%l- NEWS OF UNIVERSITIES, ETC. 397 



August, 1891, at Salzburg, which was concerned with certain European geological 

 maps. Considering the nature of their country, the Swiss geologists are 

 arranging two kinds of excursions, some across the Jura and the Alps, for those 

 "accustomed to long walks," and others for the less sturdy, during which steam- 

 boats, railways, and other conveniences will be utilised. Full particulars will be 

 furnished later. The meetings will be held at Zurich, but the excursionists will 

 reassemble at Lugano for the final meeting of the session. 



Mr. Bernard Hobson, M.Sc, has been appointed Assistant Lecturer on 

 Geology in the Owens College, Manchester. Mr. F. R. C. Reed succeeds the late 

 Mr. Thomas Roberts as Assistant to the Woodwardian Professor of Geology at 

 Cambridge, and Mr. H. Woods has been appointed Demonstrator in Palasobotany 

 in the same university. 



The foundation-stone of an institution destined to include a Public Library, 

 Museum, and School of Science and Art, was laid at Carlisle on May 26. The 

 cost, amounting to ;^i8,oooor /ao.ooo, has been raised partly by public subscription, 

 partly by a contribution from the funds at the disposal of the Town Council. 



The Annual Report of Mines for the Midland Counties for 1891 has recently 

 appeared. The district inspector, Mr. A. H. Stokes, states that the amount of coal 

 raised, 21,569,161 tons, is the largest quantity ever yielded by the Midland collieries 

 in one year, and exceeds that of 1890 by over a million tons. Classes for instruction 

 in mining have been formed, and appear to be appreciated in Nottinghamshire and 

 Warwickshire. 



Dr. Fortnum's offer of the remainder of his collection of antiquities and works 

 of art to Oxford University was accepted by Convocation on 14th June. The 

 collection was offered, together with ;^io,ooo, on condition that the University 

 should build a new Ashmolean Museum, close to the University galleries, at a cost 

 of ;^ii,ooo, an additional ;^4,ooo for fittings being included in Dr. Fortnum's will. 

 A further condition is that the University provide ;^30o a year, which, added to the 

 interest on Dr. Fortnum's ;^io,ooo, will suffice to keep the whole in good order. The 

 alterations will relieve the Bodleian Library, and improve the Taylorian Institute 

 and the galleries, by the addition of the new museum. 



The second International Zoological Congress will open at Moscow on August 

 22. Arrangements are being made for excursions around Moscow, towards the 

 Caucasus, the Urals, and Turkestan, but these depend on the number of names sent 

 in. A reduction of 50 per cent, has been granted to the members of the Congress on 

 all the Russian railways. 



The "Association fran^aise pour I'avancement des Sciences" will meet this 

 year at Pau, from the 15th to the 22nd of September. The American Association 

 meet at Rochester, N.Y. 



As a frontispiece to Professor Flower's book on " The Horse," noticed in our 

 issue for March, a figure of the skeletons of a man and a horse are given. The 

 skeletons themselves may now be seen in the mammalian alcove of the vestibule of 

 the Natural History Museum, and will be found of much assistance to the student 

 of comparative osteology. The bones in both are labelled, and around the half of 

 each skeleton a mould of the skin is placed which enables the observer to understand 

 the relations of the bones to the external form of the living animal. 



Mr. N. Okoshi, Acting Consul-General for Japan, has been requested by his 

 Government to pursue enquiries as to the organisation of the various museums in 

 this country, with special reference to the artistic and scientific establishments. The 



