May 17, 1912] 
street, Covent Garden, the property of Lady 
Smyth, of Ashton Court, Somerset, who in- 
herited them from the late Sir J. H. Greville 
Smyth. The finer of the two was purchased 
at an auction in Kent, and resold at Stevens’s 
on April 24, 1894, for 180 guineas; it now 
brought 150 guineas. The second egg, which 
went for 140 guineas, was purchased with a 
number of sea-birds’ eggs, many years ago, 
by the late owner, but nothing appears to be 
known of its earlier history. Both were 
bought by Mr. Ward. Sir J. H. Greville 
Smyth had another specimen of the egg 
(which was sold at Stevens’s in 1888 for 
£225). This was presented by Lady Greville 
Smyth to the Bristol Museum. A “ census” 
by Mr. Edward Bidwell, in connection with 
the Great Auk, shows that there are in exist- 
ence and recorded 80 skins and 73 eggs. 
Tue Austrian government has purchased 
for about $600,000 the only two radium mines 
at Joachimsthal which were owned by private 
individuals. It is estimated that the two 
mines will yield annually about 3 grams of 
radium. Plans are under way for the devel- 
opment of Joachimsthal as a resort for the 
treatment of disease by radium. 
A qirt of $50,000 has been made by a donor 
who desires his name withheld for the pur- 
pose of furthering the work of the National 
Committee for Mental Hygiene. The same 
individual has agreed to give $50,000 more, 
on condition that the sum of $200,000 addi- 
tional be secured. The Journal of the Amer- 
ican Medical Association states that the pur- 
pose for which the committee was formed is 
the study of all matters connected with the 
commitment, care and after-treatment of the 
insane. Plans for the study of this subject 
have been carefully prepared, and it is in- 
tended to encourage the formation in the 
various states of allied but independent so- 
cieties with similar aims to those of the na- 
tional committee. A special subcommittee, 
of which Dr. William L. Russell, superinten- 
dent of the Bloomingdale Hospital, is chair- 
man, has been formed to begin the work out- 
lined, and an office has been opened in the 
SCIENCE 
173 
Germania Life Building, New York City. 
Dr. Thomas W. Salmon, of the United States 
Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, 
has been granted leave of absence by the gov- 
ernment to undertake this work and has been 
engaged to conduct the studies outlined by 
the committee. The newly elected officers are: 
president, Dr. Llewellys F. Barker, of Johns 
Hopkins University; vice-presidents, Dr. Wil- 
liam H. Welch, of Johns Hopkins Medical 
School; Dr. Charles P. Bancroft, superinten- 
dent of the New Hampshire State Hospital, 
Concord, N. H.; treasurer, Otto T. Bannard, 
president of the New York Trust Company; 
chairman of the executive committee, Dr. 
George Blumer, dean of Yale Medical School; 
chairman of the finance committee, Professor 
Russell H. Chittenden, director of Sheftield 
Scientific School of Yale University; secre- 
tary, Clifford W. Beers, organizer of the Na- 
tional Committee for Mental Hygiene. 
UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS 
By the will of Charles Herbert Pratt, the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology re- 
ceives a large bequest to endow a Pratt school 
of naval architecture and marine engineering. 
The income of the estate is to accumulate 
until the sum of $750,000 has been reached, 
though it may be used at the expiration of 
twenty-one years. 
Governor Foss has signed the bill passed 
by the Massachusetts legislature appropri- 
ating $50,000 annually for five years to the 
Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The grant 
is to be extended for an additional five years 
if in the meantime the institute obtains $350,- 
000. 
AN anonymous benefactor has given $100,- 
000 to Hamilton College for the erection of a 
new library building. 
Cotumspia University has received from Mr. 
and Mrs. William R. Peters a gift of $50,000 
to establish a fund for engineering research 
in memory of their son William R. Peters, Jr. 
A sECOND gift of $25,000 to Brown Univer- 
sity from Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., is 
