OCTOBKE 14, 1898.] 



SCIENCE, 



511 



Ameghino considers was the animal described 

 by Lista, and as that naturalist unfortu- 

 nately lost his life while exploring Pilcomayo, 

 and was the only civilized man who had seen 

 it in the flesh, he names it Neomylodon Uatai. 

 The importance of the discovery need not be 

 emphasized here. 



Professob Koch, with his assistants, Profes- 

 sor Kossel and Dr. Pfeiffer, is, says the British 

 Medical Journal, at present in Rome studying 

 the malarial question in all its aspects. The 

 Italian government has placed the state labora- 

 tories at his disposal, and the Minister of the 

 Interior entrusted Professor Santiliquido, the 

 head of the laboratories, to welcome him on 

 behalf of the government. Permission has also 

 been granted him to study the cases of malaria 

 admitted into the military hospital and into 

 the hospital of Santo Spirito. Professor Koch 

 has found only a small number of cases of ma- 

 larial fever in these institutions, particularly in 

 the military hospital, although September as a 

 rule is the month in the year when the greatest 

 number of cases of malaria are received in the 

 hospitals from the Roman Campagna. Profes- 

 sor Koch and his assistants work daily in the 

 laboratory of the Sancto Spirito hospital, and 

 they make occasional visits to the most malarial 

 districts around the city. He has stated that 

 he was led to study malaria in Italy because 

 the Italian school had written and investigated 

 much about it, and the views of the leaders dif- 

 fer so much in many important points that he 

 was anxious to come to a definite conclusion on 

 the whole subject, if possible. In discussing 

 Ross's work in India in connection with Man- 

 son's mosquito theory, he spoke in the highest 

 terms of Ross's investigation. Professor Koch 

 intends to leave Rome about the end of Sep- 

 tember, when he and his assistants most prob- 

 ably will go to Greece to continue their ma- 

 larial studies in that country. 



The report of the Keeper of the Manchester 

 Museum, says Natural Science, refers to the in- 

 stallation of electric light, which has been ren- 

 dered possible by the generosity of Mr. Reuben 

 Spencer, who contributed £500 to the expense. 

 The Museum is at present in the hands of the 

 painters, and it is to be hoped that the committee 



will sanction the general whitening of the ceil- 

 ings asked for by Mr. Hoyle, in order that the 

 electric light may have a good start. Professor 

 Hickson has been doing good work on the 

 plankton of Lake Bessenthwaite, and some of 

 the rarer forms will shortly be placed on exhibi- 

 tion. Miss Nordlinger, the keeper's secretary, 

 has taken entire charge of the library. The 

 committee have undertaken the printing of Mr. 

 Sherborn's index to the 10th and 12th edi- 

 tions of the ' Systema Naturae ' of Linnseus, 

 which should prove of value to zoologists, as 

 these books form the starting-point of zoological 

 nomenclature. A series of lectures will be de- 

 livered by Professor Boyd Dawkins on certain 

 Saturdays and Sundays between October and 

 June, and other lectures will be delivered by the 

 staff as usual. Mr. Hoyle closes his report 

 with an appeal for more funds, Manchester 

 spending only £2,785 a year on its Museum, 

 while Liverpool spends £5,700. 



The Scientific American gives the following 

 statement of space at the Paris Exposition of 

 1900 as arranged by the Commissioner-General, 

 Mr. F. W. Peck : 



Sq. ft. 



Agriculture and food products 20,000 



Army and navy 3,300 



Chemical industries 5,160 



Education, instruments, practical sciences, 



and arts 11,470 



Fine arts (not yet known) 



Forestry, hunting and fisheries 3,300 



Heating apparatus 4,500 



Horticulture (not yet known) 



Machinery and electricity 50,000 



Manufactures 25,000 



Mines and mining 7,700 



Textiles 13,000 



Transportation and civil engineering 20,000 



Total 163,430 



It has been decided, as we learn from the 

 London Times, to hold an exhibition in Cool- 

 gardie next year, and the government of West- 

 ern Australia has resolved substantially to sup- 

 port the undertaking by a money and land 

 grant. The proposal has been warmly taken 

 up by the people of Western Australia, by 

 whom a representative executive commission 

 has been elected. The original proposition was 



