540 SCIENCE. 
by the Jesuit Father Alonso Barcena about the 
year 1600, and at present belongs to the library 
of General B. Mitre. The Toba is a dialect of 
the Mocobi:Abipon family of languages, the 
people having received the name Toba from an 
artificial enlargement of the forehead, On this 
account they are also called Caras and Frentones. 
The grammar of this rather vocalic idiom is 
followed by Barcena’s Spanish-Toba vocabulary, 
revised in 1888, with the aid of an Indian called 
Lopez; the words are accented, but the or- 
thography is rather old-fashioned. The same 
vocabulary is reproduced again with the Toba 
word first, followed by the Spanish and the 
English signification. The volume forms part 
of the ‘Linguistic Library of the Museum of La 
Plata,’ which institution is built close to the 
city of Buenos Aires; the museum has placed 
Lafone at the head of its archeological and 
linguistic department. 
ALBERT 8. GATSCHET. 
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. 
SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 
THe New York Academy of Sciences opened 
its sessions on October 2d. The Academy meets 
in four sections: astronomy and physics, bi- 
ology, geology and mineralogy, and anthro- 
pology and psychclogy, which meet, respec- 
tively, on successive Monday evenings each 
month until the end of May. In addition to 
these regular sessions there are five public lec- 
tures ; a presidential address, this year by Pro- 
fessor Henry F. Osborn, on February 26th; a 
lecture on psychology on October 30th ; one on 
biology on January 29th; one on geology on 
March 30th, and one on astronomy and physics 
on April 30th. Men of science visiting New 
York are invited to attend the meetings which 
are held in the rooms of the American Society 
of Mechanical Engineers, 12 West 31st Street. 
THEmonument erected in memory of Johannes 
Miller, was unveiled at Coblentz on October 7th. 
ON October 15th a statue of M. F. Tisserand 
will be unveiled at Nuits-Saint-Georges. 
A sTATUE of John Ericsson, the engineer, 
who designed the Monitor, has been unveiled 
at Gothenburg, Sweden. 
Sir JoHn LUBBOCK, Bart, has been appointed 
[N. S. Von. X. No. 25u. 
a delegate from the London Chamber of Com- 
merce to the International Commercial Con- 
gress now meeting in Philadelphia. 
WE have already referred to the decision of 
the corporation of the City of Glasgow to ap- 
point a bacteriologist in connection with the 
Health Department of the City, who would 
work in conjunction with the medical officer of 
health and the medical officers of the fever 
hospitals. The British Medical Journal states 
that there has been considerable competition 
for this post, and the appointment has just been 
given to Dr. R. M. Buchanan, a graduate of 
Glasgow University, who was formerly assis- 
tant to the professor of pathology in the Uni- 
versity, and more recently professor of medical 
jurisprudence and public health in Anderson’s 
College. Dr. Buchanan will devote his whole 
time to his new duties, and will have a suitable 
laboratory at his disposal in the Sanitary 
Chambers. 
Dr. ARTHUR WILLEY has been appointed 
lecturer on biology in Guy’s Hospital. 
WE learn from the Educational Times that 
Mr. -R. P. Paranjpye, the Indian Senior Wran- 
gler, has been awarded a special scholarship of 
£200 by the Secretary of State, partly as a 
recognition of his remarkable and distinguished 
success, and partly to enable him to take the 
M. A. degree. 
Ir is announced that the date of the opening 
of the New York Zoological Gardens is fixed 
for October 25th. At the present time, there 
have been completed the reptile house, bear 
dens, flying-cage, prairie dogs’ village, aquatic 
rodents’ lake, beaver pool, duck pond, mam- 
mal house, burrowing rodents’ dens, wolf den, 
fox den, and buffalo range. 
Nature states that the application of the 
Jenner Institute of Preventive Medicine for per- 
mission to alter the memorandum of association 
so as to enable the Institute to avail itself of 
Lord Iveagh’s gift of 250,000/. was granted by 
Mr. Justice Cozens Hardy on September 13th. 
THERE will be a Civil Service examination in 
the State of New York, for which applications 
must be filed not later than October 30th, for 
an examiner in the commission, requiring a 
knowledge of steam, electrical and mechanical 
—— 
te ail it at 
