344 Personal and Scientliic News. 
as much as the rich State of Illinois has done in half a cen- 
tury. 
The yearly expense of the Roy. Acad, of Sciences is 100,000 
kroner, or $27,000. The said Academy has the following 
departments, each headed by an eminent scientist, viz : Lower 
Evertebrates (Sven Loven), Insects (Aurivillius), Vertebrates 
(F. A. Smith), Fossil animals (G. Lindstrom), Recent plants 
(V. B. Wittrock), Fossil plants (A. G. Nathorst), Minerals 
(A. E. Nordenskjold) — these seven departments constituting 
the Roy. Museum of Natural History — Physics (A. Edlund, 
died recently). Meteorology (Rubenson), Astronomy (H. A. 
Gyllden), Mathematics (A. G. Lindhayen, secretary of the 
Academy). The above $27,000 are the proceeds from funds 
and estates, the property of the Academy. Special appropria- 
tions are often granted by the parliament for special purposes. 
The Council of the Geological Society of America recently 
held a meeting at Washington. Nominations for fellowship 
were made to the society of about fifty candidates, all of whom 
had expressed a desire for election. Prof. C. H. Hitchcock 
was designated to make arrangements for an excursion from 
Toronto, and another attempt is likely to be made in favor of 
the Huronian region. He was instructed to correspond with 
the Local Committee at Toronto, and with the officers of the 
Canadian survey. The program of the meetings of the society 
at Toronto was ordered to be independent of that of the asso- 
ciation. The committee on revising the constitution held a 
meeting and decided on several important matters relating to 
the constitution. The committee on plan of publication, 
through Mr. W. J. McGee, secretary, made a voluminous report 
embodying facts concerning the manner and success of publi- 
cations by various leading scientific societies in Europe and 
America. This committee will render a final report, making 
recommendations of its conclusions to the Council at its next 
session, probably at Toronto. 
The discovery of the electrolysis method of producing 
aluminum alloys is not only patented in the United States 
but in France and Germany, although under different titles 
and claims. The Heroult process is about to be put to an 
extensive and practical test in Switzerland, where, near Zurich, 
at the falls of the Rhine, a large establishment is set on foot 
for the production of aluminum by this method. 
