Februaey 20, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



281 



men, on March 11-12, 1914, to fill vacancies 

 as they may ocur in these positions in the U. 

 S. Geological Survey, at salaries ranging from 

 $60 a month when actually employed to $1,500 

 a year. 



Competitive examinations for the position 

 of sanitary supervisor. New York State De- 

 partment of Health, will be held in various 

 cities throughout the state, on March 7, 1914. 

 Open to men and women. Application blanks 

 must be filed in the office of the civil service 

 commission on or before March 2, 1914. The 

 following conditions are prescribed for candi- 

 dates : (1) They shall be physicians. (2) They 

 shall when appointed be not less than twenty- 

 eight nor more than sixty years of age. (3) 

 They shall either (a) have served as a health 

 officer of a city, town or village having a 

 population of not less than 3,000 persons, for 

 a period of at least four years; or (&) shall 

 have received instruction approved by the 

 Public Health Council, or a duly authorized 

 committee thereof, in sanitary science, includ- 

 ing five hours' instruction per week during the 

 school year, in an educational institution, and 

 shall have had at least two years' experience 

 in public health work; or (c) shall have re- 

 ceived a degree, certificate or diploma in pub- 

 lic health granted after the completion of a 

 course approved by the Public Health Council, 

 in an educational institution, and at least one 

 year's practical experience in public health 

 work; or (d) shall have submitted proof satis- 

 factory to the Public Health Council, or a 

 duly authorized committee thereof, that they 

 have actually engaged in some form of public 

 health work for a period of at least two years. 

 (4) They shall not be allowed to engage in 

 the regular practise of medicine or in any 

 other regular occupation or business ; but they 

 shall be at liberty to retain or accept other 

 positions in public health work, such as local 

 health officer, teaching public health and re- 

 lated subjects, or other kindred lines of work. 

 The State Department of Health, however, 

 retains the right to determine at any time 

 whether the extent of such other work inter- 

 feres with the proper performance of his 

 duties as sanitary supervisor. The State De- 



partment of Health has fixed the salaries of 

 sanitary supervisors at $4,000 per annum, each 

 sanitary supervisor being required out of this 

 sum to incur all expenditures for traveling 

 expenses which may be necessary to enable 

 him to efficiently perform his duties in all 

 parts of his district. 



A CONFERENCE will assemble in Rome on 

 February 24 and subsequent days to consider 

 the question of an international convention 

 for the control of plant diseases and the regu- 

 lation of the importation of plants. It is 

 described as a phytopathological conference, 

 and is to be held at the International Insti- 

 tute of Agriculture. About fifteen countries 

 are expected to be represented. Invitations 

 were issued by the French government rather 

 more than a year ago to a conference of this 

 kind in connection with the general assembly 

 of the International Agricultural Institute. 

 In view, however, of the small number of 

 acceptances received in time to arrange the 

 meeting, the conference was postponed for a 

 year. 



The Vienna correspondent of the Journal 

 of the American Medical Association reports 

 that by the bequest of $300,000 under the will 

 of the late Professor Leegen, a former mem- 

 ber of the Vienna medical faculty, the Acad- 

 emy of Sciences of Vienna has obtained means 

 to erect a special institute for physiology. The 

 idea is to devote the institute to scientific re- 

 search solely; no beginners will be admitted, 

 and the men working there will be appointed 

 as whole-time officers, who may not devote 

 their time to any other office — as teachers in 

 universities or hospitals. Furthermore, the 

 academy has obtained also the Vienna Bio- 

 logic Institute, together with a handsome sum 

 to keep it going, from its founders and present 

 owners. From this institute emanated the bio- 

 logical discoveries by Drs. Kammerer and 

 Pribram and now, in connection with the 

 above-mentioned " Leegen institute," experi- 

 mental physiology on a large scale, for purely 

 scientific purposes, will be possible in Vienna, 

 apart from the research going on in the uni- 

 versity laboratories. 



