28 
zon (though she is not visually larger in one place than another), 
therefore we must infer that she is approaching us when she 
nears the horizon, thus showing us her size looming larger as 
she gets nearer. The arguments cut each other’s throats, and 
can be of no use whatever. 
Ilford, E., May 1 C. M. INGLEBY 
Cross Fertilisation 
Tue following peculiarities in the flowers of Helleborus niger 
bear upon the same subject as Mr. Hartog’s observations on 
hazel catkins (NATURE, No, 23), and may be worth noticing. 
The tubular nectaries by which the petals are replaced are more 
or less completely hidden by the stamens. The sepals remain 
for some time half open, and I found that in every case, while the 
flowers were in this state, pollen readily adhered to the stigmas ; 
and on account of the curved shape of the latter, reaching almost 
to the half-closed sepals, an insect visiting the nectaries must 
generally touch them. In such flowers, though the nectaries 
were full, the anthers had not burst, while in those more fully 
open, pollen did not so readily adhere to the stigmas, so that in 
most cases the flowers would be fertilised by pollen from older 
ones, and probably from distinct individuals. In old and widely- 
opened flowers, whose anthers had burst, an insect could hardly 
reach the nectar without being dusted with pollen, while it would 
probably not touch the stigmas. I may as well mention that I 
saw a bee visiting these flowers in February last, and in the same 
month I found a spider in a half-opened flower of A, fetidus. 
Mr. Darwin has noticed a case (Spiranthes autumnalis, 
“Fertilisation of Orchids,” ch. iii.) in which older flowers are 
generally fertilised by pollen from younger ones. 
CHRISTOPHER J. HAYDEN 
Trinity College, Cambridge, April 25 
Chamounix 
Many of the readers of NATURE are no doubt preparing for a 
visit to Mont Blanc ; permit me to say to them that the season 
for making the ascent will, in all probability, be earlier this year 
than usual, on account of the remarkably fine and hot weather ; 
it is two months within a day or so since any rain fell ; but 
to-day we have had a refreshing shower of three hours’ duration, 
which will prove of infinite service to the little farms in the 
valleys of Chamounix, St. Gervais, and Sallanches. 
Early yesterday morning, accompanied by a guide and 
my daughter, a nimble girl of 15, I crossed the Glacier de 
Boissons, at an elevation of 3,000 feet ; there was comparatively 
little snow, the blue ice being repeatedly visible. We made the 
best of our way up the moraine, and descended through the 
forest into the valley of Chamounix, where the heat of the 
sun was oppressive ; beetles on the earth and butterflies in the 
air were numerous. 
The cherry, plum, and pear trees, so plentiful near Sallanches, 
are all in full blossom and doing well—the bees know it. 
The ice grotto at the foot of the Glacier de Bois is already 
diminishing, and a serious-looking crevasse appears at the portal ; 
the 4rve, which rises from this glacier, is already considerably 
swollen. Perhaps the most gratifying news to send is the in- 
telligence that the new road from Sallanches to Chamounix is all 
but f'n’shed—a mighty work, worthy of the new ruler of Haute 
Savoy. 
April 23 
PHYSICAL SCIENCE AT CAMBRIDGE 
NM MEETING of members of the Senate took place 
here on Saturday last, which is likely to have a 
considerable influence on the fortunes of Physical Science 
in this University, About a year ago a Syndicate, or 
committee of members of the Senate, was appointed to 
consider in what manner the funds could best be raised 
requisite for maintaining a Professor of Physical Science, 
and for providing suitable buildings and apparatus, also 
for certain other University objects. As the revenues 
of the University are known to be not more than adequate 
to maintain the educational machinery already in opera- 
tion, the appointment of the Syndicate was a tacit adop- 
tion of the principle that Co//ege endowments ought to 
be made available in order to extend the area covered by 
professional instruction the advantages of which are 
open to the members of every college. The Syndicate’s 
NATURE 
[May 12, 1870 
report, issued at the end of last term, formed the subject 
of discussion at the meeting called on Saturday. 
The Syndicate informs the Senate that after estimating 
the sum which would be required to carry out the objects 
which it was desired to attain, they “decided upon address- 
ing acommunication to the several colleges of the University 
to inquire whether they would be willing, under proper 
safeguards for the due eecepueton of any moneys which 
might be entrusted to the University, to make contribu- 
tions from their corporate funds for these objects.” The 
answers to this communication received from the govern- 
ing bodies of the Colleges are considered as private by the 
Syndicate, and are not printed in this report. In the 
opinion of the Syndicate, however, “they indicated such 
a want of concurrence in any proposal to raise contribu- 
tions from the corporate funds of Colleges by any kind of 
direct taxation, that the Syndicate felt obliged to abandon 
the notion of obtaining the necessary funds from this 
source.” Accordingly they propose another plan for pro- 
viding the needful funds, or at any rate a portion of them, 
with which I need not trouble your readers, as it involves 
technical details, and moreover is in itself so unjust and 
objectionable that it has not the slightest chance of being 
adopted. 
The one point of real importance on which the 
discussion on Saturday turned, was whether the Senate 
ought to acquiesce in the conclusion of the Syndicate, and 
abandon the notion of obtaining contributions from the 
co}porate funds of the Colleges for University objects, 
I am glad to be able to inform you that the opinion of 
the meeting was very decidedly expressed in favour, not of 
abandoning, but of carrying out this notion. The Master 
of St. John’s said it was a settled matter that the funds 
requisite for the efficient teaching of Physical Science 
must be provided by the Colleges, and that the only 
question was whether they could arrange among them- 
selves some plan for contributing in proportion to their 
means. Failing this, he held it to be quite certain, that 
they would be compelled to part with some portion of 
their corporate revenues for these objects by parliamentary 
coercion, The Master of Trinity insisted, in the strongest 
terms, on the urgent necessity of immediate action, if the 
University was to retain its position in the van of 
educated opinion. The Vice-Master of Trinity College 
disputed the statement made by the Syndicate, that the 
replies of the Colleges were on the whole opposed 
to making contributions out of their corporate revenues. 
He said that his own College had at once announced its 
willingness to contribute, and expressed his belief that a 
majority of Colleges were in favour of a College contribu- 
tion, though they were not, as yet, agrecd as to the proper 
principle of assessment. On this point, as the Syndicate 
has thought fit to withhold from the Senate the answers 
returned by the governing bodies of the several Colleges 
to the communication addressed to them, we have no 
means of forming an independent judgment. Every 
speaker seemed thoroughly to recognise the urgent and 
paramount claims of Physical Science to be placed on an 
effective footing in the University, except indeed the 
registrars, who urged the superior claims of ecclesiastical 
history and pastoral theology, and Mr. Perowne, of 
Corpus, who deprecated exaggerated statements in favour 
of Physical Science as a disparagement of classics and 
mathematics, and spoke with effusion of the gratitude 
which would be earned by “some rich College,” which 
should make a present to the University of the funds 
required, and so save the other Colleges (not so painfully 
poor after all) the pang of putting their hands into their 
own pockets—a sentiment which drew from Mr. Blore, ot 
Trinity, an amusing sally as to the want of similar 
benefactors of the common race in the matter of the 
Income-tax. 
It seems to be the general impression at Cambridge 
that the Council will have to appoint a fresh Syndicate to 
