July i6f igoSj 



NA TURE 



259 



places of the Cape catalogue before us, for the stars 

 specified above, when arranged hi zones of declination : — 

 , South decl. ^o. a8 No. of stars 



34-46 

 46-56 

 56-66 

 66-So 



-o'004 

 -o'ooS 

 + 0x09 

 -OC49 



+ 0-33 



H 0-42 



+ 0-45 

 + 044 



39 

 34 

 30 

 16 



The discordances in right ascension for the first three 

 zones are not larger than would be anticipated, bearing in 

 mind the fact that Prof. Boss has not corrected his places 

 for personality depending on magnitude. The mean 

 correction for 'the polar zone is, however, quite uncertain, 

 the mean (without regard to sign) of the individual dis- 

 cordances from the mean value entered above being as 

 much as 0102s., pointing to the extreme uncertainty with 

 which right ascensions of even so-called " standard " stars 

 situated in this portion of the sky are carried forward for 

 a term of years. 



There appears to be a well-marl;ed systematic discord- 

 ance of about o"-4 in the declinations. This, however, is 

 not the place in which to inquire into the origin of this 

 discordance, which will doubtless receive due attention at 

 the hands of Prof. Boss. 



A melancholy interest attaches to the publication under 

 review. Sir D. Gill, in a short preface, addresses a few 

 Words of farewell to the members of the staff of the Cape 

 Observatory, referring to this catalogue as the last that 

 will probably appear in connection with his name. The 

 splendid work performed by Sir D. Gill at the Cape 

 Observatory need not be emphasised here. It must be a 

 satisfaction to him, as well as to astronomers ail the world 

 over, that he was able to accomplish another excellent piece 

 of work before the close of his official career, during which 

 he has done so much to enhance the fair fame of British 

 astronomy. A. M. W. D. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 



INTELLIGENCE. 



Birmingham. — Dr. John Cadman, one of H.M. inspectors 



of mines, has been appointed to the chair of mining 



rendered vacant by the resignation of Prof. R. A. S. 



Redmayne. 



- Glasgow. — The University Court has established a lec- 

 tureship in bacteriology, and appointed Dr. C. H. Brow'ning 

 as the first lecturer. The Court has also established a 

 lectureship in geography, to which an appointment will 

 be made in October. 



The annual meeting of the Midland .Agricultural and 

 Dairy College will be held on Monday, July 27, at 3.15 

 p.m., \vhcn the report on the year's work will be presented. 

 The Duke of Portland will address the meeting and 

 present the certificates gained during last session. 



To secure the best results, it is highly important that 

 technical colleges should worl< in close connection with 

 the needs of local industries. A distinguishing character- 

 istic of the prospectus of the day classes at the Heriot- 

 Watt College, Edinburgh, is the excellent system of co- 

 ordinating the more theoretical work of the college with 

 the practical experience gained during apprenticeship. 

 Arrangements have been made with several of the leading 

 firms of engineers in Edinburgh by which students of the 

 college are allowed to begin their apprenticeship at the 

 end of the second winter college session, returning to 

 college the following winter to complete their third winter 

 session. Students holding the college diploma have their 

 term of apprenticeship reduced by a year, and in some cases 

 either reduced premiums are charged to college students 

 or the premiums are entirely dispensed ^vith. The Edin- 

 burgh and Leith Corporations' gas commissioners, also, 

 have agreed to allow students who have been three years 

 in the chemistry- department of the college to spend four 

 summer months in the laboratories of their gas works, and 

 thus to obtain a thorough knowledge of the analysis of 

 fuels, products of combustion, coal gas, and coal distillation 

 products. A two years' course of instruction in mining, 

 again, has been arranged, which is accepted by the Home 



XO. 2C2D, VOL. 78] 



Office as equivalent to the two years' underground train- 

 ing required of those who wish to obtain the mine man- 

 ager's certificate. In connection with the department of 

 technical mycology, an arrangement has been made between 

 the college' and 'the Brewers' Association of Scotland by 

 which brewers' apprentices who have completed satis- 

 factorily an approved course will receive a joint certificate 

 awarde'd by the association and the college. Students who 

 already ho'ld a university science degree can obtain special 

 post-graduate instruction in several departments of tech- 

 nology. These instances are typical of the successful 

 efforts which are being made in Edinburgh to make tech- 

 nical instruction of real benefit to those employed in indus- 

 trial pursuits. 



0\ the occasion of the visit of the King and Queen on 

 July 9 to open the Royal Edward Dock at Avonmouth, an 

 add'ress was presented to their Majesties by the council 

 and senate of the Bristol University College. After detail- 

 ing the efforts w^hich have been made to provide Bristol 

 with a complete 'systein of education, the address pro- 

 ceeds :—" We humbly trust that your Majesty will regard 

 with satisfaction the 'provision that has thus been made in 

 our city for education in its various grades, and will look 

 with favour on our hope that our educational system will 

 be completed and crowmed by the establishment of a Univer- 

 sity in Bristol similar to those founded in recent years in 

 other important cities of the realm. The public spirit and 

 generosity lately shown by a member of a well-known 

 'Bristol family in promising the sum of one hijndred 

 thousand pounds towards the endowinent of a Bristol Lniver- 

 sitv leads us to anticipate that with the help of other liberal 

 benefactors our city may shortly be in a position to crave 

 of your Maiestv the grant of a Royal Charter for the 

 incorporation of this University." During the course of 

 his reply, the King said;—" It is now recognised by the 

 ■'reat m'unicipalities and other education authorities of my 

 kingdom that it is their duty to provide facilities for the 

 acquirement of special knowledge, so that young men may 

 be enabled to obtain efficient equipment, both literary aiid 

 technical, without travelling to distant Universities to obtain 

 it The generous emulation of rival cities in this- respect 

 is necessarily beneficial, for every addition to the practical 

 efficiency and culture of a community, and every stimulus 

 thereby supplied to others, are gains to the whole nation. 

 I will 'take care that your petition for a grant of a charter 

 for the incorporation 'of a University in Bristol is referred 

 to a committee of my Privy Council, who will give it 

 careful and sympathetic consideration, and then submit to 

 me their advice." The Society of Merchant \ enturers 

 also presented an address in which reference was made 

 to the willingness of the society to tnaintain a faculty of 

 engineering in the University. 



The Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction 

 for Ireland has for some years been very active m en- 

 couraging the teaching of science both in Irish secondary 

 schools and technical institutes. Technical instruction also, 

 through the efforts of the department, is being given success- 

 fully in numerous centres throughout Ireland. Illustrated 

 accounts of the technical work in different districts are 

 published in the Journal of the department from time to 

 time, and afterwards re-published for wide distribution ; the 

 latest pamphlet to be issued in this way is a well illustrated 

 description of the facilities for technical instruction in 

 Oueenstown, by Mr. George Thompson, the principal of 

 the technical s'chool in that town. The department also 

 does very useful work in providing science teachers m Insh 

 secondary schools with careful guidance as to the best 

 methods 'of teaching and the most suitable courses of work 

 in science for bovs and girls in secondary schools. Ue 

 have received copies of the revised syllabuses in physics 

 and in physiology and hygiene. The syllabuses, in addi- 

 tion to a' general introduction describing the aim and 

 object of the instruction, outline experimental courses of 

 study for each of the four years during which science is 

 taught in the secondary school. During the first two 

 years of their study of science the pupils Investigate prac- 

 'ticallv the simple fundamental principles of physics and 

 chem'istrv, while during the third and fourth years some 

 specialisation is allowed, and the study becomes more in- 

 tensive. The syllabuses are well worth the careful atten- 



