238 



SCIENTIFIC NEAA^S. 



[Dec. 1st, iS 



Nasmyth's errand was to apprentice his son to Messrs. Mauds- 

 lay and Field. To his dismay, the firm had ceased to take 

 pupils, thereby anticipating the present Scotch rule. Sympa- 

 thetic Mr. Maudslay, before dismissing his visitors, took them 

 for a ramble through the works, when the bent and genius of 

 the lad could not be restrained. He personally begged that Mr. 

 Maudslay would take him in any capacity he pleased. " So you 

 are one of that sort, are you?" said Mr. Maudslay. "Bring 

 your drawings and models to-morrow at twelve, and let me see 

 them." Such was the beginning of James Nasmyth. In Scot- 

 land boys begin in like manner, and by application may attain 

 to excellence, if not to eminence. When they were taken with 

 premiums they did as they liked, and as a rule learned nothing 

 that would command positions afterwards. 



TECHNICAL EDUCATION. 



City and Guilds of London Institute. — At a recent meeting 

 of the Council, a letter was read from Miss Anna Louisa Cohen 

 and Miss Lucy Cohen, offering one thousand pounds to found a 

 Scholarship in connection with the Central Institution, in memory 

 of their uncle, the late Mr. John Samuel, one of the first members 

 of the Executive Committee. The offer was accepted. 



Carriage Building. — The Council of the Institute of 

 British Carriage Manufacturers has approved and issued to 

 its members a syllabus of instruction for young men pre- 

 paring to engage in carriage manufacture. This syllabus 

 includes lists of subjects suitable for employers, for managers, 

 and foremen ; for accountants, clerks, etc., and for skilled 

 artisans. The subjects of general education required for 

 the foremen include reading, writing, arithmetic, drawing, 

 mechanics, metallurgy, book-keeping, geography, and one foreign 

 language. The accountant classes are expected, in addition to 

 these, to have a knowledge of commercial law, shorthand, type- 

 writing, the arrangements necessary in the packing and shipping 

 of carriages. No technical instruction is set down for them. 

 Rather higher general education is required from managers and 

 foremen, while the syllabus for employers includes also ele- 

 mentary engineering, elements of botany and forestry, animal 

 and vegetable substances used in the manufacture, contrast and 

 harmony of colours, etc. The technical subjects required from 

 the artisans depend upon the class of work on which they are 

 engaged, varying according as the artisans are workers in wood, 

 smiths, painters, or trimmers. The technical education for 

 employers includes the principles of designing and constructing 

 carriages, in whole or in part, mechanics, knowledge of qualities 

 and characters of woods, and a knowledge of the varieties of 

 carriages used in different parts of the world. — -Journal of the 

 Society of Arts. 



The Horological Institute. — The Council of this Institute 

 offer a prize of seven guineas for the best, and a prize of three 

 guineas for the second best practical essay on " Modern methods 

 of turning, drilling, boring, pivoting, and polishing applicable to 

 watch work, by means of modern appliances, and either the 

 hand or foot wheel." Papers in competition to reach the Secre- 

 tary of the Horological Institute, Northampton Square, Clerken- 

 well, not later than Monday, April 30th, 1888. Each paper must 

 be distinguished by a novi de plume or motto, and be accom- 

 panied by a sealed envelope bearing a similar mark, and con- 

 taining the name of the competitor. Practical classes in con- 

 nection with this Institute are held at Northampton Square, 

 Clerkenwell, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, 

 and Fridays, from 10 till 5. The class for instruction in 

 mechanical drawing in relation to Horology is held on Tuesday 

 evenings, from 6 till 7.30 o'clock, and on Thursday evenings 

 from 8 till 9.30, during the winter. The elementary class for 

 theoretical horology and mechanics is held on Tuesday even- 

 ings, from 8 till 9.30 ; and on Thursday evenings, from 6 till 

 7.30, during the winter. 



Education in the Army.— The War Office has appointed a 

 committee to report upon the present system of technical edu- 

 cation amongst officers of the Army, and to make suggestions as 

 to reforms in the present course of instruction, with a view of 

 making the practical education of a young officer more com- 

 plete. The committee, which is expected to meet shortly, is 

 under the presidency of General H. A. Smyth, Royal Artillery. 



India. — Twenty thousand rupees have been given by the 

 Maharanee of Cossimbazar for the promotion of technical edu- 



cation in the Moorshedabad district. Five thousand are to be 

 spent in purchasing the necessary apparatus and instruments, 

 and the interest on the remainder is to be devoted to endowing 

 a class in the Berhampore Collegiate School and establishing 

 classes in connection in some of the elementary schools in the 

 vicinity. 



Coventry. — It is expected that, in connection with the Horo- 

 logical Institute and City and Guilds of London Institute, a 

 Technical School will be opened at Coventry shortly. 



Leicester. — The Technical Schools have commenced their 

 sessions with extremely encouraging prospects ; more students, 

 and a generally enhanced interest in their work, encourage hopes 

 of a more successful winter's work than any preceding one. The 

 prizes were distributed a few days ago to the successful students 

 of last session by Mr. Swire Smith, one of the Royal Commis- 

 sion on this subject, who spoke highly of the work of the Insti- 

 tution. Practical examinations were held in plumbers' work. 

 The total number of students in the various classes was 243, with 

 an average attendance of 173, and 198 entered for the examina- 

 tions of the City and Guilds of London Institute. 



Newcastle. — Mr. Miles Settle has given the sura of ^100 to 

 the Governors of the Newcastle Endowed Schools, to found a 

 prize for proficiency in scientific attainments necessary for the 

 profession of a mining engineer. During the winter months 

 scientific lectures on practical mining are to be given at some of 

 the large collieries in the district, and a convenient laboratory is 

 being fitted up for the benefit of the miners employed in the 

 pits. The result of such efforts as these to spread a knowledge 

 of the properties and constituents of gases, the principles of 

 ventilation, and the formation of the minerals worked, should 

 have a tendency to reduce the number of accidents in mines. 



Preston. — The Harris Trustees, Preston, have granted out 

 of the funds at their disposal ^30,000 towards the furnishing 

 and endowing of a technical school for Preston. Of this 

 £\o,ooo only can be spent upon the building and furnishing. 

 The Preston Corporation have consented to provide a central 

 site, and they are to be memorialised for a grant of ^10,000 

 in addition. 



Worcester. — It has been recently resolved to unite within 

 one large building the ' various art, science, and educational 

 societies of the city at a cost of something like ^20,000. 



RECORD OF SCIENTIFIC AND 

 TECHNICAL SOCIETIES. 



*,.* The whole of the papers of the Societies referred to are not included 

 in this list. 



THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 

 Nov. 17. — Papers read, "Preliminary Note on the Spectra of 

 Meteorites," by Mr. J Norman Lockyer. " On the Classification 

 of the Fossil Animals commonly named Dinosauria," by Prof. 

 H. G. Seeley; "Specific Inductive Capacity," by Dr. T. 

 Hopkinson. 



INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 

 Nov. 15. — Paper read, " Accidents in Mines, II.," by Sir F. A. Abel. 

 Nov. 18.— Paper read, "Boiler Experiments and Fuel Economy," by 

 Mr. J. Holliday. 



THE SOCIETY OF ARTS. 

 Nov. 23. — Paper read, " The Mercurial Air-pump," by Prof. Silvanus 

 P. Thompson. 



ROYAL METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY. 

 Nov. 16. — Papers read, "The use of the Spectroscope as an 

 Hygrometer, Simplified and Explained," by Mr. F. W. Cory ; 

 " Rainfall on and around Table Mountain, Capetown, Cape 

 Colony," by -Mr. J. G. Gamble ; " On the Cause of the Diurnal 

 Oscillation of the Barometer," by Mr. R. Lawson. 



ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 



Oct. 12. — Papers read, " Twenty-four New Species of Rotifera," by Mr. 

 P. H. Gosse. 



Nov. 9. — Papers read, " Observations on the Metamorphoses of 

 Amcebte and Actinophrys," by Mr. C. R. Beaumont ; " Synopsis 

 of the Recent British Foraminifera," by Mr. H. B. Brady. 



