94 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVIII. No. 446. 



a practical metliod for eradicating the cotton 

 boll weevil. 



The Bufalini prize of the University of 

 Florence will be awarded at the end of October 

 of next year. This prize is of the value of 

 $1,200 and is awarded once every twenty 

 years. The subject is the value of the ex- 

 perimental method in opposition to the specu- 

 lative or dogmatic method of scientific re- 

 search. 



The National Educational Association held 

 a very large and successful meeting at Boston 

 last week, there being a registration of some 

 thirty thousand members. 



The legislative council of Ceylon has in- 

 vited the British Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science to meet in Colombo in 1907 

 or 1908. 



The Swiss Society of Natural Sciences will 

 hold its eighty-sixth session from the second 

 to the fifth of September at Locarno. In 

 connection with the society, which corresponds 

 to the American and British Associations for 

 the Advancement of Science, there are meet- 

 ings of the Swiss societies of geology, botany, 

 zoology and chemistry, and probably of the 

 Zurich Physical Society. The society always 

 provides a full program of entertainments 

 and excursions, and the place of meeting this 

 year is especially inviting to foreigners. 



With the intention of fixing upon a proper 

 forest policy, California has undertaken this 

 year, with the help of the Bureau of Forestry, 

 a comprehensive and detailed study of its 

 forests. The state legislature recently appro- 

 priated $15,000 for the study, the condition 

 being that it should be carried out by the 

 Bureau of Forestry, and that the bureau 

 should bear half the expense. 



A CABLEGRAM from Berlin to the daily 

 papers states that the official report of Pro- 

 fessor Drygalski, of the German Antarctic ex- 

 pedition, was published on July 11. The re- 

 port gives details of the movement of the 

 expedition's vessel Gauss between January 31, 

 1902, and June 9, 1903, on which the Gauss 

 reached Simonstown, South Africa. A num- 

 ber of newly discovered points were christened. 



one being Pesadowsky Bay, where the Gauss 

 lay icebound during the winter. An ice free 

 volcanic peak 1,200 feet high, which was dis- 

 covered, was named the Gaussberg. 



A TELEGRAM has been received, accord- 

 ing to Eeuter's Agency, from Major Powell 

 Cotton, Northumberland Fusiliers, who left 

 England about a year ago on an expedition 

 across Africa from Mombasa, via Lake Ru- 

 dolph and the Upper Nile. After leaving 

 Mount Elgon, to the northeast of Victoria 

 Nyanza, and remaining some time with the 

 cave dwellers there, he marched due north, 

 and since January has been traveling largely 

 through unknown country. On May 11 he 

 reached Obbo, some fifty miles to the north- 

 east of Dufile. On January 1 the explorer 

 left Mount Debasien, and proceeded through 

 Karamojo to Tarash, in Western Turkana, iu 

 the Eudolph Province. In this region the 

 tribes did not prove to be unfriendly, and, 

 contrary to expectation, the notorious Turkana 

 gave no trouble to the expedition. The coun- 

 try, however, was difficult and waterless. North 

 of Tarash Major Powell Cotton crossed Cap- 

 tain Wellby's route and proceeded through 

 Southern Dabossa' and Dodinga to the Nile 

 Province. During this portion of the route, 

 part of which was unexplored, the natives were 

 hostile. The explorer was in good health, and 

 has secured some splendid trophies. He will 

 probably be next heard of at Khartum. 



English journals announce that an expedi- 

 tion is to start for New Guinea in August for 

 the purpose partly of ethnological investiga- 

 tion, but also with the object of collecting 

 data in regard to the distribution and etiology 

 of cancer. The latter portion of the work has 

 been officially recognized by the Cancer Com- 

 mission. A grant has been made by the Royal 

 Society towards the expenses of the expedition, 

 and the Royal Geographical Society has under- 

 taken to lend the greater part of the instru- 

 ments for the geographical investigations 

 which are to be carried out. The expedition, 

 which has been organized in London by Major 

 W. Cooke Daniels, will be unusually well 

 equipped, and a schooner with auxiliary steam 

 power will serve as a movable base. There 



