Februabt 14, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



275 



concentrated sea water would be retarded by 

 this salt water. 



Not only are these observations of great 

 interest as bearing upon the health of certain 

 seacoasts, but they have an important bear- 

 ing in possibly explaining the cases of malaria 

 observed upon sailing vessels that have not 

 made port for months, since it indicates the 

 possibility that Anopheles may breed in the 

 bilge-water of such vessels. In such cases it 

 is only necessary that one of the sailors 

 should have gametes in his blood in order to 

 start an epidemic of malaria aboard the 

 vessel. The bad reputation which the coral 

 islands of farther India have is explained by 

 Doctor Vogel's observation!, since so many 

 cases of malaria are observed along the coast 

 during the dry season when all the rivers and 

 fresh-water streams are dried up. 



The proposed destruction of Anopheles by 

 the introduction of sea water seems not to be 

 rational. 



Good tidal ponds exercise a favorable in- 

 fluence upon the malarial death rate, but 

 when these are infected, or even where the 

 water is permitted to form isolated stagnant 

 pools, the mortality from malaria reaches a 

 high figure, as has been observed id Samarang. 

 Villages near the sea, in the middle of tidal 

 pools have had during a period of ten years 

 an average mortality of from 1 to 4 per cent. 

 each year. In villages further away from the 

 sea, where the ponds have been abandoned or 

 neglected and the sea water is, therefore, iso- 

 lated, there is a mortality which varies from 

 8 to 10 per cent, each year. The pools in 

 these regions during the dry season have a 

 proportion of sea salt equal to that of the 

 ocean from which they get their water. In 

 this dry season the death rate is greatest, and 

 this is exclusively due to the sea water ponds. 



The great mortality is surely due to 

 malaria, since almost without exception the 

 cases of pernicious malaria or haemoglobinuria 

 which are treated at Samarang come from 

 the south border of tidal pools. A quarter of 

 Samarang called Zeestrand was inhabited by 

 well-to-do citizens of the city who had good 

 health, although surrounded by pools. Then, 

 on account of the banking up of the coast. 



these pools were left further from the sea, 

 and the inhabitants were forced to quit the 

 quarter because the death rate from malaria 

 reached terrible proportions. The empty 

 houses of this quarter still bear witness to 

 past grandeur. The mortality of the indig- 

 enous population which still remains there 

 has been on the average during the last ten 

 years 9.7 per cent, per year. 



L. O. Howard 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 



Dr. Henry Fairfield Osborn, one of the 

 vice-presidents of the American Museum of 

 Natural History and curator of vertebrate 

 paleontology, has been elected president of the 

 museum to succeed the late Morris K. Jesup. 



The University of Pennsylvania will confer 

 the degree of doctor of laws on Mr. G. K. 

 Gilbert, of the U. S. Geological Survey, on 

 February 22. The annual university day ad- 

 dress will be made by the Hon. Joseph H. 

 Choate. 



Professor Robert Helmert, director of the 

 Goedetic Institute at Potsdam, has been 

 elected a corresponding member of the St. 

 Petersburg Academy of Sciences. 



Lord Avebuey has been elected president 

 of the Royal Microscopical Society, and will 

 deliver an address on seeds, with especial refer- 

 ence to British plants, at the March meeting. 



The Association of American Geographers 

 held its fourth annual meeting at Chicago 

 during convocation week The sessions lasted 

 three days, including one joint session with 

 Section E of the American Association. 

 Forty-four papers were presented, this being 

 the largest number yet offered at any meeting. 

 Since the death of the society's president. Dr.. 

 Angelo Heilprin, the duties of this office have 

 devolved upon the first vice-president. Pro- 

 fessor Ralph S. Tarr. Officers elected for the 

 coming year are G. K. Gilbert, president; R. 

 D. Salisbury, first vice-president; Ellen C. 

 Semple, second vice-president; A. P. Brigham, 

 secretary; N. M. Fenneman, treasurer; E. S. 

 Tarr, member of council. It was all but 

 formally decided to hold the next annual 

 meeting at New Haven. 



