OcroBER 18, 1918] 
leanings, and to be a man of fair business abil- 
ity. 
It was resolved that the Cawthron trustees 
approach the government with a view to the ap- 
pointment of two scientific investigators to 
operate in the Nelson District with a view to 
finding out the causes and cures of certain 
blights; and that the trustees are willing to 
place at the disposal of the government the sum 
of £1,000 per annum for a period of two years 
on condition that any results obtained be the 
joint property of the government and the Caw- 
thron Institute. 
The regulations for the Cawthron Minor 
Scholarship are now published, and copies may 
be obtained from Messrs. W. Rout and Sons 
(Limited), Nelson. Candidates must be Brit- 
ish subjects, and the scholar must matriculate 
at a university college and study for the B.Se. 
degree, and sign a declaration that he will, 
after graduation, accept (if offered) a Caw- 
thron Scholarship of £150 per annum, and pur- 
sue his studies for not less than two years at 
the Cawthron Institute. The Minor Scholar- 
ship. is of the value of £80 per annum, plus the 
fees for attendance at university classes up to 
the amount of £25 per annum. The tenure of 
the scholarship is for three years. Preference 
in the selection of a scholar shall be given 
(ceteris paribus) to candidates from Nelson 
and Marlborough. The scholarship will be 
awarded on the science papers of the Univer- 
sity Scholarship Entrance Examination in not 
less than two nor more than three of the fol- 
lowing subjects: Mathematics, physics, chem- 
istry and botany. The marks obtained, to- 
gether with a criticism of the work of the first 
three candidates in each subject, are to be 
forwarded to the advisory board, which shall 
then recommend that candidate for election 
who appears to give the greatest promise of 
being useful to the institute. 
The second annual Cawthron lecture was de- 
livered in the Sehool of Mines, by Professor 
W. B. Benham, M.A., D.Se., F.R.S., on May 
30. The subject chosen was “ Biology in rela- 
tion to agriculture,” and the lecturer devoted 
particular attention to the problems of fruit- 
growing and the kinds of research the insti- 
SCIENCE 
387 
tute should attempt. These include inquiries 
into the efficiency of different kinds of sprays 
on different kinds of trees, the most productive 
method of pruning, and the most suitable and 
economic methods of manuring. Other mat- 
ters that ought to receive attention are: (1) A 
thorough-going soil survey—the investigation 
of the chemistry, physics and biology of the 
soil, and especially of the humus and its effect 
on plant-growth, of which little is as yet 
known; (2) an extended program of investi- 
gation of the diseases that attack our plants, 
and especially those that are injurious to the 
fruit-tree. 
‘ The lecture, together with the first annual 
lecture by Professor T. H. Easterfield, is to 
be published by the institute. 
THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICUL- 
TURE AT ROME! 
THE operations of the institute have been, of 
course, profoundly affected by the war. At the 
beginning of hostilities its very existence 
seemed dubious. As its vice-president, M. 
Louis-Dop, has pointed out in a recent report 
reviewing its history and progress, the question 
was immediately raised as to the possibility of 
maintaining, in a conflict which has trans- 
formed the political and economic conditions 
of every continent, an organization based upon 
the collaboration of nations, the working to- 
gether of a committee representing all the 
powers, belligerent or neutral, and the efforts 
of a personnel of international composition. 
Notwithstanding these obstacles, the continu- 
ation of the enterprise was decided upon. Ap- 
parently it was felt that the institute had been 
established as a permanent institution and the 
suspension of its operations should be avoided 
if possible. More than this, it was expected 
that the usefulness of the institute to the world 
would be in many ways intensified by the war 
conditions. 
The work of the institute has, therefore, been 
carried on so far as possible. No nation has 
abrogated the treaty, so that all are full mem- 
bers as before. Meetings of the permanent 
committees have been held regularly, and each 
of the bureaus has been performing its func- 
1 From the Experiment Station Record. 
