802 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 74. 



of scientific kite-flying on a remarkable 

 scale. Recent ascents have reached alti- 

 tudes but little short of a mile above sea 

 level, and excellent records have been ob- 

 tained by means of a self-recording instru- 

 ment made by Fergusson, of the Blue Hill 

 stafif, which gives automatic readings of 

 temperature, pressure, humidity and wind 

 velocity. Mr. Rotch, the proprietor of the 

 Observatory, has now had constructed for 

 him by Eichard Frcres, of Paris, au alumi- 

 num instrument weighing less than three 

 pounds, which records pressure, tempera- 

 ture and humidity. The meteorological re- 

 sults already obtained are of gi-eat value, 

 and the full discussion of them is awaited 

 with interest. Among the most important 

 matters that have been noted is the pres- 

 ence of cold waves and warm waves at con- 

 siderable elevations some hours before the 

 temperature changes are noted at the earth's 

 surface. The prospect of improving our 

 weather forecasts by such soundings of the 

 free air is very encouraging, and it is more 

 than likely that before long some practical 

 use will be made of these discoveries. 



IlARVAED UNIVEESITY. R. DeC. WAED. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 

 Thk fifth session of the Hopkins Seaside 

 Laboratory, of Stanford University, will open 

 on June 15th. It will continue for six weeks, 

 but investigators may remain in residence 

 throughout the summer. The laboratorj', 

 which includes two buildings well equipped for 

 instruction and research, is located at Pacific 

 Grove, on the Southern shore of Monterey Baj^, 

 about four hours' distant from San Francisco. 

 To investigators prepared to carry on original 

 work the use of the Laboratory and its equip- 

 ment is tendered free of charge, and its location 

 offers unusual advantages to students from the 

 Eastern States wishing to become acquainted 

 with the fauna and flora of the Pacific. The lab- 

 oratory is under the direction of Professor O. 

 P. Jenkins and C. H. Gilbert, with the assistance 

 of other instructors from Stanford University. 



Mr. Griffith, Secretary of the British Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science, is now 

 in America to make arrangements for the meet- 

 ing of the British Association in Toronto in 

 1897. On May 19th he was the guest of Prof 

 Putnam, Permanent Secretary of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science. 

 The two Secretaries passed the morning in dis- 

 cussing various matters relating to their respec- 

 tive Associations. It is the intention of the 

 American Association to arrange the time and 

 place of its meeting next year so that members 

 of the American and British Associations can 

 attend both meetings, and as the British Asso- 

 ciation will probably hold its meeting on August 

 18-25 it is suggested that the American Asso- 

 ciation hold its meeting August 80 to Septem- 

 ber 4. A few Harvard professors, prominent 

 in the Association, met Mr. Griffith at the 

 Colonial Club, and the afternoon was spent in 

 visiting several departments of Harvard Uni- 

 versity. On Wednesday Mr. Griffith visited 

 the Harvard Medical School and other places 

 o interest in Boston, and in the evening he left 

 for Ottawa in order to meet the members of the 

 Roj'al Society of Canada before their adjourn- 

 ment on Friday. From there he goes to 

 Toronto to arrange with the local committee 

 for the meeting of the British Association. 



The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 

 has leased for another term of three years, for 

 the benefit of American students, one of the 

 tables at the Naples Zoological Station. This 

 was done in response to requests from a large 

 number of colleges and universities, and to res- 

 olutions from the principal natural history so- 

 cieties in the country, and a petition signed by 

 over four hundred biologists. During the last 

 three years the following universities and col- 

 leges have been represented ; that is to say, 

 the occupants of the Smithsonian table have 

 been either graduates of those universities or 

 professors in tlieir faculties : 



Clark University, Worcester; University of Chi- 

 cago; Brown University; University of Michigan; 

 Kentucky State College; John Hopkins University; 

 Kansas Agricultural College; Bryu Mawr College; 

 Wesleyan University; Iowa Agricultural College; 

 Leland Stanford Junior University ;' Olivet C liege, 

 Michigan. 



