August 15, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



225 



and compensation of school physicians ; school 

 nurses ; school clinics ; relation of health super- 

 vision in the schools to the practise of the 

 physician, the dentist and the hospital; rela- 

 tion of medical and hygienic supervision in 

 the schools to health supervision in the home; 

 standardization of examinations; sanitary 

 supervision of school rooms (class rooms), 

 locker rooms, swimming pools, toilets, school 

 books and school furniture; supervision of dis- 

 ease carriers; prevention of epidemics; follow- 

 up methods and results; medical inspection 

 and treatment; standardization of records. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 

 McGiLL University held a special convoca- 

 tion on August 2 for the purpose of confer- 

 ring honorary degrees in connection with the 

 visit of the International Geological Congress 

 to Canada. The degree of doctor of laws was 

 conferred as follows ; Helge Backstrom, Ph.D., 

 professor of mineralogy and petrography in 

 the University of Stockholm (presented by 

 Professor Howard Barnes, F.R.S.) ; Alfred 

 Bergeat, Ph.D., professor of geology in the 

 University of Konigsberg (presented by Pro- 

 fessor Dale, M.A.) ; Alfred Harker, M.A., 

 P.E.S., university lecturer in petrology in the 

 University of Cambridge (presented by Pro- 

 fessor John Macnaughton, LL.D.) ; James 

 Purman Kemp, D.Sc, professor of geology, 

 Columbia University, New York (presented 

 by Professor McLeod, P.E.S.C.) ; Alfred La- 

 ■croix, D.Sc, professor of mineralogy at the 

 Museum of Natural History, Paris (presented 

 by Dean Adams, F.E.S.). 



Professor W. A. Bone, P.E.S., has been 

 awarded the Howard N. Potts gold medal for 

 distinguished work in science or the mechanic 

 arts by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, 

 in recognition of his work upon surface com- 

 bustion. 



CMr. John Tebbut, who has conducted a 

 private observatory at Windsor, N. S. W., has 

 recently celebrated two anniversaries, having 

 entered on his eightieth year, and completed 

 fifty years' membership of the Eoyal Society 

 of New South Wales. 



Dr. Homer Doliver House, associate di- 

 rector and lecturer on botany and dendrology 

 of the Biltmore Forest School, has received 

 the appointment of assistant state botanist of 

 New York. 



Mr. a. E. Hinks, F.E.S., of the Cambridge 

 Observatory, has been appointed assistant sec- 

 retary of the Eoyal Geographical Society. 



According to The Ohservatory Mr. Edward 

 Kitto has retired from the superintendence of 

 the Falmouth Magnetic and Meteorological 

 Observatory. In consequence partly of finan- 

 cial difficulties, the work of the observatory 

 under its present constitution came to an end 

 on June 30, but the department of terrestrial 

 magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of 

 Washington has arranged to carry on some of 

 the observations for a few months longer. 



Surgeon-General Sir David Bruce, head of 

 the sleeping sickness commission which was 

 sent to Central Africa nearly two years ago, 

 has returned to England with Lady Bruce. 

 Sir David will in a few weeks return to 

 Nyasaland, where the other members of the 

 commission are stiU working. 



Mr. Charles H. T. Townsend, who was 

 some time since especially charged by the 

 Peruvian government with the investigation 

 of the insect transmission of verruga, injected 

 a dog with triturated females of Phlehotomus 

 on July 11, and on July 17 secured as result 

 an unmistakable case of verruga eruption. 

 The gnats used for the injection were secured 

 on the night of July 9 in Verrugas Canyon, 

 a noted focus of the disease. This is the first 

 experimental transmission of verruga by 

 means of insects, and adds a notable case to 

 the list of insect-borne diseases. The details 

 of the experiment will appear shortly. Fur- 

 ther transmission work in laboratory animals 

 will be pursued at once, both by injections 

 and by causing the gnats to bite. 



Frederick G. Clapp, managing geologist of 

 the Associated Geological Engineers of Pitts- 

 burgh, Pa., and Alten S. Miller, of Humphreys 

 & Miller, New York City, are examining the 

 gas fields of Hungary in company with Pro- 

 fessor Hugo Bockh, of that country. 



