40 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVII. No. 418. 



buildings, its official display, and as an aid to 

 the manufacturing and commercial features. 

 Thus far no announcement has been made of 

 the sum likely to be set aside for use at St. 

 Louis, but, from assurances given by the em- 

 peror, that for the purpose of illustrating 

 every phase of its artistic, manufacturing, 

 agricultural and industrial development Ger- 

 many would make at St. Louis the finest ex- 

 hibit ever shovra. from that country, the con- 

 clusion has been reached that at least 4,000,000 

 Marks -will be set aside for this purpose. 



Mount MeKinley, the highest mountain on 

 the North American continent, was visited last 

 season by Alfred H. Brooks and his party 

 from the United States Geological Survey, of 

 which Mr. D. L. Eeaburn was topographer. 

 As far as is known, this is the first time the 

 slopes of the peak have been reached by white 

 men, though in 1898 its altitude and moisture 

 were determined from a distance by Robert 

 Muldrow, of the same survey. The mountain 

 is located near the western margin of the 

 Alaskan Range, the general name given to 

 the large mountain mass which separates the 

 Yukon and Kuskokwim waters from Cook 

 Inlet drainage. It is a great dome-shaped 

 mountain, formed of intrusive rock, towering 

 to an elevation of over 20,000 feet above the 

 Bea level. Though its summit reaches so 

 high an altitude, almost four miles above tide, 

 it probably is not as difficult of ascent as some 

 other Alaskan mountains, for example. Mount 

 St. Elias, because of its relatively high snow 

 line. As the season was well advanced, as 

 much of his itinerary had still to be carried 

 out, and as it was no part of the original plan, 

 Mr. Brooks did not attefhpt to pass the snow 

 line, though this point was reached. Now 

 that the location and height of the mountain 

 have been established by the exploration of 

 the Geological Survey, travelers and individ- 

 ual explorers will doubtless soon attempt to 

 reach the summit. In anticipation of these 

 attempts, Mr. Brooks is preparing a descrip- 

 tion of the country, giving routes by which 

 the mountain may be reached and other in- 

 formation valuable to those interested in its 

 ascent. His paper will appear in one of the 



leading geographical magazines. The more 

 elaborate and extended report of the explora- 

 tion will be published by the Geological Sur- 

 vey at an early date. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 



It is announced that during the past two 

 years an endowment fund of more than $1,- 

 000,000 has been raised for Syracuse Univer- 

 sity. 



By the will of the late Mrs. Lura Courrier, 

 of New York City, Yale University will ulti- 

 mately receive $50,000 for the aid of poor 

 students. 



Northwestern University will celebrate its 

 founder's day on January 28, when its new 

 professional school building, costing over 

 $900,000, will be dedicated. President Had- 

 ley, of Yale University, will deliver the dedi- 

 catory address, taking as his subject, 'The 

 Place of the Professionl School in the Mod- 

 ern University, and its Relation to the Other 

 Departments.' 



The electrical laboratory of the Rensselaer 

 Polytechnic Institute at Troy, N. Y., has 

 been almost completely destroyed by fire. The 

 loss is estimated at over $30,000. 



We learn from Nature that the reader in 

 geography and the lectutrers in ethnology and 

 geology of Cambridge University have ar- 

 ranged for a series of lectures and practical 

 courses to serve as a training for persons 

 wishing to undertake exploration or desirous 

 of contributing to our knowledge of foreign 

 countries. The series wiU be held during the 

 Lent term, and will include history of geo- 

 graphical discovery, principles of physical 

 geography, map-making and map-reading, 

 geography of Europe, by Mr. Oldham; an- 

 thropogeography, practical ethnology, by Pro- 

 fessor Haddon; geomorphology and geology, 

 by Mr. Marr; plane-table and photographic 

 surveying, by Mr. Garwood, and elementaiy 

 astronomical surveying, by Mr. Hinks. 



Kenyon K. Butterfield, instructor in rural 

 sociology at the University of Michigan, has 

 been appointed to the presidency of the Rhode 

 Island State College of Agriculture, at Kings- 

 ton. 



