834 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



naces of large capacity. jSTever before, he said, had such castings 

 been made on board ship, or a foundry operated on the ocean. 

 The effects of the American rapid-fire guns on Admiral Cervera's 

 ships were fully described and illustrated, and the paper closed 

 with a vivid and detailed account of the floating of the Maria 

 Teresa, her repairing by the crew of the Vulcan through five weeks 

 of most difiicult work, and the unsuccessful attempt to bring her to 

 Norfolk, ending in her abandonment and loss. The public lec- 

 ture of Wednesday evening was by Prof. C. E. Monroe, of Wash- 

 ington, D. C, on the Application of Modern Explosives, very fully 

 illustrated. Detailed accounts were given of the manufacture of 

 gun cotton and various recent forms of high explosives and smoke- 

 less powders. In regard to the use of the latter, Professor Mon- 

 roe emphasized the fact that France and Germany had adopted 

 smokeless powders in 1887, and Italy and England a year or two 

 later, and characterized as " unpardonable " the fact that our own 

 service was unprovided with any such material when Ave began the 

 war with Spain. He further discussed recent and very important 

 experiments in the matter of throwing from ordinary guns shells 

 charged with high explosives, especially that known as Joveite, 

 with which tremendous effects have been produced in penetrating 

 the heaviest plating. 



Very different in character was the interesting and pleasing 

 programme carried out by the Section of Botany in memory of two 

 eminent workers in bryology who were long identified with Co- 

 lumbus — Dr. William S. Sullivant and his colaborer. Prof. Leo 

 Lesquereaux, who was eminent also in fossil botany. Wednesday 

 was set apart as " Sullivant day," and was marked by an extensive 

 display of portraits, books, and specimens, and a series of memo- 

 rial addresses, with notes on the progress of bryology. Twelve 

 Xorth American species of mosses have been named for Dr. Sulli- 

 vant, and specimens of all these, with drawings made by him, were 

 loaned for this occasion from his collection, now at the museum 

 of Harvard University. Sets of duplicates of these species, from 

 the herbarium of Columbia University, were prepared and pre- 

 sented as souvenirs to the botanists in attendance. Some mem- 

 bers of Dr. Sullivant's family were present, and naturally felt a 

 very deep sense of gratification at such a tribute to his name 

 and fame. 



The address of the retiring president. Prof. F. AV. Putnam, 

 had a special interest in that it was the last official appearance of 

 one who has been for so many years closely and prominently iden- 

 tified with the association as its permanent secretary, and whose 

 presence and personality have seemed an essential element in 



