NA TURE 



[July 26, 1906 



use in very fiery mines proves how thoroughly the manu- 

 facturers have interested themselves in the matter. 



The automatic and electrical devices (or regulating and 

 signalling in connection with electrically driven winding 

 engines were quite the most interesting and valuable intro- 

 duction in this year's exhibition, and the fact that by far 

 the greater number of coal-cutters and drills which were 

 exhibited were fitted with electric motors should go far to 

 prove that electricity is fighting its way successfully against 

 the older established methods of colliery procedure. 



Other arrangements of colliery machinery showing the 

 adaptability of electric motors were well represented by 

 motor-driven pumps, fans, hoists, heading machines, and 

 elevators, and among interesting signs of the times were 

 the electrically driven air compressors. 



This development in colliery work is quite in keeping 

 with the expansion of the use of electricity for power pur- 

 poses which is taking place at the present time. The 

 manv power schemes now in hand or being brought before 

 Parliament also show that, although it has been a long 

 time coming, electricity as a motive power for general 

 use may now be said to have " arrived." 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



The annual meeting of the Midland Agricultural and 

 Dairy College will be held on Monday next, July 30, when 

 the certificates gained during last session will be dis- 

 tributed, and the report on the year's work presented. 



Mr. p. Fraser has been appointed lecturer in mathe- 

 matics at University College, Bristol, in succession to Mr. 

 S. B. McLaren, who has resigned to take up an appoint- 

 ment in the University of Birmingham. The University 

 of Liverpool has conferred the degree of Doctor of 

 Engineering on Mr. J. Morrow, lecturer in engineering in 

 University College, Bristol. 



Dr. J.wies Stewart, of Rickmansworth. who died on 

 June 2 last, left more than 25,000/. to the University of 

 .Melbourne, Victoria, to found and endow in perpetuity 

 three scholarships, each of an annual value of not more 

 than 50/., and tenable for two or three years, to be called 

 the "Stewart Scholarships," one to be awarded for 

 anatomy, one for medicine, and one for surgery. In addi- 

 tion to this, more than 3000/. is left to the Ballarat School 

 of Mines for a " Stewart Fund " to be applied to the 

 augmentation for ever of the salary of a teacher of miner- 

 alogy, and about 1500?. to the Ballarat Mechanics' Institute 

 for replenishing the library. 



The new regulations of the Board of Education for the 

 training of teachers and for the examination of students in 

 training colleges have been published. No very substantial 

 alterations have been made in the present issue. It is 

 satisfactory to find that no single detailed syllabus of 

 elementary science is included in the schemes of work 

 regulating the instruction in the compulsory subjects of the 

 exaiTiination to be conducted by the Board in 1908. .■\fter 

 a consideration of the needs of the students and of the 

 facilities which the training college offers for science teach- 

 ing, the authorities are to draw up a scheme of instruction 

 in science and to submit it to the approval of the Board. 

 This instruction will in the main be tested by inspection, 

 and the students will be expected to be able to carry out 

 experiments selected from that portion of the approved 

 syllabus which has been worked through up to the date 

 of the inspector's visit, or to perform such experiments 

 of similar character as the inspector may consider suitable. 

 Encouragement is to be given to students proposing to 

 teach in country schools to take up what is called " rural 

 science," which includes nature-study and the broad prin- 

 ciples of agriculture. The whole tendency of these regula- 

 tions is to discountenance a mere te.xt-book acquaintance 

 with the facts of science ; the Board is to be congratulated 

 upon its recognition of the value to teachers of a practical 

 training in the methods of .science. 



On Wednesday, July 18, the new buildings of the South- 

 Eastern Agricultural College, Wye, were opened by Ladv 

 Carrington in the unavoidable absence of the Minister of 

 Agriculture. At the same time the diplomas, certificates. 



NO. 191 7. VOL. 74] 



and prizes were presented by her to the students before 

 a large assembly of persons interested in agriculture, in- 

 cluding Lord Ashcombe, Mr. Laurence Hardy, M.P., and 

 Mrs. Laurence Hardy, Mr. Henniker-Heaton, M.P., Mr. 

 Marsham (chairman Kent County Council), Major 

 Craigie, C.B. (Board of Agriculture), the Poet Laureate, 

 Lady Theobald Butler, Dr. Clowes, and others. The new 

 buildings have increased the size of the college by about 

 one-third its present extent. The additions include a 

 veterinary and bacteriological laboratory, a large new 

 drawing school, a new zoological research laboratory, a 

 chemical research room connected with a greenhouse, new 

 offices and students' common room, and a large detached 

 gymnasium, the latter and the drawing school both 

 anonymous gifts. The additions have permitted the 

 enlargement of the biological laboratory and one of the 

 lecture rooms to nearly double their former size, and the 

 formation of a mycological research room. Electric light 

 has been installed throughout. The college may now be 

 said to be the most completely equipped agricultural 

 institution in the country. The principal, in addressing 

 the meeting, and also Mr. Laurence Hardy, in seconding 

 the vote of thanks to Lady Carrington, both spoke of the 

 importance of research work and urged strongly that 

 national financial aid should be given to the college, which 

 has opportunities for such work as cannot be found else- 

 where. 



Higher education will benefit greatly by the handsome 

 bequests detailed in the will of the late Mr. Alfred Beit. 

 The college of technologv (including mining and metal- 

 lurgy) in connection with the University of London receives 

 50,000/. and 5000 preferred shares of 2/. io5. each in De 

 Beers Consolidated Mines (Limited). The sum of 200,000/. 

 is left to the University of Johannesburg to be applied in 

 or towards building and equipping university buildings on 

 the site of the property recently given by Mr. Beit to 

 Johannesburg (including the construction of a tramway 

 connecting the property with Johannesburg), the income of 

 such 200,000/. to be applied meanwhile for educational 

 projects as the Board of Education at Johannesburg may 

 determine ; but if at the expiration of ten years the 

 200,000/. shall not have been applied in such building and 

 equipment, then the legacy is to lapse. 200,000/. is to be 

 distributed within two years after Mr. Beit's death by a 

 board of trustees, of whom the present Bishop of Mashona- 

 land is to be one. for educational, public, and other 

 charitable purposes in Rhodesia. Mr. Beit also bequeathed 

 25,000/. to the Institute of Medical Sciences Fund, Uni- 

 versity of London, and 25.000/. to the Rhodes University, 

 Grahamstown, Cape Colony ; 20,000/. to his firm of Eck- 

 stein and Co., of Johannesburg, to be applied for educa- 

 tional, public, and other charitable purposes in the Trans- 

 vaal Colony ; 15,000/. to his firm at Kiniberley, to be applied 

 for educational, public, and other charitable purposes in or 

 near Kiniberley ; and 15,000/. to Dr. Jameson, Prime 

 Minister of Cape Colony, and .Sir Lewis L. Michell, to 

 be applied for educational, public, and other charitable 

 purposes in Cape Colony (excluding Kimberley). 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Chemical Society, July 5.— Prof. R. Meldola, F.R.S., 

 president, in the chair. — .Saponarin, a new glucoside 

 coloured blue with iodine : G. Bargrer. This substance 

 has been isolated from Saponayia officinalis. It crystal- 

 lises in microscopic needles and is hydrolysed by acids 

 yielding glucose, vitexin, and a colouring matter, apparently 

 isomeric with vitexin, for which the name saponaretin is 

 suggested. — The constitution of umbellulone : F. Tutin. 

 Unibellulone occurs in the essential oil of VmhclUtlaria 

 Californica, and has the formula C,„H,,0. Its reactions 

 indicate that it has the constitution 



CH„ CH CO 



CH., . CH(Me) 



CH — C(Me)===CH 



— The action of ethyl iodide and of propyl iodide on the 

 disodium derivative of diacetvlacetone : A. W. Bain. — .\ 



