Febeuaky 16, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



217 



of the University of Michigan next June will be 

 delivered by John M. Coulter, Ph.D., head pro- 

 fessor of botany in the University of Chicago. 



Dr. George F. Becker, of the Geological Sur- 

 vey, who was recently sent by the government 

 to the Philippines to report on the geology 

 and mineral resources of the islands, has re- 

 turned to Washington. 



The death is announced in Berlin of Dr. W. 

 Hauchecorne, director of the School of Mines. 



We also note with regret the death, on Janu- 

 ary 13th, of Dr. J. W. Gunnings, professor of 

 chemistry at Amsterdam, at the age of 72 years ; 

 of Dr. Peter Waage, professor of chemistry at 

 Christiana, at the age of 57 years, and of Gen- 

 eral Alexis de Tillo, of St. Petersburg, known 

 for his work in geography and meteorology. 



The mineralogical museum of Columbia Uni- 

 versity will be named after the late Thomas 

 Eggleston, long professor of mineralogy and 

 metallurgy at the University, to whose gifts and 

 efforts the museum is chiefly due. 



Professor G. H. Parker, on January 29th, 

 lectured before the New York Academy of Sci- 

 ences, under the auspices of the Section of 

 Biology. The title of the lecture was ' The 

 Neurone Theory in the Light of recent Discov- 

 eries.' The lecturer gave a summary of the 

 development of our knowledge of the histo- 

 logical structure of the nervous system, and 

 contrasted with the neurone theory as widely 

 understood that of Apathy's, which declares the 

 absolute continuity of the nervous system by 

 means of the fibrillte in the nerve cells and fibers 

 as demonstrated by his method of technique. 

 The lecture was closed by a criticism of Apathy's 

 interpretation of his preparations. 



Dr. Edward Thorndike, of Columbia Uni- 

 versity, gave a series of five lectures before the 

 course in General Biology at the University of 

 Chicago, February 4th to 9th. One of these 

 was also open to all members of the University. 



Professor T. H. Morgan, of Bryn Mawr 

 College, will repeat the course of lectures given 

 at Columbia University at the University of 

 Chicago, February 19th to 23d. 



On February 8th, Professor H. H. Turner, 

 F.R.S., Savilian professor of astronomy in the 



University of Oxford, gave the first of a course 

 of three lectures at the Royal Institution on 

 ' Modern Astronomy. ' On March 22d, Mr. H. 

 J. Mackinder will deliver the first of a course of 

 three lectures on ' Equatorial East Africa and 

 Mount Kenya,' in the place of Mr. E. A. Fitz- 

 gerald, who is unable to deliver his course of 

 lectures owing to his departure for South Africa. 



Largely through the generosity of Mr. W. 

 F. E. Gurley, formerly State Geologist of Illi- 

 nois, the University of Chicago has come into 

 the possession of an exceptionally valuable col- 

 lection of paleozoic fossils. The making of this 

 collection has been the life work of Mr. Gurley 

 and it is undoubtedly the best existing collection 

 of the paleozoic fossils of the interior States. 

 It also contains a large amount of excellent 

 material from other regions. The collection is 

 estimated to contain 15,000 species, and several 

 hundred thousand specimens. With this collec- 

 tion as a nucleus, the University of Chicago will 

 be in position to build up one of the most valu- 

 able collections of paleozoic fossils in America. 



Mr. Morris Steinert has given to Yale 

 University his collection of historical musical 

 instruments. It includes more than 500 pieces, 

 including some of great value, representing the 

 development of the piano and violin. The col- 

 lection also includes musical manuscripts and 

 original musical compositions. 



By the will of Mme. Beaucourt the Geological 

 Society of Prance receives 40,000 fr. , the in- 

 come of which is to be used for research work. 



It is stated in the Scientific American that the 

 sum of $7,550 has been given by Professors 

 Haeckel, Conrad and Fraas, to be awarded for 

 the best essays submitted on the application of 

 the Darwinian theory to international political 

 development and legislation. The essays must 

 all be submitted prior to December, 1 902. 



The American Section of the International 

 Association for Testing Materials, of which 

 Professor Mansfield Merriman, of Lehigh Uni- 

 versity, is chairman, has received contributions 

 to its publication and research fund amounting 

 to $655. 



We learn from the National Oeographic Mag- 

 azine that the French government will erect a 



