304 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. Y., No. 114. 



partments of study, and every portion of the south- 

 ern Pacific. Eight catalogues of the museum were 

 published between 1864 and 1881, several of them 

 containing zoological and geographical monographs 

 as well. The Journal, which commenced in 1871, 

 contained not only papers on the museum and its 

 contents, but was open to the discussion of any scien- 

 tific subject connected with the South-Sea Islands. 

 Its most important feature was formed by the papers, 

 by specialists, on sections of the collections sent home 

 for the museum. Fourteen parts were published in 

 all, the most remarkable being on the fishes, which 

 contained 140 plates and 312 illustrations. Through 

 financial reverses, this princely merchant died poor ; 

 and no purchaser was found for his museum, which 

 will probably be broken up. 



— According to the Auk, the celebrated collection 

 of birds' eggs belonging to Dr. Baldamus of Coburg, 

 Germany, is now offered for sale. A printed cata- 

 logue of the collection has been prepared; and it 

 appears that the collection, which is especially rich 

 in the nests and eggs of European birds, numbers 

 nearly two thousand species and some ten thousand 

 specimens. It would be a valuable accession to any 

 museum in this country. 



— The electric light has found a novel use recently 

 in the attempt to apply it for the prevention of such 

 explosions as have lately taken place in London. An 

 arc-light of fifty Carcels was employed on one of the 

 police-boats of the Thames to light the Speaker's 

 terrace or the Westminster bridge. It was found 

 that the movements of individuals on the land, or 

 of boats on the river, could readily be followed. As 

 the police-boats are too small to allow of the use of 

 dynamo-electric machines, recourse was had to pri 

 mary batteries, a chloride-of-silver battery of the 

 form invented by Skrivanow being used, which did 

 not occupy more than a cubic foot of space. 



— The governor of Indiana has appointed Maurice 

 Thompson of Crawfordsville to be state geologist, in 

 place of Professor John Collett, whose term expires 

 April 26. Mr. Thompson is known only as a writer 

 upon out-door recreations and popular science. The 

 reason for not re-appointing Mr. Collett is not given, 

 and, if he was to be supplanted by another, it should 

 have been by a thoroughly competent person. 



— The managers of the Indiana institution for the 

 deaf and dumb at Indianapolis have procured cases 

 for a museum of considerable extent. They have a 

 very good room in their building for this purpose. 

 The idea of object-teaching in natural science to 

 deaf-mutes is a good one, and will undoubtedly be 

 followed by good results. 



— In the programme of prizes for award, presented 

 at the recent annual meeting of the Acade'mie des 

 sciences, was included a prize of four thousand pounds, 

 left by Breant in 1849, and still unawarded, to be 

 given to any one who "shall find an efficacious remedy 

 for Asiatic cholera, or shall discover the causes of 

 this terrible scourge." To secure this prize, it will be 

 necessary, 1, to find a means of curing Asiatic cholera 

 in the immense majority of cases; 2, or to indicate 



with absolute certainty the causes of Asiatic cholera, 

 so that by their suppression the epidemic shall cease ; 

 3, or to discover a certain prophylactic as infallible, 

 for instance, as is vaccination for small-pox. 



— Dr. and Mrs. Asa Gray and Dr. W. G. Farlow 

 visited the city of Mexico on their way to southern 

 California. They were tendered a reception by the 

 Historical society of southern California at Los 

 Angeles, March 16, where Dr. Gray, though suffering 

 from a severe cold contracted at New Orleans, made 

 a few pleasant remarks, and was followed by an 

 address on fungi affecting fruit-trees, by Professor 

 Farlow. The party visited San Diego, where, unfor- 

 tunately, unpleasant weather prevailed : they intend 

 visiting other points of botanical interest. 



— Pasteur's system of vaccination for anthrax has 

 been tried with triumphant success by the Indian 

 government, acting on the advice of Mr. J. Mills, the 

 inspector of cattle-disease for Madras. According to 

 the official papers, ponies, donkeys, cows, bullocks, 

 buffaloes, sheep, and guinea-pigs have all been pro- 

 tected by vaccination from the consequences of inoc- 

 ulation with virus which proved fatal to un vaccinated 

 animals. A vaccinated pony and a buffalo were sent 

 to a village where there was an epidemic of anthrax ; 

 and though they were herded with diseased cattle, 

 and grazed on the same pastures, they escaped the 

 disease. In Burmah the elephants have been vacci- 

 nated with equal success. At first the ' vaccine' was 

 imported from France ; but the uncertainty of obtain- 

 ing it pure and efficacious from any one but Pasteur 

 himself has induced the Indian government to fit up 

 a laboratory for the manufacture and dispensing of 

 the fluid in Bengal ; and, if that is successful, other 

 laboratories will be founded in other centres. Mr. 

 J. H. B. Hallen was sent, some time ago, to study 

 in Pasteur's laboratory; and the report recommends 

 that all veterinary surgeons should go through such 

 a course of instruction. 



— The Paris industrial exhibition for 1885 will be 

 held from July to November in the galleries of the 

 Palais de F Industrie. It has been decided to form 

 three foreign sections, — one for England, another 

 for Belgium, and a third for Italy, — in order that 

 the processes adopted by the French workmen may 

 be fairly compared with those of the countries 

 named. 



— Some inquiries having been made of us concern- 

 ing the accuracy of the times of the occurrence of 

 the solar eclipse of March 16 for some of the prin- 

 cipal cities of the United States, published in Science 

 last Christmas, we would say that it was not designed 

 to furnish accurate predictions for the use of astron- 

 omers, who are in the habit themselves of perform- 

 ing such calculations specially for their respective 

 points of observation, but simply to give near ap- 

 proximations for the use of the public at large; the 

 times of ending being given with a little less degree 

 of exactness than those of beginning, which latter, 

 as far as heard from, agreed with observation within 

 the minute, and the whole believed to have answered 

 all practical ends. 



