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SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIX. No. 472. 



the incandescent lamp, the friends and asso- 

 ciates of Mr. Thomas A. Edison have taken 

 steps to found a medal which will be entrusted 

 to the American Institute of Electrical Engi- 

 neers. The circular which is being issued by 

 the Edison Medal Asooiation announces that 

 it is the intention that the medals shall be 

 awarded each year to the graduating student 

 who shall present the best thesis on some 

 original subject from the universities and 

 colleges of the United States and Canada 

 which have regular courses in electrical engi- 

 neering. It is proposed that the medal shall 

 be executed by some artist of distinction and 

 that if possible a permanent fund of about 

 $5,000 shall be established for its maintenance. 

 It is proposed to present the medal fund at 

 the anniial dinner of the institiite on February 

 11, which is Mr. Edison's birthday. 



We learn from Nature that the Venetian 

 Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts, offers 

 prizes of 3,000 lire xmder the Querini- 

 Stampagiia foundation for monographs on the 

 following subjects : The lakes of Venetian dis- 

 trict, treated from a physiographic and biolog- 

 ical standpoint; the works of Manuzi as a 

 critic of Greek and Latin literature; the 

 origins of Venetian painting; and advances in 

 the projective geometry of algebraic surfaces 

 of two dimensions in space of n dimensions. 

 Under the Cavalli foundation, a similar prize 

 is offered for an essay on the effects of modern 

 social and economic conditions, etc., on land- 

 lords and farmers, with especial reference to 

 the Venetian provinces. Under the Balbi 

 Valier foundation an award of the same 

 amount is offered for advances in medicine or 

 surgery for the period 1902-3, and under the 

 Minich foundation a prize of 3,000 lire is 

 offered for embryological researches on the de- 

 velopment of the larynx, the trachea and the 

 lungs in vertebrates and birds. 



In his annual message Governor Odell, of 

 New York, writes as follows in regard to the 

 New York State School of Forestry : '.' By 

 Chapter 122 of the Laws of 1898 the State 

 purchased Townships 23 and 26 in the County 

 of Franklin, and Cornell University there- 

 upon took title and undertook practical dem- 

 onstration and instruction in the School of 



Forestry. Its operations had for their object 

 the substitution for so-called worthless timber 

 of valuable growths, but this has resulted in 

 the practical destruction of all trees upon the 

 lands where the experiment was in progress. 

 No compensating benefits seem possible to the 

 present generation. The preservation of the 

 forests is primarily for the protection of the 

 water supply, and this is not possible through 

 the denudation of the lands. Therefore this 

 school failed of its object, as understood by 

 its founders, a failure which was not due, 

 however, to the work of the university, 

 which followed out the letter and spirit of 

 the law. The report of the committee of the 

 assembly at the last session of the legisla- 

 ture, and the knowledge of the disapproval of 

 many of our citizens, led me to veto the item 

 for its support in the appropriation bill of 

 1903. The question, therefore, is before you, 

 and to the legislature we must accordingly 

 look for such action as will properly protect 

 all interests. Cornell University undertook 

 this work at the request of the state, and as 

 such was its agent. In so doing it has made 

 contracts for which it is primarily responsible, 

 but which responsibility as the agent of the 

 commonwealth it should not be called upon 

 to assume. Neither should the school it 

 founded be discontinued, because with the 

 lapse of years a proper understanding of scien- 

 tiiic forestry will become more and more a 

 necessity. This is particularly true of farm 

 forestry, which will form an important part 

 in the future of agriculture within the state. 

 That our people do not desire, however, that 

 public lands shall be denuded is beyond ques- 

 tion. It would seem, therefore, desirable that 

 immediate legislation be had to recover to the 

 istate this property, of which there ai'e about 

 30,000 acres, and for the payment into the 

 treasury of the unexpended portion of the 

 captital fund advanced by the state. Permis- 

 sion should be given to clear up and remove 

 all cut timber and wood by the University, so 

 that the danger of fire may be lessened. The 

 contracts made between Cornell and the Brook- 

 lyn Cooperage Company might be left with 

 the executive for adjustment, and failing in 

 this either to the Coui-t of Claims, if the state 



