reference, and some brief notes, for each report, and are called for at irregular intervals. A brief final examination is given. Two to four seniors who have taken this course serve in the department library as student assistants. Three of the men found use for the training in library work in their commercial work during the past summer. One who had also worked in the department library has a good position as "reference librarian" with a large company interested in chemical work. The library lectures alone have been used for reference by graduate students, especially those who have not had access to large libraries, and wish to learn what is available at Illinois. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS MARION E. SPARKS RESEARCH WORK AT THE UNIVER- RESEARCH work was carried on at the biological station of the University of Michigan, by members of the instructional staff and by a number of students. Because of the lack of suitable laboratory space and equipment, the character of work undertaken was limited largely to systematic and ecological work on plants and animals, the behavior of birds, the embryology of certain fishes and life histories of parasitic worms. This is fundamental work, however, and as knowledge of the local fauna and flora is extended it is desired to give opportunity for careful physiological work. While the cold, late season doubtless interfered with certain investigations continued from previous years, it permitted the securing of many plants in blossom which in ordinary seasons have finished their blossoming before the opening of the station, and by retarding the breeding season of many animals an opportunity was given to take at the height of their breeding season several animals not usually found breeding during the session. Dr. J. H. Ehlers, of the University of Michigan, collected about two thousand specimens of flowering plants comprising about two hundred and fifty species. A number of these represented genera and species not included in the published list of this region. Mr. Lee Bonar, of the University of Michigan, under direction of Dr. Ehlers, collected plants affected with fungous diseases with the view of listing the host plants and studying the parasitic fungi. Miss Margaret Pengelly, under Dr. Ehlers's direction, made a collection of the grasses of the region. Fifty species were collected, fortyfive of which have been identified. Further collections are planned before publication of results. Miss Lois Smith, of Colorado College, research assistant in botany, was engaged in the collection and study of sedges of the genus Carex. This work had been begun in 1914 when forty-nine species were collected and identified. During the past summer a large number of specimens were collected, among them a number of species not included in the previous list. The material is now being studied by Miss Smith and a published report on the work may be expected soon. The specimens belonging to the above collection will be placed in the herbaria of the station and of the university, while some will be available for exchange. Dr. Richard M. Holman, of Wabash College, and Mr. Ernest Reed, of the University of Michigan, have made a beginning in the study of the aquatic cryptogamic plants. They devoted the greater part of their time to the identification of the algal forms of the lakes and streams of the region, to the study of the topography and hydrography of these lakes, and to collecting such facts as they were able relative to the spatial and seasonal distribution of the forms. Weekly temperature readings were made at ten foot depth intervals at four stations on Douglas Lake and at Lancaster, Munro and Vincent Lakes. Surface plankton hauls were taken at all these stations weekly, and plankton samples were taken at depth intervals of twenty feet in Douglas Lake. Bottom samples were also taken in order to determine diatom species not found in the plankton during the summer. Many collections of algae were made in other lakes, in various streams and bogs. Many determinations have been made and considerable preserved material awaits determination. In plant ecology, instrumental field work on a new phase of the evaporation-plant-succession problem was carried on by B. H. Grisemer, of Sisseton, S. Dak., and E. E. Watson, of the University of Michigan, under the direction of Dr. F. C. Gates. Field work on a descriptive account of the plant associations and their successional relationships was continued and extended by Dr. F. C. Gates, of Carthage College. Under the direction of Drs. Gates and Holman, the anatomical structure of the leaves of certain land plants, this year growing submerged, was investigated by Miss Mabel Hardy, of the Highland Park, Michigan, High School; the anatomy of Scirpus validus from different associations by Miss Winifred Corcoran, student in the University of Michigan, and the anatomical characteristics exhibited by the leaves of the dominant species of the hardwoods and the aspens by E. L. Lambert, of Carthage College. Professor Max M. Ellis, of the University of Colorado, has brought the survey of the fishes of the region to a point where the publication of results seems desirable. This work has covered three problems: (a) The species of the region; (b) the local distribution of these species and (c) the relations between the existing fish fauna and that of the Great Lakes. Two papers on this work will be ready for publication shortly. He also studied the eggs and embryology of six species of fishes during the summer. Large series of embryo fishes were obtained for comparative studies. The first of these studies will be completed during the winter. Additional collections of a new species of Branchiobdellid worm (description now in press) were obtained, and some experiments concerning the feeding habits and food of these worms were carried on during the summer. These experiments were supplementary to work in progress at the University of Colorado. A collection of Branchiob dellid worms was made in the Lake Huron and Potagannissing Bay waters. These worms are in hand at present and the report will soon be sent to press. Professor Ellis and Mr. G. C. Roe, of the University of Colorado, have recently published a paper in Copeia on the destruction of log perch eggs by suckers. This paper was based on data collected at the station during the past summer. Mr. Roe has completed his collections of mosquitoes started last summer and expects to complete his work on these insects soon. Dr. A. R. Cooper, of the University of Illinois, research assistant in zoology at the station, devoted his attention to the parasites of the fishes of the region with particular emphasis on the life-histories of the members of the cestode order, Pseudophyllidea. He examined one hundred and fifteen hosts belonging to seventeen species but took only three species of Pseudophyllidea. From young gulls, Larus argentatus, several cestodes, probably belonging to the genus Diphyllobothrium Cobbold, were taken. Many specimens of a cestodarian worm in various stages of development were taken from suckers. Mr. H. C. Fortner, working under the direction of Dr. La Rue, studied the parasites of frogs from several localities of the region. Some interesting data on the local distribution of frog parasites were secured. So far as determined at present the only new species found was a species of the tapeworm Ophiotania, which constitutes the first record of the taking of tapeworms of this genus from Anura of North America. Further collections are needed to complete the work. Dr. George R. La Rue investigated the parasites of fishes, birds and snakes of the region. In all seventy-four hosts belonging to nineteen species were examined. A number of species not taken during the summer of 1912 were secured. The collections are being studied and it is hoped that they will yield interesting data on the distribution and life histories of certain parasites. Professor R. M. Strong, of Vanderbilt University, continued his work on problems of sense physiology and behavior in birds. For this purpose young herring gulls were secured, kept in a suitable cage on the beach and fed on small dead fishes until during the third and fourth weeks, all of the gulls but one died as the result of heavy trematode infestation secured from the fish. The death of these gulls seriously interfered with the work for a large part of the season. Professor Strong obtained a considerable amount of data concerning the location of many colonies of breeding herring gulls on the Great Lakes. He also studied the distribution and activities of the herring gull from the standpoint of one of the topics recommended by the committee on zoology of the National Research Council. Miss Edith Priscilla Butler worked with Professor Strong on the reaction of gulls to sound stimuli. Some interesting data to be published later were obtained concerning the hearing of gulls. Observations were made on the docility of gulls and their capacity for learning. Mr. E. L. Lambert and Miss Dorothy Cashen assisted Professor Strong in making records of the rate of growth of young birds. Mr. Roland Hussey worked with Professor Strong on the activities and distribution of birds in selected areas near the station. He visited these areas frequently and obtained important data correlated with weather and time conditions. Mr. F. N. Blanchard, of the University of Michigan, collected data on the habitat and habits of the milk snake, and also did systematic work on this form. He made a determination of the Cicindelid fauna of the region, relative abundance of the species, the habitats of the adults and the habits of some of the more abundant species. GEORGE R. LA RUE, Director SCIENTIFIC EVENTS THE PROPOSED TRANSFER OF THE UNITED STATES NAVAL OBSERVATORY TO THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION SECRETARY DANIELS has sent the following letter to Chairman Padgett, of the House Committee on Naval Affairs: My Dear Mr. Padgett: The Navy Department wishes to express most emphatically its disapproval of H. R. 10954 to change the name of the United States Naval Observatory and to transfer the same to the Smithsonian Institution. The United States Naval Observatory has grown to its present proportions and position in the astronomical world through the efforts and under the control of the Navy and this department believes that its continued efficiency can best be maintained by retaining the present organization. Any interference in the work of the observatory at this time when all are engaged in war work in addition to regular routine duties interrupts the supply of nautical instruments to the active fleet which may cause disaster. The work done to keep up the supply of chronometers, sextants, compasses and other necessary instruments is more or less confidential and it is advisable not to put it in this communication, but it will be furnished in a verbal report if desired. In addition to its work for the Navy, the observatory has the custody of sextants and chronometers purchased by the Shipping Board. In March, 1909, the Secretary of the Navy issued an order establishing an astronomical council and stated, "The astronomical work of the Naval Observatory shall be so planned and executed as best to subserve the following purposes and no others, to wit: "To furnish to the Nautical Almanac Office, as far as may be possible, such observations and such data as may be needed for carrying out the purpose of the law under which the appropriations for that office are made from year to year, which is as follows: the "For .. preparing for publication American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac and improving the tables of the planets, moon and stars . . .' "The principal work of the observatory shall be in the field of the astronomy of position as distinguished from astrophysical work, and shall be the continued maintenance of observations for absolute positions of the fundamental stars and of stars which are to be made fundamental, and in addition the independent determination by observations of the sun, of the positions of the stars, moon and planets with reference to the equator and equi noxes. "TRUMAN H. NEWBERRY, "Secretary'' The duties of the institution have been so arranged that it is believed entirely satisfactory results have been attained, while the operations move with a common purpose known to the entire staff. The council has held its regular meetings and special meetings for the consideration of matters requiring prompt action. The Naval Observatory consists of an astronomical department for securing the most accurate positions of the heavenly bodies possible; a nautical department in which are tested and repaired navigational instruments for the Navy; an office for the preparation of a nautical almanac by which the ships ascertain their positions at sea; a time service by which the operation of all railroads, ships and commercial bodies are furnished accurate time daily; a compass office in which the latest form of compasses are examined, as well as a means to show the younger naval officers the latest improvements in them; an inspection department, with inspectors at New York, Boston and San Francisco, under direct supervision of the observatory. These inspectors are on duty at the factories of manufacturers engaged in the production of navigational material for the Navy and United States Shipping Board. There is not another national observatory in any country that has all these departments combined under one head and carried on in one plant. Therefore, when this question of expense arises and comparisons are made, those separate departments should be combined to get the true cost. A few of the complimentary notices from competent authorities are appended. GIFT TO THE RED CROSS FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH IN FRANCE THE Atlantic Division of the American Red Cross has announced that hereafter all expenditures for vivisection would come from a fund which had been contributed by an individual. The announcement, which came here from Harvey D. Gibson, general manager of the Red Cross in Washington, said that this fund also would be used to reimburse the treasury of the organization for money already spent in experiments on living animals. Mr. Gibson's statement in part was as follows: Considerable public and private criticism has been made of an appropriation of the American Red Cross in August, 1917, for medical research work in France, because partly involved in this work was experimentation upon living animals for the purpose of finding methods of prevention and remedies for new and strange diseases among soldiers. This appropriation was made at a time of emergency, upon the recommendation of army medical officers and of a number of eminent scientists in this country. Prompt action was necessary, and it seemed to officers of the Red Cross at the time that the use of money in this way was proper from the Red Cross point of view, for it would be difficult to imagine any more imperative duty upon the Red Cross than to seek for every means of prevention and remedy for sickness among soldiers. The Red Cross did not, as has been stated, appropriate this money for abstract medical research and experimentation. It was to be used for the direct and immediate purpose of finding ways to prevent or cure wounds and sickness among American soldiers. It was strictly a war measure. It develops, however, that there are large numbers of earnest Red Cross members who have sincere convictions against the use of animals for discovery of remedies for sickness. We recognize that it should be an obligation of the Red Cross management to show deference to such honest conviction. Realizing the situation, an individual has come forward and has offered to supply money necessary for this work so that none shall be taken from the general funds of the Red Cross. The fund provided will also be used to reimburse the Red Cross General Fund for any expenditures in connection therewith in the past. The War Council decided to accept this offer without in any way taking a position either for or against the question in controversy, but because they do not wish their acts to be considered to be in conflict with the sincere convictions of Red Cross members. The New York Times says in an editorial article: It will be with regret deeply tinged with indignation that all sane and reasonably enlightened people will hear of the decision by the heads of the Red Cross not to use for animal experimentationoften and almost always incorrectly called "vivisection”—the money hitherto appropriated by them for that purpose. The decision may mean avoiding the loss of a few contributions to the Red Cross funds, but it also means the triumph of vicious ignorance over common sense, and it will encourage to further efforts the members of the most detestable and not the least dangerous group of men and women to be found in the United States. The campaign of the anti-vivisectionists is waged, now as always, with no other weapons than those of calumny and falsehood. They deliberately and persistently make the most abominable accusations against men who have done and are doing an enormous amount of successful work to mitigate human suffering and to save human life. Incidentally, these same workers are conferring like advantages on innumerable domestic animals, but let that pass. The immediate issue is that interference with animal experimentation just now decreases the safety of the men in our army and navy, makes impossible, so far as the interference is effective, the conquest of several terrible diseases to which the fighters for liberty are still exposed, and sets up the absurd claims of fanatic dgenerates against the well-demonstrated truths of medical science. And the Red Cross cautiously says that it does not take sides for or against "vivisection"'! Such caution is reprehensible-is utterly unworthy of that great and beneficent organization. It should take sides, standing for right and against wrong. The immediate profit of doing anything else or less will be dearly bought in future loss of both money and respect. Red Cross money, in the amount that was proposed, could not possibly have been better invested than in the establishment of a biological laboratory near the scene of war for the study of the maladies of soldiers which this sort of research has not yet conquered. It was weak, and worse than weak, for the Red Cross to heed the hysterical shrieks and the monstrous charges of venality and murder that came from a few people whom it strains charity to call deluded or insane. THE JOINT INFORMATION BOARD ON MINERALS AND DERIVATIVES FOR the purpose of systematizing the handling of official inquiries regarding minerals and mineral products the Joint Information Board on Minerals and Derivatives has been formed. This body, which will serve as a clearing house to secure the prompt preparation and transmittal of data from a single authoritative source without duplication effort, is composed of representatives from the various government bureaus, boards and departments interested. The war has caused an increased demand by various officials for all available information regarding raw materials essential to the government, and this demand has caused a notable increase in the work and the personnel of those bureaus that had in the past been directly concerned in mineral investigations. This joint board was created to coordinate the activities of all concerned. Its purpose in no wise curtails but supplements the existing activities; its function is to make the equipment and personnel of the various bodies concerned better known and more readily available to the other organizations and to bring about an even more effective operation. Mr. Pope Yeatman, of the War Industries Board, Division of Raw Materials, is chairman of the Joint Information Board, and all inquiries should be addressed to Edson S. Bastin, Secretary Joint Information Board on Minerals and Derivatives, Room 5037, New Interior Building, Washington, D. C. Following are the government departments and official organizations and names of representatives on the board: War Department.-Bureau of Ordnance, Lieutenant Colonel R. P. Lamont, Sixth and B Streets NW. Navy Department.-Bureau of Ordnance, Commander R. S. Holmes, Lieutenant Commander N. W. Pickering, New Interior Department Building. War Industries Board.-Division of Raw Materials, L. L. Summers, Pope Yeatman (chairman Joint Information Board), Council of National Defense Building. Division of Statistics, F. G. Tryon, H. R. Aldrich; Commercial Economy Board, M. T. Copeland; Council of National Defense Building. Bureau of Investigations and Research, F. H. Macpherson, Council of National Defense Building. Department of Agriculture.-Bureau of Plant Industry, K. F. Kellerman; Bureau of Soils, Frederick W. Brown; Bureau of Animal Industry, R. M. Chapin; Bureau of Chemistry, W. W. Skinner; Federal Insecticide and Fungicide Board, John K. Haywood. Department of Commerce.-Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, C. D. Snow, assistant chief; Bureau of Standards, Henry D. Hubbard. Treasury Department.-Bureau of the Mint, Frederick P. Dewey; Division of Customs, George W. Ashworth; Office of Internal Revenue, A. B. Adams. Interior Department.-Geological Survey, Adson S. Bastin (secretary of Joint Information Board); Frank J. Katz, New Interior Department Build |