412 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXI. No. 794 



department of botany of the University of 

 Nebraska and director of the Nebraska State 

 Botanical Survey; Mr. Norman H. Stewart 

 and Miss Lucie Harmon, assistants in zoology 

 in the University of Michigan; Mr. F. A. 

 Loew, professor of science in Central College, 

 Indiana, wiU. act as assistant in botany. The 

 courses of instruction will include : the natural 

 history of invertebrate animals, field studies 

 in vertebrate zoology, zoology for teachers, 

 special work in research in zoology, first course 

 in field and forest botany, mycology, sys- 

 tematic botany of seed plants, advanced work 

 in research in botany. 



A REPORT on the feldspar deposits of the 

 United States, by E. S. Bastin, has just been 

 published by the United States Geological 

 Survey as its Bulletin 420. The feldspars are 

 among the most widely distributed minerals 

 and are constituents of nearly all rocks. The 

 decomposition of feldspar has yielded a large 

 part of the clay of the soil; also the mineral 

 kaolin, an essential material for making fine 

 pottery. Most of the commercially valuable 

 feldspar now mined is obtained from rocks 

 known as pegmatites, the commonest variety 

 of which is essentially a very coarse granite. 

 Feldspar is mined and ground for use mainly 

 by potters, but a portion of the product is 

 used in the manufacture of emery and other 

 abrasive wheels, to bind the abrading particles 

 together, and small quantities are employed 

 in making opalescent glass, scouring soaps, 

 roofing material and poultry grit. Feldspars 

 that are rich in potash are now the subject of 

 experiments made to determine their value as 

 fertilizers. The principal feldspar quarries in 

 the United States are in New England and the 

 middle Atlantic states, and the annual value 

 of the product is now about half a million 

 dollars. Mr. Bastin discusses the chemical 

 and physical character of the feldspars, their 

 geologic occurrence and origin, and the meth- 

 ods of mining and milling, and describes in 

 detail the deposits worked at the numerous 

 quarries. 



The annual report for the year 1909 of the 

 Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, New 

 Zealand, presented to the annual meeting held 



last December, is abstracted in Nature, which 

 states that during the year the publication of 

 the results of the expedition to the sub-Ant- 

 arctic islands of New Zealand was steadily 

 proceeded with under the editorship of Dr. C. 

 Chilton. The reports upon the work will con- 

 sist of two quarto volumes of about 400 pages 

 each, and will be illustrated with numerous 

 plates (some colored), photographs and text- 

 figures; they will be accompanied by a large 

 colored map of the Antarctic and sub-Ant- 

 arctic regions, showing the ocean depths as 

 ascertained by recent expeditions. Work in 

 botany has been carried on by Dr. Cockayne 

 during the past two years. Although a great 

 deal has been done in the way of establishing 

 sanctuaries and national parks in order that 

 the native fauna may be preserved for all 

 time, the importance of placing on record 

 their present ecological condition can hardly 

 be overestimated. It is hoped that at some 

 early date the government may see its way to 

 authorize Dr. Cockayne to proceed further 

 with the botanical survey of the Dominion. 

 Largely owing to the representations of the 

 institute, combined with those of the Otago 

 Institute, the position of the memorial to the 

 late Sir James Hector has been made satisfac- 

 tory. Owing to the action of the government 

 in granting a generous subsidy, ample funds 

 wiU be at the disposal of the committee for 

 establishing a memorial that will be worthy of 

 Sir James Hector's long and distinguished 

 service to the cause of science in New Zealand. 

 Observations in connection with the Arthur's 

 Pass Tunnel were continued throughout the 

 year. Temperature readings have been taken 

 every ten chains and specimens collected. 

 Early last year a committee was formed for 

 the purpose of investigating systematically 

 the artesian system of Christchurch and the 

 neighborhood. The committee has held sev- 

 eral meetings, and has taken preliminary steps 

 for ascertaining the extent, depth and geolog- 

 ical relations of the water-bearing strata, and 

 for the examination of physical, chemical and 

 biological properties of the water obtained 

 from them. Two papers by Dr. Farr and Mr. D. 

 C. H. Florance, on the radium emanation con- 



