74 



NA TURE 



\May 24, 1877 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE 



Cambridge. — At a Congregation on May 17, the Vice-Chan- 

 cellor, the Master of Emmanuel, Professors Cayley, Adams, 

 Clerk-Maxwell, Stuart ; Messrs. V. Frost, St. John's ; J. Tod- 

 hunter, St. John's ; H. W. Besant, St. John's ; N. M. Ferrers, 

 Caius|; E. J. Routh, St. Peters ; A. Freeman, St. John's ; H. H. 

 Taylor, Trinity; W. D. Niven, Trinity; R. T. Wright, 

 Christ's ; C. H. Prior, Pembroke ; W. Garnett, St. John's ; 

 and Lord Raleigh, Trinity, were appointed a Syndicate to con- 

 sider the higher Mathematical Studies and Examinations of the 

 University. 



The Chancellor's gold medal, given annually to a resident 

 undergraduate wlio shall compose the best English poem, has 

 been adjudged to Edmund VVhytehead Howson, Scholar of 

 King's College. The subject of the poem is " The Heroism of 

 Arctic Exploration." 



The Moderators and Examiners for the Mathematical Tripos 

 have presented a report of the results of the examination to the 

 Board of Mathematical Studies, from which it appears that no 

 candidates were examined. Of that number 36 were classed as 

 Wranglers, 29 as Senior Optimes, 30 as Junior Optimes, one 

 obtained an yEgrotat degree, and 14 were found to be not worthy 

 of mathematical honours. The full marks were 18,643 i 'lis 

 average obtained by the first ten Wranglers was 5,748 ; of the 

 last ten Wranglers, 1,794; of the first ten Senior Optimes, 

 1,506 ; and of the first ten Junior Optimes, 721. The Addi- 

 tional Examiner (Mr. II. W. Watson) reports that the work 

 done by the best men in the higher physics was very satisfactory, 

 and proved the interest and success with which those subjects 

 are now being studied in tlie University. At the same time 

 there were indications of the tendency of the reading in this part 

 of the course to become too diffuse and unmathematical. This 

 tendency may be kept in check, in the first place, by framing the 

 papers in such a manner — whether by the adoption of alternative 

 questions or otherwise — as shall make too diffuse reading in the 

 higher subjects unprofitable or even impossible ; and, in the 

 second place, by providing that every question set in these sub- 

 jects shall be accomp.anied by a rider of strictly definite mathe- 

 matical character, and of a difficulty proportioned to the weight 

 assigned to the bookwork. 



The Board for admitting and superintending non-coUegiate 

 students give notice that an exhibition of 50/. a-year, tenable for 

 three years, granted by the Worshipful Company of Cloth- 

 workers for the encouragement of proficiency in physical science, 

 wi'l be awarded by means of the Certificate Examination, to be 

 held next December, under the authority of the Oxford and 

 Cambridge Schools Examination Board. Candidates must be 

 either non-collegiate students in their first terra of residence, or 

 persons who have not commenced residence in the University. 

 Full information may be obtained from the Censor of non- 

 collegiate students, the Rev. R. B. Somerset, Cambridge. 



Gilchrist Trust Prizes. — The first (in London) presenta- 

 tion of prizes in physiology under the direction of the Gilchrist 

 Trustees was made on Tuesday, last week, at the large room of 

 the Society of Arts. The chair was occupied by the Rev. J. 

 Rodgers, M.A., Vice-Chairman of the London School Board, 

 supported by Dr. Carpenter, C.B., F.R.S., secretary to the 

 Gilchrist Trust Fund, and others. The prizes were awarded to 

 students who, as elementary school teachers, had attended the 

 course of lectures on physiology recently delivered by Dr. B. W. 

 Richardson, at St. Thomas's School, Charterhouse, and who 

 had submitted to the examination with which the course was 

 brought to a close. A large number of students entered into 

 competition, and in the end prizes and certificates were awarded 

 in the following order to four competitors :— John Pilley, George 

 Price, W. R. Cory, and Maria J. Menzies ; and certificates to 

 Mary C. Menzies and Messrs. C. E. Marks, C. W. Shreeve, 

 PL Steadman, J. F. Adcock, and G. Garland. In the course of 

 the proceedings Dr. Carpenter gave a very interesting account of 

 the origin of the Gilchrist Trust and of its founder, and the 

 chairman delivered a very earnest and admirable address on the 

 progress of education and on the value of the lectures such as had 

 been delivered, and which he had liimself attended. 



Working Men and Science.-— On Saturday afternoon the 

 members of the Working Men's Clubs, under the auspices of the 

 Working Men's Club Union, paid a visit, by permission of the 

 Royal College of Surgeons, to the magnificent museum founded 

 by John Hunter, and attached to the building of the College 



in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Prof. Flower, the Curator, received 

 the visitors, who were conducted into the first great hall, where 

 Prof. Flower gave a general description of the Museum. The 

 visitors manifested an unmistakably genuine interest in the col- 

 lection, and in Prof. Flower's descriptions, and at the conclusion 

 of the visit one of the party, on behalf of his comrades, gave 

 hearty thanks to the Professor and to the Council of the College, 

 for the treat which had been afforded to them, and said it was 

 altogether a mistake to suppose that the working men took no 

 interest in science. The Professor said it afforded him much 

 pleasure to show the museum, and especially so when he found 

 his labours thus appreciated. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



London 



Royal Society, May 3. — "On the Temperature-correction 

 and Induction-coefficients of Magnets," by G. M. Whipple, 

 B.Sc, Superintendent of Kew Observatory. Communicated by 

 Robert II. Scott, F.R.S. 



" Distribution of the Radicals of Electrolytes upon an Insu- 

 lated Metallic Conductor," by Alfred Tribe, Lecturer on Che- 

 mistry in Dulwich College. Communicated by Dr. Gladstone, 

 F.R.S. 



May 17. — "On Hyperjacobian Surfaces and Curves," by 

 William Spottisvvoode, M.A., Treas.R.S. 



Royal Astronomical Society, May 11. — Dr. Huggins, 

 F.R.S., president, in the chair. — A gift of 500/. was announced 

 from Mr. C. J. Lambert, being part of the sum bequeathed by 

 his late father to scientific societies. The special thanks of the 

 meeting were voted to Mr. Lambert. — The Astronomer- Royal 

 pointed out an inaccuracy in a description of meteors by a certain 

 "J. W. M." — Mr. Penrose read a paper (and explained a 

 diagram) on the correction for the spheroidal figure of the earth. 

 — Lord Lindsay spoke upon the two comets B and C of 1S77. 

 Winnecke's showed thrte bright lines on a weak continuous 

 spectrum which he described. The president mnde some re- 

 marks thereon : there were two distinct spectra shown by comets ; 

 one was limited to two particular comets ; the carbon spectrum 

 was common to all the rest. — Lord Lindsay described the 4-inch 

 hehometer which he had placed at the disposal of Mr. Gill for 

 his expedition to Ascension to measure tlie parallax of Mars. 

 The object glass was made by Mertz, and cut and mounted as a 

 heliometer by Repsold ; the pillar and equatorial mounting being 

 that provided by Messrs. Cooke, of York, for an 8-inch tele- 

 scope. The halves of the object-glass were moved in circular 

 grooves by means of a handle near the eye-piece, so that 

 they could be separated without jiutting the object out of focus. 

 Several other details were pointed out, one of them being a 

 movable wire screen adapted to equalise the light of two objects 

 of different brightness under measurement. Mr. De la Rue ad- 

 mired the stability and rigidity of the instrument. The Astronomer- 

 Royal would have had the declination axis and the polar axis 

 twice as large. Mr. Gill vindicated the steadiness of Lord 

 Lindsay's heliometer, and described an accident by which it 

 narrowly escaped being smashed ; whicli accident occurred 

 through the instrument having Ijeen represented as an *' uni- 

 versal equatorial," whereas it was nothing of the kind ; the 

 elevating screw having run out whilst being set to the latitude of 

 ascension, the polar axis was shot out of its collar on to the 

 lloor. Mr. Gill then spoke upon the positions of the planets 

 Ariadne, Melpomone, and Iris, and their special merit of having 

 no sensible disc. — Dr. De la Rue again referred to the axes 

 of the heliometer, wliich he said were eight times as strong 

 as Repsold thought sufficient. The Astronomer-Royal said 

 it was perfectly adapted to the purpose intended. — A note 

 was read from Padre Secchi on an alleged fall of a meteo- 

 rite in Italy which turned out to be untrue. — Mr. Lecky 

 related how he had made a good artificial liorizon by filling a 

 blackened trough witli glycerine. — A catalogue of double stars 

 was presented by Messrs. Wilson and Seabroke, of the Temple 

 Observatory, measured with a parallel wire micrometer and a 

 power of 400. Mr. Dunkin said the only fault was the omission 

 of the R.A. and N.P.D., which necessitated the use of two 

 catalogues. — A note was read from i\Ir. Proctor referring to his 

 cliart of 3,976^ stars. — Mr. Green laid before the Society some 

 paper impressed with blank discs to aid observers in drawuig 

 the features of Mars, so prepared that lights could be taken out 

 with ease and precision. — Mr. Christie described Prof. Ztnger's 



