October 4, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



455 



making), Department of Agriculture, at 

 per annum. The department also desires to 

 secure one or two scientific assistants in ani- 

 mal husbandry who are qualified in the special 

 branch of horse industry. 



The British government has made an addi- 

 tional grant of $2,500 a year to the Liverpool 

 School of Tropical Medicine, making $5,000 a 

 year for five years. 



A Pasteur Institute was opened at the 

 University of Minnesota in August, and has 

 been under the charge of Dr. Orinna Mc- 

 Daniel. Seventeen persons have received 

 treatment for threatened rabies. 



In a note on additions to the Zoological 

 Garden, the London Times states that in point 

 of importance, from a scientific point of view, 

 three young Chinese alligators {Alligator 

 sinensis) undoubtedly head the list. Up to 

 1879 it was generally believed that alligators 

 were confined to the New World, though in 

 1870 Swinhoe established the existence of a 

 saurian in the Yang-tsze-kiang, which he de- 

 scribed as " a young crocodile about 4 feet 

 long." Nine years later, however, M. Fauvel, 

 a French official of the Chinese Customs, pub- 

 lished an account of the animal, which proved 

 to be an alligator, closely allied to the well- 

 known species of the Southeastern United 

 States, known as the Mississippi alligator, 

 from which, however, it differs considerably in 

 its much smaller size. The coloration of the 

 upper parts is greenish black, with yellowish 

 vermiculations, and greyish below. According 

 to M. Fauvel this reptile was the origin of 

 the mythical dragon of the Chinese. In 1880 

 stuffed specimens reached this country; two 

 living examples were received at the Zoological 

 Gardens in 1890, of which one is still alive, 

 and two were exhibited at Franls:fort-on-the- 

 Main in the same year. From that time, how- 

 ever, no living examples appear to have been 

 imported till now. The gayal herd in the 

 eattlesheds has been increased by the birth of a 

 calf, which is of good augury, for before 

 the arrival of the small herd in April last 

 these animals had not been represented in the 

 collection for some time. A young clouded 



leopard (Felis nehulosa) has been received and 

 placed in the small mammals' house. Al- 

 though usually reckoned among the larger 

 cats, the name " tiger," formerly applied to 

 this animal, conveys an erroneous impression, 

 for its size does not exceed that of a small 

 leopard. There is a good deal of variation in 

 the gTound-color of the fur, which ranges in 

 different individuals from greyish to yellowish 

 brown, fading into white on the under-surface. 

 The new arrival belongs to the dark form, 

 and is said to have come from Sumatra. Two 

 rare monkeys have been received and placed in 

 the insect house. One is the red-faced ouakari 

 (Brachyurus ruhicundus), an entirely arboreal 

 species from the region of the Amazon; it is 

 of small size, with a short tail. The fur is 

 reddish-brown in hue, and the face a deep red, 

 as is suggested in the popular name. A red- 

 eared guenon (Cercopiihecus erythrotus) may 

 be readily distinguished by the color of the 

 inside of the ears, and perhaps more readily 

 by the red nose-spot. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS 

 The state legislature has appropriated for 

 the Michigan College of Mines, at Houghton, 

 $75,000 for a library and museum building 

 and $43,000 for a new central heating and 

 power plant. 



Folwell Hall, erected for the University 

 of Minnesota at a cost of $415,000 for the 

 work of the College of Science, Literature 

 and Arts, was opened at the beginning of the 

 present academic year. The new building for 

 the agricultural department, erected at a cost 

 of $250,000, was opened during the summer. 



Mrs. W. G. Farlow has given $1,000 to 

 Radcliffe College, Harvard University, the in- 

 terest of which is to be used for the purchase 

 of scientific and mathematical books for the 

 library. 



The Lowell Institute, in cooperation with 

 Harvard University, will offer during the cur- 

 rent academic year two free courses of lec- 

 tures corresponding closely in subject matter, 

 methods of instruction, examinations and 



