230 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 215. 



der Physik und Chemie. (4) Participation in the 

 meetings of the Section of Physics, of the Ger- 

 man Society of Men of Science and Physicians. 

 (5) Eegular meetings in Berlin, and (6) A jour- 

 nal club. 



The Biological Laboi-atory of the Brooklyn 

 Institute of Arts and Sciences, situated at Cold 

 Spring, L. I., will open its tenth session on July 

 5th. The regular class work will last for six 

 weeks, but special work may be begun earlier 

 and continued afterwards. Dr. Charles B. Dav- 

 enport, of Harvard University, is director of the 

 laboratory, and the staff of instructors includes 

 Dr. D. S. Johnson, of Johns Hopkins University; 

 Professor C. P. Sigerfoos, University of Minne- 

 sota ; Professor Henry S. Pratt, Haverford Col- 

 lege ; W. H. C. Pynchon, Trinity College ; Nel- 

 son F. Davis, Bucknell University ; Mrs. Ger- 

 trude Crotty, Davenport ; Stephen R. Williams, 

 Harvard University, and Professor Frederick 

 O. Grover, Oberlin College. 



At a meeting of the Eoyal Dublin Society on 

 January 20th Sir Howard Grubb, F. R. S., Vice- 

 President of the Society, described a plan by 

 which the Marconi system of wireless telegra- 

 phy could be used for controlling public and 

 other clocks. 



The Prince of Monaco reported to the Paris 

 Academy on January 23d on the scientific re- 

 sults of the first expedition of his yacht, the 

 Princess Alice II. He left Havre at the end of 

 July and returned in the middle of September, 

 going as far north as Spitzbergen. The fauna 

 both of the sea and the fresh water was care- 

 fully studied. Professor Brandt, of Kiel, ac- 

 companied the expedition. 



The following lectures are being given under 

 the auspices of Columbia University at the 

 American Museum of Natural History, New 

 York, on Saturday evenings : February 4th, 

 'The Transmission of Light in Crystals,' Pro- 

 fessor Alfred J. Moses; February 11th, 'Char- 

 acters of Minerals in Rock Sections,' Dr. Lea 

 McI. Luquer ; February 18th, ' Methods Em- 

 ployed in Investigation of Minerals,' Professor 

 S. L. Penfield ; February 25th, ' Testing Min- 

 erals,' Professor A. J. Moses. 



The British Treasury have approved the use 

 of the electric light in the Natural History 



Museum, South Kensington. It will be first 

 introduced into the offices and workshops and 

 later into the public galleries. 



At a recent meeting of the Council of the 

 Royal College of Surgeons, England, it was re- 

 ported that fifteen investigators are at present 

 carrying on original research in the laboratories 

 of the two Royal Colleges. 



Officials of the Treasury Department, cus- 

 toms division, have decided that books are the 

 only articles subject to duty which can be 

 legally imported into the United States in the 

 mails. All other dutiable mail matter must be 

 seize3". This decision may cause some incon- 

 venience to scientific men. 



The Publishers' Circular records 6,008 new 

 books published in Great Britain in 1898, 236 

 less than in 1897. Under the class called vaguely 

 arts, sciences and illustrated works, 263 books 

 were published, a decrease of 25 as compared 

 with the preceding year. For the United 

 States in the year named the total number of 

 new books published amounted to 4,886, a total 

 smaller than that of any year since 1894. On 

 the other hand, there was an increase over 1897 

 of about 1,000 books in France, the number for 

 1898 being 14,781. As the books published in 

 Great Britain and the United States are mostly 

 the same it appears that France with not half 

 the population of the Anglo-Saxon races pub- 

 lishes twice as many books. 



The annual meeting of the New England 

 Anti-vivisection Society is thus reported, in 

 part, in the Boston Transcript : " Back into the 

 room again swarmed the rest of the gentlemen, 

 and soon another wrangle was going on in which 

 old gentlemen in silk hats talked loudly and vig- 

 orously to one another. Threats were beginning 

 to be made — threats of violence. Secretary 

 Brazier finally secured a hearing : ' As cus- 

 todian of all the property in this room, I ask 

 every one present to leave,' said he, and sim- 

 ultaneously several women arose and started to 

 leave the room. But Mr. Greene again had the 

 floor. 'Don't go, ladies; he has no right to 

 order your departure.' * * * Several per- 

 sonal altercations followed, one of which 

 seemed about to culminate in violence, when 

 the meeting broke up in confusion." 



