Makch 3, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



239 



Jjeen formed, including Sir Henry Miers, vice- 

 chancellor of Manchester University; Sir Ed- 

 ward Donner, Dr. Niven, Medical Officer of 

 Health of Manchester; Dr. Brinley, Dr. Slater, 

 Mr. Heap, and Dr. Sidebothan. 



A REPORT has been issued of the proceedings 

 of the conference on the problem of the un- 

 usually gifted student, called by the Divisions 

 of Educational Relations and of Anthropology 

 and Psychology of the National Research Coun- 

 cO. This conference was held on December 

 23, 1921, and was referred to in Science of 

 January 20, 1922. A copy of this report in 

 mimeographed form will be sent to any one 

 interested upon application to Dr. Vernon 

 Kellogg, chairman, Division of Educational Re- 

 lations, National Research Council, 1701 Massa- 

 elmsetts Avenue, Washington, D. C. 



"We learn from the London Times that the 

 Commonwealth Government will place a war- 

 ship at the disposal of astronomers who are 

 going to visit the northwest of western Australia 

 in September to observe the total eclipse of the 

 sun on September 21. The apparatus is to 

 l3e established at Wollal, a lonely point on the 

 coast between Port Hedland and Broome. The 

 party, .for whom an obsei'vation camp will be 

 created, includes Dr. W. W. Campbell, director 

 of the Lick Ob3ervator5r, California, and Mrs. 

 Campbell; Dr. Moore and Dr. Trumpler, also 

 of the Lick Observatory; Dr. and Mrs. Adams, 

 of New Zealand; Professor Chant and three 

 assistants from Toronto Observatorj', and Aus- 

 tralian astronomers. The Naval Meteorological 

 Department is making arrangements for the 

 reception of the visitors. The path of totality 

 will be covered as follows : It begins in 

 Abyssinia, and passes over the center of Italian 

 Somaliland and across the Maldive Islands, 

 where, Mr. J. Evershed, director of the Kodai- 

 kanal Observatory (India), will be stationed 

 Thence it passes across the Indian Ocean to 

 Christmas Island, the most favorable of the 

 lilaees where observation is feasible. Two ex- 

 peditions are going there, one a British expe- 

 dition, from Greenwich, consisting of Mr. II. 

 Spenser Jones, chief assistant, and Mr. P. J. 

 Melotte, the discoverer of the eighth satellite 

 of Jupiter; the other a joint Dutch and Ger- 



man expedition, wliich Professor Einstein may 

 possibly accompany. 



Referring to a report from Australia that 

 tlie southern station of the Harvard College 

 Observatory may 1)e moved from Arequipa, 

 Peiu, to Queensiand, the Alumni Bulletin states 

 lliat churs is no immediate prospect of such a 

 change. An inflaential member of the Queens- 

 land government suggested recently that a site 

 might be found tliere which would prove more 

 advantageous than Arequipa, and received per- 

 n)ission from Harvard to go so far as to have 

 meteorological observations made to determine 

 the conditions for astronomical work in Queens- 

 land. No definite offer of a site has been re- 

 ceived, hovvever, and it is said to be unliljely 

 that any decision one way or the other will Ijc 

 made for the present. 



Professor Hojier R. Dill, director of the 

 vertebrate exhibit at the State University of 

 Iowa, will conduct an expedition to the South 

 Seas some time next year. The primary object 

 will be the collection of fish, but it is hoped 

 that many birds and small mammals may also 

 lie taken. Several months will l)e spent visit- 

 ing various islands including the Marc^uesas, 

 Soeietj', Friendly, Samoan and Fiji groups. 

 Stops may also be made in New Zealand and 

 Japan. Other members of the party will 

 include Mr. E. W. Brown, of Des Moines, who 

 is financing the trip, and his wife and son, 

 Robert Brown. The latter is at present study- 

 ing under Professor Dill. Mrs. Brown, who 

 has had considerable experience in fish paint- 

 ing, will serve as artist on this trip and make 

 sketches of the different species as they apjaear 

 in life. A former expedition in 1920 with the 

 same personnel was made to the Hawaiian 

 islands and as a result many species of fish 

 were added to the university collection. The 

 fish will be shipped back to the United States 

 in large tanks which are now being constructed. 

 A new preserving fluid discovered by Pro- 

 fessor Dill was found to be satisfactory on 

 the Hawaiian expedition and will be used again 

 on this trip. It retains the natural coloring of 

 the dead fish to a large extent, which is an 

 important factor in the collection of many of 

 the highly colored tropical species. 



