July 28, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



131 



culture as a professional paper, Bulletin 370. 

 These tests have heen made by the Office of 

 Public Roads and Rural Engineering to give 

 highway engineers information in regard to 

 the various physical properties of the different 

 rocks most frequently used in road construc- 

 tion. The three most important of these prop- 

 erties are defined in the bulletin as hardness, 

 or the resistance which the rock offers to the 

 displacement of its surface particles by ab- 

 rasion; toughness, or the resistance which it 

 offers to fracture under impact; and "binding 

 •power, or the ability which the dust from the 

 rock possesses, or develops by contact with 

 water, of binding the large rock fragments to- 

 gether. 



A postal vote was recently taken of the 

 members of the British Institution of Elec- 

 trical Engineers on the proposed exclusion of 

 alien enemies, and the details of the result 

 were as follows: Cards issued, 3,244; cards re- 

 turned, 1,470. In favor of (a) to expel mem- 

 bers who are subjects of enemy-countries or 

 states, 1,320, against, 88; in favor of (6) to 

 expel members who, being naturalized British 

 subjects, have retained enemy nationality, 

 1,307, against, 79; in favor of (c) not to expel 

 members who are naturalized British subjects 

 and were formerly subjects of a country or 

 state now at war with Great Britain and Ire- 

 land, but who have under the laws of such 

 country or state definitely lost their alien na- 

 tionality, provided they are able to prove this 

 to the complete satisfaction of the council, 

 1,081, against, 264; in favor of (d) that no per- 

 son shall after the ■ of ■ 19 — , be 



eligible for election as a member of the Insti- 

 tution who is a subject of any country or state 

 with which the United Kingdom of Great 

 Britain and Ireland is or shall have been at 

 war on or after the date mentioned, 1,120, 

 against, 200. 



One of the provisions of the federal aid road 

 bill, which was signed by the President on 

 July 11, appropriates $1,000,000 a year for ten 

 years to be spent by the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture for the construction and maintenance of 

 roads and trails within or partly within the 

 national forests. The bill provides that, upon 



request of the proper officers of the states or 

 counties, the money shall be used for building 

 roads and trails which are necessary for the 

 use and development of resources upon which 

 communities within or near the national for- 

 ests are dependent. The work is to be done in 

 cooperation with the various states and coun- 

 ties. Not more than 10 per cent, of the value 

 of the timber and forage resources of the na- 

 tional forests within the respective county or 

 counties in which the roads or trails will be 

 constructed may be spent. Provision is made 

 for the return of the money to the Treasury by 

 applying 10 per cent, of the annual receipts of 

 the national forests in the state or county 

 until the amount advanced is covered. Offi- 

 cers in charge say that the bill will make pos- 

 sible the construction of many roads which are 

 greatly needed. Since 1913 ten per cent, of 

 the receipts of the national forests have been 

 used in road and trail building, but the funds 

 have been inadequate to meet the needs. 

 Many isolated communities within the na- 

 tional forests are entirely dependent on the 

 government roads and trails. In some in- 

 stances these settlements are said to be almost 

 entirely without means of communication. 

 According to Eorest Service officials the money 

 now made available will permit the construc- 

 tion of many roads necessary to open up inac- 

 cessible territory, and will greatly facilitate the 

 development of large areas. It is said that de- 

 tailed plans covering the policy to be followed 

 in building roads are now being made. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 NEWS 



The jury in the Surrogates' Court of New 

 York City has declared invalid the will of 

 Amos P. Eno, according to which Columbia 

 University was made the residuary legatee 

 and would receive an amount estimated at over 

 four million dollars. It is understood that 

 Columbia University will seek to obtain a new 

 trial. 



The merger of the medical school of the 

 University of Pennsylvania and the Jefferson 

 Medical College will not be consummated this 

 year. The following statement was made by 



