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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Mr. Charles Sedgwick Minot, embryology; 

 Mr. Charles Fish, entomology. Mr. Morse 

 will lecture on the invertebrates. The school 

 will commence July 6th, and continue six 

 weeks. It is designed expressly for teach- 

 ers. 



A Summer School of Biology will be 

 opened at Drury College, Springfield, Mis- 

 souri, on July 1st, to continue not less than 

 six weeks. The course is designed mainly 

 for teachers ; and lectures, laboratory study, 

 and excursions will be the chief means em- 

 ployed for carrying on the work. Mr. E. 

 M. Shepherd, of Drury College, will instruct 

 in the departments of Invertebrate Zool- 

 ogy and Cryptogamic Botany ; Mr. C. H. 

 Ford, of the State Normal School, is to have 

 charge of Vertebrate Zoology and Phamo- 

 gamic Botany ; Mrs. H. C. Milner will give 

 instruction in methods of teaching Element- 

 ary Science ; and Dr. T. U. Flanner will in- 

 struct in Microscopy. 



Rearing Silkworms in England. Mr. 



Alfred Wailly contributes to the " Journal 

 of the Society of Arts" some valuable 

 notes on silk-producing bombyces which 

 were bred in England during 18*78. The 

 Attacus Yama Mai, or Japanese oak silk- 

 worm, is difficult to rear, since it is in the 

 egg state in the winter. The eggs have 

 to be kept protected from the rain and the 

 rays of the sun, and a special provision of 

 young oak-trees which have been potted 

 and protected from the frost, not forced, is 

 recommended in case they hatch out too 

 soon. The Attacus Pernyi, or Chinese oak 

 silkworm, is very easy to rear in the open 

 air, and will feed, like Yama Mai, on all 

 species of oak. The young worms of the 

 first brood hatch in June or the beginning 

 of July, when there is an abundance of foli- 

 age to feed them. The species is reproduced 

 with great facility. The hatching of the 

 second brood in the fall should be prevent- 

 ed by keeping the cocoons in a cool place. 

 Attacus cynthia, or the ailantus-worm, will 

 feed, but not as well as on the ailantus, on the 

 laburnum, lilac, and cherry. Attacus Atlas 

 feeds on the apple, plum, peach, barberry, 

 etc., and seems to have been reared with 

 success. Attacus Scle?ie, a " magnificent spe- 

 cies " from India, was introduced into Eu- 

 rope in 1878. The raising of it is appar- 



ently hazardous, for, though there were 

 plenty of ova, and they batched out well, 

 many of the larvae died in the last stage. 

 A good account is given of the Attacus poly- 

 phernus and Attacus cecropia, from North 

 America, which thrive well on a variety of 

 plants. 



Abont Beer. An account of the produc- 

 tion and consumption of beer throughout 

 the world is given in the work of Mr. "Von 

 der Planitz on " Beer," which we have al- 

 ready noticed. The scientific investigations 

 which have been made on subjects relating 

 to fermentation have led to improvements 

 in the processes of manufacture, and to the 

 establishment of numerous schools or de- 

 partments of schools in Germany and other 

 countries where these subjects are specially 

 studied. The foundation of a brewers' school 

 in the United States has been talked of since 

 18*71, and was one of the subjects considered 

 at the Brewers' Congress held during the 

 Great Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876; 

 but it has not yet taken shape. A consider- 

 able library of books relating to the prac- 

 tice and science of brewing has been pub- 

 lished, and journals devoted to the business 

 and the art are printed in Germany, Austria, 

 Bohemia, Fiance, England, and the United 

 States. A number of scientific and experi- 

 mental stations and laboratories have been 

 established in Germany, where special re- 

 searches are still carried on. A consolida- 

 tion of works for brewing seems to be going 

 on in all countries, so that the steady in- 

 crease in the production of beer is attended 

 by a decrease in the number of breweries. 

 This feature is, however, common to most 

 contemporary industries. Great Britain 

 leads all other countries in the manufacture 

 of beer, as well as in the production of 

 barley, but returns a smaller production of 

 hops than Germany. Germany is not far 

 behind it, while the United States stands 

 third in the list, and is followed by Austria, 

 Belgium, and France. Belgium produces 

 the largest quantity (149 quarts) per head 

 of the population, and Great Britain (143 

 quarts) next. Germany (94 quarts) holds 

 the third place by this criterion, and the 

 United States (38 quarts) the sixth, being 

 surpassed by Denmark and the Netherlands. 

 The statistics of single states in Germany 

 and of the Austrian Empire indicate that 



