238 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVII. No. 684 



Mr. John Macfaelane Gray, the well- 

 known British engineer, died, in Edinburgh 

 on January 14, in his seventy-sixth year. 



There will be civil service examinations on 

 March 4 and 5 as follows : Statistician in the 

 Geological Survey, three vacancies at salaries 

 from $1,200 to $1,800; assistant geologist, 

 qualified in petrology, at $75 a month, a 

 temporary position, but qualifying for promo- 

 tion; aid in the Bureau of Standards, at a 

 salary of $600; executive assistants in the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, at salaries rang- 

 ing from $1,600 to $2,000, there being at 

 present vacancies in connection with tobacco 

 investigation and in the office of the cerealist; 

 and food and drug inspectors, at salaries from 

 $1,000 to $1,800 in the Bureau of Chemistry, 

 Department of Agriculture. 



By the will of the late Morris K. Jesup an 

 endowment fund of $1,000,000 is given to the 

 American Museum of Natural History, of 

 which he had been president since 1882. The 

 provision of the will relating to the museum 

 is as follows: 



I give and bequeath to the American Museum 

 of Natural History in the city of New York $1,- 

 000,000, to constitute a permanent fund, the prin- 

 cipal to be invested and kept invested, and the 

 income to be applied and apportioned to the gen- 

 eral purposes of the museum, other than altera- 

 tions, additions, repairs or erection of buildings, 

 the purchase of land, or the pajmient of salaries, 

 or for labor or for services of any kind ordinarily 

 considered under the item of maintenance. I wish 

 to explain that I have bequeathed this sum of 

 $1,000,000 to the American Museum of Natural 

 History and that I have made for it the other 

 bequests and provisions contained in my will be- 

 cause of the fact that I have been Identified with 

 the museum from its act of incorporation to the 

 present time. I have been its president since 

 1882. Since that time I have devoted a great 

 part of my life, my thoughts, and my attention 

 to its interests. I believe it to be to-day one of 

 the most effective agencies which exist in the city 

 of New York for furnishing education, innocent 

 amusement, and instruction to the people. It can 

 be immensely increased in its usefulness by in- 

 creasing its powers. The city of New York under 

 its contract with the museum is to provide build- 

 ings and to maintain them, but the buildings must 

 be filled with specimens. This means that for this 



purpose the necessary amount must come from 

 individual donors. It is in order that the means 

 for this purpose may be helped, as the museum 

 must grow in additional buildings by the city, 

 that I make for the museum the bequests and 

 provisions contained in my will, relying upon the 

 trustees of the museum to do their share by look- 

 ing after the investment of the funds, the use of 

 its income, and by carefully watching over and 

 wisely planning for the best interests of this great 

 institution. 



The anthropological collections made by 

 Mr. Henry G. Bryant among the Esquimaux, 

 have been presented by him to the University 

 of Pennsylvania. 



Professor Hirschberg has informed the 

 authorities that his will presents his valuable 

 collection of ophthalmologic works to the 

 Berlin Eoyal Library with an endowment of 

 about $4,000, the income of which is to be ap- 

 plied for subscriptions to the current period- 

 icals on ophthalmology and optics. 



In its recent report to the government the 

 Swedish Commission for the Prevention of 

 Tuberculosis recommends the gTadual estab- 

 lishment of 4,600 sanatoria at a total expense 

 of 10,810,000 crowns. It is proposed that 

 the expenses of patients shall be paid by the 

 municipalities. 



A conference of the district engineers of 

 the water resources branch of the United 

 States Geological Survey was held at the office 

 of the Survey in Washington during the week 

 ending January 25. Those present were: W. 

 B. Clapp, of Los Angeles, Cal., in charge of 

 the California district; J. C. Stevens, of Port- 

 land, Ore., whose district includes Oregon and 

 Washington; Eobert Follansbee, of Washing- 

 ton, D. C, in charge of the district covering 

 Montana, North Dakota and a portion of 

 northern Wyoming; W. B. Ereeman, of Den- 

 ver, Colo., supervising work in Colorado, Ne- 

 braska, Oklahoma, New Mexico and southern 

 Wyoming; E. C. LaRue, of Salt Lake City, 

 whose district is Utah, Idaho and Nevada; 

 H. K. Barrows, of Boston, in charge of the 

 New England district and New York; M. E. 

 Hall, of Atlanta, Ga., in charge of the work 

 in the South Atlantic and Gulf States; and 

 J. C. Hoyt, assistant chief hydrographer, who 



