Febkuaky 25, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



279 



were, therefore, properly pensioned by a place 

 upon the retired list. To-day their name is 

 largely a misnomer. Under the law, one is as- 

 signable to the teaching of ethics and English 

 studies, one of Spanish and one of drawing. In 

 fact, only one teaches mathematics at the Naval 

 Academy ; several of them are on duty at the 

 Naval Observatory; two are librarians ; one is 

 engaged in ordinance work, and another in the 

 bureau of yards and docks. They have no ser- 

 vice at sea, and there is no more reason why 

 hereafter the retired list should be open to a 

 new appointee to the work now done by this 

 corps than to any other employee in civil life. 

 If this recommendation is adopted by Congress 

 it will be necessary to provide for the appoint- 

 ment of astronomers at the Naval Observatory, 

 to take the places, as they shall become vacant, 

 of existing professors of mathematics who now 

 serve in that capacity. There should be five 

 astronomers, as at present, and the salary of 

 those hereafter appointed should be sufiicient 

 to make up for the refusal to them of the privi- 

 lege of retirement, and also to secure men of 

 high scientific attainments, adequate to the de- 

 mands of one of the most capable observatories 

 of the world. As the above astronomical corps 

 is now full, no appointment under the new 

 statute proposed will be necessary till a vacancy 

 occurs. ' ' 



Nature states that a meeting will be held in 

 Manchester on February 16th to take into con- 

 sideration such steps as may seem desirable to 

 assist the executive committee in making the 

 Zoological Congress this year thoroughly suc- 

 cessful. 



The Physical Society of Paris has undertaken 

 the supervision of a ' Bibliographica Physica ' 

 and has appointed a commission to arrange a 

 method of bibliographical classification. The 

 Physical Society and the Institute of Electrical 

 Engineers, of London, are arranging for the 

 publication of abstracts and papers. 



Messes. Munn & Co. have issued^a reference 

 catalogue containing a classified index of more 

 than lOjOOO articles that have appeared in the 

 Scientific American Supplement since its estab- 

 lishment in 1876. The publishers offer to send 

 the catalogue without charge, and it will prove 



of value to those who wish to consult any of 

 the large number of valuable scientific articles 

 that have been included in this publication. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 



The British government has expressed itself 

 in favor of a Catholic University for Ireland, 

 though it is not expected that any active steps 

 towards its establishment will be undertaken 

 during the present session of Parliament. 



A BILL has been introduced in the lower 

 house of the Prussian Diet giving the Minister 

 of Education power to reprimand or withdraw 

 the licenses of Privatdocenten. The bill is evi- 

 dently intended to give the Government power 

 to regulate the teaching of the lecturers, and has 

 aroused much opposition, a protest against the 

 measure having been signed by one-half of the 

 professors in the University of Berlin. 



The Baldwin locomotive works of Philadel- 

 phia has presented the department of mechan- 

 ical engineering of Columbia University with 

 the locomotive exhibited at the World's Fair 

 valued at about $12,000. Within the past few 

 months donations of machinery to this depart- 

 ment have been made valued at $60,000. 



Professoe Lestee F. Waed will give two 

 courses of lectures, one on pure sociology and 

 one on applied sociology, at the University of 

 West Virginia during the summer quarter. 



De. Kael Huetle has been promoted to a full 

 professorship of physiology at the University of 

 Breslau,andDr. Anschiitz to a full professorship 

 of chemistry at the University of Bonn. Dr. 

 Wiechert has been appointed associate pro- 

 fessor of terrestrial magnetism in the Univer- 

 sity of Gottingen, and Dr. Eugen Meier, of the 

 Polytechnic Institute of Hannover, professor of 

 technical physics in the University of Got- 

 tingen. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



PEESIDENT MC'KINLEY'S APPOINTMENT OF A 



FISH COMMISSIONEE. 



To THE Editoe of SCIENCE: Under the head 

 of ' Scientific Notes and News,' the last number 

 of Science contains remarks concerning the 

 President of the United States which are unjust, 

 untrue and malicious, and which as an associate 



