January 14, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



61 



contributions from Dr. J. M. Da Costa, Professor 

 N. Senn, Professor William Osier, Professor 

 W. W. Keen and other distinguished contribu- 

 tors. Much space is devoted to editorials, 

 notes and a review of the contents of other 

 medical journals in the English language. 

 Under its present editorship the Journal is sure 

 to be interesting and agressive, as witness the 

 following from the editorial columns: "Be- 

 cause a city \i. e., New York] has a great 

 harbor it is boobyishness to boast and be proud. 

 * - * * * * It -^vill require a good many 

 years before the supremacy of Philadelphia as 

 the medical center of America will be seriously 

 disputed. But we are less interested in the 

 braggart's vaunt of any supremacy, etc." 



At a meeting of the Zoological Society of 

 London on November 14th Mr. J. Graham 

 Kerr gave an account of his recent expedition, 

 along with Mr. Budgett, to the Chaco of Para- 

 guay in quest of Lepidosiren, and made remarks 

 on its habits as there observed. Mr. Kerr also 

 gave a general account of the early stages of its 

 development, drawing special attention to the 

 presence in the larva of external gills and a 

 sucker similar to those of the Amphibia. Mr. 

 Oldfield Thomas, F.Z.S., read a paper entitled 

 ' On the Mammals obtained by Mr. A. Whyte in 

 North Nyasaland, and presented to the British 

 Museum by Sir H. H. Johnston, K.C.B.; being 

 a fifth contribution to the Mammalogy of Ny- 

 asaland.' This memoir contained notes on 61 

 species of mammals, 4 of which were charac- 

 terized as new, viz, Macroscelides brachyrhynclius 

 malosie, Crocidura lixa, Myosorex souUa and Gra- 

 phiurus johnstoni. 



In the Journal of the Boston Society of Med- 

 ical Sciences, for December, 1897, Dr. C. F. 

 Hodge gives ' some results of the action of alco- 

 hol on dogs as regards non-viability and mal- 

 formation of the young, and severity of attack 

 in an epidemic of distemper.' These observa- 

 tions, which are a continuation of the experi- 

 ments described in The Popular Science Monthly 

 for April, 1897, show that of the progeny of the 

 alcoholic pair, twenty pups, born in three lit- 

 ters, eight were malformed and six born dead. 

 The normal pair produced sixteen whelps in 

 three litters, and not one of these was born dead, 



and only one was malformed. During an epi- 

 demic of distemper one of the alcoholized dogs 

 died, and all save one were seriously affected ; 

 none of the other dogs exhibited any serious 

 symptoms of disease. 



The monkeys in the vicinity of Hardwar, 

 India, are said to be seriously affected with the 

 bubonic plague, which they are supposed to 

 have contracted through visits to infected 

 rooms in the town of Hardwar. The proposed 

 extermination of the monkeys with a view of 

 putting an end to the disease so far as they are 

 concerned might clash seriously with the re- 

 ligious views of the Hindoos. 



Mayor Quincy, of Boston, in his inaugural 

 message urgently recommends the establish- 

 ment of a marine aquarium in Boston. He 

 notes that for ten years or more the Boston 

 Society of Natural History has been engaged in 

 considering and endeavoring to carry through 

 plans for natural history gardens, to be estab- 

 lished within the parks under three different 

 divisions — one, the marine aquarium, to be 

 located at Marine Park ; another, the fresh 

 water aquarium, to be located at Jamaica Pond, 

 and the third, the Zoological Garden, to be 

 located in the Long Crouch Woods, Franklin 

 Park. The total expense of carrying out the 

 complete plans is estimated at $200,000, and 

 Mayor Quincey strongly recommends them. 

 He urges that $6.5,000 be appropriated at once 

 for the marine aquarium. 



Governor Black, of New York, in his recent 

 message pays special attention to the forestry 

 interests of the State. He proposes that the 

 State should purchase a tract of forest land 

 and cultivate it scientifically as a means of 

 diffusing knowledge and showing the revenue- 

 producing character of such an investment 

 sagaciously administered. It should be kept 

 clear of politics by giving the Regents of the 

 University or the Trustees of Cornell University 

 charge of it, and an annual report of progress 

 and results should be made to the Legislature. 



Senator Platt, of New York, has intro- 

 duced into the United States Senate a bill to 

 establish a national park on the Palisades of the 

 Hudson River. 



