September 16, 1910] 



SCIENCE 



375 



The Oregon Academy of Sciences was in- 

 corporated last month and placed on a perma- 

 nent basis. WLile it has been doing active 

 work for about five years it has never taken 

 steps for a permanent organization until this 

 year. According to its constitution the ob- 

 jects of the academy are " to encourage scien- 

 tific research and learning, to promote the 

 diffusion of scientific knowledge among its 

 members and throughout the state of Oregon 

 and to aid in the discovery and development 

 of the natural resources of the state." The 

 officers are: J. D. Lee, president, Portland; 

 W. N. Ferrin, first vice-president, Forest 

 Grove; John F. Bovard, second vice-president, 

 Eugene; H. S. Jackson, third vice-president, 

 Corvallis; A. E. Toder, treasurer, Portland; 

 A. W. Miller, curator and librarian, Portland ; 

 Frank W. Power, secretary, Portland. 



It is stated in Nature that during the past 

 month sixteen research students have been at 

 work at the Port Erin Biological Station. 

 The oceanography course conducted by Pro- 

 fessor Herdman, with Dr. Dakin and Dr. 

 Eoaf, during the first half of August was 

 attended by eight, and consisted partly of 

 lectures and laboratory work in the biological 

 station and partly of work at sea. One day 

 was spent in fish-trawling on board the Lan- 

 cashire sea-fisheries steamer, and other occa- 

 sions in plankton work and dredging from the 

 Ladyhird. The contemplated addition of a 

 new research wing at the back of the present 

 building has now been decided on, and the 

 work will be commenced in a few days. This 

 new building will provide an addition to the 

 library and a large experimental-tank room 

 and two smaller research rooms with large 

 tanks for physiological and other experimental 

 work on the ground floor, and a series of eight 

 separate research rooms, each with two win- 

 dows, on the upper floor. The whole will be 

 completed in time for use during Easter vaca- 

 tion. The addition is made necessary by the 

 increase in the number of students and re- 

 search workers at the Port Erin Biological 

 Station. A circular letter stating that £350 

 would be required to build the new wing was 

 issued by Professor Herdman in May last, and 



since then the sum of about £250 has been 

 raised. 



More cement was made and used in the 

 United States in 1909 than in any preceding 

 year and the price per barrel was lower than 

 ever before. The production in 1908 was 52,- 

 910,925 barrels valued at $44,477,653 ; the pro- 

 duction in 1909 was 64,196,386 barrels, valued 

 at $51,232,979. The increase was mainly in 

 the output of Portland cement — 62,508,461 

 barrels, valued at $50,510,385, as against 51,- 

 072,612 barrels in 1908, valued at $43,547,679. 

 The output of natural and puzzolan cement 

 formed only a small percentage "of the total 

 cement production. The average price of 

 Portland cement per barrel in 1909 was less 

 than 81 cents; the average price per barrel in 



1908 was 85 cents. Portland cement cost $3 

 a barrel in 1880, but by reason of improve- 

 ments in method of manufacture it can now 

 be profitably sold for 80 cents a barrel. In 



1909 there were 103 Portland cement plants 

 in operation, an increase of 5 over the number 

 working in 1908. Of these plants 21 were in 

 Pennsylvania, 12 in Michigan, 10 in Kansas, 

 8 in Ohio, 7 in New York, 6 in Indiana, 5 in 

 Illinois, and 5 in California. Most of this 

 cement was used at home, for the United 

 States has only a small export trade in ce- 

 ment, consuming from 1 to 3 per cent, of the 

 production. This country's immense natural 

 resources of cement-making materials and its 

 many well-equipped cement plants, however, 

 should make it a strong competitor for the 

 outside world's cement trade. 



The Journal of the Eoyal Society of Arts 

 notes that the wide reaches of waste land in 

 Singapore, which have been of no use since 

 the culture of gambler, coffee and pepper was 

 given up, are now the scenes of great activity. 

 Eubber plants are being set up over these de- 

 serted wastes and seem to do well. In the 

 suburbs of Singapore city a considerable area 

 of swamp land has been drained and con- 

 verted into a nursery for Para rubber plants, 

 which are sold at a good profit to the planters 

 on the island. In Malacca there were form- 

 erly many square miles of land, the hiding 



