AUGUST 18, 1899. ] 
U. 5. Department of Agriculture; Mr. T. E. 
Savage will probably complete his studies of 
the mosses and Hepatic of the State; Mr. P. 
C. Myers will complete a photographic record 
of the diatoms of Iowa, recent and fossil, and 
Professor T. H. Macbride will probably spend 
the summer in the Grand Cajfion of the Colo- 
rado, studying the forest problems there for re- 
port to the United States Department of Agri- 
culture, and incidentally collecting the fungi of 
the region. 
THE Societa Bibliogratica Italiana has unani- 
mously adopted a resolution declaring that the 
project of the Committee of the Royal Society 
of London on an International Catalogue of 
Scientific Literature is impracticable viewed 
from the financial standpoint and is open to 
grave objections from the bibliographic stand- 
point. The Society has petitioned the Italian 
government, in view of the new international 
conference, which is to decide definitely, to add 
to its official representative technically compe- 
tent persons who would be in a position to point 
out the practical and technical difficulties of 
the present project. 
Dr. LEO ARONS, privatdocent for physics 
in the University of Berlin, against whom a 
complaint was lodged by the Ministry for be- 
longing to the Social Democratic party, has 
been acquitted by the philosophical faculty of 
the University. 
Mr. BEREND BEssEL Lorck, of London, has 
presented to the Berlin Academy of Sciences a 
large number of letters addressed to his grand- 
father, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel. There are 
in all 2,946 letters addressed to Bessel by 234 
different men of science and artists, including 
the leading contemporary astronomers. The 
Academy already possessed 106 letters ad- 
dressed by Bessel to Struve and now receives 
106 letters addressed by Struve to Bessel. 
WE learn from Natural Science that the Man- 
chester Museum has acquired the Dresser col- 
lection of birds. It contains about 10,000 
specimens and is especially rich in palearctic 
specimens. 
THE British Medical Association commenced 
its annual meeting at Portsmouth, on August 
SCIENCE. 
223 
Ist. The President, Dr. J. Ward Cousins, 
chose as the subject of his opening address 
‘The Century’s Progress in Medicine and Sur- 
gery.’ It was reported by the Treasurer that 
during the year £49,000 had been paid for their 
new premises on the Strand; the revenue for 
the year amounted to £42,924. 
THE Sixth International Agricultural Con- 
gress will be held at Paris from the 1st to the 
8th of July, 1900. The sections will be as fol- 
lows: (1) rural economy (agricultural credit, 
agricultural associations, land surveying, agra- 
rian questions); (2) agricultural education (ex- 
perimental stations, field experiments, etc.); (3) 
agricultural science (application of science to 
agriculture, agricultural improvements); (4) live 
stock ; (5) practical agriculture (industrial crops 
and agricultural industries); (6) special crops of 
the south (silk production, early fruit and vege- 
tables, perfume plants and colonial produc- 
tions); (7) injurious insects and parasites (inter- 
national measures for the protection of useful 
animals). 
A CORRESPONDENT has sent us this proposed 
inscription for the statue of Darwin: ‘‘ Charles 
Darwin, the great naturalist, whose book on 
the ‘Origin of Species’ revolutionized the 
course of human thought. His carefulness in 
investigation was only equalled by his genius, 
and only surpassed by his uprightness of char- 
acter.’’ Itis also suggested that the best in- 
scription would be simply ‘Charles Darwin.’ 
THe Natural History Museum, London, has 
set aside one of the alcoves in the Central Hall 
for the exhibition of specimens recently ac- 
quired. According to Natural Science the fol- 
lowing have been on view: Fish, mollusca and 
other invertebrata, from Lake Tanganyika, col- 
lected by Mr. J. E. 8S. Moore, illustrating the 
marine origin of the fauna and its antique char- 
acter. Fish from the River Congo, described by 
Mr. Boulenger (Annales Mus. Congo), and pre- 
sented by the Secretary of State of the Congo 
Free State. Lepidosiren paradoxa, collected in 
the Paraguayan Chaco by Mr. J. Graham Kerr. 
A collection of rare birds from Patagonia and 
Argentina, presented by Dr. F.P. Moreno, Di- 
rector of the La Plata Museum. A fine collection 
of Hexactinellid sponges from Japan. A male 
