210 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIX, No. 1261 



Mr H. Burnie, cliairman of the organizing 

 Committee, reported tliat the Eoyal School of 

 Mines Old Students' Association had passed a 

 resolution giving support to the proposal. The 

 chairman then formally moved that the peti- 

 tion be signed and forwarded to the governors 

 of the college. Captain E. G. Lawford, in sec- 

 onding the resolution, declared that the time 

 had come when it was absolutely impossible 

 for the Imperial College to carry on exactly 

 as it was now. The reconstruction of London 

 University had been approved, and would be 

 undertaken very shortly; and in that recon- 

 struction the Imperial College was bound to 

 become involved. This would be disastrous 

 to the college. The Imperial College was now 

 standing on the brink of an upheaval, and un- 

 less a very strong line was taken it was bound 

 to lose its own identity. By absorption, the 

 college would lose control of its own funds — - 

 and of its syllabus, and of its identity as the 

 Imperial College. 



CLASSIFICATION OF LANDS BY THE GEO- 

 LOGICAL SURVEY 



Secretary Lane reports that definite prog- 

 ress was made in the month of January, 1919, 

 in the classification of lands effected by the 

 Geological Survey of the Interior Department. 

 The principal action affecting mineral lands 

 was the restoration of .somewhat more than 

 773,000 acres in ISTorth Dakota. These lands 

 lie in the lignite area wf that state and the 

 government still owns coal in only a rela- 

 tively small proportion of those restored. As 

 to this proportion, the restoration will permit 

 the purchase of these lands or of the coal 

 within them at prices of $10 and $20 per acre. 



A portion of the results of last summer's 

 field work in the examination of the question 

 of irrigability of western lands appears in 

 orders approved during January which desig- 

 nated somewhat more than 1,000,000 acres for 

 entry under the so-called enlarged-homestead 

 act, the principal requirement under this act 

 being that the lands shall be nonirrigable. 

 The areas designated by states appear in the 

 following tabla: 



Idaho 10,840 



Montana 17,876 



Oregon 39,720 



South Dakota 211,331 



Wyoming- 726,131 



Total l7005,898 



Similar progress was manifested during Jan- 

 uary in rendering lands available for entry in 

 tracts of 640 acres each under the stock-rais- 

 ing homestead law. Somewhat more than 940,- 

 000 acres were designated during the month 

 under this act. These lands are distributed 

 as indicated in the table below: 



Acres 



Arizona 47,020 



California 97,332 



Colorado 91,097 



Kansas 17,100 



New Mexico 392,320 



Oklahoma 4,998 



Oregon 57,500 



Wyoming 234,050 



Total ; ^9^1,417 



The total area thus far designated by the 

 secretary for entry under the stockradsing 

 homestead act is now a little more than 13,- 

 500,000 acres. This work has been accom- 

 plished in the slightly more than 19 months 

 since Congress first made provision for the 

 administration of the stock-raising homestead 

 act. After that provision was made, the force 

 for the classifications had to be organized, the 

 principles of classification determined, the 

 lands examined, decisions reached as to their 

 character, and the orders of designation issued. 



CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS 



The United States Civil Service Commis- 

 sion announces open competitive examinations 

 for scientific positions as follows : 



Department of the Interior: Geological 

 Survey: Geologic aid, March 12-13, $90 a 

 month to $1,440 a year; assistant geologist, 

 March 12-13, $1,500 to $1,800 a year. Indian 

 Service: Oil and gas inspector, March 25, 

 $1,500 to $1,800 a year. Public Health Serv- 

 ice; Statistical clerk, March 26, $1,000 to 

 $1,800 a year. Patent Office: Assistant ex- 



