Decembee 5, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



813 



in surgery and to his valuable experiments in 

 pathological anatomy. 



Sir Robert Stawell Ball, Lowndean pro- 

 fessor of astronomy at Cambridge University, 

 and director of the observatory, died on No- 

 vember 25, at the age of seventy-three years. 

 He was professor of astronomy in the Univer- 

 sity of Dublin and Astronomer Royal of Ire- 

 land from 1874 to 1892, vfhen he was called to 

 Cambridge. 



Dr. Henry Potonie, geologist of the Prus- 

 sian Geological Survey and professor of paleo- 

 botany in the Bergakademie, died on October 

 28, in his fifty-sixth year. He was widely 

 known for his studies of paleozoic floras and 

 for his recent work on the origin of coal. 



Dr. Aemin Balzer, professor of geology and 

 mineralogy at Berne, has died at the age of 

 seventy-one years. 



Dr. Emil Ponfick, until recently professor 

 of pathological anatomy at Breslau, has died 

 at the age of sixty-nine years. 



Section P — Zoology — of the A m erican As- 

 sociation for the Advancement of Science will 

 hold meetings at Atlanta, Georgia, on Mon- 

 day and Tuesday, December 29 and 30. As 

 the American Association rarely meets in 

 southern territory a large attendance of south- 

 ern zoologists is expected, and all northern 

 zoologists who do not expect to be present at 

 the meetings of the American Society of 

 Zoologists at Philadelphia are urged to sup- 

 port the Atlanta meeting by presenting papers. 

 The address of the retiring vice-president of 

 Section F, Professor William A. Locy, of 

 Northwestern University, upon " The Story 

 of Human Lineage " will be given on Monday 

 afternoon, December 29, at two o'clock. Pro- 

 fessor Edmund Beecher Wilson, professor of 

 zoology in Columbia University, will preside 

 over the general sessions of the association as 

 president of the association. Titles of papers 

 to be read before Section P should be in the 

 hands of the secretary. Professor H. V. Neal, 

 Tufts College, Mass., before December 15. 



It is said that the Paris Academy of Sci- 

 ences has offered a prize of $2,000 to the per- 

 son who devises a means for domesticating 



the heron in order to obtain aigrettes without 

 killing the birds. 



Mr. Austen Chamberlain has received from 

 the secretary of state for India a contribution 

 of £500 towards the enlargement and endow- 

 ment of the London School of Tropical Medi- 

 cine. The fund now amounts to £71,276. 



In accordance with the provision giving 

 preference to the same candidate for three 

 successive years, provided said candidate 

 should have proved herself efficient and fitted 

 for the position, the fellowship of $1,000 of 

 the Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association 

 for the year beginning June 15, 1914, has been 

 awarded to Miss Margaret Harwood. The 

 year beginning June IS, 1915, is the quadren- 

 nial year provided for by vote of the board of 

 managers on April 26, 1911; the appointee of 

 three previous years of continuous efficiency 

 is privileged on the fourth to avail herself of 

 the entire year for study and research in an 

 observatory of her own selection. In order 

 that the Nantucket Observatory may be pro- 

 vided for from June 15, 1915, to December 15, 

 1915, the association offers a second fellowship 

 of $500 for the quadrennial year. 



On December 10, 11 and 12 there will be a 

 conference on Safety and Sanitation, which 

 will mark the opening of the first Interna- 

 tional Exposition of Safety and Sanitation, at 

 the Grand Central Palace, New York City. 

 The problems for discussion are: 



December 10, morning — Subject, ' ' Industrial 

 Accidents. " " Safer Shops, ' ' presented by Dr. 

 William H. Tolman, director of the American Mu- 

 seum of Safety ; ' ' Human Values, ' ' by Don C. 

 Seitz. Afternoon — Subject, "Accident Preven- 

 tion and the Public." "Problems of Transporta- 

 tion, ' ' presented by a representative of the Penn- 

 sylvania Railroad; "Care of the Injured," by Dr. 

 William 'Neill Sherman, chief surgeon of the 

 Carnegie Steel Company; "Taking Chances," by 

 Dr. Lucian W. Chaney, of the United States De- 

 partment of Labor. 



December 11, morning — Subject, "Industrial 

 Hygiene. " " Sanitary Welfare of Workers, ' ' by 

 Dr. Thomas Darlington ; ' ' Physical Examination of 

 Employees, ' ' by Dr. J. B. Hileman ; ' ' Industrial 

 Plants, their Equipment and Surroundings," by 

 Prank A. Wallis; "Proper Pood for Workers," by 



