June 27, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



1039 



for a man of exceptional ability to become 

 known. Aids are appointed at a salary of $720 

 per year. The next step in the line of pro- 

 motion is to the salary of $900 as aid, and 

 thence to assistant at $1,200, and then upward 

 by steps of $200 each. These statements of 

 salary are misleading unless taken in connec- 

 tion with the fact that necessary traveling ex- 

 penses incurred in the line of duty are paid 

 by the government, and that in addition to his 

 salary he is paid an allowance for subsistence 

 to cover the ordinary living expenses while on 

 field duty. During this period the allowance 

 for subsistence is from $1.00 a day for an 

 officer living on shipboard or in camp in quar- 

 ters furnished by the government, to $2.50 a 

 day for a chief of party living at a hotel or 

 other quarters not furnished by the Govern- 

 ment. All appointments to the position of 

 aid are made from a Civil Service examina- 

 tion. 



The Sixth Annual Report of the New York 

 Zoological Society is most creditable to the 

 Society in general and the director in par- 

 ticular. It not only shows very rapid pro- 

 gress in the laying out of the grounds and 

 the erection of new buildings, but progress in 

 the care of animals and in the control of dis- 

 ease among them; this in spite of the loss of 

 several anthropoid apes. The death of these 

 animals was found to be caused by an in- 

 fusorian, Balantidium coli, introduced with 

 the Galapagos tortoises, and harmless to 

 them, while fatal to the large apes. The dis- 

 eases of the animals are discussed at length 

 in the reports of the veterinarian and pathol- 

 ogist, and the statement is made that little 

 loss has been caused by tuberculosis, although 

 this usually causes a large proportion of the 

 deaths among animals in captivity. Mr. Dit- 

 mars gives an interesting account of the giant 

 tortoises from the Galapagos, Mr. Beebe de- 

 scribes the 'Success of the Indoor Flying 

 Cage,' Madison Grant tells of 'The Societ/s 

 Expedition to Alaska,' and Mr.Loring presents 

 some 'Notes on the Destruction of Animal 

 Life in Alaska,' and gives an annotated list 

 of ' Mammals and Birds observed in Southern 

 Alaska in 1901.' The report is well illustra- 



ted and contains articles both of scientific 



value and of interest to the general reader. 



As a result of a series of experiments begun 

 at Clemson College in 1901 and brought to 

 a successful completion in the laboratories of 

 the New York Botanical Garden Dr. Alex. P. 

 Anderson has developed a method by which, 

 with the application of heat to starch grains 

 and to air-dry starch in many forms, the 

 granules or particles are expanded to many 

 times their original dimensions, being frac- 

 tured into innumerable fragments during the 

 process. As a result of this treatment a grain 

 of rice is expanded to eight or more times its 

 original volume, while still retaining its orig- 

 inal form. Other cereals exhibit similar be- 

 havior. The process is applicable to nearly all 

 starchy seeds and starchy substances, greatly 

 increasing their nutritive availability. The 

 products obtained are pleasant to the taste, 

 and the process may be varied to produce a 

 great variety of favors with any given cereal. 

 Furthermore the material prepared in this 

 manner is absolutely sterilized and may be pre- 

 served or stored for long periods. The approval 

 the products have met from food and chemical 

 experts suggests that the process may prove 

 of great economic and commercial value. 



The London Times states that a London 

 auctioneer has sold a collection of birds' eggs, 

 among which was included the final portion 

 of the collection of the late Mr. Philip Crow- 

 ley, and also a collection from the cabinets 

 of Mr. H. Noble. The most important lot in 

 the sale was probably the finest known egg 

 of the extinct moa, from New Zealand, which, 

 however, did not reach the reserve price at 

 £200. The last egg of this bird was oifered 

 at Stevens' about 20 years ago, and this was 

 bought in at 200 guineas; it was returned to 

 New Zealand, but eventually passed into the 

 possession of an English collector at about 

 250 guineas. An egg of the Kpyornis maxi- 

 mus, the largest specimen ever offered, real- 

 ized 38 guineas, and two eggs of the pectoral 

 sandpiper, one from Alaska, £8 18s. 6d. 

 These are the only eggs of this bird ever of- 

 fered for sale in England. Four excep- 

 tionally large eggs of the golden eagle varied 

 from 55s. to 75s. each. 



