March 21, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



283 



plorat'ions in Eastern Asia. He was brother 

 of Robert V. Anderson, late of the U. S. Geo- 

 logical Survey, now representing the War 

 Trade Board at Stockholm. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 NEWS 



By the will of the late Morton F. Plant, the 

 Connecticut College for AVomen receives a 

 bequest of $250,000. 



Two years ago Professor and Mrs. Herd- 

 man gave to the University of Liverpool, the 

 sum of £10,000 to establish a chair in memory 

 of their son. Lieutenant George A. Herdman, 

 who was killed in action. Nature states that 

 they have now made a further gift of £10,000 

 for the purpose of establishing a chair of 

 oceanography with siiecial reference to fish- 

 eries. The council of the university has ac- 

 cepted this gift with grateful thanks, and has 

 resolved that (1) Professor Herdman be ap- 

 pointed professor of oceanography as from 

 October 1 next; (2) Dr. J. Johnson succeed 

 him on October 1, 1920, and during the twelve 

 months from October 1 next be lecturer on 

 oceanography at the salary derived from the 

 endowment. 



The senate of the University of Cambridge 

 has approved the plan for the establishment of 

 the degree of doctor of philosophy. The syn- 

 dicate dealing with this question recommends 

 that, subject to certain exemptions, candi- 

 dates for the degree, before submitting a dis- 

 sertation, must have pursued a course of re- 

 search for not less than three years, and the 

 senate has determined that of this period one 

 year in the case of a graduate of the uni- 

 versity and two years in the case of other 

 students must be spent in Cambridge. 



Sir Oli'ver Lodge has retired as principal 

 of Birmingham University. 



The resignation of Dr. Harry B. Hutchins, 

 as president of the University of Michigan, 

 which was presented on October 12, 1916, has 

 now been accepted by the regents to take effect 

 on June 30. It is reported that Dr. James 

 Rowland Angell, professor of psychologj* and 

 dean of the department of arts and sciences of 



the University of Chicago, will be asked to 

 accept the presidency. 



Dr. John Johnston, secretary of the Na- 

 tional Research Council in Washington, has 

 been appointed professor of chemistry in the 

 Graduate School of Yale University. Pro- 

 fessor Johnston is a graduate of the Univer- 

 sity of St. Andrews. 



Lieutenant Karl Sax, recently discharged 

 from military service in the coast artillery at 

 Fort .iVmador, Canal Zone, Panama, has been 

 appointed instructor in genetics at the Uni- 

 versity of California. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE 



DESMOGNATHUS FUSCtJS (SIC). 



To THE Editor of Science: Professor 

 U'ilder's letter recalls a proposal made by Mr. 

 Oldfield Thomas and myself, a proposal worth 

 repeating. Zoological nomenclature has many 

 inevitable difBculties to overcome, and it will 

 save time and disputes if there be removed 

 from it the extrinsic burden of trying to con- 

 form with the rules of Greek and Latin gram- 

 mar. Let the convention be established that 

 the name of a genus, whatsoever its deriva- 

 tion, be regarded as masculine when the 

 genus denotes a group of living animals, 

 feminine if it denote a group of living plants, 

 and neuter if it denotes a fossil animal or 

 plant. Let it be agreed that the scientific 

 name of an existing species may be changed 

 to accord with this conventional sex where 

 possible, and that in the making of new 

 names, the accord should be made by the 

 author, corrected b.v the editor or by any sub- 

 sequent writer. This would simplify matters 

 and. in a considerable proportion of instances 

 would give useful information. 



P. Chalmers Mitchell 



ZooLOQiGAL Society of London 



To THE Editor of Science : I have read with 

 interest and some amusement the letter by 

 Mr. H. H. Wilder, on " Desmognathus fuscus 

 [sic]." It seems to me to lend additional 

 support to the suggestion made years ago by 

 my friend, the Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing, that 



