April i6, 1908J 



NATURE 



573 



Edin^lkgh. — At the spring graduation ceremony on 

 April 10, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was 

 conferred upon several guests in recognition of scientific 

 wo-;-;. Sir Ludovic Grant, dean of the faculty of law, 

 in presenting these recipients of the degree, made the 

 following references to their achievements in the field of 

 science : — 



Dr. J. O. Affleck. — Whether regard be had to Dr. 

 Affleck's work as a teacher, or to his scientific contribu- 

 tions to medical literature, or to his eminence as a 

 physician and his services in the practice of his profession, 

 he is equally deserving of recognition at the hands of his 

 old Alma Mnter. Almost from the time that he graduated, 

 Dr. Affleck has been an indefatigable writer. Indeed, the 

 great bulk of the medical articles in the ninth edition of 

 the " Encyclopaedia Britannica " are from his pen. These, 

 and his other papers, form together a veritable store- 

 house of scientific information. 



Dr. Rich.^rd Caton, Lord Mayor of Liverpool. — Dr. 

 Caton was one of the band of devoted labourers whose 

 strenuous exertions were instrumental in calling into 

 existence the University of Liverpool, and he himself dis- 

 charged the duties of professor of physiology for many 

 years with conspicuous success. With his scientific attain- 

 ments Dr. Caton combines the accomplishments of the 

 scholar and the zest of the archaeologist. His lectures — 

 embodying the fruits of visits to Greece and the Greek 

 colonies — on the Greek and Egyptian gods of medicine 

 throw a flood of light on the medical and sanitary aspects 

 of the ancient world. 



Sir Norman Lockvf.r, K.C.B., F.R.S. — The fairy-book 

 of science contains no more fascinating and marvellous 

 pages than those contributed by the illustrious astronomer 

 whose name has been so long a household word amongst 

 us. It is to his spectroscopic researches that the present 

 generation is largely indebted for its knowledge of the 

 material constituents of the sun and of the stars. He it 

 is who, simultaneously with the French astronomer 

 Janssen, devised a means of studying the luminous atmo- 

 sphere surrounding the sun, and those gigantic flames 

 which previously could only be observed in the brief 

 moments of a solar eclipse. He it is who first detected 

 helium in the sun before this element had been discovered 

 on the earth, while his investigations into the sun's spots 

 and corona are of the highest importance in solar phvsics. 

 It is worthy of mention that he has acted as the leader 

 of more eclipse expeditions than any contemporary astro- 

 nomer. The stars, too, have yielded to him their secrets 

 not less obediently than the sun. By means of the com- 

 parative study of stellar spectra. lie has drawn up a 

 classification of the celestial bodies according to their 

 temperatures and the order of their evolution, which must 

 be reckoned as not the least noteworthy of the achieve- 

 ments nf modern science. The great subject of " orienta- 

 I'on " has also engaged .Sir Norman Lockyer's attention. 

 He has examined the monuments at Stonehenge and else- 

 where, in their relation to astronomical phenomena, a work 

 which is of great value as serving to fix the dates of their 

 erection. The cause of scientific education generally has 

 had no more ardent and eloquent advocate than Sir Norman 

 Lockyer, and, as editor of Nature and as founder of the 

 British Science Guild, he has done as much as any man 

 living for the diffusion throughout the country of the 

 scientific spirit. The L'niversity is sensible that it is doing 

 honour lo itself in adding Sir Norman Lockyer's name to 

 \\~. roll of honorary graduates. 



M. E. C. M. Senart, Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, 

 Membre de I'lnstitut, Paris. — The literature of ancient 

 India has been handled in modern Europe by no scholar of 

 more exclusive erudition or more splendid attainments than 

 by M. Senart. He first attracted the attention of the 

 learned world by the publication, some thirtv years ago. 

 of his " Essay on the Legend of Buddha." Then followed 

 the volumes on the " Inscriptions of .Asoka," and a 

 highly popular and instructive work on the Indian castes. 

 Of his subsequent writings, none better exemplifies the 

 remarkable range and accuracy of his scholarship than his 

 edition of the famous Kharoshthi MS. of the Dhamma- 

 pada. which was recovered from Central .Asia by a French 

 mission, while his monumental translation of the Maha- 

 v.istu is suflficient by itself to place him in the highest 



NO. 2007, VOL. 77I 



rank of philologists. His long series of publications, 

 viewed as a whole, possess an importance which cannot 

 easily be exaggerated, alike from the point of view of 

 history, of philology, and of archaeology. M. Senart's 

 achievements have received honorary recognition through- 

 out the civilised world, and it is gratifying to relate that 

 his influence has been instrumental in raising up in France 

 a distinguished school of Orientalists, who, it may be 

 hoped, will continue to carry on his work. 



The degree was also conferred in absentia on 

 Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, CLE., lately professor 

 of Oriental languages, Deccan College, Poona. Prof. 

 Bhandarkar is famed as a Sanskritist throughout the 

 length and breadth of British India. His learned labours 

 have extended over many years, and have been productive 

 of a rich and valuable harvest of e.\egetical editions of 

 Sanskrit works. These are chiefly remarkable in that they 

 exhibit all that is best in the methods of interpretation 

 traditional in India in combination with the critical scholar- 

 ship of modern times. Prof. Bhandarkar has also devoted 

 himself to the study of history and antiquities. He is the 

 author of an admirable " History of the Deccan " and of 

 numerous archaeological essays. 



Manchester. — The University kite station at Glossop 

 Moor has now been equipped with a plant for the genera- 

 tion of hydrogen gas for use in work with captive and 

 free balloons. Captain Ley has taken up residence on the 

 moor in order to continue and extend his investigations 

 for the study of the higher air currents by means of free 

 balloons. 



In the new Ministry formed by Mr. Asquith in conse- 

 quence of the retirement of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman 

 from the office of Prime Minister, Mr. W. Runciman has 

 succeeded Mr. R. McKenna as President of the Board of 

 Education, and Mr. McKinnon Wood has succeeded Mr. 

 T. Lough as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board. 



To the April number of Science Progress Prof. H. E. 

 .Armstrong contributes a vigorous article on the reform 

 of the medical curriculum, in which he replies to Dr. 

 Wade's remarks on a previous paper dealing with the 

 same subject. The article covers a wide field, and is by 

 no means confined to the question of medical education, as 

 it deals with the broader issue of university education in 

 general. In particular, the position of affairs within the 

 University of London — the opposition existing between the 

 external graduates and the internal schools, which has 

 culminated in the formation of two representative bodies, 

 the Graduates' Union and the Graduates' .Association — 

 calls for comment. A strong plea is urged for extending 

 the internal system so as to allow each of the larger 

 colleges to organise its own scheme of education for the 

 final degrees according to the particular work it has to 

 accomplish, without being hampered by external control 

 through examination. Such a scheme is considered as by 

 no means likely to lower the standard of the degree, but 

 to tend in the opposite direction by making the education 

 imparted more real and effective. 



Sir William H. Preece, K.C.B., F.R.S. , read a paper 

 on technical education in America before the Royal Society 

 of Arts on April 8. Referring to the munificent gifts 

 made bv American millionaires to assist educational 

 development in the States, he directed attention to the fact 

 that the distribution of wealth is much a matter of fashion. 

 In 1906, in London alone more than ten millions sterling 

 were bequeathed for various purposes, but of this only 

 123,778;. was allocated to education. The total amount 

 bequeathed over the whole country must have exceeded 

 fifty millions sterling, and of this probably only i per cent, 

 was devoted to education. Speaking of American 

 cmplovers of industry, it was pointed out in the paper 

 that they fully recognise the advantage of technical attain- 

 ments in their employees, they encourage research, they 

 equip their own laboratories, and they support college 

 and university by financial help, and by the gift of 

 machinery. In America, said Sir William Preece towards 

 the close of his remarks, all are working on fixed 

 methodical lines, and gradually a national coordinated 

 svstem will be evolved which will make the LTnited States 



