JANUAEY 1, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



19 



wticli has been' noticed already in Science, 

 met at Clermont-Ferrand, in the Depart- 

 ment of the Puy de Dome, between Septem- 

 ber 2Sth and October 2d, inclusive. The 

 first session was at Biarritz in 1886, but 

 the geological section was added this year. 

 The present Congress, open to anyone on 

 payment of a fee, was attended by about 

 two hundred persons, of whom more than 

 half were French physicians, but its inter- 

 national title was sustained by the pres- 

 ence of ofBcial delegates and representa- 

 tives of eleven other countries. The Con- 

 gress was uader the patronage of the Minis- 

 ter of the Interior who delegated Prof. 

 Proust, general inspector of the Sanitary 

 Services. Dr. de Kanse and Dr. Fredet, 

 president and general secretary, respec- 

 tively, of the Committee of Organization, 

 retained these offices for the meeting. The 

 foreign honorary president, chosen by ac- 

 clamation, was Dr. Berthenson, of Russia, 

 the foreign honorary vice-presidents being 

 Prof. Ludwig, of Austria, Prof. Kuborn, of 

 Belgium, and Mr. Rotch, of the United 

 States. 



The Congress met in three sections, but, 

 as might be expected, the chief interest was 

 in the hydrological section. The Committee 

 of Organization had prepared printed re- 

 ports upon questions pertaining to each 

 section, which were read and discussed. 

 The majority of the papers presented after- 

 wards treated of the therapeutic properties 

 of thermal and climatic stations, but there 

 were three conferences on the history of 

 hydrology, the geology and the climate of 

 the region. The proceedings will be pub- 

 lished under the direction of the Committee. 



Outside the University, where the meet- 

 ings were held, there was much to be seen, 

 and in a volume specially prepared for the 

 occasion the historical and physical features 

 of the province of Auvergne were described. 

 Unfortunately, the cold, rainy weather 

 proved a drawback to sight-seeing. The 



climatological conference was given on the 

 Puy de Dome, at the observatory, which, 

 built twenty years ago, was the first well- 

 equipped mountain meteorological station 

 in Europe. During the Congress, an exhi- 

 bition of objects illustrating the neighbor- 

 ing thermal stations was open at Clermont. 

 Entertainments were given by this munici- 

 pality, and at a banquet oiFered by the man- 

 agement of the Thermal Establishment at 

 Royat some international courtesies were 

 exchanged. After the close of the Congress 

 the more distant thermal stations were vis- 

 ited. The next session is intended to take 

 place at Brussels in 1898. 



A. Lawrence Rotch. 



A PROPOSED BUREAU OF PLANT REGISTRA- 

 TION. 



The question of establishing a bureau for 

 the registration of plants, in connection 

 with the present Division of Pomology, was 

 brought before the Section of Botany and 

 Horticulture at the recent meeting of the 

 Association of American Agricultural Col- 

 leges and Experiment Stations, by Prof. L. 

 C. Corbett, of the West Virginia Univer- 

 sity. After a careful consideration of the 

 matter, the Section appointed a committee 

 to report upon the feasibility of the scheme, 

 and to suggest the outline of a plan to be 

 presented to Congress at an early date. 

 The committee consisted of L. C. Corbett, 

 Morgantown, W. Va., Chairman ; W. A. 

 Taylor, United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, Washington, D. C. ; Prof L. H. 

 Bailey, Ithaca, N. Y. ; F. S. Earle, Auburn, 

 Ala., and C. H. Shinn, Berkeley, Cal. 



The idea is to have some one place in the 

 United States where all plants placed upon 

 the market can be officially registered, num- 

 bered, and a description, together with 

 specimens of the bloom, seed, foliage and 

 fruit, placed on record. When it is not 

 practicable to preserve the original, colored 

 casts are to be prepared, as in the case of 



