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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIII. No. 847 



of the University of Wisconsin, is chairman. 

 The committee desires to secure a collection 

 of material which will show by photographs 

 the history of the comet from its first appear- 

 ance until it was no longer yisible even to the 

 most powerful telescopes. The committee is 

 requesting every astronomer who possesses 

 any photographs of the comet to cooperate 

 with them in making this history complete. 

 The photographs used will be of four kinds: 

 those possessing conspicuous technical excel- 

 lence, those of good quality but having slight 

 defects, those presenting obvious technical de- 

 fects, and those obtained with small cameras 

 by unskilled observers. As many as possible 

 of the photographs used will be of the first 

 class, but when it is necessary to make use of 

 some of inferior excellence in order to avoid 

 gaps in the history this will be done. 



VNIVEESITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS 

 The appropriations for the U. S. Bureau of 

 Education for the fiscal year ending June 30, 

 1912, show an increase of $7,600 over the ap- 

 propriations for the current fiscal year, as 

 follows : For the investigation of rural edu- 

 cation, industrial education and school hy- 

 giene, including salaries, $6,000; one clerk at 

 $1,600. The total specific appropriations for 

 the bureau are as follows: Salaries, $Y2,800; 

 library, $500; collecting statistics, $4,000; dis- 

 tributing documents, $2,500; printing annual 

 report, $25,000; education of natives of 

 Alaska, $200,000 ; reindeer for Alaska, $12,000. 



The legislature of the state of Utah, during 

 its recent session, made an appropriation of 

 $300,000 to the State University for the con- 

 struction of the main building of the institu- 

 tion. This building is to house the general 

 library, the art gallery and the administrative 

 offices. The legislature also passed a bill 

 which has become a law, putting the support 

 of the university and the agricultural college 

 on a permanent financial basis by providing 

 that these two institutions shall receive an- 

 nually 28 per cent, of the income of the state 

 derived from a 4^ mills tax. This 28 per cent, 

 was divided between the institutions as fol- 



lows: .64.43 per cent, to the university; 28.34 

 per cent, to the agricultural college and Y.23 

 per cent, to the branch normal school, a sepa- 

 rate institution afiiliated with the university. 

 On the basis of present assessed valuations the 

 annual income of the university for general 

 maintenance is about $200,000. New build- 

 ings and other constructions are to be pro- 

 vided by special appropriations. 



The legislature of Indiana, which adjourned 

 on March 6, appropriated nearly $200,000 to 

 Indiana University for the next biennium. 

 This appropriation includes $150,000 addi- 

 tional maintenance, $35,000 of which is for 

 the Graduate School, and $50,000 for the Med- 

 ical School, for the maintenance of the Long 

 Hospital. 



According to the daily press a graduate of 

 the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy whose 

 name has been withheld, has offered to donate 

 $1,000,000 toward the erection of a compre- 

 hensive group of three buildings, one of which 

 shall be specially devoted to research work, 

 for the institution. He stipulated that the 

 building shall be on the Parkway on a site 

 provided by the city. Mayor Eeyburn di- 

 vulged this fact in discussing his plans for 

 making the western end of the Parkway, be- 

 tween Logan Square and Fairmount Park, a 

 great center for Philadelphia's educational, 

 engineering, scientific, historical, art and re- 

 search organizations. 



Mrs. Benjamin Hicks, of Old Westbury, 

 N. T., has bequeathed $100,000 to Swarthmore 

 College. 



Columbia University has received the sum 

 of $693,000 from the executors of the estate of 

 the late Mr. George Crocker, for the establish- 

 ment of the Crocker Cancer Research Fund. 

 It is understood that the remainder of the be- 

 quest is under litigation. 



We are requested to state that assistant pro- 

 fessorships of physiology, anatomy and bac- 

 teriology and pathology are to be filled in the 

 Philippine Medical School. Information re- 

 specting the positions may be secured by ad- 

 dressing the Chief of the Bureau of Insular 

 Affairs, War Department, Washington, D. C. 



