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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



University, who has established the laws 

 governing it in a series of researches 

 conducted during the past fifteen years. 



The correction of the chapel was 

 engineered by Mr. C. M. Swan, acous- 

 tical expert of New York City, and as- 

 sociated with Professor Sabine. Lay- 

 ers of highly sound-absorjative felt were 

 placed on a portion of the interior sur- 

 faces of the chapel, the thickness, area 

 and location being governed by the 

 requirements of the problem. The 

 careful consideration of these factors 

 is said to be essential to a successful 

 outcome to the work, as accurate fig- 

 uring must be done to produce a mean 

 condition satisfactory both for music 

 and speaking. An over-doing of the 

 treatment would produce a ' ' dead ' ' 

 condition and a diminution of the loud- 

 ness of the sound, which would prove as 

 objectionable in its way as the original 

 condition of general reverberation. 



The treatment was installed by a lo- 

 cal firm of contractors under Mr. 

 Swan's direction, and was covered with 

 a protective and concealing membrane 

 in such a way that the untrained eye 

 would not perceive the change. Even 

 the most unskilled ear, however, is quick 

 to perceive the change which has been 

 brought about in favor of normal con- 

 ditions of hearing. It is said that the 

 improvement in the acoustics has been 

 remarkable and that a degree of com- 

 fort is now experienced in the use of the 

 chapel which lias never before been 

 possible. 



SCIENTIFIC ITEMS 

 We record with regret the deaths of 

 Dr. .Jay W. Seaver, for twenty-five 

 years director of the Yale gymnasium 

 and professor of hygiene in the univer- 

 sity; of William Harlow Eeed, curator 

 of the museum and instructor of geol- 

 ogy in the University of Wyoming; of 



Mr. Eichard Lydekker, F.R.S., known 

 for his work and writings on natural 

 science; of Dr. Arthur Sheriden Lea, 

 formerly university lecturer at Cam- 

 bridge on physiological chemistry, and 

 of Professor Friedrich Loeffler, the dis- 

 tinguished pathologist, who in 1881 

 discovered the diphtheria bacillus. 



Members of the National Academy 

 of Sciences have been elected as fol- 

 lows: Dr. Charles Greeley Abbot, di- 

 rector of the astrophysical laboratory of 

 the Smithsonian Institution; Dr. AV. E. 

 Castle, professor of zoology, Harvard 

 University; Dr. G. Stanley Hall, presi- 

 dent of Clark University and professor 

 of psychology; Dr. Frank R. Lillie, pro- 

 fessor of embryology. University of 

 Chicago ; Dr. Graham Lusk, professor 

 of physiology, Cornell Medical School; 

 Dr. Robert A. Millikan, professor of 

 physics. University of Chicago; Dr. 

 Alexander Smith, professor of chemis- 

 try, Columbia University; Dr. Viator C. 

 Vaughan, professor of hygiene and 

 physiological chemistry. University of 

 Michigan; Dr. H. S. White, professor 

 of mathematics, Vassar College; Dr. S. 

 W. Williston, professor of paleontology, 

 University of Chicago. 



Mr, Andrew Carnegie's gifts to the 

 Carnegie Institute and Institute of 

 Technology have now reached a total of 

 $27,000,000, his latest contribution an- 

 nounced at Founder's Day, on April 

 29, being $2,700,000. Of this latter 

 amount $1,200,000 is for new buildings 

 and $1,500,000 for endowment. — The 

 campaign to raise $1,385,000 for the 

 Stevens Institute of Technology in Ho- 

 boken, N. J., has been successfully con- 

 eluded. The entire indebtedness of the 

 college, amounting to $385,000 has been 

 cancelled, leaving $1,000,000 to be used 

 for the erection of new buildings and 

 for endowment. 



