January 31, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



167 



The building is by far the best constructed, not 

 only of the University buildings, but of all the 

 State buildings. The first floor is finished in 

 hard pine, with two-inch hard maple floor laid 

 in cement. One of the laboratory rooms is 

 provided with three stone piers, extending 

 directly into the ground with tops 20x24 inches. 

 This same room has six windows, each 72x41 

 feet. Double shades, white and black, regulate 

 the light. One hundred and fifteen students are 

 now taking work in psychology in the Univer- 

 sity of Nebraska. 



The will of the late Martin Brimmer, of 

 Boston, to take effect on the death of his wife, 

 bequeaths $50,000 to Harvard University. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 



Ground has been broken for the first of the 

 four buildings of the new biological school of the 

 University of Chicago, which is to be erected 

 with part of the $1,000,000 recently given by 

 Miss Culver. It is proposed to erect special 

 buildings for zoology, botany, anatomy and 

 physiology, instead of one biological building, as 

 planned before the receipt of Miss Culver's gift. 



The College of New Jersey, Princeton, will 

 celebrate the 150th anniversary of its foundation 

 in October next. It is proposed to hold an ac- 

 ademic festival on October 20, 21 and 22, at 

 which time it is said the name of the institution 

 will be altered to Princeton University. An 

 effort will be made to largely increase the en- 

 dowment of the College, the money to be used 

 chiefly in developing the University work. 



Eliza M. Moshee, M. D., of Brookly, N. Y., 

 has been appointed a professor of hygiene in the 

 University of Michigan. 



The Fellows of the Royal College of Sur- 

 geons, London, on January 2, declared them- 

 selves, by a vote of 72 to 10, in favor of admit- 

 ting women to the examinations and diplomas 

 of the College. 



Vassar College has received $8,000 from Miss 

 Helen Gould for the foundation of a scholar- 

 ship. 



The Senate of Toronto University has made a 

 claim against the Province of Ontario, or the 

 Dominion of Canada, for more than $100,000. 



The University of Pennsylvania has received 

 a gift of $5,000 from Mr. Charles M. Swain 

 and $5,000 anonymously, the money to be 

 used without restrictions. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



THE METRIC SYSTEM. 



Editor of Science : I enclose a copy of 

 House Bill No. 2758 in regard to the Metric 

 System. This bill has been introduced l^y Hon. 

 D. Harley, of Brooklyn, N. Y., after consulta- 

 tion with the Secretary of the American Metro- 

 logical Society and ofiicers of the U. S. Govern- 

 ment (Gen. Duflield, Superintendent of U. S. 

 Coast and Geodetic Survey; Professor New- 

 comb, of the Nautical Almanac Ofiiee, and Mr. 

 Tittmann, of the Coast and Geodetic Survey), 

 and others. The Committee on Coinage, 

 Weights and Measures, of the House of Repre- 

 sentatives, has the bill in charge. Hon. C. W. 

 Stone is Chairman of the Committee. 



It is hoped that those interested in the matter 

 will urge on the Committee the great desirable- 

 ness of a favorable report to the House. 



J. K. Rees. 



American Metrologioal Society, 

 Office of Secretary, 



New York, January 24, 1896. 



The bill to fix the standard of weights and 

 measures by the adoption of the metric system 

 of weights and measures is as follows : 



" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- 

 resentatives of the United States of America in Con- 

 gress assembled, That from and after the first day 

 of July, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, all 

 the Departments of the Government of the 

 United States, in transaction of all business re- 

 quiring the use of weight and measurement, 

 shall employ and use only the weights and 

 measures of the metric system, as legalized by 

 Act of Congress approved July twenty-eighth, 

 eighteen hundred and sixty-six. 



" Sec. 2. That from and after the first day of 

 July, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, the 

 metric system of weights and measures shall be 

 the only legal system of weights and measures 

 recognized in the United States. 



" Sec. 3. That the tables in the schedules an- 

 nexed to the bill authorizing the use of the 

 metric system of weights and measures, passed 



