OCTOBEK 12, 18S3.] 



SCIENCE. 



517 



— Mr. Charles F. Parker, tlie curator in charge of 

 the Academy of natural sciences of Philadelpliia, 

 died Sept. 7, after an illness of several months. Mr. 

 Parker became a member of the academy in 1865, 

 and was elected a curator in IST.'i. Shortly after- 

 ward he was appointed by the council curator in 

 charge,— a position which he filled with singular effi- 

 ciency until last March, when he was compelled to 

 avail himself of leave of absence, granted by the 

 council in the hope that he would soon be able to 

 return. Mr. Parker h<id paid special attentinn to the 

 botany of New .Jersey; and, both in the completeness 

 of his herb.irium and the accuracy of his knowledge 

 of it, he h.ad few. if any, equals. Even before his 

 connection with the academy, he was well known 

 to the leading botanists of America, and his collec- 

 tion was freiiuently referred to by specialists for 

 illustrative material. The many students who have 

 visited the academy during his term of office will 

 remember the alacrity with which he rendered them 

 assistance in their investigations. Although he may 

 be succeeded by one having a more general knowl- 

 edge of natural history in its several departments, 

 or a more profound knowledge of a specialty, the 

 academy will probably not be able to secure the ser- 

 vices of any one jjer.son able and willing to perform 

 the same work so economically and efficiently. 



— We copy from the daily press the following tele- 

 gram from Lieut. Ray, commanding the Point-Barrow 

 expedition, concerning whose safety there were rea- 

 sonable grounds for anxiety : — 



"San Francisco, Oct. 7, 1883. — I report my safe 

 arrival here to-day with party. Also brought down 

 Lieut. Sehwatka and party from St. Michaels. 

 All work accomplished as ordered by chief signal- 

 officer. Pendulimi observation not made. Leo 

 reached Ooglaamie Aug. 22: was driven away by ice 

 the same night; returned on the 24th; again driven 

 away and damaged on the 2.5th; returned on the 27th, 

 when party and stores were embarked ; sailed on the 

 29th, vessel leaking b.adly; put into Unalaska, where 

 she was beached and repaired." 



— A large and exceptionally fine collection of fossil 

 plants from the Fort-Union group (Laramie) is now 

 on its way to Washington, collected in the valley of 

 the Yellowstone River, within thirty miles of Glen- 

 dive, Montana, by Mr. Lester F. Ward, assisted by 

 Mr. Richard Foster. Mention has already been made 

 (Science, i. 550) of a small but interesting collection 

 from this locality, which was partially elaborated last 

 spring. The same stations were revisited and thor- 

 oughly worked. The expedition was very sticcessful, 

 and the collection is one of the largest and best ever 

 made in the country. Fifty-seven boxes of fossils, 

 aggregating nearly four tons in gross weight, were 

 obtained. The material was carefully assorted, and 

 scarcely any but cabinet specimens were taken. In 

 the very large number of genera and species repre- 

 sented, there can scarcely fail to be some new to 

 science. The localities examined embrace several dis- 

 tinct horizons within the group, each possessing a 

 special fades. Nearly all the old forms described by 

 Dr. Newberry appear in abundance, — Popidus, Pla- 



tanus, Vibiu'uum, Rhamnites.Tilla, etc., — but varied 

 by additional species; while such new genera as Tra- 

 pa, Rhamnus, Ilex, Kleodendron, Asarum. Ficus, etc., 

 are present, often in great profusion, and beautifully 

 Iircscrved. Special pains were taken to secure as large 

 and complete a representation as possible of those 

 forms whose affinities are less obvioits or wholly un- 

 known. Mr. Ward intends to commence work on this 

 collection as soon as it arrives. 



— The l.'Uh of August, 1883, was the hundredth 

 anniversary of the successful attempt of the brothers 

 Montgolfier to cause their hot-air balloon to rise. 

 On that day a monument commemorative of the 



cvint was unveiled at Annonay, where the >rontgol- 

 fiers lived and worked, .Joseph, the older, is repre- 

 sented as holding the balloon, while his younger 

 brother, Ktienne, fills it with heated air by means of a 

 lilibted torch. For the three days the streets of An- 

 nonay were filled with the crowds gathered to honor 

 the memory of the great inventors. In the addresses 

 stress was laid upon the aids wliich tJie use of the 

 balloon may be to the sciences, especially meteorol- 

 ogy, and in military operations. Joseph Montgolfier 

 was born at Vidalon-les-Annonay, Aug. 26, 1740. and 

 Etienne at the same place, the 7th of January, 1745, 

 The younger brother died Aug. 2, 1799, at Serrifere; 

 and Joseph, after a stroke of paralysis in 1809, died 

 at Balaruc-les-Bains on the 26th of June, 1810. 

 — A notable event of the present season's field- 



