246 
NATURE 
[JuLy 13, 1899 
blending at the summit ‘‘in a triumph of whitest white.” with 
a second bow above it, and ‘‘a wondrous sequence” beyond 
that, is evidently the hybrid offspring of fancy and that in- 
accurate observation of phenomena which seems inevitable 
without scientific training, especially as, while evening service 
is going on in Zion Chapel, the moon's ‘full face” is shining 
in the West, and the bow appears in ‘‘ the evpty other half of 
the sky,” ‘‘North and South and East.” The effect of ‘‘ the 
flying moon” trying to break out of its “‘ramparted cloud 
prison” is, however, very graphically described. 
But I should like to know when and where the poet could 
have seen his Aurora. BeaWeas: 
July 8. 
A Plague of Frogs. 
Tuis afternoon, as I was walking into Lickey Village from 
King’s Norton, I came across innumerable frogs. They lined 
the hedges and covered the road so thickly that I had to walk 
on tiptoe. I thus proceeded quite 400 yards, where the 
phenomenon ended as sharply defined as it had begun. 
Nowhere else along the road was a frog to be seen. I was par- 
ticularly astonished, as I knew the nearest water to be the Little 
Reservoir—quite 4+ mile away. The frogs were about ten 
days old, verysmall. A cottage stood about 300 yards from the 
beginning of this swarm. Upon inquiry I ascertained that the 
frogs had thus congregated since noon on Monday, that they 
had literally besieged the house, jumping allover the ground- 
floor rooms, that the garden and its paths were full of them. 
The present occupants had lived there 44 years, but had never 
experienced anything like this. They have sometimes seen a few 
frogs cross the road in wet weather. They are now occupied 
with brushing them out of doors. Can any of your readers 
explain the cause of this extraordinary spectacle ? 
King’s Norton, Birmingham, July 5. F. H. Forrey. 
THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON. 
As we went to press last week, an adjourned meeting 
of the Senate of the University of London was 
being held to discuss the report of the special committee 
appointed to consider the offer of the Government to 
house the University in the Imperial Institute. The 
history of the negotiations that have taken place may be 
read in the abridged report published in last week’s 
NATURE; and the facts contained in that statement 
formed the basis of the discussion in the Senate. In the 
end the offer of the Government was accepted, the 
following resolution, proposed by Sir Edward Fry and 
seconded by Mr. Bryce, being carried bya large majority : 
“That the Senate accepts the proposal of Her Majesty’s 
Government as far as it provides in the buildings of the 
Imperial Institute accommodation for the work hitherto done 
by the University ; and authorises the Committee consisting 
of the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, and Sir J. G. Fitch to 
settle the formal terms of agreement with the Government, 
and the Senate reserves the right of the University to hereafter 
request the Government to make further provision for such 
further needs as may arise in the future.” 
By this resolution the question of the future head- 
quarters of the University is practically settled. The 
schemes of organisation of the constituent Colleges of the 
University and future possible teaching centres are now 
matters of the highest importance, for by them the future 
work and influence of the University will be determined. 
An ideal University should encourage the advancement of 
every branch of knowledge which assists human progress, 
and it can only do this by admitting into its constitution 
all subjects with which men of “light and leading” are 
concerned. It can hardly be held that the University of 
London has satisfied these conditions in the past, but 
under the new constitution we may confidently hope that 
a wider view will be taken of its functions and respons- 
ibilities. We have no longer to deal merely with a body 
authorised to confer degrees by examination, but with a 
NO. 1550, VOL. 60] 
living organisation taking part in the actual work of 
instruction. The teachers in this great University will 
feel that the interests of the University are their own 
interests, and that their work is not to have for its end 
the preparation of candidates for degrees, but to en- 
courage students to work for the dignity and influence 
of their alma mater. 
There are several directions in which the work of the 
University ought to be developed. Law and medicine 
should, of course, have their Faculties, as they have in 
the Universities of Paris, Bologna and elsewhere ; and 
we may surely look to those institutions which have for 
centuries kept the lamp burning in the absence of a 
University for the needed heip. Higher commercial 
education can be provided for by the establishment of 
a School of Economics and Political Science organised 
at the Imperial Institute itself. The exceptional facilities 
offered by the Institute for the work of a school of this 
character were referred to in an article in NATURE of 
April 20 in the following words : 
“ The well-arranged collections of Indian and Colonial 
products, which form a most important part of the equip- 
ment of the Imperial Institute, would be found of 
especial value in illustrating the teaching of that branch 
of commercial education known as Waarenkunde. No- 
where else in London do similar facilities exist for in- 
struction in the technology of commercial products. 
Within the building, too, has been provided a chemical 
laboratory, which is now largely used for the examination 
and analysis of foreign products; and much of the 
scientific investigation therein carried on, under the able 
direction of Prof. Dunstan, is an essential feature in the 
programme of a high school of commerce. Indeed, a 
large part of the work which entered into the original 
scheme of the promoters of the Imperial Institute might, 
it would seem, consistently, and with great advantage to 
the public, be continued in that Institute under the 
auspices of a school of economics, industry and com- 
merce, in connection with the reconstituted University of 
London. Whether such an arrangement can be effected 
is a matter for careful consideration; but there is no 
doubt that the association with the new University of a 
school of ‘economics and political science,’ under a 
separate Faculty, suggests a reasonable basis of union 
between the educational side of the Imperial Institute 
and the future University of London.” 
In connection with this suggestion, another point well 
deserves consideration. The support which the Colonies 
have given to the Institute has been in some cases with- 
drawn on the ground that no advantage was derived from 
it. But with a commercial school at the Institute 
colonial students could come over to pursue their studies 
in the midst of collections illustrating the products of 
their homes, and the training they would receive with 
such an environment would ultimately be used for the 
benefit of the Colonies, so that an adequate return would 
be made for whatever support was given. In fact, it 
seems that the use of the collections for the purposes of 
instruction in connection with the new University would 
satisfactorily settle the question of the service of the 
Institute to the Colonies, as well as give colonial students 
an opportunity of obtaining a degree under the very best 
conditions. 
If the example is once set by using the Institute 
collections to illustrate courses of instruction on colonial 
products and industries, it is to be hoped that the other 
special collections which abound in London illustrating 
many other branches of culture may also be utilised for 
University purposes. With its new resources and facili- 
ties for advanced teaching, the University is given the 
opportunity of widely increasing its sphere of influence ; 
and friends of education and national progress look to 
it to make the best use of the opportunities which the 
new headquarters will afford. 
