August 21, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



231 



served stars and all from the North to the 

 South pole of the heavens that are visible 

 to the naked eye. This work has already 

 resulted in interesting conclusions in refer- 

 ence to star-streams, the solar motion in 

 space, and other stellar problems. 



The preliminary expedition to establish 

 the new observing station sailed from 

 Brooklyn for Buenos Aires, August 20, 

 on the steamship Velasquez. Accompany- 

 ing Professor Boss, is Professor Richard H. 

 Tucker, of the Lick Observatory, well 

 known for his work in observation with 

 the Meridian Circle of the Lick Observa- 

 tory. He will superintend the construction 

 of piers and buildings for the new observa- 

 tory, and he will be placed in charge of 

 the observations after the station shall be 

 ready for operation. Mr. Varnum, for 

 many years an assistant at the Dudley Ob- 

 servatory, is also a member of the party. 

 Later on the remainder of the staff, which 

 in all will consist of eight persons, will be 

 sent to the new observatory when it shall 

 be ready for work. 



This undertaking has met with cordial 

 recognition from Mr. Epifanio Protela, 

 Argentine minister to the United States, 

 and from other representatives of the 

 Argentine Government, which in the most 

 liberal and enlightened spirit has extended 

 every assistance and courtesy. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 

 Professor C. 0. Whitman, head of the De- 

 partment of Zoology in the University of 

 Chicago, has resigned the directorship of the 

 Marine Biological Laboratory, Wood's Hole, 

 Mass., which he has held for the past twenty 

 years. Professor Pranic R. Lillie, of the Uni- 

 versity of Chicago, the assistant director, has 

 been elected to the directorship. 



At the meeting of the Preneh Association 

 for the Advancement of Science at Clermont 

 Perrand, the gold medal of the association 

 was presented to Sir William 'Ramsay. 



In connection with the Sheffield meeting of 

 the British Medical Association, the faculty 



of science of the University of Sheffield has 

 conferred honorary degrees as follows: Presi- 

 dent-elect, Professor Simeon Snell; Dr. 

 Henry Davy, of Exeter, the outgoing presi- 

 dent; Professor Bouchard, of the University 

 of Paris ; Professor John Chiene, professor of 

 surgery at Edinburgh; Dr. Kingston Fowler, 

 dean of the medical faculty of the University 

 of London; Professor Puchs, the Viennese 

 ophthalmologist; Professor Lueas-Champion- 

 niere; Dr. C. J. Martin, director of the 

 Lister Institute; Professor John Murphy, of 

 Chicago; Dr. Thomas Oliver, known for his 

 work on dangerous trades; Mr. Edmund 

 Owen; Sir Henry Swanzy, of Dublin; Pro- 

 fessor Tillmanns, of Leipzig; and Dr. Daw- 

 son Williams, editor of The British Medical 

 Journal. 



The Journal of the American Medical As- 

 sociation states that a banquet in honor of 

 the seventieth birthday anniversary of Gen. 

 George M. Sternberg was given on June 8, 

 when nearly 200 men celebrated in the annals 

 of government, science and literature met to 

 honor the former surgeon-general. The Hon. 

 John W. Foster, formerly secretary of state, 

 presided as toastmaster. A silver loving cup 

 was presented to General Sternberg by those 

 who attended the banquet, and a large Ameri- 

 can flag was given him by the attaches and 

 patients of the Sternberg Sanitarium in Mary- 

 land. 



M. Gaillot has been elected a correspond- 

 ing member of the Paris Academy of Sciences 

 in the section of astronomy, in the room of 

 M. Trepied. 



The president of the Republic of Prance 

 has conferred upon Professor Wm. B. Alwood, 

 of Charlottesville, Va., the Cross of Officier 

 du Merite Agricole, and the Societe Nationale 

 dAgriculture de France, has awarded him the 

 silver medal and diploma of the society. 



Dr. James A. Nelson, formerly honorary 

 fellow in entomology and invertebrate zoology 

 at Cornell University, has accepted an ap- 

 pointment with the Bureau of Entomology 

 at Washington, D. C. Dr. Nelson who is a 

 graduate of Kenyon College and received his 



