Maech 18, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



383 



societies and libraries to further this great pur- 

 pose. But before the truth can be spread 

 among the people it must be found ; and a few 

 men — a small minority of the world's popula- 

 tion, but the leaders of the world's intellectual 

 progress — are constantly engaged in pushing 

 outward the boundaries of knowledge into the 

 unknown. To one who knows that this mi- 

 nority exists and understands what it is, mem- 

 bership in it is one of the most enviable things 

 that a man or an institution can win. 



' ' Through the researches which Professor 

 Langley carried on for years at the Allegheny 

 observatory, we once had a high standing 

 among the keen minds who are probing the 

 secret places of nature, but the commercial ac- 

 tivities of a great city have encroached upon 

 the scene of scientific labor and the old observa- 

 tory is shrouded in a pall of smoke. Its use- 

 fulness is at an end. 



" We wish to build a new observatory. The 

 city of Allegheny has reserved for us the excel- 

 lent site in Riverview Park, two miles to wind- 

 ward of the present building, and practically 

 free from smoke. Three years ago I drew a 

 plan for an observatory to be placed upon this 

 site. It provides for a thirty-inch telescope, an 

 instrument which is large enough for the most 

 advanced work, and yet not too large for con- 

 venience in operation, and all the accessory ap- 

 paratus which the use of such a telescope 

 requires. It also provides for a public depart- 

 ment, with a thirteen-inch telescope, to which 

 visitors will be freely admitted every clear 

 night. 



' ' The plan has been shown to a number of the 

 most eminent astronomers in this country, and 

 has met with their approval. The estimated cost 

 is $175,000. In these two cities we have every- 

 thing necessary to insure the successful carrying 

 out of our purpose. Within a stone's throw of 

 the observatory we have the best optician and 

 instrument maker in the world. We have 

 abundant wealth. All we need now is the will, 

 and as some of our most eminent citizens are in- 

 teresting themselves most unselfishly in the 

 matter, I hope we shall not long want that. I 

 ask all who wish to see Pittsburg an intellec- 

 tual as well as a commercial center to lend us 

 a helping hand." 



THE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY OF THE BEOOK- 



LYN INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



The next annual session of the Biological 

 Laboratory will be held at Cold Spring Harbor, 

 Long Island, during the months of July and 

 August, 1898. The regular class work will be- 

 gin on Wednesday, July 6th, and continue for 

 six weeks. The laboratory will be open for 

 work from July 5th until August 27th. Special 

 students may make arrangements for using the 

 laboratory from the middle of September, or 

 later, if desirous of doing so. Application for 

 admission to any course, except Zoology 1 and 

 Botany 2, should be made on or before June 

 15th. 



The laboratory has now possession of several 

 buildings : 1. A large laboratory, accommo- 

 dating about sixty students and fitted with 

 aquaria, running fresh and salt water, private 

 rooms, library, etc. 2. A lecture hall, used 

 both for class lectures and for public lectures. 

 It is furnished with an oxyhydrogen lantern. 

 In the basement of this building is a dark room 

 for photographing purposes, equipped with 

 cameras and arrangements for ordinary photog- 

 raphy, microscopic photography, lantern-slide 

 making, etc. 3. A dining hall used for board- 

 ing the party. 4. Two dormitories for students, 

 one of them being assigned to men, and the other 

 to women. The rooms in these dormitories 

 are newly furnished and are rented to students 

 for a small sum. In addition, the laboratory is 

 furnished with a naphtha launch, small boats, 

 collecting apparatus, bacteriological apparatus, 

 books, and all small apparatus needed for carry- 

 ing on laboratory work. A limited number of 

 microscopes are furnished the students, although 

 each person is urged to bring a dissecting and 

 a compound microscope if possible. The labora- 

 tory has also the advantages of the aquaria and 

 appliances of the neighboring hatchery of the 

 New York Fish Commission. The laboratory 

 fee, including any one course of instruction, 

 the general lectures and the use of laboratory 

 privileges, will be $20. For each additional 

 course of instruction there is an additional fee 

 of $5. Except in the courses in Zoology 1 and 

 Botany 2, students not provided with compound 

 microscopes of their own will be charged $5 

 for the use of a microscope. Board will be 



