August 7, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



169 



water shells, 702 species and varieties, repre- 

 sented by 1947 specimens. In this collection 

 there are, it will be seen, over 2500 species and 

 varieties. It is safe to say that the University 

 of Texas has now the largest and finest collec- 

 tion of recent mollusca in the South or West. 



The ' Bibliography and Index of North 

 American Geology, Paleontology, Petrology, 

 and Mineralogy for 1892 and 1893,' by F. B. 

 Weeks, has been issued as Bulletin No. 130, of 

 the U. S. Geological Survey. This Bulletin is a 

 continuation of the annual publication hereto- 

 fore known as the ' Record of North American 

 Geology' (Bulletins Nos. 44, 75, 91, 99). The ex- 

 tended scope of the work necessitated a change 

 in its arrangement. It is divided into two parts, 

 a bibliography and a subj ect index. The bibliog- 

 raphy is arranged alphabetically by authors' 

 names. The index comprises geographic, geo- 

 logic mineralogic, paleontologic and petrologic 

 subdivisions, arranged alphabetically ; and lists 

 of economic products, minerals, rocks and 

 fossils described in the various papers listed in 

 the bibliography are given, A similar bibliog- 

 raphy and index for the year 1894, and an- 

 other for the year 1895 (Bulletins Nos, 135 and 

 149, respectively), are in press and will be de- 

 livered soon. 



The deficiency of rainfall in Great Britain is 

 this year even greater than last, being so far 

 4,69 inches. The East London Water Works 

 Company has been compelled to shut off the 

 supply of water during the night, and lack of 

 suflicient water in the east end of London is apt 

 to be followed by an increased mortality. 



The Lancet states that an important Eoyal 

 Commission has j ust been appointed. Its obj ect 

 is to enquire into the administrative procedure 

 available for controlling danger to man through 

 the use as food of the meat or milk of tubercu- 

 lous animals. The Commission will further con- 

 sider what should be the proper action of the 

 responsible authorities in condemning for the 

 purposes of food supplies, animal carcasses or 

 meat exhibiting any stage of tuberculosis. The 

 Commissioners are as follows : Sir Herbert Max- 

 well, Dr. Thorne Thorne, C. B., Mr. G. T, 

 Brown, C. B,, Mr. H. E. Claver, Mr. Shirley F, 

 Murphy, Mr, John Speir and Mr. T. C. Trench. 



Dr. T. M. Legge will act as Secretary to the 

 Commission, the work of which, from a sanitary 

 point of view, should be of the highest possible 

 value to the community. 



According to Nature General M. Rykatchef 

 has been appointed Director of the Central 

 Physical Observatory, St. Petersburg, in the 

 place of Dr. H. Wild, resigned. For many years 

 General Rykatchef has had charge of the mari- 

 time meteorological branch of the Observatory. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 

 FOREIGN STUDENTS IN THE FRENCH UNIVER- 

 SITIES, 



Official information has been received in 

 Washington by the Franco-American Commit- 

 tee, organized for the purpose of securing 

 fuller privileges for American students in the 

 educational institutions of France, that in all 

 probability the faculties of letters will soon be 

 open to Americans as freely as the other facul- 

 ties that have already been opened. The Com- 

 pagnie Transatlantique offers a reduction of 30 

 per cent, in its rates to duly certified American 

 students who intend to study in France. 



There are already fifty or more American 

 students enrolled in the French faculties. Since 

 the promulgation of the decree of January last, 

 changing the regulations in the faculties of sci- 

 ence, the number of German students in the 

 French faculties has increased from fifty-two ta 

 one hundred and twelve, of whom only sixteen 

 are students of medicine. 



The admission of foreign students to the med- 

 ical schools gave rise to a serious debate in a re- 

 cent session of the Chamber of Deputies, it be- 

 ing claimed that French students were exposed 

 to undue competition on account of the influx 

 of foreigners, who, by reason of graduation, be- 

 came entitled to practice medicine in France, 

 and this without being subjected to military 

 duty. It is probable that the regulations will be 

 modified so that foreigners will not be hereafter 

 entitled to the privilege of practice, although the 

 facilities for study and the obtaining of degrees 

 will be as good or better than heretofore. 



GENERAL. • 



Dispatches to the daily papers from Lan- 

 sing, Mich., state that the Supreme Court de- 



