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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Mr. R. J. Harvey Gibson is the new Professor 

 of Botany at University College, Liverpool. 



An Astronomical Congress is to be held, in June, 

 at San Francisco. 



Mr. A. D. Hall, has been appointed Principal 

 of the Wye Agricultural College, established by 

 the County Councils of Kent and Surrey, jointly. 



" Natural Science " for April, publishes two 

 excellent articles of interest to geologists ; they are 

 "Plateau Man in Kent " by W. J. Lewis Abbott, 

 and " Continental Growth and Geological periods " 

 by T. Mellard Reade. 



It has been found necessary to alter the localities 

 of both the April excursions of the Geologists' 

 Association. On April the 28th, Messrs. Beeby 

 Thompson, and W. D. Crick will conduct the 

 Association to Wellingborough, where good sections 

 of the lias and oolite are visible. 



In "Good Words" for April, Sir Herbert Maxwell, 

 in an article entitled " Assisted Sight," shows the 

 great advantage of carrying a field-glass when 

 observing birds and their ways. In the same 

 magazine Mr. Percy Frankland has " Half-an-hour 

 with the Microbes." 



Messrs. W. H. Allen and Co. announce an 

 important series of works under the general title of 

 "Allen's Naturalists' Library," which is to be 

 edited by Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, F.L.S., of the 

 British Museum. We presume that these volumes 

 are to take the place of " Jardine's Naturalists' 

 Library," which is now out of date. The names 

 of the authors who will be responsible for the new 

 library are sufficient guarantee that it will be 

 fully abreast of modern knowledge ; they include 

 R. Lydekker, M.A., H. O. Forbes, W. R. Ogilvie 

 Grant, W. F. Kirby, and Prof. R. H. Traquair, 

 F.R.S. It is expected that the first four volumes 

 will be ready at the end of April. 



Periodical Bleeding of Plants. — The term 

 "bleeding " in this instance refers to a secretion of 

 fluid from the leaves of plants and from fungi, 

 independently of a flow of sap on injury. Herr 

 A. Wider has observed 439 species of plants that 

 are capable of voluntarily bleeding. He considers 

 that all phanerogams periodically bleed. Further 

 experiments have shown that by altering the 

 temperature and gaseous surroundings of the plants, 

 the bleeding may be stopped or induced. It is 

 thought the bleeding is a result of oxidation, for 

 when oxygen is reduced and hydrogen increased in 

 the surrounding atmosphere the bleeding decreases 

 and stops as less oxygen remains. Light may have 

 influence in the oxidation, for bleeding is more 

 common in the afternoon than in the morning. 

 Plants bleed from both roots and leaves ; some, 

 such as the Gramineas, bleed from the points of 

 the leaves. 



Mineral Plant Food. — At a recent meeting of 

 the Chemical Society, Dr. Bernard Dyer read a 

 paper upon " The analytical determination of 

 probably available mineral plant food in soils." 

 Dr. Dyer recommends the use of a weak solution 

 of citrate acid, instead of alkaline ammonium 

 citrate, as a solvent of phosphatic manurial 

 materials ; as by its aid the " available " phosphate 

 is more certainly indicated. The reading of the 

 paper led to an important discussion. 



The London Botanical Field Class, under the 

 direction of Prof. G. S. Boulger, F.L.S., has 

 arranged for the following field meetings during 

 the present season : May 5th, Theydon Bois ; 

 May 19th, Barnes Common and Richmond Park ; 

 June 2nd, Taplow and Cookham ; June 16th, 

 Ashtead to Epsom ; June 30th, Caterham and 

 the North Downs ; July 7th, Southborough, Tun- 

 bridge Wells. Full particulars as to arrangements 

 may be had from the Hon. Sec, " Educational 

 Review " Office, 27, Chancery Lane, E.C. 



Mr. B. E. Fernow contributes an interesting 

 article on "Forest Legislation in Europe" to the 

 April " Century," from which it appears that in 

 Germany there is less Government control of 

 private forests than in other countries where any 

 attention is paid to so important a matter. In 

 Austria, on the other hand, owners of forests — 

 whether individuals or corporations — are compelled 

 to employ properly qualified foresters, for whose 

 education eight schools of forestry are maintained. 

 In Hungary and Italy the control of private forests 

 is assumed by the Government. Slightly varying 

 laws, giving the State control, are in force in 

 France and Switzerland. 



We have received the " Seventh Annual Report of 

 the Liverpool Marine Biology Committee and their 

 Biological Station at Port Erin, Isle of Man," by 

 Prof. W. A. Herdman, D.Sc, F.R.S. , etc., chairman 

 and director. It is an interesting record of much 

 useful work being carried out at very small cost. 

 There are laboratories and tanks for the use of 

 biologists desirous of pursuing some particular line 

 of investigation, a number of dredging expeditions 

 are arranged, and general collecting and observing 

 work is carried on. During 1893 the committee 

 have conducted eight dredging expeditions, and 

 have explored a considerable amount of the Irish 

 Sea around the Isle of Man. They have collected 

 and identified over a thousand species of marine 

 animals, thirty-eight of which are new to the 

 British fauna, two hundred and twenty-four new 

 to the district, and seventeen new to Science. 



A course of six lectures on Meteorology in 

 relation to Hygiene, has been jointly arranged by 

 the Councils of the Royal Meteorological Society 

 and the Sanitary Institute, for the purpose of giving 

 opportunity to medical officers of health and 

 others to gain further information on the important 

 question of weather and climate in relation to 

 health and disease. The lectures will be delivered 

 in the Parkes Museum, 74A, Margaret Street, 

 London, W., on the Mondays and Thursdays, from 

 April 23rd to May 10th, at 8.30 p.m., and will be 

 free to Fellows, Members and Associates of both 

 Societies ; to others, the fee for the course will be 

 half-a-guinea. The lecturers are : G. J. Symons, 

 F.R.S. ; Dr. R. H. Mill, F.R.S. E. ; R. H. Scott, 

 M.A., F.R.S.; W. Marriott, F. R. Met. Soc. ; C. 

 Theodore Williams, M.D. ; and F. Gaster, F. R, 

 Met. Soc. 



