370 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIII. No. 845 



The second Shaler Memorial Eesearcli, sup- 

 ported by the Shaler Memorial Fund of Har- 

 vard University, will consist of a study of 

 shoreline changes along the Atlantic coast by 

 Professor D. W. Johnson and two or three 

 assistants. Special attention will be given to 

 changes in the form of beaches within recent 

 geological time, and to supposed evidences of 

 recent coastal subsidence. Since the prob- 

 lem of coastal subsidence is affected by the 

 relative heights of high tides on the outer 

 and inner sides of barrier beaches, lines of 

 levels will be run between the ocean and 

 lagoons, upon which tidal observations will be 

 based. The most important localities from 

 the Bay of Fundy to southern Florida will be 

 examined during the spring and early sum- 

 mer. During the latter part of the summer 

 Professor Johnson will visit localities on the 

 coasts of England, Holland and Sweden, for 

 the purpose of making comparisons with sim- 

 ilar localities on the Atlantic coast of North 

 America. 



VmVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS 



M. AuGUSTE LouTREFiL has bequeathed 

 $Y00,000 to the Paris Academy of Sciences, 

 $500,000 to the University of Paris and $20,- 

 000 to the Pasteur Institute. 



The University of Michigan has received 

 a gift of $10,000 from William J. Cook, now 

 of New York, and formerly of Hillsdale, 

 Mich., to be used toward the erection of a resi- 

 dential hall for women. 



By the will of Miss Susan G. Lansing, of 

 Albany, N. T., Eutgers College receives the 

 sum of $5,000, together with one third of the 

 residuary estate, which, it is estimated, will 

 bring' about $10,000 additional. 



The residue under Sir Francis Galton's will 

 is bequeathed to the University of London 

 for the encouragement of the study of eugen- 

 ics. 



The technique of printing and publishing is 

 a new course of study at the University of 

 Wisconsin in connection with the course in 

 journalism. It is designed for students of 

 agriculture, engineering and commerce, who 

 are preparing to enter technical and trade 



journalism. A class in technical and trade 

 journalism has been organized to give further 

 training in this field. 



The University of Ulinois special train to 

 rural schools started out for a two weeks' trip 

 over the Illinois Traction system on February 

 27. The special consists of two cars fitted up 

 with illustrative material for the use of the 

 speakers who accompany the train. About 

 one thousand children are visiting this spe- 

 cial every day. The county superintendent of 

 schools of each county that the special visits 

 accompanies the party and acts as guide and 

 director. 



Professor V. H. Blackman, of Leeds, has 

 been appointed to the professorship of plant 

 physiology and pathology at the Imperial Col- 

 lege of Science and Technology, London. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE 



THE USE OF NUMERALS FOR SPECIFIC NAMES IN 

 SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY 



In a recent number of Science, Dr. Need- 

 ham has suggested the use of a numerical 

 system of naming species, in addition to the 

 present binomial system devised by Linnseus. 



To this suggestion there are several objec- 

 tions, which to the practical worker in tax- 

 onomy seem wholly insuperable. In the first 

 place, the name of an animal is not the main 

 element concerned. The specific name covers 

 our conception of the species, a conception 

 likely to be greatly modified by thorough 

 study. The generic name indicates our con- 

 ception of where it belongs. This conception, 

 of necessity, changes with the progress of 

 knowledge. The changes in name mark such 

 progress. To the tasonomist, certain changes 

 of name are as real and as important as any 

 other forward step in science. It is of course 

 unfortunate that some species have had many 

 diilerent names. So have many genera also. 

 This is due primarily to the inherent difficul- 

 ties of the subject, as few branches of knowl- 

 edge are more intricate than the study of the 

 genetic derivation of forms, and their exact 

 geographical distribution. These two branches 

 of science, taxonomy "and zoogeography, must 



