492 
cussed the needs of the student and the layman. The | from the pessimism of the presidential address. 
latter needs good labels and effective guidance; the | 
former wants access and privacy. The first duty of | 
the curator was, however, concerned with neither. 
His primary business was to preserve. 
Dr. Browne told what the Classical Association of | 
Ireland were doing to encourage the use of Realien 
in the teaching of Latin and Greek. Dr. Bather 
would have special provision for children, and sug- 
gested the provision of fellowships and research 
scholarships in connection with museums. Dr. 
Haddon spoke of the courage needed to refuse ir- 
relevant objects offered by distinguished donors. A 
clear idea of the object of the museum and unswerving 
adherence to that function was, in his view, essential 
to successful educational work. 
Mr. Bolton, Dr. Harrison, and Mr. H. R. Rathbone 
supported a suggestion to form a committee to con- 
sider and report upon the whole subject of museum 
organisation from the viewpoint of their educational 
functions. Prof. Newberry described the work already 
done in Liverpool, and suggested that the label should 
be written first and the illustrative objects gathered 
about it. The general feeling that museums might 
be made to render better educational service was a 
particularly pleasing feature of the debate. A com- 
mittee with representatives from Sections C, D, H, K, 
and L was subsequently formed, with the object of 
reporting to the Manchester meeting in 1915. 
On Tuesday morning the section was busied with 
the subjects of compulsory school registration and 
manual work in education. Bishop Welldon, Dr. 
Sophie Bryant, and Mrs. Shaw spoke strongly in 
favour of State action in the matter. Bishop 
McIntyre, as representing Catholic feeling, supported 
the idea, with the proviso that schools were left free 
to determine the form and spirit. of the education they 
provide. Mr. Ernest Gray thought action would 
be easier if provision were made for compensation in 
case a man’s livelihood were taken away. Mr. A. 
Mosely opposed any such idea as compensation in such 
cases. The State cannot compensate for inefficiency. 
The papers on manual work in education were read 
by Mr. P. B. Ballard, Mr. T. S. Usherwood, and 
Mr. W. F. Fowler. Mr. Ballard offered interesting 
evidence of the stimulating effect of handwork in 
school; Mr. Usherwood and Mr. Fowler, from the 
secondary school and primary school point of view 
respectively, argued in favour of freedom and initia- 
tive as opposed to series of graduated exercises based 
upon an adult view of the elementary processes in- 
volved in manipulation. A short discussion followed, 
in which the old battle between freedom and technique 
was fought, though the feeling of the meeting was 
clearly in favour of the newer view. 
The last meeting of the section was given to a 
discussion on the subject of the working of the 
Education Act of 1902. Sir George Fordham opened 
in an interesting review of the problems which the 
Act presented to a county area like that of Cam- 
bridge, and of the way his authority had met them. 
Mr. W. A. Brockington joined issue with those who 
regarded the act as a failure and who called for a 
reversion to ad hoc authorities. The birth of an 
interest in secondary education was directly due 
to the Act. At the same time, some amendments in 
detail were called for, amongst others those sections 
dealing with differential rating and with foundation 
managers of | non-provided — schools. Alderman 
Pritchett, Mr. Ernest Gray, and others also spoke 
warmly ofthe working of the Act and of the import- 
ance of coopted membership to education authorities. 
Mr. Norman Chamberlain took up the cause of the 
primary school, and expressed his profound dissent 
NO. 2304, VOL. 92] 
NATURE 
[DECEMBER 25, 1913 
The 
section closed with a vote of thanks to the president, 
moved by Sir George Fordhameand seconded by Mr. 
Ernest Gray. ' 
‘ 
BEIT MEMORIAL FELLOWSHIPS. 
7 MEETING of the trustees of the Beit Memorial 
Fellowships for Medical Research was held on 
December 17. Dr. F. Gowland Hopkins, F.R.S., 
was appointed a member of the advisory board in suc- 
cession to Sir William Osler, Bart., F.R.S., resigned. 
The Francis Galton Eugenics Laboratory was recog- 
nised as a place of research. The annual election to 
Beit Fellowships was made. The following persons 
were chosen this year, and we give in each case 
the character of the proposed research and the institu- 
tion at which the work is to be carried out. 
Dr. John O. W. Barratt, study of nature and mode 
of action of substances contained in or derived from 
blood plasma and taking part in plasma or serum 
reactions; also cytological studies—the Lister Insti- 
tute; Dr. Myer Coplans, study of immunity with 
special reference to the action of silicates gst 
the asbestos minerals, slag, wool, and the zoolites) 
on bacterial and allied substances—Lister Institute ; 
Mr. Egerton C. Grey, bacteriological chemistry, with 
special reference to the relation between bacterial 
enzymes and chemical configuration—the Lister In- 
stitute; Mr. John R. Marrack, the chemical pathology 
of arthritic diseases—(1) the estimation of the uric 
acid in the blood of patients suffering from certain 
types of arthritic disease; (2) continuation of the work 
on calcium metabolism and organic acid excretion— 
Cambridge Research Hospital; Mr. Victor H. 
Moorhouse, the investigation of the metabolism of 
animals as indexed by the respiratory quotient under 
various conditions, with special reference to the ques- 
tion of diabetes—the Institute of Physiology, Univer- 
sity College, London; Dr. G. E. Nicholls, to continue 
research on “the investigation of the structure and 
function of the subcommissural organ and Reissner’s 
fibre,” which up to the present time has been prin- 
cipally concerned with the lower vertebrates; the study. 
of the “pineal region of the brain’”—the Biological 
and Physiological Laboratories at King’s College, 
London; Dr. Annie Porter, on the parasitic Entozoa, 
more especially Protozoa and Helminthes, ae 
vertebrates and certain invertebrates—The Quic 
Laboratorv, Medical Schools, Cambridge; the Liver- 
pool School of Tropical Medicine; and, if possible, the 
King Institute of Preventive Medicine, Madras, or the 
Wellcome Research Laboratories, Khartum; Mr. 
J. G. Priestley, investigation into the factors con- 
cerned in the regulation of the excretion of urine-— 
Physiological Department, Oxford; Miss J. I. Robert- 
son, the comparative anatomy and physiology of the 
heart in the first instance; also the study of the 
vertebrate nervous system—the Victoria Infirmary, 
| Glasgow; Miss M. Stephenson, the metabolism of 
fats and its relation to that of carbohydrates in the 
animal body, having special regard to the ight 
afforded by the study of the fat metabolism of diabetic 
animals—Institute of Physiology, University College, 
London: Mr. J. G. Thomson, the cultivation of Pro- 
tozoa (the intention is to obtain knowledge of the 
toxins elaborated by these and the antibodies formed) ; 
the cultivation of tumour tissues—the Lister Institute. 
Each fellowship is of the annual value of 2501. pay- 
able quarterly in advance. The usual tenure is for 
three years, but the trustees have power in exceptional 
cases to grant an extension for one year. All corre- 
spondence should be addressed to the honorary secre- 
tary. Beit Memorial Fellowships for Medical Research, 
35 Clarges Street, W. 
ES EE 
