Januabt 13, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



61 



week, of Paris, for an anatomical and clinical 

 study of the relations between the internal 

 ear and the point of the petrous bone, the 

 Gasserian ganglion, and the sixth pair of 

 cranial nerves. The Orfila prize ($1,200), for 

 the best essay on the purification of town 

 water after use, and of polluted factory 

 waters, was divided between MM. Edmond 

 Eolants, E. BouUanger, Leon Massol and 

 Felix Constant. The Perron prize ($750) was 

 divided between M. Albert Frouin, of Paris 

 (on the possibility of keeping alive animals 

 after complete removal of the thyroid appa- 

 ratus, by the addition of calcium salts or mag- 

 nesium to their food) ; M. Gernaro Sisto, of 

 Buenos Aires (the cry of sucklings and hered- 

 itary syphilis) ; and MM. Noel Fiessinger and 

 Pierre Louis Marie, of Paris (notes relating 

 to the protease and lipase of leucocytes). The 

 Saintour prize ($875) was awarded to M. 

 Gabriel Petit, of Alfort, for a contribution to 

 pathological anatomy and pathogeny of 

 tumors of the breast; the Tarnier prize ($875) 

 to M. Audre Delmer, for a contribution to the 

 study of auto-intoxications of pregnant 

 women and female bovine animals. 



The statistics of coal production as col- 

 lected jointly by the United States Geological 

 Survey and the Bureau of the Census show 

 that in 1909 the output amounted to 459,- 

 209,073 short tons. Compared with the record 

 for 1908, when the production amounted to 

 415,842,698 short tons, the record for 1909 

 shows an increase of 44,039,650 short tons, or 

 10 per cent. All of the gain was in the pro- 

 duction of bituminous coal, which increased 

 from 332,573,944 short tons in 1908 to 378,- 

 561,024 short tons in 1909— a gain of 45,977,- 

 080 short tons. The production of anthracite 

 in Pennsylvania decreased from 74,347,102 

 long tons (equivalent to 83,268,754 short 

 tons) in 1908 to 72,015,222 long tons (equiva- 

 lent to 80,658,049 short tons) in 1909. Penn- 

 sylvania made the largest increase in the pro- 

 duction of bituminous coal, showing a gain of 

 20,666,288 short tons, from 117,179,527 short 

 tons in 1908 to 137,845,816 tons in 1909. 

 West Virginia for the second time in its his- 



tory exceeded Illinois, and became the second 

 state in the production of coal, the former 

 having an output in 1909 of 61,446,010 short 

 tons, and the latter an output of 50,970,364 

 short tons. West Virginia's production in- 

 creased 9,548,167 short tons over 1908. The 

 output in Illinois, which stood third in rank, 

 increased only 3,310,674. Ohio retained its 

 position as fourth in rank with a production 

 in 1909 of 27,919,891 short tons, against 26,- 

 270,639 in 1908. Indiana, which in 1908 sup- 

 planted Alabama as fifth in rank, strength- 

 ened its position in 1909 by an increase of 

 2,566,809 tons, from 12,314,890 tons in 1908 

 to 14,881,699 tons in 1909, while Alabama 

 gained 2,099,317 tons, from 11,604,593 tons 

 to 13,703,910 tons. Other significant in- 

 creases were in Colorado, 1,087,773 tons; 

 Wyoming, 890,996 tons; Kansas, 734,270 tons; 

 Montana, 640,082 tons; Iowa, 594,052 tons, 

 and Washington, 551,463 tons. Georgia, 

 Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri and 

 Texas showed a smaller production in 1909 

 than in 1908, the total decreases amounting to 

 about 750,000 tons. 



Nature quotes from the Aeronautical Jour- 

 nal for October the announcement that the 

 council of the Aeronautical Society had con- 

 ferred the gold medal of the society on Mr. 

 Octave Chanute, consulting engineer, of Chi- 

 cago, shortly before his death. Born in Paris 

 in 1832, Chanute trained as an engineer in 

 America, where his professional duties in- 

 volved the construction of numerous railways 

 and bridges, including consultative duties con- 

 nected with the New York elevated railway; 

 wood preservation was also his specialty. 

 From 1874 onwards Chanute became inter- 

 ested in the problem of aviation, and not only 

 did he make numerous experiments with 

 models, but shortly after, or perhaps simultan- 

 eously with, Lilienthal and Pilcher's experi- 

 ments in Europe Chanute took up the practical 

 realization of gliding flight in America in 

 collaboration with Mr. Herring and Mr. 

 Avery. A large number of glides were made 

 with different types of glider, commencing 

 with a model based on the descriptions of Le 

 Bris's historic " Albatross," and including 



