734 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. II. No. 48. 



to research. He, at the invitation of the 

 Ceylon government, investigated the dis- 

 ease which about the year 1880 devastated 

 the coffee plantations of Cejdon. His ac- 

 count of the life-history of Herwilieia vasta- 

 trix, the fungus which immediately caused 

 the disease, while contributing many new 

 morphological and physiological facts, was 

 especially valuable by reason of the scien- 

 tific basis it established by which the 

 method of the treatment of the disease that 

 might be adopted should be founded. In 

 1889 he contributed a paper to the Eoyal 

 Society ' On the tubercles in the roots 

 of leguminous plants, with special ref- 

 erence to the pea and the bean.' In 

 the following year, 1890, he was selected 

 to deliver the Croomian lecture before the 

 Eoyal Society, and selected as his subject 

 ' The Relations between Host and Parasite 

 in certain Epidemic Diseases of Plants.' 

 In 1891 his paper on ' The Ginger-beer 

 Plant and the Organisms composing it, a 

 Contribution to the Study of Fermentation 

 Yeasts and Bacteria,' attracted much at- 

 tention, and was described by Lord Kelvin 

 as a model of experimental biological in- 

 vestigation. In 1892 he contributed an 

 important paper, entitled ' Experiments on 

 the Action of Light on Bacillus Anthracis.' 

 A further paper on the same subject was 

 written by him, and later, in conjunction 

 with Mr. P. F. Frankland, he contributed 

 to the second report of the Water Research 

 Committee of the Royal Society a paper 

 entitled ' The Vitality and Virulence of 

 Bacillus Antracis and its Spores in Potable 

 Water.' In 1893 the Roj'al Society recog- 

 nized his great merit as an investigator by 

 awarding him a Royal medal, and the 

 President of the Society (Lord Kelvin) 

 especially alluded to Prof. Ward's contri- 

 bution on the action of light in arresting 

 the development of and killing bacteria as 

 having brought out striking results, the 

 significance of which, from a sanitary point 



of view, was sufiiciently apparent, and, 

 further, had led to other investigations by 

 Prof. Ward into the wide question of 

 the function of color in the vegetable king- 

 dom. These further investigations were 

 communicated to the Society in 1894 and 

 form a part of the third report of the Water 

 Research Committee. It may be mentioned 

 that the value of the professorship is £700 

 a year, and it is tenable for life, subject to 

 certain regulations as to residence and de- 

 livery of courses of lectures. 



At the meeting of the University Court 

 of Glasgow University, according to The 

 Lancet, a letter was received from Mr. C. W. 

 Mitchell, who quotes from a letter to Sir 

 W. Geddes, written by the late Dr. Mitchell, 

 who said: " Lord Huntlj^, I believe, is en- 

 deavoring to raise a special fund of £20,000, 

 and if £6000 of that amount can be collected 

 soon I would be prepared to contribute an 

 additional £4000 ; further, if his lordship 

 can increase his collection in £10,000 I will 

 increase vaj subscription to £6000, thus 

 making up the required £16,000 without 

 appeal to the Government." " I now beg to 

 confirm this offer," writes Mr. Mitchell, 

 " subject to the consideration that your lord- 

 ship's£6000 is collected by January 1, 1896, 

 and the additional $4000 by May 1st." 



Me. James Wilson, lecturer in agricul- 

 ture at the University College of Wales, has 

 been appointed to a similar lectureship in 

 Glasgow University. 



De. Ostmann, of Konigsberg, has been 

 appointed extraordinary professor of otol- 

 ogy in succession to Professor Barth, who 

 goes to Breslau. 



DISCUSSION AND COBBESPOl^DENCE. 

 EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY IN AMERICA. 



To THE Editor of Science : I think my Jour- 

 nal, where the misunderstood words appeared, 

 and where their context could be seen, should 

 have had a chance to print the well concerted 



