Febeuaey 25, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



Z77 



The death is announced of Dr. Samuel Newth, 

 the author of text-books in physics and mathe- 

 matics, and formerly Principal of New College, 

 near London. 



A BRASS tablet has been placed in the bio- 

 logical laboratory of Johns Hopkins University, 

 in memory of Professor Humphrey and Mr. 

 Conant, who died in Jamaica last summer. It 

 bears the following inscription: "In memory 

 of two devoted naturalists, who gave their 

 lives to promote science, James Ellis Hum- 

 phrey, associate professor of botany in this 

 University, died in Jamaica, August 17, 1897, 

 at the age of thirty-five years ; and Franklin 

 Story Conant, Bruce fellow in this University, 

 died from illness contracted in Jamaica, Sep- 

 tember 13, 1897, at the age of twenty-seven 

 years. The heart of him that hath under- 

 standing seeketh knowledge." 



The managers of the Royal Institution, Lon- 

 don, have resolved that the centenary of the 

 Institution (founded in 1799) shall be properly 

 celebrated next year. 



The botanical collection recently formed at 

 St. Mungo's College, Glasgow, by Dr. James 

 Swanson, professor of botany, has been increased 

 by a large number of specimens presented by 

 Mr. F. W. Moore, Director of the Botanical 

 Garden, Glasnevin, Dublin. 



The Biological Club of Princeton University 

 has sent, through Senator Sewall, a protest 

 against the bill interfering with physiological 

 and pathological experiments in the District of 

 Columbia that has been introduced into the 

 Senate. Such protests have been sent by a 

 number of scientific societies and should be 

 neglected by none. 



The Ornithologischer Verein of Vienna has 

 been merged into the K. K. Zoologisch-botan- 

 ische Gesellschaft of that city, as an ornitholog- 

 ical section of the Society. The Ornithological 

 Section of the Zoological Society will retain 

 the observation stations. A great number of 

 them will keep a record of the migration of 

 birds; materials will be collected for the study of 

 birds' food, birds' usefulness and destructive- 

 ness. The result of the work at the different 

 observation stations will be published in re- 

 ports, which will be issued from time to time. 



The quarterly journal of the Ornithologischer 

 Verein, Die Schwalbe, will be discontinued ;; 

 Volume XXIV., No. 4, being the last number. 



It was arranged to devote the meeting of the 

 Royal Society of February 24th to a discussion 

 of the scientific advantages of an Antarctic ex- 

 pedition opened by Dr. John Murray. 



The fifth annual reception and exhibition of 

 the New York Academy of Sciences will be 

 given at the American Museum of Natural His- 

 tory, on Wednesday and Thursday, April 13th 

 and 14th. The first evening will be devoted to 

 a reception to the members of the Academy and 

 their personal friends. On the afternoon of the 

 second day the exhibition will be open to stu- 

 dents and others, and in the evening to inter- 

 ested friends and affiliated societies in New 

 York City. Professor George E. Hale, of the 

 Yerkes Observatory, will also give the annual 

 lecture before the Academy on that evening. 

 The committee having the exhibition in charge 

 are Messrs. Henry F. Osborn, Charles F. Cox, 

 Reginald Gordon, Gary N. Calkins and Richard 

 E. Dodge, chairman. Scientific workers having 

 materials showing progress in science during 

 the last year that they might wish to exhibit 

 should correspond with the chairman of the 

 committee. Professor Richard E. Dodge, Teach- 

 ers' College, 120th Street, West, New York City, 



Peofessoe J. M. Schaebeelb writes to the 

 Astronomical Journal that a cable dispatch re- 

 ceived at Mt. Hamilton from Professor Camp- 

 bell, who is in charge of the Crocker Lick Ob- 

 servatory Expedition at Jeur, India, states that 

 most satisfactory photographs of the corona 

 were obtained with three different telescopes. 

 One set with a telescope 40 feet long, and two- 

 other sets with five-foot and three-foot tele- 

 scopes. He also reports that the great equato- 

 rial extension of the corona, which formed such 

 a conspicuous feature of the eclipse of January ,^ 

 1889, has again been photographed. He also 

 satisfactorily photographed the changes in the 

 solar spectrum at the sun's edge with the aid 

 of one of the spectroscopes, and probably ob- 

 tained successful photographs of the reversing 

 layer with the aid of a second spectroscope. 



Me. F. H. Knowlton has just completed the 

 manuscript of a ' Catalogue of the Cretaceous 



