486 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVI. No. 6(17 



FoREiGN papers report that an institution 

 for promoting science and scholarsliip has 

 been founded in Eome, with headquarters at 

 the Vatican Observatory under the direction 

 of Father Hagen. The institution is to have 

 offices in the different countries. 



The late Josephine Naprstek has bequeathed 

 80,000 crowns to the Naprstek Bohemian In- 

 dustrial Museum in Prague. The museum, 

 which is to a large extent ethnographical in 

 character, was established by Herr and Frau 

 Naprstek. 



An anonymous gift of $2,500 has been re- 

 ceived for the investigation of cancer at the 

 Harvard Medical School. This will be used 

 under the advice of the Cancer Commission 

 now administering the Caroline Brewer Croft 

 Fund. 



A Bulgarian Museum of Natural. History 

 was opened in Sofia at the beginning of this 

 month. 



We learn from the Journal of the New York 

 Botanical Garden Mr. Oakes Ames, of North 

 Easton, Mass., has presented his valuable col- 

 lection of living orchids to the garden. This 

 collection is the result of many years work. 

 It contains many valuable plants, some of 

 great rarity. 



The International Statistical Institute will 

 hold its twelfth biennial session at Paris in 

 1909. 



On the occasion of the seventy-eighth Con- 

 gress of the German Men of Science and 

 Physicians, held at Dresden from September 

 15 to 21, the city of Dresden appropriated for 

 the meeting 20,000 Marks, 14,000 of which 

 were spent for the entertainment of members. 

 This has aroused objections from the public, 

 and in', the daily as well as the scientific press, 

 the practise of public entertainment on such 

 occasion has been criticized severely. 



The International Congress of " Free 

 Thinl':;ers " was held from September 8 to 12, 

 in Prague. The attendance consisted largely 

 of scientific men and physicians. Honors 

 were paid to the memory of Berthelot, the 

 great chemist, formerly president of the 

 French branch of the society. 



The U. S. Civil Service Commission an- 

 nounces the postponement to November 6-7, 

 1907, of the examination scheduled for Octo- 

 ber 23-24, to fill the position of anatomist 

 (male), at $1,600 per annum, in the Army 

 Medical Museum. The commission further 

 announces an examination on October 23, to 

 £11 vacancies as they may, occur in the posi- 

 tion of laboratory helper, at $600 per annum 

 each, in the Bureau of Chemistry, Department- 

 of Agriculture, at Washington, and in other 

 cities in which the department has estab- 

 lished chemical laboratories. Vacancies in 

 this position are constantly occurring. 

 Chemical laboratory helpers will be re- 

 quired to render assistance in any work that 

 does not require the training of a chemist. 

 Their duties will be the cleaning of apjjaratus, 

 the construction and repairing of apparatus, 

 the care and storage of chemicals and ap- 

 paratus, the preparation of stock solutions and 

 of special reagents, and any other work in 

 which they can save the time of chemists by 

 performing labor that is essentially manual 

 and does not require the training of a chemist, 

 but is of such a nature that it can only be 

 performed by one who has had training 

 and experience in a chemical laboratory. 

 Applicants must indicate in their applica- 

 tions that they have had actual experience as 

 helpers in chemical laboratories. It is not 

 desired that qualified chemists should apply 

 for this examination, as the work will not be 

 of an analytical character. Analysts are ap- 

 pointed from the examination for scientific 

 assistant. Age limit eighteen years or over on 

 the date of the examination. 



Detailed statistics of the world's produc- 

 tion of coal, by countries, are incorporated 

 in an advance chapter from " Mineral Re- 

 sources of the United States, Calendar Year 

 1906," on the production of coal in 1906, by 

 E. W. Parker, chief statistician of the United 

 States Geological Survey, which will soon be 

 ready for distribution. It appears that the 

 world's production of coal in 1906 amounted 

 to about 1,106,478,707 short tons, of which the 

 United States produced 414,157,278 tons. 

 Since 1868, during a period of thirty-nine 



