat ; 1867, Alvan Clark, for improvement in lens of refracting 

 telescope; 1870, George H. Corliss, Providence, for improvements 

 in the steam-engine ; 1871, Joseph Harrison, jun., Philadelphia, 

 for "the mode of constructing steam boilers invented and perfected 

 by him," which " secures great safety in the use of high-pressure 

 steam, and is, therefore an important improvement in the appli- 

 cation of heat." 



A MEETING in aid of the Livingstone Exploration Fund was 

 held in the City of London on Tuesday last, the Lord Mayor in 

 the chair ; the subscriptions received in the room amounting to 

 over 250/. Sir H. Rawlinson announced at the meeting that he 

 had that day received from the Foreign Office a despatch which 

 was to be presented by Lieutenant Llewellyn Dawson to the 

 Government agent at Zanzibar, in which Dr. Kiik was in- 

 structed to give to Lieutenant Dawson all the advice and assistance 

 in his power, and was authorised to advance any sum which 

 might be required for the purposes of the expedition within the 

 limit of the balance of the Government grant of 1,000/ , which 

 remained in his hands, and which, according to the last account, 

 amounted to 650/. He also staled that the subscriptions already 

 received reached 2,700/. or 2,800/. 



