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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



The Canadian Electrical Association will meet 

 on June 2nd, 3rd and 4th, at Niagara Falls, 

 Ontario. 



An exhibition of Agriculture and Forestry will 

 be held in Vienna by the Imperial and Royal 

 Agricultural Society, from May 7th to October 

 9th, 1898. 



The Zoological Society of Germany will hold its 

 seventh annual congress, at Kiel, from the gth to 

 the 14th of June, under the presidency of Herr 

 Butschi, of Heidelberg. 



M. Lodis Leger has recently contributed to 

 " Comptes Rendus " some important particulars of 

 certain Coccides living with Arthropoda, and 

 describes several new species. 



The Botanical Section of the St. Petersburg 

 Society of Naturalists propose to publish a full 

 herbarium of the flora of European Russia, similar 

 to the " Herbarium Normale " by Fries. 



In " Science," April 30th, Mr. F. A. Bather, of 

 the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) replies to a review, 

 by Mr. F. A. Lucas, of his paper, " How may 

 Museums best Retard the Advance of Science." 



The Cork Naturalists' Field Club seems to grow 

 steadily, and is evidently popularising a taste for 

 natural science in its district. The annual report 

 shows much vitality and useful work accomplished. 



The past winter seems to have been, in the 

 south of England, one of the wettest on record. 

 At Croydon the annual average was reached 

 during the seven and a-half months following 

 September 1st last. 



It was decided by the Budget Commission of the 

 French Government that the sum of four thousand 

 pounds should be voted for the Pasteur Institute at 

 Rhia-Trang to encourage Dr. Yersin's researches 

 on the plague serum. 



Princeton University will send its fourteenth 

 geological expedition to the West during the 

 coming summer. The party, under the direction 

 of Professor Scott, will make palasontological and 

 geological studies and collections in South Dakota. 



Professor Lawrence Bruner, of the Nebraska 

 University, sailed for Buenos Ayres on April 27th. 

 He purposes to spend a year investigating the 

 injurious locusts which have recently increased 

 enormously in three of the eastern provinces of the 

 Argentine Republic. 



In the " Proceedings " of the Royal Irish 

 Academy, 3rd series, vol. iv., No. 1, Mr. D. 

 M'Ardle describes the Hepaticae of the Hill of 

 Howth. His list of species includes no less than 

 fourteen liverworts not previously noted in the 

 County of Dublin, two being new to Ireland. 



M. O. Pomel has found in Algiers, in strata of 

 the quaternary period, the remains of a bear (Ursus 

 libycus) ; a hyena (Hyzna spelna) , probably identical 

 with the hyena of the caves of Europe ; two cats, 

 Felis speltea and F. antiqua ; a jackal (Canis aureus), 

 resembling a common jackal, and several domestic 

 dogs. 



We are pleased to welcome a new quarterly 

 journal of which a couple of numbers have been 

 published under the title of the "Aeronautical 

 Journal." It is the official organ of the Aeronau- 

 tical Society of Great Britain. It is brightly 

 edited and illustrated. The two numbers contain 

 much of interest to aeronauts and others. 



Dr. Thomas P. Lucas, in a paper on the flying- 

 foxes of Queensland, read before the Royal Society 

 of that Colony in June last, reminds us that the 

 flesh of these bat-like animals is " good gamely 

 food." He further suggests that the gastric juices 

 of their stomachs might be utilized to assist human 

 digestion, after the manner of pepsin. 



Mr. George H. Carpenter, B.Sc, the Director 

 of the Natural History Department in the Science 

 and Art Museum in Dublin, has caused extensive 

 re-arrangements of the collections to be made. 

 The effect will be a great improvement, especially 

 as it will provide for the new Irish collection 

 formed to show the present fauna of the country. 

 This should be of great value to students. 



A new entomological society has been formed in 

 the City of Quebec. At present it is affiliated as a 

 branch to the Ontario Society. With such an 

 ardent entomologist as the Rev. T. W. Fyles, 

 F.L.S., as president and organiser, we predict its 

 early secession, and would congratulate the 

 members on independence ; considering the size of 

 the province the new society will have to work. 



Mons. A. Suchetet, of Chateau D'Antiville 

 Breaute, Seine-Inferieur, has long been studying 

 hybrids between various animals. He recently 

 published a volume on such cases among mammals, 

 and is now collecting material of a like character 

 among insects, fishes and reptiles. M. Suchetet 

 would highly value particulars of trustworthy 

 cases. He may be addressed in either French or 

 English. 



Canada is much exercised in spirit over a source 

 of her mineral wealth. In Ontario are vast deposits 

 of nickel ore. A Government commission of experts 

 from the United States some time ago was sent to 

 examine the districts where it occurs, which are in 

 the neighbourhood of Sudbury. The commission 

 reported an estimate of 650,000,000 tons of nickel 

 ore in sight. This, coupled with the fact of the 

 comparatively new use of nickel-steel for guns and 

 armour plates, has awakened great attention and 

 some alarm. It seems possible that the intention 

 was to get private control of these valuable mines 

 in order to supply European powers with the 

 material. 



Ballooning in the Polar regions is to be again 

 attempted this season, and by more than one 

 expedition. The Andree party start immediately, 

 with an increased lifting power, many square feet 

 of extra gas accommodation having been provided 

 in the balloon. A French expedition has also 

 been arranged by M. Louis Godard, under the 

 auspices of four Parisian journals. A committee 

 of superintendence has been formed with M. 

 Rambaud, the Minister of Public Instruction, as 

 president ; it also includes five members of the 

 Academie des Sciences. The balloon is to carry 

 seven persons. When in sailing order this machine 

 will have to lift something like 25,000 lbs. weight, 

 including itself. It is estimated the balloon will, 

 when ready, be able to float from forty to sixty 

 days. This expedition, like that of M. Andree, 

 will make Spitzbergen the base of operations. 



