504 



SCIENCE. 



|Vol. VII., No. 174 



the state, with Greylock, our highest mountain 

 mass. Contours will be shown twenty feet apart, 

 and bring out in tine relief the bolder slopes of 

 this part of the state. Y. 

 Boston, June 1. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



The Imperial university of Japan (Teikoku- 

 Daigaku), founded by imperial decree of March 1, 

 1836, includes the two institutions formerly known 

 as the Tokyo university (Tokyo Daigaku) and the 

 Imperial college of engineering (Kobu-Daigakko), 

 these institutions having ceased to exist. The 

 university comprises five colleges, each with its 

 own director; and at its head is the president, 

 Hiromoto Watanabe. The secretary is Kiuichiro 

 Nagai. The directors of the different colleges 

 are : College of law (Hoka-Daigaku), the presi- 

 dent (ex officio) ; College of medicine (Ika-Daiga- 

 ku), Prof. Hiizu Miyake ; College of engineering 

 (Koka-Daigaku), (acting) Prof. Dairoku Kikuchi, 

 M.A. (Cantab.); College of literature (Bunka- 

 Daigaku), Prof, xtiasakazu Toyama ; College of 

 science (Rika-Daigaku), Prof. Dairoku Kikuchi, 

 M.A. (Cantab.). All communications to the Im- 

 perial university, whether on its own behalf or as 

 the representative of the two above-mentioned 

 institutions now defunct, should be addressed to 

 the president ; communications to the colleges, to 

 the director of each college. 



— Dr. Charles Upham Shepard, well known for 

 his collections in mineralogy, died at Charleston, 

 May 1. For a considerable portion of his life he 

 was identified with the South Carolina medical 

 college, and aided greatly in giving that institution 

 an honorable standing. He was also connected 

 with Amherst college ; and to this college he gave 

 his vast collection of minerals, which was un- 

 fortunately destroyed in 1880. 



— A note from Dr. Hyde of Honolulu, to the 

 Missionary herald for June, reports that "news 

 has just come that on March 6 the bottom fell out 

 of the volcano, and that Kilauea is now only a 

 black hole in the ground ; no lava, no fire, to be 

 seen. But such phenomena have been seen be- 

 fore ; and the wonderful crater may fill up again, 

 and be active once more. There were forty-nine 

 earthquakes on the island of Hawaii at the time, 

 and probably some new vent opened for the sub- 

 terranean fires." 



— The house committee on commerce has re- 

 ported favorably the bill providing for an expert 

 commission to visit Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, and the 

 Central American spates for the purpose of inves- 

 tigating the merits of the methods pursued by 



Drs. Freire and Carmona for the prevention of 

 yellow-fever by inoculation. In their report the 

 committee say, " Dr. Carmona states, that in one 

 series of observations during the prevalence of 

 yellow-fever, of three hundred and eighty persons 

 protected by inoculation, less than three per cent 

 contracted the disease ; while under the same cir- 

 cumstances, of one hundred and seventy-five per- 

 sons not inoculated, thirty -two per cent were 

 seized with it. He also states that seventy-six 

 inoculated soldiers marching from Vera Cruz to 

 Acayucan were joined by a soldier who had not 

 been inoculated. Upon their arrival at the latter 

 place, the unprotected soldier was seized with 

 yellow - fever, and died, while no case of the 

 disease occurred among his seventy-six comrades. 

 Other facts of a similar character are related by 

 Drs. Carmona and Freire, which certainly tend 

 very strongly to show the success of this preven- 

 tive treatment. It is therefore important that 

 further scientific observations and experiments 

 should be instituted in order to establish beyond 

 controversy the facts relating to this subject, so 

 vital to the interests of sanitary science, com- 

 merce, and humanity." 



— The following assignments have been made 

 in the topographical department of the geological 

 survey : Mr. Mark Kerr is in Oregon ; Prof. A. 

 H. Thompson is in charge of the western division, 

 with headquarters at San Francisco ; Mr. Ren- 

 shaw will be sent to Kansas and Missouri this 

 week ; and Mr. Richard Goode will go to Texas. 



— The announcement of the death of Von 

 Ranke was succeeded by that of George Waitz, 

 one of his most painstaking and industrious pu- 

 pils. Professor Waitz was born at Flensberg in 

 1813. He became professor of history at the Uni- 

 versity of Kiel in 1842, in 1848 he was a mem- 

 ber of the Frankfort assembly, and in 1849 he 

 was called to Gottingen. Waitz succeeded Pertz 

 as editor of the ' Monumenta Gerrnaniae historical 

 and in connection with this work he has achieved 

 a consiuerable reputation. His most important 

 writings are, 'Deutsche verfassungs-geschichte' 

 (2d ed., 1865, 4 vols.), Schleswig-Holstein ge- 

 schichte' (1831-54, 2 vols.), 'Grundzuge der 

 politik' (1862), and 'Die formeln der deutschen 

 konigs- und der romischen kaiserkronung vom 10 

 bis zum 10 jahrhundert.' Of late years Professor 

 Waitz has resided in Berlin. 



— Pending the action of the appropriation com- 

 mittee, no instructions can be issued by the coast 

 survey to continue work after June 30. As soon 

 as the appropriations are available, preparations 

 will be made to organize parties for field-work 

 after July 1. 



