EDITORIAL. 
621 
tic animal and cultivated plants, and (2) to the discovery (out¬ 
side of medical science) of the laws which rule the phenomena 
of nature (mathematics, mechanics, natural history, physics, 
and chemistry). 
The resources of the fund are to consist: (1) In grants from 
the state, the department, cities and other public establishments, 
(2) in private donations and legacies, (3) individual or collec¬ 
tive subscriptions, (4) on premiums from the funds of the rac¬ 
ing institutions (pari mutual) fixed by the Secretary of Agricul¬ 
ture. The object of the law is to promote private individual 
investigations, to assist them and at the same time to allay the 
enormous expenses which official researches might impose on 
the public. The board of administration of the fund is to con¬ 
sist of a commission composed of members well known for their 
special interest in the various scientific directions. 
Much advantage is expected to be derived from the new 
law and the assistance it may offer to all investigators. A. L. 
FINDING ITS LEVEL. 
The automobile seems to be fast terminating its short but 
tempestuous career as a passing fancy in America. In New York 
City it is becoming a rare sight to observe one of the hundreds 
which used to bubble along upper Broadway, ringing bells, 
and frightening horses and pedestrians. The company which 
operated so many electric cabs is in the hands of a receiver, who 
has withdrawn most all of the vehicles from the streets, and the 
only ones which may now be seen are a few operated at great 
expense by business houses for the purpose of advertisement, 
and those run by individuals as a fad, either for alleged pleas¬ 
ure riding or for sport. For the purpose of affording enjoy¬ 
ment as a pleasure vehicle we fancy that their life is doomed to 
early curtailment, as the record of accidents is becoming so long 
that many have lost faith in them. The distressing accident by 
which Mr. Frederic H. Benedict lost his life near West Point, 
N. Y., on October 19, and Mr. Grenville Kane made so narrow 
an escape from the same fate, shocked every one who read o£ it. 
