220 NATURAL SCIENCE. Sept., 



The men of science who have entered the lists as candidates for ParUament in 

 the recent elections have not on the whole been especially successful. Sir John 

 Lubbock returns to represent his old constituency of the University of London, 

 though after an unfortunate wrangle with some of the supporters of the Gresham 

 Scheme, who, perhaps, have not sufficiently allowed for the fact that an election 

 address is an election address. Sir John Colomb will be welcomed back, thanks 

 to Yarmouth, and Sir Henry Howorth has retained his seat. 



The losses, however, have been serious. Chief among the.se is that of Sir 

 Henry Roscoe. Geographers will regret the failure of Major Darwin to hold the 

 seat he rather unexpectedly won in 1892 ; they will, however, be glad of the success 

 of Mr. Stanley. African problems seem destined to come much to the front during 

 the next few years, and so much ignorance of the subject was shown in last session's 

 debates that Mr. Stanley ought to prove one of the most useful of the new members. 

 Sir E. J. Reed's defeat at Cardiff is a serious loss to the interests of mechanical 

 science, which has lost another representative in the defeat of Mr. Moulton. 



The Institute of France will celebrate its centenary in October. The occasion 

 will be marked by a series of fetes and receptions, followed by a banquet on October 

 25 ; the Comedie I'Yan9aise will give a special performance, and the President of the 

 French a special reception. A visit to Chantilly will conclude the observances. 



The Senate of the Smithsonian Institution has voted the Hodgkins prize of 

 10,000 dollars, in equal proportions, to Lord Rayleigh and Professor Ramsay, in 

 recognition of their discovery of argon. One thousand dollars has also been voted 

 by the same body to H. de Varigny, of Paris, for the best popular essay on the 

 properties of the atmosphere. 



The attendance at the British Museum (Natural History) during 1894 numbered 

 413,572, showing an excess of over 5,000 on the previous year. This gives a daily 

 average of about 1,300. We learn that the construction of a special gallery for 

 Cetacea is now in progress, the foundations having already been laid down. 



The Royal Society will continue to issue its Philosophical Transactions in the 

 present quarto form, but they have resolved to alter the size of the Proceedings to 

 that of royal octavo, a change to be made at some early convenient time. 



The State of New York has set aside 16,000 dollars to be spent, under the direc- 

 tion of Professor L. H. Bailey, of Cornell University, in experiments in horticulture, 

 the remedy of plant-diseases, and similar objects. The work, which should yield results 

 of value to the botanist as well as to the cultivator, is to be confined to the fruit- 

 growing region of western New York, north and west of Lake Cayuga. 



According to the report read on August 10 before the annual meeting of the 

 Royal Botanic Society, the opening of the grounds, even to a paying public, has its 

 disaivantages. The admission of the public to a gardens, even by payment, entails 

 the employment of a large additional staff to collect the litter made by the elders, 

 and to check the damage done by children to flowers and shrubs. It seems singular 

 that those who can afford to pay 6d. or is. for a pleasure have not, as a body, 

 sufficient intelligence to conduct themselves properly, or to prevent their children 

 from injuring property. It is, however, to be hoped that the Society will see its way 

 to continue its policy, for after a while the rush of idle sightseers will pass, and a 

 steady, though perhaps small, income may be derived from those who really desire 

 to visit the Botanic Gardens for the love of its beauties. 



The collections of Dr. F. Stephani, consisting of 10,000 specimens of Hepatics, 

 including his types, have been acquired by the British Museum. The Paris 



