792 



SCmNGE. 



[N. S. Vol. IV. No. 100. 



une somme d'argent, soit en une medaille de 

 valeur egale,' The committee of award con- 

 sists of MM. A. Milne-Edwards (Paris), Presi- 

 dent ; E. Blanchard (Paris), Secretary ; Sir 

 Wm. Flower (London), F. A. Jentink (Leyden), 

 E. B. Sliarpe (London), Th. Studer (Berne) and 

 N. Zograf (Moscow). 



The German Fisheries' Association has of- 

 fered, according to Nature, a prize of 600 M. 

 for the best essay on the history of develop- 

 ment and the vital conditions of Leptomitus 

 lacteus, with especial reference to its appear- 

 ance and disappearance in impure water. The 

 essays are to be sent in to Prof. Weigelt, 90-91 

 Zimmerstrasse, Berlin, S. W., by May 1, 1897. 



At a meeting of the Eoyal College of Physi- 

 cians, on November 6th, it was decided that the 

 sum of £1,000, given by Captain E. Wilmot 

 Williams, in memory of Dr. Bisset Hawkins, 

 should be devoted to the establishment of a 

 gold medal, to be awarded by the College every 

 three years to some duly qualified medical prac- 

 titioner who is a British subject, and who has, 

 during the preceding ten years, done such work 

 in advancing sanitary science, or in promoting 

 public health, as in the opinion of the College 

 deserves special recognition. 



According to Garden and Forest an agricul- 

 tural experiment station has been established at 

 TJsambara, in German East Africa, for the pur- 

 pose of investigating the agricultural character 

 of that region and discovering its adaptability 

 to various crops. Both native and introduced 

 tropical plants are now under test at different 

 altitudes to decide which ones are best suited to 

 cultivation, and when these points have been 

 determined both the plants and seeds will be 

 supplied in commercial quantities to settlers. 



It is reported in the daily papers that Dr. 

 Lauterbach, Dr. Keruting and Herr Tappen- 

 beck, who conducted an exploring expedition 

 into the interior of New Guinea, returned to the 

 coast at the end of October. The expedition 

 discovered, at the foot of the great Bismarck 

 Mountain, a navigable stream of considerable 

 size, which flows through a fruitful, thickly 

 populated plain well adapted for cultivation. 

 This plain was explored for a distance of two 

 hundred miles. 



News has also been received from two scien- 

 tific expeditions now in Central Asia, under the 

 auspices of the Eussian Imperial Geographical 

 Society. M. Clementz has been exploring 

 Mongolia and the Hangai range of mountains. 

 Dr. Swen Heding has been exploring the 

 neighborhood of Khotan, where he has dis- 

 covered the ruins of two ancient towns. 



The courses of lectures annually given by Co- 

 lumbia University, in cooperation with the Amer- 

 ican Museum of Natural History, have been ar- 

 ranged for the present season. There will be 

 four courses as follows : ' Mountain Eanges of 

 Western North America,' by Prof. J. F. Kemp, 

 Dr. C. Willard Hays, Mr. Bailey Willis and 

 Mr. H. M. Wilson. ' Anthropology and Ethnol- 

 ogy >' ^y ^^- Daniel G. Brinton, Dr. Otis T. 

 Mason, Dr. Franz Boas, Dr. Livingston Far- 

 rand and Dr. William Z. Eipley. ' Alcohol and 

 Alcoholic Beverages,' by Mr. C. E. Pellew. 

 ' Botanical Studies,' by Prof. Lucien M. Under- 

 wood and Prof. Smith Ely JelifFe. The lectures 

 are given at the Museum of Natural History on 

 Saturday evenings, beginning on December 6th. 



The Berlin Academy of Sciences has awarded 

 itfe gold medal to Dr. Auwers. 



The Germam Electro-Chemical Society has 

 awarded its annual prizes in recognition of con- 

 tributions to the advancement of electro-chem- 

 istry to Prof. Hans Jahn, of Berlin, and Prof. 

 Max LeBlanc, of Frankfort-on-Main. 



Dr. Edward S. Holden, Director of the 

 Lick Observatory, has received the decoration 

 of Knight of the Eoyal Order of the Dannebrog 

 of Denmark. This ancient order was founded 

 in A. D. 1219, as a mark of military distinction, 

 but is also conferred, as in the present instance, 

 for services to science. 



Sir Joseph Lister and Prof. Michael Foster 

 have been elected honorary members of the 

 Asiatic Society of Bengal, in the place of Hux- 

 ley and Pasteur. 



It is stated in Natural Science that Mr. Wil- 

 liam Whitaker retired from the Geological Sur- 

 vey of Great Britain on October 22d. Mr. Whit- 

 aker, who is senior ofl&cer, was appointed on 

 April 1, 1857, and has therefore held service for 

 nearly forty years. 



