240 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. YI., No. 136. 



asserts the belief that political economy is still in 

 the first stages of its scientific development, for the 

 accomplishment of which it must rely chiefly on the 

 study of statistics and history ; the third holds that 

 the host of social problems which have arisen through 

 the conflict of labor and capital cannot be solved 

 without ' the united efforts of church, state, and sci- 

 ence;' and the fourth disclaims all partisanship in 

 questions of governmental policy, and especially in 

 that of free trade and protection. We understand 

 that the meeting for organization was planned to be 

 held this week at Saratoga, during the session of the 

 American historical association just closed, and was 

 to be of a private 

 character, the par- 

 ticipants being those 

 who have been in- 

 vited by the initia- 

 tors of the move- 

 ment. The associ- 

 ation is designed to 

 be of an academic 

 rather than a popu- 

 lar character ; and 

 several college pro- 

 fessors and others 

 engaged in economic 

 work have signified 

 their intention to 

 assist in its founda- 

 tion. 



— In the early part 

 of 1884, Siemens 

 brothers constructed 

 an electric railway 

 between Frankfort 

 and Offenbach. The 

 two rods conducting 

 the current were sus- 

 pended by insulators 

 from poles; and from 

 the top of the car, 

 wires ran to these 

 rods. The illustra- 

 tion which we repro- 

 duce from La lu- 

 miere electrique for 

 Jan. 24 shows tlie 

 arrangement at a 

 crossing. The length 

 of the line was 6,555 



metres, and there were employed upon it four cars: 

 the tension was 600 volts, and the eflficiency from 50 

 to 80 per cent, according to the position of the cars. 



— The sixth international congress of American- 

 ists, which was to have met during the present 

 month at Turin, is postponed to September, 1886, on 

 account of the ravages of cholera in Spain, which 

 would deprive the congress of the presence of Spanish 

 Americanists. 



— The first part of anencyclopedic dictionary in 

 Bengali, edited by two native scholars, has just been 

 published in India. It contains descriptive deriva- 



tions of Sanscrit and Bengali words, with Sutras 

 quoted from Panini the grammarian ; Arabic, Persian, 

 and Hindi words introduced into the Bengali lan- 

 guage; notes on the ancient and modern religious 

 beliefs of India, the Vedas, Purans, Tantras, and 

 other sacred books; besides short articles embra- 

 cing the whole range of modern science. 



— The Ohio state university has instituted a 'short 

 course ' in agriculture to obviate the objection some- 

 times made, that the full course of four years required 

 more time than the young farmer could afford. The 

 new course covers two years. For admission to the 

 lowest grade of studies in this course, examination 



will be required in 

 arithmetic, English 

 grammar, and geo- 

 graphy; but those 

 wishing to enter the 

 classes in algebra, 

 geometry, or phys- 

 ics, must also pass 

 an examination in 

 algebra. The course 

 of study includes 

 agricultural chem- 

 istry, botany, agri- 

 culture, horticul- 

 ture, veterinary 

 science, mathe- 

 matics, physiology, 

 physics, physical 

 geography, and 

 'mechanical lab- 

 oratory. ' 



A short course 

 in agriculture has 

 also been instituted 

 by the university of 

 Wisconsin, in the 

 hope of attracting 

 those who can de- 

 vote only a small 

 amount of time or 

 money to these 

 studies. The course 

 is a strictly techni- 

 cal one, consisting 

 of courses of illus- 

 trated lectures upon 

 agriculture, agricul- 

 tural chemistry, 

 agricultural botany, and veterinary science. It ex- 

 tends over the twelve weeks of the winter term, and 

 is designed to be very elementary and 'popular.' 



— According to the latest returns of the English 

 consul at Teheran, the population of Persia, which 

 covers an area of 1,647,000 square kilometres, amounts 

 to 7,653,000. Of 99 cities with a total population of 

 1,963,800 inhabitants, Teheran has 120,000; Tabris, 

 164,000; Ispahan, 70,000; Bushir, 60,000; Meshed, 

 60,000; Kerman, 71,000; Kesht, 40,000; Jezd, 40,000; 

 and Shiraz, Kirmashah, Hamadan, and Kashan, each 

 30,000. 



