42 8 



NA TURE 



[October 7, 1909 



words give a j^^raphic picture of the operations : — " M. 

 Ch. Oltay followed tfie traces of the torsion balance 

 and determined by means of his pendulums the differ- 

 ences in <j;ravity between five stations. This voyage 

 into the unknown, far from mountains and from all 

 other irregularity in the distribution of [surface] 

 masses, had a peculiar charm. As we marched over 

 a quite uniform plain, our instruments continually 

 revealed to us something that was hidden below, and 

 we could always direct our steps so as to follow or to 

 cross a series of masses, and in this fashion know 

 them better and better." A bye-product of this work 

 illustrates its remarkable delicacy. Newton had 

 show-n that the gravitational attraction upon units of 

 mass of different substances is the same within one 

 part in a thousand ; Bessel reduced the limits of 

 possible difference to one in si.\ty thousand. Baron 

 Eotvos, with his torsion balance, has reduced them to 

 one in a hundred million, and thus set at rest the 

 disturbing doubt whether geodesists might not have 

 to consider more than one geoid. 



We have left little space for the other topics that 

 came before the congress. Colonel Bourgeois' report 

 on base measurements revealed a mistrust of invar 

 wires which was not generally shared; the resulting 

 discussion, however, revealed some difference of 

 opinion as to the necessity of standardising these 

 wires in the field, and as to the respective merits of 

 wires and tapes ; it was decided to publish an interim 

 report on the subject as soon as possible. Mr. I-ving, 

 Dominion Astronomer, made the gratifying announce- 

 ment that his Government had authorised the estab- 

 lishment of primary triangulation in Canada upon a 

 strictly geodetic basis. Colonel Burrard, representing 

 India, described the measures which had been taken 

 to discover whether geologists are right in supposing 

 that the Himalayas and Tibet are moving southward 

 .•md crumpling up the Siwalik range from the alluvial 

 jilain. Mr. Keeling described the geodetic operations 

 in Egypt, resumed two years ago by the Government 

 of H.H. the Khedive, " after a regrettable interruption 

 of twentv centuries." Dr. Backlund and Dr. 

 Carlheim-Gvllenskold gave a further account of the 

 geodetic operations in Spitsbergen. Colonel Bour- 

 geois described the re-measurement by the French 

 Academy of the historical " arc of Peru." Prof. 

 Hecker reported on his determinations of gravity over 

 the Black Sea, on a vessel put at his disposal by the 

 Russian Government. There is a somewhat remark- 

 .'ible circumstance connected with these investigations. 

 On his earlier voyages he omitted to take account of 

 the alteration in gravity produced by the 6.-W. 

 motion of the ship. Baron Eotvos pointed out the 

 omission, and Prof. Helmert showed from Hecker's 

 observations that the correction appeared to make 

 otherwise concordant observations discordant; hence, 

 lie said, the theory appears to be incomplete. Prof. 

 Hecker finds, however, from his Black Sea observa- 

 tions that the correction in question is certainly 

 required. It reinains to be explained why the former 

 observations were accordant without it. Prof. 

 Helmert has undertaken that the whole shall be re- 

 reduced. 



The somewhat severe and technical labours of the 

 congress were relieved by pleasant social functions, 

 which were, however, kept strictly within bounds, and 

 not allowed to become the burden which the festive 

 side of a congress is too apt to be. On September 22, 

 Sir George Darwin, representing the British Govern- 

 ment, gave an oflicial dinner to the principal delegates. 

 On September 23, the president of the Royal Geo- 

 graphical Society took the whole party to Greenwich 

 by water for a visit to the Roval Observatory and the 

 Royal \aval College. On .September 24, the Treasurer 

 of the Royal .\stronomical Society and Mrs. Hills were 

 NO. 2084, VOL. 81] 



" At Home " at 32 Prince's Gardens. On September 

 25, the delegates and their ladies visited Windsor, on 

 the gracious invitation of the King. On September 26 

 many of them visited the National Physical Labora- 

 tory. 



On Monday, September 27, the congress moved to 

 Cambridge, where those unaccompanied by ladies 

 enjoyed the hospitality of Trinity, St. John's, and Caius 

 Colleges, and many others received private hospitality. 

 On September 28. Sir Robert and Lady Ball were " .At 

 Home " at the Observatory in the afternoon, and Sir 

 George and Lady Darwin gave an evening party in 

 St. John's College. The final meeting was held on 

 Wednesday, September 29, and in the evening the 

 visitors entertained their Cambridge hosts to dinner. 

 Thus ended an exceedingly valuable, successful, and 

 pleasant meeting. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF AGRICULTURAL 

 EDUCATION. 



A MEMORANDUM has just been issued setting 

 out the arrangements which have been made 

 between the Board of .\griculture and the Board of 

 Education in regard to agricultural education. It has 

 been known for some time that a certain amount of 

 controversy existed between the two departments on 

 account of the anomaly arising from the fact that 

 the Board of Agriculture inspected and gave grants to 

 the various agricultural colleges and other institutions 

 for higher agricultural education, whereas agricul- 

 tural instruction in secondary and primary schools, 

 like all other forms of education, was controlled by 

 the Board of Education. On the one hand it was felt 

 that agricultural education could not thus be dis- 

 sociated from the general system of the country ; on 

 the t)ther hand, there was the danger that so special, 

 and in many respects so weaklv supported, a subject 

 would never receive the attention it deserved without 

 the fostering care of its own special department. The 

 situation became more critical as it appeared that the 

 Board of Agriculture, however anxious to retain its 

 connection with the colleges, was unable to obtain the 

 funds eitlier to make adequate grants to existing insti- 

 tutions or to promote the creation of fresh colleges 

 where they were needed. The two Boards appear 

 now to have arrived at a compromise which still 

 leaves the higher educational institutions under the 

 charge of the Board of .Agriculture, but also secures 

 an interchange of views by the creation of an inter- 

 departmental committee. The Board of Agriculture 

 is to take charge of advanced schools of agriculture 

 serving, as a rule, more than one local education 

 authority's area, and taking students of an age of 

 seventeen and upwards ; under its charge also will be 

 such special institutions .-is deal only w-ith one branch of 

 agricultural instruction, as dairying, forestry, &c. .-\s 

 before, the Board of Education will be in charge of 

 the agricultural instruction that is provided by the 

 county councils and other local educational authorities, 

 but it is not clear by which board, or in what way. 

 pressure can be brought to bear upon the backward 

 counties that are now doing nothing for organised 

 agricultural education. For example, the East Sussex 

 County Council uses part of its " whisky money " to 

 maintain an agricultural college, which is further 

 assisted bv grants from the Board of Agriculture; 

 the West Sussex County Council next door puts the 

 whisky money to the relief of rates, and does nothing 

 for agricultural education. The defect in the Board 

 of Agriculture's administration has been the fact that 

 it has been powerless in such cases; it could neither 

 compel nor bribe such counties to do their duty, and 

 what the public interested in such matters is' anxious 

 to know is how the new arrangement will be worked 



