50 
NATURE 
[Marcu 14, 1912 
Hunter; Coal: its Origin, Method of Working, and 
Preparation for the Market, F. H. Wilson. T. Fisher 
Unwin.—Unwin’s Technological Dictionary, three 
parts, in French, German, and English, edited by Dr. 
A. Tolhausen, revised by L. Tolhausen, with a sup- 
plement, including all modern terms and expressions 
in electricity, telegraphy, and telephony. Whittaker 
and Co.—Manufacture of Nitro-lignin and Sporting 
Powder, E. H. Durnford, illustrated; The Radio- 
telegraphists’ Guide and Log-book: a Manual of 
Wireless Telegraphy for the Use of Operators, W. H. 
Marchant, illustrated. J. Wiley and Sons (New 
York).—Handbook of Sugar Analysis, C. A. Browne, 
jun.; German and American Varnish-making, Prof. 
Max Bottler, translated, with notes on American 
varnish and paint manufacture, by A. H. Sabin, 
illustrated; Analysis of Paint and Varnish Products, 
Dr. C. D. Holley. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Bailliére, Tindall and Cox.—The Economics of 
Feeding Horses, Prof. H. A. Woodruff. Cambridge 
University Press.—The Psychology of Insanity, Dr. 
B. Hart; Metals, F. E. C. Lamplough; Prehistoric 
Britain, L. McL. Mann. Chatto and Windus.—A 
History of Babylonia and Assyria from Prehistoric 
Times to the Persian Conquest, L. W. King, vol. ii., 
illustrated. _W. Heinemann.—Introductory Science, 
W. Tunna Walker. .T. C. and E. C. Jack.—Intro- 
duction to Science, W. C. D. Whetham, F.R.S.; 
The Meaning of Philosophy, Prof. A. E. Taylor; 
Psychology, Dr. H. J. Watt. Macmillan and Co., 
Ltd.—Manual of Statistics, the late Sir R. Giffen, 
F.R.S. Milner and Co.—Dactylography: or Finger 
Prints in Relation to Evidence of Man’s Genetic 
Descent, &c., H. Faulds, illustrated. John Murray. 
—Science of the Sea: an Elementary Handbook of 
Practical Oceanography for Travellers, Sailors, and 
Yachtsmen, prepared by the Challenger Society for 
the Promotion of the Study of Oceanography, and 
edited by Dr. G. Herbert Fowler, illustrated. G. P. 
Putnam’s Sons.—Nature’s Harmonic Unity: a 
Treatise on its Relation to Proportional Form, 
S. Colman. J. Wiley and Sons (New York).—Fire 
Prevention and Fire Protection, J. K. Freitag; 
Applied Methods of Scientific Management, F. A. 
Parkhurst, illustrated. 
UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 
INTELLIGENCE. 
CampripGE.—In a letter to the Vice-Chancellor, 
dated March 7, Viscount Esher states that a generous 
benefactor, who stipulates that his name shall not be 
mentioned, has placed in his hands a sum of 20,000. 
for the purpose of endowing a professorship at Cam- 
bridge in connection with the experimental study of 
heredity and of development by descent. It is stipu- 
lated also that the new chair shall be called the 
Balfour Professorship of Genetics. The same bene- 
factor ‘‘is willing to furnish such funds as may be 
necessary to provide and equip a small station at 
Cambridge for the use of the professor should such 
a course be considered desirable after careful ex- 
amination of the methods likely to be most satis- 
factory for the purposes of research in the domain of 
genetics.” 
Lord Rayleigh, Chancellor of the University, has 
been nominated to represent the University on the 
occasion of the celebration in July next of the two 
hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of 
the Royal Society; Sir T. Clifford Allbutt, K.C.B., 
and Dr. Macalister, professor of anatomy, to repre- 
sent the University at the bicentenary festival of the 
NO. 2211, VOL. 89] 
Medical School of Trinity College, Dublin, in July 
next; and Dr. E. W. Brown to represent the Uni- 
versity at the centenary anniversary of the Academy 
of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia in the present 
month. 
Syndicates have been appointed to obtain plans for 
the extension of the School of Agriculture on the 
Downing site, and for the erection of the building 
for the Forestry Department at the south-east corner 
of the same area, and the Vice-Chancellor has been 
authorised to obtain tenders for the extension of the 
engineering laboratory. 
The next combined examination for fifty-seven 
entrance scholarships and a large number of exhibi- 
tions, at Pembroke, Gonville and Caius, Jesus, 
Christ’s, St. John’s, and Emmanuel Colleges, will be 
held on Tuesday, December 3, and following days. 
Mathematics, classics, natural sciences, and _ history 
will be the subjects of examination at all the above- 
mentioned colleges. 
THE new hygiene and physiology laboratories of 
the Battersea Polytechnic will be opened on Monday, 
April 22, by the Master of the Worshipful Company 
of Drapers, his honour Judge Benson, who will 
deliver an address and distribute prizes and certifi- 
cates. 
Pror. A. WILLEy, F.R.S., and Dr. W. F. N. Wood- 
land have been elected fellows of University College, 
London. Dr. Woodland, who is assistant professor 
of zoology at the college, has been appointed to the 
chair of zoology at the Muir Central College, Allaha- 
bad, India. 
Tur London County Council has arranged for 
maintenance grants of 5500l., 11,46ol., and r11,6rol., 
respectively, to be paid to the University of London 
for the years Ig1I-12, 1912-13, and 1913-14. In each 
year toool. is intended for home science at King’s 
College for Women, r500l. for libraries, 5001. for the 
physiological laboratory, and s5oo0l. for advanced 
lectures; 20001. each year is intended for general 
university purposes. In each of the years 1912-13 
and 1913-14 540o0l. is intended for the university pro- 
fessoriate and for the encouragement of French and 
other Romance languages. 
In the Popular Science Monthly for February, 
Prof. A. F. Chamberlain directs attention to some 
interesting characteristics of the modern English 
language, which he considers may conduce towards 
English becoming the universal language of the 
future. These characteristics include the power of 
importing and assimilating foreign words when re- 
quired for the exigencies of intercommunication 
without subordination to grammatical categories and 
merely formal canons; the formation of hybrid words, 
the use of prefixes and suffixes, and the reduction of 
long words by abbreviated forms. The author quotes 
the word ‘‘ remacadamising ’’ as an instance built up 
from five different languages—Latin, Gaelic, Hebrew, 
Greek, and English. He considers that no other 
language in the world possesses the same qualities, 
which, by the way, somewhat reflect England’s 
qualities as a free-trade colonising nation, and may 
be intimately connected with our national character- 
istics. ; 
In the House of Commons on March 6 Sir Philip 
Magnus asked the Prime Minister whether the 
Government has made itself responsible for the 
housing of the University of London throughout its 
history; whether he was aware that in the Treasury 
minute of February 16, 1899, the liability to provide a 
suitable home for the University is acknowledged; 
