6.^,8 



NA TURE 



[OCTOUtK 29, 1896 



Sv Clio II C. 



Mr. W. Watts invited the co-opciation of the Corresponding 

 Societies in the work of the (Geological Photographs Committee 

 and the Erratic Blocks Committee. 



Mr. l)e Kance remarked that though the lalmms of the 

 Underground Waters Committee had come to an end, he hoped 

 the local societies would record carefully in their districts every- 

 thing bearing upon that subject. 



Sclioii J!. 



Mr. Sidney llartland asked for the co-operation of the Cor- 

 responding Societies in tlic work of the Ethnographical Survey 

 Committee. Considerable progress had been made in the past 

 year. There were no dejmrtments in which it was so important 

 to have speedy information as those of dialect and folk-lore, as 

 education, facilities for railway travelling, and industrial migra- 

 tions were rapidly destroying local customs, dialects and tradi- 

 tions. Still, in .some parts there had been little change, and 

 if physical measurements were made and physical characteristics 

 noted, in stationary districts, of persons belonging to the old 

 families of the locality, much light might be thrown on the 

 various races of the British Isles, lie would be glad to furni.sh 

 any delegates interested in the subject with copies of the 

 Ethnographical Committee's schedules, or with any other help 

 in his power. 



Mr. John Gray (Buchan Field Club) described the work done 

 in his district in noting the physical characteristics both of adults 

 and of school children. 



The Chairman remarked that !Mr. Gray's society was doing 

 very good work, and giving an illustration of what was required. 

 As the information asked for by the Ethnographic Committee 

 was of so many difl'erent kinds, he lliought the local societies 

 would be wise to form sub-committees, one dealing with ph)sical 

 measurements and characteristics, another with folk-lore, and so 

 t>n. Then photographers were needed to illustrate both people 

 and ancient monuments. Investigations of this kind would at 

 once enrich the Transactions of a local societ)", and help the 

 work of the British Association. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 INTELLIGENCE. 



Camerii:>ge. — The Walsingham Gold Medal for an essay or 

 monograph on a botanical, geological, or zoological subject will 

 be awarded next year. Competitors must be under the standing 

 of M.A., and must send their essays to Prof. Newton, F.R.S., 

 not later than October 9, 1897. 



The General Board proposes to fix the stipend of the vacant 

 Professorship of Surgery at ^300, liut hopes that after 189S the 

 state of the University finances may make it possible to raise 

 this sum to ^^500 a j'ear, tenable with a fellowship. 



About 135 of the freshmen admitted this term propose to 

 study natural science and medicine with a view to the B.A. and 

 M.B. degrees. 



Dr. Allbutt, F.R.S., is appointed an Elector to the chair of 

 Pathology, and Dr. Hill to the chair of Anatomy, in the room 

 of the late Sir G. M. Humphry. 



The Examiners for the Natural Sciences Tripos 1S97 are — 

 W. N. .Shaw. F.K.S., K. Meldola, F.R.S., Dr. A. Scott, A. 

 Hutchinson, H. Woods, (. J. II. Teale, F.R.S., Dr. H. M. 

 Ward, F.R.S., H. Wager, S. F. Harmer, F. Teffrey Bell, 

 F.R.S., A. C. Seward, J. J. Lister, Prof. A. M. Paterson. 

 Dr. A. Hill, Dr. L. E. Shore, and Prof. W. D. Halliburton. 



Ai the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Princeton 

 University, on October 22, the degree of LL.D. was conferred 

 upon Lord Kelvin and Prof. J. J. Thomson. 



It is announced in Scii-iiic that a laboratory built for the 

 Ma.ssachusetts General Hospital, Boston, at a cost of over ^4000. 

 will soon be ready for use. The building includes well-fitted 

 laboratories of chemistry, bacteriology and histolog) . It is 

 hoped that an additional sum of ;^20,ooo will be collected for an 

 endowment. 



Dk. Thos. Ewax, Chief Assistant in the Chemical Depart- 

 ment of the Northern Polytechnic Institute, has been ai)iMinted 

 Research Chemist to the British Aluminium Company in their 

 works at Oldburj-. He is succeeded at the Northern Polytechnic 

 by Mr. H. Charles L. Blo.xam, at present Chief Assistant in the 

 Chemical Department of the Goldsmiths' Institute, New Cros.s. 



NO. 1409, VOL. 54] 



TiiK following .Scholarships have been awarded in connection 

 with the present session (1896-7) of the Central Technical 

 College : — Clothworkers' Scholarship, ^60 a year with free 

 education for two years, L. P. Wilson ; Mitchell Scholarshi]i, 

 ^40 a year with free education for two years, R. S. Potter i. 

 Clothworkers" Technical Scholarship, ^30 a )ear with free 

 education for two years, E. W. Cook ; David .Salomons 

 .Scholarship, ^50, E. W. Marchant : John Samuel .Scholarship, 

 /'30, II. W. Ilanbury ; Institute's .Scholarships, free education 

 for three years, F. .S. Miller, T- L Hunter, F. W. Fawdry. 



A CKNERAL. meeting of the members of the Convocation 

 of the University of London was held on Tuesday. Alter 

 a long discussion it w.as resolved: — "That this House 

 earnestly ilesires tlic early establishment, in accordance with 

 the expressed intentions of the founders of this University, 

 of University professorships and lectureships in science and 

 literature, togetlier with such institutions as may tend to 

 the encouragement of original study and research on the part 

 of members of the University."' It was further decided, on 

 the motion of Mr. W. T. Lynn — " That it is desirable to make 

 application to the Government for the ]irovision of funds to 

 establish a students" observatory in the neighbourhood of London 

 for the instruction, primarily, of members of the I'niversity in 

 practical astronomy, with the ultimate view of taking part in the 

 progress of astronomical investigation."' 



So much money is being frittered away by Technical Educa- 

 tion Committees as grants for instruction in such subjects as 

 basket-making and hedging, that no apology is needed for 

 again calling attention to the courses of science lectures which 

 the Councils of University and King's Colleges, London, have 

 arranged in conjunction with the Technical Education Board, 

 to be held in the evenings and on Saturday mornings. These 

 lectures are of a university type, being of the same standard as 

 those which are given in the day-time. They are intended for 

 those students who, being occupied in the day. are unable to 

 obtain university instruction except in the evening : and they 

 are given at considerably reduced fees. Among these courses 

 iTiay be mentioned; (i) An evening course on .\dvanced 

 Chemistry, at University College, by Mr. C. F. Cross. The 

 course will consist of fifteen lectures, given on Friday evenings, 

 commencing on Friday, November 6 ; anil the subject of the 

 course is " Celhdose, the chemistry of vegetable fibres, and of 

 their industrial jireparations and uses." The fee for the whole 

 course is £1 is., which, in the case of tho.se who earn weekly 

 wages, may be paid in two instalments. (2) A Saturday morn- 

 ing course for teachers, at University College, by Prof. Karl 

 Pearson, on "Graphic Methods." The course deals mainly 

 with the use of the drawing-board in elementary, geometrical, 

 and mechanical teaching. The admission to this course is free 

 for teachers. The following lectures have also been arranged 

 by the Professors at the two colleges. In the evenings. Prof. 

 Hudson Beare and Prof. Fleming are giving courses at Univer- 

 sity College on Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engin- 

 eering respectively : while at King's College. Prof. Robinson is 

 holding a course on Civil Engineering, Prof. lianiMer Fletcher 

 on Architecture, Prof. Adamson Experimental and Piactical 

 Physics, and Prof. Hudson on Pure Mathematics. The fee for 

 each of these courses is £1 is. On Saturday mornings Prof. 

 Capper is holding a course, at King"s College, on the Strength 

 of Materials, to be followed in January by a course on the 

 Theory of Machines. In January Prof. Fleming will also 

 commence a course, at University College, on Electricity and 

 Magnetism. The Saturday morning courses are free for 

 teacliers. We are glad to make these courses known, because 

 we feel that their success would induce provincial Technical 

 Education Committees to jiay more attention !■■ the higher 

 branches of .scientific instruction than most of them do at 

 present. 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 



American loiiriial of Science, October. — On the rate of con- 

 densation in the steam-jet, by A. de Forest I'almer. Photo- 

 graphs of a vertical steam-jet were obtained with the aid of 

 sunlight. The invisible portion has the general shape of the 

 inner mantle of a Bunsen flame, and its outline depends upon 

 the pressure of the jet and the velocity with which the conden- 

 sation travels towards the nozzle. The author finds that the 

 separation surface of the invisible portion is sharply marked, 

 and that it oscillates up and down. The demarcation is 



