316 



SCIENCE. 



[N.S. VOL.XVIII. No. 453. 



whicli was taken from the stomach of a hog- 

 in October, 1899. This was one of several 

 similar balls. When it came into my posses- 

 sion it had been somewhat compressed, so 

 that it was somewhat cuboidal in form. Evi- 

 dently, however, its form originally was pretty 

 nearly spherical. From a preliminary study 

 of the substance of the ball, I find that it con- 

 sists entirely of vegetable fibers, and as far 

 as the examination has gone these fibers ap- 

 pear to be those of alfalfa (Medicago sativa). 



Externally, the ball is grayish in color with 

 darker brown spots over the surface. The 

 interior is buff color, and the whole is quite 

 hard. It resembles in a general way the hair 

 balls which are so frequently found in the 

 stomachs of cattle, but is considerably heavier. 

 This preliminary notice is made in order to 

 call the attention of botanists who are situated 

 near packing-houses where swine are killed 

 to the possibility of -finding more of these 

 curious formations. A careful examination 

 will be made of the fibrous material composing 

 the ball, and a full report then published. 

 Photographs have been taken of the ball, and 

 these will be reproduced when the investiga- 

 tion has been completed. 



Charles E. Bessey. 



University of Nebraska. 



MEMORIAL OF THE LATE WALTER REED. 

 On the fifteenth of August a meeting was 

 held in Bar Harbor of friends of the late 

 Major Eeed, M.D., U.S.A., to whom in a large 

 degree is due both the discovery of the mode 

 by which yellow fever has been spread, and 

 also the consequent suppression of that dire 

 disease. Eepresentative men were present 

 from different parts of the country and letters 

 were received from various members of com- 

 mittees already appointed to promote the col- 

 lection of a memorial fund in grateful com- 

 memoration of Dr. Eeed's services. Impor- 

 tant suggestions were presented from Presi- 

 dent Eliot, Dr. W. W. Keen, Professor J. W. 

 Mallet and others. Dr. Daniel C. Gilman, 

 chairman of a committee appointed by the 

 American Association for the Advancement 

 of Science, presided, and Dr. Stuart Paton 



acted as secretary. Among those who took 

 part in the conference were Dr. W. H. Welch, 

 of Baltimore; Dr. Janeway, of New York; 

 Dr. Abbott, of Philadelphia; Dr. Herter, of 

 New York; Dr. Barker, of Chicago; Dr. Put- 

 nam, of Buffalo; Dr. Fremont Smith, of Bar 

 Harbor; and Dr. Sajous, of Philadelphia; and 

 besides these medical gentlemen. Bishop Lawr- 

 ence, of Massachusetts, and Messrs. Morris 

 K. Jesup, president of the New York Chamber 

 of Commerce; John S. Kennedy, president of 

 the Presbyterian Hospital of New York, and 

 William J. Schieffelin, of New York. The 

 following conclusions were reached: that an 

 effort should be made to raise a memorial 

 fund of $25,000 or more, the income to be 

 given to the widow and daughter of Dr. Eeed, 

 and after their decease the principal to be 

 appropriated either to the promotion of re- 

 searches in Dr. Eeed's special field, or to the 

 erection of a memorial in his honor at Wash- 

 ington. Arrangements were made for the 

 publication of circulars explaining this move- 

 ment, and asking cooperation not only from 

 the medical profession, but from all liberally 

 disposed individuals who appreciate the value 

 of Dr. Eeed's services to mankind. 



SCIENTIFIC KOTES AND NEWS. 



The American Chemical Society will hold 

 its next meeting in Convocation Week in con- 

 junction with the meeting of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science. 



Dr. Emil Tietze, director of the Imperial 

 Geological Institute of Austria, was chosen 

 president of the Ninth International Geolog- 

 ical Congress, which opened at Vienna on 

 August 20. 



Dr. E. von Leydex, professor of pathology 

 at the University of Berlin, celebrated the 

 fiftieth anniversary of his doctorate on Au- 

 gust 11. 



Dr. E. Lydekker, F.E.S., has been elected 

 a foreign member of the Accademia dei Lincei 

 of Eome. 



The Botanical Gazette states that Mr. C. 

 G. Lloyd, of Cincinnati, has been elected a 

 member of the German Botanical Society and 

 of the Botanical Society of France. 



