1918.] The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. 
247 
Cawthron Institute of Scientific Research, Nelson. 
At a meeting of the Cawthron Trustees held on the 30th May, 1918, the 
appointment of the Advisory Board was confirmed for six years from the 
date of their appointment on the 25th September, 1916. The Advisory 
Board consists of Sir James G. Wilson, K.B. (Chairman) ; Professor 
W. B. Benham, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.; Dr. L. Cockayne, F.R.S.; Professor 
T. H. Easterfield, M.A., Ph.D. ; Dr. P. Marshall, F.G.S., F.R.G.S.; and 
Professor B. P. Worley, M.A., D.Sc., D.I.C., F.C.S. 
The Advisory Board, in conjunction with the Chairman of the Trustees, 
is to make inquiries in regard to the appointment of a Director, such Director 
to be a chemist with biological leanings, and to be a man of fair business 
ability. 
It was resolved that the Cawthron Trustees approach the Government 
with a view to the appointment 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 con¬ 
dition that any results obtained be the joint property of the Government 
and the Cawthron Institute. 
The regulations for the Cawthron Minor Scholar, hip are now published, 
and copies may be obtained from Messrs. W. Bout and Sons (Limited), Nelson. 
Candidates must be British subjects, and the scholar must matriculate at 
a University college and study for the B.Sc. degree, and sign a declaration 
that he will, after graduation, accept (if offered) a Cawthron Scholarship 
of £150 per annum and pursue his studies for not less than two years at 
the Cawthron Institute. The Minor Scholarship 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. Pre¬ 
ference in the selection of a scholar shall be given (<ceteris paribus) to candi¬ 
dates from Nelson and Marlborough. The scholarship will be awarded on 
the science papers of the University Scholarship Entrance Examination in 
not less than two nor more than three of the following subjects : Mathematics, 
physics, chemistry, and botany. The marks obtained, together 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 candi¬ 
date for election who appears to give the greatest promise of being useful 
to the institute. 
The second annual Cawthron lecture was delivered in the School of 
Mines, Nelson, by Professor W. B. Benham,- M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S., on the 
30th May. The subject chosen was “ Biology in Relation to Agriculture,” 
and the lecturer devoted particular attention to the problems of fruit¬ 
growing and the kinds of research the institute 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 matters 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 
programme of investigation 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 bv the institute. 
