November 15, 1901.] 



SCIENCE. 



783- 



tember in the years referred to was ia 1899, 

 when the death rate was 34.48 per thousand. 

 For September, 1901, the death rate was 15.64 

 per thousand. Taking the yellow fever year 

 as commencing April 1, the record of the 

 past eleven years shows that for the six months 

 up to the first of October the smallest number 

 of deaths from this disease occurred in 1899, 

 when there were 36 deaths ; the greatest num- 

 ber in 1897, when there were 659 deaths — 

 average, 296 deaths. This year, during the 

 same period, there were only five deaths. 



Sir Clements A. Markham, president of 

 the Royal Geographical Society, has given out 

 for publication a communication stating that 

 despatches received from the Cape give details 

 of the voyage of the Discovery and announce 

 the departure of the Antarctic expedition from 

 Simon's Bay on October 14 on the voyage to 

 Lyttelton, the last port of call before entering 

 the ice. Experience of the performances of the 

 ship has been acquired during a voyage of 58 

 days — 33 under steam and 25 under sail. She 

 might make a reasonably good passage under 

 sail with a fair wind, but she makes excessive 

 leeway when close hauled ; her canvas area is 

 too small, and she must be accounted a poor 

 sailer. She is, however, an excellent sea boat, 

 which is the main point, and in a fresh breeze 

 with a heavy sea she is very stiff and dry. 

 She has, on the whole, done as well as can be 

 expected for a vessel of her type. Her coal 

 consumption is, however, disappointing. The 

 economy of the engines is less than ex- 

 pected, and the necessity for nursing coal in 

 future operations is proportionately increased. 

 Officers and men have had a very trying time 

 in the tropics. The ship leaked, from causes 

 which can no doubt be obviated. But as the 

 provision cases were stowed in the holds down 

 to the keelson and the water rose amongst 

 them it was necessary to clear the holds, to con- 

 struct floors with an amply sufficient bilge space 

 beneath and to restore the holds again — all this 

 under a tropical sun. The engineering depart- 

 ment had still more severe work, owing to the 

 long spell of steaming with the thermometer at 

 140° F. in the engine-room, and the engines, 

 being new, required more than ordinary care 

 and adjustment. 



UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. 



The council of New York University has de- 

 cided to celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary 

 of the founding of the University in October, 

 1905. An effort will be made to collect $2,- 

 000,000 for an endowment fund. 



Dr. Osler, of the John Hopkins University, 

 has given to the medical library of McGill Uni- 

 versity a number of rare books on medicine. 

 The medical library has been much improved 

 in the alterations of the building. 



The Library of the Chemical Department of 

 the University of Vermont has just been aug- 

 mented by the addition of some 400 volumes, 

 chiefly German chemical journals. These are 

 mainly the gift of F. W. Ayer, of New York, 

 who subscribed $1,000 to the special fund. 



It is announced that Andrew Carnegie will 

 give $500,000 to build and equip a technical 

 college in southern Scotland. The institution 

 will probably be located at Galashiels, counties 

 of Roxburgh and Selkirk. 



The widow of the late professor of the history 

 of medicine at Vienna, Dr. Puschmann, has be- 

 queathed her entire property, about a quarter 

 of a million dollars, to the University of Leipsic. 



-The Liverpool City Council has unanimously 

 resolved to make application to Parliament 

 for powers to enable the council to contribute 

 money from the rates toward the formation and 

 maintenance of a university in the city. 



Beginning with the academic year 1905-06 

 all students desiring to enter the first year of 

 the medical course of the University of Cali- 

 fornia, and all new students seeking advanced 

 standing must present evidence of having com- 

 pleted at least two full years of preliminary 

 training in the undergraduate department of a 

 college or university of recognized standing. 

 Satisfactory evidence must also be presented 

 that during these two years the applicant has 

 completed courses in chemistry (12 hours for 

 a year), physics (13 hours), biology (6 hours), 

 and has a reading knowledge of French and 

 German. 



The new chemical laboratory of the Uni- 

 versity of Oregon, for which appropriations 



