878 
of the University of Minnesota, are in process 
of erection at a cost of about $2,500. The 
British Columbian Parliament has passed a 
grant for the construction of a road between 
the Port Renfrew dock and the Station site on 
the Straits of Juan de Fuca. A party of thirty 
or forty western botanists will leave Minne- 
apolis under the direction of Professor Conway 
MacMillan and will spend the latter part of 
June and the first two or three weeks in July 
in the study of marine vegetation at the new 
seaside station, and of mountain vegetation at 
Banff, Alberta, and Field and Glacier, British 
Columbia, A subordinate party proposes to 
explore some of the little-known mountains of 
northern Vancouver. 
We learn from the Botanical Gazette that the 
valuable herbarium of the late Professor Agardh 
has been secured by the University of Lund. 
Mr. L. CocKAYng, of Tarata, New Zealand, 
has recently presented to the New York Botan- 
ical Garden a large number of seeds of plants 
indigenous to the island, and has also donated 
nearly a hundred fine photographs, showing dis- 
tinctive features of the vegetation of that island 
and also of Chatham Island, which he has ex- 
plored within the last year. 
THE collection of Indian relics and prehistoric 
anthropological specimens collected by Andrew 
E. Douglass has been presented to the American 
Museum of Natural History, New York. It 
contains about 238,000 specimens which were 
selected with great care. 
THE collection of butterflies of the American 
Museum was opened tothe public on May 24th. 
There are about 5,000 specimens, including the 
valuable collection given some time since to the 
Museum by the Rey. E. A. Hoffman. 
THE library and collections of the late Dr. 
Jared P. Kirtland have been placed in the cus- 
tody of Adelbert College by his granddaughter, 
Mrs. Caroline P. Cutter. Dr. Kirtland was a 
pioneer naturalist of the Western Reserve, the 
founder of the Kirtland Academy of Natural 
Science, and a man of wide attainments. His 
library contains about 2,200 volumes and em- 
braces a wide field, including zoology, botany, 
geology, horticulture, travel, exploration, biog- 
raphy and local history. It is particularly rich 
SCIENCE. 
[N. 8. Von. XIII. No. 335. 
in general and descriptive zoology of the mol- 
lusks, insects and fishes. 
Mr. ScHUYLER S. WHEELER presented to the 
Institute of Electrical Engineers, New York 
City, at its meeting on May 21st, the extensive 
and valuable library of electrical works col- 
lected by the late Latimer Clark, of London. 
AT the monthly meeting of the Royal Me- 
teorological Society on May 15th, Mr. W. 
Marriott gave an account of the bequest by the 
late Mr. G. J. Symons to the Society. By his 
will Mr. Symons bequeathed to the Society his 
Cross of the Legion of Honour, the Gold Albert 
medal awarded to him by the Society of Arts, 
the testimonial album presented to him in 1879 
by the Fellows of the Royal Meteorological 
Society, and the sum of £200, as well as such: 
of his books, pamphlets, maps and photographs 
of which there was no copy in the Society’s 
library. Mr. Marriott stated that from Mr. 
Symons’s valuable collection he had selected for 
the society over 5,000 books and pamphlets 
and about 900 photographs. A large number 
of the books were old and rare works, 750 bear- 
ing dates previous to 1800, while eight were as 
early as the 15th century. By this bequest 
the Royal Meteorological Society is said now 
to possess the most complete meteorological 
library in existence. 
Mr. CarneaiE has given £100,000 for branch 
libraries for the city of Glasgow. 
TE current issue of Nature contains the fol- 
lowing further information and comments con- 
cerning the resignation of Professor J. W. Greg- 
ory from the leadership of the scientific staff 
of the antarctic expedition : 
The great majority of scientific men in the country 
were confident that Professor Gregory possessed unique 
qualifications for the post of scientific leader of an ex- 
pedition in which many branches of science required 
study and coordination. Under his direction, and 
with a competent naval head who should have an ab- 
solute veto upon all operations which involved risk 
to ship and crew, great scientific results were assured. 
The opposition of the representatives of the Royal 
Geographical Society, which had obtained most of the 
funds voluntarily subscribed, and of a few scientific 
men belonging to the Navy, rendered it impossible 
that these full powers could be granted ; but a com- 
promise acceptable to Professor Gregory was passed 
