190 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XII. No. 2c 



Owing to the absence in the South of Dr. George M. Sternberg, 

 the director, in the further prosecution of his investigations into the 

 •cause of yellow-fever under orders from the President of the United 

 States, the course of lectures on bacteriology, already announced, 

 will be postponed until his return. The trustees further announce 

 that the services of George T. Kemp, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins Uni- 

 versity, have been[obtained as associate in bacteriology and physi- 

 ology, and that with his assistance, and under the direction of Dr- 

 Sternberg, practical instruction in bacteriology will be given during 

 the winter and spring. 



— Capt. C. E. Dutton has been placed in charge of the hydro- 

 graphic work of the investigation of the problem of reclaiming the 

 arid lands of the West. He will divide the territory into districts, 

 but work will be done in only a few of them under the present ap- 

 propriation. Those selected in which to begin are the basins of the 

 South Platte, Arkansas, Colorado, Gila, and Humboldt Rivers. The 

 parties will be sent into the field immediately. 



— The Monthly Weather Review for July contains an interest- 

 ing map showing the average date of first killing frost in the United 

 States. A reduction of the map has been reproduced here. The 

 chart has been prepared solely from observations made at voluntary 

 observers' stations. The data from the regular signal-service sta- 

 tions were not incorporated, because it is believed that observations 

 as to the occurrence of frost are made in the country with greater 

 opportunities for accuracy as to earliest date and extent of damage 



than in large cities, where signal-service stations are generally 

 located. In the preparation of the chart, diligent effort has been 

 made to secure reliable information as to killing frosts only, espe- 

 cially those frosts which were injurious to vegetables and other 

 crops. It is probable that in some cases the first frost reported 

 may have been ' light ' instead of ' killing." It was found that 

 killing frost occurred throughout the year along the northern 

 boundary of the United States north of Dakota and Minnesota. 

 In California killing frosts are very unusual in the extreme east and 

 north-east portions : throughout the western portion of the State, 

 light frosts in winter, appearing about the middle of December and 

 continuing not later than February, are not unusual, but rarely in- 

 jure even delicate plants. The observations from which deduc- 

 tions have been made vary in length of records from two to forty- 

 nine years, thirty-six stations having records of fifteen years or 

 more. The total number of stations involved in the work is four 

 hundred and thirty-two. It appears from the tabulated statement 

 that the average error of the earliest date will be about eighteen 

 days. This necessitates the continuation of the observations over 

 a very long period in order to reach a probable error not exceed- 

 ing a few days, and it may therefore be assumed that a final con- 

 struction will show the lines to run somewhat differently from 

 those represented here. The collation and discussion of these ob- 

 servations are of great importance to the farmer. 



— The Western Society of Naturalists will hold its first annual 

 meeting in the buildings of the Illinois State University at Cham- 



paign, 111., Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 24 and 25, 1888. The 

 president of the society. Dr. Slephen A Forbes, will deliver the 

 presidential address on Wednesday evening. Discussions on the 

 methods of teaching natural history will form one of the principal 

 features of the programme of the meeting. Prof. J. S. Kingsley of 

 Bloomington, Ind., is secretary of the society. 



— In the ' Report of the Kentucky Geological Survey for 1888,' 

 Dr. A. H. Loughbridge gives a full account of the geological and 

 economic features of the Jackson Purchase Region. After a de- 

 scription of the topography and geology, the author discusses min- 

 erals and water-supply very fully, and gives detailed statements of 

 the agricultural resources. This part of the book is of special 

 value ; and the author's descriptions of the physiognomy of the 

 uplands and lowlands, and their respective vegetation, is of great 

 practical and scientific interest. In a short chapter some of the most 

 interesting antiquities of this region are described. The second part 

 of the volume contains descriptions of the countries forming the 

 Jackson Purchase. The results of a deep boring at Paducah are 

 very important, as they prove the existence of a great fault in the 

 paleozoic strata of that region. The volume is accompanied by 

 three good maps, showing the geology and elevations, the agricul- 

 tural features, and deposition of gravel-beds. The topographic 

 maps of Kentucky made by the Geological Survey under the direc- 

 tion of J. R. Hoeing are among the best made by any of the State 

 surveys. 



— D. Charnay, during his recent journeys in Central America, ex- 

 plored a certain group of ruins which he claims to have discovered, 

 and which he named ' Lorillard City.' According to a communi- 

 cation of Dr. G. Briihl, these ruins were discovered in 1881 by 

 Professor Rockstroh, who requested Maudslay to make a survey. 

 According to Rockstroh, their proper name is ' Menche tenamit,' 

 the city of Menche, the latter word being the name of a chief. 



— The long series of systematical meteorological observations 

 made in Bavaria have yielded many important results. Recently 

 C. Lang has examined the records of the variations of underground 

 water in their relation to precipitation, and to fires caused by light- 

 ning in the 'German Meteorological Annual for 1887.' He finds 

 that the height of the water found under ground varies according 

 to the amount of precipitation. This influence is somewhat ob- 

 scured by the fact that the increase corresponding to a certain in- 

 crease of precipitation is greater in the spring and autumn than it 

 is in summer. It is generally assumed that the danger of damage 

 done by lightning has steadily increased, but Lang shows that this 

 view is not correct. When he plotted the number of recorded fires 

 caused by lightning, together with that of the variation of under- 

 ground water, he found that the maximum of one curve exactly 

 coincided with the minimum of the other. This fact is easily ex- 

 plained. Damp ground is a good conductor, and facilitates the 

 gradual discharge of electricity, while dry soil favors sudden, vio- 

 lent discharges. Therefore during periods of increasing under- 

 ground water danger of accidents caused by lightning decreases. 



— In The American Magazine for October, Dr. William F. 

 Hutchinson furnishes another of his charming South American 

 papers, describing in this issue the Orinoco River ; Helen Strong 

 Thompson contributes an illustrated paper on the ' Sacred Quarry 

 in the Great Red Pipestone Country;' and Florence A. Davidson 

 has an illustrated paper on ' Pioneer District Schools.' In addition 

 to the literary features, are a series of papers on practical questions 

 of the day: a few of the many legitimate ways in which "the sur- 

 plus ' can be utilized are shown by M. W. Hazen ; Mr. Hazen 

 makes a plea for a national training-school ; Mr. M. M. Estee has 

 a paper showing the effect of free trade on Pacific coast industries ; 

 Mrs. J. Ellen Foster, chairman of the Women's National Republi- 

 can Committee, argues that " prohibition is not a national issue ; " 

 and Mr. Enoch Ensley of Tennessee gives ' A Southerner's Na- 

 tional View of Protection.' Roberts Brothers have just ready in 



their Famous Women Series ' Elizabeth Barrett Browning,' by John 

 H. Ingram, which is the first biography published of this author. 



Professor Bryce's book on the United States, which he hopes 



to have ready in November, the London correspondent of the New 

 York Times thinks, " will probably rank high among the most im- 



