DEcEMBER 28, 1916] 
NATURE 
333 
will be forthcoming from the Dominions, Colonies, and 
India, which already provide the larger part of the 
funds available to the institute. 
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By the death of Mr. F. W. Levander the, British | 
be _ culture, attended the first meeting of the War Emer- 
Astronomical Association loses one of its most retiring 
and yet most useful members. Mr. Levander was for 
many years on the staff of University College School, 
then in Gower Street. His duties in this connection 
were too onerous to allow him much time for the 
practical pursuit of astronomy, in which science he 
always took a deep interest; but so early as 1860 he 
described, in ‘‘Recreative Science,” vol. ii., p- 212, 
his detection of markings on the surface of Mars with 
an object-glass only 1} in. in diameter. In 1899 he 
presented to the Royal Astronomical Society a dis- 
cussion of the colours of 4984 stars as described by 
various observers, with the special purpose of reducing 
such descriptions to a uniform scale; and in 1891 he 
described, before the British Astronomical Association, 
an instrument which he had devised—the star chroma- 
scope—for obtaining definite measures of star colours. 
But it is to his work in connection with the literature 
of astronomy that his colleagues in the science owe 
most to Mr. Levander. He was an original member 
of the British Astronomical Association, and in 1895, 
when the association had accumulated the nucleus of, 
a library, he became librarian, and administered this 
department for twelve years. In 1900 he was elected 
editor of the Journals and Memoirs of the association, 
a post that he fulfilled most efficiently until his death. 
While editor he drew up a complete index to the first 
eighteen volumes of the journal of the association, 
having some years earlier prepared a similar index to 
the volumes of the Astronomical Register. In 1906 
he was elected president of the association, and held 
the chair for the customary period of two years. Mr. 
Levander died on December 20, after a very short 
illness, aged seventy-seven. He was interred-at the 
Hampstead Cemetery, Fortune Green, on December 23. 
THE attention given in the Press to the sudden death, 
on December 15, of Prof.*Hugo Miinsterberg is due 
much less ta his scientific eminence than to his noto- 
rious activities as a pro-German propagandist in the | 
United States.. Born at Dantzig in 1863, he took his 
doctorate in philosophy at Leipzig and in medicine at 
Heidelberg, and began his teaching career as a Privat- 
dosent at Freiburg-im-Breisgau. | While engaged in 
this University he produced his first considerable work, 
“Die Willenshandlung-” (1888), described by William 
James as ‘‘a little masterpiece,’ and commenced the 
publication of the ‘‘ Beitrige zur experimentelle Psycho- 
logie,” of which the “Grundziige der Psychotechnik ” 
may be regarded as the completion. In 1892 
James, who admired the acuteness and vigour of 
“the irrepressible young Miinsterberg,” invited him to 
come to Harvard as first director of the psychological 
laboratory—the forerunner of institutions that have 
become specially characteristic of American universi- 
ties. His success as a lecturer and publicist led him 
to write a series of English works dealing in a semi- | 
popular way with the applications of psychology to ; 
law, medicine, education, and the problems of society 
and industry. The last books of this series were a 
‘Business Psychology” (1915) and a study of the 
“Photoplay ” (1916). While these works undoubtedly 
did much for the popularisation of psychology, 
and contain matter of considerable value, they 
have scarcely added to their author’s reputation 
| tenancy promised him. 
as _a man of science. His last serious book 
in English, “ Psychology,’ General and Applied” 
(1914), is an extremely interesting exposition | 
NO. 2461, VOL. 98] 
of his psychological doctrine, in which the results of 
the modern experimental and the older philosophical 
methods were happily and ingeniously combined. 
Mr. R. Prornero, President of the Board of Agri- 
gency Committee of the Royal Agricultural Society of 
England, under the chairmanship of Mr. Adeane. He 
outlined the Government’s proposals for increasing the 
production of food, and after his. departure the com- 
mittee passed the following resolutions, which are 
being forwarded to the Board of Agriculture :—(r) That 
this committee is of opinion that a price should not 
be fixed for any agricultural produce unless the cost 
| of production is taken into consideration and unless 
the price of feeding stuffs, fertilisers, etc., is also fixed. 
The committee questions the wisdom of fixing prices, 
but in the event of the price of wheat being fixed at 
60s. per quarter, the opinion of the committee is that 
the price of oats should be fixed at not less than 4os. 
per quarter. (2) The committee is of opinion that 
where spring sowing of wheat is undertaken care 
should be taken to ensure that the varieties used should 
be especially suitable for the purpose—such as Red 
Marvel, April Bearded, or, in districts where it is 
known to succeed, Red Fife. (3) The committee feels 
that the land of this country cannot be made to pro- 
duce more food unless there be an increase in the 
supply and use of artificial manures. The manufac- 
turer of these manures is dependent upon a larger 
amount of sulphuric acid being made available for the . 
use of the makers of artificial manures, and the com- 
mittee urges the Government to set free for the use of 
those manufacturers such acid as they may require. (4) 
The committee is of opinion that in view of the great 
difficulty experienced in obtaining artificial manures 
in this country, the Government be requested to pro- 
hibit the export of sulphate of ammonia and basic 
slag, except to our Colonies, until the requirements of 
agriculturists in this country have been met. 
THE King has conferred the honour of knighthood 
upon the Very Rev. John Herkless, principal of the 
University of St. Andrews. 
Mr. F. J. H. Merrit, State geologist of New York 
from 1890 to 1893, has died at Los Angeles at the age 
of fifty-five. For the last three years he had been field- 
assistant to the California State Mining Bureau. 
Dr. Hjacmar Ourvacr is retiring from the chair of 
physiology at Uppsala University, having entered his 
| sixty-sixth year on December 15. 
THE astronomical institute of Lund University has 
at last obtained the seismograph for which it prepared 
an underground chamber two years ago. 
Tue removal of the natural history collections from 
the building of the Swedish Academy of Science in 
Drottninggatan, Stockholm (see Nature, November 30, 
p. 255), has afforded temporary accommodation therein 
for the ethnographical collections, which have long 
had wholly insufficient lodging. Prof. C. V. Hart. 
man intends to make the most of the eight months’ 
When the public sees a larger 
selection from these valuable stores it will surely 
insist on a suitable and permanent home for them. 
In this country, where many of our leaders in science 
have been amateurs, we do not always realise the 
rarity of such workers in some other countries or the 
difficulties met with by those who do exist. In 
Sweden, however, the number of serious amateur 
