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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 64 



occupied the chair of inorganic geology at the 

 Johns Hopkins University, will be placed in 

 the Williams memorial room of the geological 

 laboratory, which contains the collections made 

 by Prof. Williams. 



Garden and Forest states that the Puget Sound 

 University owns what is called a residence park 

 of some twelve hundred acres southwest of the 

 city of Tacoma, and it is proposed to devote 

 some two hundred acres of this, where the soil 

 is most suitable, to an arboretvim of such trees 

 as will grow in the remarkable climate of that 

 region. The amount of land available is so 

 ample that room can be given for a large collec- 

 tion. Some ten thousand young plants of two 

 hundred and fifty species, native and foreign, 

 already form the nucleus of the proposed tree 

 museum. 



The first two papers of Vol. VIII., of the 

 Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural 

 History are by Mr. Frank M. Chapman, and 

 discuss the changes of plumage in the Dunlin 

 and Sanderling and in the Snowflake. Herr 

 Gatke says that the change of color in the Dun- 

 lin and Sanderling takes place without molt 

 and is due to changes in the feathers themselves, 

 but Mr. Chapman shows that in passing from 

 winter to summer plumage the Dunlin under- 

 goes a complete molt of the body feathers and 

 scapulars, but retains the rectrices and remiges; 

 the change in the Sanderling is also due to 

 molting. In regard to the Snowflake, Mr. 

 Chapman states that they molt once a year, 

 after the breeding season, and that the difference 

 between the dress of September and that of the 

 following sjiring is due to a wearing away of 

 the edges of the feathers by which both their 

 shape and color are changed. 



M. Depbreet, professor at Lyons, has de- 

 scribed before the Paris Academy remains of 

 dinosaurs found in Madagascar twenty-five 

 miles south of Majunga. These seem to show 

 close affinities with the fossils of British India. 



As we have already had occasion to state, 

 the work of a large proportion of the physicists 

 of the world seems to have contributed but lit- 

 tle to the results published by Prof Eontgen, 

 though an exception should be made in the case 

 of the paper presented to the Royal Society by 



Prof. J. J. Thomson. It is perhaps not sur- 

 prising that the daily newspapers should pub- 

 lish all sorts of reports, even seriously explain- 

 ing how at the College of Physicians and Sur- 

 geons, New York, the Eontgen rays are used 

 to reflect anatomical diagrams directly into the 

 brains of students, making, we are informed, 

 much more enduring impressions than the ordi- 

 nary methods of learning anatomical details. 

 It seems, however, unfortunate that Nature 

 should publish from its 'American correspond- 

 ent ' unconfirmed newspaper reports and that 

 the Paris Academy should admit five consecu- 

 tive papers on ' dark light, ' apparently with- 

 out scientific validity. 



It is stated in Electricity that, in connection 

 with the Electrical Exposition to be held in 

 New York during May, arrangements have 

 been made for an interesting historical and loan 

 exhibit, to which it is intended to devote con- 

 siderable space on the main floor. A committee 

 composed of T. Comerford Martin, Dr. Park 

 Benjamin and E. L. Morse has charge of the 

 exhibit. Dr. Benjamin has one of the finest 

 libraries in the world of early books on elec- 

 tricity, and these will be shown in cases ar- 

 ranged chronologically, with explanatory notes, 

 portraits, autographs, etc. Mr. Morse, the son 

 of Prof. S. F. B. Morse, is the possessor of an 

 invaluable collection of telegi-aphic relics, curios, 

 documents, etc., including his father's note 

 books and sketches, all of which will be shown. 

 Mr. Martin, besides owning many objects of in- 

 terest connected with the early days of elec- 

 tricity, has secured from Mr. Tesla, Prof. Elihu 

 Thomson, Mr. Edison, Mr. Edward Weston, 

 Mr. Stieringer and others the loan of early and 

 interesting apparatus. 



At the anniversary meeting of the Geological 

 Society of Loudon, on February 22d, the officers 

 for the ensuing year were elected as follows : 

 President, Henry Hicks ; Vice-Presidents, Prof. 

 T. G. Bonney, Prof. A. H. Green, E. Lydekker 

 and Lieutenant-General C. A. M'Mahon; Secre- 

 taries, J. E. Marr and J. J. H. Teall ; Foreign 

 Secretary, Sir John Evans; Treasurer, W. T. 

 Blanford. The Council were also appointed. The 

 retiring President, Dr. Henry Woodward, de- 

 livered his anniversary address, which dealt 



