JUNE 21, 1901.] 
THE U. S. Biological Survey, Department of 
Agriculture, has sent an expedition to Atha- 
basea and Great Slave Lakes. The chief ob- 
ject is the collection of information and speci- 
mens illustrating the geographic distribution of 
mammals, birds, trees and shrubs in the region. 
The expedition is in charge of Edward A. 
Preble. Last year Mr. Preble was sent to 
Hudson Bay on a similar mission. 
REUTER’S correspondent in Berlin, telegraph- 
ing on June 1, says: The evening papers state 
that the international negotiations which have 
been proceeding with reference to the inter- 
national protection of birds have now been 
concluded, and that the imperial chancellor has 
forwarded the draft of the international con- 
vention on this subject to the federal council 
with a recommendation that Germany should 
subscribe to it. 
THE Chamber of Commerce of Cambridge- 
shire, has unanimously passed a resolution de- 
claring that it is desirable for the British gov- 
ernment to establish an official seed-testing 
station. 
THe Antarctic exploring vessel Discovery 
left Dundee for London on June 8. A succes- 
sor to Professor Gregory as leader of the 
scientific staff has not, we understand, yet 
been appointed. 
THE Rockefeller Institute for Medical Re- 
search was incorporated in New York State on 
June 13. The directors for the first year, as 
we have already stated, are: William H. 
Welch, of Baltimore, T. Mitchell Prudden, 
C. A. Herter, L. Emmett Holt, and Hermann 
W. Biggs, of New York; Simon Flexner, of 
Philadelphia, and Theobald Smith, of Boston. 
A COMMISSION, consisting of Sir T. Lauder 
Brunton, Dr. T. Stevenson, Mr. A. G. Salamon, 
Dr. A. P. Luff, Dr. Samuel Buckley and Mr. 
Fletcher Moulton, K.C., M.P., appointed by 
the Manchester Brewer’s Central Association 
to investigate the causes of the beer poisoning 
that has recently occurred in Great Britain has 
made its report. The Commissionerssay: ‘‘ It 
is clear that the most frequent source of arsen- 
ical contamination in beer is the use of malt 
which has been kiln-dried or malted with im- 
proper fuel containing arsenic. At the same 
SCIENCE. 
999 
time the experience of the late outbreak has 
shown that precautions must be taken against 
the presence of arsenic in brewing sugars and 
other materials (except, perhaps, malt adjuncts) 
on account of the serious consequences of any 
carelessness in manufacture which might intro- 
duce arsenic. Accordingly, we have considered 
what steps should in future be taken by brewers 
to protect themselves from any repetition of 
the recent disasters. We recommend that 
brewers should make it a rule to require a 
written guarantee of freedom from arsenic with 
all purchases of brewing materials of every 
kind. In addition to this we recommend that 
brewers should from time to time test the purity 
of their beer in respect of arsenic. The fact 
that yeast has a special affinity for arsenic af- 
fords an excellent method of demonstrating the 
purity of the materials used. If the yeast be 
tested for arsenic, it will readily show whether 
the wort is contaminated, for it will be many 
times richer in arsenic than the wort itself. It 
thus forms an excellent indicator of the pres- 
ence of arsenic. In addition to frequent test- 
ing of the yeast, it would be advisable for the 
brewers to take control tests from time to time 
of their brewing sugars, finings and other ma- 
terials.’”’ 
UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 
THE bills in the Michigan Legislature to re- 
duce the quarter-mill tax levied for the benefit 
of the university have been defeated. The 
annual income from this tax is now approxi- 
mately $275,000, an increase over last year of 
$50,000. 
THE alumni of the Massachusetts Institute 
of Technology have subscribed $100,000 for a 
gymnasium, to be erected as a memorial to the 
late President Walker. Over 15,000 former 
and present students have sent subscriptions. 
CoLUMBIA UNIVERSITY has received an anon- 
ymous gift of $100,000 for the establishment 
of a department for the study of Chinese insti- 
tutions, language and history. 
PRESIDENT PATTON announced at the com- 
mencement exercises of Princeton Univer- 
sity that the authorities of the university had 
received $50,000 for an endowment fund for 
the library and $10,000 to establish a fellow- 
