710 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXII. No. 



After more than sixteen years' continuous 

 service as state geologist of Indiana, Mr. W. S. 

 Blatchley will retire from office on January 1. 

 The position of state geologist in Indiana is 

 unique in that it is an elective position, and 

 in the recent democratic landslide Mr. Blatch- 

 ley was defeated by Mr. Edward Barrett, of 

 Plainfield, Indiana. 



Mr. L. C. Snider, A.M. (Indiana), has been 

 appointed assistant director of the Oklahoma 

 Geological Survey, to succeed Mr. L. L. 

 Hutchison. Mr. Frank Buttrum, A.B. (Okla- 

 homa), has been appointed chemist of the 

 survey to succeed Mr. Snider. 



Prestoent Taft has appointed Mr. John S. 

 Conway, of the U. S. Reclamation Service, to 

 the position of chief constructing engineer in 

 the U. S. Light-house Service. This position 

 ■was created by the act of congress reorganiz- 

 ing the Light-house service. 



Professor Emil Mathus has been ap- 

 pointed director of the Meteorological Observ- 

 atory Puy de Dome, as successor to M. 

 Brunhes. 



The Astronomical Society, of Antwerp, has 

 established a meteorological office under the 

 direction of Messrs. Birkenstock, Dierckx and 

 Eiegler. 



The Ohservatory notes that Sir W. H. M. 

 Christie, who has retired from the post of as- 

 tronomer royal, joined the staff at Greenwich 

 in 1870 as chief assistant to Sir George Airy, 

 whom he succeeded as astronomer royal in 

 August, 1881. The lengths of tenure of 

 previous holders of the office have been: 

 Elamsteed 44 years, Halley 22, Bradley 20J, 

 Bliss 2, Maskelyne 46, Pond 25, Airy 46, so 

 that Sir William Christie has been astron- 

 omer royal for a period of almost exactly 

 average length — about 29 years. 



Professor EIammerling Ones, of the Uni- 

 versity of Leyden, has put his cryogenic labor- 

 atory at the disposal of Madame Curie for her 

 researches on radio-activity at low tempera- 

 tures. 



Sir George DAif^rN" has been elected presi- 

 dent of *J[ie Cambridge Philosophical Society. 



The Royal Society of Edinburgh has 

 elected officers as follows : President, Sir Wil- 

 liam Turner; Vice-presidents, Professor Crum 

 Brown, Professor J. C. Ewart, Dr. J. Home, 

 Dr. J. Burgess, Professor T. Hudson Beare, 

 Professor F. O. Bower; General Secretary, 

 Professor G. Chrystal; Secretaries to ordinary 

 meetings. Dr. C. G. Knott, Dr. R. Ividston; 

 Treasurer, Mr. J. Currie; Curator, Dr. J. S. 

 Black. 



Official notifications have been recently re- 

 ceived announcing the election to the Perma- 

 nent International Committee on School 

 Hygiene of Dr. William H. Burnham, pro- 

 fessor of pedagogy and school hygiene, Clark 

 University; Dr. Thomas F. Harrington, di- 

 rector of school hygiene, Boston Public 

 Schools; Dr. R. Tait McKenzie, professor of 

 physical education, LTniversity of Pennsyl- 

 vania and Dr. Thomas A. Storey, professor of 

 physical instruction and hygiene. College of 

 the City of New York. 



Dr. George E. Hale, director of the Mount 

 Wilson Solar Observatory, is at present in 

 Egypt. 



Dr. W. a. Murrill, assistant director of the 

 ISTew York Botanical Garden, has sailed for 

 Europe to examine type specimens of fungi 

 in museums and herbaria. 



According to a consular report Mr. C. W. 

 Beebe, curator of ornithology. New York Zo- 

 ological Park, who has been in the far east in 

 search of pheasants, has secured a complete 

 collection of fine specimens. In Borneo he 

 secured specimens of the pheasants, obtaining 

 eleven live birds. Studies, photographs and 

 paintings were made of the birds in their na- 

 tive haunts. Mr. Beebe is now in Java. 



Miss Mary Lois Kissell, of the department 

 of anthropology of the American Museum of 

 Natural History, has left New York for an 

 extended period of field observation among 

 some of the Indian tribes of the southwest. 

 Miss Kissell will devote her time to a study 

 of the basket work and textiles of these tribes, 

 paying especial attention to the origin and 

 significance of designs. 



