May 30, 1884.] 
and development, special attention being given to 
the study of cryptogams. The fees for lectures and 
laboratory practice will be twenty-five dollars. Ap- 
plications for places in the laboratories should be 
made to Prof. G. L. Goodale, Cambridge, before 
July 6. 
— Old Providence Island, recently visited by the 
U.S. fish-commission steamer Albatross, was in old 
times the favorite resort of buccaneers; and the ruins 
of their fortifications, even some of their ancient 
cannon, are still to be seen. A glance at the beauti- 
ful little harbor of Catalina and its surroundings 
reveals the wisdom of its selection as a rendezvous 
by the lawless freebooters. The island is entirely 
surrounded by dangerous reefs, the entrance to the 
harbor being narrow, somewhat tortuous, and com- 
manded by their batteries on shore. Ample supplies 
of wood, water, fresh meats, fruit, and vegetables, 
could be procured from the inhabitants, with whom 
they made it a point to be on friendly terms. Its 
location near to, but outside, the great routes of com- 
merce, made it particularly valuable for their pur- 
poses. 
The island belongs to the United States of Colom- 
bia, and has a population of about eight hundred, 
the Indian blood predominating; but there is a large 
African element. The English language is univer- 
sally spoken, and the Protestant religion is the only 
one professed by the people. Schools are maintained, 
and it is the exception when a native is unable to read 
and write. The climate during the dry season, from 
November to May, is tempered by the trade-winds, 
which blow constantly, and is probably unexcelled 
by that of any island in the West Indies. There is 
no physician on the island, and the lack of proper 
medical attendance causes great suffering among the 
inhabitants. Dr. Herndon had a room fitted up on 
shore, and gave his whole time to the sick who came 
or were brought to him, the ship furnishing such 
medicines as could be spared. 
As soon as they anchored, an officer was sent on 
shore to call on the magistrate, and to inform him of 
the mission of the Albatross. He received the officer 
very cordially, and offered every assistance in his 
power. The naturalists commenced work at once, 
and succeeded in making a very creditable collection. 
A large variety of fish was procured for specimens, 
and an ample supply for officers and crew was caught 
with the seine. Fresh beef, poultry, sweet-potatoes, 
yams, and fruit were plentiful at fair prices. Tor- 
toise-shell and cocoanuts are articles of export. 
— The German foreign office means to send a com- 
missioner to the west coast of Africa, on whose re- 
port it will depend whether a German man-of-war 
shall be stationed in those waters, or not. Dr. Nach- 
tigall, the German consul in Tunis, has been in- 
trusted with this mission. He will be accompanied 
by Dr. Biichner, the explorer, and by a member of 
the German embassy in London. The gunboat Mowe 
has been sent there to supersede the corvette Sophie. 
—The German government has awarded 135,000 
SCIENCE. 
669 
marks to Dr. Koch for his services on the Inter- 
national cholera commission. 
— The German iron and steel industry society is 
publishing an illustrated work on the uses of iron 
and steel in the building-trade, giving full directions 
for any workman to apply for himself. The expenses 
will amount to £1,750, and the members of the soci- 
ety call upon all interested in the iron-trade to con- 
tribute towards them. 
— From Nature we learn that the electrical con- 
gress of 1884 adjourned, after deciding on the stand- 
ard value of the ohm as satisfactorily as may be at 
present. It must, however, be considered as little 
short of disappointing, that no better standard of light 
could be suggested than that emitted from a square 
centimetre of platinum at the temperature of fusion; 
and in requesting that ‘‘the results of observations 
(of earth-currents) collected by the various admin- 
istrations be sent each year to the International 
bureau of telegraph administration at Berne,’’ the 
committee simply stated that they had nothing to 
report. M. Mascart grouped the results of ohm de- 
termination in the following useful table: — 
Column of 
Methods. Experimenters. mercury in 
centimetres. 
( British Association . 104.83 
1. BoE | Rayleigh-Schuster . 106.00 
5 ial \ Rayleigh (1882) 106.27 
(H. Weber . . 106.16 
Kohlrausch . 105.81 
2. Weber (1.} . } Wiedemann 106.19 
Mascart . 106.33 
(FE. Weber 105.02 
: ! Rowland. . 105.79 
8. Kirchhoff Glazebrook. 106.29 
Mascart . 106.33 
4 Roiti . 105.90 
5 Fr. Weber. . 105.33 
( Lorenz (first) . 107.10 
) Rayleigh. . . 106.24 
WS Cea aS Anau ies 106.13 
| Lorenz (second) . 106.19 
(Dorn . gic 105.46 
} Fr. Webe 105.26 
7. Weber (II.). . 4 Sunita 105.68 
| Baille . 105.37 
8. Heat . Joule . 106.22 
From this it appears that the figures obtained by 
the different methods were — 
BRA es fe Meee 106.21 
Weber’s (1.) 106.14 
Kirchhoff’s . 105.93 
Lorenz ; 106.19 
Weber’s (II.) 105.47 
SOWIE = 9 Se 106.22 
the mean of which was 106.02; but 106 was taken as 
a round figure, sufficiently near the truth for all prac- 
tical and useful purposes: hence the congress de- 
cided that ‘‘ the legal ohm should be the resistance 
of a column of mercury of one square millimetre 
section, and of 106 cm. of length at the temperature 
of freezing.”’ 
—Among those granted prizes this year by the 
French academy were, in geometry, Emile Barbier; 
in mechanics, Marcel Desprez; for his experiments 
