NovEeMBER 26, 1897. ] 
Pennsylvania, a saucer of formalin, a book 
which had been infected with the bacteria of 
diphtheria, another with scarlet fever, and an- 
other with erysipelas, were placed under a bell 
jar. The experiment showed that one cubic 
centimeter of formalin to three hundred cubic 
centimeters of space would thoroughly disinfect 
any book in fifteen minutes. 
Ir is possible that the beaver will survive 
longer in Europe than in America. It is said 
that a few individuals are still to be found 
on the Elbe, the Rhine and the Danube,’ and 
Professor Collett, of Christiania, estimates, ac- 
cording to Cosmos, that there are now 100 in- 
dividuals living in Norway, whereas the num- 
ber in 1880 was estimated at 60. Professor 
Collett recommends that government protection 
be afforded to prevent their extermination. 
Dr. Max ScanossER has just issued his Lit- 
eraturbericht of Anthropology and of the Living 
and Fossil Mammals for the year 1893—a 
quarto abstract of 82 pages, in fine type, con- 
taining critical notices and digests of all the 
contributions to these subjects during the year. 
This abstract is from the Archiv fir Anthro- 
pologie, Band 24, and it is an invaluable aid to 
zoologists and paleontologists in all parts of 
the world, especially because it gives the con- 
tents of many papers which are not accessible to 
readers on this side of the water. 
Dr. BERGER has published the original Italian 
text, with comments, of a manuscript dis- 
covered by him in the Vatican Library in the 
hand writing of Michael Angelo. It gives a 
series of prescriptions and treatments for dis- 
eases of the eye which it is supposed he collected 
in view of his own failing eyesight. 
THE last issue of the Masters of Medicine 
series, published by Mr. Fisher Unwin, London, 
is ‘ William Harvey,’ by D’Arcy Power. 
THE Atlantic Monthly promises for next year 
a series of articles by Mr. John Muir, describ- 
ing The Great Government Reservations, The 
Yellowstone Park, The Yosemite Park, fand 
The Sequoia Parks; {aseries by Dr. T. J. J. 
See on the ‘Origin of the Universe,’ and a 
group of articles on modern psychology and its 
contributions to education, as also articles by 
Professor C. S. Sargent on the preservation of 
SCIENCE. 
807 
the forests and by Professor D. G. Brinton on re- 
sults of American archeological investigations. 
Mr. BERNARD QUARITCH, London, offers for 
sale a complete set of the ‘Philosophical Trans- 
actions of the Royal Society’ for £240. The 
set includes the ‘ Philosophical Collections’ by 
Robert Hook, seven numbers complete, pub- 
lished in 1679-1682, during which time the 
Philosophical Transactions were interrupted, 
which were intended to supply the gap. 
THE Open Court Publishing Company, Chi- 
cago, propose issuing a series of life-size por- 
traits of eminent philosophers and men of 
science, should the advance subscriptions war- 
rant the undertaking. They have prepared a 
preliminary list of sixty-two philosophers and 
psychologists and offer this set for $7.50. We 
trust that this very reasonable price, and the 
value of the work already done in this direc- 
tion by the Open Court Publishing Company, 
will secure a sufficient number of subscriptions 
to lead them to publish the series, and to fol- 
low it as they suggest with series of mathemati- 
cians, physicists, biologists, etc. 
It is perhaps worthy of note as indicating 
tendencies of scientific development that of the 
thirty-six philosophers given in the series drawn 
up by the Open Court Publishing Company all 
are dead except one, whereas a large propor- 
tion of the psychologists are now living. The 
list of psychologists is as follows: Cabanis, 
Maine ‘de Biran, Beneke, G. EK. Muller, E. H. 
Weber, Fechner, Helmholtz, Hering, Aubert, 
Mach, Stumpf, Munk, Exner, Wernicke, Stein- 
thal, Brentano, Paul Janet, Ribot, Taine, 
Fouillée, Binet, Bain, Romanes, C. Lloyd Mor- 
gan, Bastian, William James. The omission of 
Wundt’s name from the list is probably through 
inadvertence. In the English names biology is 
emphasized at the expense of psychology. The 
names of Ladd and Hall should be added to 
give America its fair representation. 
THE Smithsonian Institution is about to 
print, in its Miscellaneous Contributions, a work 
entitled ‘ List of Recorded Earthquakes on the 
Pacific Coast, 1769-1897’ (illustrated), by Hd- 
ward S. Holden. The data are derived from a 
similar list of recorded earthquakes, 1769-1888 
(with a very considerable number of additions 
