3,58 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVI. No. 400. 



determination of sex whicli did not meet the 

 approval of scieiitific men. It was claimed 

 that it was used for advertising purposes, and 

 he was retired from his chair at the University 

 at the request of the faculty. 



The Civil Service Commission announces 

 an examination on September 15 to fill posi- 

 tions of physiological chemist and chief of the 

 drug laboratory in the Bureau of Chemistry 

 of the Department of Agriculture. The sal- 

 ary of these positions is $2,000. Applicants 

 need not appear at any place for examination, 

 the entire weight being laid on education, 

 training, experience and scientific papers. On 

 October 4 there will be held an examination 

 for the position of chemist in the road-material 

 laboratory of the Bureau of Chemistry at the 

 same salary. Two examinations for positions 

 in the Philippine service are also announced 

 on September 30, one for the position of ex- 

 pert in animal industry with a salary of $2,500, 

 and one for the position of instrument maker 

 in the government laboratory with a salary of 

 $1,200. 



It is stated in Nature that Gilbert White's 

 house at Selbourne is again for sale, and the 

 suggestion is made by Mr. E. A. Martin, mem- 

 ber of the council of the Selbourne Society, 

 that it should be purchased as a permanent 

 memorial of the father of British naturalists. 

 The house, known as The Wakes, is situated 

 in the main street of the village of Selbourne, 

 and is in much the same condition as is was in 

 White's time. The question of the existence 

 of a portrait of Gilbert White is discussed 

 by Hr. E. Holt- White in a letter to the 

 August number of Nature Notes, with the re- 

 sult that there is no good reason to believe 

 that any such picture is known. 



Reuter's Agency reports that the Prince of 

 Monaco has presented a quantity of deep-sea 

 apparatus to Mr. W. S. Bruce for the Scottish 

 Antarctic Expedition, including trawls, nets, 

 water-bottles for obtaining samples of water 

 from great depths for physical examination, 

 thermometers and other similar apparatus. 



We learn from the British Medical Journal 

 that the Pasteur Institute of Warsaw, founded 

 15 years ago, has during that period performed 



some 500,000 antirabie inoculations. Recent- 

 ly an accident occurred of which there had 

 been no previous example. Of 40 persons in- 

 oculated on November 29th, 1901, 22 were at- 

 tacked with illness. Of these 6 were "children, 

 4 of whom died with symptoms resembling 

 those of scarlatina. The other persons pre- 

 sented only local manifestations. The Insti- 

 tute was closed and disinfected, and the per- 

 formance of inoculation was not resumed tin- 

 December 20th, when fresh spinal cords pro^ 

 cured from St. Petersburg and Cracow were 

 employed. Dr. Palmciski, the director of the 

 institute, is investigating - the cause of the 

 outbreak, which is believed to be due to 

 secondary infection, and on completion of the 

 inquiry the results will be made public. 



We learn from the Botanical Gazette that 

 in connection with the Royal Botanical Gar- 

 dens at Peradeniya an experiment station has 

 recently been established for trying on a large 

 scale new products not yet staples. The pur- 

 chased estate contains 550 acres. 



At a meeting held at the Apothecaries' Hall, 

 says the British Medical Journal, it was re- 

 solved to call the new society for investigating 

 drugs and their uses the 'Therapeutical So- 

 ciety,' and to include treatment . by natural 

 forces and by surgical appliances as well as by 

 drugs in the subjects to be discussed. 



An International Congress on the care of 

 the insane is to be held at Antwerp this year 

 from September 1 to 7. The Belgian Minis- 

 ter of Justice is the honorary president of the 

 congress, and the acting-president is Dr. Pe- 

 ters, of Gheel. 



The newspapers report that news has been 

 received of the Nordenskjold Antarctic ex- 

 pedition. The vessel is imprisoned in the 

 ice, according to these advices, and prepara- 

 tions have begun to proceed in dog sledges. 

 The health of the members of the party was 

 excellent. 



News has been received at Yokohama that 

 the small island of Tori Shima, between the 

 Bonin Islands and Hondo, the main island of 

 Japan, was overwhelmed by a volcanic erup-. 

 tion between the 13th and 15th of the month. 



