78 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1334 



the various laboratories and individuals work- 

 ing on contact catalysis was x>ointed out by 

 Cbairman Bancroft, and as a result a Com- 

 mittee on Contact Catalysis was appointed, 

 with W. D. Bancroft as chairman. 



A report on the publication of critical 

 tables of physical and chemical constants was 

 presented by H. K. Moore. The council ap- 

 proved the suggestion that a special agent be 

 employed to devote his entire time to the 

 solicitation of funds for this publication. 

 Thereupon H. E. Howe was appointed a fourth 

 member of the board of trustees; W. D. Ban- 

 croft and C. E. Mendenhall was authorized to 

 ■ pay for the drawing up of a preliminary plan 

 for the scientific organisation of the tables, 

 as a concrete basis for obtaining subscriptions. 



Dr. Cottrell was appointed to draw up a 

 resolution in support of the Patent bill, with 

 instructions to forward the resolution to the 

 Patent Office committee of the National Ee- 

 search Council for such action as it saw fit 

 to take. 



THE PERMANENT FUNDS OF THE AMERICAN 

 ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION 



The Auh states that from time to time the 

 union has established several permanent funds 

 for special purposes. In every case the prin- 

 cipal with such contributions as may be re- 

 ceived is invested so as to remain intact and 

 the interest only is used for furthering the ob- 

 jects of the fund. The most important of 

 these funds are : the Brewster Memorial Eund, 

 the Eesearch Fund, and the Publication Eund. 



The Brewster Memorial Eund, the most re- 

 cent, is the gift of the friends of "William 

 Brewster to perpetuate the memory of one of 

 the founders and former presidents of the 

 union by establishing a fund to encourage re- 

 search in American ornithology. The sum of 

 $5,200 received in 1919, has already increased 

 to some extent and the proceeds will be 

 awarded biennially in the form of a medal and 

 an honorarium to the author of the most im- 

 portant contribution to the ornithology of the 

 Western Hemisphere during the two years 

 immediately preceding. This fund is adminis- 

 tered by a special committee and the first 

 award will be made in 1921. 



The Research Eund was established some 

 years ago by a gift from Miss Juliette A. 

 Owen, of St. Joseph, Mo., one of the Life Asso- 

 ciates of the Union, to encourage original re- 

 search in ornithology. It now amounts to 

 several hundred dollars but the interest will 

 not be available until the total amount reaches 

 $5,000. It is highly desirable that this fund 

 should be increased at an early date so that the 

 proceeds may become available for promoting 

 ornithologieal work. Already applications 

 have been received for assistance in special in- 

 vestigations which would be greatly stimulated 

 if small grants could be made from this or 

 some similar fund. 



The publication fund comprises receipts 

 from life memberships, bequests and special 

 contributions. In The Auk for January, 1920, 

 the editor has called attention to the immedi- 

 ate need of a fund of $25,000, and in response 

 to this appeal subscriptions of several hundred 

 dollars in sums of $100 or less have already 

 been received. The editor of The Auk says 

 that not only is an adequate fund necessary to 

 place the publication of the journal on a 

 permanent basis and to issue check-lists, in- 

 dexes and special bibliographies, but means 

 should be provided also for publishing occa- 

 sional memoirs, monographs and more exten- 

 sive papers than have hitherto been attempted. 

 At this time when the usual channels of pub- 

 lication are becoming restricted on account of 

 the high cost of printing it is especially desir- 

 able that the American Ornithologists' IJnion 

 should be in a position to meet the demands 

 which are made upon it. As its permanent 

 funds increase the union will be able to 

 broaden the scope of its work and to make 

 more substantial contributions both to the 

 development and diffusion of knowledge of 

 ornithology. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 



Dr. W. W. Campbell, director of the Lick 

 Observatory, has been elected a foreign honor- 

 ary fellow of the Eoyal Society of Edinburgh. 



Dr. L. Hektoen, director of the John Mc- 

 Oormick Institute for Infectious Diseases, 



