SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



179 



We regret to observe the death, at the age of 

 sixty-nine, of M. Koenig, who was well known for 

 his researches in acoustics, light, and heat. 



With the object of counteracting the baneful 

 influence and frequent misstatements of the 

 organised opposition to vaccination, there has been 

 formed in London a Vaccination Ijeagne. This 

 has been already influentially supported, and is 

 likely to become of national importance. The 

 offices are at 110 Strand, London, W.C. 



Mh. Henri' Bartlktt desires us to state that 

 he now undertakes the setting of Lepidoptera in 

 any recognised style. This applies to speci- 

 mens from abroad in papers, as well as to 

 freshly caught and bred specimens. We can 

 recommend our readers to Mr. Bartlett, whom we 

 have known for many years. 



The International Congress of Physiologists at 

 their recent meeting at Turin paid a noteworthy 

 tribute of esteem to Sir Michael Foster on his 

 resignation of the presidency. This consisted in 

 the presentation of a plaque, inscribed with a 

 eulogistic testimony to the work done in Physiology 

 by Sir Michael. 



The vacanc}' in the appointment of a demon- 

 strator of biology in the Royal College of Science 

 at South Kensington, caused by the lamentable 

 death of Mr. Martin F. Woodward, has been filled 

 by the appointment of Mr. J. S. Moore, noted for 

 his scientific explorations in the regions of Lake 

 Tanganyika in Central Africa. Mr. Moore has 

 made two journeys to that interesting part of tlie 

 world. 



On September 30th a statue of Pasteur was 

 unveiled at Arbois, the home of his childhood, and 

 the place where he latterly spent his holidays. 

 M. Decrais, Minister of the Colonies, stated in the 

 course of his speech that Drs. Mardoun and 

 Simon had been nominated l.iy the Pastenr Insti- 

 tute to accompany M. Salirabeni, an eminent 

 Italian, to Brazil, to study means of preventing 

 yellow fever. 



It is gratifying to hear that any obstacle which 

 might retard such an important industry as that of 

 the Thornton-Pickard Manufacturing Company at 

 Altrincham has been removed. There has been a 

 regrettable and long-continued law-suit between 

 the Company and Mr. Thornton, but this, we under- 

 stand, is now ended by Mr. Thornton having accepted 

 the ]position and withdrawn his threatened appeal 

 to the House of Lords. 



The Right Hon. Kobert Hanbury stated in a 

 recent speech at Glasgow that the British Govern- 

 ment would cause an oflicial and exhaustive inquiry 

 into the scourge of the loujjing-ill among sheep. 

 It will be remembered that Mr. E. G. Wheler has 

 brought this trouble prominently before our readers 

 in his articles upon sheep-ticks. Mr. Wheler, who 

 is commissioner for the estates of the Dukedom of 

 Northumberland, was induced to study the disease 

 in consequence of the serious annual loss of sheep 

 among the tenant farmers on the Borderland 

 estates. Some of them have lost little short of 

 1,000 sheep in a single year through louping-ill, 

 which is conveyed by sheep-ticks from diseased 

 to healthy animals. Mr. Wheler has been most 

 successful in his investigations, and has now 

 correspondents on the subject in many parts of the 

 world. 



The meeting of the Association of Russian 

 Naturalists and Medical Men will be held in 

 St. Petersburg from January 2nd to 12th, 1902. 

 Sections will be devoted to mathematics, mechanics, 

 astronomy, physics, physical geography, chemistry, 

 botany, zoology, medicine, hygiene, agronomy, and 

 other l^ranbhes of science. 



The winter session of the London School of 

 Tropical Medicine in connection with the Dread- 

 nought Hospital at Greenwich was inaugurated 

 at a meeting- held on October 16th. Lord Brassey 

 gave the opening address, and amongst the speakers 

 was Dr. Manson, who said that the desire of the 

 School was to fulfil two functions : (1) The educa- 

 tion of the medical man who proposed to practise 

 in the tropics ; (2) the attempt to advance medical 

 science as regards tropical disease. 



For a young lady of eleven years by her own 

 observation to add a plant new to the flora of the 

 country in which she lives is not only a matter of 

 credit, but also of promise for future good botanical 

 work. This is tlie ease with Miss Ellinor D'Arcy. 

 daughter of the Dean of Belfast, \\\\o has found 

 Carcx irriffua at Parkmore. Co. Antrim, an addi- 

 tion to the flora of Ireland. The incident is de- 

 scribed in tlie "Irish Naturalist" for September 

 last. 



Ma.jor Ronald Ross, in his address to the 

 Li\eri)Ool Chamber of Commerce on October 21st, 

 stated he had satisfied liimself during his recent 

 tour in AN'est Africa that a complete reform was 

 taking place in the management of sanitary affairs 

 in tliat country, and he believed this .sudden re- 

 formation was principally due to the action of the 

 Liveriiool School of Tropical Medicine. Major 

 Ross is still of opinion that for practical purposes 

 drainage is the projier way of dealing with malaria 

 in large towns, in order to reduce the Anopheles 

 l.iy destroying their breeding-places. 



The Aaiesbury Parish Council passed the follow- 

 ing resolution at their last meeting: — "This Council 

 being strongly of opinion that an obstruction has 

 been placed at Stonehenge, thus interfering with 

 the free access liitlierto enjoyed by the public, and 

 this opinion being generally sustained by the 

 public at large, as confirmed by the Press, the 

 said Council desire to enter a strong protest 

 against the said obstruction." On February 28th 

 this same Council had passed a resolution to the 

 effect that they desired to obtain the opinion of 

 the District Council as to whether the owner was 

 within his rights in having such obstruction so 

 placed. 



Ax exhibition will be opened on October 31st at 

 the Examination HaU, Victoria Embankment, of 

 scientific apparatus constructed by pupils and 

 teachers of the School Board for the purpose of 

 teaching and illustrating some of the branches of 

 experimental science. The exhibits will number 

 nearly. two hundred. Among them are induction 

 coils, telegraph instruments: Boyle's tube, balances, 

 etc.. for use in chemical work : lantern and micro- 

 scopic slides for botany, physiology, and zoology, 

 with many others of general use in scientific work. 

 The exhibition will be free, and it is earnestly 

 hoped that ratepayers and others will take this 

 opportunity of seeing the work that is being done 

 among the children of the great Metropolis in 

 making their own scientific apparatus. 



