488 



THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY 



SCIENTIFIC ITEMS 



We record with regret the death of 

 John Burroughs, the distinguished 

 naturalist; of Henry P. Cushing, pro- 

 fessor of geology in Western Re- 

 serve University, and of Louis 

 Compton Miall, the English biologist. 



The annual meeting of the Ameri- 

 can Philosophical Society at Phila- 

 delphia and of the National Academy 

 of Sciences at Washington were held 

 toward the end of April. The even- 

 ing lecture before the American 

 Philosophical Society was given by 

 Professor James H. Breasted, of the 

 University of Chicago, whose series 

 of lectures on "The Origins of Civil- 

 ization" were recently printed in this 

 journal. Prince Albert of Monaco 

 gave the evening address before the 

 National Academy of Sciences, and 

 its Alexander Agassiz gold medal 

 was conferred on him in recognition 

 of his promotion of oceanographic 

 research. 



The Albert medal of the Royal So- 

 ciety of Arts has been presented to 

 Professor Albert Michelson, for his 

 discovery of a natural constant which 

 has provided a basis for a standard 

 of length. The award was made last 

 year, but the actual presentation was 

 deferred until Professor Michelson 

 could go to England to receive it. 



Dr. William Crocker, associate 

 professor of botany in the University 

 of Chicago, has been appointed direc- 

 tor of the newly founded Thompson 

 Institute for Plant Research at Yon- 

 kers, New York. He will enter on 

 his work next autumn. The board 

 of trustees of the new foundation 

 will consist of three business men 

 and three scientific men. Professor 

 John M. Coulter, head of the de- 

 partment of botany at the University 

 of Chicago, and Raymond F. Bacon, 

 of the Mellon Institute of Pitts- 

 burgh, will be two of the scientific 

 men, and these two will select the 

 third. 



/. *i if/14 r^s3Gs Tsi , - ~ y - - f/s' '**?■*& ■ ''■ 



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From Punch. 

 NEWTON AND THE RELIC HUNTER: AN APPLE NOT A STONE 



