DECEMBER 24, 1897. ] 
BEGINNING with January, 1898, the American 
Geologist will contain an alphabetical author 
catalogue of articles relating to the geology of 
North America. Each month’s issue will in- 
elude titles of articles received up to the 20th 
of the preceding month. Sheets containing 
this catalogue will be mailed monthly to libra- 
ries or individuals at $1.00 per year, provided 
a sufficient number of orders are received to 
cover the expense. 
THE London Times states that the inaugural 
general meeting of the Automobile Club of 
Great Britain took place on December 8th, at 
the Club premises, 4 Whitehall Court, Mr. 
Roger W. Wallace being in the chair. The ob- 
jects for which this institution has been estab- 
lished are described as the encouragement and 
development of the motor and allied industries 
in England, and one of its leading character- 
istics is that it is to be essentially a members’ 
elub, conducted quite independently of any 
personal interests. It aims at affording its 
members support in the protection and defence 
of their rights where menaced and at being a 
social club where they may obtain information 
and advice on all matters appertaining to motor 
vehicles. At the meeting yesterday the chair- 
man gave a brief review of the position and 
policy of the Club, and certain routine business 
was transacted in connection with its organiza- 
tion and the formal opening of its premises for 
the use of members. Afterwards there was a 
display of various types of motor vehicles, 
which conveyed members and their friends for 
trial runs along Whitehall Court and the 
Thames Embankment. 
UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 
Sir W. C. McDonaLp, whose gifts to McGill 
University have already been very generous, 
has just given an additional two hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars to the institutution. 
Fifty thousand dollars of this sum is to be used 
as an endowment in strengthening the law fac- 
ulty, and the remaining two hundred thousand 
dollars is for the scientific departments. 
' A TRAVELLING fellowship, of the value of 
$500, has been established at Haverford Col- 
lege, through a gift of some of the alumni. 
SCIENCE. 
957 
THE contest over the will of the late William 
Lampson, bequeathing about $500,000 to Yale 
University, has been dismissed by the lower 
courts, but it is said that the case will be car- 
ried to the Supreme Court. 
THE will of the late Mrs. Julia B. H. James 
makes the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- 
ogy and the Boston Museum of Arts her resid- 
uary legatees. 
On the early morning of December 18th Par- 
dee Hall, the building containing most of the 
scientific departments of Lafayette College, was 
destroyed by fire, with the exception of the east 
wing. The loss on the building is probably 
covered by insurance, but valuable collections 
have been lost. The origina! building was 
erected ata cost of over $200,000, the gift of 
Mr. Ario Pardee, and was completely destroyed 
by fire in 1879. 
THE registration in the University of Michi- 
gan is reported as follows: 
TUTE fecaccdocooccqadandonadh000 suosopcoRuocaS 1,297 
TEN fo casoasbascqnaensEss6b0co0s0509060sG050R09099 723 
INCI yg sancosascbocasnnonneecdpooHocaDoEBSESDS 431 
IS TOME TH Pceocacooecunnabossoscosaosoocosbe0 274 
ID EMEA sconces sonnpcoosopaoasnscsonoccnosancoosee 220 
IBhanma cypeeceeseseeeseteeeeeeere sees taceeeeses 77 
Homoeopathic... ............0seeeceeeeeeeeees 60 
TROtale aes cece tech ok serena ay 3,083 
THE registration in the different schools of 
Columbia University on November 7, 1895, 
1896 and 1897, respectively, was 1806, 1796 
and 2088, exclusive of students of Barnard Col- 
lege and auditors. The college of Columbia 
University is small, containing only 312 stu- 
dents, but the graduate and professional schools 
have about the same number of students as the 
corresponding schools of Harvard University— 
namely, 1,762 at Harvard and 1792 at Columbia. 
The entrance classes in Columbia have decreased 
this year—582 as against 651 in 1896, the loss 
being in the Medical and Law Schools. 
THE Cornell University Register, of which we 
have received an advance copy, shows a gain in 
numbers, the total to date being 1,790 as against 
1,763 at this time last year. The University 
now shows the largest registration ever reached 
at this point in the academic year, and with the 
usual growth during the year it will have be- 
