August 19, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



219 



British Astronomical Association the observa- 

 tory erected by tlie late Sir Henrj^ Bessemer. 



Mr. Balfour, leader of the British House of 

 Commons, receutlj' made an interesting address 

 on the subject of research ou the occasion of the 

 distribution of prizes at the medical school of 

 Guy's Hospital, which led a member of the 

 audience to send an anonymous gift of $6,000 

 for the endowment of medical research. 



M. A. Gaudey recently stated before the 

 Paris Academy of Sciences that Victor Lemoine 

 had bequeathed his valuable paleontological 

 collection to the Paris Museum of Natural His- 

 tory. His widow has given to the Museum the 

 land at Cernay, near Reims, whence the fossils 

 had been obtained. 



The annual meeting of the Corporation and 

 Board of Trustees of the IMarine Biological 

 Laboratory was held at Woods Holl, Mass. , on 

 August 9, 1898. The report of the Director 

 showed the Laboratory to be in a flourishing 

 condition and the attendance large. The fol- 

 lowing is a list of the Board of Trustees and 

 the officers for the ensuing j'ear : President, H. 

 F. Oshorn ; Director, C. O. Whitman ; Assist- 

 ant Director, J. I. Peck ; Secretary, H. C. 

 Bumpus ; Treasurer, D. Blakely Hoar. Trustees, 

 to serve four years: E. G. Conklin, Camillus G. 

 Kidder, M. M. Metcalf, William Patten, D. P. 

 Penhallow, W. B. Scott. To serve three years : 

 S. F. Clarke, E. G. Gardiner, J. P. McMurrich, 

 L. L. Nunn, H. F. Oshorn, E. B. Wilson. To 

 serve two years : William Libbey, W. T. 

 Sedgwick, W. K. Brooks, William Trelease, 

 W. P. V/ilson, R. Ramsay Wright. To serve 

 one year : J. H. Macfarlane, F. P. Hall, Jacques 

 Loeb, T. H. Morgan, W. A. Locy. 



The second report of the select committee of 

 the British House of Commons appointed to in- 

 quire into the administration and cost of the 

 museums of the Science and Art Department 

 was finally adopted on .July 29th by 7 to 3. 

 Perhaps the most important recommendation is 

 to the effect that with a view to the efficient 

 and economical management of the museums 

 in London, to say nothing of other educational 

 advantages not within the order of reference, 

 the committee deem it of paramount impor- 

 tance that there be an Education Minister of 



Cabinet rank having a seat in the legislature 

 aided by a Parliamentary Secretary. It is 

 recommended that the Geological Museum in 

 Jermyn-street be not occupied as now, but that 

 the collections there exhibited be removed to 

 the west side of Exhibition-road as a science 

 collection. 



The Manitou and Pike's Peak Railroad has 

 arranged to build an observatory onPike's Peak, 

 but it does not appear at present to be intended 

 to be used for scientific purposes. 



The dedication of the new biological and 

 dairy building at the New York Agricultural 

 Experiment Station at Geneva will take place 

 on or about September 14th. 



The British government has been asked by 

 the Royal Scottish Aboricultural Society for a 

 grant of $200,000 for the establishment of a 

 State Forest near Edinburgh, which it is in- 

 tended to cultivate according to the methods of 

 modern forestry as an example to landed pro- 

 prietors. It would also be used for research in 

 forestry. 



Professor Behring has secured a patent on 

 the manufacture of diphtheria antitoxin in the 

 United States. This appears to be an unfor- 

 tunate exception to the moral code which pre- 

 vents medical men from making monopolies of 

 the remedies they discover. Still it must be re- 

 membered that such a patent permits the prep- 

 aration of the antitoxin under standard condi- 

 tions and will not of necessity increase the 

 price. The remarks of the medical journals 

 seem rather extreme, as witness the following 

 from the Medical Becord: "Professor Behr- 

 ing * * * now thinks he is in position, with 

 loaded syringe, to demand of every defenceless 

 babe its money or its life. We do not believe 

 the courts will legalize any such impudent at- 

 tempt at brigandage." 



The Congress of the Royal Institute of Public 

 Health, under the presidency of Sir Charles 

 Cameron, M.D., Is now being held in Dublin. 

 The British Medical Journal states that the local 

 preparations are on an extensive scale. The 

 local committee is large and representative, and 

 the subscriptions so far received are generous 

 enough to make it certain that the entertain- 

 ments will be exceptionally good. The meet- 



