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SCIENCE 



[N. 8. Vol. XXXVI. No. 932 



appeared a glittering dancing figure, radium, 

 •whose outer robe brilliant with sun-like rays 

 was suddenly cast aside, and gray-gowned 

 helium stood revealed. 



A tri-colored banner, brown, green and yel- 

 low announced the departments of geology, 

 botany and zoology, their motto being " Dauer 

 im Wechsel," and their subject " Evolution in 

 Nature." The " Sacred Goddess, Mother 

 Earth," Flora from Botticelli's "Primavera," 

 attended by algse, fungi, ferns, pines and Catt- 

 leya orchids, symbolized this thought. Men- 

 del, in monk's garb, followed, accompanied by 

 a group of fruit flies (drosophila) with the 

 characteristic red and white eyes, appearing 

 in the ratio of 3:1 in the second generation. 



The entire procession showed marvellous 

 unity of thought as well as artistic blending 

 of color and was pronounced by those who wit- 

 nessed it to have a tangible educational Talue 

 as well as the quality of dreamy beauty char- 

 acteristic of the great pageants of the world. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 

 Dr. Andrew D. White, the first president 

 . of Cornell University, distinguished for his 

 work in education and diplomacy, and for his 

 publications on history and science, celebrated 

 his eightieth birthday on November 7. 



Col. E. E. Markwick, C.B., has been elected 

 president of the British Astronomical Asso- 

 ciation. 



An international conference on time reck- 

 oning was opened at the Paris Observatory on 

 October 15 by M. Guist'hau, minister of edu- 

 cation; and M. Bigourdan, member of the 

 Institute and of the Bureau des Longitudes, 

 was elected president. The conference has 

 been summoned mainly with the object of deal- 

 ing with various practical uses of wireless 

 telegraphy in the synchronization of time 

 signals throughout the world. 



The Council of the Institution of Civil 

 Engineers has made the following further 

 awards for papers read during the session 

 1911-12: A Watt gold medal to Professor W. 

 H. Burr (New York), and the Crampton prize 

 to Professor R. J. Durley (Montreal). The 



following Telford premiums have also been 

 awarded for papers published in the proceed- 

 ings without discussion during the same ses- 

 sion: To Messrs. Paul Seurot (New York), 

 David Anderson, and Harry Cunningham 

 (London), Dr. S. P. Smith (Birmingham), 

 Mr. E. G. Elvers (Richmond), Mr. E. H. 

 Morris (Manchester) and Professor A. H. 

 Gibson (Dundee). The Howard quinquen- 

 nial prize for 1912 has been awarded to Mr. J. 

 H. Darby (Sheffield), in recognition of im- 

 provements introduced by him in iron and 

 steel production, and the Indian premium for 

 1912 to Mr. H. G. Mitchell (Madras). 



Dr. Chester A. Reeds, for four years in- 

 structor in geology at Bryn Mawr College, has 

 been appointed assistant curator in the de- 

 partment of geology and invertebrate paleon- 

 tology of the American Museum of Natural 

 History. 



The government of Siam is planning to con- 

 struct a public system of irrigation and drain- 

 age, and has appointed Mr. William Bradley 

 Freeman, O.E. (Cornell, '05), of Denver, di- 

 rector of the project. 



The British Medical Journal states that 

 considerable progress has recently been made 

 in the organization of the Australian Insti- 

 tute of Tropical Medicine at Townsville, 

 Queensland. Dr. W. NicoU, of the Lister In- 

 stitute, and until recently Ernest Hart 

 scholar of the British Medical Association, 

 has been appointed chief assistant; Dr. 

 Priestley, Beit Memorial scholar, an Aus- 

 tralian graduate who for the last year has been 

 working at the Lister Institute, has been 

 appointed second assistant; and Dr. Young, 

 assistant chemist at the Lister Institute, bio- 

 chemist. 



The University of Pennsylvania museum's 

 yacht, Pennsylvania, is ready for its three- 

 year expedition into the Amazon region. 

 Owing to delay caused by negotiations with 

 the Brazilian government, however, the actual 

 start of the expedition will not be made until 

 late in January. Mr. Algot Lange, head of 

 the expedition, will sail for Rio de Janeiro on 

 December 28. 



