January y, 1919] 



NATURE 



6, 5 



, ,t ;oo francs), for statistical research in am 1 



and Philosophy 0/ Science. — Binoux prize 

 ■ mcs). 

 Medal dal, awarded by the Academj for 



a scientifii d aiding merit; La\ 



in chemistry; Berthelol 



arded annuall; to the recipients oi prizes 



in chemistry. 



General Pri • Prizi founded bj thi State (3000 



• i, subji 1 1 proposi d toi 1920 : To impi ovi thi 



ol functions of .1 variable susceptible of repre- 



ations bj trigo es of several arguments, 



functions ol this variable; Bordin prize (3000 



francs ed: Study of the sedimentary 



, 500 ii am s), for general em- 



bryolog} applied so fai as possible to physiology and 



medicine; Houllevigue prize (5000 francs), for work in 



the physical sciences; Saintour prize (3000 francs), for 



the same; Henri de Parville prize (1500 francs), for 



a booU "ii original science or scientific popularisation; 



Lonchampl francs), to the author of the 



memoir on the diseases of man, animals, and 



plants, especiall) from the point of view of the 



introduction of mineral substances in excess as the 



causi of these diseases; * Henry Wilde prize (4000 



j, for discovery or work in astronomy, physics, 



chemistry, mineralogy, geology, or experimental 



mechanics; Camere prize (4000 francs), for a French 



engineer who has personally conceived, studied, and 



realised a work the use of which results in progress 



in the art of construction; Gustave Roux prize (1000 



francs, undivided); Thorlet prize (1600 francs). 



Special Foundations. — Lannelongue foundation (2000 

 francs), for the assistance of one or two persons in 

 needy circumstances connected with the scientific 

 world. 



Prix des Grandes Ecoles. — Laplace prize (works of 

 ice), to the student leaving the Ecole Poly- 

 technique with the first place; L.-E. Rivot prize (2500 

 s), between the four students leaving each year 

 the Ecole Polvtechnique with first and second places 

 in the corps des mines and the fonts et cliaussees. 



Foundations for Scientific Research. — Tremont 

 foundation (1000 francs), for assisting work useful to 

 liimce; Gegner foundation (4000 francs), to assist 

 a struggling scientific man already known by his 

 work; [erome Ponti foundation (3500 francs), for 

 work in physical science; Henri Becquerel founda- 

 tion (3000 francs), to be used for furthering the pro- 

 of science; Bonaparte fund (minimum grant 

 2000 francs), for facilitating researches by workers 

 known by their original publications, and who lai !< 

 tent researches to undertake or continue their 

 ions; Loutreuil 'foundation (125,000 francs), 

 for encouraging the progress of science in colleges in 

 Pa and the provinces (excluding the universities), 

 1 II as by independent workers, the creation and 

 equip 1 I I tborati rii the development of col- 



. scientifii publii ations, and scii ntific 

 expeditions. 



THE ISSOCJATIOh OF PUBLIC SCHOOL 

 SCIENCE MASTERS. 



Til! nineteenth annual general meeting of this 

 association was held at the London Day Train- 

 1 December 31 and January 1. During 

 the discussions the predominant topic was thi dangei 

 of undue specialisation on the part of boys at school. 

 It was refreshing to notice that science masters do 

 not merely grumble at the unfair amount of time 

 devoted to the more deep-rooted subjects of school 

 curricula, but also recognise the error of early 

 OL. I02] 



pi 1 ialisation within their own subject. This note was 

 struck b) Sir Ronald Ross, who presided throughout 

 the meeting. In his opening address (the main part 

 ol which appears elsewhere in this issue) he said that 

 il was not only in their classical studies thai thi 

 boys were kept too long pottering about the porch 

 ol the temple; that error also lies in attempting too 

 mui h detail at the outset. 



I he recent meetings of the association have shown 

 that more ami more importance is being given to 

 breadth of view in the teaching of science to young 

 boys, ["here is a breaking away from the traditional 

 chemistry, heat and light, as the only suitabli 

 scientific food for the young. Mr. W. D. Eggar said 

 that at Eton College the experiment had been tried 

 of making the classical masters responsible for some 

 1 ; the science teaching in the lower parts of the 

 school. During the past term astronomy had provided 

 the subject-matter, and he was well satisfied with the 

 work that had been done. In the course of the discus- 

 sion which followed Mr. Eggar's speech there were 

 frequent expressions of dissatisfaction with the new 

 regulations of the Oxford and Cambridge Joinf 

 Examining Board for the School Certificate Examina- 

 tion. A resolution was passed that the syllabus should 

 be broadened by the inclusion of an alternative papei 

 on general science. 



The Rev. S. A. McDowall spoke of the scieno 

 taught to the classical Sixth Forms at Winchester 

 College. By the time the boys have reached this 

 eminence they have spent some years in learning the 

 grammar of science. Then the attempt is made to 

 co-ordinate their knowledge, to draw general con- 

 clusions, and to learn something of the philosophy of 

 science. "The aim is," to quote Mr. McDowall's 

 words, " that the boy shall leave school with a certain 

 power of detached judgment and criticism ; that his 

 attitude to the experiences of his ordinary life shall 

 be a scientific one ; and that he shall feel that physical 

 and chemical facts underlie human activities and 

 human problems." 



Mr. F. S. Young, headmaster of Bishop's Stortford 

 College, urged the importance of restricting specialisa- 

 tion in examinations for scholarships at the universi- 

 ties. The present system, he said, led to narrowness 

 of outlook. He suggested that candidates should not 

 be admitted to such examinations unless they had 

 shown evidence of a satisfactory general education ; 

 that they should be required to offer subjects both 

 cognate with and subsidiary to their main one; and 

 that their performance in these should be considered 

 fully in the awarding of scholarships. Mr. A. 

 Hutchinson (Pembroke College, Cambridge) said that 

 when the present system of scholarship examinations 

 originated, education at the public schools was 

 synonymous with specialisation in classics. He 

 thought that even under present conditions candidates 

 for science scholarships were less specialised than 

 their classical and mathematical brethren, as they 

 had for the most part a considerable mathematical 

 equipment in addition to their knowledge of 

 science. At Cambridge, he said, great care was now 

 taken that candidates who offered two subjects, 

 e.g. history and modern languages, were given full 

 credit for their work, even if they failed to reach in 

 either subject the standard attained by candidates who 

 offered one subject onlv. Prof. A. C. Seward (Master 

 of Downing College, Cambridge) said that at present 

 the standards required in the candidates' special sub- 

 jects were far too high, and that, so far, the means 

 applii d for testing the general knowledge of the candi- 

 dates had, for the most part, been farcical. Col. A. 

 Smithells (professor of chemistry, University of Leeds) 

 considered thai the difficulty had been met in his own 



