July 21, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



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lections have been purchased. One from the 

 Jesup Fund, is a series of rare objects from 

 the Tsimshian Indians of the North Pacific 

 coast collected by Lieutenant G. T. Emmons. 

 This fills practically the only gap in our 

 series from that important culture area. The 

 second collection, made by Dr. Carl Lum- 

 holtz, in the little-known borderland along 

 the Mexican boundary of Arizona, was pur- 

 chased from the Primitive Peoples of the 

 Southwest Fund. Among the unusual pieces 

 in this collection are the costumes of a fool 

 dancer, consisting of a mask, a crude and use- 

 less bow and other absurd trappings. This is 

 of especial interest since this ceremonial char- 

 acter seems to connect the Papago culture 

 with that of the Plains. Among other things 

 may be mentioned a series of wooden plows 

 introduced into Mexico from Europe by the 

 early Spanish explorers. The Papago are the 

 southern representatives of the Pima stock 

 and were found still practising the art of 

 basketry for which the Pima proper were at 

 one time famous. The collection contains 

 excellent samples of this almost extinct textile 

 art. The third acquisition, gained through 

 the Jesup Fund, is the General U. S. Hol- 

 lister collection of Navajo blankets. In this 

 series there are sixty-six pieces, some made 

 before 1850. In materials and dyes there is 

 a full representation : eleven blankets of bay- 

 eta, one of natural wool, eight of native dyes, 

 seven of Germantown yarn, twelve of other 

 commercial yarn, and eighteen in aniline 

 dyes. The four varieties of weave practised 

 by the Navajo are fully represented. There 

 are also a few exceptional blankets, one of 

 which represents in its design the Corn God 

 copied from the sand paintings of altars of 

 the Navajo. This collection, jointly with the 

 series recently presented by Mrs. Sage and 

 those belonging to the Lenders and Tefft col- 

 lections recently presented by Mr. Morgan, 

 give us a series of Navajo textiles fully repre- 

 sentative both as to technique and design. 



The donors are Lady Wantage $230,000, Mr. 

 George William Palmer and Mrs. Palmer 

 $500,000, and Mr. Alfred Palmer, $250,000. 



It is announced in European journals that 

 a new Russian university has been founded in 

 Eostov on Don. The medical course will be- 

 gin the coming fall. In Jellaterinburk will 

 be established an academy of mines, and in 

 Voronez and Samara academies of agricul- 

 ture. 



We are requested to announce that a va- 

 cancy has recently occurred in the position of 

 assistant professor of zoology in the College 

 of Medicine and Surgery in the University of 

 the Philippines. The entrance salary is $2,000 

 a year, but if a man of exceptional ability is 

 secured as much as $2,500 might be given. It 

 is expected that the holder of this position will 

 engage in research work, and there are zoolog- 

 ical problems of great interest that can be 

 investigated in the Philippine Islands. 



Professor Laenas Gitford Weld has re- 

 signed his position as head of the department 

 of mathematics in the State University of 

 Iowa. He resigned the deanship of the Col- 

 lege of Liberal Arts two years ago, soon after 

 the accession of the present State Board of 

 Education. 



Dr. Adolph I. Ees-ger, of the department of 

 medicine of Cornell University, has been ap- 

 pointed instructor in physiological chemistry 

 in the University of Pennsylvania. 



At Ohio State University John H. SchafE- 

 ner, associate professor of botany, has been 

 advanced to the position of professor of botany 

 and head of the department. 



UNIVEBSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS 



University College, Eeading, England, has 



received an endowment fund of $1,000,000. 



DISCUSSION AND COBSESPONDENCE 



THE IMPORT OF VITALISM 



Professor Jennings's communication con- 

 cerning " Vitalism and Experimental Investi- 

 gation,'" like everything that he writes, does 

 much to clarify the subject of which it treats. 

 Yet I can not but think that some corners of 

 the question still remain in a rather beclouded 

 condition. It is apparent, at all events, that 



^ Science, Juej 16, 1911. 



