September 16, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



247 



supply the clinical quarters and other costs. 

 As the New Haven General Hospital is now 

 a part of the Yale Medical School, the Psy- 

 chopathic Hospital is expected to supply the 

 cases under observation. There will be a 

 close connection between the new psychopathic 

 hospital and the 'New Haven General Hospi- 

 tal. Details of arranging for the gift will 

 come before the Yale Corporation at its next 

 meeting. Governor Lake of Connecticut re- 

 cently appointed a commission to take charge 

 of the plans for expenditure of the state fund 

 of $500,000 for the hospital. Dr. Paul Water- 

 man, of Hartford, is chairman of the com- 

 mission, and Dean Winternitz, of the Yale 

 Medical School, is a member. 



Nature says : " The classical experimental 

 plots which Lawes and Gilbert started at 

 Eothamsted have been of the greatest service 

 to agricultural science, and their importance 

 is constantly increasing. Fundamental ques- 

 tions in the physics, chemistry, and biology 

 of agriculture can be attacked with more con- 

 fidence in the light of results obtained from 

 long-continued field experiments carried out 

 on a systematic plan. Further, the results are 

 capable of statistical examination. The im- 

 portance of the Eothamsted experiments led 

 to the institution of a parallel series at Wo- 

 burn in 1876 by the Royal Agricultural So- 

 ciety. The Woburn soil is light and sandy, 

 but that at Eothamsted is a heavy loam. The 

 two series of experiments enable instructive 

 comparisons to be made between these two 

 soil types. All interested in agricultural 

 science received with concern the decision of 

 the council of the Eoyal Agricultural Society 

 to relinquish — owing to economic conditions 

 — the Woburn experiments. Fortunately the 

 danger has been averted. Arrangements have 

 been made for the experiments to be continued 

 under the auspices of, but legally distinct 

 from, the Eothamsted Experimental Station. 

 The general portion of the Woburn farm will 

 continue under the direct control of Dr. A. J. 

 Voelcker, who for many years has carried out 

 the duties on behalf of the Eoyal Agricul- 

 tural Society. The new arrangement will not 



only ensure the continuance of the valuable 

 work already done, but will also lead to a 

 closer contact with the work of Eothamsted." 



The Directoria de Meteorologia e Astron- 

 omia of the Brazilian Department of Agricul- 

 ture has been divided into two separate 

 services " Directoria de Meteorologia 2 " and 

 " Observatorio Nacional." The division for 

 meteorology has been placed under the direc- 

 tion of Dr. Sampaio Ferraz. It will continue 

 the climatological work established in 1909, 

 unifying methods of meteorological research 

 and publishing all available data for the past 

 ten years. It is planned to issue nine bul- 

 letins by the end of the year. The division 

 will establish a forecast service for central 

 and southern Brazil; an aerological service 

 for aviators and kite and pilot balloon 

 stations; a special coast service for naviga- 

 tion; an agricultural meteorological service; 

 a marine meteorological service; a special 

 service of rains and floods, and the usual in- 

 vestigations in every department of meteor- 

 ology with especial reference to longer ranges 

 in weather forecasting. Eio Grande do Sul, 

 Minas Geraes and Sao Paulo continue their 

 state services, but under the supervision of 

 the Directoria. The Eeclamation Service of 

 semi-arid northeastern Brazil will maintain 

 its rain organization. 



Statistics relating to the growth of the 

 population of France show that last year the 

 excess of births over deaths was 159,790, as 

 against 58,914 in 1913, while the number of 

 marriages has doubled. It is the first time 

 since the war that statistics have been avail- 

 able for the whole of France, including the 

 three departments of Alsace-Lorraine. The 

 births were 834,411 last year, compared with 

 790,355 in 1913— an increase of 44,056. The 

 deaths were 674,621 against 731,441 in 1913— 

 a decrease of 56,820. The marriages were 

 623,869 last year against 312,036 in 1913. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 NEWS 



By the will of the late John McMullen, 

 president of the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific 

 Dredging Company, Cornell University will 



