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teeth, were exhibited, together with a photograph of the metamorphosis into the elver. The accompanying models illustrated the changes from the yellow eel with its thick lips, small eye, and compact pectoral fin, into the thin-lipped, large-eyed silver eel with pointed pectoral fin, the latter form of eel being that which migrates to the ocean to become mature. Dr. John Rennie demonstrated the mite, now named Tarsonemus woodi, which has been claimed by Bruce White to be the causal agent of Isle of Wight disease in bees. White showed that the mites perforate the trachea, and by their numbers obstruct the spiracles and thus deprive the bees of the power of flight. Mr. J. E. Barnard gave a demonstration of the microscopic appearances of sections by ultra-violet light. Certain structures, owing to their differences in chemical composition, give different fluorescent tints, and the images obtained are often dissimilar to those obtained by ordinary staining methods. The light filter used was a glass made by Chance, which is transparent to the ultra-violet radiations, and the quartz substage condenser was of the dark-ground" type. A most interesting and instructive astronomical model designed for educational purposes was exhibited by Dr. William Wilson. This model, which has received great praise from leading astronomers and teachers, not only demonstrates the more familiar motions of the sun, earth, and moon, and the various phenomena resulting therefrom, but is capable of simple analyses of each particular motion. The apparatus is most ingenious.

66

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS

DR. GEORGE E. DE SCHWEINITZ, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pennsylvania, was elected president of the American Medical Association at the meeting held last week in Boston. Other officers were elected as follows: Frank B. Wynn, of Indianapolis, vice-president; Dr. Alexander R. Craig, of Chicago, and Dr. William Allen Pusey, of Chicago, were reelected secretary and treasurer, respectively.

AT the recent commencement of New York University, the degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred on Dr. George David Stewart, professor of surgery at the university.

THE honorary degree of Doctor of Science was conferred upon C. L. Marlatt, assistant chief of the Federal Bureau of Entomology, and chairman of the Federal Horticultural Board, by the Kansas State Agricultural College at its fifty-eighth commencement on June 2, "in recognition of his contributions to our knowledge of insects and his efficient services in initiating the policies and directing the work of the Federal Horticultural Board."

THE degree of doctor of engineering will be conferred by the Stevens Institute of Technology on Dr. Sven Wingquist, the Swedish engineer, who comes to the United States by invitation of the institute on the occasion of the celebration of its fiftieth anniversary.

DR. WM. CURTIS FARABEE, president of the American Anthropological Association, has been elected a corresponding member of the National Academy of History, Ecuador.

THE Adams prize of the University of Cambridge has been awarded to Dr. W. M. Hicks, St. John's College.

THE friends and former students of Professor A. Swaen are planning to place a tablet in his honor in the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Liége where he has taught for thirty years.

DR. T. W. FULTON, scientific superintendent of the Fishery Board for Scotland, has retired after a service of thirty-four years.

MR. BRADLEY STOUGHTON has resigned the secretaryship of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, which he has held since 1913. Mr. Stoughton's resignation is in accordance with his personal belief that the office of secretary of the institute should not be permanent, since too long a tenure of office is likely to create relations that can not be terminated agreeably. During Mr. Stoughton's tenure the membership of the institute has increased from 3,500 to over 9,000.

THE National Academy of Sciences has appropriated from the J. Lawrence Smith Fund $300 for the preparation of manuscripts by Mabel Weil on the work of the late Professor C. C. Trowbridge accomplished under a previous grant, on meteor trains and aurora phe

nomena.

THE Committee on Scientific Research of the American Medical Association has granted Professor Frank P. Underhill, of Yale University, the sum of $300 for expenses in connection with an investigation on the metabolism of inorganic salts, and $400 to Dr. Wm. H. Welker, of the University of Illinois, College of Medicine, for assistance in an investigation on the fractionation of bacterial proteins.

OFFICERS for 1921-1922 of the Boston Society of Natural History have been elected as follows: President, W. Cameron Forbes; Vicepresidents, Nathaniel T. Kidder, William M. Wheeler, Theodore Lyman; Secretary, Glover M. Allen; Treasurer, William A. Jeffries; Councilors for three years, Reginald A. Daly, Merritt L. Fernald, William L. W. Field, George H. Parker, John C. Phillips, Charles H. Taylor, Jr., Edward Wigglesworth, Miss M. A. Willcox.

AT the annual meeting in April of the California Botanical Society the following officers were elected: President, Dr. W. L. Jepson, professor of botany in the University of California; First Vice-president, Dr. L. R. Abrams, associate professor of botany in Stanford University; Second Vice-president, Mr. W. W. Mackie, assistant professor of agronomy in the University of California; Secretary, Mr. H. E. McMinn, professor of botany in Mills College; Treasurer, Mrs. Adeline Frederick, Berkeley, California.

OFFICERS of the Southwestern Geological Society elected at the March meeting of the society at Tulsa, Oklahoma, were as follows: E. H. Sellards, president; C. Max Bauer, vicepresident; H. P. Bybee, secretary; R. B. Whitehead, treasurer. Members of the council are: J. A. Udden, C. A. Hammill, E. W.

Shuler, W. E. Wrather, J. G. Bartram and R. T. Hill. Sections of the seciety are now established at Austin, Texas; Ardmore, Oklahoma; Dallas, Texas; Lawton, Oklahoma; Okmulgee, Oklahoma; and Shreveport, Louisiana. The next general meeting will be held in the spring of 1922.

DR. COLIN G. FINK, of South Yonkers, who organized and for the past four years directed the research laboratories of the Chile Exploration Co., has resigned. Dr. Fink has been editor of the "Electrochemistry" section of Chemical Abstracts since 1907.

DAVID B. REGER, assistant geologist of the West Virginia Geological Survey, will spend the present field season in Grant and Mineral Counties, making researches for a complete geological report on the area mentioned. Temporary headquarters will be at Piedmont.

THE government of Panama has purchased a bronze bust of the late General William C. Gorgas, which will be placed at the entrance of the Santo Tomás Hospital at Panama. The Journal of the American Medical Association states that President Porras of Panama, in writing to the English sculptor in charge of the work, P. Bryant Baker, has stated, “We appreciate very deeply the sanitary work accomplished by Dr. Gorgas in Panama and feel this is one of the most appropriate ways of showing our gratitude."

WILLIAM BROWN COGSWELL, the mining engineer, founder of the Solvay Process, died on June 7, aged eighty-seven years.

Two fellowship have been established by the honorary scientific society, Sigma Xi, which. will pay a maximum of $1,800 each for the academic year, beginning in the fall of 1921. The funds for these fellowships have been contributed by the voluntary offerings of the members of the Sigma Xi scattered throughout the country, many of whom have agreed to contribute $2 a year for the purpose of encouraging graduate students to engage in scientific investigation. The fellowships are intended for those who have already received a doctor's degree. Applicants should present

their qualifications to Dean Edward Ellery, Union College, Schenectady, N. Y., before August 1.

Ar the annual meeting of the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists, held in Cleveland on March 24, it was voted to hold the next meeting in connection with the Triennial Congress of American Physicians and Surgeons in Washington, during May, 1922. The officers elected for the year were: President, Harry T. Marshall; Vice-president, Paul A. Lewis; Secretary, Howard T. Karsner; Treasurer, Frank B. Mallory. Other members of the Council are: Dr. Eugene L. Opie, Dr. Oskar Klotz, Dr. James Ewing, Dr. H. E. Robertson.

THE Journal of the American Medical Association states that an organization has been formed, the Notgemeinschaft for German science, which has been discussing ways and means to promote scientific research in Germany. The Medizinische Klinik quotes from the proceedings that, of the total 3,000 German scientific periodicals, 400 are to be continued with the aid of the organization. To make up for the lack of foreign publications during the war, a large sum will be appropriated to insure that all the important foreign journals will be represented in Germany at least by one or two copies of those published during the last few years, while the current numbers will be obtained by exchange. A purchasing and loan center for scientific material and instruments is to be installed at some central point to maintain the experimental research of the country on a higher limit. It is also planned to supply animals. for experiments in medical and biologic research.

THE University of Michigan Biological Station will hold its thirteenth session for instruction and research on the shores of Douglas Lake, Cheboygan County, Michigan, from July 5 to August 26. Instruction in zoology will be given by Professors George R. La Rue and Paul S. Welch, University of Michigan; Frank Smith, University of Illinois; Zeno P. Metcalf, North Carolina State College of Ag

riculture and Engineering; and in botany by Professors Frank C. Gates, Kansas State Agricultural College; George E. Nichols, Yale University, and John H. Ehlers, University of Michigan. Mrs. Lois S. Ehlers, of Ann Arbor, is to be dean of women. Mr. Harry C. Fortner, University of Tennessee; Dr. Minna E. Jewell, Milwaukee-Downer College; and Miss Alice E. Keener will serve as assistants. Under certain conditions, properly qualified graduate students may complete the requirements for the M.A. or M.S. degree by working at the station through three or four summer sessions. Inquiries should be addressed to Professor George R. La Rue, director, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL
NOTES

A GIFT of $300,000 has been made by the General Education Board to the million-dollar endowment fund of the University of the South.

DR. PHILLIP B. WOODWORTH, formerly dean of the engineering faculty at Lewis Institute and recently in charge of the educational work of the government as director of the Central District, has been elected president of the Rose Polytechnic Institute.

PROFESSOR HENRY P. TALBOT, professor of analytical chemistry and chairman of the faculty, has been appointed acting dean of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

As one step in the reconstruction plans of Yale University the subjects of pharmacology and experimental medicine have been combined as a university department with the title of department of pharmacology and toxicology, the chairman of which is Dr. Frank P. Underhill. The functions of the new department are three-fold: teaching, research and service to the community and state. Special attention will be devoted to the training of future investigators and teachers, and to the chemistry and physiology of the action of drugs and poisons.

Ar the University of Pennsylvania, the fol

lowing promotions have been made: Dr. C. B. Bazzoni to be professor of physics, Dr. George Gailey Chambers and Dr. Howard Hawks Mitchell to be professors of mathematics and Dr. Karl Greenwood Miller to be assistant professor of psychology.

DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF

HYBRIDS

It is often assumed by systematic botanists in this country that natural hybrids between species can only exist within the common range of the parent species. This opinion has been emphasized in a caustic criticism of Brainerd and Peitersen's recent article entitled "Blackberries of New England-their classification." 1 In the article cited,2 the following expression appears:

... no one, not specially forewarned or gifted with remarkable intuition, finding Rubus frondisentis (R. pergratus × setosus') superabundant in Coos County, New Hampshire, R. glandicaulis ("R. allegheniensis × sentosus') in the thickets of Prince Edward Island, where R. setosus is unknown, or R. arenicola ("R. Baileyanus × frondosus') dominant on dry barrens of Nova Scotia where R. Baileyanus is unknown and where R. frondosus is represented only by R. recurvans, can guess in which key to trace his species.

A number of similar quotations might be cited from the same source all involving the negation of the possibility of the occurrence of a hybrid beyond the range of the parent species.

It would seem reasonable to appeal to the better known floras of Europe in a case of this kind, and no one can perhaps be quoted with more effect on this important subject than Anton Kerner von Marilaun. In the second volume of his classic "Pflanzenleben," as well as in the "Osterreichische botanische Zeitschrift" (Vol. 21 (1871)), this distinguished author has cited a large number of cases of natural hybrids.

Perhaps the most interesting example in this connection is the hybrid Nuphar intermedium which is a cross between Nuphar 1 Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 217, Burlington, Vermont.

2 Rhodora, Vol. 22, pp. 185–191.

luteum and Nuphar pumilum, found distributed from the Black Forest and the Vosges northward into Russia and Lapland. In the southern part of its range, the hybrid is rarer and less fertile than it is further north. It is capable of extending its latitude northward of the range of both the parent species. Parallel cases are supplied by hybrids of Epilobium, Brunella, Primula, Linaria, Rumex, Micomeria, Pulsatilla, etc. In these various genera Kerner describes hybrids between wild species which often occur beyond the range of one or both of the parent species. Since the data supplied by Kerner on this subject can scarcely be questioned, it would appear that the absence of one or both of the parent species of a supposed hybrid in a given region is no valid argument against the hybrid origin of such an intermediate form. We have apparently still much to learn from our European colleagues both as regards accuracy and breadth of view in the matter of geographical distribution of hybrids. In the light of the above it does not appear necessary that the statements of Brainerd in regard to probable natural hybrids of Rubus should be accorded less credence and respect than have been given to his classic results in the case of natural hybrids in the genus Viola. E. C. JEFFREY

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

STAR DIAMETERS

TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: Referring to the communication of Professor Fessenden concerning star diameters (SCIENCE, March 25, 1921, page 287-8), allow me to say that it does not seem possible that the measured diameter of Betelgeuse is affected by a gravitational displacement. In the first place, there are stars, of solar type for example, in connection with which the conditions would seem to be far more favorable for such a displacement and yet these objects show no appreciable disk. Further, we know that light reacts to a gravitational field in such a manner that there is no permanent acceleration in the direction of propagation. This fact reduces the possibility of a displacement to a

rotation of the plane of the wave front, which would not increase the apparent diameter of a star.

In the case of either an orbital displacement or a rotation of the wave front, the observed deflection decreases with the distance and would be inappreciable at stellar distances. It can be shown that the sun at the distance of the nearest star would show a displacement at the limb, on the Einstein hypothesis, amounting to less than one millionth of second of arc, if the deflected beam originated in a neighboring companion.

ALLEGHENY OBSERVATORY

KEIVIN BURNS

RUSSIAN SCIENTIFIC MEN

TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: Attention has been called in SCIENCE to the British "appointments committee for Russian scientific and literary men," under the chairmanship of Sir Arthur Schuster. Many Russians distinguished in various branches of learning are at present scattered over European countries, some of whom are destitute, while others are earning a precarious livelihood by work in which they have no opportunity of exercising their particular capabilities, the world at large thus losing the benefit of their knowledge and aptitude.

The object of the committee is to bring the names and qualifications of some of these men to the notice of universities and other institutions outside of Russia which may be able to offer them suitable employment. Lists of these names have been sent by the committee to various universities and organizations and the National Research Council has just arranged to send similar lists to the presidents of about two hundred colleges and universities in this country.

The council has also received a circular letter from a committee of meteorologists and geophysicists of Vienna which asks if certain kinds of statistical and preparative work needed by meteorologists and geophysicists of this country can not be done, for pay, in Vienna. These meteorologists and geophysicists have access to many valuable sources of

statistics and general data and appeal for opportunity to do this work in order to assist in supporting themselves. Any communications which it may be desired to make to this committee should be addressed to Dr. A. Wagner, Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie, Hohe Warte 38, Vienna XIX.

VERNON KELLOGG

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL May 27, 1921

SPECIAL ARTICLES

A CONVENIENT CULture medIUM FOR DAPHNIDS

Daphnia and other Cladocera may be fed upon certain unicellular green algae, a mixture of various protozoa and protophyta obtained from the sediment of ponds in which there is a considerable quantity of organic matter, or upon bacteria.

For more than five years the writer successfully utilized material from ponds in obtaining food for Cladocera cultures representing several species. The somewhat discolored water was dipped up in such a manner as to obtain considerable amounts of the loose fluffy sediment lightly resting upon the bottom. In the strainings which followed (through silk bolting-cloth, to prevent contamination of the laboratory stock) much of this sediment was rubbed through the straining cloth and distributed with the water to the culture bottles (about 100 c.c. in quantity in ordinary wide mouthed 200 c.c. bottles). This method of obtaining culture water containing the proper food organisms has certain limitations. The water and sediment from most ponds do not constitute a proper culture medium; a pond from which a good culture medium may be obtained is hard to find. Further from month to month and season to season such a pond undergoes wide fluctuation in its usefulness as a source of daphnid food; it may even dry up and one's Cladocera material be imperilled or lost.

Some workers using algae have cultivated them in jars of water; others on agar plates. The necessity for obtaining just the proper sorts of algae and the requisite skill in their

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