October 4, 1889.] 



SCIENCE 



235 



as the seas broke over no more ; and the captain is of the opinion 

 that the vessel was saved from further damage. During the 9th 

 the vessel was hove to to a drag. 



— The Natural Science Association of Staten Island was organ- 

 ized Nov. 12, 1S81, with a membership of fourteen, and during the 

 first two years of its existence no records were published. It was 

 thought better to first ascertain, by actual experience, whether the 

 association was reasonably sure of becoming a permanent institu- 

 tion. At the end of this period the steady growth which it showed 

 both in membership and contributions, and the encouraging recog- 

 nition which was received from all directions, seemed to justify the 

 experiment. Accordingly the publication of the " Proceedings " 

 was begun. These have since been issued, without interruption 

 up to the present time, partly in the form of records of the regular 

 meetings of the association, and partly as " extras " or " specials," 

 which latter were published at such times as were found to be 

 most convenient. It was decided at the beginning to print only 

 such material as was of strictly local interest, in the firm conviction 

 that the chief value of the " Proceedings " would be to serve as 

 authentic records of facts in regard to the natural history and 

 antiquities of the island. If such records had been kept during the 

 past fifty years, many items of value and interest would have been 

 preserved, which are now either lost entirely or else amount to 

 mere uncertain tradition. Even within the past five years the 

 rapid growth of the community has obliterated many of the most 

 interesting natural objects, and these " Proceedings " are now the 

 only definite records that they ever existed, and contain the only 

 published authentic facts in connection with them. 



— A congress composed of planters, exporters, and persons in- 

 terested in the sugar-production of Java, has been held at Sama- 

 rang. The object of this congress was mainly to discuss the cause 

 and cure of the nematode attacks on the cane-roots, there called 

 the " sereh " disease, which is now spreading most rapidly and 

 disastrously through the cane-fields of western and central Java, 

 having been first discovered on the island only three years ago in 

 plantations near Cheribon, a seaport town on the north coast 125 

 miles to the eastward from Batavia. The congress subscribed a 

 fund of $90,000 for the purpose of engaging a bacteriologist from 

 Europe to visit the island, investigate the disease, and propose its 

 remedy. The nematodes reduce not only the quantity of the 

 .sugar- crop, but its quality as well, and the subject is therefore of 

 the utmost importance in cane-growing regions. 



— The second report of the Chinese prize-essay scheme, in con- 

 nection with the Chinese Polytechnic Institution and Reading- 

 Rooms, Shanghai, has been printed, and the following particulars 

 are extracted from it : Since the last report, which was pubhshed 

 in 1887, the scheme has been steadily worked, and has now ex- 

 panded into far more extensive proportions. By its means the 

 existence of the Polytechnic Institution has become known far and 

 wide, the co-operation of some of the highest officials in the empire 

 secured, and an interest in Western ideas has been created in some 

 of the most influential quarters. By the annual expenditure of only 

 a hundred taels or thereabouts, and by working in harmony with 

 the Chinese methods of thought, and time-honored systems of 

 literary competition, a result has been obtained which the use of 

 large sums of money in other ways would have failed to produce. 

 The various other officials who have taken part in this undertaking 

 have generally shown a wonderful insight into the needs of China 

 at the present time ; and although their questions relate, perhaps, 

 more to political economy and commerce than to the severer 

 branches of science, it is still gratifying to see how patriotic they 

 are, and how they regard knowledge from the practical, utilitarian 

 point of view rather than from the theoretical alone. The follow- 

 ing questions are taken from the list of subjects given by the vari- 

 ous high officials : Write a discourse on the naval defences of 

 China. What ought China at the present time to regard as of the 

 foremost importance in her endeavors to improve in wealth and 

 power ? What advantages and disadvantages would China realize 

 by the establishment of railways ? Compare the sciences of China 

 and the West, showing their points of difference and similarity. 

 How can the evils attending the introduction of telegraphs and 

 steamboats in China be removed, and the benefits be rendered per- 



manent ? What is the cause of the present unprofitable state of 

 the trade in tea and silk, and how can the difficulties be remedied .' 

 The calamities of inundations and droughts, how can they be pro- 

 vided against in ordinary times ; and when they happen, how can 

 they be remedied or ameliorated ? 



— The annual meeting of the American Forestry Congress will 

 begin in Philadelphia Oct. 15, and continue four days. The ses- 

 sions are to be held in Horticultural Hall, Broad Street, and Gov. 

 James A. Beaver will preside. A number of interesting papers 

 upon forestry and kindred subjects have been prepared, while, 

 through the liberality of citizens and organizations, courtesies have 

 been promised to those attending the congress which will make the 

 meeting most enjoyable. 



— Recent advices from one of the California agents of the United 

 States Entomological Bureau, Mr. D. W. Coquillett, show that 

 the published statements in the California newspapers of late date, 

 to the effect that the plum curculio has made its appearance in Los 

 Angeles County, are entirely unfounded. Fuller's rose-beetle 

 {Aramig^is fulleri) has been mistaken for Conotrachelus nentiphar. 

 The rose-beetle has been found to be very destructive in that vicin- 

 ity to the leaves of evergreen oaks, camellias, palms ( Washingtonia 

 fiUiferd), Canna indica, and several other plants. 



— At Marseilles, Bordeaux, and Poitiers public exhibitions of 

 hypnotism have been forbidden. The Paris correspondent of the 

 British Medical Jotirnal writes, " The Departmental Council of 

 Public Health advised the rector of the Academy to take this step 

 in the districts under his authority, and he wisely followed the good 

 advice. In Belgium, Geneva, and Mecklenburg-Schwerin they are 

 likewise forbidden. In Paris, unfortunately, unwise doctors can 

 show off their patients, and quacks follow in their steps with un- 

 wholesome imitations." 



— Dr. George M. Sternberg, surgeon in the United States Army, 

 has just returned from a six-months' stay in Cuba, where he has 

 been continuing his researches with reference to yellow-fever. He 

 has brought with him specimens of microbes, with which he will 

 continue his investigations during the winter at the Johns Hopkins 

 University. At the end of this time he hopes to present a general 

 report of his investigations to President Harrison. " My researches," 

 says Dr. Sternberg, " have not led to a positive demonstration of 

 the specific cause of the disease ; but I have isolated a considerable 

 number of pathogenic bacilli, disease-producing germs, from the 

 intestines of yellow-fever cases, and have strong hopes that one or 

 more of these may prove to be the specific germ. I have con- 

 firmed my previous conclusions as to the absence of a specific 

 micro-organism in the blood and tissues of the patients, and have 

 failed to find in any of my cases the germ which Dr. Frere of 

 Brazil has claimed to be the cause of the disease. For this reason 

 I have given my attention entirely to the bacilli of the alimentary 

 canal." 



— " The American Electrical Directory " for 1889, published by 

 the Star Iron Tower Company of Fort Wayne, Ind., possesses many 

 features of interest and value to electricians and to all persons in- 

 terested in electrical matters. In its thousand pages it gives a 

 report of the proceedings of the National Electric-Light Associa- 

 tion meetings in New York and Chicago, 18S8 and 1889 ; lists of 

 the isolated arc and incandescent plants in the United States and 

 Canada ; the Philadelphia schedule for public lighting ; a carefully 

 compiled list of the prices charged for gas in cities and towns 

 having a population of over ten thousand ; and reports of the vari- 

 ous electric light and power companies in the United States, 

 Canada, and Mexico. There are also lists of electric-light and 

 railroad companies and their officers, of electric manufacturing, 

 construction, and supply companies ; rules of the New England 

 Insurance Company, and of the New York Board of Fire Under- 

 writers and Board of Electrical Control ; and many tables and for- 

 mulas of use to electricians. 



— Harold Roorbach will issue shortly a handy volume for the 

 aspiring dramatist in "The Art of Play-Writing." Written by a 

 well-known playwright, it treats on every class of dramatic com- 

 position, and gives withal some hardheaded advice. 



