JANUAET 14, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



67 



rabies infection of wild and domestic ani- 

 mals that is in danger of becoming wide-spread 

 in the far west. The fact that the extensive 

 dissemination of the disease is taking place 

 through the agency of coyotes makes the situ- 

 ation a difficult one to meet. Outbreaks of 

 rabies among coyotes have been noted from 

 time to time for several years in parts of 

 Washington, Oregon and northern Idaho, and 

 the Forest Service undertook last year to aid 

 in bringing the disease under control by em- 

 ploying hunters to make war on coyotes in the 

 National Forests of some infected localities. 

 Since, however, the coyotes breed in the foot- 

 hills and around the outskirts of the forests, 

 a more comprehensive campaign is called for. 

 The eradication of coyotes in sparsely settled 

 or rough country is said to be an exceedingly 

 difficult task. Inasmuch as these animals are 

 always a source of considerable losses to the 

 livestock industry of the west, congress last 

 year provided a special fund of $125,000 to be 

 spent by the Biological Survey for the eradi- 

 cation of predatory animals both in the na- 

 tional forests and on the public domain, and 

 from this fund a special allotment has now 

 been made to provide for fighting the rabies. 

 The disease first appeared in parts of eastern 

 Oregon and Washington and northern Idaho, 

 in a region surrounded by natural barriers 

 which tended to confine the outbreak. Do- 

 mestic animals and human beings were bitten, 

 and a good deal of alarm was manifested by 

 residents of the infected districts, many of 

 whom feared for the safety of their children 

 on the roads to and from school. The disease 

 is now reported as having extended into north- 

 ern !N"evada and northern California, whence 

 it may easily be carried far. The Forest 

 Service, the Biological Survey and the State 

 Board of Health are working together to meet 

 the situation in California. Modoc and Las- 

 sen counties have been put under quarantine 

 by the state board, which has appointed for- 

 est rangers inspectors in Modoc County. 

 Funds have been provided by the Biological 

 Survey for the employment of additional men 

 and the purchase of traps and poison. The 

 public will be enlisted in the campaign, which 

 will be led by the Biological Survey officials 

 and the forest rangers. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL 

 NEWS 



Western Eeserve University has purchased 

 twelve acres of land adjoining its present site 

 and increasing it from 23 to 35 acres. The 

 amount paid for the land is not made public, 

 but the tax valuation is $230,000. 



Four business men of Portland have con- 

 tributed $25,000 toward the new buildings for 

 the Medical Department of the University of 

 Oregon, Portland. This makes available the 

 $50,000 appropriated by the state. The officers 

 of the college now propose to raise an addi- 

 tional $100,000. 



Over $3,500 worth of chemicals, scientific 

 glassware and other laboratory supplies 

 ordered by the University of Washington from 

 Germany a year ago, but held up at Rotter- 

 dam, will shortly reach this country. The 

 British embassy has advised government offi- 

 cials that importation will not be prevented 

 any longer. 



A RECENT fire is said to have caused $50,000 

 damage to the Havemeyer chemical labora- 

 tory of New York University. 



Dr. Owen L. Shinn, professor of chemistry 

 in the University of Pennsylvania, has been 

 appointed director of the university summer 

 school. 



The following new appointments have been 

 made in the Western Eeserve Medical School : 

 Dr. J. RogofE, formerly of the department of 

 physiology and pharmacology, Vanderbilt 

 Medical School, Nashville, to be instructor in 

 experimental medicine; Dr. C. H. Fiske, 

 formerly assistant in biological chemistry, 

 Harvard Medical School, to be associate in 

 biochemistry; Dr. R. W. Scott, formerly dem- 

 onstrator of medicine. Western Eeserve Uni- 

 versity, to be instructor in physiology. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE 



THE DETERMINATION OF NITRATES IN SOILS 



In the June number of the Journal of In- 

 dustrial and Engineering Chemistry appeared 

 an interesting article by E. R. Allen, of the 

 Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, en- 



