Febeuaey 26, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



343 



"It is impossible to compute the area of a circle 

 on the diameter as the linear unit without trespassing 

 upon the area outside of the circle to the extent of in- 

 cluding one-fifth more area than is contained -within 

 the circle's circumference, because the square on the 

 diameter produces the side of a square which equals 

 nine when the arc of ninety degrees equals eight. By 

 taking the quadrant of the circle's circumference for 

 the linear unit we fulfill the requirements of both 

 quadrature and rectification of the circle's circumfer- 

 ence. Furthermore, it has revealed the ratio of the 

 chord and arc of ninety degrees, which is as seven to 

 eight, and also the ratio of the diagonal and one side 

 of a square, which is as ten to seven, disclosing the 

 fourth important fact, that the ratio of the diameter 

 and circumference is as five-fourths to four, and be- 

 cause of these facts and the further fact that the rule 

 in present use fails to work both ways mathematically 

 it should be discarded as wholly wanting and mis- 

 leading in its practical applications. * * * 

 And be it remembered that these noted problems had 

 been long since given up by scientific bodies as un- 

 solvable mysteries and above man's ability to com- 

 prehend." 



We have received from the Australian 

 Museum at Sydney, N. S. W., a memoir which 

 is the first of a series giving an account of the 

 Atoll of Funafuti by Mr. Charles Hedley, con- 

 chologist. We learn from an introductory note 

 by the curator, Mr. E. Etheridge, Jr. , that the 

 local committee of the Funafuti Coral Beef 

 Boring E:^edition, of the Royal Society, in 

 charge of Professor Sollas, having suggested to 

 the Trustees of the Australian Museum that one 

 of their ofiicers should be deputed to accom- 

 pany the expedition, Mr. Charles Hedley was 

 selected for the purpose. Mr. Hedley left 

 Sydney in H. M. S. 'Penguin,' under the com- 

 mand of Captain Mervyn Field, E. N., on May 

 1st, arriving at Funafuti on May 21st. He re- 

 mained on the island for two and a half mouths, 

 leaving in the same vessel. On the return 

 voyage to Fiji, the Island of Nukulailai was 

 touched at, where scientific investigations were 

 renewed for two days. Mr. Hedley finally 

 reached Sydney on August 22d. During his 

 stay on Funafuti, Mr. Hedley succeeded in 

 amassing an interesting collection, particularly 

 of invertebrate and ethnological objects, to- 

 gether with much valuable scientific informa- 

 tion. The collections are now in process of de- 



scription by the Scientific Staff of the Museum, 

 and the results are being published in the order 

 in which the study of the various groups is 

 completed. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 

 The late Mr. William Lampson, of LeEoy, 

 Kew York, has bequeathed his fortune, with 

 the exception of a few small bequests, to Yale 

 University. The bequest is said to amount to 

 about $500,000. $150,000 is to be used for an 

 auditorium and the rest for the endowment of 

 professorships. 



The Stevens Institute of Technology, cele- 

 brated the 25th anniversary of its foundation 

 on February 18th and 19th. There was a din- 

 ner at the Hotel Waldorf, a reception by Mrs. 

 E. A. Stevens and a meeting at which addresses 

 were made by Bishop Potter and President 

 Morton, who described the achievements of the 

 institution, its present condition and its future 

 aims. Mr. Dod read a letter from President 

 Morton, in which the President gave 1,000 

 shares of stock of the Texas Pacific Eailroad to 

 the board of trustees, ' to be held until their 

 appreciated value with such other funds as may 

 be devoted to the purpose, may be adequate 

 for the erection and maintenance of the pro- 

 posed new building generally referred to as the 

 alumni building.' 



The Marquis of Bute, the present Lord 

 Eector of the University of St. Andrews, will 

 erect for the University four laboratories, in- 

 cluding lecture rooms and museums, for the de- 

 partments of anatomy, physiology, materia 

 medica and botany. 



Miss Umpheeston has been appointed lec- 

 turer in phj'siology at St. Andrews University. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 

 ' the aegentatjedm papees. ' 

 To THE Editoe op Science : I think I ought 

 not to pass unnoticed a statement and an un- 

 authorized use of my name, made by Mr. S. H. 

 Emmens in an advertisement just published in 

 Science. He says: " The author has received 

 many communications from eminent authorities 

 explicitly approving of his work; while others 

 have ^vritteu in such a manner as to show that 



