FEBRUARY 2, 1912] 
the New York Aquarium: ‘‘The Voyage of the 
Albatross to the Gulf of California.’’ 
March 7—Dr. ©. William Beebe, curator of 
birds, New York Zoological Park: ‘‘ Adventures 
of an Ornithologist in the Far Hast.’’ 
March 21—Dr. R. H. Lowie, assistant curator 
of anthropology, American Museum of Natural 
History: ‘‘An Ethnologist in the Field.’’ 
THE Naples Table Association for pro- 
moting Laboratory Research by Women calls 
attention to the opportunities for research in 
zoology, botany and physiology provided by 
the foundation of this table. The year of the 
association begins in April and all applica- 
tions for the year 1912-13 should be sent to 
the secretary on or before March 1, 1912. 
A prize of $1,000 has been offered periodically 
by the association for the best thesis written 
by a woman on a scientific subject, embodying 
new observations and new conclusions based 
on an independent laboratory research in bio- 
logical (including psychological), chemical or 
physical science. In April, 1911, the prize was 
named the Ellen Richards Research Prize. 
The sixth prize will be awarded in April, 1913. 
Application blanks, information in regard to 
the advantages at Naples for research and col- 
lection of material, and circulars giving the 
conditions of the award of the prize will be 
furnished by the secretary, Mrs. A. D. Mead, 
283 Wayland Ave., Providence, R. I. 
THE chairman of the finance committee of 
the New York Academy of Medicine, in send- 
ing out to members the treasurer’s report, 
states that $110,000 has been raised by sub- 
scription from about one fourth of the mem- 
bers, and that it is expected to collect about 
double that sum within the academy in order 
to pay for the real estate purchased as a site 
for the proposed enlarged building, before ap- 
pealing to the general public for funds. 
THE extension of the Horniman Museum, 
Forest Hill, consisting of a lecture hall and a 
new library, the gift of Mr. KE. J. Horniman, 
son of the donor of the museum, was opened 
on January 27, by Sir Archibald Geikie, 
K.C.B., president of the Royal Society. 
Mr. Ropert Witcox Sayuss, in charge of the 
geological section of the Harvard University 
SCIENCE 
179 
Museum, has given the sum of $5,000 to the 
Seismological Society of America, to aid in 
the publication of the Society’s Bulletin. 
Tue Field Museum of Natural History, 
Chicago, has acquired recently, through pur- 
chase, the herbarium and botanical library of 
the late J. H. Schuette, of Green Bay, Wis- 
consin. The collection comprises 15,000 to 
20,000 carefully prepared and fully labelled 
herbarium specimens, principally from Wis- 
consin, well representing the flora of the state. 
In addition to the general collection there is 
a valuable series of native American roses, the 
particular group of plants in which Mr. 
Schuette was for many years deeply interested 
and to which he gave critical study. 
Aone the dispositions of the will of Dr. O. 
M. Lannelongue, professor of surgery at the 
University of Paris, are the following: An 
annual sum of $100 is left to the University 
of Paris, the same sum to the Faculty of 
Medicine for assisting necessitous students, 
and a sum of $35,000 for the establishment of 
a museum, for which material had already been 
collected, in his native town, Castéra-Ver- 
duzan. Various other benefactions are con- 
ferred upon the town of Castéra-Verduzan. 
The residue of the property is to go towards 
the creation of some national or international 
work of a social or scientific order. 
Mr. CuHartes G. Appot, director of the 
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, has 
returned to Washington from Bassour, AI- 
geria, where he has been making astrophysical 
observations, in regard to the solar constant 
of radiation. The observing station in Bas- 
sour was established in July, 1911, when Mr. 
Abbot and his field assistant, Professor Frank 
P. Brackett, of Pomona College, arrived in 
Algeria, and observations were continued until 
the end of November. From previous work 
at Washington, Mount Wilson and Mount 
Whitney, it had been determined that the sun 
was probably a variable star, and that appar- 
ently its radiations frequently fluctuated from 
2 to 5 per cent., during irregular periods of 
from five to ten days duration. Although 
strongly indicated by the work on Mount Wil- 
