December 19, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



877 



with attention to my Alpines and seedling Primu- 

 las, though I have promised to write an important 

 article, when I feel up to it, "On the Influence of 

 tlie Environment on Morals. ' ' We are having the 

 dullest, dampest and dreariest winter I remember, 

 after the hottest summer! . . . The political and 

 foreign situation is now most interesting with us, 

 and I am glad to have lived to see such a hopeful 

 dawn. 



The last time I saw Dr. Wallace was imme- 

 diately after the Darwin Celebration at Cam- 

 bridge in 1909. I was the first to give him the 

 details concerning it, and vividly remember 

 how interested lie was, and how heartily he 

 laughed over some of the funny incidents, 

 which may not as yet be told in print. One of 

 Dr. Wallace's most prominent characteristics 

 was his keen sense of humor, and his enjoy- 

 ment of a good story. At the banquet at Cam- 

 bridge those present united in sending him a 

 telegram expressing their sense of his great 

 part in the event they were celebrating, and 

 their regret that he could not be present. This 

 was not delivered until the next morning, and 

 Dr. Wallace was concerned lest it should have 

 been thought that he delayed in sending a 

 reply. I was able to assure him that we knew 

 at the time that it was too late for delivery 

 that day. 



As recently as February 3, 1913, Mrs. Wal- 

 lace wrote : 



Dr. Wallace is very well and busy, writing as 

 hard as ever; he has just passed 90, and feels 

 like 50. 



Much later in the year (July 1) we heard 

 from my brother that he was " splendidly well," 

 and not many months after, the sad news ap- 

 peared in the daily papers. In one of his 

 letters he said that except for the infirmities 

 natural to old age he felt quite as keen as he 

 had ever done in his youth, and thought this a 

 good sign for the persistence of personality 

 after death. This keenness never waned to the 

 end, and who shall say that this eager spirit 

 has not still some place in the realm of being? 



T. D. A. COCKERELL 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 



The Nobel prizes in the sciences have been 

 awarded to Professor H. K. Onnes, of the 

 University of Leiden, in physics; to Professor 

 Alfred Werner, of the University of Zurich, 

 in chemistry, and to Professor Charles Eichet, 

 of the University of Paris, in medicine. 



At the anniversary meeting of the Royal 

 Society Sir William Crookes was elected 

 president to succeed Sir Archibald Geikie. 

 Other officers were elected and prizes were 

 conferred as already announced in Science. 

 At the annual dinner the principal toast, " The 

 Royal Society," was proposed by Mr. Page, 

 the American ambassador. The retiring presi- 

 dent announced a gift of £3,000 for physical 

 research from Sir James Caird. 



Dr. J. H. CoMSTOCK, for thirty-nine years 

 instructor and professor of entomology at 

 Cornell University, will retire from the active 

 duties of his chair at the close of the present 

 academic year. 



Dr. Herman M. Biggs has retired as chief 

 medical officer of the Department of Plealth of 

 the City of New York, having rendered dis- 

 tinguished service to the city in that office. 



Professor Cleveland Abbe, the distin- 

 guished meteorologist of the U. S. Weather 

 Bureau, celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday 

 on December 4. 



The gold medal of the Apothecaries Society, 

 London, has been awarded to Mr. J. E. Hart- 

 ing, in recognition of his services in prepar- 

 ing and editing the catalogue of the library in 

 Apothecaries' Hall. 



The portrait of Professor Horace Lamb, 

 F.R.S., was presented on November 27 by sub- 

 scribers to the University of Manchester, 

 where he has filled the chair of mathematics 

 since 18S5, and is now senior professor. The 

 portrait of Professor Lamb was painted by his 

 son, Mr. Henry Lamb. The presentation was 

 made by Professor Tout and Professor Ruther- 

 ford. 



Dr. Charles S. Minot has been elected an 

 honorary member of the Anatomical Society 

 of Great Britain and Ireland. 



