402 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 63. 



makers, Messrs. Repsold, of Hamburg. Great 

 care was given to the reduction of the observa- 

 tions of the meteorological instruments, the pres- 

 sure of the aqueous vapor in the atmosphere 

 being taken into account. The corrections 

 for variation of latitude which have been 

 applied to the obser-^ations were deduced 

 from the series itself, because the author 

 did not want to let his results depend upon 

 the work of others. Perhaps it would have 

 been better to have employed some of the con- 

 temporaneous series of latitude variation ob- 

 servations for the correction of Dr. Bausch- 

 inger's results. They are not completely inde- 

 pendent as they stand, because the constant of 

 aberration was not determined from them. The 

 usual Pulkowa value was used in the reduc- 

 tions. 



Passing over a number of very interesting 

 special investigations of various points, we shall 

 call attention to the two most important results 

 obtained by Dr. Bauschinger. He finds for the 

 refraction constant at 760 mm. pressure, and 0° 

 Centigrade, the value 60"104, indicating a con- 

 siderable reduction of the Besselian constant. 

 That such a reduction of the Besselian constant 

 was needed, had already been shown to be prob- 

 able by other recent investigations. The other 

 important result is a very accurate declination 

 catalogue of 116 principal stars for the epoch 

 1892. Radau's new refraction tables were em- 

 ployed throughout the work. 



The Jablonowski Society, of Leipzig, has 

 published in a book of 280 pages octavo, a trea- 

 tise on the Secular Variations of the Orbits of 

 the Major Planets by Dr. Paul Harzer, Director 

 of the Gotha Observatory. This work has re- 

 ceived the Society's prize. H. J. 



GENERAL. 



The Secretary of the Interior has requested 

 the National Academy of Sciences to report on 

 a forestry policy for the government with spe- 

 cial regard to the following questions : (1) Is 

 it desirable and practicable to preserve from fire, 

 and to maintain permanently as forested lands, 

 the wooded parts of the public domain, for the 

 supply of timber? (2) How far does the in- 

 fluence of forest upon climate, soil and water 

 conditions make a policy of forest conservation 



desirable in those regions where most of the 

 public domain is situated ? (3) What specific 

 legislation is required to remedy the evils now 

 existing? A commission has been appointed 

 by the Academy consisting of the following : 

 Prof. Charles S. Sargent, Chairman; Prof. Alex- 

 ander Agassiz, Gen. Henry L. Abbott, Prof. 

 William H. Brewer, Mr. Arnold Hague and 

 Mr. Giffbrd Pinchot. 



At a meeting of the Board of Managers of 

 the New York Botanical Garden on March 4th 

 .plans were considered for a museum building 

 and sketches for greenhouses were exhibited. 

 The Secretary was instructed to exhibit topo- 

 graphical maps of the garden site at the annual 

 reception of the New York Academy of Sciences, 

 on March 26th. 



The United States Senate has passed the agri- 

 cultural appropriation bill carrying appropria- 

 tions amounting to $3,262,652. 



As previously announced Sir Joseph Lister 

 will preside over the Liverpool meeting of the 

 British Association. The presidents of the sec- 

 tions will be as follows : Mathematics and 

 Physics, Prof. J. J. Thomson; Chemistry, Dr. 

 Ludwig Mond; Geology, Mr. John Edward 

 Marr; Zoology, Prof. B. B. Poulton; Geography, 

 Major Leonard Darwin; Economics, Right Hon. 

 Leonard Courtney; Mechanical Science, Sir 

 Charles Douglas Fox; Anthropology, Mr. Ar- 

 thur Evans; Physiology and Pathology, Dr. 

 Walter Holbrook Gaskell; Botany, Dr. D. H. 

 Scott. 



An Anthropological Club for informal discus- 

 sion was formed in New York on March 4th. 

 Some fifteen stvidents of anthropology met at 

 the house of Dr. Franz Boas and discussed the 

 recent works on children and child psychology 

 by Sully, Baldwin and Chamberlain, the books 

 being reported on by Prof. Giddings, Dr. Far- 

 rand and Dr. Boas, respectively. Meetings will 

 be held monthly, but no formal organization is 

 proposed. 



Arrangements have, however, been made 

 for the more formal recognition of the mental 

 and social sciences by the formation of a sec- 

 tion of the New York Academy of Sciences de- 

 voted to anthropology, psychology and phil- 

 ology. Several members of the Academy were 



