826 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 595. 



to Russian Hill. Mr. John Galen Howard in- 

 vited me to take refuge in his home [at Berkeley], 

 and I was glad to accept. 



All my pictures and books are gone and many 

 treasures that I prized highly; but I regret noth- 

 ing for I am rich in friends and things seem of 

 small account. I have since moved the academy 

 things back to Russian Hill, as it was saved by 

 the great effort of the few people who live there. 

 My only regret is that I left for Berkeley Thurs- 

 day evening instead of staying to help them, but 

 I never dreamed it was possible to save it. It is 

 an experience I am not sorry to have had if it 

 could have been without the terrible loss. There 

 is not a reference library left in San Francisco. 

 I am afraid that in the rush of rebuilding the 

 city such essential, but apparently immaterial, 

 things will be neglected. 



I am beginning already to recollect and intend 

 to go to type localities as much as possible. I 

 expect the academy will be able to give me but 

 little aid for the present, but have a tiny income 

 of my own and can get along, I feel sure. The 

 botanical department of the academy has a fund 

 of $5,000 of its very own. The academy is not 

 ruined and still has resources, though most of its 

 income is cut off. 



The academy contained among other valu- 

 able collections one of the best natural history 

 libraries in the United States, a rich herbar- 

 ium, and a superb collection of western water 

 birds. In the bird collection was the finest 

 and largest series of the waterfowl of the 

 Pacific Coast extant, and the quality of the 

 material and completeness of the series were 

 unrivaled in the museums of this continent 

 and, no doubt, in the world. Practically all 

 of this accumulation of years was destroyed. 

 At first it was feared by its friends that the 

 academy might be irreparably ruined by the 

 destruction of its building and contents, but 

 fortunately this proves not to be the case. 

 Now, although the academy still has some 

 property with which to begin anew, it faces 

 a serious problem in the absolute lack of a ref- 

 erence library. Here is an opportunity for 

 every one interested directly or indirectly in 

 scientific work to show in a practical way 

 their sympathy for the loss science has sus- 

 tained on the Pacific Coast, and their apprecia- 

 tion of the admirable courage with which 



those connected with the academy are facing 

 the situation. 



If scientific societies, authors and other 

 friends of science throughout America and 

 abroad will each contribute according to their 

 ability such sets or parts of sets of proceedings, 

 books, pamphlets and authors' separates as 

 will be of use in a general scientific library, 

 the aggregate will be a tremendous help toward 

 placing the academy once more on a working 

 basis. In addition to books, contributions of 

 specimens in various branches, especially in 

 biology, will be extremely helpful. Small 

 packages of books or specimens can be sent 

 direct by mail. To help in this work the 

 Smithsonian Institution, Washington, offers 

 to receive all contributions of books or speci- 

 mens for the academy and to forward them at 

 its own expense. Packages from Eastern 

 America should be addressed to the Smithson- 

 ian and plainly marked ' Por California Acad- 

 emy of Sciences.' Packages from abroad 

 should be marked ' Smithsonian Institution, 

 Washington, D. C, U. S. A., care U. S. Col- 

 lector of Customs, New York City. (For 

 California Academy of Sciences.)' 



The publications of the U. S. National Mu- 

 seum and the' Smithsonian Institution need 

 not be sent as they will be supplied direct 

 from these institutions. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 



At the recent International Medical Con- 

 gress at Lisbon, the Moscow prize was awarded 

 to M. Laveran and the Paris prize to Pro- 

 fessor Ehrlich. 



The International Congress of Applied 

 Chemistry at Rome resolved that the seventh 

 congress shall be held in London, with Sir 

 William Eamsay as the president and Sir 

 Henry Roscoe as honorary president. 



The sixteenth International Medical Con- 

 gress will be held at Buda Pesth in 1909, 

 under the presidency of Professor C. Miiller. 

 It is likely that the following congress will be 

 held in New York City. 



Dr. Prancis P. Ejnnicutt, of New York, 

 has been elected president of the Association 

 of American Physicians. 



