October 20, 1910] 



NATURE 



521 



were a report on erratic blocks, and a paper by Prof. 

 E. Hull on the glacial rocks of Ambleside. 



Very few papers dealt with palasontological subjects. 

 Mr. M. Odling described a problematical fossil from the 

 Chipping Norton limestone, and Dr. M. C. Stopes read a 

 paper on structural petrifications from the Mesozoic and 

 their bearing on fossil plant impressions. 



Sir T. H. Holland read a suggestive paper on the cause 

 of gravity variations in northern India ; Mr. T. Sheppard 

 gave a well-illustrated account of the Humber during the 

 Human period ; Dr. Tempest .'\nderson showed a magni- 

 ficent series of photographs in illustration of his paper 

 on Matavannu, a new volcano in Savaii (German Samoa) ; 

 and Dr. A. Irving read papers on the pre-oceanic stage 

 of planetary development and on a buried Tertiary valley 

 through the Mercian chalk range, and its later rubble 

 drift. Prof. A. McWilliam described the metallurgical 

 industries in relation to the rocks of the (Sheffield) dis- 

 trict. Finally, reports were presented by Prof. J. Milne 

 on seismology, and by Prof. W. W. Watts on geological 

 photographs. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Cambridge. — The Gedge prize has been awarded to 

 G. R. Mines, of Sidney Sussex College, for his essay 

 entitled " Researches on the Physiological Action of In- 

 organic Salts chiefly in Relation to the Cardiac and 

 Skeletal Muscles of the Frog." 



R. H. Compton, Gonville and Caius College, has been 

 elected to the Frank Smart (university) studentship. 



The State Medicine Syndicate has appointed J. E. 

 Purvis, of St. John's and Corpus Christi Colleges, to be 

 secretary to the syndicate in the place of Dr. Anningson, 

 who has resigned the office after twenty-five years' service. 



The council of the Institution of Civil Engineers is pre- 

 pared to consider applications for a nomination to the 

 Palmer scholarship. The nominee must be the son of a 

 civil engineer, must be desirous of studying and graduating 

 at the University of Cambridge, and must be in such 

 circumstances as to need the scholarship, which is of the 

 annual value of 40!. Copies of the regulations may be had 

 from the secretary of the institution. Great George Street, 

 Westminster, S.W. 



The first course, dealing with neurology, of the Page 

 May memorial lectures in physiology, will be delivered 

 by Prof. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S., at University College 

 (University of London) on the following Mondays and 

 Tuesdays, at 4.30 p.m. : — October 24 and 25, November 

 7 and 8, November 28 and 29. The lectures are open to 

 the public without fee. 



It is announced in Science that at Yale University the 

 salaries of professors and assistant professors have been 

 increased by gSool. from the alumni fund. The salaries 

 of full professors are to be Sool. to goal, and 1000!., based 

 mainly on length of service, but modified somewhat by 

 university responsibility and personal distinction. In the 

 case of assistant professors the maximum salary is 

 increased to 600I. 



The Aeronautical Society offers the following course «l 

 lectures at the Northampton Polytechnic Institute, Clerkeii- 

 well : — November 2 : the study of dynamic flight, J. H. 

 Ledeboer ; November 16: the mechanics of the aeroplanOj 

 Algernon E. Berriman ; November 30 : theory and design 

 of propellers, T. W. K. Clarke; January 11, 1911 : aero- 

 plane surfaces and controls, with some remarks on chassis, 

 Herbert F. Lloyd ; January 18 : the motive power in 

 aeroplanes. Captain A. D. Garden, R.E. ; January 2.; ; 

 lines of aeronautical research, Bertram G. Cooper. The 

 lectures will be given on Wednesdays at 8 p.m., and 

 applications for ticl<ets are to be addressed to the secretary 

 of the Aeronautical Society, 53 Victoria Street, West- 

 minster, S.W. 



A CIRCULAR letter has been issued from the P.ducation 

 Offices of the London County Council inviting from the 



NO. 2138, VOL. 84] 



optical trade an expression of opinion on the advisability 

 of endowing a central opto-technical institute at a cost 

 of probably 30,000?. for the building alone. As a success- 

 ful issue to this project is dependent mainly on the ex- 

 pression of a large volume of trade opinion in its favour, 

 Mr. J. Aitchison arranged for a meeting of opticians 

 to be held on Monday last, October 17, at Anderton's 

 Hotel, Fleet Street, E.G., at which it was resolved_ to 

 support the suggested establishment of an opto-technical 

 Institute in Clerkenwell " to further the work which has 

 been hitherto carried on at the Northampton Institute, and 

 has proved of great value to the optical industry." In 

 his letter convening the meeting Mr. Aitchison re- 

 marked : — " Whatever difference may still exist between 

 different parties in the trade, all are agreed to cooperate 

 1 in whatever seems to be possible for the advancement of 

 i our industrial status, by forwarding the course of technical 

 i education and concentrating public attention on the 

 ^ importance of the movement." 



The first part of " Statistics of Public Education in 

 England and Wales " for 1908-9 is now available (Cd. 

 5355). It deals entirely with educational statistics. New 

 tables have been added this year giving particulars as to 

 I the occupations of the fathers of pupils and as to the 

 I previous education of pupils in secondary schools. The 

 i tables dealing with technical education remain much the 

 i same as in previous years. Before giving particulars as 

 to the number of technical institutions in England, it must 

 be pointed out that the Board of Education defines a 

 technical institution as one giving an organised courseof 

 instruction in day classes, including advanced instruction 

 in science, or in science and art, and provided with a 

 staff and equipment adequate for the put pose. Provision 

 must be made in such institutions for at least a two 

 years' systematic course in science, or in science and art, 

 either alone or in conjunction with subjects of general, 

 commercial, manual, or technological instruction. Except 

 in special cases no student may be admitted to the course 

 unless he has passed through at least a three years' course 

 of instruction in a " recognised " secondary school, or is 

 more than sixteen years of age and qualified by his general 

 education to profit by a course of advanced instruction. 

 In 1908-9 forty such institutions were recognised by the 

 Board of Education, and they provided 121 courses. The 

 number of teachers in the institutions was 787, and the 

 number of students who attended at any time during the 

 year was 3314. Of the teachers 766 were men, and of 

 the students 3091 were boys and men. As regards the 

 age of the students, it may be said that 1046 were under 

 eighteen years of age. The number of efficient secondary 

 schools on the Board's grant list was 804 in 1908-9. 

 These schools provide a progressive course of instruction 

 in the subjects necessary to a good general education 

 upon lines suitable for pupils of an age-range at least 

 as wide as from twelve to sixteen or seventeen. _ Among 

 other things, an adequate proportion of the pupils must 

 remain at least four years in the school. In these 804 

 efficient schools there were 4338 men- and 4098 women- 

 teachers teaching 73,270 boys and 62,401 girls. 



. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 Manchester. 

 Literary and Philosophical Society, October 4.— Mr. 

 Francis Jones, president, in the chair. — T. Thorp : A 

 method for preventing the tarnishing of silver-on-glass 

 parabolic mirrors. The mirror was carefully levelled on 

 a turntable, and its axis of rotation made coincident with 

 that of the turntable. The whole was then rotated 

 uniformly at the calculated speed required to cause a 

 liquid to assume the same parabolic form as that of the 

 mirror. A i per cent, solution of " Schering's " celloidine 

 in am-yl acetate (after a lengthy period of settling) was 

 flooded on to the surface of the mirror to a depth of about 

 one-third of a millimetre. This was allowed to dry very 

 slowly, when the resultant film was found to have a 

 perfectly even surface of a thickness of about i /300th of 

 a millimetre. On testing the mirror no perceptible loss 



