July 18, 1884.] 



SCIENCE 



49 



concerned, it remains a complete monument of 

 scientific accuracy, and has suffered nothing 

 in the time since it was erected. The strength 

 of his arguments has not been in the least 

 weakened, the accuracy of his experiments 

 stands unassailed, and the justness of his 

 conclusions is thus far incontrovertible. As 

 matters stand to-day, we are bound to consider 

 that the cause of tuberculosis is found, and 

 that that cause is, or is contained in, the ba- 

 cillus of Koch, to whom all honor is due for 

 the beauty and completeness of his investiga- 

 tions upon this important subject. 



In our account of the last annual meeting 

 of the National academy of sciences, reference 

 was made to the gift of eight thousand dollars 

 by the widow of the late Dr. J. Lawrence 

 Smith, a member of the academy. The deed 

 of trust has recently been executed, and 

 provides that the interest of the fund shall be 

 used in striking a gold medal of the value of 

 two hundred dollars, to be called the ' Law- 

 rence Smith medal,' and to be awarded by the 

 academy, not oftener than once in two years, 

 ;t to any person in the United States of 

 America, or elsewhere, who shall make an 

 original investigation of meteoric bodies, the 

 results of which shall be made known to the 

 public ; such result being, in the opinion of 

 the National academy of sciences, of sufficient 

 importance and benefit to science to merit such 

 recognition." The investigation for which 

 the award is made, or its completed publica- 

 tion, must " have been made since the time of 

 the last preceding award . ' ' Preference is given 

 to a citizen of the United States, when the 

 choice may lie between such a one and a 

 foreigner. Any sums which may accumulate 

 from the interest of the fund, above what is 

 required for the purposes specified, is to be used 

 " in aid of investigation of meteoric bodies, to 

 be made and carried on by a citizen or citizens 

 of the United States of America." 



and ihe Walker, to mention them in the order 

 of their foundation. The Magellanic, founded 

 by John Hyacinth de Magellan, is an t; oval 

 plate of solid gold, of the value of ten 

 guineas," which may be annually bestowed 

 by the American philosophical society ' ; to the 

 author of the best discovery or most useful 

 invention relating to navigation, astronomy, 

 or natural philosoplry (mere natural history 

 only excepted) ; " but the discovery must be 

 unpublished, and never before publicly re- 

 warded. We are not aware that it has ever 

 been bestowed. The Rumford, founded by 

 Count Rumford, is a gold and silver medal, 

 bestowed biennially by the American academy 

 of arts and sciences for notable researches by 

 an American in light or heat. The Walker, 

 founded by the late Dr. William J. Walker of 

 Boston, is a money-prize of from five hundred 

 to a thousand dollars, given once in five years 

 by the Boston society of natural history to an 

 American for specially valuable investigations 

 in some department of natural historj'. The 

 addition to this meagre list is therefore most 

 welcome. Through the excellent provision 

 granting the power of using any surplus in the 

 direction of research, the necessity of award- 

 ing the prize to claimants of insufficient merit 

 is avoided, and the branch of investigation to 

 which it applies is thereby doubly fostered : but 

 we wish the requirement that the investigation 

 which is crowned must have been made since 

 the previous award, could be modified to a 

 definite term of years ; since, if two important 

 investigations claimed the award, one would 

 now be forever debarred. 



We recall but three other important honorary 

 awards at the disposal of learned societies in 

 this country, — the Magellanic, the Rumford, 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



*** Correspondents are requested to be as brief as possible. 

 The writer's name is in all cases required as proof of good faith . 



The use and spelling of terms, and some facts 

 in embryology. 



In Science, No. 73, a critic notices my recently pub- 

 lished ' Contribution to the embryography of osseous 

 fishes.' I reply as follows: Fault is found with my 

 terms ' embryography,' 'yelk,' etc. I chose the word 

 1 embryography,' not from a mere pedantic or eccen- 

 tric whim, but because it was an expressive term, 

 and covered what I meant in the general discussion, 

 or description, of the development of a considerable 



