878 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XI. No. 283. 



The Croonian lectures before the Royal Col- 

 lege of Physicians of Loudon, will be delivered 

 on June 19th, 21st, 26th and 28th, by Dr. F. 

 W. Mott, F.R.S., pathologist to the London 

 County Asylums, who has taken for his subject 

 ' The Degeneration of the Neuron.' 



A FIRE occurred in the Astronomical Observa- 

 tory of Yale University on May 22d. Damage 

 to the extent of about $500 was caused, and at 

 one time the entire observatory was in danger. 

 The fire was caused by a defective gas jet in 

 the photographic room. 



Sevbeal positions of a partly scientific char- 

 acter will be filled by a competitive examina- 

 tion in the State of New York on June 2d. 

 These include an assistant commissioner of 

 agriculture and a bridge designer in the oflSce of 

 the State Engineer and Surveyor. 



As we have already announced, the Univer- 

 sity of Illinois has fallen heir to the Bolter 

 Collection of Insects. The collection numbers 

 approximately fifteen thousand species, repre- 

 sented by about seventy thousand specimens, 

 besides thirty thousand duplicates not in the 

 systematic collection. This collection, accum- 

 ulated during the last fifty years by the late 

 Andreas Bolter, a business man of Chicago, is 

 remarkable for the excellence of the material 

 and for the exquisite care with which it has 

 been prepared and arranged. It represents all 

 orders of insects and North America in general, 

 and contains also a considerable amount of ex- 

 otic material. The gift was made by the exec- 

 utors of Mr. Bolter, in accordance with the 

 terms of his will, conditional upon its mainte- 

 nance" as a unit, under the name of the ' Bol- 

 ter Collection of Insects,' in a fire-proof build- 

 ing. 



The valuable series of specimens collected 

 by Mr. R. T. Giinther in N. W. Persia, and de- 

 scribed by him and others in the Journal of the 

 Linnean Society (London) published last Janu- 

 ary is now incorporated with the collections of 

 the British Museum. 



A COMMITTEE of the Society for Plant Mor- 

 phology and Physiology consisting of Professor 

 Farlow, Dr. MacDougal, and Dr. Von Schrenk, 

 will report to a business meeting of that body 



in New York in the last week in June upon the 

 feasibility of securing an improved method of 

 bibliographical reviews in botany. 



The Right Hon. W. H. Long, M.P., Presi- 

 dent of the British Board of Agriculture, has ap- 

 pointed a Departmental Committee to inquire 

 into the conditions under which agricultural 

 seeds are at present sold, and to report whether 

 any further measures can with advantage be 

 taken to secure the maintenance of adequate 

 standards of purity and germinating power. The 

 Committee will consist of the following mem- 

 bers, viz: The Earl of Onslow, G.C.M.G., 

 chairman; Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, K.C.M.G., 

 CLE.; Sir Jacob Wilson ; Mr. R. A. Ander- 

 son, Secretary of the Irish Agricultural Organ- 

 ization Society ; Mr. R. Stratton, The DufFryn, 

 Newport (Mon.); Mr. Martin J. Sutton, Henley- 

 park, Oxon. ; Mr. James Watt, Knowefield, 

 Carlisle, and Mr. David Wilson, Carbeth, Kil- 

 learn, N. B. Mr. A. E. Brooke-Hunt of the 

 Board of Agriculture, will act as secretary to 

 the committee. 



The Fourth Animal Report of the New York 

 Zoological Society contains besides reports of 

 the Executive Committee, Director and Treas- 

 urer, a list of members, and the various acts re- 

 lating to the Park, as well as a number of plates 

 illustrating details of construction and instal- 

 lation and positions of the herds of elk and bison. 

 The Society is to be congratulated upon the rapid 

 progress it has made since assuming control of 

 the grounds in August, 1898, and also upon the 

 fact that every dollar has been expended to 

 good advantage. It is to be hoped that it may 

 succeed in increasing its membership and in 

 securing the funds needed for the proper main- 

 tenance of the park. The number of animals 

 in the park on Jan. 1, 1900, was 781, distributed 

 as follows: mammals, 44 species, 151 indi- 

 viduals ; birds, 43 species, 185 specimens ; 

 reptiles, 92 species, 445 specimens. 



The authorities of the British Museum have 

 decided to adopt a system of hydraulic pressure 

 upon all the fire mains of the institution as an 

 additional precaution against fire. By the 

 adoption of this system a pressure of water of 

 enormous force will be obtained by the mere 

 turning of a couple of wheels, and the necessity 



