SCIENCE- G OSS IP. 



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We desire to ask from among- our readers for 

 a volunteer who will kindly undertake the hono- 

 rary editorship of the department of botany in 

 Science-Gossip. We shall be glad to welcome 

 communications in this matter, and suggestions 

 as to the arrangements for the page. — Ed. S.-G. 



In common with the British people 

 throughout the world, we deplore the 

 nation's loss of Her Majesty Queen Vic- 

 toria. It may interest some of our 

 •readers to know that when she was the 

 Princess Victoria, she was Patron of the 

 Entomological Society of London on its 

 formation in 1833. 



A complimentary dinner has been arranged to 

 take place early in March to commemorate the 

 retirement of Sir Archibald Geikie from his post of 

 Director-General of the Geological Survey of the 

 United Kingdom, which appointment he has held 

 since 1892. 



The Hampstead Astronomical and Scientific 

 Society propose to form a natural history section, 

 with the primary object of working at the local 

 fauna and flora. Members and others who' are 

 willing to identify themselves with the section are 

 asked to send their names to Mr. J. W. Williams, 

 M.E.C.S., 128 Mansfield Koacl, Gospel Oak. It has 

 also been decided to alter the name of the society 

 to the Hampstead Scientific Society. 



Mr. Thomas Shepherd has been appointed 

 curator of the museum attached to the Royal 

 Institution, Hull. The committee, in making their 

 selection, have carefully considered the applicants 

 with the object of obtaining a man of sufficient 

 technical knowledge to enable him to properly 

 arrange and classify the various exhibits. Mr. 

 Shepherd is well known to our readers as the hon. 

 secretary of the Hull Scientific and Field Natural- 

 ists' Club, a skilled geologist, and member of the 

 Boulder Committee of the Yorkshire Naturalists' 

 Union. 



We have received an intimation from Mr. E. A. 

 Martin, the hon. secretary of the Croham Hurst 

 Preservation Committee, that the Croydon County 

 Council have decided by unanimous vote to pur- 

 chase the whole of the beautiful wooded hill to 

 the south of Croydon, known as Croham Hurst. 

 Our readers may remember that thirty-five acres 

 were acquired about two years ago. Public atten- 

 tion having been turned to the matter and interest 

 aroused, several meetings were held, resulting in 

 a committee of seventy members, to whose exer- 

 tions is due the present arrangement to purchase. 

 The County Council are offering £\ 5,000 for the 

 remaining forty-five acres. 



'I'm-: annual report for the year 1900 of the 

 Royal Meteorological Society is satisfactory, there 

 being an addition of fifty-five Fellows on the roll. 

 It mentions that the late Mr. <>. -I. Symons, F.R.S., 

 had bequeathed, among other things, to the Society 

 about 2,200 volumes and I. (ion pamphlets from his 

 I Lbrary 



WE have before us a handy little catalog 

 binocular field and opera glasses, telescopi 

 compasses, issued by Messrs. Ross, Limited. As 

 the illustrations are numerous, this list will appeal 

 to many of our readers who need portable instru- 

 ments of such kind. A useful one for amateurs is 

 their seaside and tourist's telescope, which is sup- 

 plied with a tripod stand. 



The last effort of Nature in this country in the 

 19th century was a further destruction of one of 

 the most ancient human monuments. Two of the 

 largest stones of the outer circle of Stonehenge fell 

 during the storm of New Year's Eve. Considering 

 the comparatively small cost that would be re- 

 quired to place these prehistoric remains beyond 

 further immediate decay, it seems a pity that this 

 cannot be at once effected. We trust a movement 

 will be inaugurated having this object in view. 



Once again a successful Conference of Science 

 Teachers has been held in London, this, the third 

 time, at the South-Western Polytechnic. Chelsea, 

 on January 10th. The addresses were as good as 

 ever, but owing to the lack of time the discussions 

 cannot be considered to be so satisfactory as those 

 of last year. Next year three days will most likely 

 be devoted to the meetings with good effect. On 

 the present occasion many points of interest were 

 touched upon, the more important being the co- 

 ordination of workshop and laboratory practice, 

 and the making of useful and simple apparatus in 

 place of expensive and obscure instruments which 

 are of little educational value. Then the fitting 

 up of chemical, physical, and mechanical labora- 

 tories was gone into. The scientific education of 

 girls was discussed, and the value of psychological 

 knowledge in the case of young children, as well 

 as of older students, most properly emphasised. 

 Full reports will doubtless be published in the 

 "Technical Education Gazette" of the London 

 County Council, which should be read by all 

 interested in the teaching of science, who were not 

 present at the conference. 



The Science Masters of our public schools are 

 greatly to be congratulated on publicly expressing 

 their opinions as to the reforms needed in science 

 teaching, which they have not power to make. It 

 is to be hoped that all those directly interested in 

 the carrying on of one of the most important 

 crusades of the day will read the excellehl papers 

 read before the Conference of January 19th at the 

 London University. Those also in authority. 

 whether governesses or headmasters, must at all 

 costs be convinced that under the ordinary circum- 

 stances of school work science teaching is a mind- 

 destroying farce. What the nation demands is 

 that her sons shall he prepared to uphold her tra- 

 ditions by means of a training in methods of 

 science as well as mechanical culture. We might 

 mention that Sir Henry Roscoe, who is Vice- 

 chancellor of London University, presided. He is 

 also a governor of Eton College, from which we 

 believe the idea of the Conference emanated, the 

 circular convening it being signed by four of its 

 science masters, with Mr. M. D. Hill as secretary. 



