Febeuaey 19, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



307 



vast drainage systems in that country. En- 

 gineer C. C. Vermuele has made a report sta- 

 ting that underlying the 27,000 acres of marsh 

 is a mass of alluvium mixed with peat, wood 

 and other vegetable matter, more or less de- 

 cayed. The depth of this accumulation ranges 

 generally from seven to fifteen feet. The na- 

 tural level of the surface is three to four inches 

 above mean high tide, but the whole is fre- 

 quently overflowed, and such extreme tides as 

 that of the second week of last November co'^e.v 

 it to an average depth of eighteen inches. 

 Lately an unhealthy and undesirable population 

 is beginning to be crowded upon them. It is 

 stated that of the two systems of reclamation, 

 filling and diking, the latter is the better and, 

 indeed, the only one feasible in this case. The 

 area can be embanked and pumping works in- 

 stalled for about $1,000,000, or less than $40 

 per acre. The interest charges and operating 

 expenses are estimated at $6 to 17 per acre, 

 and it is predicted that in a few years this 

 charge could be entirely covered by assessments 

 on the property itself, any deficiencies in the in- 

 terim being met by the surrounding districts 

 that are benefited by the undertaking. 



According to Natural Science a new depar- 

 ture has been made this winter at the Science 

 and Art Museum, Dublin, in a series of Museum 

 demonstrations, undertaken by members of the 

 staff and other helpers. Two demonstrations a 

 week have been given through December and 

 January, natural history alternating with art 

 subjects. The diflficulty of exhibiting small 

 Museum specimens to a large audience led to a 

 restriction of the number of tickets issued for 

 each occasion to thirty, or at most fifty. It is 

 satisfactory to record that there was a large 

 demand for tickets, and that the audiences 

 seemed thoroughly interested with the expla- 

 nations of the objects. 



The Tree-Planting Association of New York 

 has been'incorporated. Mayor Strong being Presi- 

 dent; Cornelius B. Mitchell, Vice-President; 

 James Macnaughtan, Treasurer, and W. A. 

 Styles, Secretary. The Association supplies to its 

 members the fullest information as to the kind 

 of trees most suitable for city planting, together 

 with the names of responsible nurserymen and 

 the prices they charge for the completed work. 



Applications for membership may be made to 

 the Tree-Planting Association ofiice, Nos. 64 

 and 66 White Street. 



In the current number of the American 

 Naluralist, Dr. Bessey suggests that the re- 

 cent appearance of two important works on 

 North American botany, in which the English 

 units and measurements are less used through- 

 out, calls attention to the need of some mis- 

 sionary work among American botanists. 

 "We take part, from time to time, in the ac- 

 tion of the American Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science, in which, in' vigorous 

 and logical sentences, we express our admira- 

 tion for the metric system and our conviction 

 that the United States Congress is derelict to- 

 ward this important matter. We urge Congress 

 to make the use of this system compulsory, and 

 yet we go on calmly writing books in which we 

 use the most antiquated of measuring units. 

 Not content with using feet and inches, we ex- 

 press fractions of inches in lines ! We vote en- 

 thusiastically that mechanics, surveyors, farm- 

 ers, statisticians and schoolmasters shall use 

 the metric system exclusively, and yet we, the 

 botanists, who, of course, are ' the salt of the 

 earth, ' are slow in doing what we so urgently 

 recommend others to do." 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 



The last number of the Academische Revue 

 contains details regarding the salaries and fees 

 of university professors in the Prussian univer- 

 sities which are of interest in view of the pro- 

 posed plan to equalize the salaries. Of 492 full 

 professors in the eleven universities 40 per cent, 

 receive less than $1,200, and 40 per cent, re- 

 ceive $2,000 or more in salaries. The addi- 

 tional amount received in fees is on the average 

 about $400, though there fare four cases in 

 which the fees amount to $5,000 or more. The 

 salaries of associate professors are about half 

 those of ordinary professors. 



It is reported that Professor Munk, of Berlin, 

 or Professor Kuhne, of Heidelberg, will be ap- 

 pointed to the chair of physiology at Berlin, 

 vacant by the death of Du Bois-Reymond. 



It is understood that the presidency of 

 Washington and Lee University, Lexington, 



