August 30, 1895.] 



SCIENCE. 



267 



eight-hour sleep, while his associates made 

 the balloon and the instruments readj'. 

 He carried up a steel cylinder, filled with a 

 thousand liters of oxygen, condensed to 200 

 atmospheres pressure ; this to reinforce his 

 breathing at great heights. Only once was 

 he partly overcome with sleep ; then he 

 roused himself with a loud scolding. He 

 made a full series of observations on the 

 way up and down ; and when nearing the 

 ground this well-trained observer packed 

 up his insti-uments, so that thej' should not 

 be injured in case he alighted violently. 

 (Dr. "W. Koppen, in Annalen der Hydrog- 

 raphie, 1895, May, 179-185.) 



W. M. Davis. 

 Harvard University. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 

 THE HUXLEY MEMORIAL. 



The movement inaugurated in England, 

 in favor of the erection of a suitable me- 

 morial to the late Professor Huxley, bj- 

 Lord Kelvin, Sir John Lubbock, Professor 

 Michael Foster and others, is taking form 

 rapidly. In conference with Lord Kelvin, 

 a suggestion has been made bj^ Dr. Thurs- 

 ton that the monument be made interna- 

 tional, and it is expected that, on the con- 

 vening of the British committee, in Octo- 

 ber, this extension of the plan may be given 

 formal approval and a beginning of the 

 work affected. Every member of the orig- 

 inal provisional committee thus far con- 

 sulted is reported to be favorably disposed, 

 and the American promoter of the plan 

 reports from Belgium an equally favorable 

 inclination on the part of scientific men 

 there; and it is expected that the same dis- 

 position will be manifested in Germany and 

 in France. Meantime, the American sub- 

 scription is already headed by Mr. Carnegie 

 with $500 (and more, possibly, if needed), 

 and is likely to reach a large sum. It is 

 hoped that the American committee will be 

 made up of leading men of science in the 



United States and the contribution be thus 

 made a noteworthy one in other than a 

 purely financial way. Scientific men and 

 others interested in this great movement 

 may, meanwhile, transmit their pledges and 

 subscriptions either to Science or to Dr. 

 Thurston, and they will be promptly en- 

 tered upon the list, as received. The Hux- 

 ley memorial cannot fail of being made 

 worthy of that famous man and of the great 

 nations taking part in its erection. 



THE FRENCH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCE- 

 MENT OF SCIENCE. 



The Association met at Bordeaux on Au- 

 gust 4th, at which place its first meeting 

 was held twenty-three j^ears before. The 

 members were welcomed by the Mayor of 

 Bordeaux, who called attention to the 

 progress made by the city in educational, 

 scientific and philanthropic institutions since 

 the previous meeting of the Association. 

 The number of elementary schools has been 

 tripled, and there have been established 

 faculties of science, letters, law and medi- 

 cine, attended by more than 2,000 students. 

 M. Emile Trelat, the President, chose as 

 the subject of his address. La Salubrite, in 

 which he traced the more important con- 

 tributions of hygiene to science and human 

 welfare. M. Livon, Secretary of the Asso- 

 ciation, gave an account of the pi-eceding 

 meeting at Caen and reported a necrology 

 and the honors which had been conferred 

 during the j'ear on members of the Asso- 

 ciation. The Treasurer, M. Emile Galante, 

 gave an account of the finances of the As- 

 sociation, from which it appears that the 

 receipts for the year were over 86,000 fr. 

 The capital of the Association is now over 

 1,000,000 fr. A large number of grants 

 varying in amount from 200 to 1,500 fr. 

 were made for the advancement of science 

 in va.rious directions. The Association met 

 in four sections : Mathematics, physical 

 and chemical science, natural science and 



