408 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. L. No. 1296 



the autumn montlis of 1919, stirred renewed 

 interest in the various bills and resolutions 

 providing for investigations of that disease, 

 but no final action had been taken at the 

 time of this report, although Mr. Harding's 

 S. J. Ees. '76 was reported in the Senate on 

 October 1. 



On September 3, Mr. McKellar introduced 

 S. 2920: "To enable the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture to carry out investigations of the 

 causes and means of prevention of fires and 

 dust explosions in industrial plants." The 

 bill provides $100,000 for such investigations. 

 Referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

 and Forestry. 



A plan for private development under Fed- 

 eral concessions, of the platinum resources 

 of Alaska is contained in H. E. 8988: "To 

 incorporate the United States Platinum Cor- 

 poration and to aid in the development of the 

 mineral resources of Alaska, and for other 

 purposes," introduced on September 3 by Mr. 

 O'Gonnell (by request). The proposed Cor- 

 poration would have a capital stock not to 

 exceed $50,000,000; would be exempt from 

 Federal taxation; would be empowered to re- 

 ceive concessions and leases of government- 

 owned platinum sands in Alaska; would pay 

 a royalty of one eighth of its net products; 

 and would furnish $100,000 for the mainten- 

 ance of five " U. S. Government Commis- 

 sioners of Platinum and its Allied Indus- 

 tries," whose duties are not defined in the 

 bill. Referred to the Committee on Public 

 Lands. 



No action was taken on the invitation of 

 the French government to send delegates to a 

 meteorological conference in Paris on Sep- 

 tember 30, and the United States was, there- 

 fore, not officially represented. 



AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION 



The thirty seventh stated meeting of The 

 American Ornithologists' Union will convene 

 in ITew York City, from November 11 to 13. 

 The headquarters will be at The Belleclaire, 

 Broadway and Y7th Street. Owing to the 

 crowded condition of hotels in New York, 

 members intending to be present are urged to 

 make reservations well in advance. Reserva- 



tions might also be made at The Pennsyl- 

 vania, opposite the Pennsylvania Station, Yth 

 Avenue and 33d Street. 



The public meetings will be held at the 

 American Museum of Natui'al History, 77th 

 Street and Central Park, West, from 10 a.m. 

 until 4 P.M. each day. The reading of papers 

 will form a prominent feature of the meet- 

 ings. All classes of members are earnestly 

 requested to contribute, and to notify the 

 secretary before November 5, as to the titles 

 of their communications, and the length of 

 time required for their presentation, so that 

 a program for each day may be prepared. 



As this is the first meeting since the war, 

 interesting reports may be expected from 

 some of the members who served in the mili- 

 tary or naval service. In addition to the 

 usual social features there wiU be opportuni- 

 ties to visit the New York Zoological Park, 

 the Brooklyn Museum, Audubon's home in 

 Audubon Park, and the New York Historical 

 Society, where the original drawings of Audu- 

 bon's Birds of America are preserved. 



Each member is requested to recommend to 

 the secretary the name of at least one new 

 associate for election to the imion. . 



T. S. Palmer, 



Secretary 



1939 BiLTMORE St., N.W., 

 "Washington, D. C, 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 



Dr. Theodore W. Richards, professor of 

 chemistry at Harvard University, and director 

 of the Wolcott Gibbs Memorial Laboratory, has 

 been elected a foreign member of the Royal 

 Society of London. 



Provost Edgar F. Smith, of the Univer- 

 sity of Pennsylvania, received the degree of 

 doctor of laws from Queen's College at Kings- 

 ton, Ontario, at the convocation of Canadian 

 universities on October 16. 



Dr. Fredeeico Giolitti, formerly professor 

 of metallurgical chemistry and metallography 

 at Turin has been presented with the Bessemer 

 medal of the British Iron and Steel Institute. 



Dr. Eric K. Rideal, a graduate of Cam- 

 bridge University and of the University of 



