May 1, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



667 



The oxalic acid is couveited witli more or less 

 rapidity into carbonic acid, which escapes, and 

 at the end of the experiment the degree of 

 acidity of the solution indicates the amount of 

 the oxalic acid which has been decomposed, or 

 ' burnt,' to use M. Duclaux's term. The results 

 showed, as was to be expected, that with au 

 overcast sky the chemical action of the sun's 

 rays was much less than on a fine day, but be- 

 yond this they were far from concordant. With 

 a dappled sky or with light cumulus clouds the 

 solar combustion might be more active than 

 with a blue sky or with a slight amount of 

 cirrus. In a word, the apparent fineness of the 

 body is not in any way related to its chemical 

 activity and its hygienic power. On the whole, 

 however, the action was greater in August than 

 in September. This is in accordance with the 

 experience of every photographer. As account- 

 ing partly for the discrepancies found between 

 succeeding days both equally fine, M. Duclaux 

 states that all essential oils and the odors sent 

 forth into the air by vegetation diminish the 

 actinic power of the radiations which reacli the 

 surface of the soil. 



The fourth International Congress of Crimi- 

 nal Anthropology will be held at Geneva, 

 August 25-29, 1896. Application for member- 

 ship should be sent to M. Maurice Bedot, 

 Mus6e d'histoire uaturelle, Geneva, Switzer- 

 land. 



Theke has been established in Amsterdam, 

 under the editorship of Dr. F. H. A. Peypers, 

 a journal devoted to the history and geography 

 of medicine. 



The Rebman Publishing Co., London, has in 

 press a serial entitled Archives of Clinical Ski- 

 agraphy, edited by Dr. Sidney Rowland. The 

 first plate will be the osseous system of a child, 

 and five further plates, showing obscure injuries 

 to the knee, etc. , will be included in the first 

 part. 



The British Medical Journal states that Dr. 

 Edward Frankland has been asked to preside 

 over the Toronto meeting of the British Associ- 

 ation. It was at one time thought that the 

 ofiice would be accepted by the Prince of Wales, 

 but he has decided that he would be unable to 

 go to Canada next year. 



The Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau states 

 that the Academy of Science at Munich has 

 awarded the Liebig gold medal to Prof. Friedr. 

 Stohmann, of Leipzig, and the silver medals to 

 Prof. B. Tollens, of Gottingen, and Dr. P. So- 

 rauer, of Berlin. Prof. Tollens has also received 

 an award of 1,000 Marks for his research on 

 carbohydrates. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 



Mrs. Lydia Bradley, of Peoria, 111., has 

 made known her intention of giving $1,000,000 

 for a polytechnic institute in Peoria. 



A Boston citizen whose name is withheld 

 has given $100,000 to establish a chair of com- 

 parative pathology in the medical school of 

 Harvard University. 



Mrs. J. S. T. Stranahan, of Brooklyn, has 

 given $5,000 to the building fund of Barnard 

 College. 



The Catholic University will build a dormi- 

 tory costing about $60,000 and accommodating 

 about 50 students. It will be ready for use next 

 October. There are at present no dormitories 

 belonging to the universities. The University 

 has received $5,000 by the will of the Rev. 

 Father Dougherty, of Honesdale, Pa. 



It is expected that Mayor Strong will ap- 

 prove the bill authorizing the Board of Estimate 

 and Apportionment to give the College of the 

 City of New York $175,000 a year instead of 

 $150,000, the amount it has received for several 

 years. 



Of the twenty-four fellowships annually 

 awarded by Columbia University, the following 

 appointments have been made in the sciences 

 coming immediately within the scope of this 

 journal: C. J. Keyser, mathematics; J. G. C. 

 Cottier, mechanics; F. Schlesinger, astronomy; F. 

 L. Tufts, physics; H. C. Sherman, chemistry; D. 

 H. Newland, geology; P. A. Rydberg, botany; H. 

 E. Crampton, Jr., and J. H. MacGregor, 

 zoology; S. I. Franz and L. B. McWhood, psy- 

 chology. 



At Bryn Mawr College Miss F. Cook has been 

 appointed fellow in mathematics; Miss F. Low- 

 water, in physics, and Miss C. Fairbanks, in 



