284 will be presented in four sections, Soil Moisture, Organic Matter, Adsorption and Colloidal Phenomena; the general discussion being opened by Dr. Russell. DR. FRANK W. GUNSAULUS, since 1892 president of the Armour Institute of Technology, died in Chicago on March 17, aged sixty-five years. THE death is announced of Louis Compton Miall, F.R.S., till 1907 professor of biology at the University of Leeds, at the age of seventy-nine years. EMILE BOURQUELOT, professor of pharmacy in the University of Paris, has died at the age of sixty-eight years. THE fourteenth annual meeting of the Illinois State Academy of Science will be held at the Southern Illinois State Normal University, Carbondale, on April 29 and 30. Papers will be presented in the following subjects: (1) Biology and Agriculture; (2) Chemistry and Physics; (3) Geology and Geography; (4) Mathematics and Astronomy; (5) Medicine and Public Health; (6) Psychology and Education. The address of the retiring president will be "The Illinois Ozarks," and invitation addresses will be given on subjects concerned with southern Illinois. The afternoon and evening programs will be of a popular character and complimentary to the citizens of Carbondale. THE American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists, the American Society for Cancer Research, the American Society of Immunologists and the International Association of Medical Museums (American and Canadian Sections) will meet in Cleveland from March 24 to 26. THE American Engineering Council has joined with the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Patent Law Association, the American Chemical Society and the National Research Council in a movement to bring about reforms in the United States Patent Office. Conditions in the office, according to a statement issued by the council, are such as to menace seriously American industry and invention. A committee on patents has been ar appointed by the execu THE Lord President o AT the Springfield m board of the counwide campaign for ent office situation. nced by President vin J. Prindle, of the American Soers on the council. committee are J. ork, secretary, rep- w York engineer. ning geologist of itute of Mining rs; Dr. D. S. illcox & Babcock of Mechanical erman, electrical merican Institute Council of Great F.R.S., head f the Associa- York, and F. B. Mumford, of Missouri. For the various sections the officers are as follows: Agriculture, Dean Mumford, chairman; W. F. Handschin, of Illinois, vice chairman, and W. H. Chandler, of New York, secretary; engineering, C. R. Richards, of Illinois, chairman, and R. L. Sackett, of Pennsylvania, secretary; and home economics, Edna L. Skinner, of Massachusetts, chairman, and Mildred Wiegley of Minnesota, secretary. For the three subsections of the section of agriculture, R. L. Watts, of Pennsylvania and C. D. Jarvis, of the U. S. Bureau of Education were chosen chairman and secretary, respectively, in resident teaching; F. S. Harris, of Utah and T. P. Cooper, of Kentucky, chairman and secretary in experiment station work; and H. J. Baker, of Connecticut and J. A. Wilson, of Oklahoma in extension work. UNDER the auspices of the American Ophthalmological Society, the Ophthalmic Section of the American Medical Association, and the Academy of Ophthalmology and Oto-Laryngology, an International Congress of Ophthalmology will be held in Washington, D. C., April 18-22, 1922. The officers of the temporary organization are as follows: President, Dr. George E. de Schweinitz, Philadelphia; Vicepresident, Dr. Edward Jackson, Denver; Secretary and Treasurer, Dr. Luther C. Peter, Philadelphia; Chairman of Committee on Organization, Dr. Edward C. Ellett, Memphis, Tenn.; on Scientific Progress, Dr. Edward Jackson, Denver; on Finances, Dr. Lee M. Francis, Buffalo; on Arrangements, Dr. William H. Wilmer, Washington, D. C., and on Membership and Credentials, Dr. Walter R. Parker, Detroit. THE Experiment Station Record reports that plans are under way for a laboratory building for chemical, bacteriological and other research work of the Netherlands Institute of Animal Nutrition, and it is hoped to complete the structure in about two years. An annex to the laboratory is being built for immediate occupancy. This is a one-story structure about 117 by 62 ft., with basement and attic, and will be known as the vitamin laboratory. The main floor contains several offices and laboratories, but consists largely of q for mice, rats, monkeys, rabbits, fow guinea pigs. Special facilities are to vided for keeping many of the animals warrens during the day, for disinfecting and otherwise maintaining the best of h conditions. The library is on the att where considerable storage space is als able. THE Association of British Chemical facturers, as reported in the British Journal, is circulating a memorandum present position of the fine chemical in The facts and arguments are on simila to those in the pamphlet issued from ciety of Chemical Industry. It is stat British chemists, as a result of the s imparted by the war, have brought the facture of the chemicals used in resear in photography, and of certain synthe fumes and essences, to the verge of c cial success, while the manufacture of has made immense strides, and woul made greater had not the Order in prohibiting the importation of drugs b aside by the Sankey judgment. The expressed that the Key Industries Bill has been promised as a government 1 of the new session, may do for fine ch what has already been done for dyes the act recently passed; that is to sa some protection may be granted to the facturers of fine chemicals until the consolidated a position which has been won and which is still precarious. T curity arises from the fact that there cumstances, including the great prio organization, and also the present stat exchanges, which favor the German la ies. The national importance of this i in peace and war is pointed out, and it stated that, excluding coal-mining, chemical industry yields the highest n of output per person employed. As a result of the recommendations Wisconsin Chapter of the American Er ing Society, a bill has been introduced Legislature of Wisconsin providing registration of engineers, chemists, m 286 gists and land surveyors. The proposed act UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL By the will of Daniel Baugh a legacy of THE graduate school of Yale University has been authorized to confer the degree of doctor of philosophy for work in clinical medicine, and in pharmacology and toxicology. THE University of Alabama, cooperating with the U. S. Interdepartmental Social Hygiene Board, has established a department of hygiene, with Dr. Hiram Byrd as director. DR. ELIOT BLACKWE formerly associate pro University of Wiscons lecturer on geology at DR. E. W. SCRIPTURE versity and the medic University, has been a of the University of 1 mer semester, where h lish philology and expe DISCUSSION AND THE PREGLACIAL OU Two or three months rounds of the newspape digging for the locks Canal, at Thorold, ten Niagara Falls, the wo evidence of the exister looked-for preglacial of into Lake Ontario. P verifying this, I chose at St. Catharines, two of Thorold. Thorold is escarpment of Niagara the Ontario basin and surface of the lake. St base of the escarpment level of the lake. At 7 various other places a there is a slight incisi stream which poured ov What was shown in th preglacial times. But i Welland Canal was sim escarpment where it had glacial action without l tent. It is interesting a that the movement of ice to south, almost at right ment. The workmen re level just north of the quantity of bowlders was seem to be something moraine. As the ice m edge of the escarpment deflected into a minor it mounted the escarpme of Denver, Colo, as been appointed rg for the sumlecture on Engal phonetics. ESPONDENCE F LAKE ERIE item went the è effect that in new Welland miles west of ad uncovered of the longn Lake Erie the sake of my vacation miles north rink of the overlooking above the s is at the wn to the well as at scarpment, - a small pment in tend far. for the e of the d off by n north of a nally after sur face rock was exposed with beautiful parallel striation running north and south. The exposure, therefore, had nothing to do with the preglacial outlet, but it gave emphatic evidence that the ice movement was not in the direction of the axis of the lakes but directly across it, and hence could not be a means of eroding the lake basin. The actual preglacial outlet of Lake Erie, however, emerges from the escarpment about three miles southwest of St. Catharines. This was discovered by Dr. J. W. Spencer and the evidence presented in great detail in his report published by the Canadian Survey in 1907, on “The Evolution of the Falls of Niagara," a volume of 500 pages in which the facts relating to Niagara Falls and the glacial phenomena of the peninsula between the lakes are presented with great fullness and accuracy. I could do little more than follow in Dr. Spencer's footsteps with this book in hand, to test the evidence. The results of Spencer's investigations are very impressive as one goes over the field. At the point mentioned there is an embayment in the escarpment, two miles wide at the level of the Niagara limestone; and lower down at the level of the Clinton limestone or Medina sandstone, the gorge is a mile wide filled with glacial debris which has been penetrated by wells to a considerable distance below the level of Lake Ontario. The glacial filling in the gorge, which originally rose to the surface, has been much eroded by Twelve Mile Creek and its tributaries which penetrate it, giving rise to a region known as the "short hills." Three or four miles above the mouth of the gorge the line of the outlet is covered by a remarkable deposit of superficial glacial debris known as Font Hill which is something like an immense drumlin or kame and rises at its sumit 300 feet above the level of the Niagara escarpment and extends in a northeast-southwest direction between three and four miles, being at its widest point about a mile wide. The material shows stratification on the sides, such as appears in eskers. This accumulation is unique, and rises up like a mountain peak out of the level plain which extends all the way north to the Lake Erie basi say nothing further about the theo origin at present; but will reserve have to say upon it for some future when I may consider it in connect some other unique glacial accumul that character in that region, notabl mans Hill, about a mile west of Niag North of Font Hill, as has been s extends a level plain to Lake Erie fifteen or twenty feet above it. In all preglacial channels are obliterate glacial deposits which form the sur Dr. Spencer had collected the record all over the region, which show cle there is a continuous buried chann 200 feet deep, which emerges from I just east of Lowbanks, about half tween the mouth of Grand River head of the Welland Canal at Port There is, therefore, no doubt left "Erigan channel," as Dr. Spencer which emerges from the Niagara es near St. Catharines is the real pregl let to Lake Erie. Dr. Spencer's investigations conce tributaries of this Erigan channel of special interest, and it was the vealed by the well borings, concern that led to the real discovery. River, which enters the Niagara j the falls, rises twelve or fifteen mile the Erigan channel; but before it re Niagara it crosses a buried chann well borings show slopes from the River southwestward until it merges Erigan channel. Numerous other t are found to do the same. Mr. Spe vestigations deserve to be more wi seminated to forestall the publishing items as that referred to at the beg this communication. OBERLIN, G. FREDERICK RELATIVITY AND ESTIMATES OF DIAMETERS TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: In red measurements of the diameter of I made with Michaelson's wonderful apparatus, no allowance appears to have been made for the effect of the gravitational bending of light. Obviously this would make the apparent angular diameter greater than the real, and a rough approximation shows that this gravitational effect may be of the same or an even larger order of magnitude than the observed angle. Knowing the parallax and being able to make an approximate estimate of the density, the true diameter of Betelgeuse may be determined with fair accuracy. I have made a rough calculation and find that it is approximately only one fifth of the diameter given, but the calculation should be made by others better fitted than I am. REGINALD A. FESSENDEN THE CONSERVATION OF GAME AND FURBEARING ANIMALS THE New York State Conservation Commission issues The Conservationist. Among the many important communications in it, I wish to call especial attention to one, "New York's annual game dividend," written by Warwick S. Carpenter, secretary of the Conservation Commission. t On the basis of precise data the conclusion is reached that the game and fur-bearing animals of New York state, if capitalized, are worth not less than $53,000,000; they return an annual dividend of more than $3,200,000; and they cost the state for their protection and increase the nominal sum of $182,000. This cost of protection and increase is thus less than six per cent. of the annual dividend. There is need for emphasizing the financial as well as the aesthetic and scientific sides of the conservation problem and these findings of Mr. Carpenter deserve wide publicity. HENRY B. WARD SCIENTIFIC BOOKS A Laboratory Manual of Anthropometry. By HARRIS H. WILDER, Ph.D., Professor of Zoology, Smith College, Northampton, Mass. 200 pp., 43 illus., P. Blakiston's Son and Co., Phila., 1920. In order that the may be readily mad observer, it is imp measures be uniform ways. The matter placed upon an int International Congr held at Monaco in process was carried st Congress in 1912. sideration at some fu eral skeletal measures nium and lower jaw. The work of the spe missions rightly form Laboratory Manual. on page vi of the Pr icals in which the repo two Commissions " ap European," is incorre the reviewer's pen, of at Geneva, translated of Dr. Rivet, chief mission, appeared both American Anthropolog To the measures acc agreement, the author useful list of general well as angles and in made of the Sphenom might well find a plac manual. His enumerat description of the man employed are done with of the difficulties whic The pages devoted to s ods were written for the student, whose chief logical relations, and ability and training ar able him to follow abstr To the laboratory st Wilder's Manual is rec cidity and conciseness, author's ability to t amount of his own per the subject by means 1 Vol. XXXVI., 603-608 |