July 4, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



39 



— (1) Action of mineral waters on the tis- 

 sues; (2) practical methods of microbiological 

 analysis applicable to mineral waters ; (3) im.- 

 portance of complete chemical analysis of 

 mineral waters with reference to mineral and 

 organic matters to enlig'hten thermal medi- 

 cine; (4) legal measures for protecting the 

 exploitation of thermal and mineral waters ; 

 (5) hydromineral treatment of pulmonary con- 

 sumption, (6) of skin diseases, and (7) of 

 stomach complaints; (8) preventive action 

 with children with constitutional tendencies. 

 Climatology. — (9) Variation of respiratory ex- 

 changes as influenced by altitude, heat and 

 cold; (10) meteorological conditions necessary 

 to the installation of a sanatorium; (11) open 

 or closed sanatoriums. Geology. — (12) Wheth- 

 er mineral waters intercei^ted by artificial 

 means suffer variations of temperature accord- 

 ing to the seasons; what variations; (13) re- 

 lations of the principal thernial springs of 

 Dauphiny with the geological nature of the 

 soil; origin; (14) statistics regarding the min- 

 eral springs of Savoy and DauiDhiny; (15) 

 geological conditions and origin of the min- 

 eral waters of Oriol and La Motte (Isere). 



The Secretary of State will invite foreign 

 governments to send delegates to the Interna- 

 tional Mining Congress, which convenes in 

 Butte, September 1. The trunk lines of the 

 United States will join with the Western Pas- 

 senger Association in offering a rate of one 

 fare plus two dollars for round trip to the 

 congress. 



The president and council of the British 

 Institution of Electrical Engineers gave a 

 conversazione at the Natural History Museum, 

 Cromwell-road, on July 1, to meet the mem- 

 bers of the Incorporated Municipal Electrical 

 Association and the foreign delegates to the 

 International Tramways and Light Railways 

 Congress. 



A DEPUTATION from the British Institution 

 of Electrical Engineers waited upon Mr. Ger- 

 ald Balfour at the Board of Trade on June 19 

 to urge that something should be done to re- 

 move the impediments in the way of elec- 

 trical industrial development. Amongst those 

 present were Lord Kelvin, the Earl of Eosse, 



Lord Greenock, Sir Michael Eoster, M.P., Sir 

 Thomas Wrightson, M.P., Professor Perry, 

 Professor Thompson, Lieutenant-Colonel 

 Crompton, C.B., Major-General Webber, C.B., 

 Dr. Spence Watson, and Mr. James Swin- 

 burne (president of the Electrical Engineers). 

 Lord Kelvin introduced the deputation, and 

 Mr. James Swinburne stated the case of the 

 Institution. He was of the opinion that the 

 staff of the Board of Trade which dealt with 

 the regulations for the supply of electricity 

 ought to be strengthened, and nothing less 

 than a royal commission was required to deal 

 •svith the whole question of electrical legisla- 

 tion. In his reply Mr. Gerald Balfour said 

 that he fully recognized the importance of the 

 subject and to a large extent sympathized with 

 the deputation. He was afraid that it was 

 undeniable that the electrical industi-y in 

 England was behind America and Germany, 

 and perhaps some other of the continental 

 countries. It appeared that tlie really im- 

 portant question was not so much that of any 

 impediments thrown directly by the legisla- 

 ture in the way of the development of the 

 electrical industry, as the power which the 

 legislature had given to the local authorities 

 to veto schemes. He then reviewed the at- 

 tempts that had been, and were being made, 

 to remedy the condition of affairs and stated 

 that the board was as anxious as the deputation 

 to secure that the public interests should be 

 properly served by the development of the 

 electrical industry. With regard to the ap- 

 pointment of a royal commission he could not 

 pledge himself, but he must consult his col- 

 leagues in the cabinet. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 



The corner stone for the new educational 

 institution for which Mr. James Milliken gave 

 $200,000 and an endowment of $20,000 a year 

 has been laid at Decatur, 111. Citizens of De- 

 catur and the Cumberland Presbyterian 

 Church added $300,000 to the endowment. It 

 is to be knovra as Milliken University. 



President Habris, of Amherst College, has 

 announced a gift to the library of $25,000 by 



