582 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 589. 



X + ijw = cos-' (X + ijW) 



where X, W take uniform increments. 



A three-dimensional analogue to conformal 

 transformation was briefly noticed. 



By means of functions of complex quanti- 

 ties an infinite number of solutions of La- 

 place's equation can be obtained, as well as of 

 other analogous partial differential equations. 

 Moreover, each solution obtained by Taylor's 

 theorem yields several other solutions, the 

 number depending upon the nature of the 

 complex used. 



Mr. L. A. Bauer spoke informally of dis- 

 turbances just recognized on the record sheets 

 at Cheltenham (Md.) magnetic observatory, 

 that so far can be explained only as due to 

 electric railroad currents, although the nearest 

 point of such a road is thirteen miles away. 

 He also described the precautions taken to 

 protect the German observatory at Potsdam 

 from trolley currents. 



Charles K. Wead, 



Secretary. 



THE OREGON STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



The following papers have been presented 

 before the Oregon State Academy of Sciences : 



December 16, ' The Development of the 

 Mushrooms and other Fungi' (illustrated), 

 Professor A. E. Sweetser, State University. 



January 20, ' General Motions of the At- 

 mosphere' (illustrated), Mr. Edw. A. Beals, 

 U. S. "Weather Bureau, Portland; 'Animals 

 in Mt. Eainier National Park,' Alden Samp- 

 son, Washington, D. C 



The first annual meeting of the academy 

 occurred on February 17. President Sheldon, 

 in his annual address, spoke on ' The Past and 

 Future Work of the Academy.' Following 

 the reports of the retiring ofiicers, officers were 

 elected for the ensuing year as follows: 



President — Edmund P. Sheldon. 

 First Vice-president — ^A. L. Knisley. 

 Second Vice-president — C. Lombardi. 

 Third Vice-president — E. A. Beals. 

 Recording Secretary' — ^Ernest Barton. 

 Corresponding Secretary — G. E. Coghill. 

 Treasurer — M. W. Gorman. 

 Librarian and Curator — L. L. Hawkins. 



Trustee (for three years) — President Campbell, 

 State University. 



G. E. Coghill, 

 Corresponding Secretary. 



UNIVERSITY op COLORADO SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 



During January and February, 1906, the 

 society held eight meetings. The papers pre- 

 sented were as follows: 



Professor Joseph H. Baie : ' Recapitulation, 

 and its Bearing on the Problems of Life.' 



Professor John B. Ekelet: 'Important Com- 

 pounds of Carbon.' 



Dr. George H. Cattermole: 'Diseases of the 

 Heart and Blood Vessels.' 



Professor Frederic L. Paxson : ' The In- 

 fluence of the West in American History.' 



Mr. G. S. Bodds : ' Microscopic Plant and Ani- 

 mal Life of Ponds and Ditches.' 



Dr. Martin E. Miles : ' Preventive Medicine.' 



Dr. Saul Epsteen : ' The Cost of Life Insur- 

 ance as viewed from a Mathematical Standpoint.' 



Mr. George M. Chadwick : ' The Development 

 of Musical Form.' 



The meetings have been well attended, 

 chiefly by members of the faculty and by 

 citizens of Boulder. The attendance has 

 been from fifty to one hundred. 



Francis Eamaley, 



Secretary. 

 Boulder, Colo., 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



METEORITE SHOWER AT MODOC, KANSAS. 



Investigation lias been made by the vsriter 

 of the meteorite fall which took place at 

 Modoc, Scott County, Kansas, about 9:30 

 P.M., September 2, 1905. Mention of the 

 fall was made in the local paper at the time, 

 and in Science of March 9. The phenomena 

 of the fall were observed by a large number of 

 the inhabitants of Scott and the adjoining 

 counties. The course of the meteorite, as 

 learned by the writer through inquiries in 

 several counties, was nearly due east. The 

 phenomena were a sudden lighting up of the 

 sky by a swiftly moving fireball, ' as big as a 

 washtub,' which quickly exploded with three 

 successive and widening discharges. The ex- 



