November 19, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



485 



A touehing appeal for the cause of miorobio- 

 logic research was recently made by Dr. Charles 

 NicoUe, director of the Pasteur Institute of Tunis, 

 in a letter published in the Temps. He had just 

 completed a stay of two months in France, and he 

 returned appalled at the conditions which he found. 

 The country which has produced Pasteur, Duclaux, 

 Laveran and Eoux, to mention only a few of the 

 more illustrious scientists, and which received 

 Metchnikoff with open arms, without the least com- 

 punction is permitting the decline of a science that 

 has given Prance a large part of her past glory and 

 from which she has always derived the first benefits. 



Nicolle admits that it would be unfair to de- 

 mand that the state support the laboratories, espe- 

 cially at the present time. However, he thinks that 

 it is not the teaching laboratories from which we 

 should expect to see great discoveries come forth: 

 he who teaches is an erudite, while the mentality of 

 the research worker is entirely different, and it is 

 through other than teaching institutions that all 

 real progress in microbiology must come. The 

 typical institution of this kind in France and the 

 one most widely known is the Pasteur Institute of 

 Paris, the parent establishment whose offspring 

 may be found in France, the colonies and abroad. 

 The Pasteur Institute is a private establishment 

 and does not serve as a teaching mediimi. The 

 members of its staff devote all their efforts to sci- 

 entific investigations, and in the thirty -five years of 

 their endeavors they have shown marked ability. 

 The institute derives its income from the sale of 

 biologic products and from donations, and to-day 

 neither of these sources furnishes ample means. 

 Not having the inexhaustible resources of the gov- 

 ernment back of it, it is now merely vegetating, 

 and it is only by a miracle that more can be ac- 

 complished. 



Nicolle, therefore, addresses to the public an ap- 

 peal for support of the microbiologic laboratories, 

 pointing out that the matter should be of special 

 interest to the farmers, for instance, for it makes 

 possible a continuation of the researches on aph- 

 thous fever, a disease that has been responsible for 

 the loss of millions and constitutes a permanent 

 menace to agriculture. On the other hajid, Nicolle 

 calls attention to the difficulty of inducing young 

 men to enter the laboratories, for the small budgets 

 make a career in a laboratory anything but profit- 

 able. 



THE BRITISH MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE 



Nature states that changes are announced at 

 the British Ministry of Agriculture, the effect 



of which is the promotion of Mr. F. C. L. Floud 

 to be permanent secretary and the liberation 

 of Sir Daniel Hall from office work so that he 

 will be able to keep in close personal touch 

 with agricultural developments and devote his 

 whole time to the organization of agricultural 

 education and research. The scheme now in 

 operation comprises four essentia] parts: (1) 

 Eesearch institutions, where knowledge is 

 gained and agricultural science systematically 

 developed and put into such form that teach- 

 ers and experts can use it. At first this work 

 was distributed among a number of univer- 

 sity departments, but of recent years there 

 has been a tendency to concentrate it at a few 

 institutions owing to the necessity for bring- 

 ing individual workers into closer personal 

 contact with each other and with the large- 

 scale problems of the farmer. (2) Agricul- 

 tural colleges, where experts and large farm- 

 ers will be trained, receiving a three years' 

 course of instruction of university character. 

 Most of these colleges are associated with uni- 

 versities which award degrees in agricultiu-e ; 

 for students who do not wish to take degrees 

 there is a diploma course requiring a high 

 standard of technical work. (3) Farm insti- 

 tutes for small farmers and farm-workers who 

 can not spare three years for college, but have 

 some practical knowledge and are unable or 

 unwilling to go through the ordinary college 

 course. These institutes aim at giving sound 

 courses of instruction on soil, manure, crops, 

 animal husbandry, etc., but it is usually pre- 

 sumed that the student will take up farming 

 in the area served by the institution, and for 

 which the instruction is specially appropriate. 

 (4) Advisory officers. In each county ar- 

 rangements are made whereby farmers, small- 

 holders, and others may consult the agricul- 

 tural expert appointed by the county author- 

 ity in regard to any difficulties they may meet 

 with in their work. The expert is in a posi- 

 tion somewhat similar to that of the general 

 medical practitioner, and usually finds that he 

 can deal with a large number of the cases 

 presented to him. He is, however, in touch 

 with the colleges, research institutions, etc.. 



