October 30, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



633 



paring a compreliensive national representa- 

 tion and appropriated $600,000. Thirty-nine 

 foreign nations will participate in the exposi- 

 tion. 



In the Oiservaiory the monthly notes en- 

 titled " Prom an Oxford JSTote-book " begin as 

 follows : " There is but time for a hurried 

 note or two to catch the mail, for the upheaval 

 in Europe has transmitted waves of minor 

 disturbance to the Antipodes, which lave 

 eliminated the small intervals of leisure orig- 

 inally allowed us by Australian hospitality. 

 The news of the war reached us by wireless 

 telegraphy a day or two before our landing, 

 with an effect on a company containing repre- 

 sentatives of many nations which can well he 

 imagined. Sir Oliver Lodge, the retiring 

 president, at once struck a note which has been 

 resonant ever since; rising from his chair at 

 dinner he remarked that science knew no 

 politics, he called attention to the presence of 

 vai'ious distinguished foreign guests among 

 us, and took the opportunity of drinking their 

 very good health. The brief simple words were 

 received with a burst of applause. When we 

 landed and were most hospitably entertained 

 at Perth, the same spirit was abroad; at the 

 conferring of honorary degrees at Adelaide 

 (and afterwards here at Melbourne), the Ger- 

 man visitors were specially and heartily ap- 

 plauded — and whenever Germany was men- 

 tioned, it was to speak of all that it had done 

 for science. Finally, it was made clear from 

 the first that the main desire of the Australian 

 people was to carry through with as little dis- 

 turbance as possible the splendid program they 

 had arranged for us. Balls were, of course, 

 turned into receptions, and the National An- 

 them was a notable feature of all the earlier 

 gatherings; but the scientific part of the pro- 

 gram has been up to the present fully carried 

 out." 



The magnetic survey vessel, the Carnegie, 

 arrived at Brooklyn on October 21, having 

 completed a cruise of about 10,000 miles this 

 summer in the North Atlantic Ocean. En 

 route from Hammerfest, Norway, to Eej- 

 kiavik, Iceland, she reached the latitude of 

 Y9° 52' north, off the northwest coast of Spitz- 



bergen. Mr. J. P. Ault, of the Department of 

 Terrestrial Magnetism, was in command of 

 the vessel; he was assisted in the scientific 

 work by Dr. H. T. W. Edmonds, and by 

 Messrs. H. E. Johnston, I. Luke and N. 

 Meisenhelter. 



A CABLEGRAM from Buenos Ayres states that 

 Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic steamer En- 

 durance is coaling at Montevideo, Uruguay. She 

 reports that she had a bad voyage. She was de- 

 layed to such an extent that the coal became ex- 

 hausted, and she was forced to burn her spars 

 to make port. Sir Ernest Shackleton and the 

 members of his staff are said to be well. They 

 expected to leave Buenos Ayres for the Ant- 

 arctic region about October 23, and to be able 

 to arrive in the Weddell Sea about the end of 

 November. Sir Ernest said that if he is com- 

 pelled to go into winter quarters at some point 

 on the Weddell Sea he believes that he may be 

 unable to communicate with the civilized 

 world before about March, 1916. 



The American Genetic Association, Wash- 

 ington, D. C, offers two prizes of $100 each for 

 two photographs, one of the largest tree of a 

 nut-bearing variety in the United States, and 

 one of the largest broad-leaf tree which does 

 not bear edible seeds. In the first class, for 

 example, are included trees such as chestnut, 

 oak, walnut, butternut and pecan; and in 

 the second, trees such as elm, birch, maple, 

 Cottonwood and tulip poplar. No photographs 

 of cone-bearing trees are wanted, since it is 

 definitely known that the California big trees 

 have no rivals among conifers. At a later time 

 the association may take up the same question 

 as between the various kinds of conifers, such 

 as pines, spruces, firs, cedars and cypresses. 

 The announced purpose of the Genetic Asso- 

 ciation is to bring about the dissemination of 

 seed or stock of the best specimens, when 

 found, to demonstrate, if possible, the value of 

 heredity in tree growing. The contest ends 

 on July 1, 1915. 



The non-resident lecturers in the graduate 

 course in highway engineering at Columbia 

 University appointed for the 1914^1915 session 

 are as follows : John A. Bensel, New York state 

 engineer; Edward D. Beyer, cement and con- 



