322 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 61. 



terested in selling franchises. Some calcic car- 

 bide has been made at Spray, but that hitherto 

 used, we believe, has been imported from France 

 and Switzerland and the price quoted in Paris 

 is fr. '25 per kg. — in the neighborhood of $200 

 per ton. The cost can probably be reduced to 

 $50-100 per ton, and at this price it is said that 

 acetylene would still be cheaper than ordinary 

 illuminating gas or electric light. 



The j oiut commission of the scientific societies 

 of Washington has adopted a resolution oppos- 

 ing the legislation proposed bj^ Senate bill 1552, 

 entitled ' A bill for the further prevention of 

 cruelty to animals in the District of Columbia;' 

 and urging that in the opinion of the commis- 

 sion the proposed legislation is unnecessary, 

 and would seriously interfere with the advance- 

 ment of biological science in this District of 

 Columbia. 



At the first ordinary meeting of the London 

 Society of Engineers on February 3d, Mr. S. 

 Herbert Cox, the new President, delivered his 

 inaugural address, which was devoted to a re- 

 view of the gold mining industry from an engi- 

 neering point of view, and the developments 

 and improvements in systems of treatment 

 which have been brought about since the dis- 

 coveries of gold in California in 1848. 



The department of physical geology and 

 mineralogy of the University of Kansas expects 

 to publish about the 1st of April the Volume I. 

 of the University Geological Survey of Kansas, 

 which will be devoted almost exclusively to the 

 stratigraphy of the carboniferous area of Kansas. 



The London Times states that the late Mr. 

 Henry Seebohm, who, during his lifetime, was 

 a most liberal benefactor to the natural history 

 branch of the British Museum, has, by his will, 

 left the whole of the ornithological collections 

 in his possession at the time of his decease to 

 the same institution. These have now been 

 transferred from his house in Courtfield Gardens, 

 and are found to consist of more than 16,000 

 bird skins and 235 skeletons. It is, therefore, 

 one of the most important accessions that this 

 department of the Museum has ever received, 

 especially as it is particularly rich in European 

 and north Asiatic species, the representation of 

 which was hitherto not equal to that of other 



parts of the world. It comprises a series of 

 almost every known species of game bird, in- 

 cluding many rare and costly specimens. The 

 collection of thrushes, a group upon which Mr. 

 Seebohm was preparing a monograph at the 

 time of his death, is the finest ever brought 

 together. Of the wading birds, especially the 

 plovers and snipes, Mr. Seebohm had already 

 presented many hundreds of specimens, but the 

 1,140 skins which he retained in his possession 

 until his death comprised the best of his col- 

 lection and formed the material upon which he 

 founded his great work on the geographical 

 distribution of the group. Besides the many 

 types contained in the collection, and large 

 series from localities whence the Museum had 

 not hitherto had the opportunity of obtaining 

 specimens, there are also many historical collec- 

 tions, such as Swinhoe's Chinese birds. Fryer's 

 Japanese birds, Anderson's Indian birds, a 

 nearly perfect set of the birds of Mount Kini 

 Balu in Borneo, and the invaluable series ob- 

 tained by Mr. Seebohm himself in the Pet- 

 chora and Yenisei Valleys. 



The Secretary of the Interior has approved 

 and forwarded to Congress the recommendation 

 of the Commissioner of Education that $45,000 

 be appropriated this year for the purchase of 

 reindeer, to be distributed among the missionary 

 stations and white settlements of Alaska. 



According to the Lancet 199 medical journals 

 are published in Paris, the number having been 

 increased by 22 journals during 1895. 



The editorial staff" of the Journal of Compar- 

 ative Neurology has recently been increased by 

 the addition of Dr. .Oliver S. Strong, of Colum- 

 bia College. Prof. C. L. Herrick is editor-in- 

 chief as hitherto. Business communications 

 should be addressed during 1896 to the manag- 

 ing editor, C. Judson Herrick, at Denison Univer- 

 sity, Granville, Ohio. Editorial communications 

 may be sent to any one of the three editors. 



Garden and Forest states that, on the 5th of 

 February, Mr. Frank H. Nutter read a paper 

 at Taylor's Falls, Minnesota, in which, after 

 discussing in a general way public parks and 

 reservations, with their history and treatment, 

 he gave a preliminary report on the proposed 

 interstate park at the Dalles of the St. Croix, 



