Fekruaby 19, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



271 



above sea level. It is proposed to construct 

 upon the island a laboratory for investigations 

 in zoology and pisciculture. 



The Boston Society of Medical Sciences has 

 begun the publication of a journal, which is 

 issued, for the present, for free distribution. It 

 contains authors' abstracts of papers presented 

 at the meetings of the Society, and is published 

 promptly after each meeting. A vote of the 

 faculty of the Harvard Medical School requests 

 ' each head of department to have, at least, 

 a summary of the scientific investigations made 

 in his department presented at a meeting of 

 the Boston Society of Medical Sciences for 

 preservation in its journal,' so that the journal 

 will contain a summary of what work of this 

 nature is done in this school. Similar action 

 has been taken by the biological and physio- 

 logical departments of the Massachusetts Insti- 

 tute of Technology, and contributions of the 

 same nature are promised from Clark Univer- 

 sity and from the experimental laboratories of 

 the Massachusetts General and the Boston City 

 Hospitals. Papers, or abstracts of papers, upon 

 subjects connected with the medical sciences 

 will be welcomed from persons who are not 

 members, and, if approved by the Council, will 

 be presented at these meetings, and abstracts 

 will be given a place in the Journal of the So- 

 ciety. All communications should be addressed 

 to the Secretary of the Boston Society of Med- 

 ical Sciences, Harvard Medical School Boston, 



The general dissatisfaction with the position 

 of geography in secondary schools, and the 

 strong efforts made on every hand for its im- 

 provement, are the justification of adding one 

 more to the list of educational journals ; the 

 Journal of School Geography having just made 

 its appearance. Professor R. E. Dodge, of the 

 Teachers' College, New York, is the responsible 

 editor, with five associate editors, Messrs. Davis, 

 Hayes, Kiimmel, McMurry and Ward. The 

 first number contains an introductory statement 

 by the editor ; Home Geography, by W. M. 

 Davis; Some Things about Africa, by C. C. 

 Adams ; Geographic Instruction in Germany, 

 by Will S. Monroe ; Suggestions Regarding 

 Geography in Grade Schools, by R. E. Dodge, 



and a variety of notes and reviews. Readers 

 of Science, as possible writers for this journal, 

 should address the editor, Teachers' College, 

 120th St. West, New York City ; as subscrib- 

 ers, they should send a dollar for ten yearly 

 numbers to the publishers, 41 N. Queen St., 

 Lancaster, Pa. 



The lecture on Variation of Latitude, by 

 Professor J. K. Rees, before the New York 

 Academy of Sciences, April 29, 1895, has been 

 reprinted by the Smithsonian Institution fi'om 

 the report in Science, New Series, Vol. I., No. 

 21. The paper is made part of the Smithsonian 

 Report for 1894, pp. 271-279, and is also print- 

 ed as a separate pamphlet. 



Nature states that following the example of 

 the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Society 

 of Civil Engineers of France has built itself a 

 magnificent house, which was opened with 

 great ceremony, on January 14th, by the Presi- 

 dent of the French Republic. A large number 

 of guests were present at the soiree, including 

 representatives of the various French technical 

 societies. The only English society represented 

 was the Iron and Steel Institute, who sent Pro- 

 fessor Roberts- Austen. The new building, 

 which is situated in the Rue Blanche, Paris, 

 was designed by M. F. Delmas, and was erected 

 in 262 days. It comprises in the basement en- 

 gine-rooms and store-rooms, on the ground floor 

 the meeting-room, on the first floor reception- 

 rooms for the members, on the second floor the 

 secretary's office and the council-room, and on 

 the third floor the library. Access to the various 

 floors is obtained by means of an electric lift. 

 The meeting-room contains seats for 500 per- 

 sons, and the floor is so arranged that it may be 

 horizontal for receptions, or inclined so as to 

 convert the room into an amphitheatre for the 

 meetings. The floor weighs thirty tons, and its 

 transformation from a horizontal to an inclined 

 position is effected with great rapidity by means 

 of hydraulic machinery. 



Natural Science reports that the Committee of 

 the International Geographical Congress, held 

 in London in 1895, has recently sent to the 

 various geographical societies, resolutions, urg- 

 ing the importance and desirability of : (1) Ant- 

 arctic exploration ; (2) a geographical bibliog- 



