July 5, 1906J 



NA TURE 



237 



tion of the International Geodetic Association, and, owing 

 to its immediate interest, has absorbed the greater portion 

 of lis funds. The astronomical world was surprised by 

 the .innouncement of Prof. Chandler that he was able to 

 demonstrate from existing observations that the earth's 

 j)cilc describes a closed curve taking about fourteen months 

 to complete a revolution. The possibility of a periodic 

 shift of the earth's axis was foreseen by Eulcr, who calcu- 

 lated the time of revolution to be ten months ; but observ- 

 ations did not show a sensible period of that duration. 

 No one apparently before Chandler tried to see whether 

 another period beyond a small annual one existed. The 

 discrepancy between the calculated ton and the observed 

 fourteen months was cleared up by Prof. Ncwcomb, who 

 pointed out that Euler's calculation was based on the sup- 

 position that the earth is an absolutely rigid body. Any 

 yielding would increase the length of the period ; in fact, 

 the earth must be more rigid than steel in order that the 

 period should be as short as fourteen months. This shows 

 how indirect information on the physical properties of the 

 earth may be obtained sometimes in an unexpected manner, 

 the periodic revolution of the pole leading to an estimate 

 of the average rigidity of the interior of the earth. The 

 total displacement of the pole of the earth from its average 

 position is small, never amounting to more than S metres. 

 The accuracy with which that displacement can be measured 

 is a testimony to the excellence of our astronomical observ- 

 ations. It is a type of work in which cooperation is abso- 

 lutely necessary. The subject has received additional 

 interest through the suggestion made by Prof. Milne in his 

 recent Bakerian lecture that seismic disturbances may be 

 caused by the changes in the position of the earth's axis. 

 Considering that the distortions in the earth are suflficicnt 

 to increase the periodic revolution of the pole from ten to 

 fourteen months, this suggestion is well worth investigation, 

 and the 300?. per annum spent by this country in support 

 of the work of the Geodetic Association will be well 

 employed if it allows the vagaries of our pole to be more 

 closely studied and all the dimensional quantities of the 

 ^fsurface of the earth to become more accurately known. 

 The contributions received by the Central Bureau of this 

 association from the particip.ating States amount to about 

 3000I., and there is a balance which at the end of 1904 

 amounted to more than 5000!. The expenditure during 

 iqoj was nearly 5000/., reducing the balance by 2000/. 

 The principal items of the expenditure were formed by 

 contributions towards the maintenance of six stations in 

 the northern and two stations in the southern hemisphere 

 for carrying out the observations relating to the changes 

 of the position of the earth's axis. The whole cost of 

 this service is about 4450^. The honorarium of the secre- 

 tary is 250?., which, together with the cost of printing, 

 postage, and a small item for grants toward special scien- 

 tific work, makes up the expenditure. No charges are 

 made for office expenses, which are defrayed by the 

 Prussian Government. 



The geodetic work indirectly gives us valuable, though 



only partial, information on the interior of the earth, but it 



confines itself in the main to the surface of the globe ; the 



investigation of our atmosphere carries us beyond. 



{^0 he continued.) 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Dr. J. P. Hill has been appointed to the Jodrell chair 

 of zoology at University College, London. 



At King's College, London, Dr. C. S. Myers has been 

 appointed professor of psychology (including experimental 

 psychology), and Mr. H. S. Allen senior lecturer in physics. 



The Rev. T. C. Fitzpatrick, dean and supernumerarv 

 fellow of Christ's College, has been elected president of 

 Oueens" College, Cambridge, in succession to the Bishop 

 of Ely. 



.\ COURSE of five free public lectures is to be given, in 

 accordance with the will of Mr. Brown, in the physio- 

 logical laboratory of the University of London on July 4, 

 II, 13, 16, and 18, by Prof. T. G. Brodie, F.R.S., on the 



NO. 1914, VOL. 74I 



" Secretion of Urine under Normal and under Pathological 

 Conditions." 



TnK trustees of the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute have, 

 we learn from Science, subscribed 160,000!. toward the 

 400,000/. necessary to endow the proposed extension of the 

 institute, affording facilities for more advanced work. In 

 addition to this handsome provision for higher education, 

 our contemporary announces that Mr. and Mrs. Jacob 

 Turtellout, of Minneapolis, have offered to give 80,000/. 

 to build and endow an academy for the town of Thompson, 

 Conn., and that Dr. Henry M. Saunders, of New York, 

 a trustee of Vassar College, has given 15,000/. for the 

 erection of a building as a memorial to his wife. 



The current number of Macmillan's Magazine contains 

 an article by Mr. A. C. Passmore on technical education, 

 in which some of the weaknesses of systems of instruction 

 of this type are summarised. The need is insisted upon 

 for adequate preliminary training of a suitable kind for 

 students beginning courses of technology. It is urged that 

 instead of being in such a hurry to provide technical schools 

 it would be worth while to consider the qualifications and 

 fitness of the teachers. The examination system is cited 

 as one of the chief causes conspiring to make British 

 technical education unsatisfactory. But the author appears 

 to be unacquainted with the work being done in many 

 of the great municipal technical schools, and to have ceased 

 his educational observations some ten or fifteen years ago. 

 Conditions at present are better than Mr. Passmore paints 

 them. 



Among the bequests made by Mr. F. W. Webb, who 

 died on June 4, we notice the following : — 2000/. to Owens 

 College, Manchester, to establish for the benefit of 

 employees and sons of employees of the London and North- 

 western Railway a " Webb " scholarship tenable at Owens 

 College, Manchester ; 2000/. to the University College of 

 Liverpool for a similar purpose there as defined for Owens 

 College, Manchester; 1000/. to the Institute of Civil 

 Engineers for providing annually a "Webb Medal," and 

 a premium of books to be awarded for the best paper on 

 railway machinery. 



The annual assembly and prize distribution at University 

 College, London, on Tuesday, July 3, was of more than 

 usual interest from the fact that the friends of Prof. Carey 

 Foster had taken the opportunity of then presenting to 

 the college the portrait of Prof Foster which has been 

 painted by Mr. .■\ugustus John. The presentation was 

 made by Prof. F. T. Trouton, who recalled the fact that 

 Prof. Foster was the first to introduce practical laboratory 

 teaching in physics into England. Many of the methods 

 devised by him in the development of his laboratory courses 

 are to-day recognised as standard ones. For instance,- 

 every student has to go through and know his Carey-Foster 

 Bridge as surely and regularly as at school he has to pass 

 the fifth proposition of the first book of Euclid. The ex- 

 ample set by Foster was followed in laboratory after labor- 

 atory, until to-day there is not a town without its course of 

 experimental physics. Prof. Trouton concluded by hoping 

 that though the portrait represented its subject as an older 

 man than he really is, yet his useful life might be spared 

 until the portrait may become that of a much younger man. 

 The Right Hon. Lord Reay, G.C.S.I., who received the 

 portrait on behalf of the college, referred to the great 

 impetus which the study of physics had received by his 

 work and writings, which are characterised by great clear- 

 ness and lucidity. More especially he referred to the debt 

 owed to Prof. Foster by the college, of which he became 

 the first principal at a time at which great tact and know- 

 ledge were required in connection with the delicate negoti- 

 ations leading to the incorporation of the college in the 

 L'niversity of London. His lordship concluded by present- 

 ing a replica of the portrait to Mrs. Carey Foster. Prof. 

 Foster, in acknowledging the presentations, alluded to the 

 interval of fifty-three years since he was first present at a 

 ceremony of the same kind. In one respect the present 

 ceremony was of historical interest, inasmuch as it w'as 

 the last ceremony to be held by the college before its. in- 

 corporation. He looked forward to the advantages arising 

 from this incorporation. The prominent defect in the 

 higher teaching in Lon()cin is the dispersion of the large 



