46 



NA TURE 



[Mav II, 1905 



therefore, the bald outside edge were divided in milli- 

 inetres the whole range would be available for metric 

 measurement, and if the lower half of the space at the 

 back of the slide now emptv were divided in inches, hat 

 measurements from 20 to 41 inches would complete the 

 range for the English scale. C. V. B. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Cambriuge.— Mr. Frederick Wilkin, of Lower Consley 

 Wood, Wadhurst, Sussex, proposes lo found a studentship 

 in memory of his son, Mr. Anthony Wilkin, late of King s 

 College, and for this purpose he proposes to make over to 

 the university the tithe rent charge on Wadhurst Parish. 

 This benefaction is for the furtherance of ethnological and 

 archaeological research, and the holder is to be termed 

 "The Anthonv Wilkin Student." It is proposed that the 

 student shall be selected by the board of anthropological 

 studies ; the income is estimated at about 40/. a year, and 

 the board suggests that this should be accumulated for 

 periods of five years in order that a substantial sum of 

 about 200;. may be available for the selected candidate. 

 The first studentship will be offered in 1910. 



Mr W. W. Watts, of Sidney Sussex College, Mr. H. V. 

 Oldham, of King's College, Mr. A. R. Hinks, of Trinity 

 College,' and Mr. G. G. Chisholm have been appointed 

 examiners for part ii. of the examination for the diploma 

 in geography. 



A combined examination of non-resident candidates tor 

 open scholarships, exhibitions, &c., will be held at Trinity 

 College, Clare College, Trinity Hall, Peterhouse, and 

 Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, beginning on Tuesday, 

 December 5. Forms of application for admission to the 

 examination may be obtained from any of the tutors of 

 Trinity College,' the senior tutor of Clare College, the 

 tutor of Trinity Hall, the senior tutor of Peterhouse, or 

 the master of Sidnev Sussex College, to one of whom the 

 form of application' (when filled up), together with cer- 

 tificates of birth and of moral character, should be sent. 

 Entries should be made not later than November 23. 



.\ TEACHING observatory will, it is reported by Science, 

 be established by the Ont'ario Government at the University 

 of Toronto. Dr. C. A. Chant expects to visit the observ- 

 atories of the United States to study their plans and 

 methods. 



A CONFERENCE of Scientific students was held at Colorado 

 College, Colorado Springs, on April 28 and 29, and re- 

 presentatives of leading universities and colleges were 

 present. A number of papers upon subjects relating to 

 the scientific problems of the Rocky Mountain country 

 were read. A similar conference, held a year ago at the 

 same institution, was of such importance that it led to 

 this second series of meetings. 



With the view of making the municipal museum a centre 

 of education in the broad principles of natural science, the 

 Hull authorities have arranged with the curator, Mr. T. 

 Sheppard, for the delivery by him of simple lectures to 

 school children on geolo'gy, zoology, and anthropology. 

 The lectures are given in the mornings by arrangement. 

 Permission for pupils to visit the museum must be obtained 

 from the clerk of the education committee. Each lecture 

 lasts about half an hour, and is illustrated by objects from 

 the cases. The remainder of the morning is occupied in 

 examining the specimens, taking notes, and making 

 sketches. 



Mr. A. C. Benson contributes to the National Review 

 an important article on an Eton education. Mr. Benson, 

 though a classicist, is by no means satisfied with the exist- 

 ing state of educational matters at Eton. Describing the 

 average boy who leaves Eton, Mr. Benson says : — " The 

 basis of his education has been, as a rule, the classical 

 basis ; that is to say, the greater part of his working hours 

 have been devoted to Latin and Greek. A small percentage 

 of fair classical scholars and a still smaller sprinkling of 

 distinguished classicists is the result. But the average boy 

 leaves Eton with no mastery of either of these languages. 



He cannot, as a rule, construe at sight an easy passage in 

 either, or turn a piece of English into either language 

 without a large crop of mistakes." In another place Mr. 

 Benson states that the boy " never reaches the stage at 

 which classics become literature." He urges that for the 

 large class of boys who are not intended for the university, 

 the strictly classical programme might be with advantage 

 modified. Mr. Benson believes that a boy who left school 

 with a thorough knowledge of French, " who knew the 

 elements of science, so as to be able to understand some- 

 thing of what was going on in the world around him, in 

 heaven and earth and sea, in field and wood," who knew 

 arithmetic and had a reasonable knowledge of geography 

 and history, would leave school a fairly educated man. 

 Mr. Benson would have a very simple core of education 

 on the lines just indicated, and then any evidence of special 

 capacity, linguistic, mathematical, scientific, or historical, 

 should be carefully observed, and at a certain age a boy's 

 studies should converge more closely upon a special sub- 

 ject, care being taken at the same time that ihe general 

 education should not be neglected. 



A V.ALUABLE address was delivered by Prof. A. Pedler, 

 F.R.S., Vice-chancellor of the University of Calcutta, and 

 Director of Public Instruction with the Government of 

 Bengal, at the recent convocation of the Senate of the 

 university for conferring degrees. During the course of 

 his remarks. Prof. Pedler said that fifty years ago uni- 

 versitv education in Bengal had no existence, the doors of 

 western learning had not been opened, and the knowledge 

 of western science was absolutely beyond the reach of any- 

 one in the country. During the last half-century the 

 possibilities of obtaining western knowledge and western 

 culture, and the facilities for higher education, have been 

 rapidly developed, until a whole network of educational 

 institutions has been spread over Bengal. Inquiring as to 

 whether the form of education being given to the people 

 is affecting them in the most satisfactory way. Prof. Pedler 

 came to the conclusion that it is not. The arrangements 

 he said, are wanting in concentration of effort, in thorough- 

 ness of method, and in the intelligent appreciation of means 

 to ends. After instituting a comparison between what has 

 been accomplished in Japan and in Bengal, he came to 

 the conclusion that the secret of the brilliant success of 

 university education in Japan is to be found in the observ- 

 ance of certain cardinal principles, viz. patience in obtain- 

 ing results : thoroughness in work ; concentration of uni- 

 versity work in a few really well equipped and strongly 

 staffed colleges, each institution being devoted to one 

 special section of learning, which is taught thoroughly ; 

 adaptation of the courses to the practical wants of life 

 and of modern civilisation, as exemplified by tlie large 

 proportion of graduates who elect the practical rather than 

 literary courses of study ; originality as shown by the large 

 number of young men who undertake research work, and 

 also shown by the large number of original contributions 

 in science. In the future. Prof. Pedler remarked, it will 

 be necessary in Bengal to adopt all these principles and to 

 adhere to them with uncompromising tenacity, if university 

 work is to be placed on a really satisfactory footing. The 

 principles could also be applied with profit to a large part 

 of the work of our own educational institutions. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 London. 

 Geological Society, April 19. — Mr. H B. Woodward, 

 F.R.S., vice-president, in the chair. — The Blea Wyke beds 

 and the Dogger in north-east Yorkshire : R. H. Rastall. 

 The author describes the type-section at Blea Wyke in 

 detail, dividing the rocks into the following divisions, 

 enumerated in descending order : — (5) Dogger ; (4) yellow 

 beds; (3) Serpula beds; (2) Lingula beds; (i) Striatulus 

 shales. Descriptions and fossil lists from these divisions 

 are given, and the succession is compared with others. — 

 Notes on the geological aspect of some of the north-eastern 

 territories of the Congo Free State : G. F. J. Preumont, 

 with petrological notes by J. A. Howe. This paper is n 

 brief sketch of the geological structure of the northern part 

 of the Congo State, from Buta on the River Rubi and Bima 



NO. 1854, VOL. 72] 



