334 



NA TURE 



[August 6, 1908 



the Schneiderian membrane, and loss of smell. As ihe 

 process descends, first irritation and then atrophy of the 

 mucous membrane of the pharynx and larynx occur. At 

 this stage the cough induced by the irritating particles 

 becomes " dry " and useless ; the entrance of dust into the 

 lungs being thus facilitated, nodules of dust-filled, in- 

 flammatory infiltration are formed, which break down and 

 provide a nidus for the tubercle bacillus. 



A further argument against the dry-grinding process 

 was brought forward by Dr. Barnes {pi ShetSeld). He 

 maintained that the great susceptibility of grinders to 

 tuberculosis was due to the fact that the dust amongst 

 which they worked aided in the dissemination of the 

 tubercle bacillus by inducing the rapid drying of the 

 sputum. He pointed out that, whereas now a tuberculous 

 worker spits upon a dusty floor, in the old days he spat 

 into a trough containing water. The speaker, in effect, 

 insisted that " grinder's disease " was pure tuberculosis 

 and not pneumoconiosis, and called upon the contents of 

 the pathological museum to substantiate his contention. 



We were surprised to notice that no mention was made 

 of the growing belief that tubercular infection of the lung 

 takes place vid. the alimentary canal. Even in the case 

 of the Sheffield grinder this theory would not be antagon- 

 istic to the general principles which we know to lie at 

 the root of all systematic infections. It is well known 

 that an infection, no matter how introduced into the 

 system, will alw^ays seek out a locus minoris rcsistentiac ; 

 in this ease it would be a lung weakened by pneumo- 

 coniosis. It is now universally recognised that the prog- 

 nosis in tubercular disease is very largely dependent upon 

 early diagnosis. In a disease such as pneumoconiosis, 

 which so closely resembles tubercle in its clinical signs and 

 symptoms, we were rather surprised that some form of 

 easily applied tuberculin diagnosis — such as Calmette's 

 ophthalmo-reaction — was not mentioned as having been 

 tried, at least to any extent. 



The Pathological Museum presented a mass of 

 excessively interesting material, the specimens being, how- 

 ever, for the most part of interest rather to the specialist 

 than to the general public. -Among the exhibits having 

 a somewhat wider interest may be mentioned the sections 

 of Egyptian mummy organs shown by Dr. .Armand Ruffer. 

 The sections were taken from the mummy of a priest of 

 -Amen, and in spite of the fact that the material was at 

 least 2400 years old, the microscopical structure was sur- 

 prising in its detail and perfection. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



London. — In the faculty of engineering at University 

 College, London, a new lectureship in electrical design has 

 been instituted, and Mr. H. M. Hobart has been appointed 

 thereto. By the assistance of a committee of former 

 engineering students and of other friends of the college, 

 the new laboratories and extensions of the departments of 

 the faculty of engineering, which were opened by the 

 Chancellor, Lord Rosebery, last March, will be further 

 equipped during the present long vacation. The new equip- 

 ment will include a new boiler in the department of 

 mechanical engineering, a steam turbine, and hvdraulic 

 apparatus, and equipment for research in metallography 

 and radio-telegraphy. The facilities for advanced and post- 

 graduate students, as well as for undergraduate students, 

 will thus be considerably increased. 



Sheffield.— Dr. Ralph P. Williams has been appointed 

 to the professorship of public health rendered vacant by the 

 resignation of Dr. Harold Scurfield. 



By the will of the late Dr. H. J. Hunter, the residue 

 of his property, which will, apparently, amount to between 

 15,000/. and 20,000!., is bequeathed to the University. 



An anonymous gift of half a million kronen (about 

 20,833/.) has been made to the Vienna .Academy of Sciences 

 for the establishment of a " Radium Institute " in con- 

 nection with the new physics laboratories of the University 

 of Vienna. 



NO. 2023, VOL. 78] 



An interesting proof of the efficiency of mathematical 

 teaching in Poland in the seventeenth century is afforded 

 by M. H. Merczyng's paper on a mathematical text-book 

 for Polish students under Sigismund III., published in the 

 Bulletin of the Cracow Academy, part x. (1907), recently 

 received. The hook in question is a treatise on arithmetic 

 and geometry by Joachim Stegman, who about the year 

 1630 was principal and professor of mathematics in the 

 gymnasium of Rakow. This school was founded by Polish 

 unitarians, but was attended by pupils of all creeds number- 

 ing up to 1000, and existed from 1602 to 1638. The writer 

 of the present notice applies the English expression " up-to- 

 date " to the contents of the book in relation to the times 

 in which it was published. The paper is illustrated by 

 reproductions of the title-page, a drawing of the panto- 

 graph, anticipating by three years the previous records 

 of its discovery by Scheiner, and a diagram for the solution 

 of trigonometric problems, as we should say in " modern " 

 examination papers, " by drawing and measurement." 



The report of the departmental committee appointed by 

 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to inquire intOj 

 and report upon agricultural education in England and 

 Wales has been published as a Blue-book (Cd. 4206). The 

 committee of twelve included Lord Reay (chairman) and 

 Profs. T. H. Middleton and William Somerville. All 

 institutions in receipt of grants from the Board of Agri- 

 culture were invited to submit evidence, witnesses from 

 numerous institutions not in receipt of such grants were 

 examined, and witnesses also attended from county 

 councils, agricultural and other associations, in addition to 

 those from Government departments at home and in the 

 colonies. The total number of persons attending to give 

 evidence was 113. It is impossible in a note to deal fully 

 with the conclusions and recommendations of the com- 

 mittee, but one result arrived at is that there is no doubt 

 that, bv a general adoption of scientific methods, an 

 important development could be effected in every branch 

 of agriculture and in the various rural industries subsidiary 

 to it. It is urged that a complete system of technical 

 agricultural education is the natural corollary to the vast 

 sums spent on elementary education in the rural parts of 

 the country. The committee is of opinion that it will 

 be possible to build up in England and Wales, at no 

 excessive cost and within a reasonable time, a system of 

 scientific and practical agricultural education equal, if not 

 superior, to that now existing in any other country. 



The Lancashire Education Committee maintains a 

 flourishing agricultural department. We have received an 

 illustrated account of the scheme of agricultural education 

 which has been devised for the county and is carried out 

 at the County Council Farm, Hutton, the County Council 

 .Agricultural School, Harris Institute, Preston, and in 

 various parts of the county. The county farm consists of 

 1575 acres, and in connection with it are permanent dairy 

 and poultry schools, with a chemical and bacterial labora- 

 tory. Manorial, feeding, and other experiments are con- 

 ducted at the farm. The object of the agricultural school 

 at Preston is to prepare young men and women for the 

 work of a farmer's life by instructing them in the prin- 

 ciples which underlie farming operations, and demonstrating 

 modern and scientific methods of agriculture. .A county 

 staff of lecturers in agriculture, horticulture, butter- 

 making, cheese-making, and poultry keeping is, so far as 

 practicable, placed at the disposal of local education com- 

 mittees, agricultural societies, and farmers' or horticultural 

 associations. Numerous farmers' bulletins have been 

 issued, advice is given to farmers with respect to farming 

 operations and agricultural experiments, and analyses of 

 manures, feeding stuffs, soils, waters, and dairy produce 

 are made at low fees for the farmers of the county. In 

 these and other directions the Lancashire .Asiricultural 

 Department is doing much to encourage and develop 

 scientific agriculture. 



The regulations (Cd. 4187) for technical schools, schools 

 of art, and other forms of provision of education other 

 than elementary in England and Wales for the year 

 iqo8-q have been issued by the Board of Education. There 

 are not many changes, and those introduced are in the 

 direction of greater efficiency and more elasticity. The 



