November 12, 1908] 



NA TURE 



5/ 



UXIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



The New York correspondent of the Times announces 

 that Dr. Charles W. Eliot's resignation of the presidency 

 of Harvard University will take effect in May next. 



JIiss HoLL.\N'D Wren has been appointed by the council 

 of the Pharmaceutical Society demonstrator in the society's 

 -School of Pharmacy. This is the first time a woman has 

 been appointed to such a position since the school was 

 established more than sixty years ago. 



The current number of Child Study, the journal of the 

 Child Study Society, which is published quarterly, contains 

 an article by Dr. Alex. Morgan, principal of the Provincial 

 Training College, Edinburgh, on child study in relation 

 to the training of teachers. Dr. Morgan thinks there is 

 a tendency to over-estimate the practical utility at the pre- 

 sent time of psychology in education, and though he hopes 

 the time will come when we shall have a scientific 

 pedagogy founded entirely on a scientific psychology, he is 

 of opinion that this day is not imminent. 



It is stated in the Pioneer Mail that Mr. Chinubhai 

 Madhowlal has given four lakhs of rupees in 3j per cent. 

 Government securities to be applied by the Government 

 towards the development of science teaching in Ahmedabad, 

 in connection, if possible, with the proposed Curline Insti- 

 tute in Bombay. The Governor, in acknowledging the 

 gift, is reported to have said that the response to liis 

 appeal for means to develop science teaching in the Presi- 

 dency is far more generous than he had dared to hope, 

 and the splendid benefactions, amounting to eighteen lakhs, 

 prove alike the large-hearted patriotism of the givers and 

 their recognition of one of India's greatest educational 

 needs. 



The Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruc- 

 tion for Ireland has re-published in pamphlet form an 

 article by -Mr. .A. E. Easthope, principal of the technical 

 schools and organising secretary for technical instruction 

 in the county of Louth, on technical instruction in Dun- 

 dalk. The article originally appeared in the department's 

 Journal (vol. viii.. No. 4). This is the sixth of a short 

 series of articles on recently established Irish technical 

 schools. The Municipal Technical School, Dundalk, is 

 housed in a new building specially erected for the purpose, 

 and Mr. Easthope 's description and the illustrations of 

 various departments of the school serve admirably to illus- 

 trate the progress being made in this department of Irish 

 education. 



The report for the year ending on June 30 last of Mr. 

 Charles Madeley, director and librarian for the Warrington 

 Museum Committee, shows that the educational work in 

 connection with the museum continues to be developed. 

 There was during the year a notable increase in the number 

 of accessions to the museum. Continued interest is taken 

 in the wild-flower table, which is a distinctive feature of 

 the work done at Warrington. The average number of 

 species on view during July to October was 175, the maxi- 

 mum, 200 species, being reached on September 4. In the 

 autumn the flowers were succeeded by fruits and seeds. 

 Personal observation has proved that the number of persons 

 making regular visits for the purpose of studying these 

 plant specimens is on the increase, and the number of 

 inquiries for botanical information continues to grow. 

 Additions have also been made to the specially arranged 

 educational exhibits, particularly in the botanical gallery 

 and the department of invertebrate animals. It is to be 

 hoped that the authorities of more provincial museums 

 may follow the e.xample of Warrington and make their 

 exhibits serve an educational purpose of a definite kind. 



The calendar of University College (University of 

 London) for the session 1908-9 has just been issued. It 

 contains many new features. The outline of the history 

 of the college, by Dr. Carey Foster, has been revised and 

 brought up to date. The calendar also contains a set of 

 plans that show more completely than before the uses to 

 which the extension of buildings is being put. The new 

 buildings have resulted in extended accommodation for 

 the libraries, for the faculty of arts, for the departments 

 of geology, hygiene, experimental psychology, and for each 



NO. 2037, VOL. 79] 



of the departments of the faculty of engineering. 'Ihe 

 calendar also contains a section setting forth in full the 

 arrangements for post-graduate courses of lectures and the 

 facilities for research work. The regulation with regard 

 to admission is as follows : — " On the recommendation of 

 the professor of any department, any student qualified to 

 undertake research work may be admitted to the college 

 for the purpose of undertaking such work. Each student 

 so admitted shall pay in the office a registration fee of 

 il. IS. per session, and such other fee (if any) as the 

 regulations of the department may require, and shall bear 

 the cost (if any) of his work." It appears from the 

 summary of students that there were no fewer than 229 

 post-graduate and research students in the college last 

 session. 



The annual general meeting of the Association of 

 Teachers in Technical Institutions was held on November 7 

 at St. Bride's Institute, Bride Lane, London. In moving 

 the adoption of the report, Mr. Charles Harrap, the presi- 

 dent, congratulated the members on the steady progress 

 which has been made. He went on to say it is time there 

 was a technical college for training teachers. No one 

 knows better than the members of the association how 

 difficult it is to get competent technical handicraft teachers 

 — men who have worked at the trade and know how to 

 teacli it. Such men, when found, deserve the best treat- 

 ment from authorities in order that they may be retained 

 for the benefit of technical instruction generally. Among 

 the difficulties which have to be overcome if English 

 technical education is to be successful is the necessity of 

 obtaining the concurrence of both employers and employees 

 in any scheme intended to substitute trade-school training 

 for part or whole apprenticeship. The London County 

 Council has been able to form two consultative committees, 

 one for the bookbinding and another for the printing 

 trades, each committee consisting of three employers, three 

 representatives of the employees, and three London County 

 Council nominees. One of these committees has completed 

 its preliminary work, and in due course an experimental 

 school is to be tried where lads can undergo a proper 

 preparatory training for the trade. The youths will 

 generally be selected by scholarship tests, and may enter 

 the preparatory trade training school from 12J years of 

 age. The newly elected president of the association is Mr. 

 T. Wilson, head of the chemical department, Battersea 

 Polytechnic, S.W., who has acted as honorary secretary 

 of the association since its formation in 1904. His successor 

 in that office is Mr. P. Abbott, head of the mathematical 

 department, Regent Street Polytechnic, London, W. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 



Royal Society, Tune 25. — " Eutectics Research, No i. 

 The AUovs of Lead" and Tin." By Walter Rosenhain, 

 with P. A. Tucker-. Communicated by Dr. R. T. Glaze- 

 brook, F.R.S. 



Attempts to prepare pure eutectic alloys led to the dis- 

 covery of discrepancies between the authors' experiments 

 and the data on lead-tin alloys published by Roberts- 

 .Austen. The present paper contains an account of the 

 complete re-determination of the equilibrium diagram of 

 the lead-tin series. The eutectic point is now placed at 

 63 per cent, of tin, and the eutectic line ends, towards 

 the lead end of the series, at 16 per cent, of tin, while 

 a series of transformations in the solid alloys, with _ a 

 maximum temperature lying at 150° C, has been dis- 

 covered. By the aid of levigated oxide of chromium the 

 alloys have been polished for microscopic examination, 

 and this has enabled the authors to decide many points 

 with greater accuracy. For the purposes of microscopic 

 examination, and also for cooling-curve purposes, speci- 

 mens of the alloys were kept at temperatures of 175 C. 

 for periods up to six weeks, and some were quenched in 

 liquid air. Cooling and heating curves ranging down to 

 -180° C. were also taken. By these means it was shown 

 that the transformation above mentioned consists in a 

 change in the solid solution of tin in lead, which passes 

 from a j3 into an o condition, at the same time rejecting 

 tin from solution. 



