July 6, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



39 



the Physiological Institute of the University of 

 Heidelberg, at the age of 62 years ; of Dr. Kein- 

 hold Hoppe, docent in mathematics in the Uni- 

 versity of Berlin, aged 84 years, and of M. 

 Bontain the French physicist. 



It is proposed to erect a monument in Simons- 

 town in memory of the late Miss Mary Kings- 

 ley, the African explorer and botanist, who 

 died of fever while engaged in nursing the 

 Boer prisoners. 



The United States Civil Service Commission 

 announces that on July 24, 1900, an examina- 

 tion will be held for the position of assistant 

 ethnologist in the Smithsonian Institution at a 

 salary of $50 a month. The examination will 

 be chiefly on Indian languages and especially 

 on Siouxan languages. 



On August 14th, there will be an examination 

 for the position of assistant. Division of Ento- 

 mology, Department of Agriculture, at a salary 

 of $840 per annum. The examination will be 

 on entomotaxy and especially on the orthop- 

 tera. 



A MEETING of the Anatomical Society of Great 

 Britain and Ireland was held at Owens College 

 Manchester on June 21st and 22d. 



It is stated that there has been a meeting of 

 cardinals and other ecclesiastical dignitaries at 

 the Vatican to discuss the expediency of taking 

 an active part in the movement for the preven- 

 tion of tuberculosis. 



At the Blue Hill Observatory on June 19th a 

 kite used in the exploration of the air was sent 

 to the height of 14,000 feet, which exceeds the 

 greatest height previously obtained there by 

 1440 feet. The temperature at this height was 

 15 degrees below the freezing point, the wind 

 velocity was about 25 miles an hour from the 

 northeast, and the air was extremely dry, al- 

 though clouds floated above and below that 

 level. The kites remained near the highest 

 point from 5 to 8 p. m. They were then reeled 

 in rapidly by a small engine. On the way 

 down they passed through a stratum of thin 

 ragged clouds at the height of IJ miles. These 

 were moving with a velocity of about 30 miles 

 an hour. At this time the wind at the obser- 

 vatory, about 600 feet above the general level of 

 the surrounding counti-y, had fallen to a calm. 



The highest point was reached with 4i miles of 

 music wire as a flying line, supported by 5 

 kites attached to the line at intervals of about 

 three-fourths of a mile. The kites were Har- 

 grave or box kites of the improved form de- 

 vised at the Observatory. They have curved 

 flying surfaces modeled after the wings of a 

 bird. The three kites nearest the top of the 

 line had an area of between 60 and 70 square 

 feet each, and the 2 others about 25 feet each. 

 The total weight lifted into the air, including 

 wire, instruments and kites, was about 130 

 pounds. This flight was one of a series being 

 carried on by Messrs. Clayton, Ferguson and 

 Sweetland. On June 18th the kites reached a 

 height of 11,500 feet. They were sent up a 

 second time the same evening and remained 

 throughout the night at a height of nearly 10,- 

 000 feet. At this height the temperature re- 

 mained from 5 to 10 degrees below freezing. 



The Philadelphia Medical Journal reports that 

 the plague is increasing in Australasia. Many 

 cases are reported in Victoria, which probably 

 started in the slums of Melbourne. In the city 

 of Sydney, 239 cases have been reported, with 

 82 deaths. The extension of the plague to 

 Sydney has caused much disturbance to busi- 

 ness. The number of cases is rapidly increas- 

 ing, in spite of the eflbrts at destruction of rats 

 and disinfection. The government distributes 

 free to all householders a special rat-poison and 

 sends men to remove dead rats. About 8000 

 persons have been inoculated with Haffkine's 

 prophylactic. A few days later two or three of 

 those inoculated were attacked by the disease. 

 Dr. Tidswell, the bacteriologist of the New 

 South Wales Health Department, is said to 

 have found plague-bacilli in the alimentary 

 canal of fleas taken from plague-infected rats. 

 The British Medical Journal reports 100 deaths 

 daily in Calcutta, and the total mortality is 

 double that number. The local government 

 interferes as little as possible with the domestic 

 affairs of the people. No pressure is used to 

 send cases to the hospitals and many remain 

 untenanted. This system has one advantage — 

 that it does not cause a panic and consequent 

 flight of a large portion of the inhabitants, 

 which would result in spreading the disease 

 over the province. On the other hand, no de- 



