DECEilBEK 1-1, 1917] 



SCIENCE 



585 



Professor H. E. Gregory, of Yale Univer- 

 sity, lias left for the Hawaiian Islands, where 

 he plans to spend a few months in geological 

 investigation. 



Professor C. C. Nutting, who will lead a 

 party of Iowa scientific men in an expedition 

 to the West Indies next summer, has received 

 word that the English government buildings 

 on the Pelican islands, which will be the base 

 of the expedition, will be turned over to the 

 explorers without cost. Some of the men who 

 intended to go with this expedition at first 

 have since entered war service, but plans are 

 going forward rapidly and the outlook is 

 promising. Professor Nutting made a prelim- 

 inary visit to the islands last summer and re- 

 ported that he had never seen a place where 

 the opportunity for scientific research was 

 greater. 



President Stieglitz, of the American Chem- 

 ical Society, has appointed the following com- 

 mittee on the supply of organic chemicals for 

 research during the war: E. Emmet Eeid, 

 Chairman, Eoger Adams, H. L. Fisher, J. "W. 

 E. Glattfeld, Wm. J. Hale. 



At the annual meeting of the Cambridge 

 Philosophical Society held on October 29 the 

 following were elected officers of the society 

 for the ensuing session: President, Professor 

 Marr; Vice-presidents, Professor ISTewall, Dr. 

 Doncaster and Mr. W. H. Mills; Treasurer, 

 Professor Hobson; Secretaries, Mr. A. "Wood, 

 Mr. G. H. Hardy and Mr. H. H. Brindley; 

 New Memhers of Council, Sir J. Larmor, Pro- 

 fessor Eddington and Dr. Marshall. 



At the anniversary meeting of the Minera- 

 logieal Society, held on jSTovember 6, the fol- 

 lowing were elected officers: President, Mr. 

 W. Barlow; Vice-presidents, Professor H. L. 

 Bowman and Mr. A. Hutchinson; Treasurer, 

 Sir William P. Beale, Bart.; General Secre- 

 tary, Dr. G. T. Prior; Foreign Secretary, 

 Professor W. W. Watts; Editor of the Jour- 

 nal, Mr. L. J. Spencer. 



At Tale University, Director Russell H. 

 Chittenden and Professor Irving Fisher have 

 delivered the first two of the special Univer- 

 sity Lectures on Food Conservation, and 



Frederic C. Walcott, '91, of Mr. Hoover's staff, 

 will give the third lecture, on " Governmental 

 aspects of food conservation," in January. 



Alonzo Dorus Melvin, chief of the Bureau 

 of Animal Industry, since 1905, known for his 

 work on animal diseases and their bearing on 

 human health, died at his home in Washing- 

 ton, aged fifty-five years. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 NEWS 



The Harvard University Corporation has 

 announced the receipt of securities to the 

 value of $89,946.50 from James Byrne, 'YY, of 

 New York City, to establish the " Byrne pro- 

 fessorship of administrative law." The securi- 

 ties are the first payment towards a total 

 foundation of $150,000. 



The following telegram was sent by Dr. 

 Hollis Godfrey, December 5, to presidents 

 of all institutions giving degrees in technical 

 courses : " I have just been authorized by the 

 Secretary of War to request you to inform all 

 your technical students that if they wait until 

 drafted they can, upon summons to the draft 

 camp, take with them a letter from you stating 

 their special qualifications, such letter to be 

 filed with occupational census questionnaire of 

 the War Department. Under authority of this 

 authorized telegram, the Secretary of War also 

 authorizes me to say that every effort will be 

 made to use each student's special training in 

 connection with specialized occupations in the 

 army, so as to afford technical students of 

 draft age fully as great an opportunity through 

 the draft as if they enlisted now." 



The annual meeting of the American Mathe- 

 matical Societj' will be held in New York City 

 on Thursday and Friday, December 2Y— 28. 

 The fortieth regular meeting of the Chicago 

 Section will be held at the University of Chi- 

 cago on Friday and Saturday, December 28— 

 29. Friday afternoon will be devoted to a 

 joint meeting with the Mathematical Associa- 

 tion of America, at which Professor W. B. 

 Ford will deliver his retiring address as chair- 

 man of the section. 



