NOTES. 



255 



chloroform, he is almost sure to die. I 

 was on the point of saying, if he inhale the 

 slightest quantity of the vapor of chloroform, 

 it will prove fatal. I am almost convinced 

 that that would not be putting it too forci- 

 bly. When you consider the remarkably 

 small quantity given in all the cases, I 

 think you will be inclined to say that there 

 is something in the theory." 



NOTES. 



Dr. Elliott Coues, U. S. Army, the distin- 

 guished naturalist of the Hayden Surveys, 

 and one of the most eminent ornithologists 

 in the country, has just been elected Pro- 

 fessor of Anatomy in the National Medical 

 College in Washington, fie entered upon 

 its duties in April, and chose for the sub- 

 ject of his inaugural lecture, " Anatomical 

 Science in its Bearings on the Origin of 

 Species and Man's Place in Nature." He 

 took strong grounds for the truth of evolu- 

 tion, and claimed the right to seek and state 

 " the truth of Nature as existing in matter, 

 with no heed to possible results, and with- 

 out regard to the dictation of dogma, the 

 sensibilities of prejudice, or the fears of 

 ignorance." 



The Summer School of Science, inaugu- 

 rated last year at Bowdoin College, is to be 

 continued this season, the term to com- 

 mence July 16th and last six weeks. The 

 studies this year will be chemistry, miner- 

 alogy, and zoology, practical instruction to 

 be given in each, books being employed 

 solely for purposes of reference. The fee 

 for a full course, consisting of any two 

 studies, is $20 ; for a single study, $12. 

 Neither entrance examination nor recita- 

 tions will be required. 



J. Scott Bowerbank, well known for , 

 his studies of the lower forms of marine 

 life, especially the sponges, died at Hastings 

 (England) on the 9th of March, in his 

 eightieth year. 



An observed increase of temperature at 

 the Greenwich Observatory during recent 

 years is attributed, by Mr. H. S. Eaton, 

 President of the London Meteorological So- 

 ciety, to the heat imparted to the air by the 

 city of London. He estimates that the heat 

 developed from the present annual con- 

 sumption of 5,000,000 tons of coal, on the 

 118 square miles covered by the city, and 

 from all other artificial sources, would suf- 

 fice to raise the temperature of a stratum 

 of air 100 feet in depth, resting on that 

 area, 2.5 every hour. On account of this 

 influence, he considers the location a bad 

 one for a first-class observatory. 



JOHANN C. PoGGENDORFF, for Upward of 

 fifty years editor of the Aiinahn dir I'lnimk 

 und Chemie, died in Berlin, January 2'4th, 

 aged eighty years. His scientific studies were 

 mostly concerned with the phenomena of 

 electricity and magnetism. In 1834 he was 

 appointed Professor Extraordinary of Phys- 

 ics in the University of Berlin, which po- 

 sition he held till his death. His contri- 

 butions to science are chiefly to be found 

 in the " Transactions " of the Berlin Eoyal 

 Academy of Sciences. 



We learn from the Milwaukee Sentinel 

 that the theologians of that locality have 

 arranged a concerted assault upon the con- 

 clusions of the biologists, and that paper 

 remarks concerning it, that " the systematic 

 attack arranged by the orthodox preachers 

 of this city on the modern scientific theory 

 of life indicates alarm, and is the first evi- 

 dence that the evolution theory has met, or 

 is likely to meet, with popular favor." It 

 admonishes them to beware lest they create 

 an interest in the subject, and set people to 

 reading and thinking about it, who, if let 

 alone, would probably pay little attention 

 to it. The chances are that these gentle- 

 men, who have combined to fight biological 

 doctrines from their pulpits, will be the 

 loudest to protest that there is no possible 

 conflict between religion and science. 



According to an obituary notice in the 

 Bulletin, of Baltimore, the late Boss Winans 

 was the first to prove the feasibility of using 

 anthracite coal as fuel on locomotive-en- 

 gines. He was also the inventor of the 

 eight-wheel railroad-car. 



Mr. John Y. Culter, in a recent paper 

 read at a meeting of the Association of 

 School Commissioners and City Superin- 

 tendents held in Albany, advocates the 

 study of industrial and inventive drawing 

 in our public schools, on the ground that, 

 as a large majority of the pupils in these 

 schools are destined for industrial occupa- 

 tions, their studies should be adapted to im- 

 provement in this direction. " Upon what," 

 he asks, " does a man's advancement as a 

 workman depend ? L'pon three things : his 

 readiness in reading the designs of others, 

 his skill with his tools in fashioning the 

 designs of others, and his skill with his 

 tools in fashioning designs of his own. His 

 greatest advancement comes when he is 

 able to do the latter." 



A committee of the Ohio College Asso- 

 ciation has reported in favor of a State 

 Board of Examiners, whose duty it shall be 

 to examine all candidates for college degrees 

 and have the exclusive power of granting 

 the same. This is an important step, and 

 nowhere is such a system more needed than 

 in connection with our medical schools. 



