;8 4 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



nearly in touch with a true and vigor- 

 ous democracy. 



Perhaps some subscribers to Dis- 

 covery who receive The Popular 

 Science Monthly in its place will 

 think that the Monthly is not entitled 

 to use the adjective " popular." The 

 publishers receive frequent postcards 

 asking for a sample " coppy." This 

 may be the better way to spell the 

 word, but those unsophisticated by 

 conventional orthography would prob- 

 ably not find the Monthly suited to 

 their purposes. It is popular in the 

 sense that it is not special or tech- 

 nical, not in the sense that it makes 

 an appeal to all the people. We need 

 a journal such as The Popular Sci- 

 ence Monthly intended for those hav- 

 ing a cultivated and intelligent interest 

 in the advancement of science, but 

 we also need a magazine for the larger 

 class who visit museums and read the 

 daily papers. Provision is now made 

 for invention and technological science, 

 but we should welcome the establish- 

 ment and support of a magazine de- 

 voted to natural history and the 

 simpler aspects of physical science. 



SCIENTIFIC ITEMS 



At the commenoration day exercises 

 of Johns Hopkins University, on Feb- 



ruary 22, a portrait of Henry Newell 

 Martin, formerly professor of biology, 

 was presented to the university by his 

 old students. The presentation speech 

 was made by Dr. William H. Howell, 

 dean of the medical school. 



The Silliman lectures at Yale Uni- 

 versity will next year be given by Dr. 

 Albrecht Penck, professor of geography 

 at the University of Berlin. 



The Bruce gold medal of the As- 

 tronomical Society of the Pacific has 

 been awarded to Professor Edward C. 

 Pickering, director of Harvard College 

 Observatory. — The gold medal of the 

 Royal Astronomical Society has been 

 awarded to Sir David Gill. M. Henri 

 Poincare, the eminent mathematician, 

 j has been elected a member of the 

 French Academy, in the place of the 

 late M. Berthelot. 



By the will of the late Mrs. Fred- 

 erick Sheldon, Harvard University* re- 

 ceives $300,000 for the enlargement of 

 the library building or such other 

 purpose as may be preferred, and the 

 residue of the estate for establishing 

 traveling scholarships. The total be- 

 quest will probably amount to more 

 than $S00,000. 



