Septembeb 9, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



341 



proportion of the living born to 1,000 inhabit- 

 ants was 32.99, a proportion which is smaller 

 than that of any year previous to 1901. Of 

 those boi'n living, 651,426 were males, 617,973 

 females. The births of male children per 

 1,000 inhabitants diminished 0.32 over the 

 previous year, that of female 0.15. Of all 

 the births, 16,884 were plural, 16,716 being 

 twins, 167 triplets and 1 quadruplet. The 

 number of marriages in 1908 were 311,331, 

 nearly as many in the towns as in the country. 

 There were 693,724 deaths in 1908, an increase 

 of 12,775 over the previous year. The excess 

 of living births over the deaths was 575,675, 

 which, with the exception of 1907 and 1906, is 

 more favorable than in previous years. Of 

 1,000 inhabitants 19.17 male and 17.02 female, 

 or altogether 18.03 persons died, a figure more 

 favorable than in all previous years. The 

 mortality in large cities of over 100,000 inhab- 

 itants remains on the average, 16.51 per 1,000 

 living, below the average of the entire nation 

 (18.03). The highest mortality is shown by 

 the city of Posen (22.24), the lowest by the 

 city of Sehoneberg (11.44). Berlin had a 

 death-rate of 15.42. 



The Uganda Cotton Industry is the sub- 

 ject of a British Colonial Eeport by Sir H. 

 H. Bell, which is summarized in the Geo- 

 graphical Journal. Before 1904, tentative ex- 

 periments in the production of cotton had 

 been made. In 1905-6, Uganda exported 43, 

 and in the next year, 163 tons. Of all varie- 

 ties of cotton seed, none, it was found, suited 

 the soil and climate so well as " American 

 upland," producing as it did a better lint, 

 ripening earlier, opposing a stouter resistance 

 to insect pests and blights, and yielding a 

 quality of cotton superior to that of the orig- 

 inal stock. In consequence, however, of the 

 distribution of many varieties of seed and tha 

 severe competition of buyers, the cotton ex- 

 ported by Uganda depreciated in value from 

 £50,000 in 1907-8 (for 858 tons, 213 unginned) 

 to £41,000 (for 1,150 tons, 640 unginned). To 

 prevent the ruin of an industry of so great 

 promise, the cultivation of cotton was, with 

 the consent and cooperation of the chiefs, sub- 

 jected to stringent governmental control. Two 



large seed farms were established in 1908, one 

 in Buddu, the other in Busoga. Pending the 

 arrival of expert officers, their management 

 was provisionally committed to overseers en- 

 gaged in British East Africa, under superin- 

 tendence of the officer in charge of the Botanic 

 Department. Despite the lack of expert knowl- 

 edge and the decimation by famine of the 

 population of Busoga province in 1908, fair 

 results are being obtained. Thanks to the 

 chiefs' loyal assistance, it is now difficult to 

 find a plant other than of American upland, 

 and the evolution of a hybrid peculiarly 

 adapted to the climatic conditions of the 

 country is deemed probable. The stringent 

 regulations of 1908 have been relaxed, save 

 that the distribution of seed remains for some 

 time longer under government control. In 

 spite of the restrictive regulations, Uganda 

 exported, in 1908-9, 1,150 tons of cotton, 650 

 unginned. Under the head of the Cotton 

 Department and a staff of instructors, " im- 

 mense improvement and extension of the in- 

 dustry is confidently expected." 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS 



AuGUSTANA College, Eook Island, lU., 

 which celebrated its semi-centennial anniver- 

 sary last June, benefits under the will of the 

 late Hon. C. J. A. Ericson, of Boone, la., to 

 the extent of $56,000, which goes to the gen- 

 eral endowment fund of the college. 



The council of Oxford University, at the 

 instance of its chancellor. Lord Curzon, has 

 recommended that Greek shall cease to be a 

 compulsory study. 



Dr. Robert J. Aley, superintendent of pub- 

 lic instruction for Indiana, and for eighteen 

 years professor of mathematics at Indiana 

 University, has been elected president of the 

 University of Maine and will take office De- 

 cember 1. 



Professor James B. Shaw, of James Milli- 

 ken University, and Dr. Arnold Emch, of the 

 Obere Eealschule, at Basel, Switzerland, have 

 been appointed as assistant professors of 

 mathematics at the University of Illinois. 

 Dr. Emch will take up the duties of his new 

 position on February 1, 1911. 



