306 NE WS [OCTOBER 



It is noted in Science that the Aheavn bill, recently passed by the New 

 York legislature, allows $96,000 to be spent next year on free lectures, largely 

 scientific, in New York City. 



In Nature for August 31, Prof. A. C. Haddon gives an interesting pre- 

 liminary report on the results of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to 

 Torres Straits and Sarawak. He and the other members of the expedition 

 deserve congratulations on the successful issue of their explorations, and the 

 detailed memoirs will be awaited with interest. 



The Liverpool expedition for the study of malaria in Sierra Leone included 

 Major Ross and Dr. Annett of the Liverpool School of Tropical Diseases, Mr. 

 E. E. Austen of the British Museum (Natural History) as entomologist, and 

 Dr. S. Van Neck, official delegate of the Belgian Government. 



Major Ronald Ross, leader of the expedition, has already succeeded in finding 

 the malaria-bearing mosquito. 



It is stated in Nature that Mr. J. S. Budgett of Trinity College, Cambridge, 

 has been successful in obtaining eggs and larvae of Polypterus. 



Mr. George K. Cherrie has returned from his expedition to Venezuela, where 

 he was collecting birds for the Tring Museum. Although his work was stopped 

 by illness, he got many spoils. 



The steamship Capella arrived at Tromso on August 18 from Franz Josef 

 Land, bringing Mr. Wellmann's expedition from Cape Tegetheff. It is reported 

 that the expedition reached the 82nd parallel. Some important scientific work 

 was done and 103 walruses were killed. Mr. Wellmann has been unfortunately 

 crippled by falling into a snow-covered crevasse. He has now returned to 

 Britain. 



We learn from the Botanical Gazette that Mr. J. N. Rose has just returned 

 from a botanical trip in Mexico, where he rediscovered Echinocactus parryi, and 

 collected other species lost or hitherto unknown to American herbaria. He 

 made a thorough study of the species of agave, especially those used in the 

 manufacture of pulque and mescal. He visited, among many other localities, 

 Tequila, in order to find out what plant furnishes " tequila," which is the great 

 mescal drink of Mexico. 



The Scientific American notes that Dr. Frederick W. True of the Smithsonian 

 Institution, a well-known authority on cetaceans and seals, went in August to 

 Newfoundland to hunt finback whales, in order to obtain specimens for the 

 National Museum at Washington. 



■&' 



The workers on board the Prince of Monaco's Princess Alice, which has just 

 returned from a Spitzbergen cruise, were able to do some surveying work, and 

 a large unsuspected bay was discovered. Investigation was much hindered, 

 however, by the vessel running on to rocks, where she remained for five anxious 

 days. Liberation involved a loss of most of the coal, and this forced the 

 Prince to return sooner than he would otherwise have done. 



Mr. Benjamin Hoppin has sent his yacht Senta to Greenland as a gift to 

 the Peary Relief Expedition, with the sole restriction that he wishes it to be 

 used in scientific exploration. 



The Scientific American reports that the party of scientific explorers who 

 went to Alaska as the guests of Mr. Harriman, met with success, and made 

 several important discoveries. Among these was an immense bay extending 

 inland for over twenty miles. At the upper end of this bay they discovered a 

 great glacier inferior only to the Muir glacier in size. Several other new glaciers 

 were discovered. Some new plants were found by the botanists, and the collec- 

 tion of marine species is expected to surpass any yet made in northern waters. 



