September 18, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



383 



the buildings at Cinchona relinquished hy 

 the government of Jamaica have been rented 

 for a tropical botanical laboratory. 



The daily papers state that large crowds 

 are visiting the American Museum of Natural 

 History, Nevf York, to see the specimen of 

 radium there on exhibition, which was pre- 

 sented by Mr. Edward D. Adams. 



The Chemical Laboratory of the University 

 Modena, including a scientific library con- 

 taining 15,000 works, has been destroyed by 

 fire. 



The Farmers' Xatioual Congress will hold 

 its twenty-third annual session at Niagara 

 Falls, beginning on September 22. Among 

 the general addresses of scientific interest on 

 the program are : ' Infectious and Contagious 

 Diseases of Farm Animals and their effect 

 on American Agriculture.' Dr. D. E. Salmon, 

 Washington, D. C; 'Insect Pests of Plants 

 and their effect on American Agriculture,' 

 Professor F. M. Webster, Urbana, 111. 



The British Journal of Education states 

 that the council of the Koyal Geographical 

 Society has at the request of the London 

 School Board and the Oxford and Cambridge 

 School Examinations Board drawn up syl- 

 labuses as guides to instruction in geography 

 in elementary and in secondary schools. The 

 elementary suggestions were drafted by the 

 late Mr. T. G. Eooper, H.M.LS., and, after his 

 death, they were revised by Mr. G. G. Chis- 

 holm, M.A., B.Sc. The secondary were drafted 

 by Mr. H. J. Mackinder. 



The British Government has appointed a 

 conmiission to inquire into the alleged phys- 

 ical deterioration of the lower classes, with 

 Mr. Almeric W. Fitzroy, clerk of the privy 

 council, as chairman. 



The daily papers state that the legacy of 

 M. de Pierrecourt, who left his money to the 

 city of Rouen for the purpose of founding a 

 family of giants, with a view to the physical 

 regeneration of the human race, has been 

 before the Council of State in Paris. An 

 arrangement has been arrived at by which the 

 city of Rouen undertakes to apply a sum of 

 800,000f. out of the testator's estate to the 



foundation of a useful institution, and to pay 

 over the rest of the estate to M. de Pierre- 

 court's heirs. 



C.\SES of illness including four deaths have 

 occurred at Marseilles which are attributed 

 to the plague, while in northern Mexico there 

 is an outbreak of yellow fever, which is now 

 being investigated by the Health Department 

 of Texas. 



The U. S. Geological Survey has estab- 

 lished seven new river stations and renewed 

 four of the five old stations in North Dakota, 

 so that eleven stations are now in operation 

 in this state. The stations in the eastern 

 part of the state have been established to de- 

 termine the amount of water power available 

 and for other general purposes. In the west- 

 ern part of the state, which is semi-arid, the 

 stations have been established to determine 

 the amount of water available for irrigation. 

 This region has no large rivers except the Mis- 

 souri, which has only a small fall, not so 

 great as most irrigation canals. It is not 

 probable, therefore, that this stream can be 

 used for irrigation purposes until a later 

 time, when the land shall have become more 

 valuable. A thorough examination is being 

 made of aU the streams and the lands in 

 North Dakota west of the Missouri River with 

 a view to irrigation projects. If any project 

 appears to be favorable, detailed surveys and 

 estimates may be made, and, if the project is 

 then found feasible, it will be recommended 

 for construction. An examination is also 

 being made of the cheap and abundant lignite 

 resources of the state in the hope that lignite 

 can be utilized for fuel in pumping water for 

 irrigation in certain localities, where long 

 canals would be impracticable. 



The London correspondent of the Journal 

 of the American Medical Association calls 

 attention to the statistics of the birth rate in 

 Australia, recently collected by Mr. Coglan. 

 The fall in the birth rate in Australia and 

 New Zealand taken together is such that there 

 are annually fewer births by nearly 20,000 

 than would have occurred if the rates prevail- 

 ing as late as ten years ago had been main- 

 tained. New South Wales furnishes a stri- 



