616 
oratory of the Gas Defense Plant, Long Island 
City, N. Y. 
Dr. Soton SHEDD, head of the department 
of geology, State College of Washington, has 
been granted leave of absence for a year to 
engage in the production of casing head gaso- 
line in the Oklahoma oil fields. 
Dr. J. N. Rose, associate curator of the 
division of plants, U. S. National Museum, 
has returned from Ecuador where he spent 
three months’ making botanical collections andi 
has brought back a large series of specimens. 
At the anniversary meeting of the Minera- 
logical Society, London, held on November 5, 
the following officers and members of council 
were elected:—President: Sir William P. 
Beale, Bart. Vice-presidents: Professor H. L. 
Bowman and Mr. A. Hutchinson. Treasurer: 
Dr. J. W. Evans. General Secretary: Dr. 
G. T. Prior. Foreign Secretary: Professor 
W. W. Watts. Editor of the Journal: Mr. 
L. J. Spencer. 
At the annual meeting of the New York 
Academy of Science on December 16, the 
address was given by Professor S. A. Mitchell, 
of Leander McCormick Observatory, Univer- 
sity of Virginia, his subject being “ Results 
of the eclipse of 1918.” 
Mr. VILHJALMUR STEFANSSON was presented 
with the gold medal of the American Geograph- 
ical Society at its monthly meeting on the even- 
ing of December 17, in the Engineering So- 
cieties building, 29 West 39th Street. Mr. 
Stefansson delivered an address on “The 
value of northern exploration.” 
We learn from Nature that the council of 
the Chemical Society, London, has arranged 
for three lectures, bearing on the ultimate 
constitution of matter, to be delivered during 
the present session. The first lecture, entitled 
“The conception of the chemical element as 
enlarged by the study of radio-active change,” 
was delivered by Professor F. Soddy at the 
ordinary scientific meeting held at Burlington 
House on December 10. 
M. Pavut Kestner, the president of the’ 
-French Society of Chemical Industry, deliv- 
ered an address on “ The Alsace potash deposits 
SCIENCE 
[N. S. Von. XLVIII. No. 1251 
and their economic significance in relation to 
terms of peace,” to the London Section of the 
Society of Chemical Industry on November 4. 
On November 20 the opening address of the 
one hundred and sixty-fifth session of the 
Royal Society of Arts was delivered by Mr. 
Alan A. Campbell Swinton, chairman of the - 
council, his subject being “ Science and the fu- 
ture.” . 
THE death is announced of Dr. Henry Gus- 
tay Beyer, U. S. N., retired, who died at his 
home in Washington, D. C. He was born in 
Saxony in 1850, and was graduated from the 
Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1876. 
He entered the United States Navy in that 
year aS an assistant surgeon and reached the 
rank of medical director in 1911, retiring a 
year later. 
_ Harvey E. Vasey, associate professor of bot- 
any in the Colorado Agricultural College, died 
at Fort Collins, Colorado, on December 10. At 
the time of his death he was second lieutenant 
in the Students?’ Army Training Corps, as- 
signed as personnel adjutant. 
Miss Rost M. Taytor, M.S., for ten years 
instructor in botany at the Michigan Agricul- 
tural College, died on December 6, after a short 
illmess as a consequence of influenza. 
Vern B. Stewart, Ph.D. (Cornell), suc- 
cumbed to pneumonia on December 3, aged 
thirty years. Dr. Stewart held a research posi- 
tion as assistant professor of plant pathology 
at Cornell University for five years, during 
which time he made numerous contributions 
to his science. The most notable of these con- 
cern diseases of horticultural and ornamental 
nursery stock. On July 1 last he became 
pathological adviser to the eastern market in- 
spectors of the U. S. Department of Agricul- 
ture. This work had to do particularly with 
detecting incipient disease in shipments of 
perishable plant products intended for the 
army and navy. Exposure in the performance 
of this duty led to the fatal attack. 
Masor Harry Douctas Git, for thirty years 
connected with the New York University 
Veterinary College as member of the teach- 
ing staff in surgery, secretary and president, 
