November 25, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



749 



Corporation Professor George H. Brush re- 

 signed the Directorship of the Sheffield Scien- 

 tific School, which he has held for twenty-six 

 years, and Dr. R. H. Chittenden, professor of 

 physiological chemistry, was elected Director. 



We understand, though the complications and 

 delays of the law are difficult to follow, that 

 the Supreme Court of the United States has 

 finally rejected the application for a revision of 

 the distribution of the Fayerweather estate, 

 and that the colleges may now make use of the 

 money they have received and will soon be 

 given the balance due them. 



The will of the late Dr. Thomas Seton Rob- 

 ertson, which left the greater part of his prop- 

 erty to the medical department of the Univer- 

 sity of Vermont, is being contested by his wife, 

 against whom he had begun two years ago a 

 suit for divorce. 



A PSYCHOLOGICAL laboratory is being fitted 

 up at Wells College, and a course in experi- 

 mental psychology will be given by Miss Wash- 

 burn, professor of philosophy. 



Mr. Swale Vincent, has been elected to the 

 Sharpey Physiological Scholarship (£150 per 

 annum). University College, London, which 

 carries with it the post of chief assistant in the 

 physiological laboratoi-y. In the annual elec- 

 tion for fellowships in St. Johns College the 

 two fellows chosen were Mr. R. C. Maclaurin, 

 (mathematics) and Mr. V. H. Blackman (bot- 

 any). 



Professors Beebe and Pierpont have been 

 promoted from assistant to full professors of 

 mathematics in Yale University. In the same 

 University Dr. G. P. Eaton has been appointed 

 assistant in osteology in the Peabody Museum. 



After listening to a report on the condition 

 of commercial education at home and abroad 

 the New York Chamber of Commerce has, ac- 

 cording to Bradstreet's, adopted resolutions ad- 

 vocating measures looking to the improvement 

 of such education in the United States. Premis- 

 ing that the conditions of modern commerce 

 and industry require wider knowledge and 

 higher education on the part of business men, 

 the resolutions declared that the present educa- 

 tional facilities affi3rded to business men in busi- 



ness colleges and similar institutions are inade- 

 quate and fail to equip them for competition in 

 the world's 'commerce. The chamber went on 

 record as favoring the establishment and de- 

 velopment of sounder commercial education, 

 both in secondary schools and higher institutions 

 of learning throughout the country. The ap- 

 pointment was directed of a special committee 

 to inquire further into the subject of commer- 

 cial education, the committee being instructed 

 to lay before the Chamber such plans as might 

 best aid in attaining the end proposed. The 

 superintendent suggested the inspection of com- 

 mercial high schools by representatives of tlie 

 Chamber, and the submission to such represent- 

 atives of the courses of study prescribed there. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 

 measurements of precision. 



To THE Editor of Science : A communi- 

 cation in the current number of Science under 

 the caption ' Measurements of Precision ' and 

 over the letter ' X ' seems to call for some re- 

 ply. I suppose that it is generally the case 

 that the director of a laboratory assumes re- 

 sponsibility for articles emanating from his lab- 

 oratory with his sanction — at any rate I am 

 always willing to do so — and this is my reason 

 for taking up this matter in place of Blr. Tay- 

 lor. Of the general tone of the article in 

 question I prefer to say nothing, leaving it to 

 less interested persons to judge in the matter. 

 I shall content myself with replying to the 

 criticisms and questions of the writer. 



The upshot of the communication, freed from 

 the subtle vein of humor which runs through 

 it, is that Mr. Taylor has committed the heinous 

 offence of transcribing from his note-book more 

 figures than the results justify. Perhaps 

 the easiest way to treat this charge is to admit 

 it at once, and thus clear the way. I am not, 

 however, disposed to stop there, but shall con- 

 sider the statements of ' X ' as they are made. 

 The first ofl^ence is that Mr. Taylor tabulates 

 his measurements of the diameter of a cylinder 

 twenty centimeters in diameter to ' thousandths 

 and ten-thousandlhs of a millimeter, thus imply- 

 ing that his measures are made to one part in 

 two millions.' I have always urged upon my 



