Feeruarv 2o, 1908] 



NA TURE 



381 



f^uld, biiil'ling- stone, iiiolybdenitc, brick clays, ochre, and 

 shell-marl. Report No. 971 is devoted to Mr. E. D. 

 Ingalls's statistical review of the mineral industries 

 of Canada for 1905. .\lthough, unfortunately, somewhat 

 l"'lated, this report, which covers 17.) pages, gives com- 

 piiti- and revised infornialion for the year 1905, advance 

 provisional .ninerai statistics of which were issued on 

 March 2, 1906. 



The grand total of the mineral production of Canada 

 is valued at 13,905,034/. The most valuable mineral 

 product is coal, which accounts for 25.2 per cent, of the 

 whole. Metallic minerals contributed together 34 per 

 cent., structural materials 14 per cent., and other non- 

 metallic minerals 5 per cent. Compared with the previous 

 year, substantial increases are shown by all the leading 

 industries, except in the case of gold, due to the con- 

 tinuous decrease of the Yukon placers. An interesting 

 feature is the remarkable increase in the output of cobalt. 

 The large supply of this metal rendered available as a 

 result of the discoveries at Cobalt, Ontario, had, how- 

 ever, a depressing effect on the market, and caused a 

 very marked decrease in price. Lastly, Report No. 1017 

 is devoted to a summary of the work done by the depart- 

 ment of mines, Geological .Survey, during the year 1907. 

 It covers J32 pages, and its prompt publication descrv'es 

 special commendation. There were in the field twenty 

 parties, and the summary reports indicate that a large 

 amount of valuable work was carried out, one of the chief 

 results being the determination of enormous quantities of 

 available bituminous coal in the Yukon region. 



UMlERSirV .-l.VO EDVCATIOXAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 

 .St. .\xDKiiWS. — .After a delay of more than a c|uartrr of 

 a century, at last, by the munificence of Mrs. Bell Petti- 

 grew, the widow of the late professor of medicine and 

 anatomy, a sum of 6000/. has been generously offered for 

 the new museum of natural history of the University in 

 which her husband laboured so long! The present museum 

 w-as erected by the Government in 1846, and whilst it.- 

 exterior is in keeping with the other substantial building'- 

 in the quadrangle, its mode of lighting and its cases arc 

 far behind date. Moreover, its crowded shelves not only 

 render proper exhibition of the specimens impossible, but 

 interfere with classification. In all probabilitv a new 

 lecture-room, a practical class-room, and rooms for curator 

 and workers will be attached to the museum. 



C.\.MiiRiDGE. — The essays for which the Smith's prizes are 

 adjudged are as follows (the names are arranged in alpha- 

 betical order) : — " Problems in the Wave-motion of \'iscous 

 Liquids," W. J. Harrison, Clare College; "On the 

 .^sym.ptotic Behaviour of Integral Functions of Zero 

 Order, and Allied Problems," J. E. Litllewood, Trinity 

 College ; " On the Solution of Ordinary Linear Differ- 

 ential Equations having Doubly Periodic Coefficients," 

 J. Mercer, Trinity College. The adjudicators are of 

 opinion that the following essays are deserving of honour- 

 .ible mention, viz. : — " On Energv Accelerations and Parti- 

 lioi of Energy," C. \V. FoUett, Trinity Hall;- "On 

 some Problems in the Theorv of Metallic Reflection," 

 H. R. Hass^, St. John's College; "The Geometrv of 

 .\polar Triads," \V. P. .Milne, Clare College; " Perpetuant 

 Syzygies of the nth Kind," H. T. H. Piaggio, St. John's 

 I'ollege ; " The Reflection of Plane W.aves of Light at the 

 Surface of a Medium of Special Periodic Character," 

 C. J. T. Sewell, Trinity College. 



J. B. Hubrecht, Christ's College, has been elected to 

 the Isaac N'ewton studentship, tenable from .\pril 15, 1908. 

 to .April 15, 1911. The student will carry on a course of 

 research in solar phvsics. 



H. H. Arnold-Bemrose, Clare College ; \Y. F.' Sheppard, 

 Trinity College; J. R. Sutton, Sidney Sussex College; and 

 A. Young, Clare College, have been approved by the 

 general board of studies for the degree of Doctor in 

 Science. 



The \'icp-Chanccllor has announced to the Senate that 

 donations of 1000/. each, in memory of the late Mr. Walter 

 K. Foster, have been promised towards the building fund 

 of the new museum of archrcology and of ethnology by 



NO. iqgQ, VOL. 77I 



Mrs. Walter K. Foster, .Mr. E. Bird Foster, .Mr. C. F. 

 Foster, and Mrs. E. Rawlings. Mr. Foster, in whose 

 memory this munificent gift has been made, bequeathed 

 to the University in iSgi an extensive collection of pre- 

 historic and .\nglo-Sa.xon antiquities. 



London.— Dr. H. T. Bovey, F.R.S., has been appointed 

 Rector of the Imperial College of Science and Technology 

 at South Kensington. Dr. Bovey was educated at Cam'- 

 bridge. He was twelfth wrangler in 1873, and was elected 

 a fellow of Queen's College. Before going to Canada in 

 1887 as professor of civil engineering and applied mechanics 

 in McGiU University, Montreal, he practised as a civil 

 engineer, being engaged on important works on the 

 Mersey. Under Dr. Bovey 's direction tlTe civil engineer- 

 ing department at McGill University acquired a consider- 

 able reputation both for undergraduate and research 

 w^ork. Recently a course of study in transportation was 

 added to the seven other engineering courses. The work 

 in this stibject is liberally supported by the great Canadian 

 railway companies. In 1888 Dr. Bovey was appointed 

 dean of applied science in McGill University. It is well 

 known that McGill University is excellently equipped both 

 for engineering and applied science. In the chemistry 

 department, for example, there are special laboratories for 

 organic chemistry, physical chemistry, electrolytic analysis, 

 iron and steel analysis, fire assaying, water analysis, 

 determinative mineralogy, petrography, and photography. 

 Dr. Bovey's experience both in engineering and science is 

 therefore exceptionally wide. His literary output includes 

 works on applied mechanics, theory of structures and 

 strength of materials, and hydraulics, in addition to a 

 number of scientific papers. He was elected a Fellow of 

 the Royal Society in 1902. 



The London County Council proposes to make a grant 

 of 5000/. for the current year to the Imperial College, 

 without, however, pledging itself to contribute 20,000/. 

 a year in the future, as was intended if the original 

 scheme for the college, by which it was proposed to 

 establish a well-equipped institution for higher work in 

 applied science and technology, independent of other institu- 

 tions at South Kensington, had been carried out. 



By tlie will of the late Mrs. Rylands, the Victoria 

 University, Manchester, will receive the sum of 50,000/. ; 

 Owens College, Manchester, 25,000/. ; and Mansfield 

 College, O.xford, 10,000/. 



The British Medical Journal announces that Prof. 

 Wilhelm Erb has given the University of Heidelberg a 

 donation of 5000/., one half to be applied for the benefit 

 of students and assistants and their maintenance in hospital 

 when required, the other towards the promotion of scientific 

 research by students. 



We have received from Messrs. Swan Sonnenschein and 

 Co., Ltd., copies of the 1908 issues of " The Public 

 Schools Year-book and Preparatory Schools Year-book " 

 (price 3s. 6d. net), and " The Schoolmasters Year-book 

 and Directory " (price 7*. 6d. net). Both books have 

 become well known to educational workers as useful 

 volumes of reference. The annual dealing specificalh" with 

 the public schools, those, that is, which are connected with 

 the Headmasters' Conference, provides details concerning 

 the public schools w'hich a parent seeking a school for his 

 boy wishes to know. But the book contains much other 

 useful information about preparatory schools, scholarships 

 available, and the public examinations which qualify for 

 entrance into the professions. There is, in addition, a 

 section dealing with the various professions themselves 

 which should prove invaluable to fathers whose sons have 

 completed their school careers. The second volume appeals 

 more directly to schoolmasters and others concerned in the 

 administration of education. The extensive organisations 

 throughout the country for the administration of secondary 

 education are summarised ; there is a chronicle of educa- 

 tional events during 1907 ; and particulars are given about 

 educational societies and publications, examinations and 

 inspecting bodies, and miscellaneous matters. More than 

 half the volume is devoted to a verv complete directory 

 providing detailed information concerning the qualifications 

 .and experience of masters teaching in secondary schools. 



