470 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No. 273. 



and 1900, shows that the lake had silted up 48 

 per cent, of its original storage capacity ; that 

 when reduced to a square mile base there Was 

 in 1893 a storage capacity of 81 feet in depth, 

 but in 1900 only 42 feet. This result, reached 

 in the space of 6| years, gives an average of 



5.8 feet of silt per year on the mile base. Ac- 

 cording to the laws of silting the deposit was 

 for the first year 7.5 feet, for the second year 



6.9 feet, for the third year 6.2 feet, etc. The 

 silt in the upper two miles of the lake is mostly 

 sand, while that of the lower two-thirds is com- 

 posed of a fine, impalpable, absolutely gritless 

 deposit. The Colorado River flows through a 

 hilly country for hundreds of miles, and is not 

 a heavy silt-bearing stream except on the Red 

 Fork. F. W. S. 



University of Texas. 



the academy of science of st. louis. 



At the meeting of the Academy of Science of 

 St. Louis of March 5, 1900, forty-two persons 

 present, the following subjects were presented : 



'An Annotated Catalogue of the Muricidae,' 

 by Mr. F. C. Baker, was presented by title. 



A paper by Professor A. S. Hitchcock, en- 

 titled 'Studies on Subterranean Organs.' II. 

 ' Some Dicotyledonous Herbaceous Plants of 

 Manhattan, Kansas,' was presented in abstract 

 and illustrated by specimens. 



Mr. J. S. Thurman addressed the Academy 

 on ' Liquid Air, ' tracing the history of the lique- 

 faction of gases and in particular the success 

 reached in liquefying air since this result was 

 first achieved in 1877 by Pictet and Cailletet. 

 The possibilities of the utilization of liquid air 

 as a motive power and an exijlosive, and its 

 employment in medicine and as a disinfectant, 

 were passed in analytic review by the speaker, 

 whose conclusions were that there seemed no 

 presenti probability of its useful application 

 either as a disinfectant or a motive power. In 

 medicine and for certain purposes requiring the 

 use of explosives it was stated to be not impos- 

 sible that it would ultimately find useful appli- 

 cation, although its prospects as an explosive 

 did not seem very promising. 



Four persons were elected active members of 

 the Academy. "William Teelease, 



Recording Secretary. 



ANTI-PLAGUE INOCULATION. 



The Indian Plague Commission have made 

 public through the India office part of their re- 

 port, including the following paragraphs in re- 

 gard to anti-plague inoculation : 



With regard to the feasibility of adopting a 

 general policy of inoculation, our conclusion 

 may be set forth as follows : 



(1) Experience gained hitherto has shown 

 that it is very seldom possible to get a large 

 proportion of the inhabitants of an uninfected 

 place inoculated. 



(2) It has been possible, where the induce- 

 ment of exemption from segregation and evic- 

 tion has been offered, to get a large proportion 

 of the inhabitants of an infected place inocu- 

 lated quickly. 



(3) It has been possible in one place — -Mysore 

 City — even where no inducement that touched 

 the great mass of the people could be offered, 

 to get a considerable pi'oportion of the inhabi- 

 tants of an infected place inoculated quickly. 



(4) It has been possible also to induce a large 

 proportion of particular communities, such as 

 the Khojas of Bombay and Karachi, to be in- 

 oculated under the influence of their leaders. 



Our recommendations are governed by those 

 conclusions, as well as by the conclusions we 

 have already drawn with regard to the protec- 

 tion conferred by inoculation. They are further 

 governed by the consideration that it is neces- 

 sary, as far as may be possible, to dispel the 

 particular objections on account of which the 

 people have hitherto refrained from inoculation. 

 Moreover, our recommendations are based on 

 the consideration that it is advisable to make 

 the operation as effective as possible, as little 

 inconvenient as possible to the person inocu- 

 lated, and as easily carried out as possible by 

 the inoculator. 



I. We have already insisted on the necessity 

 for the accurate standardization of the vaccine, 

 as being essential to the attainment of the best 

 results, both as to the protection conferred and 

 as to the duration of that protection. We have 

 pointed out, also, that the introduction of an 

 accurate system of standardization may possibly 

 obviate the necessity of employing two succes- 

 sive inoculations. 



II. With a view to dispelling the natural 



