72 



iiCIENCK 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No. 263. 



St. Nicholas magazine, which is so popular 

 with young people and has on the whole exer- 

 cised such an excellent influence, will with the 

 new year add a department of natural history, 

 under the editorship of Mr. Edward F. Bigelow, 

 editor of Popular Science. Six pages, monthly, 

 will be devoted to this new department. Two 

 of these will be given up to the out-door world ; 

 two more to indoor study and research, both in 

 nature and science ; one to correspondence from 

 the children ; and one to a department of 

 ' Questions and Answers.' 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 

 PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



The annual meeting of the Society was held 

 at the Cosmos Club on December 23, 1899. The 

 usual reports of the Secretaries and Treasurer 

 were read and an Amendment to the Constitu- 

 tion proposed at the last annual meeting was 

 adopted. By this action membership in the 

 General Committee is subject to new condi- 

 tions as far as the ex-Presidents of the Society 

 are concerned. 



The election of officers for the coming year 

 resulted as follows : 



President : G. M. Sternberg, Surgeon General U. S. 

 A. ; Vice-Presidents : H. S. Pritoliett, Superintendent 

 Coast and Geodetic Survey ; C. D. Walcott, Director 

 Geological Survey ; L. F. Ward, Geological Survey ; 

 Eiohard Rathbun, Smithsonian Institution ; Secreta- 

 ries : J. E. Watkins, National Museum ; E. D. Pres- 

 ton, Coast and Geodetic Survey ; General Committee : 

 Cyrus Adler, Library of Congress ; W. A. DeCaindry, 

 War Department ; J. H. Gore, Columbia University ; 

 G. W. Littlebales, Navy Department ; H. M. Paul, 

 Naval Observatory ; F. W. True, National Museum ; 

 C. K. Wead, Patent Office ; I. Winston, Coast and 

 Geodetic Survey; C. F. Marvin, Weather Bureau. 

 E. D. Peeston, 



Secretary. 



SCIENCE CLTTB OF THE UNIVERSITY OF 

 WISCONSIN. 



The December meeting of the Science Club 

 of the University of Wisconsin was held on the 

 evening of December ISth, the program of the 

 evening being a paper by Mr. S. M. Babcock, 

 dealing with the fat globules of milk. 



Mr. Babcock stated that, although the fat 

 globules of milk were discovered about two 

 hundred years ago, no accurate knowledge of 

 their structure, number or size was gained 

 until quite recently. Two hypotheses have 

 been advanced regarding their structure. One 

 is that they are surrounded by a thin membrane 

 of albuminous matter which prevents their 

 uniting when they come into contact and pro- 

 tects them from the solvent action of ether 

 when this is shaken with milk, unless a little 

 acid or alkali is first added to dissolve the 

 membrane. The other hypothesis holds that 

 the globules are free particles of fat emulsified 

 with the serum. It was shown that all phe- 

 nomena which have been considered to favor a 

 membrane are such as occur also in artificial 

 emulsions, where no true membrane can exist 

 if the fat globules are as small as those of milk, 

 and it was, therefore, concluded that milk is 

 an emulsion. The method of counting fat 

 globules by means of capillary tubes was de- 

 scribed and the circumstances which affect 

 their number and size were discussed with the 

 aid of lantern slides. ^^^ ^ ^^^^^ 



THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE OF ST. LOUIS. 



At the meeting of the Academy of Science of 

 St. Louis of December 18, 1899, Dr. Amand 

 Ravold addressed the Academy on the neces- 

 sity and means of filtering and otherwise puri- 

 fying water, especially with reference to freeing 

 it from bacteria, for municipal purposes. The 

 speaker explained the sand-bed filter system as 

 used in Germany and England, and the Amer- 

 ican mechanical system, represented by two 

 commercial devices. The Wormser filter plate 

 was also described and its characteristics were 

 considered. William Teelease, 



Recording Secretary. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 

 OBSERVATIONS WITH THE MERIDIAN CIECLE. 



To THE Editor of Science : In reading 

 Professor Keeler's most interesting report upon 

 the results of the Lick Observatory, as printed 

 in Science for November 10, 1899, I find a 

 statement on page 669 which, if not a misprint, 

 eclipses all work of a similar character. 



