40 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVII. No. 679 



on the ground, among others, that the trading 

 relations between the Chinese and the British 

 empires are now based on these standards, 

 which are, the petitioners contend, those in 

 most general use in the commerce of the world. 



We learn from the London Times that the 

 general purposes committee of the Birming- 

 ham Chamber of Commerce, having instituted 

 an inquiry relative to the proposed compul- 

 sory adoption of the metric system, reports 

 that opinion is divided on the question. The 

 strongest opposition to compulsory adoption 

 so far as the Birmingham and Midland dis- 

 trict is concerned is to be found in the engi- 

 neering trades. " It is stated," the committee 

 reports, " that practically all engineering 

 standards are based upon the inch, and it 

 follows that all British-made ships, rolling 

 stock, machinery gauges and tools, etc., are 

 constructed according to these standards, the 

 equivalents of which it is impossible to specify 

 accurately in metrical measure. English- 

 made machinery now in use in every part of 

 the world made to our standard gauges on the 

 interchangeable principle can have spare parts 

 sent out of stock, but if any other standard is 

 set up it would be necessary for the user of 

 such machinery when ordering spare parts to 

 specify whether the machinery was made be- 

 fore the passing of the proposed act, and 

 would cause endless confusion and annoyance 

 with customers at home and abroad." Whilst 

 recognizing that the metric system is now 

 much more widely used by traders in foreign 

 transactions than was the case a few years 

 ago, the committee seriously urge every trader 

 interested in foreign trade to make use of the 

 metric^ system wherever it may appear to be 

 to his interest to do so. They are convinced 

 that the commercial interests of the counti-y 

 will be much better served by gradual and 

 voluntary adaptation than by legislation of 

 a compulsory character. 



VNIVEBSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS 

 Trinity College, Cambridge University, 

 benefits to the extent of $2,000,000 by the 

 death of Lady Pearce. Her husband. Sir 



William George Pearce, chairman of the Fair- 

 field Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, 

 died on November 2 last. By his will his 

 fortune was bequeathed to Trinity College on 

 the death of Lady Pearce. 



Lord Newlands has given £20,000 to Glas- 

 gow University for the establishment of schol- 

 arships to be held by students going from 

 Glasgow University to Balliol College, Oxford. 



M. Theodore Vautiee has given 100,000 

 francs to the University of Lyons for research 

 work in experimental physics. 



Mr. W. F. King, boundary commissioner of 

 Canada, has given to the geological labora- 

 tories of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 

 nology a valuable collection of rocks. The 

 institution has further received from the estate 

 of Caroline Whitney a seismograph, which for 

 the present at least will be installed at the 

 Blue Hill Observatory. 



The Administration Hall of the Oklahoma 

 State University, erected about four years ago 

 at a cost of $85,000, was totally destroyed by 

 fire on the afternoon of December 20. The 

 flames started from the explosion of a gasoline 

 stove in use on the roof by some workmen 

 engaged in painting the dome. Arrangements 

 are complete for the distribution among the 

 other buildings of the classes affected, so that 

 no recitation will be omitted on account of the 

 fire. The records were saved and the loss on 

 equipment was slight. By hard work the 

 library building, and more especially Science 

 Hall were saved without damage except 

 slightly from water. The hall was insured 

 for $67,000, and rebuilding will begin at once. 



The Edward Davies Chemical Laboratories 

 at Aberystwyth University College, the gift 

 of the Llandinam family, have been opened 

 by Mr. Asquith. 



A CHAIR for photography is to be established 

 in the Technical Institute at Dresden. 



Dr. William H. Welker, assistant in bio- 

 logical chemistry at Columbia University, has 

 been appointed demonstrator of physiological 

 chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, 

 where he succeeds Dr. P. B. Hawk. 



