GEOGRAPHIC NOTES 



CHART OF THE WORLD 



THE chart of the world, 45 x 25 

 inches, which it was announced 

 in the December number of this Maga- 

 zine would be published as a supplement 

 to this number has been delayed in pub- 

 lication, and will be published as a sup- 

 plement to the February number. 



WHY NO AMERICANS HAVE RE- 

 CEIVED NOBEL PRIZES 



PROBABLY the first thought of 

 Americans on reading the an- 

 nouncement of the award of the ' 1 No- 

 bel Prizes" of $40,000 each for 1904 

 was surprise that not a single American 

 received a prize. Americans are doing 

 noble work in the physical sciences, in 

 literature, in medicine and surgery, in 

 chemistry, and in the humanities. A 

 prize of about $40,000 is awarded an- 

 nually for achievements in each of these 

 branches, and yet no American has re- 

 ceived a prize. The reason is not lack 

 of appreciation abroad of what we are 

 doing in this country, but the neglect 

 of Americans to apply for the prizes, 

 owing to misunderstanding of the man- 

 ner in which the awards are made. In 

 the awarding of prizes only those per- 

 sons are considered who are formally 

 nominated as candidates by some insti- 

 tution, college, or scientific society of 

 rank and character. Not a single 

 American, we are informed, has yet 

 been presented for consideration, and 

 the impression abroad is that Americans 

 are not interested in the prizes. The 

 awards are made in physical sciences 

 and chemistry by the Academy of Sci- 

 ence of Stockholm, in medicine by the 

 medical faculty of the university, in 

 literature by the Swedish Academy, 

 and in the humanities by the Norwe- 

 gian Storthing. Mr W. E. Curtis in 

 his public letter of December 26 calls 

 attention to this mutual misunderstand- 

 ing. It is to be hoped that hereafter 

 for each prize the name of at least one 



American will be formally presented as 

 a candidate. Any one can compete, 

 but his or her name must be presented 

 by a worthy institution. 



THE STORY OF THE FLAMINGO 



ONE of the most fascinating descrip- 

 tions of animal life published for 

 many years appears in the Century Mag- 

 azi?ie for December. It is the story of 

 the Flamingo, by the well-known natu- 

 ralist, Frank M. Chapman. For centu- 

 ries queer stories have been told about 

 this splendid bird, that it straddled its 

 nest and did other ridiculous things, but 

 the flamingo is shy and scarce and has 

 always eluded the hunter. The only 

 flamingo colony now known in North 

 America is in an out-of-the-way island 

 of the Bahamas. This colony Mr Chap- 

 man has been seeking for many years, 

 but it was not till May, 1904, that he 

 discovered its exact location. Behind a 

 cleverly constructed blind he spent sev- 

 eral weeks right in the midst of the col- 

 ony. He secured many photographs, 

 which the Century Magazine reproduces, 

 several of them being in colors. The 

 flamingo is the largest bird of brilliant 

 plumage in existence. It is gregarious 

 and exhibits a strange combination of 

 grace and gawkiness. Since Mr Chap- 

 man's visit others have succeeded in vis- 

 iting the flamingo colony with disas- 

 trous results. "Fresh meat is rarer 

 than pink pearls in the outer Bahama 

 Islands. Young flamingoes are excel- 

 lent eating, and are consequently much 

 sought after. As a result of this perse- 

 cution on the nesting ground, they are 

 steadily diminishing in numbers, and 

 the passage of a law designed to protect 

 them is greatly to be desired." 



AMERICAN FOREST CONGRESS 



DURING the first week of the new 

 year a notable congress of per- 

 sons and associations interested in the 

 preservation and best use of our forests 



