406 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XL,. No. 1029 



way. The work has advanced far enough to 

 demonstrate that there is very much less ma- 

 laria now than is usual at this time of the 

 year; the Mexican physicians are unanimous 

 in stating that the amount of paludismo is now 

 very small. 



The other group of diseases which have been 

 brought under control are the dysenteries and 

 diarrhoeas, and the preventive measures which 

 seem to be directly responsible for the im- 

 provement are the following: the suppression 

 of flies and the protection of foodstuffs in the 

 markets by screening; the improvement in the 

 milk-supply, and disinfection and isolation of 

 dysenteric cases. The number of milk-venders 

 in the city is approximately 150, and 200 

 samples of milk have been examined for dirt, 

 adulteration and the percentage of fat. The 

 milk examinations are made at irregular inter- 

 vals on unannounced dates, each vender's milk 

 being examined at least quarterly. The meas- 

 ure, however, which seems most directly re- 

 sponsible for the diminution in the number of 

 cases and deaths from intestinal diseases is 

 the antifly campaign. The city water has been 

 frequently examined in the laboratory and 

 found uniformly good. No cases of yellow 

 fever have originated in Vera Cruz or been 

 brought to the port. 



FOBEIGN STUDENTS AND THE UNITED 

 STATES 

 Dr. p. p. Clapton, United States commis- 

 sioner of education, has authorized the prep- 

 aration and publication of a special bulletin 

 describing, for the use of foreign students, the 

 facilities for professional and collegiate study 

 in higher institutions of learning in this 

 country. The bulletin will be printed in sev- 

 eral languages. " This is America's oppor- 

 tunity," writes Commissioner Claxton. " Thou- 

 sands of students who have been attending 

 universities in Europe will be obliged to look 

 elsewhere for higher education, not only this 

 year, but perhaps for years to come. Many 

 foreign students are already coming to us, 

 many more will come as the result, direct and 

 indirect, of present events. We have now a 

 supreme opportunity to demonstrate our capac- 



ity for intellectual leadership. Whether the 

 war continues three months or three years, our 

 opportunities and obligations to talje the lead 

 in education and civilization will be the same, 

 and America should respond by offering the 

 best opportunity in the world for her own stu- 

 dents and for those who may come from other 

 countries. In the case of South America this 

 student migration will be facilitated by the 

 opportune opening of the Panama Canal. 

 Students from the western coast of South 

 America will find it alluringly convenient to 

 go via Canal to educational centers in the 

 United States. Within the last two decades the 

 increase in opportunity for graduate study 

 and research, and for professional and tech- 

 nical education has been very remarkable, much 

 greater than most people even in America 

 realize. The recent raising of standards and 

 the better equipment of medical schools, the 

 large endowments and appropriations for all 

 forms of engineering, the marvelous growth 

 of our colleges of agriculture, the development 

 of colleges and schools of education, and the 

 rapid increase in income of all the better 

 colleges make it possible for this country to 

 take the lead in education in a way that would 

 have been impossible even at the beginning of 

 the century." 



BOTANISTS OF THE CENTBAL STATES 



In accordance with a vote taken at the 

 Cleveland meeting of the American Association 

 for the Advancement of Science, it is deter- 

 mined to reorganize the Botanists of the 

 Central States. A very large majority of the 

 members of the organization, either by letter 

 or by personal statement at the Cleveland 

 meeting, have expressed their desire for a 

 resumption of the meetings of the organiza- 

 tion, especially in years in which the Botanical 

 Society of America meets outside of the states 

 which comprise our territory. Since the last 

 meeting of the Botanical Society of America 

 was at Atlanta, and the next meeting is to be 

 at Philadelphia, the present year seems espe- 

 cially favorable for a meeting of the Botanists 

 of the Central States. I am able to announce 

 that we have a very cordial invitation to hold 



