September 7, 1905] 



NA TURE 



461 



which is that artisans, clerks and others, for whom 

 technical education is primarily provided, while wish- 

 ing to learn, have in many cases left school so 

 recently that they do not wish to return, and those 

 of maturer age are not always quite certain whether 

 their dignity will allow them to go to school again. 



THE 



WOBURN EXPERIMENTAL FRUIT 

 FARM. 



'T^HE fifth report on the Woburn Fruit Farm, by 

 -*■ the Duke of Bedford and Mr. Spencer U. 

 Pickering, F.R.S., contains a very useful summary 

 of the results of ten years' experiments and observ- 

 ations on apple-trees. The conclusions arrived at are 

 based on measurements of leaves, trees, and fruits, 

 and also on weighings of the fruit. The average size 

 of the leaf of the tree seems gradually to diminish 

 with age, and there is a similar but less marked ten- 

 dency in the fruit- The experiments indicate no ad- 

 vantage from heavy thinning of the fruit, for the size 

 was not increased; hard pruning proved unprofitable, 

 unpruned trees were three times more productive than 

 those heavily pruned ; summer pruning was found not 

 to be desirable, and even moderate root pruning was 

 found to injure the trees. Apple-trees transplanted at 

 2-3 years old were found to grow better than either 

 younger or older plants. 



A very curious result which for some time puzzled 

 the experimenters was that carelessly planted trees, 

 though weak at first, ultimately made more growth 

 than those carefully planted. A satisfactory explana- 

 tion has, however, been found. The roots of care- 

 lessly planted trees are so much injured that they 

 make scarcely any growth ; the result of this is that 

 numerous new roots grow from dormant buds higher 

 up the stem, and these new roots, not having suf- 

 fered from transplantation, ultimately surpass in size 

 the original roots of carefully planted trees. 



The results obtained at the Woburn Fruit Farm 

 are to some extent due to the particular soil — a 

 moderately stiff clay — but it is probable that the con- 

 clusions arrived at would be found to hold good in 

 many English orchards. It is, however, a very 

 difficult thing to judge how far conclusions of the 

 foregoing kmd, based on a particular set of con- 

 ditions, apply under different conditions, and the 

 practical value of the long series of experiments and 

 observations made at Woburn would be verv greatly 

 increased if similar experiments were conducted on 

 a soil, or soils, of different character. In anv action 

 which the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries mav 

 take upon the report of the " Fruit " Committee, it 

 is to be hoped that the important work of the Duke 

 of Bedford and Mr. Pickering mav be followed up 

 and extended. T. H. Middleton. 



NOTES. 

 To coinmemorate the meeting of the British .'\ssociation 

 in South Africa, a scheme has been formulated to found 

 a British Association medal for South African students. 

 This announcement was made by Prof. Darwin at the 

 close of his presidential address at Johannesburg. A visit 

 was paid to the Johannesburg Observatory on .August 30, 

 and the opportunity was taken of pointing out to Lord 

 Selborne the suitability of the site for a fully-equipped 

 observatory and the necessity for more astronomical work 

 in the southern hemisphere. Referring to this suggestion 

 in the course of his speech introducing Prof. Darwin as 

 president of the association, Lord Selborne is reported by 

 the Times correspondent to have said that " he greatly 

 regretted he had been obliged to refuse the only request 

 NO. 187 I, VOL. 72] 



that the association had made to him — namely, to find 

 funds for the establishment of a proper observatory in 

 Johannesburg. He was obliged to say that all the revenue 

 they at present possessed was required for the develop- 

 ment of their material resources and means of communi- 

 cation ; but where the Government was powerless, what 

 a magnificent opportunity there was for a patriotic Trans- 

 vaal. For a site in the purest atmosphere, 2000 feet 

 above the highest observatory now existing, only io,oool. 

 was required. There they might establish a telescope 

 which would help observers in the southern hemisphere 

 to compete with the astronomers of the northern hemi- 

 sphere. The site was there, and it was already occupied 

 by a perfectly equipped meteorological observatory." All 

 the papers on South African matters read during the meet- 

 ing are to be published in a separate volume by the South 

 African Association for the -Advancement of Science. At 

 the closing meeting, held on September i. Prof. Ray 

 Lankester was elected president of the association for 

 1906. 



Mr. J. W. Douglas, one of the editors of the Entom- 

 ologist's Monthly Magazine, died at Harlesden on 

 August 28 in his ninety-first year. 



Three distinct earthquake shocks, the severest ever 

 experienced in the district, were felt at Portsmouth, New 

 Hampshire, on August 30, beginning at 5.40 p.m. 



Reciter's correspondent at Stockholm reports that Prof. 

 Nathorst has received a letter in which Lieut. Bergendahl, 

 who is a member of the Due d'OrWans's Greenland E.xpedi- 

 tion, states that on July 27, as the expedition passed Cape 

 Bismarck, unknown land was discovered. It appears that 

 Cape Bismarck lies on a large island, and not on the 

 mainland. The new land has been mapped as well as 

 possible, and has received the name Terre de France. The 

 expedition was unable to penetrate further north than 

 yH" 16' N. lat. 



At the annual meeting of the .Academy of the Lincei, 

 which was held on June 4 in the presence of the King and 

 Queen of Italy, the president. Prof. Blaserna, announced 

 the result of the competition for the three Royal prizes 

 founded by the late King Humbert. In the section of 

 normal and pathological physiology, the prize is awarded 

 to Prof. Aristide Stefani, of Padua, for his published 

 work dealing with the physiology of the heart and circu- 

 lation, the non-acoustic functions of the labyrinth of the 

 ear, and the serotherapeutic treatment of pneumonia. In 

 the sections of archaeology and of economic and social 

 science, the judges reported that the competitors were not 

 of sufficient merit to justify the award of the prizes. This 

 is the first occasion on which so small a proportion of the 

 prizes have been conferred, and it is proposed that in 

 future the section of archaeology shall embrace not only 

 classical, but also Christian and media;val archaeology. 

 Ministerial premiums intended to aid original work among 

 teachers in secondary schools were awarded in the depart- 

 ment of mathematical sciences to Prof. Ciani (50I.), Prof. 

 Pirondini (38Z.), and Prof. Chini (20!.). Out of the funds 

 available from the Carpi prize, a sum of 32^. was awarded 

 to Dr. P. Enriques for a thesis on the changes brought 

 about in absorbed chlorophyll by the action of the liver, 

 and the relation existing between the derivatives of chloro- 

 phyll produced in the organism and the genesis of the 

 haematic pigments. In his address the vice-president, 

 F. d'Ovidio, discussed in general terms the question 

 " Art for Art's Sake," dealing more particularly with the 

 influence exerted on national life and character by art 

 and literature. 



