April 28, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



631 



Dewar, three lectures on the atmosphere ; Mr. 

 Lewis F. Day, three lectures on embroidery ; 

 Professor L. C. Miall, two lectures on water 

 weeds ; Mr. Louis Dyer, three lectures on Ma- 

 chiavelli ; Mr. W. L. Brown, two lectures on 

 ' To Iceland in Search of Health ' ; Mr. Edgar 

 F. Jacques, three lectures on ' The Music of 

 India and the East, and its Influence on the 

 Music of Europe ' (with musical illustrations). 

 The Friday evening meetings will be resumed 

 on April 14th, when a discourse will be deliv- 

 ered by Professor A. W. Riicker on ' Earth 

 Currents and Electric Traction.' Succeeding 

 discourses will probably be given by Dr. F. W. 

 Mott, Professor C. A. Carus Wilson, Dr. W. J. 

 Russell, Professor T. Preston, the Bishop of 

 Bristol, Sir William Martin Conway, Mr. H. G. 

 Wells and others. 



Thb Belgian Royal Academy, according to 

 Nature, proposes the following subjects for es- 

 says in competition for gold medals of value 600 

 francs each, to be awarded in 1900. The essays 

 are to be sent to the Secretary before August 1, 

 1900, each bearing a motto, and written in 

 French or Flemish. Contrary to the usual cus- 

 tom, five subjects instead of three have been se- 

 lected in each of the two departments of mathe- 

 matical and physical science and of natural 

 science. The mathematical and physical ques- 

 tions refer to: (1) critical phenomena in physics ; 

 (2) viscosity of liquids ; (3) the carbon deriva- 

 tives of an element whose combinations are 

 little known ; (4) the history and theory of 

 variation of latitude ; (5) the algebra and geom- 

 etry of n-linear forms were n > 3. The ques- 

 tions in natural science refer to: (1) the geolog- 

 ical formations at Comblain au Pont, and 

 whether these are Devonian or Carboniferous ; 

 (2) the physical modifications produced in min- 

 erals by pressure ; (3) the organization and de- 

 velopment of the platoda ; (4) the presence of a 

 nucleus in the Sehizophyta ; (5) the Devonian 

 flora of Belgium. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 

 ASSISTANTS IN PHYSIOLOGY IN HARVARD MED- 

 ICAL SCHOOL. 



Two of the four positions offered by the Har- 

 vard Medical School to properly qualified men 

 desirious of training iu physiological research 



and in the management of large laboratory 

 classes in experimental physiology are not yet 

 filled for the next collegiate year. Holders of 

 these positions give more than half the day to 

 research. The remaining time is spent during 

 the first four months in learning laboratory 

 methods and during the last four months in di- 

 recting the laboratory work of the medical 

 students, two hundred of whom work from two 

 to three hours daily for sixteen weeks in ex- 

 perimental physiology. The fundamental ex- 

 periments iu physiology done by two hundred 

 men working at one time present every variety 

 of results and impart a training in observation 

 and administration not to be acquired in other 

 ways. 



Much too may be learned by association ; 

 from six to ten men are constantly engaged in 

 research in the laboratory of physiology, and 

 in the departments of anatomy, histology, 

 pathology, physiology and physiological chem- 

 istry, all of which have their laboratories in the 

 medical school building, are more than thirty 

 instructors. No charge of any kind is made, 

 either for the training in physiological research 

 and in teaching or for the use of animals and 

 other material. Four of the eight investiga- 

 tions already made by holders of these positions 

 have appeared iu the American Journal of Physi 

 ology, and the others will be published shortly. 



In addition to these opportunities the school 

 gives each assistant four hundred dollars for 

 superintending the class work in experimental 

 physiology three hours daily during sixteen 

 weeks. 



Applications for these positions should be 

 made to Dr. H. P. Bowditch, Harvard Medical 

 School, 688 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass. 



GENERAL. 



The following gifts and bequests to educa- 

 tional institutions have been made since our 

 last issue : $50,000 to Oberlin College for a 

 chemical laboratory ; $8,000 to Vassar College 

 by the will of Mrs. Luther Elthing for the 

 founding of a scholarship ; $6,000 from Miss 

 Emily H. Bourne for the establishment of schol- 

 arships in Barnard College ; $10,000 to the 

 Catholic University of Washington by the will 

 of Miss Mary Moran, and a conditional gift of 



