April 18, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



599 



president to withdraw land from all forms of 

 entry except as to mineral claims for the 

 development of metalliferous ores. The land 

 will be restored to settlement and entry after 

 such advertisement in the local papers as the 

 secretary of the interior may consider neces- 

 sary. The Forest Service is successfully re- 

 foresting a considerable area in the sandhills 

 of Nebraska and Kansas, where the soil is so 

 loose in texture that it blows away as soon as 

 it is cultivated. Therefore, according to the 

 government's foresters, the problem has been 

 to grow trees in competition with the native 

 grasses, both making rival demands on the 

 small amount of moisture. K the grass cover 

 is removed the soil blows out completely and 

 exposes the roots of the trees. The success 

 already attained indicates, in the judgment 

 of the government foresters, that a large part 

 of the sandhill country will become timber- 

 producing. 



The quantity of briquetted fuel manufac- 

 tured in the United States in 1912 showed a 

 small gain over the output for 1911, and ac- 

 cording to E. W. Parker, of the United States 

 Geological Survey, the briquet industry may 

 be considered as now passing out of the ex- 

 perimental stage and assuming a more sub- 

 stantial and permanent character. The quan- 

 tity of briquetted fuel made in 1912, at 19 

 plants, was 220,064 short tons, valued at $952,- 

 261, as compared with 218,443 tons valued at 

 $808,721 in 1911. Of these plants Y used 

 anthracite culm, 9 used bituminous or semi- 

 bituminous slack, 1 used residue from gas 

 manufactured from oil, 1 used mixed anthra- 

 cite culm and bituminous slack, and 1 used 

 peat. The largest producer of briquets in the 

 United States in 1912 was the Berwind Fuel 

 Company, of Superior, Wis., the output of 

 which was a little in excess of 50,000 short 

 tons. The quantity of raw material available 

 for the manufacture of briquets, as stated by 

 Mr. Parker, is ample and may be obtained at 

 slight cost. The most desirable material for 

 producing a smokeless product is anthracite 

 culm, a plentiful supply of which still remains 

 in the anthracite region of Pennsylvania and 

 more is produced daily in the mining opera- 



tions. It is not too much to believe or to hope 

 that in the near future the small sizes of 

 anthracite, such as buckwheat and smaller, 

 that are now sold for making steam, in com- 

 petition with bituminous coal and at prices 

 below the actual cost of production, will be- 

 come more valuable as a raw material for the 

 briquet manufacturer. The output of these 

 small sizes, produced by breaking up large coal 

 to obtain the domestic grades — egg, stove and 

 nut — exceeds 20,000,000 long tons annually, 

 exclusive of 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 tons an- 

 nually recovered from the culm banks by 

 washeries. The present revenue from this 

 product will not exceed $30,000,000. Washery 

 and small size coal is worth from 50 cents to 

 $1.50 a ton, the price depending on the size. 

 As briquetted fuel it should be worth as much 

 as stove or egg coal, or $3 to $4 per ton. The 

 cost of briquetting is $1 to $1.25 per ton. The 

 uniform size of the briquets makes them desir- 

 able as a domestic fuel; besides if properly 

 made they are completely consumed and do 

 not produce clinkers. 



UNIVEBSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS 

 Princeton University has received three 

 gifts : $100,000 from Mr. and Mrs. Eussell W. 

 Moore, of New York City, to endow a pro- 

 fessorship of chemistry; $125,000 given 

 anonymously for a professorship not named, 

 and $30,000 from Mr. John D. Cadawallader, 

 of New York City. About $70,000 were re- 

 ceived for current expenses. 



The decision of the jury in the case of the 

 will of Mr. C. H. Pratt being in its favor, the 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology will 

 receive the bequest, amounting to three quar- 

 ters of a million dollars, to be devoted to the 

 establishment of a Pratt School of Naval 

 Architecture and Marine Engineering. The 

 requirement that the money actually in hand 

 shall be held by the trustees till it amounts to 

 the specified sum will not cause any delay, 

 since the estate has proved to be of such 

 value as to lack only a few thousand dollars, 

 and will be of the requisite amount by the 

 time the institute is ready to use it. 



