292 NATURAL SCIENCE. Oct.. 



Dr. John Murray has signalised ttie close of the work of the "Challenger" 

 Expedition in a most pleasing way. He has presented a medal to the naval officers, 

 the contributors of memoirs, and the civilian staff of the Expedition. The medal is 

 of bron/.e, is three inches in diameter, has been designed by Mr. W. S. Black, and 

 modelled by Mr. Birnie Rhind. On the obverse is seen the head of Athena, with an 

 owl resting on a globe which is surrounded by water, from which Neptune rises 

 holding a trident and a trawl. On the right is a dolphin, while below are two 

 mermaids supporting a riband bearing a legend, " Voyage of H.M.S. ' Challenger,' 

 1872-76." On the reverse is the badge of the vessel, a mailed warrior who has cast 

 his gauntlet to Neptune, whose trident rises behind the challenger. A riband 

 runs round the margin, returns along the base, enfolds the trident, and bears the 

 words "Report on the Scientific Results of the ' Challenger ' Expedition, 1886-1895." 

 The name of the recipient has been engraved around the edge. The medal is of 

 considerable artistic beauty, and recognises in a most fitting way the valuable and 

 exhaustive labours of those who have contributed to the success of the Expedition. 



Edinburgh Summer Meeting. — During the ninth session of the Edinburgh 

 Summer Meeting, which was opened by Lord Reay on August 5, and continued 

 throughout the month, the scientific side was represented by Professor Lloyd 

 Morgan (on Evolution Ethics), Professor Haddon (on the Savage Mind), Dr. Irvine 

 (on the Nervous System), Mr. J. Arthur Thomson (on the Biology of the Seasons), 

 Mr. Robert Turnbull (on Applied Botany), Dr. W. W. J. Nicol (on Everyday 

 Chemistry), Elisee Reclus, Professor Geddes, and Mr. Herbertson (on the Evolution 

 of Cities), Mr. J. G. Goodchild (on the Geology of Edinburgh), and so on. The 

 success of this meeting seems to continue to justify its existence — in holiday time. 



That the go-ahead policy of our American cousins is sometimes marred by 

 exceptions will be evident from the following quotation. " On account of serious 

 financial difliculties and a distrust of the progressive and enlightened educational 

 policy of President John, the trustees of De Pauw University, at Greencastle, 

 Indiana, have forced the resignation of the President, and set about a return to the 

 old paths. The department of biology, having been founded by Dr. John, was 

 among the first to suffer. It was summarily abolished, the announcement being 

 made, without previous warning, only the day before commencement. From a 

 professor of zoology and one of botany at the beginning of the last college year, the 

 instructional force is reduced to a single tutor, who is expected to give instruction in 

 the elements of both sciences." 



We learn from the Botanical Gazette (August) that the McGill University is the 

 recipient of a generous gift from Mr. W. C. McDonald, of Montreal, in the form of 

 thirty-five acres of ground for the use of the botanic garden. 



Also that Professor Mottier's duties in Indiana University will be undertaken by 

 Dr. G. J. Peirce while the former is absent abroad. 



The report of the Curator of the Archaeological Museum of the Ohio State 

 University, published in the September number of The Arc/iiiologist, shows a good 

 record of work done on and among the remarkable mounds of the Ohio State. This 

 department of the University has been in existence but a year and a half, and 

 Mr. Warren K. Moorhead must be congratulated on his success. No less than 

 25,000 specimens have been accumulated, the bulk of which came from Fort 

 Ancient, while large series are shown from the Scioto Valley and other places of 

 importance in the State. Mr. Moorhead hopes that funds will soon be available for 

 publication of an illustrated and detailed report. 



The Mayor of San Francisco, Mr. Adolph Sutro, has offered to the Regents of 

 the University of California thirteen acres of land on which to erect buildings for 



