Jdne 22, 1917] 



SCIENCE 



635 



at Biltmore, North Carolina. During the dis- 

 astrous floods of last July the Herbarium was 

 largely inundated, suffering a loss of about 

 three fourths of the botanical specimens and 

 injuries to a considerable portion of the li- 

 brary. The uninjured specimens, chiefly 

 phanerogams, number about 25,000, and will 

 be of great value to the N'ational Herbarium 

 in augmenting its representation of south- 

 eastern plants. The collection contains, also, 

 a large series of Cratmgus specimens, includ- 

 ing the types of many species described by Mr. 

 0. D. Beadle, curator of the herbarium and an 

 authority in this difiicult genus. The library 

 includes complete sets of several important bo- 

 tanical and horticultural publications, as well 

 as many botanical works not hitherto in the 

 National Museum. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 NEWS 



A COMMITTEE of the Massachusetts Medical 

 Society, consisting of Samuel B. Woodward, 

 chairman, Dr. E. H. Bradford, Dr. Edward C. 

 Streeter, Dr. Arthur IST. Broughton, Dr. Peer P. 

 Johnson and Dr. Philemon E. Truesdale, has 

 been appointed to further the establishment of 

 a department of military medicine, surgery 

 and hygiene in the Harvard Medical School. 

 It is proposed to raise an endowment fund of 

 $100,000. 



The financial board of the University of 

 Cambridge has issued a report on the esti- 

 mated income and expenditure for the year 

 1917. Although the common university fund, 

 which is derived from assessments of colleges, 

 is slightly greater than in 1913, the university 

 chest, which is largely derived from capitation 

 fees, examination fees, etc., has fallen from 

 £53,400 to £23,900. The board estimates that 

 the normal expenditure on the university chest 

 will be £36,200, as against an estimated income 

 of £20,400, leaving a deficiency of £15,800. 

 Towards this they are able to provide the sum 

 of £12,700, leaving a deficiency of £3,100. 



The archeological and ethnological collec- 

 tions of the late Dr. J. William White, of Phil- 

 adelphia, have been presented to the Univer- 

 sity Museum by Mrs. White. 



At the University of Virginia Dr. Theodore 

 Hough, acting dean, has been made dean of 

 the medical school; Dr. James A. Wardell, as- 

 sociate professor, has been appointed professor 

 of pharmacology and materia medica, and Dr. 

 John H. Neff, instructor, adjunct professor of 

 genito urinary surgery. 



At Harvard University Earnest A. Hooton 

 has been appointed instructor in anthropology, 

 Clarence E. Kelley and Harlan T. Stetson, in- 

 structors in astronomy, William E. Brown, in- 

 structor in public health administration, Eay- 

 mond E. Merwin, associate in Central Ameri- 

 can archeology, and Willis A. Boughton, 

 assistant director in the chemical laboratory. 



Associate Professor W. M. Carruth, of the 

 department of mathematics at Hamilton Col- 

 lege, has been promoted to a professorship. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE 



AN INSTITUTE FOR THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE 



To THE Editor of Science : Eef erring to the 

 proposal of an institute for the history of sci- 

 ence and civilization, as outlined in a recent 

 issue of Science,! the attention of all interested 

 in this project is invited to the fact that the 

 resources of precisely such an institution as 

 has been proposed are indispensable to the full 

 performance of its duties by the United States 

 Patent Office, and to the fact that the resources 

 of this office, inadequate as they now are, 

 should in turn be at the disposal of the pro- 

 posed institute, for the attainment of its sep- 

 arate purposes. 



The suggestion is accordingly made that to 

 the published list of important possible activi- 

 ties, there might most advantageously be added 

 a sixth — the facilitation of prompt and reliable 

 judgments upon all questions of novelty aris- 

 ing in connection with the administration of 

 the patent laws, thereby aiding in the placing 

 of the administration of such laws upon a se- 

 cure scientific foundation. Surely the attain- 

 ment of this additional purpose would be of 

 sufficient public importance to deserve sepa- 

 rate enumeration, and the furtherance of it 



1 Science, No. 1160, p. 284. 



