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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIV. No. 869 



sels of commerce as the Germans and 

 French in their air-ships and the Amer- 

 icans in their sky-scrapers. And all are 

 interested in turbines. The Zeitschrift 

 seems to be by far the greatest source of 

 scientific advances in technology, and the 

 engineering journals of other nations look 

 to it as the dean of them all. 



A study of this sort would not be com- 

 plete unless it took into consideration the 

 far-reaching effect which the failure of the 

 Quebec bridge, on August 29, 1907, had on 

 technical literature, especially in America. 

 In the many discussions of column for- 

 mulas resulting, with special reference to 

 the value of l/r found in most of them, we 

 can easily see the strong inclination of the 

 American engineer toward a plausible for- 

 mula. Many discussions followed the dis- 

 aster, most of them making use of l/r and 

 suggesting modifications of the column for- 

 mulas in existence. It may be questioned, 

 in view of the results of recent tests made 

 on built-up columns, whether the old for- 

 mulas, even with modifications, will not be 

 superseded by some entirely new rules for 

 the design of such columns. 



It may be stated, in conclusion, that the 

 attitude of the engineers toward the effi- 

 cient teaching of the principles of mathe- 

 matics, as gathered from their discussions, 

 is sane and their interest great. Naturally, 

 they caU for results and are apt to be 

 impatient if a college graduate violates 

 fundamental principles which should have 

 been thoroughly mastered long before. 

 They are aware of the difficulties encoun- 

 tered in the efficient teaching of mathe- 

 matics and of the different viewpoints of 

 instructors of mathematics. On the other 

 hand, instructors of mathematics for stu- 

 dents of engineering should maintain an 

 attitude of sympathy with the problems of 

 the engineer, or at least recognize and be- 

 come acquainted with them. That both 



engineers and mathematicians are working 

 more and more toward a common end, and 

 with a better understanding of the prob- 

 lems involved, is evidenced by the results 

 of the many joint conferences held recently 

 for the purpose of securing that greater 

 efficiency, which is the watchword of the 

 age. 



Ernest W. Ponzer 

 Stanford University 



BICHASD KLEBS 



Professor Dr. Eichard Klebs, geologist 

 and knight of high degree, connected with the 

 Royal Geological Survey, and scientific ad- 

 viser to the Eoyal Amber Works, died in 

 Konigsberg, Prussia, on June 20, 1911, in his 

 sixty-seventh year. 



Dr. Klebs was well known throughout the 

 world for many papers on the subject of 

 amber and its industry, the inclusions and the 

 study of the coleoptera, and plant and insect 

 inclusions in amber masses, he himself gath- 

 ering and owning the great collection which 

 was exhibited under the auspices of the Im- 

 perial German government at the St. Louis 

 Exposition in 1904. This great collection con- 

 sists of 10,000 inclusions in amber, including 

 beetles, fleas, spiders, wood, leaves and many 

 other interesting objects associated with the 

 history of amber. It is valued at $40,000 and 

 will only be sold as an entirety. 



The last paper he wrote, and of which he 

 sent me a reprint, is entitled : " Ueber Bern- 

 steineinsehlusse im allgemeinen und die 

 Coleopteren meiner Bernsteinsammlung," 

 with text illustrations, which appeared in the 

 " Schriften der Physik.-okonom. Gesellschaft 

 zu Eonigsberg i Pr." Jahr. LI., pp. 21Y-242, 

 III., 1910. Dr. Alfons Dampf, assistant in 

 the Konigl. Zoologischen Museum, Konigs- 

 berg, described a fossil flea occurring in Baltic 

 amber and named it " Palseopsylla klebsiana," 

 in honor of his friend, Dr. Klebs (pp. 248- 

 259, pi. 2, 1910-11). 



Dr. Klebs possessed an earnest, cheerful 

 personality ; was an indefatigable worker, pub- 

 lished many papers on his subject, and sue- 



