158 Scientific Intelligence. 



indicate that some of the theories upon which modern systems of 

 ventilation are based, are either without foundation or doubtful, 

 and that the problem of securing comfort and health in inhabited 

 rooms requires the consideration of the best methods of prevent- 

 ing or disposing of dusts of various kinds, of properly regulating 

 temperature and moisture, and of preventing the entrance of 

 poisonous gases like carbonic oxide, derived from heating and 

 lighting apparatus, rather than upon simply diluting the air to a 

 certain standard of proportion of carbonic acid present. 



It would be very unwise to conclude from the facts given in 

 this report, that the standards of air-supply for the ventilation of 

 inhabited rooms, which standards are now generally accepted by 

 sanitarians as the result of the work of Pettenkofer, De Chau- 

 mont and others, are much too large under any circumstances, or 

 that the differences in health and vigor between those who spend 

 the greater part of their lives in the open air of the country hills, 

 and those who live in the city slums, do not depend in any 

 way upon the differences between the atmospheres of the two 

 localities except as regards the number and character of micro- 

 organisms. 



2. Report of the Agricultural Experiment Stations of the 

 University of California, for the year 1892-3 and part of 189 %, 

 being a part of the Report of the Regents of the University. 

 Sacramento State Office, 189^. — This volume of 506 pages is the 

 most recent of a dozen very valuable Reports on the instruction 

 and investigations undertaken by Prof. E. W. Hilgard and his 

 colleagues. Besides the central experiment station at Berkeley, 

 seven branch stations in various parts of California are carried on, 

 the station staff consisting of eight scientists (also professors and 

 instructors in the university) and twelve foremen. As California, 

 with one exception, exceeds all other States of our Union in area 

 and surpasses all in variety of soil, climate and vegetation, so she 

 takes the lead in investigating the questions of science and prac- 

 tice which are involved in her agriculture. 



In the introduction, Prof. Hilgard who, with leave of absence, 

 spent the year 1892-3 in Europe, gives an interesting "report of 

 observations on European agricultural schools and experiment 

 stations." He found the agricultural university at Berlin with a 

 faculty of fourteen professors, sixteen assistants and fifteen 

 instructors, and using buildings and equipment that cost $632,000, 

 exclusive of extensive museum collections. Of the 400 students 

 in annual attendance, 200 were taking instruction in surveying 

 and agricultural engineering ; about 50 were fitting for govern- 

 ment employment as clerks and fiscal officers, while 150 were 

 agricultural students strictly considered, aiming to be managers 

 of or employes on large estates. 



Part I is a report and discussion of work in the general agri- 

 cultural laboratories, comprising highly interesting researches 

 into the chemical and mechanical composition and physical char- 

 acters of soils, by Messrs. Hilgard, Loughridge and Jaffa ; special 



