Makch 30, 1883.] 



SCIENCE. 



237 



April 2, at the ' openinglofTthe^trout-season, 1883,' 

 when "examples of fish-culture from all the leading 

 iish-culturists and fish-commissioners of the United 

 States will be displayed." The folded card of invita- 

 tion is printed in colors by Armstrong & Co. of 

 Boston, and represents a trout-brook and fishing- 

 paraphernalia on one page, while the opposite repro- 

 duces an admiiable sketch of swimming trout by 

 Beard. The whole is done in admirable taste. 



— The fifth annual meeting of the Sanitary council 

 of the Mississippi valley will be held at Jackson, 

 Miss., April 3. Dr. John H. Eauch, secretary of the 

 Illinois state board of health, is secretary of the 

 executive committee. 



— The finished portion of the new chemical lab- 

 oratory for Phillips academy, Andover, Mass., was 

 first occupied by the class in analytical chemistry 

 March 5. For want of funds, only the east wing has 

 as yet been built. The estimated cost of the whole 

 is 120,000. 



— A despatch from London, dated March 21, states 

 that an eruption of Etna has occurred, accompanied 

 by an earthquake, overthrowing several houses, and 

 causing a panic in the vicinily. A despatch from 

 Catania, two days later, reports eleven fissures in the 

 mountain, and the central opening as active, but adds 

 that there is no discharge of lava. Rome telegrams 

 of the 25th, however, state that the eruption is un- 

 impoitant and apparently subsiding. 



— We are glad to aid in calling attention to the 

 Association for the preservation of the scenery of 

 Niagara Falls, formed in New York with the support 

 of Messrs. G. W. Curtis, H. Potter, Ch. Lanier, J. H. 

 Eobb, and many others, for the purpose of securing 

 state assistance in rescuing the neighborhood of the 

 falls from unsightly surroundings. Through the ef- 

 forts of this association, a bill has just passed the 

 New-York Assembly, authorizing the appointment of 

 commissioners to survey the lands about Niagara, 

 and report to the next legislature. The bill has still to 

 pass the senate, and receive the governor's approval. 

 Membership in the association may be obtained by 

 a subscription of ten dollars; and smaller contribu- 

 tions will be acceptable, as a considerable expense 

 is incurred in keeping the mattei' before the public. 

 The secretary is Rev. J. B. Harrison, P.O. box 10.5, 

 New York; treasurer, Ch. Lanier, Esq., corner Nas- 

 sau and Cedar Streets, New York. Dr. V. Y. Bow- 

 ditch, 113 Boylston Street, Boston, will forward sub- 

 scriptions from New England. 



— The treasurer of the Balfour memorial fund ac- 

 knowledges the following subscriptions : Joseph Le- 

 Conte, University of California, $5; J. G. Scott, 

 principal State normal school, Westfield, Mass., $5; 

 Samuel Garman, Harvard University, $3; Walter 

 Faxon, Harvard University, $5; A. H. Tuttle, State 

 University, Columbus, O., ^20; previously acknowl- 

 edged, S385. 



^- Two correspondents of the Scientific American, 

 March 17, give accounts of curious snowballs formed 

 by the wind blowing over the surface of loose snow. 

 The snow was formed Into cylinders, with conical 

 cavities at each end, nearly meeting in the centre, 

 resembling rolls of cotton-batting. The fields are 

 described as covered with rolls from the size of an egg 

 up to twenty inches in diameter and forty in length. 



— It is proposed to close the gap at the Delaware 

 Breakwater with a concrete superstructure, resting 

 upon a granite rip-rap foundation. This is necessi- 

 tated by the deterioration of the harbor from a marked 

 decrease in depth. At the meeting of the Philadelphia 

 engineers' club, Feb. 17, Mr. J. M. Stewart described 

 the plans for the improvement. 



— Professor Thomas H. Huxley of London was 

 elected a foreign honorary meiliber of the American 

 academy of arts and sciences at its last meeting, 

 March 14, in place of the late Professor Bischoff; 

 and Dr. Johann F. J. Schmidt of Athens, in the jjlace 

 of the late Professor Plantamour. 



— John Burroughs writes charnn'ngly and truth- 

 fully of 'Signs and seasons,' in the March Century. 



— At the meeting of the Appalachian mountain 

 club, Maich 14, Prof. E. C. Pickering read a paper on 

 mountain observatories, and Mr. A. E. Scott one on 

 the exploration of the Twin Mountain range. 



— The forty-third regular meeting of the Biological 

 society of Washington was held March 16. Mr. Or- 

 ville A. Derby communicated some biological notes 

 from Brazil. Mr. William T. Hornaday spoke on the 

 mental capacity of the elej)hant, and Mr. Newton P. 

 Scudder on the length of the hatching-peiiod of the 

 domestic fowl. Specimens illustrating giant clams 

 of the Pacific were exhibited by Lieut. Francis Win- 

 slow, U.S.N. ; accidents to animals, by Mr. F. A. 

 Lucas ; sections of hermaphroditic oystea-s, by Mr. J. 

 A. Ryder; fossil ship-worms, by Dr. C. A. White; 

 and microscopic sections of supposed coal, by Mr. 

 George P. Merrill. 



— At the meeting of the Boston society of natural 

 history, March 21, Prof. S. P. Sharpies gave an ac- 

 count of a visit to Turk's Island, and Mr. S. Garman 

 made some remarks on fossil horses. 



— The Field naturalists' club of Ottawa held their 

 fifth soiree on Friday, March 16. Mr. W. P. Lett 

 read a paper on the ducks resorting to the neighbor- 

 ing waters, and gave most interesting and valuable 

 descriptions of their habits and food, — the result of 

 many years' experience as a sportsman and observer 

 of nature. Mounted specimens of the various ducks 

 were exhibited. Dr. Small read the report of the 

 botanical branch of the club on the work of the pre- 

 ceding season. It showed that twenty-five species of 

 plants had been added to the lists already published, 

 and gave many interesting facts concerning the occur- 

 rence of these and other rare species. Several ex- 

 quisite paintings of rare plants were made for- the 



