March 21, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



479 



and vertebrate and invertebrate morphology. 

 The courses of lectures and laboratory instruc- 

 tion open on July 7 and continue for six weeks, 

 but the opportunities of the laboratory are 

 open to investigators from June 15 to Septem- 

 ber 15. Investigators qualified to carry on 

 independent research work are given the facili- 

 ties of the laboratory free of expense, but per- 

 sons desiring this opportunity should apply to 

 the director as early as convenient with state- 

 ment of the time during which table room is 

 desired. A detailed circular may be had on 

 application to the director. Professor Herbert 

 Osborn, Columbus, Ohio. 



A TELEGRAM has been received at the Har- 

 vard College Observatory from Professor 

 Hussey at the Lick Observatory stating that 

 from a recent Crossley photograph Professor 

 Perrine iinds no evidence of polarization in 

 condensations A and D of the nebula sur- 

 rounding Nova Persei. 



Nature states that the Russian Geo- 

 graphical Society has awarded this year its 

 Constantino medal to the geologist, K. I. Bog- 

 danovitch, who has spent several years in the 

 exploration of Central Asia and has contrib- 

 uted one large volume to the beautiful series 

 of quarto volumes edited by the Society and 

 devoted to this part of Asia. The Semenoff 

 medal has been awarded to Professor Eduard 

 Suess for his new classical work, 'Das Antlitz 

 der Erde,' and the Prjevalsky medal to the 

 zoologist. Professor Zarudnyi, the author of 

 several most valuable works on the birds and 

 also the geography of the Transeaspian region, 

 and the author of a work, 'Journey to East 

 Persia,' just published by the Society. The 

 great gold medal of the section of statistics 

 has been awarded to N. V. Slyunin, for his 

 researches into the economical conditions of 

 the irJiabitants of the Okhotsk and Kam- 

 chatka coasts. Three small gold medals have 

 been awarded to Messrs. N. P. Petrovsky, D. 

 K. Zelenin and M. N. Kositch for ethno- 

 graphical works published in the excellent 

 ethnographical periodical of the Society, 

 Zhivaya Starina (Living Antiquities). Pro- 

 fessor Gordyaghin, of Kazan, has been 

 awarded the Prjevalsky silver medal for his 

 botanical work in East Russia, and the Sem- 



enofi silver medal has been awarded to A. K. 

 Bulatovich for his journey to Lake Rudolph. 

 A number of small silver medals have also 

 been awarded, chiefly for meteorological work 

 in connection with the Society's meteorolog- 

 ical committee, or for expeditions. 



Nature learns from the Geylon Observer 

 that Mr. Alexander Agassiz and his party 

 have returned to Colombo, from their explora- 

 tion of the Maldives. About three hundred 

 photographs were taken, principally of coral- 

 reef subjects. The principal work done was 

 the sounding of the channels between the 

 lagoons and the development of the plateau on 

 which the atolls of the Maldives have been 

 formed. The principal atoUs are separated by 

 comparatively shallow water in the central 

 part of the group, while towards the south, 

 between Hadumati and Suvadiva and Addu, 

 the depths are very much greater — nearly a 

 thousand fathoms. A line was run to the 

 westward of Ari Atoll into fifteen hundred 

 fathoms, and one to the southward of South 

 Male into twelve hundred fathoms, showing 

 that the plateau of the Maldives is much 

 steeper on the west than on the east face. 

 Soundings were also taken between the north- 

 ern Maldives and Colombo, and they show that 

 the Maldives are separated from the Indian 

 continental slope by a deep bank of the ocean 

 of more than fifteen hundred fathoms in 

 depth. The atolls of the Maldives are said to 

 exhibit the most simple and primitive condi- 

 tions for the formation of atolls which are 

 found anywhere except in some parts of the 

 Yucatan plateau in the West Indies. Atolls 

 can be found in all stages of growth, from a 

 mere bank rising to a few feet above the plat- 

 eau to banks within five or six fathoms from 

 the surface or to banks which have just 

 reached the surface and on which sandbanks 

 or islets are beginning to form. Mr. Agassiz 

 says that one reason for the success of his 

 expedition is that the charts published more 

 than seventy years ago are as accurate to-day 

 as they were then. The only changes noticed 

 were changes such as the washing away of 

 banks or the formation of banks since the 

 charts were published; but these are changes 

 without any special importance. 



