492 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 171. 



tions of potassium carbonate. In such 

 solutions the salt seems to act as a potas- 

 sium salt of the radial KCO3 ^^^ forms 

 with salts of certain metals double carbon- 

 ates. When, for example, salts of copper, 

 manganese, calcium, cobalt, etc., are added 

 to a concentrated solution of potassium 

 carbonate, double carbonates are formed, 

 which crystallize out on standing, but 

 which are decomposed on diluting the so- 

 lutions. The formuhe of these salts are 

 CuK^CCOj),, MnK3(C03),, CaK.CCO,),, 

 CoK,(C03),, etc., which might be looked 

 upon as Cu(KC03)2, etc. 



J. L. H. 



SCIENTIFIC NOIES AND NEWS. 



The National Academy of Sciences will hold 

 its annual stated session at Washington on 

 April 19th, 20th and 21st. 



The third regular meeting of the Chicago 

 Section of the American Mathematical Society 

 will be held at the University of Chicago, on 

 Saturday, April 9, 1898, the first session open- 

 ing at 10 o'clock a. m., in Eyerson Physical 

 Laboratory. 



The bequests made by the late Professor 

 Cope to the University of Pennsylvania are 

 now being placed in the Library and in the 

 Biological Hall. The bequests, as we have al- 

 ready stated, fall under five heads : First, the 

 scientific library ; second, the Wheatley collec- 

 tion of fresh water mollusca ; third, the Wheat- 

 ley collection of minerals ; fourth, the Hyrtl 

 collection of the osteology of fishes ; fifth. Pro- 

 fessor Cope's collection of the osteology of ver- 

 tebrates. The scientific library contains many 

 valuable sets of scientific journals, monographs 

 and books of reference. Professor Cope pur- 

 chased the Hyrtl collection of the osteology of 

 fishes for $8,000, and the osteological collections 

 made by Professor Cope himself are of great 

 value. 



The French Minister of Commerce has issued 

 a decree instituting twelve congresses to be 

 held during the Paris Exposition of 1900 as 

 follows: 1. Education; 2. Fine Arts; 3. Mathe- 

 matical Sciences; 4. Physical Sciences and 



their Applications; 5. Natural Sciences; 6. 

 Medical Sciences; 7. Engineering and Trans- 

 portation; 8. Agriculture; 9. Political Economy 

 and Statistics; 10. Social Sciences, including 

 Hygiene; 11. Geography, and 12. Industry and 

 Commerce. The Minister of Commerce will ap- 

 point twelve committees who will report to a 

 commission that will have charge of the arrange- 

 ments. M. Gariel, of the University of Paris, 

 and Secretary of the French Association for th& 

 Advancement of Science, is in charge of the 

 organization of the congresses, and a special 

 building will be erected in the Exposition 

 grounds for the meetings. 



Dr. Tarleton H. Bean, who, as we re- 

 ported last week, was asked by the President of 

 the Park Board to resign the superintendency 

 of the Aquarium, refused to do this, as no 

 grounds were given for the request. The ofiice 

 has now been abolished, but it is understood 

 that Dr. Bean will contest this subterfuge in the 

 Courts. 



One of the first appointments to the Univer- 

 sity Table at Naples is that of Dr. J. P. Halsey, 

 who graduated at the College of Physicians and 

 Surgeons in 1893, and since July, 1895, has 

 been studying organic and physiological chem- 

 istry in Germany. He worked in Freiburg 

 under Baumann until the latter's death, and 

 since then in Strassburg under Hofmeister. 

 He has just finished an investigation upon Ty- 

 rosin, and his plan at Naples is to experiment 

 upon some of the lower organisms, which may 

 throw light upon the origin of urea. 



Surgeon-Major David Prain has been ap- 

 pointed Superintendent of the Royal Botanical 

 Garden at Calcutta. 



The following appropriations were made 



during 1897, from the Bache fund. Natural 



Academy of Sciences : 



March 18 : To Professor A, S. Packard, for 

 an investigation of the transformations of 

 North American bombycine moths $100 



March 29 : To Professor R. H. Chittenden, for 

 an investigation of the poisonous fungi or 

 toadstools of the country 500 



April 29 : To Professor Albert A. Michelsoii, 

 for the construction of a new harmonic an- 

 alyzer and integrator 400' 



