May 5, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



469 



The income from this fund is to be entirely 

 devoted to variable star research, none of it 

 being required for "overhead" or for equip- 

 ment. Through an arrangement with Pro- 

 fessor Pickering's successor, Dr. Harlow 

 Shapley, Harvard College Observatory is to 

 put the second floor of its library building at 

 the disposal of the A. A. V. S. 0. for its offlees, 

 and is to allow the use of one of the domes on 

 the observatory grounds to house the largest 

 telescope owned by the association, that re- 

 cently acquired through the generous gift of 

 Mrs. C. A. Post of BayiDort, L. I. 



Professor Pickering was so well known to 

 members of the A. A. A. S. and to readers of 

 Science that it is felt that many will wish to 

 contribute to such a worthy eanse as the Ed- 

 ward C. Pickering Memorial. Contributions 

 should be sent to Wm. Tyler Oleott, Norwich, 

 Conn., or to Leon Campbell, Harvard College 

 Observatory, Cambridge, Mass. 



S. A. Mitchell 



J. D. MITCHELL 



Me. J. D. Mitchell died at Victoria, Texas, 

 on February 27, 1922. 



Some years ago when the writer was about 

 to go to Texas for the first time, he made the 

 rounds of a number of scientific offices at 

 Washington to obtain such information as he 

 could about the natural history of Texas. 

 Wherever he went, whether to entomologists, 

 ornithologists, ichthyologists or botanists, the 

 same advice was given. That was to go to 

 Victoria and see Mr. J. D. Mitchell. A man 

 whose knowledge had made such a deep im- 

 l^ression upon the leaders in several depart- 

 ments of science must certainly have been in 

 some degree remarkable. 



At Mr. Mitchell's house in Victoria he had 

 large collections of animals of all classes. 

 From day to day the house was visited by 

 ranchmen, doctors, school children and others 

 to ask about various points connected with 

 natural history. Thus, technical men as well 

 as persons from the ordinary walks of life 

 were alike influenced by the learning of the 

 man. 



Mr. Mitchell lived for a good portion of 

 his life on a cattle ranch on the coast of 



Texas. His love of natural history was in- 

 herited from his mother, who had extensive 

 knowledge of the plants of Texas and their 

 practical uses. Later he moved to Victoria 

 where circumstances gave him an opportunity 

 to devote most of his time to work on nat- 

 ural history. In 1904 he became connected 

 with the Bureau of Entomology and made 

 important contributions to several of the 

 larger southern problems like those of the 

 cotton boll weevil and the cattle tick. In 

 fact, his pioneer work on the cattle tick was 

 an important factor in the notable project 

 of eradication which has now permanently 

 removed the pest from more than three fourths 

 of its original range in the United States. 



Mr. Mitchell had no technical training. He 

 was an example of the vanishing type of de- 

 voted naturalists who pursue the subject out 

 of pure love for nature. He never described 

 a new species. Although he collaborated on 

 many publications of the Bureau of Ento- 

 mology, he published only one paper, dealing 

 with the poisonous snakes of Texas. Never- 

 theless, it is fitting that this note about, his 

 career should be published in this journal. 

 He was a fountain of accurate information 

 for technical men and was a modest, patient 

 and painstaking imparter of knowledge. His 

 life showed the enjoyment which comes from 

 the contact with nature and was thus an in- 

 spiration to others. 



W. D. Hunter 

 Houston, Texas 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 

 ANNUAL TABLES OF CONSTANTS 



The confederation of French scientific so- 

 cieties has renewed for the year 1922 its con- 

 tribution of 40,000 francs in support of An- 

 nual Tables. The total subscription in France 

 to this project during the year 1921 was 80,000 

 francs. 



At the approaching meeting of the Interna- 

 tional Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry 

 which is to be held at Lyons in June, the mat- 

 ter of organizing the work of Annual Tables 

 upon a solid fiiiancial basis will come up for 

 consideration. This important international 

 project has had a very precarious existence 



