'February 24, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



■iOc 



uses. The exposition will be held next May, 

 in the new post and telegraph office. Place de 

 la Monnaie, Brussels. 



The Twenty-eighth Congress of the German 

 Surgical Society will be held in the Langen- 

 beckhaus, Berlin, from April 5th to 8th, under 

 the presidency of Professor Eugen Hahn. 



A SUIT is being brought by the Treasurer of 

 the New England Anti- vivisection Society to 

 prevent the former President from disposing of 

 the funds of the Society. A lawsuit is, perhaps, 

 the most innocent disposition that could be 

 made of these funds. 



Further, information has been sent concern- 

 ing the Seventh International Geographical 

 Congress, which will meet in Berlin at the end 

 of September. Among the subjects to be 

 brought up are : Proposal to introduce inter- 

 national uniformity in the methodical treat- 

 ment of various subjects, such as the problem 

 of the tides, the conventional signs on maps, the 

 nomenclature and delimitation of oceans and 

 seas, the attachment of the scale to every map, 

 the mode of arranging meteorological tables, 

 etc. There are also suggestions for joint inter- 

 national work : (1) in collecting materials of 

 every kind referring to floating ice, to earth- 

 quakes, to the utilization of arid lands, etc. ; 



(2) in the exploration of the Antarctic regions ; 



(3) in the systematic exploration of the oceans ; 



(4) a suggestion, dating from former congresses, 

 and which is again to be discussed at Berlin, 

 refers to the execution of an international geo- 

 graphical bibliography. It appears that this 

 will be finally disposed of at Berlin. (5) An- 

 other important subject, dating from the meet- 

 ing of Berne, is Professor Penck's well-known 

 project for the construction of a map of the 

 world on the scale of 1 to 1,000,000. It is in- 

 tended also to make arrangements, if possible, 

 for the more eflScient work of the committees 

 appointed by the Congress, as, for example, by 

 paying for the traveling expenses of members 

 in order that meetings may be held. 



The British Medical Journal reports that the 

 first meeting of the ' Association des Anato- 

 mistes,' which is intended to form the nucleus 

 of a ' Latin Anatomical Association,' was held 



recently in Paris, under the presidency of the 

 distinguished embryologist, Professor Balbiani, 

 of the College de France. The Vice-Presidents 

 were Professors Mathias Duval, of Paris ; 

 Reuaut, of Lyons, and Romiti, of Pisa. Profes- 

 sor Kicolas, of Nancy, was appointed Secretary, 

 Professor Ranvier, of Paris, and Professor Van 

 Bambeke, of Ghent, were elected Honorary 

 Presidents, in addition to a considerable num- 

 ber of French teachers and investigators. Sev- 

 eral foreign anatomists were present, including 

 Professors Van der Stricht, of Ghent ; Van 

 Gehuchten, of Lou vain, and MitrophanoflT, of 

 Warsaw. The next meeting of the new Asso- 

 ciation will be held in connection with that of 

 the Anatomical Section of the International 

 Medical Congress to be held in Paris in 1900. 



We learn from the British Medical Journal 

 that on February 2d a new Bacteriological In- 

 stitute was formally opened in the University 

 of Louvain. The Institute is on a large scale, 

 and the installation and equipment are in ac- 

 cordance with the most advanced ideas. Every 

 facility for research is provided. The stables, 

 kennels and other quarters for animals are 

 built around a vast garden, and all the arrange- 

 ments show careful regard for the health and 

 comfort of the animals. Professor Denys began 

 his work fifteen years ago in two small rooms, 

 which later expanded into a respectable labora- 

 tory, and now have developed into a scientific 

 palace. Giving an account of the work that 

 had been done, he stated that more than 80 

 original researches had come from it, besides 25 

 presented for travelling scholarships, 23 of 

 which had gained a prize of £160. A special 

 department in the new Institute will be devoted 

 to the preparation of therapeutic serums of dif- 

 ferent kinds, tuberculin, etc. At the Congress 

 on Tuberculosis held in Paris last summer 

 Professor Denys gave an account of a new 

 tuberculin which he had used with considerable 

 success ; he proposes to continue his work in 

 this field, and is hopeful of success. A feature 

 in the Institute which is likely to be particularly 

 useful is an out-patient department for suflfer- 

 ers from tuberculosis and other microbic dis- 

 eases who receive serum-therapeutic treatment 

 adapted to their complaints, only substances 

 which have been tested by experimentation on 



