Mat 10, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



759 



of some nine skeletons and forty skulls and 

 skins of mammals, mostly antelopes, from 

 tropical Africa, presented by Mr. C. B. 0. 

 Storey, M.A., of Clare College. 



The Baltimore Sun is responsible for tbe 

 original announcement that " Sir William 

 Eamsay bad succeeded in accomplishing what 

 no other chemist has ever been able to do — the 

 segregation of one element from another and 

 the production of copper by the synthetic or 

 combination process from the elements sodium, 

 lithium and potassium. A combination of 

 these elements, when treated with radium 

 vapor, gives as a product copper sulphate, 

 which is readily ' broken down ' into copper." 

 This nonsense has been published with head- 

 lines on the first page by leading newspapers 

 throughout the country. The Boston Trans- 

 cript publishes an editorial article indicating 

 that it was a breach of confidence for Presi- 

 dent Eemsen to make known the private com- 

 munication of Sir William Eamsay! 



The department of mammalogy of the 

 American Museum of Natural History has 

 recently acquired by purchase a collection of 

 mammals from China. The series includes 

 106 specimens, mostly of species the size of a 

 hare or larger, of which 43 are from the 

 Island of Hainan and 63 from the interior of 

 China, near the foot of the Taipashiang 

 Mountains. The latter are all new to the 

 collection, and the Hainan specimens do not 

 duplicate the material previously received 

 from that island. 



We learn from Nature that a conference 

 on the teaching of hygiene and temperance in 

 the universities and schools of the British 

 Empire was held in London on April 23. 

 Lord Stratheona presided at the morning 

 session and Sir John Gorst occupied the chair 

 at the afternoon meeting. Sir Victor Hors- 

 ley, r.E.S., in an address on the method of 

 introducing hygiene and temperance into 

 secondary schools and universities, suggested 

 that an essential reform within the Board of 

 Education is that there shall be such advice 

 given to the Minister of Education as will 

 enable him to grasp the principles of scientific 

 education. It is the business of the state to 



see that the code and curriculum of education 

 are arranged on a scientific and common-sense 

 basis, and this will necessarily include the 

 hygiene of common life and instruction in 

 temperance. Sir Victor Horsley contended 

 that we shall not make any headway unless we 

 have expert advice at headquarters. It is 

 clear that the whole system of education re- 

 quires revision from a medico-scientific stand- 

 point. The following resolutions were unani- 

 mously adopted : (1) " That this conference 

 has heard with great satisfaction that instruc- 

 tion in hygiene and temperance is system- 

 atically given in the elementary schools of the 

 colonies of the empire, and that there is 

 strong evidence of the value of this teaching. 

 While cordially acknowledging what has been 

 already accomplished in the United Kingdom 

 by certain educational bodies, this conference 

 urges upon all local authorities the necessity 

 of providing that the teaching of hygiene and 

 temperance shall form an essential part of the 

 whole curriculum of education of all chil- 

 dren." (2) " This conference is of opinion 

 that to meet adequately the responsibilities of 

 the state towards school children, it is essen- 

 tial that a medical department should be in- 

 stituted in the Board of Education." 



Gas has been discovered in ten counties of 

 the one hundred and five in the State of 

 Kansas. Its history and distribution in the 

 Kansas-Indian Territory field are so closely 

 connected with those of oil as to be almost 

 inseparable. About the year 1860 the numer- 

 ous shallow oil wells drilled to depths of a 

 few hundred feet in southeastern Kansas 

 yielded traces of natural gas as well as of oil. 

 Twenty years later, gas in small quantities 

 was found in a number of places near Inde- 

 pendence. The first good gas well in the 

 vicinity of ISTeodesha, which is now a center 

 of production of gas as well as of oil, was 

 drilled in 1893. The present production of 

 gas in the Independence quadrangle is enor- 

 mous. The value of the quantity now an- 

 nually consumed in the quadrangle alone is 

 estimated to be about $800,000. More gas 

 sands than oil sands are encountered in the 

 drilling of individual wells. This oil may be 

 found above the gas or below it. The gas is 



