Fkbeuaey 2, 1900.] 



SCIENCE 



J 99 



Koehler, and plants from Mr. H. P. Kelsey and 

 Mr. Nathaniel Thayer. 



M. Maurice Levy, in assuming the Presi- 

 dency of the Paris Academy of Sciences, in 

 January 2d, made two requests, as follows: 

 "La premiere, que nous commencions tou- 

 jours nos stences k I'heure r6glementaire ; ce 

 sera d'autant plus expedient cette annee que le 

 public comprendra souvent des Strangers, en- 

 vers lesquels, citoyens d'une Republique, nous 

 devrons observer cette vertu des rois : 1' exacti- 

 tude ; la secoude, qu'au cours de nos stances, 

 notre attention, qui est toujours tres grande, 

 veuille bien toujours se montrer aussi silen- 

 cieuse qu'elle est grande. 



It is stated that Herr Vaze, the German Polar 

 explorer will lead an expedition into the Arctic 

 regions next summer in the hope of finding 

 traces of An dree. 



On the 20th of February Mr. A. P. Low of 

 the Geological Survey of Canada, who has ex- 

 plored the Labrador Peninsula during the past 

 eight years and only recently returned from an 

 eighteen months' sojourn in that once but little- 

 known land, will deliver a lecture upon the 

 Labrador Peninsula under the auspices of the 

 Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club in the Academic 

 Hall of Ottawa University. The lecture will 

 be illustrated with lantern slides. 



It ia reported that the Navy Department and 

 the Lighthouse Board of the Treasury Depart- 

 ment have declined to accept the terms offered 

 by Mr. Marconi's representative, and will make 

 experiments with a view to developing an inde- 

 pendent method of wireless telegraphy. 



The Fifth Section of the. International Con- 

 gress of Comparative History to be held at 

 Paris duriog the Exposition is a congress on 

 the history of science. The British Medical 

 Journal states that the object of the promoters 

 is to bring together persons interested in the 

 study of the history of the various sciences, and 

 to prove to them that it will be to their com- 

 mon advantage to work together, so as to 

 render the study of original documents easier. 

 The Organizing Committee, of which BI. Paul 

 Tannery is president, has drawn up a long list 

 of subjects which are considered to be ripe for 

 discussion. Proposals for schemes for encour- 



aging the study of the history of science are 

 also invited. The Congress will have an in- 

 dependent organization and will be held from 

 July 23d to July 28th. The official language 

 will be French, though papers in German, Eng- 

 lish or Italian will be received. Further in- 

 formation can be obtained from Dr. Sicard de 

 Plauzoles, Rue St. Dominique 124, Paris. 

 Among the committee are Professor Paul Ber- 

 ger, Prince Roland Bonaparte, Professor Bris- 

 saud. Professor Hahn, the Prince of Monaco, 

 Prince Henri d' Orleans, Dr. Pozzi, and Pro- 

 fessor Charles Richet. 



The London Times states that at the meeting 

 of the British Astronomical Association, on De- 

 cember 27th, Mr. Maunder made a statement 

 with reference to the arrangements that are be- 

 ing made for the proposed expedition to Spain 

 and Algeria, to view the solar eclipse of May 

 28, 1900. He said that,' subject to a sufficient 

 number of passages being actually taken before 

 January 31st, the Royal Mail steamer Tagus or a 

 sister vessel would be engaged, and would start 

 from Southampton on Friday, May 18th, at 6 p. 

 m., calling at Cadiz and Alicante, and arriving at 

 Algiers at 6 a.m., on Thursday, the 24th. The 

 vessel would stay there until after the eclipse, 

 leaving at 6 a.m., on Tuesday, the 29th, and 

 calling at Alicante, Gibraltar, and Lisbon on 

 the way to Southampton, which would be 

 reached at 7 a.m., on Monday, June 4th. It was 

 hoped the members of the Association would 

 divide themselves into three groups — those ob- 

 serving the eclipse (1) in the interior of Spain : 

 (2) at Alicante or neighborhood, and (3) in 

 Algeria, where the ship would act as hotel for 

 those who might wish to use it in that capacity. 

 The first party would, it was expected, break 

 up into two chief sections — those who would 

 alight at Cadiz and rejoin the ship at Alicante, 

 and those who would rejoin the ship at Gibral- 

 tar. The entire party would thus have the op- 

 portunity of visiting Gibraltar and Lisbon. The 

 latter port, however, would only be visited in 

 case it was quite free from plague infection. In 

 case a sufficiently large party should wish to 

 alight at Cadiz and visit the chief cities of 

 Southern Spain, arrangements would be made 

 with Messrs. T. Cook and Sons for tours to 

 Seville, Cordoba, Granada, and other places of 



