February 4, 1898.] 



SCIENGE. 



171 



vieiv contains an abridgment of an account given 

 in jDas Wetter of the celebration of the semi- 

 centennial of the Royal Prussian Meteorological 

 Institution. The jubilee festivities were divided 

 into three parts : An address in Memorial Hall 

 by the Director of the Institution, a visit of in- 

 spection to the Magnetic and Meteorological Ob- 

 servatories of the Institute, and a banquet in 

 the hall of the Palace Hotel in Berlin. In his 

 presidential address Professor von Bezold 

 sketched the activity of the Institution during 

 the whole period of its existence, showing the 

 important part it had taken in the progress of 

 science. The first Director, Mahlmann, held 

 that oflSce only a short time and was succeeded 

 by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, who, without con- 

 troversy, elevated this meteorological institute 

 to the highest position among all similar estab- 

 lishments throughout the world at that time. 

 In the year 1885 the Institute was greatly en- 

 larged and adapted to its new problems by the 

 addition of the appropriate men of science. At 

 the present time there are 188 stations of the 

 higher class, 1,336 thunderstorm stations and 

 1,844 rainfall stations ; scientific balloon ascen- 

 sions on a larger scale than have hitherto been 

 made also contribute material of the highest 

 value for the study of the physics of the atmos- 

 phere. This material is reduced, analyzed and 

 discussed at the Central Institute in Berlin ; the 

 distribution of meteorological knowledge is pro- 

 vided for by instruction at the University, given 

 by members of the staff ; the experimental in- 

 vestigations are conducted at the Meteorological 

 and Magnetic Observatory at Potsdam. This 

 latter institution, in connection with the astro- 

 physical and geodetic institutions in the same 

 locality at Potsdam, constitute altogether a mi- 

 crocosmos located, as it were, at a definite point 

 on a line extending from the center of the earth 

 outward to the stars. At the close of the ad- 

 dress the great golden medal in science was 

 presented to the Director of the Institute, von 

 Bezold : the Order of the Crown (3d class) was 

 given to Hellman, as Chief of the First General 

 Division of the Central Institute ; the Order of 

 the Red Eagle (4th class) was bestowed upon 

 Sprung, Chief of the Third or Instrumental 

 Division and Director of the Meteorological Ob- 

 servatory ; the Order of the Crown (2d class) 



was given to Vogel, Director of the Astrophys- 

 ical Observatory. Professor Gruhn, of Mel- 

 dorf ; Professor Mohl, of Cassel ; Professor Pas- 

 zotta, of Konitz ; the publisher, Alexander 

 Faber, of Magdeburg, and, finally, Friedrich 

 Treitsche, as proprietor of the Mountain Ob- 

 servatory, on Inselsburg, near Erfurt, received 

 the Order of the Red Eagle (4th class). 



The number of applications for patents in 

 Great Britain during 1897 shows an increase of 

 742 over the previous year and of 5,871 over 

 those received during 1895. The number of 

 patents applied for is not in itself a reliable 

 index of the number of patents that may be 

 issued. In the year 1896 of 30, 194, 13,360 were 

 completed, the rest being allowed to lapse after 

 the nine months' protection. The inventions 

 comprise every class of manufacture, but princi- 

 pally engineering. 



The British Medical Journal reports that 

 Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson, F.R.S., intends to 

 found a museum in his native town of Selby, in 

 Yorkshire. Mr. Hutchinson has already es- 

 tablished an educational museum at Haslemere, 

 near which he has a residence, and here he has 

 already a number of objects to spare, so that he 

 hopes to be able to stock the new museum at 

 Selby very rapidly. The new museum also is 

 intended to be strictly educational, that is to 

 say, it will contain objects calculated to convey 

 knowledge to the less instructed, but at the 

 same time it will not be confined to any particu- 

 lar subjects. 



We learn from the New York Tribune that the 

 government at Ottawa has just instituted a 

 change of policy regarding timber regulations 

 applicable to the Northwest and Manitoba. 

 Timber reserves will be maintained. With this 

 object in view, the heavier timber belts will be 

 withdrawn from settlement, and the young 

 trees be preserved to provide a growth for th§ 

 future. Guardians will be appointed to pro- 

 tect the reserves, particularly in the Turtle and 

 Moose Mountain regions. Fires will be pre- 

 vented, as far as possible, and the settlers will 

 be restrained from cutting young trees. At 

 the last session of Parliament a fund was voted 

 for the institution of an efficient fire guard, and 

 that will speedily be formed. At the summit 



