170 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 162. 



be glad to publish questions of a scientific or 

 practical nature, the answers to which would 

 not easily be found in existing publications. 

 The jovirnal will also contain announcements of 

 the meetings of the Society. 



The Agricultural Department has issued a 

 Farmer's Bulletin on the subject of forestry for 

 farmers, by Mr. B. E. Fernow, Chief of the Divi- 

 sion of Forestry. It contains articles in popular 

 language regarding the growth of trees, the 

 planting of forests, treatment of the wood lots, the 

 cultivation of the wood crop, influence of trees, 

 etc. The publication is a reprint from the year 

 books of the Department for 1894 and 1895, and 

 is issued in the present form because of the 

 large demand for the information contained. 



The Botanical Gazette states that the collec- 

 tion of plants and literature made by the late 

 Professor L. N. Johnson, of Ann Arbor, are of- 

 fered for sale. Professor Johnson was especially 

 interested in alg£e, particularly the desmids, 

 and has published a number of papers concern- 

 ing them. 



Fkom the same source we learn that the com- 

 plete herbarium of the late Mr. M. S. Bebb has 

 been purchased by the Field Columbian Museum 

 of Chicago, as also his letters, manuscripts, 

 sketches, drawings, etc. The material of Mr. 

 Bebb's own collecting was always known for 

 its perfect preservation, but aside from the 

 large general collection the special value of 

 this purchase is to be found in the unique col- 

 lection of salix material. 



At a meeting of the Fellows of the Royal 

 Botanic Society of London held in the Gardens 

 at Regents' Park on January 8th the Chairman, 

 Major Cotton, congratulated the Fellows on the 

 position at present occupied by the Society 

 compared with its position a year ago. At that 

 time the lease of the Gardens was about to ex- 

 pire, and there was an accumulated debt of 

 some thousands of pounds. The debt, with the 

 cooperation of the Council and of some of the 

 leading Fellows of the Society, has since been 

 paid and a new lease for the maximum term 

 of 31 years has been promised by the Com- 

 missioners of Woods and Forests. The Gar- 

 dens were opened for study to the students of 

 the medical schools, and with the aid of 



the London County Council a school of practi- 

 cal gardening has been established. The Coun- 

 cil of the British Astronomical Association were 

 taking steps to erect and equip an observatory 

 in the Gardens. Reference also was made to 

 the great increase in the number of Fellows 

 elected in 1897, there having been more than 

 eighty above the average number of the last ten 

 years. The receipt of a large number of dona- 

 .tions to the library and museum was recorded, 

 and a vote of thanks to the donors having been 

 passed the meeting terminated. 



At a meeting of the Institution of Electrical 

 Engineers, of London, on January 13th, Mr. 

 J. W. Swan, F.R.S., the newly elected Presi- 

 dent, delivered his inaugural address, which 

 took the form of a general review of the rise 

 and progress of electro-chemical industries. 



The first general meeting of the Childhood 

 Society of Great Britain, which was founded in 

 November, 1896, was held in London on Janu- 

 ary 12th, Sir Douglas Galton, Chairman of the 

 Society, presiding. It was reported that two 

 courses of instructive lectures on the observation, 

 study and training of children had been given. 

 The Committee of the International Congress of 

 Hygiene and Demography, appointed in 1891, 

 having completed their work and issued a full 

 report on ' the scientific study of the mental and 

 physical conditions of childhood, with particular 

 reference to children of defective constitution, 

 and with recommendations as to education and 

 training, based on the examination of 100,000 

 children,' handed over to the Society the bal- 

 ance of their funds in hand ; also the published 

 copies of their report, and all records of pre- 

 ceding work, which formed a most valuable 

 basis of future research now in the possession of 

 the Society. Dr. F. Warner stated that the So- 

 ciety had now records of 1,120 children who 

 appeared to require special care and training, 

 and a report had been prepared showing the 

 grounds upon which the opinion that special 

 care and training were necessary was formed. 

 ■ At the close of the meeting Sir Douglas Galton 

 delivered the opening lecture of the session on 

 ' Measures to be taken for the Care of the Fee- 

 ble-minded.' 



The last issue of the Monthly Weather Re- 



