100 
Mr. Atex. Wetmore, of the Biological Sur- 
vey, U. S. Department of Agriculture, is in 
Porto Rico this winter, cooperating with the 
Insular Board of Agriculture in studying the 
economic relations of the birds and mammals 
of the island. 
Proressor A. S. HitcHcock, systematic 
agrostologist, U. S. Department of Agricul- 
ture, has returned from Panama. About two 
months were spent in the Canal Zone and 
other parts of Panama, where he was a mem- 
ber of the Smithsonian Biological Survey, and 
about two months in the five Central Amer- 
ican Republics. Nearly 200 species of grasses, 
represented by 565 numbers, were obtained in 
Panama and 760 numbers of grasses in Cen- 
tral America. While in Panama a trip was 
made to the extinct voleano Chiriqui, which 
has an altitude of a little over 11,000 feet. 
Besides several novelties there were collected 
many species heretofore known only from 
South America. Mr. Hitchcock was accom- 
panied by his son, Frank H. Hitchcock, with 
whose aid he was able to obtain many dupli- 
cates. 
We learn from The Auk that Mr. Samuel 
N. Rhoads has returned from Ecuador after 
collecting at various points along the railroad 
which runs from Guayaquil to Quito, espe- 
cially at Bucay (975 feet), on the Chanchan 
River (2,000 feet), Huigra (4,000 feet), Mt. 
Pichincha (8,000 feet), Riobamba (40,000 
feet) and in the vicinity of Quito. He 
brought back about 1,600 birds, some mam- 
mals and reptiles and a number of inverte- 
brates. His collection is now at the Academy 
of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. 
Proressor L. HEKTOEN, of the University of 
Chicago, gave six lectures on the Herter 
foundation of the University and Bellevue 
Hospital Medical College, beginning on Jan- 
uary 8. The subject of the lectures was 
“ Tmmunity.” 
Dr. Wituiam H. WE tcH, professor of path- 
ology at the Johns Hopkins University, will 
give the lectures on the Barbour-Page founda- 
tion at the University of Virginia. 
SCIENCE 
[N.S. Vou. XXXV. No. 890 
Mr. Gano Duny, president of the American 
Institute of Electrical Engineers, was the 
guest of honor at the annual dinner of the 
Ithaca Section of the institute, held on Jan- 
uary 10. His subject was “The Kind of a 
Man that makes a Good Engineer.” 
Mr. C. A. Setry, mechanical engineer of 
the Rock Island Lines, delivered an address 
before the students and faculty of the College 
of Engineering ot the University of Illinois, 
on January 4, 1912, on “Conference Com- 
mittee Methods in handling Railway Legisla- 
tion on Mechanical Matters.” 
BeroreE the Geographic Society of Chicago 
on January 12 a lecture was given by Pro- 
fessor R. H. Whitbeck, of the University of 
Wisconsin, the title of the lecture being “ Geo- 
graphical Names and the Stories they Tell.” 
At the dedication of the Gauss monument 
on the Hohenhagen, near Dransfeld, the me- 
morial address was delivered by Professor W. 
Voigt, of the University of Gottingen. 
Tue daily papers announce that Dr. Simon, 
the bacteriologist of Zurich, has died as the 
result of a bite from an innoculated mouse. 
THE death is also announced of Dr. Stephan 
Lindeck, member of the Charlottenburg 
Reichsanstalt. 
Tue Society of American Bacteriologists, 
at its recent meeting in Washington, elected 
the following officers: 
President—Dr. William H. Park, director of the 
Research Laboratories, City of New York. 
Vice-president—Professor C.-E. A. Winslow, 
College of the City of New York. 
Secretary-treasurer—Dr. Charles E. Marshall, 
Michigan Agricultural College, East Lansing. 
Council—Dr. W. J. MacNeal, New York Post- 
Graduate Schools, New York City; Dr. Otto 
Rahn, Michigan Agricultural College, East Lan- 
sing; Dr. H. D. Pease, 39 West 38th Street, New 
York City; Dr. John F. Anderson, director of 
Hygienic Laboratory, Washington. 
Delegate to the A. A. A. S—Professor D. H. 
Bergey, University of Pennsylvania. 
Dr. G. Srantey Hau, president of Clark 
University, is giving a course of six lectures 
on “The Founders of Modern Psychology ” 
