306 NEWS [ocroBER 
It is noted in Sczence that the Ahearn 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. 8. 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 Vature that Mr. J. 8. Budgett of Trinity College, Cambridge, 
has been successful in obtaining eggs and larvee of Polypterus. 
Mr. George K. Cherrie has returned from his expedition to Venezuela, where 
he was collecting birds for the Trmg Museum. Although his work was stopped 
by illness, he got many spoils. 
The steamship Capella arrived at Tromsé 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 Eehinocactus parryt, 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 Seventijyic 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. 
