692 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1142 



A circular containing the schedule of 

 questions was addressed to (1) principals 

 and registrars of all universities (except 

 Oxford and Cambridge) and university 

 colleges in the United Kingdom; (2) prin- 

 cipals, or directors, of all technical colleges 

 represented in the Association of Technical 

 Institutions; (3) secretaries of every uni- 

 versity extension delegacy or board, of the 

 Workers' Educational Association, the Gil- 

 christ Trust and like organizations; (4) 

 secretaries of all corresponding societies 

 and of forty other local scientific societies; 

 (5) curators of the chief provincial mu- 

 seums; (6) a few individuals having spe- 

 cial knowledge of the subject. 



By the middle of August, about 150 cir- 

 culars had been returned, nearly all of 

 them containing replies to the questions 

 and also many valuable comments. The 

 whole of these replies — about 1,500 in all 

 - — have been classified, and a digest of their 

 substance is here given. The first question 

 asked for the name of the society or insti- 

 tution providing the information. 



ABSTRACT OF REPLIES TO QUESTIONS 



2. Are arrangements made for the de- 

 livery of public lectures upon scientific 

 subjects each session? If so, (a)are the 

 lectures free? (6) What are the lowest 

 and highest charges for admission? 



In most cases local scientific societies ar- 

 range for the delivery of occasional popu- 

 lar lectures each session. These lectures, 

 however, are not usually intended for the 

 general public, but for members of the 

 societies and any friends who may accom- 

 pany them. The lectures are thus more of 

 the nature of scientific meetings than pub- 

 lic assemblies, and the fee for admission to 

 them is the membership subscription, which 

 varies from 1 s. to a guinea per session. In 

 a few cases one or more public lectures are 

 arranged each session, and admission to 



these is free, or at nominal charges vary- 

 ing from 1 d. to 6 d. 



Series of public lectures are arranged by 

 several corporations in connection with 

 museums, libraries and other institutions, 

 as well as by universities and technical col- 

 leges. The annual series of corporation 

 free lectures at Liverpool includes scien- 

 tific subjects; at the Horniman Museum, 

 Forest Hill, S.E., twenty free lectures are 

 given on Saturday afternoons from Octo- 

 ber to March; at the Manchester Museum, 

 sixteen public lectures are arranged each 

 year; at the National Museum of Wales, 

 Cardiff, lectures are given from time to 

 time in connection with special exhibits in 

 the museum; at the Technical School, Bar- 

 row-in-Furness, a course of popular lec- 

 tures is delivered on Saturday evenings; 

 and at the museum, free library and Bent- 

 lif Art Gallery, Maidstone, free popular 

 lectures were successfully arranged every 

 winter before the war. The secretary of 

 the Buehan Club, Aberdeen, remarks of 

 public lectures: 



They were formerly given until they declined 

 for want of suitable lecturers and variety of lec- 

 tures. 



And the principal of Battersea Poly- 

 technic says : 



We have discontinued the arrangement of pop- 

 ular lectures as the attendance was discouraging. 

 We have found that the people in this district will 

 not attend popular lectures, whatever the subject. 

 We have offered lectures by such men as Max 

 O'Eell, E. T. Eeed, T. Foster Fraser, T. P. 

 O'Connor, Sir J. D. Maclure, F. Villiers, Fred 

 Enoch and H. Furniss; and the response of the 

 public was disappointing, although the charge for 

 admission was only 3 d. We arranged for a lecture 

 on "Air-ships" in the spring of this year, but 

 failed to secure an audience and had to cancel the 

 lecture. 



3. Where are the lectures usually given? 

 (a) What is approximately the average at- 

 tendance? 



Lectures given in rooms of museums, 



