IGS 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLVII. No. 1207 



Mr. C. William Beebe, curator of birds in the 

 New York Zoological Park, lias returned from 

 tlie Tropical Eesearch Station established last 

 year in British. Guiana by the New York 

 Zoological Society. While the intention of 

 Mr. Beebe's short trip was principally to sal- 

 vage books and instruments until after the 

 war, and to seek rest from an airplane accident, 

 yet opportunity was found for a month of 

 investigaion. 



The program of the Indian Science Con- 

 gress held in Lahore from January 9 to 12, in- 

 cluded three evening lectures, open to the 

 public. The first was on " Some simple living 

 things — ^parasitism and disease " by Major Nor- 

 man White, sanitary commissioner to Govern- 

 ment of India illustrated by cinematograph. 

 The second was on " Aviation " by Lieutenant- 

 Colonel G. M. Griffith, commandant, of the 

 Royal Flying Corps in India, and the third on 

 " The planetry system, ancient and modern," 

 by Dr. D. N. Mallick. The program also in- 

 cluded a visit to the railway workshops, an 

 aviation display if not prevented by military 

 exigencies and a scientific conversazione. 



Dr. David Eugene Shith, of Columbia Uni- 

 versity addressed the Association of Teachers 

 of Secondary Mathematics, of North Carolina, 

 in Greensboro on February 1 and 2. He gave 

 a popular lecture on " The origin of mathe- 

 matics," a somewhat more technical one on 

 " Deficiencies in present preparatory mathe- 

 matics " and a roiond table discussion on the 

 topic " A proper approach to elementary mathe- 

 matics." W. W. Eankin, Jr., of the Univer- 

 sity of North Carolina, was elected president 

 of the convention. 



Professor Ellery Willl\ms Davis, dean of 

 the college of arts and sciences and head of 

 the department of mathematics of the Uni- 

 versity of Nebraska, died on Pebruary 3 from 

 pnemnonia after a short illness, at the age of 

 sixty years. 



The death is announced at Dorchester, 

 Mass., of Paul S. Yandel, known for his ob- 

 servations on variable stars, at the age of 

 seventy-three years. 



Dr. Charles L. Parsons, the secretary, 

 writes that after consultation with the ad- 

 visory committee and other members of the 

 American Chemical Society, the directors have 

 voted to omit the spring meeting of the so- 

 ciety, which was to have been held in St. 

 Louis the coming April. It is felt that the 

 transportation conditions are such that un- 

 necessary travel should be avoided, and also 

 that the chemists of the country are so busily 

 engaged in meeting war needs that their work 

 should not be interrupted for the purpose of 

 conference at this time. The annual meeting 

 of the society wiU be held in Cleveland, Ohio, 

 in September. 



The New York Section of the Societe de 

 Chimie Industrielle, was organized at a meet- 

 ing held at Eumford HaU of the Chemists' 

 Club, on the evening of January 18, 1918. 

 The following officers were elected: President, 

 L. H. Baekeland ; Vice-president, Jerome 

 Alexander; Treasurer, George F. Kunz; /Sec- 

 retary^ Charles A. Doremus. Council: Charles 

 Baskerville, M. T. Bogert, EUwood Hendrick, 

 R. E. Orfila, E. P. Verge, Henri Blum, 

 Charles F. Chandler, W. H. Nichols, G. E. 

 Valabregue, Henri Viteaux. Professor Grig- 

 nard, and Lieutenant Rene Engel, of the 

 French Military Mission, were elected honor- 

 ary members. The section has about 160 

 charter members. 



The California Academy of Sciences an- 

 nounces lectures for January and February as 

 follows : 



January 16. Professor E. C. Starks, department 

 of zoology, Stanford University, "The sea lions of 

 the Pacific coast of America." (Illustrated.) 



January 20. Professor K. W. Doane, depart- 

 ment of entomology, Stanford University, "Porest 

 insects. ' ' ( lUuLStrated. ) 



January 27. Professor J. C. Bradley, depart- 

 ment of entomology, Cornell University, "Experi- 

 ences in a Georgia swamp." (Illustrated.) 



February 3. Dr. J. Rollin Slonaker, department 

 of physiology, Stanford University, "Bird life as 

 seen through the camera." (Illustrated.) 



February 10. Dr. Eoy E. Diokerson, curator of 

 invertebrate paleontology, California Academy of 

 Sciences, "California petroleum." (Illustrated.) 



