August 21, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



223 



tained from the Secretary, Dr, Hugo Metzler, 

 Frankfort, on payment of M. 15. 



Section C, Chemistry, of the A. A. A. S., has 

 printed in advance a provisional program, which 

 shows that as usual the papers presented before 

 this section will be numerous and important. 

 Physical, inorganic and organic chemistry will 

 be taken up on August 25th ; didactic, analyt- 

 ical and technical chemistry on August 26th ; 

 technical and sanitary chemistry on August 

 27th ; agricultural and biological chemistry on 

 August 28th. More than sixty papers have 

 been already promised. 



The admirable leadership of the department of 

 natural science instruction of the National Edu- 

 cational Association is shown by the addresses 

 given before the recent meeting and published 

 in this Journal. We learn from the President, 

 Prof. Charles S. Palmer, of the University of 

 Colorado, that it is proposed to secure a com- 

 mittee at the approaching meeting of the Amer- 

 ican Association for the Advancement of Science, 

 and also from the several college associations 

 which will cooperate with the committee from 

 the National Educational Association in discuss- 

 ing the position of natural science in the schools 

 and the establishment of natural science re- 

 quirements for admission to college. 



It seems probable that owing to contrary 

 winds M. Andree has not undertaken to launch 

 his balloon. Reports that the balloon has 

 been seen in the Arctic regions are not likely to 

 be very reliable, as the natives have been prom- 

 ised rewards for bringing news of the explorers. 



Here Otto Lillienthal, while experiment- 

 ing with his flying mechanism on August 11th, 

 met with an accident which resulted in his 

 death. It is reported by cablegram that he 

 started from a hilltop at Ehinow, near Berlin, 

 and after floating for some distance the appara- 

 tus got out of order, causing him to fall to the 

 ground. Herr Lillienthal was 46 years of age. 



A PARTY under the charge of Mr. W. G. 

 Miller, of the School of Mining, Kingston, 

 Ont. , will leave that place on September 1st to 

 explore the chief mineral localities of the 

 Kingston district. Though primarily intended 

 for students of the school, we understand that 

 others would be admitted to the party. Travel- 



ling will be done by canoes, and it is estimated 

 that the expense of the trip will not exceed $20 

 for three weeks. 



On the afternoon of July 26th there was a 

 heavy hail storm in Paris which did great harm 

 to the conservatories, trees and plants of the 

 Jardin des Plantes. M. Milne-Edwards has re- 

 ported to the Paris Academy that it will be 

 many years before the damage can be repaired. 



According to the Botanical Gazette, Dr. V. F. 

 Brotherus, of Helsingfors, left about the middle 

 of April upon a botanical journey in central 

 Asia. He will explore the high mountain flora 

 of Issikul, giving particular attention to the 

 mosses. 



The London Times states that Captain H. H. 

 P. Deasy has left England for a journey across 

 Tibet from west to east. He intends on the 

 way to throw away soldered-up tins containing 

 parchment notices in English and French into 

 the tributaries of the Tsanpo and into the other 

 large rivers which he may meet with, in the 

 hope that some of them may be picked up far 

 down stream, possibly in the Brahmaputra, 

 Salween, and Mekong, and thus help to solve 

 the vexed problem of the origin and connections 

 of these rivers. The notices will be consecu- 

 tively numbered and the tins in which they 

 will be enclosed will have a brass label soldered 

 on the outside, bearing the words, ' Please 

 open this ' in English and French, and Captain 

 Deasy' s name. The parchment inside bears 

 the request that it be forwarded without delay 

 to the Eoyal Geographical Society, London, 

 with as accurate a statement as possible as to 

 where it was picked up. 



On the occasion of Prof. Bastian's seventieth 

 birthday, which occurred on the 28th of June, 

 his bust in marble was given to the Museum of 

 Ethnology in Berlin. A Festschrift containing 

 papers by 32 leading German anthropologists 

 was also presented to him. Prof. Bastin is, 

 as we have recently stated, now absent on an 

 expedition through Central Asia. 



Prof. Victor Horsley has been presented, 

 on the occasion of his retirement from the chair 

 of pathology, University College, London, with 

 a testimonial including an album which con- 

 tains photographs of fifty-one of the subscri- 



