December 29, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



915 



2. Interchange of university teachers; conditions 

 of interchange. 



3. Interuniversity arrangements for post-gradu- 

 ate and research students. 



4. Question of division of work and specializa- 

 tion among universities. 



5. The establishment of a central university bu- 

 reau; its constitution and functions. 



II. Universities in their constitutional aspects 

 and in their relation to teachers, graduates and 

 students : 



1. The relation of universities to technical and 

 professional education and to education for the 

 public services. 



2. Provision of courses of study and examina- 

 tions for other than degree students, including 

 university extension and tutorial class work, and 

 specialized courses both of a general and technical 

 character for students engaged in professional, 

 commercial and industrial pursuits. 



3. The representation of teachers and graduates 

 on the governing body of a university. 



4. Action of universities in relation to the after- 

 careers of their students. 



5. The position of women in universities. 



6. The problem of universities in the East in re- 

 gard to their influence on character and moral 

 ideals. 



7. Eesidential facilities, including colleges and 

 hostels. 



The " Quarterly Return of Marriages, Births 

 and Deaths," published by the authority of the 

 registrar-general and abstracted in the Lon- 

 don Times, shows a remarkable decline in the 

 " natural increase " in population in England 

 and Wales by excess of births over deaths. 

 During the three months there were only 81,- 

 645 more births than deaths as compared with 

 123,300, 124,054 and 123,022 in the third quar- 

 ter of 1908, 1909 and 1910, respectively. The 

 births registered in the third quarter of 1911 

 numbered 222,601 and were in the proportion 

 of 24.4 annually per 1,000 of the population, 

 which is 2.9 per 1,000 below the mean birth- 

 rate in the ten preceding third quarters, and it 

 is the lowest birth-rate recorded in any third 

 quarter since the establishment of civil regis- 

 tration. In registration counties with popula- 

 tions exceeding 100,000, the lowest birth-rates 

 during the quarter were 18.4 in Sussex, 20.0 

 in Northamptonshire, 20.1 in Berkshire, 20.2 



in Devon, Somerset and Carnarvonshire. The 

 highest rates were 26.7 in Northumberland, 

 26.8 in Carmarthenshire, 27.3 in Nottingham- 

 shire, 27.7 in Staffordshire, 29.9 in Monmouth- 

 shire, 30.9 in Durham and 31.7 in Glamorgan- 

 shire. In the 77 great towns the birth-rate 

 averaged 25.5 per 1,000, ranging from 15.8 in 

 Bournemouth, 16.0 in Hastings, 17.9 in Horn- 

 sey, 18.3 in Halifax, 18.5 in Huddersfield and 



18.6 in Bradford, to 30.1 in Bootle, 31.3 in 

 Stoke-on-Trent, 32.7 in Merthyr Tydfil, 34.7 

 in St. Helens and 35.3 in Rhondda. In the 

 136 smaller towns the mean birth-rate was 23.6 

 per 1,000, and in the remainder of England 

 and Wales, excluding the 213 chief towns, it 

 was also 23.6. The deaths registered in Eng- 

 land and Wales last quarter numbered 140,956, 

 and were in the proportion of 15.5 annually 

 per 1,000 persons living; this rate is 1.7 per 

 1,000 above the mean rate in the ten preceding 

 third quarters. In registration counties with 

 populations exceeding 100,000, the death-rates 

 ranged from 11.4 in Wiltshire, 11.7 in Somer- 

 set, 11.8 in Berkshire and Hertfordshire, 11.9 

 in Shropshire and 12.1 in Buckinghamshire, to 



16.7 in the West Eiding of Yorkshire, 17.5 in 

 Glamorganshire, 17.6 in the East Hiding of 

 Yorkshire, 18.0 in Staffordshire, 18.5 in Lan- 

 cashire and 18.6 in Durham. The population 

 of the United Kingdom in the middle of 1911 

 is estimated at 45,311,078 persons; that of 

 England and Wales at 36,168,750, that of 

 Scotland at 4,766,860 and that of Ireland at 

 4,375,468. These estimates are based upon 

 the numbers enumerated at the censuses of 

 1901 and 1911. In the United Kingdom 277,- 

 655 births and 173,105 deaths were registered 

 in the three months ended September 30, 1911. 

 The natural increase of population was, there- 

 fore, 104,550. The official vital statistics of 

 Erance for the first six months of 1911 give a 

 total of 385,999 birth and 404,278 deaths, being 

 an excess of deaths of 18,279. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS 



At a meeting of the lumbermen of the 



North Idaho Forestry Association held in 



