MAEon 3, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



\2 



semi-savage peoples. Their songs and stones 

 are cai'ried in the memory by strings of objects 

 each of which corresponds to a heading or line. 

 These songs take us into the arcanum of the 

 savage mind and present a strange picture of 

 its psychology. The volume is illustrated and 

 forms a welcome addition to the series pub- 

 lished by the Society. 



D. G. Brinton. 

 Univeesity of Pennsylvania. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 



The United States Fish Commission steamer 

 Fish Hawk left Porto Rico for the United States 

 on February 23d, having completed her work in 

 the waters about the island and having visited 

 all the principal ports. No details of the ex- 

 pedition have yet been received, but the most 

 interesting results are expected from the opera- 

 tions on the sandy submarine plateau which 

 extends to the eastward of the island. 



The French Geographical Society has 

 awarded its medals, the two chief gold medals 

 being given, respectively, to General Gallieni for 

 his work in Madagascar and to M. E. Gentil 

 for his explorations in Africa. The Felix Four- 

 nier prize has been awarded to M. Henri 

 Brenier for commercial explorations in China. 



Me. W. H. Peeece, C.B., F.R.S., having at- 

 tained his sixty-fifth birthday, has retired from 

 the position of Engineer-in Chief and Electrician 

 to the English Post Office, but it is hoped that 

 his services will be retained by the Postmaster- 

 General as consulting engineer. 



Peofessoe Albert F. Brigham, of Colgate 

 University, sailed on February 21st for Europe 

 for ten months. He is now enjoying a sabbat- 

 ical year, and will spend the time in geograph- 

 ical study in England and Switzerland, and in 

 literary work for several months at Oxford. He 

 will probably make arrangements to be with 

 Professor Davis for a trip in tlie summer 

 through parts of the Alps. 



Peofessoe R. von Wettstein, of Prague, 

 has been appointed Director of the Botanical 

 Gardens of Vienna and professor in the Univer- 

 sity. 



Peofessoe Waltee Wislicenus, of the Uni- 

 versity of Strassburg, is intending, with the as- 



sistance of the German Astronomical Society, 

 to prepare a yearbook of astronomy, giving ab- 

 stracts of the papers appearing during each 

 year, beginning with 1899. 



The death is announced of The Rev. Wil- 

 liam Colenso, F.R.S., at the age of 87 years. 

 Mr. Colenso began life as a printer, and when 

 the Church Missionary Society established a 

 press in New Zealand, in 1833, he was given 

 charge of this and became both printer and 

 missionary. He was one of the chief authori- 

 ties on Maori antiquities and rites, and on the 

 natural history of New Zealand. 



We regret also to record the following deaths : 

 Mr. John Kreusi, a mechanical engineer and 

 inventor, at Schenectady, N. Y. , on January 

 22d, aged 56 years ; Mr. Thomas Cook, a 

 well-known teacher of anatomy and writer on 

 the subject, in London, on February 8th ; Dr. 

 L. A. Veitmeyer, a civil engineer at Berlin, and 

 Dr. Carl Schoenlein, of the Zoological Station 

 at Naples, at the age of 40 years. 



The New York Academy of Sciences pro- 

 poses to hold its sixth annual exhibition in the 

 American Museum of Natural History on April 

 11th and 12th. The first evening is reserved 

 for members of the Academy and the second for 

 the Scientific Alliance and friends of science in 

 general. The afternoon of the 12th will offer 

 an opportunity for students and those who can- 

 not attend in the evening. The exhibition will 

 illustrate the advances during the last year 

 only. Any worker in the field of science who 

 may have material which he believes of interest 

 to the scientific world should communicate im- 

 mediately with the chairman of the committee. 

 Professor William Hallock, Columbia Univer- 

 sity, New York City. The exhibition is not 

 limited to the work of members of the Academy, 

 but the committee has final authority as to 

 what material will be accepted. The depart- 

 ments represented are : Anatomy, astronomy, 

 botany, chemistry, electricity, anthropology, 

 ethnology, experimental psychology, geology, 

 mineralogy, paleontology, photography, phys- 

 ics, physiography, physiology and zoology. 



The National Educational Association will 

 meet next year in Chicago: Mr. A. B. Down- 



