442 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 196. 



investigate the mode of dissemination of ma- 

 laria with a view to devising means for prevent- 

 ing the terrible mortality which now takes place 

 among Europeans resident in tropical and sub- 

 tropical climates, has now been nominated. It 

 ■ will consist, according to the British Medical 

 Journal, of Dr. C. W. Daniels, of the Colonial 

 Medical Service, British Guiana, who is well 

 known for the many valuable contributions he 

 has made to tropical medicine ; Di-. J. W. y^. 

 Stephens, formerly Lawrence student in pa- 

 thology and bacteriology at St. Bartholomew's 

 Hospital, and the author of the essay on the 

 Bacteriology of Asiatic Cholera in Allbutt's 

 ' System of Medicine,' and Dr. R. S. Christo- 

 phers, of University College, Liverpool. Dr. 

 Daniels will proceed at first to Calcutta, where 

 he will acquaint himself practically with the 

 remarkable work which Surgon-Major Ross, 

 of the Indian Medical Service, is carrying on 

 into the relation of mosquitos to the dissemina- 

 tion of malaria. Drs. Stephens and Christo- 

 phers will at first proceed to Rome, where they 

 will spend some time in studying malaria. Sub- 

 sequently the Commissioners will meet together 

 at Blantj're, British Central Africa. 



We learn from Nature that the Tenth Con- 

 gress of Russian Naturalists and Physicians 

 was opened at KieflTon September 3d, with an 

 attendance of nearly 1,500 members, under the 

 presidency of Professor N. A. Bunge. The 

 Presidents of the different sections were the fol- 

 lowing professors : Mathematics, V. P. Erma- 

 koflf; Sub-section of Mechanics, G. K. SusloflF; 

 Astronomy, M. T. H. KhandrikofF ; Physics, 

 N. N. Schiller ; Sub-section of Aeronautics, N. 

 E. Zhukovsky ; Chemistry, N. A. Bunge ; 

 Mineralogy and Geology, K. M. Feofilaktoff ; 

 Botany, O. K. Baranetsky ; Zoology, N. V. 

 Bobretsky ; Anatomy, Physiology and Medical 

 Science, M. A. TikhomiroflT; Geography and 

 Anthropology, V. B. Antonovich ; Agriculture, 

 S. M. Bogdanoff; and Hygiene, V. D. Orloff. 

 Two papers were read at the first general meet- 

 ing : one by Professor Bugaeff, on the philo- 

 sophical purports of mathematics ; and the 

 other by Professor Mendel6eff, on the oscil- 

 lations of the balance. 



The Geologist's Association of London, says 



Natural Science, held their long excursion in 

 the Birmingham district from July 28th to 

 August 3d, under the directorship of Profes- 

 sors Lapworth and Watts, Dr. Stacy Wilson, 

 and Messrs Jerome Harrison and Wickham 

 King. Messrs. Sollas, Blake, Sherborn and 

 Miss Wood, of Birmingham, were among the 

 fifty or sixty persons present. Mr. Frederick 

 Meeson acted eflficiently as Excursion Secretary. 

 The main attraction of the excursion was the 

 comparison of the Archiean and Cambrian 

 rocks of the district with those seen on a 

 previous occasion in the Shrewsbury area under 

 the same directors. The basic dyke in Abel's 

 Quarry, near Nuneaton, penetrating the Ar- 

 chajan, but cut off by the overlying Cambrian 

 Quartzite, was an object of much interest, 

 while the Hyolithes beds of Cambrian age 

 yielded sparingly Kutorgina, Hyolithes and other 

 fossils. The remarkable bending of the edges 

 of the Menevian beds underlying the Car- 

 boniferous conglomerate was examined in de- 

 tail, and the theory of the movement of soil-cap 

 was held to be suflBcient to account for it with- 

 out calling in any more violent means. The 

 geologists were shown, by Professors Lapworth 

 and Watts, the imaginary restoration of the old 

 Triassio sea, with its islands of Chamwood, 

 Nuneaton, Lickey, Shrewsbury, etc. The head 

 of a trilobite was found for the first time in the 

 Lowes Stockingford Shales, thus helping for- 

 ward the elucidation of the life of the period. 

 The last day an excursion was made to the 

 Dudley and Wren's Nest Silurian, and owing 

 to the excellent arrangements made by Mr. 

 Claughton the workings were explored in boats 

 in a most complete manner. 



Owing to his absence in Colorado, where he 

 will be occupied in inspection of forest reserves 

 until November, Mr. J. G. Jack will not give 

 his usual course of lectures at Arnold Arbore- 

 tum on trees and shrubs this autumn. 



Dr. F. W. Dafeet has been appointed Di- 

 rector of the Agricultural Chemical Station in 

 Vienna. 



Dr. VoGES, assistant in the Berlin Institute 

 for Infectious Diseases, has been appointed Di- 

 rector of the Bacteriological Institute at Buenos 

 Ayres. 



