October io, 1907] 



NA TURE 



59: 



would be the institution of a State examination, which 

 everyone should be required to pass, irrespective of 

 anv degree or diploma he should otherwise obtain, as 

 advocated by Dr. Ewart in his address at St. George's 

 Hospital. The London students have a grievance in 

 that the diploma of the Royal Colleges does not en- 

 title the holder to an M.D. degree, and the University 

 of London degree is comparatively inaccessible to the 

 average student. To meet this difficulty, Dr. .Allchin 

 frankly contended that the University should grant 

 a degree in medicine accessible under reasonable con- 

 ditions to the average man, reserving for those who 

 desired them honours examinations more stringent 

 than the pass ones. Sir Douglas Powell also ex- 

 pressed his regret that the diploma of the Royal Col- 

 leges could not be signalised by some more definite 

 designation than it now carries. He would make any 

 further work beyond the requirements for the qualifv- 

 ing examinations more strictly post-graduate work. 

 He says : — 



" When a man has qualified in his first two years' 

 subjects by passing the required examination, he would 

 do well to proceed to a six months' or a longer course in 

 those subjects for the higher university degrees, and when 

 he has qualified in the second grade and obtained his 

 licence to practise he may proceed to post-graduate 

 clinical, pathological, or other research for his final ex- 

 aminations in those degrees or for the membership of the 

 Royal College of Physicians or fellowship of the Royal 

 College of Surgeons. .\ university degree and the higher 

 grades of medicine and surgery should be regarded as 

 something beyond and in a sense outside a qualification to 

 practise — as an academic or other distinction for the attain- 

 ment of which a man may take as long as he pleases, 

 but for which certainly some additional work in each grade 

 or period of his studies should be required." 



There is a parallel to this in the case of veterinary 

 medicine, in which the University degree does not 

 take the place of the diploma of the Royal College of 

 \'eterinary Surgeons, as it is not a licence to practise, 

 as was pointed out by Prof. Lander in his address at 

 the Veterinary College. 



Post-graduation study and research in medical sub- 

 jects are essentia! if the practitioner is to keep abreast 

 of recent advances, if the science of medicine is to 

 advance, and the public health to improve. In London, 

 with its seven millions of inhabitants, the supply of 

 clinical material for teaching and research is unique, 

 but there can be no question that it is not utilised 

 nearlv to the full extent. The West London Hospital, 

 the London School of Clinical Medicine, the Poly- 

 clinic, and a few hospitals are doing excellent work 

 in post-graduate teaching, but if London is to be, as 

 it ought, a great centre for post-graduation work, 

 there must be more coordination and concentration 

 among the numerous special hospitals. The svstem 

 which makes our hospitals and medical schools de- 

 pendent on voluntary support has led to the founding 

 of a number of hospitals for special diseases, widelv 

 scattered, and therefore largely unavailable for 

 teaching purposes, draining the general hospitals of 

 the particular cases they admit, and using up public 

 subscriptions which might be better utilised. There 

 can be no doubt, on the score of economv alone, that a 

 combination between many of the special hospitals 

 would be of advantage, a view which has been taken 

 by the King's Fund. The poor-law infirmaries also 

 are almost entirely unutilised, yet contain material of 

 the utmost value for teaching and research. Sir 

 Douglas Powell says : — 



" I cannot but think further that some affiliative group- 

 ing of the great clinical hospitals about the three university 

 centres would be of great value in point of view of financial 

 economy and strength of teaching. It is very possible, 



NO. 1980, VOL. 76] 



too, that special hospitals and infirmaries might be more 

 utilised than they now are for clinical teaching material, 

 and especially for post-graduate teaching." 



As regards research, the special hospitals, the poor- 

 law infirmaries, and the hospitals of the Metropolitan 

 .\sylums Board offer unique opportunities for clinical 

 and pathological investigation, but are almost un- 

 utilised in this respect, and the general hospitals are 

 unable to do what could and should be done in this 

 direction owing to lack of funds. Contrast this state 

 of affairs with what obtains, say, in Berlin — 

 the newest hospital, the Virchow Krankenhaus, has 

 2000 beds for all kinds of cases, its department for 

 infectious diseases, its pathological institute, with 

 scientific staff, and the research Institute for Infec- 

 tious Diseases is close by and affiliated to it — and 

 it must be admitted that London makes but a poor 

 show. 



In the teaching of hygiene and the necessary curri- 

 culum for the diploma in public health, concentration 

 again is eminently desirable. .\t present nearly 

 every medical school retains teachers, and the requisite 

 expensive equipment, in each case for the instruction 

 of but a few students. 



SCIENCE IX THE EAST.' 



AMIDST the crowded town life of England, 

 physical science outside the laboratory seems 

 to be becoming a thing of the past. The ordinary 

 British physicist concerns himself with the eccen- 

 tricities of radium, the cosmogony of the ion, and 

 other matters which are at present but names of 

 mvsterv to most people. The work of the Indian 

 Survey carries with it the sense of open air and large 

 areas. It deals with subjects which appeal, in part 

 at least, to the intelligence of the average educated 

 man. 



A great magnetic survey has been in progress for 

 some years. Up to the date of the report by Captain 

 R. H. Thomas, observations had been made at So8 

 stations, and three more seasons, it was hoped, would 

 complete the field work, except in so far as repeti- 

 tions of observations might prove necessary or exten- 

 sions into the hills might be found practicable. The 

 main part of the magnetic report deals with the inter- 

 comparison of instruments, but there are also some 

 data as to the diurnal inequalities of declination and 

 horizontal force at several of the fixed observatories 

 erected to assist in the survey work. These inequali- 

 ties are based on five " quiet " days a month, but the 

 non-cvclic change is not explicitly shown, and there 

 seems no statement as to whether it has been allowed 

 for. The dilTerence between the values for o a.m. 

 and II p.m. in horizontal force is suspiciously large. 



Until the question has been actually investigated, it 

 is unsafe to assume that diurnal inequalities from 

 quiet davs are really representative of the ordinary 

 dav; the part played bv disturbance also varies 

 largely from day to day. Thus, though the inequality 

 data are of much intrinsic interest, it is impossible 

 to say in advance what degree of utility they mav 

 possess for surve}' purposes. From the large dif- 

 ferences between the inequalities at the different 

 Indian stations, it is clear that problems of some 

 difficulty will have to be faced when it comes to cor- 

 recting the field observations for diurnal changes, 

 regular and irregular. 



Part ii. gives an account of pendulum observations 

 made by Major G. P. Lenox Conyngham and his 



1 Extracts from narrative reports of officers of the Survey of India for the 

 =eason 1004-5 ; prepared under the direction of Colonel F. B. Longe. R.E., 

 Ru'veyor-General of India. Pp. 127. (Calcutta : Government Printing 

 Office, 1907.) Price ss. ^d. 



