October 22, 1908] 



NA TURE 



637 



these resolutions are of but small importance to us 

 in England, as they relate to such well understood and 

 generally agreed to subjects as the necessity of pro- 

 viding substaitial concrete foundations underneath 

 paved roadways, a form of construction which has 

 been generally adopted in England for the last quarter 

 of a century, and to methods of drainage and similar 

 matters equally understood by us. 



On a matter, however, of common interest, that is, 

 the substitution of tar or bituminous binding mate- 

 rial in place of the water hitherto used to consolidate 

 and hold together the road material, and which is 

 conveniently dealt with under the French name " Gou- 

 dronnage," the congress practically gave a unanimous 

 answer. This was to the effect that if goudronnage 

 be properly carried out ; if the tar or similar material 

 be chosen with reasonable care to avoid matter soluble 

 in water, such as ammoniacal liquor remaining mixed 

 in the tar so that it can be subsequently washed out 

 by the rain or dried out in the form of crystals which 

 might afterwards form an irritating dust ; if the 

 tar be put on in the correct quantity, and this quantity 

 the smallest required to hold the individual 

 stones of the road metal firmly in position, so that 

 they never roll or move in relation to one 

 another, and their upper surfaces are allowed 

 to wear themselves bare of tar, it is not a 

 diflicult matter to obtain, at quite a moderate expense, 

 a waterproof road which will not do any damage to 

 vegetation, which will be practically dustless if it be 

 swept at reasonable intervals from horse droppings or 

 dust blown upon it from the adjoining land, and which 

 need not be slippery, either to horse or to automobile 

 traffic, whether the surface be wet or dry. 



It appears certain also that by so dealing with the 

 roadways their w-ear can be so greatly reduced that 

 the annual cost of upkeep of roads so treated will be 

 considerably less than the cost of the existing water- 

 bound roads, of which so much of the material is lost 

 by being blown away as dust in summer or washed 

 away as niud in wint'jr. 



There can be no doubt that all engineers, English 

 and Continental, are at one on this important ques- 

 tion, and this in spite of the fact that many para- 

 graphs, obviously inspired by those who wish to recom- 

 mend other binding materials, were widely circulated 

 in the journals during the progress of the congress. 

 It had been roundly asserted that tar was a palliative, 

 but that on the whole its defects were greater than 

 its advantages. Those who were present at the con- 

 gress know that this is an incorrect statement; that 

 such damage as has occurred to trees and vegetation, 

 or inconvenience to passengers, such as irritation 

 of the eyes and throat, which followed on the 

 early applications of tar to the French roads during 

 the Grand Prix race, was due to well understood 

 causes, that is to say, to the use of crude tar and its 

 application to a road surface which had already broken 

 up, both of which faults the congress unanimously 

 condemned. 



It may be here remarked that owing to the cautious- 

 ness, and hence the reticence, of some of the most 

 important of our road authorities, the true position 

 of England, which now possesses the greatest lengths 

 of carefully w'aterproofed roads of any country in the 

 world, was not put forward so much as might have 

 been the case. 



It was interesting to converse with American 

 engineers, who, on account of the importance of road 

 development in America, are studying this question 

 very closely, and to hear from them how much more 

 they could learn by visiting our English roads than 

 anywhere in France, at any rate near the capital. 

 French engineers, although they have practised 



NO. 2034, ^'Oh. 78] 



goudronnage to a considerable extent, have not been 

 careful enough in excluding the ammoniacal liquor, 

 and in many cases have put on the tar irregularly 

 and in far too great a quantity ; wherever this is the 

 case softening in hot weather and slipping in wet 

 weather is likely to follow. 



Before the congress of last week closed the question 

 of the next congress w-as talked of, and it appears 

 likely to be held in Brussels in about two years' time. 



-As regards that section of the congress relating to 

 the influence of the vehicles themselves on the road, 

 some of the papers were very valuable; but 

 curiously enough the French, who above all other 

 nations were the first to appreciate the great advan- 

 tages of large wheel diameter, in their draft resolu- 

 tions fixing the maximum weighls tc be carried per 

 unit_ width of wheel left out the important factor of 

 the influence of wheel diameter, though, luckily, owing 

 to the influence of the English-speaking delegates, it 

 is probable this factor will be reinstated in the form 

 in which it exists in our own very well-considered 

 regulations issued by the Local Government Board. 



SCIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITIES. 



'T^HE proceedings at the academic ceremonies held 

 -*■ in Oxford on October 8 to celebrate the 

 fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the University 

 Museum, described in our issue of last week, and 

 especially the address delivered by the Vice-Chancellor, 

 Dr. Warren, President of Magdalen College, may 

 well serve as an encouragement to the older men of 

 science who have for many years been unwearying in 

 their insistence that science should occupy a high 

 place of honour among the branches of learning cul- 

 tivated at the universities. The statement of progress 

 at Oxford during the last fifty years, which the Vice- 

 Chancellor and Dr. Vernon Harcourt presented, 

 should act as an inspiration to the present distin- 

 guished staff of scientific teachers to whom the world 

 is looking to develop in connection with their univer- 

 sity a centre of scientific activity unsurpassed at any 

 ancient or modern seat of learning. 



How complete the change of attitude towards 

 science has been at Oxford may be gathered from 

 the description of the state of things immediately 

 preceding the building of the museum which the Vice- 

 Chancellor gave at the beginning of his address : — 



Science was not a stranger to Oxford before the first 

 stone of the museum was laid, but her existence was 

 somewhat precarious and her progress intermittent. The 

 period just before the establishment of the museum was, 

 like the night before the dawn, a somewhat dark age. 

 It is, I believe, recognised in physiological science that 

 the history of the embryo repeats the history of the race. 

 It appeared to be so with science at that time. She was 

 tlicn in the condition of the cave dwellers among primitive 

 men. At any rate, she lived underground. Her teachers, 

 like those of the early Church, wandered about in " caves 

 and dens of the earth." There was a cellar under the 

 Ashmolean where science was taught. If I remember 

 right, my old friend, whom I much wish we could have 

 seen here to-day. Prof. Story-Maskelyne, was both taught, 

 and instructed himself, in that underground chamber. 

 There was another cellar, or series of cellars, in Balliol 

 College, where my wife's father. Prof. Brodie, used to 

 pursue chemistry : but it would not be fair to represent 

 this as the whole history of science in Oxford even at that 

 time. Dr. Daubeny at my own college, Magdalen, and 

 Dean Buckland, as he afterwards was, at Christ Church, 

 had already done pioneer work. To-day things are very 

 different. Natural science has now, as you will see this 

 afternoon, a palace with manv chambers and apartments, 

 well and, it may be said in some instances, beautifully 

 equipped. That is not everything, and will not alone 



