SEPTEMBER 10, 1897. ] 
lish shortly an article on the work of the Con- 
gress. 
THE American Social Science Association held 
its general meeting in Saratoga last week. Mr. 
Frank B. Sanborn, who for more than twenty 
years has been Secretary of the Association, on 
resigning, presented a report tracing the history 
of the Association, which he thought was not 
accomplishing as much asitshould. A number 
of interesting papers were, however, presented 
at the Saratoga meeting. Judge Simeon EH. 
Baldwin, New Haven, was elected President 
and Mr. F. Stanley Root, New Haven, Secre- 
tary. 
THE French government proposes to send an 
official expedition to Egypt, starting from Mar- 
seilles on October 28, 1897, and returning in 
the month of December. The expedition will 
be under the direction of Professor Révillont. 
Volunteers willing to pay their own expenses 
will be allowed to join. The arrangements are 
in the charge of M. Maurice Junot, of Rue de 
Rome, Paris. 
WE learn from Natural Science that Mr. 
George Murray and Mr. V. H. Blackman have 
returned from their trip to Panama, after a 
successful and profitable voyage. They have 
obtained a large quantity of plankton contain- 
ing many new specimens, which will shortly 
be worked out, and have made numerous inter- 
esting observations on living forms. They 
spent two or three days in Jamaica on the way. 
PROFESSOR KOCH, so it is reported, is about 
to return to South Africa to carry out further 
experiments in relation to rinderpest. 
PROFESSOR CHARLES 8S. Prosser, of Union - 
College, has been engaged during the past sum- 
mer in mapping and describing the Upper De- 
vonian formations of southeastern New York 
for the New York Geological Survey. 
THE Botanical Gazette states that Drs. Farlow 
and Coulter will make, during the winter, a 
further examination in the West Indies with a 
view to finding a suitable site for a botanical 
tropical laboratory. 
Aw illustrated monthly of popular botany, 
The Plant World, will be published by Willard 
SCIENCE. 
AQT 
N. Clute & Co., Binghamton, N. Y., begin- 
ning October 1st. The editor is Dr. F. H. 
Knowlton, United States National Museum. 
On September 8rd Professor Nef gave a pub- 
lic address at the University of Chicago on 
‘The Problems of Organic Chemistry,’ and on 
September 7th and 8th Professor Lester F. 
Ward was announced to give two lectures, one 
on ‘ The Founder of Sociology, Auguste Comte,’ 
the other on ‘ Nature and Nurture.’ 
PROFESSOR SKLAREK, Halle, calls our atten- 
tion to the fact that among the publications 
of the late W. Preyer, given on page 252 above, 
‘The Five Senses of Man’ was included. The 
book is by Professor J. Bernstein, of Halle. 
WE are glad to receive the information that 
‘The Louisiana Society of Naturalists’ was 
organized on July 22d. The Society will not only 
undertake to encourage and advance the study 
of natural science, but will also establish a 
library and a museum, and will publish its pro- 
ceedings. The Society is to be incorporated 
and starts with about 45 members, nearly all of 
whom are workers in some branch of natural 
science. The first officers are: 
President, Professor J. H. Dillard, Tulane Univer- 
sity ; Vice-Presidents, Mr. G. R. Westfeldt, Professor 
H. A. Morgan, Louisiana State University, Rev. A. 
B. Langlois ; Secretary-Treasurer, Mr. E. Foster ; Ha- 
ecutive Committee, Professor J. H. Dillard, Professor 
G. E. Beyer, Mr. G. R. Westfeld, Dr. O. Joachim, 
Professor H. A. Morgan, Mr. J. C. Smith, Rey. A. 
B. Langlois, Mr. E. Foster. 
Mr. H. C. FarrBANnKS, of Sibley College, 
while reconstructing a gas-engine, observed a 
singular though probably not exceptional phe- 
nomenon which, so far as known, has not been 
previously described. The machine exhibited 
a great loss of heater-efficiency, which was un- 
accounted for and was not affected by any 
changes made in the process of general repair. 
Finally it was suspected that the conductivity 
of the metal of the cast iron ‘fire-pot’ had 
been impaired by oxidation or otherwise, and it 
was replaced by a new one. The engine 
at once started off at full power and regained 
its original efficiency. 
