548 
able cause of extermination of these people. 
He has spent four summers on the ground. 
A second paper, read by Bruce Fink, was an 
ecologic study of the swamp vegetation of 
northern Minnesota. Marchantia, Sphagnum, 
the conifers, the heaths and the orchids were 
especially considered. No less than thirteen 
species of orchids collected in these swamps 
were exhibited, and it was incidentally stated 
that fourteen species have been collected with- 
in ten miles of the University at Fayette, 
Iowa. 
SCIENCE CLUB OF THE UNIVERSITY OF 
WISCONSIN. 
THE regular monthly meeting of the club 
was held on March Ist, at 7:30 P. M., Presi- 
dent EK. A. Birge presiding. The program of 
the evening consisted of an address by Pro- 
fessor Ira Remsen, of Johns Hopkins Univer- 
sity, on the subject, ‘The Outlook in Chem- 
istry.’ The speaker emphasized the importance 
of the researches of such men as Cavendish, 
Scheele, Priestley, Lavoisier, Berzelius, Liebig 
and Wohler. He characterized the work of 
Lavoisier as revolutionary, and stated that since 
his time such revolutions have not marked the 
progress of chemistry. The advance of chem- 
istry, and of other sciences as well, was spoken 
of as taking place in waves. After the impor- 
tant, fundamental work at the close of the eight- 
eenth and the beginning of the nineteenth cen- 
tury came the activity in organic chemistry, 
while at present a large amount of energy is 
directed to physical chemistry in particular. 
After mentioning some of the triumphs of syn- 
thetic work in organic chemistry, Professor 
Remsen expressed the opinion that a long time 
would still have to elapse before all the various 
products of organic beings could be prepared 
in the laboratory. An audience of about five 
hundred persons listened to the lecture, which 
abounded in food for thought interspersed with 
appropriate anecdotes and witticisms. 
Louis KAHLENBERG, 
THE ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 
Atv the 133d meeting of the Society, on March 
12th, in the Chemical Lecture Room of the 
SCIENCE. , 
[N.S. Von. XIII. No. 327. 
University of North Carolina, the following 
papers were read : 
‘A Marsupial Track in the Triassic,’ Professor Col- 
lier Cobb (by title). 
“A New and True Antidote for Carbolic Acid,’ 
Professor E. V. Howell. 
‘Yellow Fever and Mosquitoes,’ Professor R. H. 
Whitehead. 
‘The World’s Production of Iron and Steel,’ Pro- 
fessor Chas. Baskerville. 
CHAS. BASKERVILLE, 
Secretary. 
DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 
THE DATE OF RAFINESQUE’S DEATH. 
EDITOR OF SCIENCE: In looking over some 
back numbers of ScIENCE quite a year old, I 
have happened upon the interesting letters be- 
tween Rafinesque and Professor Wagner as given 
by Mr. T. L. Montgomery in ScIENCE for March 
23,1900. Idonot know how I came to miss this 
item of so long ago, else this note would have 
been sent you in earlier reply. 
The date of Rafinesque’s death is correctly 
given by me in my ‘Life and Writings of Rafin- 
esque’ as September 18,1840. Iam awareand 
at the time was aware of the date September 18, 
1842, as cited by Mr. Montgomery. I also am 
aware that all the dates he cites from the various 
authorities he names are incorrect and all 
started from the same original error. LEvi- 
dently an overlooked typographical error in the 
original publication was the cause. 
If Mr. Montgomery had looked carefully at 
the certified copy of Rafinesque’s will, which 
forms the end of my volume, he would have 
noted that on November 16, 1840, the signature 
was attested as being that of Rafinesque by two 
persons, James Henry Horn and Sam Hood; 
that on November 28, 1840, James Mease, as 
executor, was duly sworn for that office and 
each of the above facts dated in November, 
1840. Ofcourse it is hardly necessary to say 
that wills are not probated two years before a 
man dies. 
The date 1842 is often found in biographical 
notices of Rafinesque, but all seem to originate 
in the error of the first notice. I have always 
imagined that date to be a typographical error. 
My authority for 1840, as the year, is the will 
