358 
It is further urged that the disappearance in the long-tusked 
species of the flange on the lower jaw which protected the 
canines in the more primitive forms is correlated with this mode 
of opening the mouth, as the presence of such a flange would 
prevent the lower jaw lying close against the throat. Moreover, 
the anterior cheek-teeth, which are used by modern Carnivora 
chiefly for bone-crushing, and are most developed in the hyzenas, 
have almost disappeared in the sabre-tooths, while, on the other 
hand, the shearing carnassial teeth—the sole function of which is 
flesh-cutting—have been inordinately increased in size and 
power. 
As is well known, a large number of the mammalian con- 
temporaries of the earlier sabre-tooths were short-necked and 
probably thick-skinned ungulates, some of which were more or 
less distantly allied to the modern tapirs and others to the pigs. 
And in the same manner as the long-necked and thin-skinned 
ruminants of to-day form a large portion of the prey of the 
modern lion, tiger, leopard, &c., so these early ungulates fell 
victims to the attack of the sabre-tooths. Now, antelope and 
deer are killed by the neck being bitten through or broken when 
attacked by the larger Carnivora ; but it seems unlikely that such 
a method of attack would be successful in the case of short- 
necked and thick-skinned animals. 
Accordingly, it is suggested by Mr. Matthew that in the case 
of the sabre-tooths ‘‘ their most advantageous method of attack 
was to inflict stabbing and ripping cuts at points where an 
artery could be reached, using their short, broad and powerful 
fore-feet as fulcrums, and probably bleeding the animal to 
death.” 
It is added that the earlier appearance of true cats in Europe 
as compared with North America, where they are very rare 
throughout the Tertiary period, may very probably be correlated 
with the earlier appearance and greater abundance of the 
modern type of specialised ruminants in the Old World. 
Finally, the largest and most specialised member of the group, 
the great Machaerodus neogaeus of the Pleistocene of South 
America, which the author believes to have been the slowest 
mover of its kind, may have preyed on the huge thick-skinned 
and slow-moving ground-sloths which attained such a remark- 
able development in that continent. In a subsequent section the 
author hazards the suggestion that the more cat-like Carnivora 
known as Dinictis, the upper tusks of which were noticeably shorter 
than those of the sabre-tooths, were creatures with a greater 
turn of speed and therefore better adapted for preying on the 
smaller and swifter-footed Herbivora than was the case with 
their long-tusked relatives. R. L. 
UNIVERSITIES IN RELATION TO RESEARCH. 
ie will perhaps be expedient for me at the outset to say that I 
propose to use the word research in its widest meaning, 2z.e. 
as indicating those efforts of the human mind which result in the 
extension of knowledge, whether such efforts are exerted in the 
field of literature, of science or of art. 
The chief agencies of modern organised research are (1) the 
learned societies and (2) the universities. The former receive and 
publish research papers; the latter superintend and direct 
investigators and publish results. To these should properly be 
added the various journals which have been established and 
carried on by private effort. It is a significant fact that the 
establishment of modern learned societies coincides closely in 
time with the Renaissance movement. Telesio established one of 
the earliest mathematico-physical societies—the Academy of 
Cosenza. Other Italian societies of similar scope were founded 
in Rome in 1603, in Florence in 1657, and the Royal Society of 
London dates from 1660 or earlier. Organised research in 
universities was of slower growth. In them the medieval spirit 
was tenacious of life, and it was only in the nineteenth century, 
in Germany, at the close of the Napoleonic wars, that research, 
not only in natural philosophy, but in the whole field of know- 
ledge, became the basis of the German educational system, and 
I might remark, without going into details, that the university 
systems of France and the other principal countries of Europe, 
with the exception of Great Britain, are in the main parallel 
with that of Germany, although not so consistently elaborated. 
1 Abridged from the presidential address delivered by Prof. James 
Loudon before the Royal Society of Canada at the recent annual meeting 
of the Society at Toronto. 
NO. 1710, VOL. 66] 
NATURE 
[AucusT 7, 1902 
Weare so subject to the authority of words that it is difficult 
for us to realise that the organisation called a university in 
Germany is almost entirely different in scope and object from the 
institution which we so designate ig this country. Hitherto, at 
least in England and Canada, the function of the university has 
mainly been to impart a general and liberal education, continuing 
and completing the beginning already made in the secondary 
school. Speaking generally, I may say that under the German 
system the work of our secondary schools and universities com- 
bined is performed by the gymnasium, the nine or ten years’ 
training of which leaves the young man of nineteen or twenty 
years of age with a much better liberal education than that 
possessed by the average graduate in arts ofan English, Canadian 
or American university. How this is accomplished it is not my 
purpose here to explain. There is no doubt, however, as to the 
fact, which is substantiated both by the nature of the curriculum 
of the gymnasium and by the testimony of those familiar with 
both systems. 
It is upon this substantial preliminary training that the work 
of the German university proper is based. Up to this point 
the young man has been a ‘‘ learner ” ; on entering the university 
he becomes a ‘‘student.” This distinction, expressed by the 
German words ‘‘ lernen” and ‘‘ studieren,” marks the difference 
between gymnasium and university—the acquisition of knowledge 
under the teacher in one, the independent research under the 
guidance of the professor in the other. 
The ultimate object of both professors and students 
is the advancement of knowledge, and the independence with 
which research is conducted is well expressed by the two words 
“ Lehrfreiheit” ‘‘ Lerntreiheit °—the freedom of the professor 
as to what he teaches and the freedom of the student to select 
his special line of research. Some idea of the extent of this work 
may be formed from the number of universities in Germany, 
twenty-one in all, and from the fact that the aggregate number 
of matriculated students exceeds 12,000, in addition. to non- 
matriculated students, who are also numbered by thousands, 
while the philosophical faculty at Berlin and Leipzig in 1901-2 
numbered, respectively, 207 and 120. To the twenty-one uni- 
versities mentioned should be added the nine technische Hoch- 
schulen which have now the right to confer the doctor’s degree 
in the applied sciences. 
The place and importance of research in the German system 
is further indicated by the fact that even teachers in the 
gymnasium devote themselves to such work, their papers being 
published in the annual reports of their institutions. With such 
respect is the ability for research regarded that the publication 
of a paper of this kind may lead directly to a professorship in the 
university, as was the case, for instance, in the appointment of 
Weierstrass, the celebrated mathematician. 
In the organisation of the German university, research has been 
shown to be a fundamental principle ; in the British university it 
is as yet incidental or of sporadic manifestation. I do not, of 
course, ignore the very important contributions which have been 
made by British scholars to the advancement of learning, but it is 
worthy of note that the credit for their splendid achievements is 
rather due to the individuals themselves than to the universities 
with which many of them were connected. The British 
university is not primarily an institution for research. In its 
function of providing the higher grades of a liberal education the 
proper comparison is with the upper classes of the German 
gymnasium, not with the German university proper. True, we 
find in some of the British universities a specialisation in certain 
subjects, ¢.g. in honour classics and mathematics at Oxford and 
Cambridge, leading to higher work than that attempted in the 
gymnasium ; but however advanced the studies may be, there is 
rarely any attempt to guide the English undergraduate in the 
direction of researcn. Reading and examinations are the 
academic watchwords, and to the great mass of students and 
tutors the field of research isa /erva zncognita. 
The attitude of the British nation has been hitherto largely that 
of indifference towards organised research, and this has been 
true, not only of the general public, but also of those engaged in 
academic administration. There has existed a deep-seated convic- 
tion, born perhaps of reiterated assertion, that the British univer- 
sity system is superior to that of Germany or any other country, 
and as near perfection as may well be. We are not concerned 
just here with the discussion of the merits of the system, which 
are undoubtedly many and great, but we must admit that the 
attitude of self-satisfaction which has prevailed, combined with 
the ignoring of other ideals, is at least unphilosophic. In the 
