October 19, 1906.] 



SCIENCE. 



509 



Fair. The species are mostly from the Philip- 

 pine Islands, many of them being topotypes 

 from the original lots named by Moellendorf, 

 Hidalgo and Quadras. 



The botanical department of the University 

 of Illinois has purchased the herbarium of 

 George D. McDonald, of Peoria, 111. It con- 

 tains about 12,000 specimens. 



In a letter from the Congo Free State 

 Major P. H, G. Powell-Cotton states that he 

 has succeeded in obtaining the skeleton and 

 skin of a fine male okapi. This animal was 

 killed at Makala, in the Ituri forest, by the 

 native hunter Agukki, who shot the two speci- 

 mens taken to Europe by Dr. David. 



The U. S. Department of Agiiculture has 

 leased from Dr. John Gifford seven and a half 

 acres on Elliott's Key, Dad Co., Florida, for 

 ninety-nine years for the purpose of experi- 

 menting with tropical plants. 



It is stated in Nature that the authorities 

 of the Clifton Zoological Gardens, Bristol, 

 have recently made considerable improvements 

 designed for the increased comfort and dis- 

 play of their collections. Two years ago a 

 new lion house was built, having the cages 

 within communicating with four open-air 

 ones iron-barred on three sides. The animals 

 placed in these cages showed so distinct a 

 preference for the open air, and improved so 

 materially, that the older range of houses has 

 been entirely reconstructed, and was thrown 

 open to the public on Saturday, September 22, 

 for the first time. As now reconstructed, 

 seven open-air cages are placed along the 

 front of the old house, and communicate with 

 the dens within. The cages are lofty, being 

 between ten feet and twelve feet in height, 

 about twelve feet wide, and fourteen feet long. 

 They are supported upon a brickwork base 

 four feet in height, and separated from the 

 public by a stout iron rail, placed three feet 

 away from the cage fronts. It is noteworthy 

 that a Ehesus monkey was formerly kept in 

 an outer cage in the gardens for quite a num- 

 ber of years, winter and summer alike, and 

 fared well even in hard frost and snow. When 

 taken into the monkey house, however, it 

 quickly sickened and died. 



The Electrical World quotes the following 

 figures on the patent office congestion com- 

 piled by Mr. F. W. Barnaclo, of New York 

 City. The office seems sorely in need of more 

 men at better pay, for which the annual profits 

 seem quite adequate. Mr. Barnaclo's investi- 

 gation shows that in January last there were 

 17,363 applications awaiting action in the 39 

 divisions of the patent office. To date there 

 are 24,000 cases on the docket which have not 

 been reached for examination, and tabulations 

 prepared by the attorney show that the office is 

 falling behind from 250 to 300 cases a week. 

 It is shown in the records that the average 

 number of applications filed a week is from 

 800 to 1,200, and there are only about 600 

 patents issued a week. Among divisions be- 

 hind are the following: Hydraulic motors, 

 pumps and sewerage appliances, 11 months and 

 23 days behind and 1,029 cases on hand. Air 

 and gas engines, pumps and pneumatics, 10 

 months behind and 993 cases on hand. Ma- 

 chine tools, 7 months and 19 days behind and 

 675 cases on hand. Elevators, journal boxes, 

 lubricators, machine elements, pulleys and 

 shafting, 4 months and 17 days behind and 

 657 cases on hand. Annealing, tempering and 

 coating in metals, electrochemicals, metal 

 founding, metallurgy, etc., 3 months behind 

 and 375 cases on hand. Electric conductors, 

 electric appliances, lighting, etc., 11 months 

 and 7 days behind and 1,069 cases on hand. 

 Steam engineering, 4 months and 23 days be- 

 hind and 472 cases on hand. Motive power, 

 5 months and 25 days behind and 613 cases on 

 hand. 



At the University of Leeds the inaugural 

 address of the new session was delivered by 

 Sir James Crichton-Browne upon the subject 

 of ' Universities and Medical Education.' In 

 the course of his remarks, as abstracted in 

 Nature, he said that centuries ago gifts were 

 given for the promotion of objects equivalent 

 to those which modern universities hold in 

 view, which, considering the pecuniary re- 

 sources of those who gave them, should put our 

 most open-handed modern millionaires to 

 shame. England has been remiss of late in 

 perceiving and promoting those interests that 



