70 



NATURE 



[May 17, 1906 



Higher education is mostly left to take care of itself 

 in this country, with the result that our statesmen and 

 Governments do not know exactly where it is being carried 

 on, or what provision has been made for it without their 

 assistance. On the principle that what is everybody's 

 business is nobody's business, no serious attempt has been 

 made to take stock of our national resources as regards 

 higher education, so it comes about that the committee 

 recenlly appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to 

 advise the Treasury as to the distribution of the sum voted 

 by Parliament for grants in aid to university colleges has 

 sent an intimation to the public Press with the object of 

 bringing the conditions under which grants are made under 

 the notice of colleges which have not as yet communicated 

 with the committee. It is obvious that if our higher 

 education were properly organised by the State, the 

 Minister of Education would have detailed particulars of 

 institutions devoted to it, and such an announcement as 

 that just issued, suggesting that there are many colleges 

 unknown to the official mind, would have been unneces- 

 sary. The grants are given only to those institutions 

 which afford education of a university standard in great 

 centres of population in England. To qualify for a grant 

 at present, a college is required to show that its local 

 income for work of a university character is not less than 

 4000/., and that of this sum at least 1500/. is derived from 

 fees, .^ny college wishing to be included in the list of 

 those receiving grants should send in an application not 

 later than June 13. Applications should be addressed to 

 the secretary to the committee, Mr. R. G. Hawtrey, at the 

 Treasury, S.W. 



Presentation Dav was celebrated at the University of 

 London on May 9, when Sir Arthur Riicker, the principal, 

 read his annual report on the work of the University. An 

 important event of the year was the recasting of the 

 schemes of examination for the B..^. degree. Up to the 

 present the course of study from the matriculation stage 

 onward has been, with the exception of mathematics, 

 entirely literary. The opinion that a mixed course of litera- 

 ture and science would be of the utmost value to many pass 

 students has, however, for long been gaining in strength, 

 and effect has now been given to it in the following manner. 

 In future either Greek or Latin, but not both, will be com- 

 pulsory both in the intermediate and in the final examin- 

 ations for the B.A. degree. Another language will also be 

 compulsory ; while the other subjects required may be 

 chosen from a list of languages, pure and applied mathe- 

 matics, and the more fundamental sciences. The examin- 

 ations in science will be identical with those for the corre- 

 sponding subjects for the B.Sc. degree. It will thus be 

 possible for a candidate for a pass B.A. degree to take 

 either an exclusively literary course or a mixed course in- 

 cluding Latin and one other language. Sir Arthur Rijcker 

 announced that the Senate has invited the University of 

 Paris and the College de France to visit the University of 

 London at Whitsuntide. This will be a unique event, no 

 formal visit having hitherto been made by a French to an 

 English university. A large number of distinguished guests 

 are expected, and it is hoped that the occasion will bind 

 closer the intellectual links which unite the two coimtries. 



.•\ DEPUTATION of the council of the Association of 

 Tecimicd' Institutions was received by the President of the 

 Board of Education on May 4. Sir William Anson, as 

 president of the association, introduced the deputation, and 

 stated that its object was to bring before the Board the 

 iniportance of increasing the rate of grants to the day 

 technical institutions and for instruction in the more 

 technical subjects in evening classes. Sir William Anson 

 referred to the importance of efficiently maintaining facili- 

 ties for technical instruction, and pointed out the tendency 

 of local authorities to devote their funds chiefly to 

 elementary education, to the possible detriment of higher 

 work. Sir Philip Magnus urged the importance of techno- 

 logical subjects in evening classes, and the great cost in- 

 volved in their maintenance. Unless education authorities 

 ;'re encouraged to conduct such classes there is grave fear 

 of their being neglected for subjects, not so important to 

 the industries of the country, which receive higher grants. 

 Sir William Mather spoke of the great importance of tech- 

 nical education for the maintenance of the industries of the 



country, and the need for watching that money intended 

 by Parliament for the maintenance of such work should not 

 be diverted, for other work. He thought an appeal might 

 well be made to employers to contribute towards the cost 

 of technical education. Mr. Birrell, in reply, said that the 

 deputation might rest assured that the Board has every 

 sympathy with the request put forward for increased grants 

 for work in day classes in technical institutes. The Board 

 fully realises the importance of the work which is done. 

 Mr. Birrell, however, reminded the deputation that there 

 are many other important branches of education which are 

 in need of increased grants. In conclusion, he cordially 

 supported what Sir William Mather said as to the import- 

 ance of employers contributing to technical institutes. Mr. 

 F. G. Ogilvie dealt with the way in which the Board is 

 trying to include technical subjects as eligible for their 

 grants, and so far as possible at the same rate as science 

 subjects. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



I.ONUON. 



Royal Society, April 5. — "On the Distribution of 

 Radium in the Earth's Crust, and on the Earth's Internal 

 Heat." By the Hon. R. J. Strutt, F.R.S. 



Summary of Conclusions. — (i) Radium can easily be de- 

 tected in all igneous rocks. Granites, as a rule, contain 

 most radium, basic rocks the least. (2) This distribution 

 of radium is uniform enough to enable a fair estimate to 

 be made of the total quantity in each mile of depth of the 

 crust. (3) The result indicates that the crust cannot be 

 much more than forty-five miles deep, for otherwise 

 the outflow of heat would be greater than is observed to 

 be the case. The interior must consist of some totally 

 difi'erent material. This agrees entirely with Prof. Milne's 

 conclusion drawn from a study of the velocity of propa- 

 gation of earthquake shocks through the interior. (4) The 

 moon probably consists for the most part of rock, and, if 

 so, its internal temperature must be far greater than that 

 of the earth. This explains the great development of 

 volcanoes on the moon. (5) Iron meteorites contain little, 

 if any, radium. Stony ones contain about as much as the 

 terrestrial rocks which they resemble. 



Challenger Society, April 25.— Mr. E W. L. Holt in 

 the chair. — Exhibits. — Four species of Cephalodiscus, of 

 which three had recently been described by the author, who 

 also referred to others from the Discovery and .intarctica ex- 

 peditions ; Dr. S. F. Harmer. — Charts of positions in the 

 North Sea, where, by means of a heavy conical dredge with 

 canvas lining, samples of bottom deposits had been taken 

 by the Marine Biological Association's steamer Huxley : 

 J. O. Borley. Mr. Borley showed in action a sifting 

 machine, designed by Mr. Todd and himself, for grading 

 these deposits ; sieves of various mesh, hung in water, were 

 made to vibrate horizontally at high speed by an excentric 

 worked by an ordinary whirling-table. There were also 

 exhibited specimens of the gravel, fine sand, and silt met 

 with, charts of their distribution showing the extreme 

 uniformity of bottom found over large areas in the eastern 

 part of the North Sea, and diagrams indicating the very 

 definite meaning attaching to fishermen's descriptive terms 

 for the bottom. — Preliminary paper on Medusje collected 

 in H.M.S. Research by Dr. Fowler in the Bay of Biscay : 

 E. T. Browne. The Trachomedusae predominated over 

 the other orders, three species forming about S5 per cent, 

 of the specimens collected (Aglantha rosea, 42 per cent.; 

 Aglaura hemistoma, 27 per cent. ; Rhopalonema coeruleum, 

 15 per cent.). These were chiefly taken between 50 fathoms 

 and 100 fathoms. A few rather rare species were taken 

 below 100 fathoms ; for example, Colobonema sericeum, one 

 of the new deep-sea Medus;E discovered by the Valdivia. 

 The most interesting find was a Narcomedusan, probably 

 a new species of Cunoctacantha, which had a number of 

 medusa-buds in all stages of development upon the stomach- 

 pouches : the buds were not parasitic, as in other species 

 of Cunoctacantha and Cunina, but develop directly from 

 outgrowths of the stomach-wall. This forms a straight- 

 forward case of asexual gemmation, such as occurs in some 

 Anthomedusfe. 



NO. 1907, VOL. 74] 



