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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIII. No. 846 



years of study and experiment enabled him to 

 produce a type having great superiority in the 

 matter of stability, efficiency and structural 

 strength. This was the famous Chanute bi- 

 plane glider which substantially forms the 

 conspieous body feature of the present-day 

 biplane flying machines. 



For many years Mr. Chanute was in regular 

 communication, personally and by correspond- 

 ence, with the leading aeronautic investigators 

 in both hemispheres. The help which he gave 

 to such men can never be fully knovra.; the 

 counsel and encouragement which he gave the 

 Wright brothers in particular have been grate- 

 fully and gracefully acknowledged by them. 

 His valuable experience, information and ad- 

 vice were liberally and gladly furnished to 

 them at the time when it was most needed, 

 when they were at the foot of the unblazed 

 trail, and these gave them the courage and 

 confidence which were essential to enable them 

 to persevere and to emerge at last at the sum- 

 mit, triumphant. 



At the Boston meeting of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science, 

 held in December, 1909, Mr. Chanute read a 

 paper entitled " The Present Status of Aerial 

 Navigation." This paper was the expression 

 of his maturest understanding of the science 

 to which he had devoted so many years of 

 his life. 



Mr. Chanute died in Chicago on the twenty- 

 third of November last. Three daughters and 

 one son survive him. Those who knew him 

 will always remember his lovable character 

 and will think of the oft-repeated saying, " He 

 was more willing to give credit to others than 

 to claim any for himself." 



We may well believe that whenever in the 

 future the history of aviation shall be re- 

 viewed, the name Chanute will stand forth as 

 that of one of the few great founders. 



James Means 

 Boston, Mass. 



TEE AFBICAN ENTOMOLOGICAL 

 BESEARCR COMMITTEE 

 With a view to furthering the work of the 

 African Entomological Eeseareh Committee, 



Mr. Andrew Carnegie has placed at its dis- 

 posal a sum of £1,000 a year for three years to 

 defray the cost of sending a few suitably quali- 

 fied young men to the United States to study 

 the practical applications of entomology. 

 Three of these Carnegie scholars, as they are 

 to be called, have been selected, and two of 

 them are already at work. Dr. L. O. Howard, 

 chief of the Bureau of Entomology, is interest- 

 ing himself in the matter and all possible 

 facilities will be given to the scholars. It may 

 be expected that the scheme will be of value 

 to British administration in Africa and else- 

 where by providing a body of well-trained 

 entomologists available for employment in the 

 services of the different colonial governments. 



The Research Committee was appointed in 

 June, 1909, by Lord Crewe, the then Secretary 

 of State for the Colonies, with the object of 

 promoting the study of the insects which play 

 so prominent a part in the spread of disease 

 among men, animals and plants in Africa, 

 and Lord Cromer is its president. It includes 

 some of the most eminent authorities on ento- 

 mology and tropical medicine in Great 

 Britain. 



During the short period of the committee's 

 existence satisfactory progress has been made. 

 The scheme has been energetically taken up 

 by the African colonies and protectorates, and 

 the large quantity of material already received 

 at the committee's oiSee in the Natural His- 

 tory Museum at South Kensington has very 

 materially increased our knowledge of the in- 

 sect pests of Africa. The collections of in- 

 sects, after being properly identified and re- 

 corded, are being distributed to the schools of 

 tropical medicine, universities, museums, or 

 other institutions where they are likely to be 

 of value for the purpose of teaching or scien- 

 tific study. Two skilled entomologists are 

 being employed under the direction of the 

 committee in East and West Africa respec- 

 tively, for the purpose of interesting and in- 

 structing the local officials in the work, and 

 also of carrying out special investigations. 



The committee has issued quarterly a scien- 

 tific journal, entitled the Bulletin of Entomo- 

 logical Research^ of which the first volume is 



