80 
strong, Sir Henry Roscoe, Professor G. Lunge 
of Zurich, Mr. G. R. Redgrave and others. 
The United States appears not to have been 
represented by delegates. 
A DECREE has been signed by the President 
of the French Republic regarding medical ex- 
perts before the Courts of Algeria. It appears 
that such experts must be appointed at the be- 
ginning of each year, and receive a fixed com- 
pensation for such services as are rendered. 
UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 
THE will of the late Dr. George Edwards 
leaves $50,000 to Princeton University for the 
endowment of a chair in American History and 
$2,500 for other purposes. 
Av the commencement exercises at Beloit 
College, Dr. G. K. Pearsons presented the Col- 
lege with $30,000 to build a woman’s hall. Dr. 
Pearson’s previous gifts to the College amount 
to $250,000. 
PRESIDENT SEELEY announced at the com- 
mencement exercises of Smith College that 
$10,000 had been offered_to the College for the 
erection of a building for the scientific labora- 
tories on condition that $9,000 should be sub- 
scribed by the alumnez. 
Upon the recommendation of the Faculty of 
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Colum- 
bia University, the title of the chair of chemis- 
try and medical jurisprudence was changed to 
that of physiological chemistry. The chair has 
not yet been filled. 
Dr. THOMAS §. FISKE, adjunct professor in 
mathematics in Columbia University, has been 
promoted to a full professorship. 
PROFESSOR M. V. O’SHEA, of the Buffalo 
School of Pedagogy, has been appointed to the 
chair of pedagogy in the University of Wisconsin. 
THE trustees of Oberlin College have elected 
as President, Dr. William Slocum, now Presi- 
dent of Colorado College. 
Dr. Fucus has been promoted to an associate 
professorship of paleontology in the University 
at Munich. Dr. G. Boccardi has been appointed 
associate professor of microscopical anatomy at 
the University of Naples, and Dr. J. Szadowski 
SCIENCE. 
(N.S. Von. VI. No. 131. 
associate professor of geology at the University 
at Klausenburg. Dr. E. Wiechert has quali- 
fied as docent in physics at the University at 
Gottingen, Dr. Adolf Marcuse as docent in 
astronomy in the University of Berlin, and Dr. 
Max Dettrich as docent in chemistry in the Uni- 
versity at Heidelberg. 
DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 
PALEONTOLOGICAL AND EMBRYOLOGICAL 
METHODS.—A REJOINDER. 
ALTHOUGH I would have preferred to post- 
pone the discussions on the systematic position 
of Tarsius which was commenced a few months 
ago (SCIENCE, February 12th, April 2d, April 
23d) till the publication of a more extensive 
memoir which is at present in preparation, I 
may yet be allowed to say a few words in reply 
to Mr. Harle’s ‘‘claim that the paleontological 
method in determining phylogeny is more 
nearly accurate than the embryological, as in 
the latter many characters are lost and innum- 
erable cenogenetic variations are introduced 
which the embryologists: often cannot distin- 
guish from real homogenetic structures.”’ 
Leaving aside the somewhat loose construc- 
tions as to a ‘method’ in which ‘characters 
are lost and ‘variations introduced,’ and con- 
sidering it to be the writer’s intention to point 
out to us that the facts which are brought to 
light by embryological research are for many 
reasons less reliable than those which we owe 
to paleontological science, I would wish the 
readers of ScrENCE to follow up that line of 
reasoning a little more closely. For it would 
seem to me that if we run a great risk of going 
astray in comparing the characters of the early 
embryos with each other because these charac- 
ters are influenced by ‘ czenogenetic variations,’ 
it is a fortiort none the less dangerous to com- 
pare the adult structures which develop out of 
these embryonic rudiments and upon which the 
same caution should necessarily be brought to 
bear. In that respect a paleontologist can 
hardly be said to be in a safer corner than an 
embryologist. 
When, however, the embryologist wishes to 
construct phylogenetic. trees out of his on- 
togenetical data I quite agree with Mr. Earle 
