APRIL 14, 190.i5.1 SCIENCE. 597

The secretary reported that thirty-one ap- plications for grants had been received, the total amount asked for being nearly $9,000. After a thorough discussion and extended de- liberation, the board found itself obliged to refuse a number of applications of high merit to which it would have been very glad to extend aid, had the resources of the fund per- mitted. I t was voted to make the following nevv grants:

Xo. 117, $100 to Professor E. Sall~ovvski and Dr. C. Neuberg, Berlin, Germany, for an experimental study of glycuronic acid. (Ap-plication 966.)

KO. 118, $200 to Professor Th. Boveri, Wiirzburg, Germany, for an experimental study of the early developliient of sea urchin eggs. (Application 981.) -

Xo. 119, $100 to Professor J. P. lIcl\lur-rich, Ann Arbor, Mich., for the study of Ac- tinians from the Malayan Archipelago. (Ap-plication 984.)

No. 120, $50 to Professor E. EI. Archibald, Syracuse, N. Y., for researches on the elec- trical conductivity of solutions of organic bodies in the liquefied halogen hydrides. (Ap-plication 987.)

No. 121, $200 to Professor A. Debierne, Paris, France, for the isolation and study of Actinium. (Application 988.)

No. 122, $200 to Dr. Fr. Nuil and J. J. li'ri;, Prague, Austria, for perfecting an in-strument for the determination of latitude and time without the use of levels. (Appli-cation 991.)

No. 123, $200 to Professor E. C. Jeffrey, Cambridge, JIass., for the study of cupres-sineous conifers. (Application 998.)

No. 124, $150 to Professor P. Bachmetjew, Sofia, Bulgaria, for the study of the anabiotic condition in warm-blooded animals. (Appli-cation 999.)

CHARLESS. ~IINOT, Secreta~..y.

MEDALS AND AWARDS OF THE ROYAL REOQRAPEICAL SOCIETY.

TEE London Times states that with the approval of the king, the council of the Royal Geographical Society has decided to award the

two royal medals for this year to Sir Ifartin Convvay (Founder's Medal) and Captain C. R.10. Ryder. R.E. (Patron's Medal).

During a long series of years Sir Martin Conway has devoted himself to the exploration of various mountain regions of the world- the Alps, the Rimalayas and the Andes; and, further, has done useful work among the islands of Bpitsbergen. I n a series of papers and maps contributed to the society, as well as in separate publications, he has made, as a result of these explorations, large and valuable contributions to geographical lcnowledge.

Captain Ryder's claim to a Royal Medal rests mainly on the important and extensive work which he accomplished while acting as principal survey officer on the recent Tibet Xission. Not only did he execute a large amount of survey work and mapping while on the main expedition, but as survey officer in the expedition into Western Tibet he sur- veyed and mapped the Upper Brahmaputra to its source, as well as the Sutlej and the Gartok tributary of the Indus. He also surveyed the whole of the line of mountaifis lying north of the Himalayas, and proved that there is no peak that can approach Mount Everest in altitude, Before these experiences Captain Ryder, in 1899-1900, carried out a careful sur- vey of the province of Yunnan, the results of which, comprising a map radically altering those previously compiled, he contributed to the society.

This year an award is again made of the Victoria Researcli Xedal, which was instituted on the death of Queen Victoria, and is be- stowed as occasion may arise in recognition of distinguished service to the cause of geo-graphical research, as distinguished from ex-ploration. The new recipient-the third to receive the medal-will be Mr. J. G. Bar-tholomew. During many years Mr. Bartholo- mew has done much to raise the standard of cartography in Great Britain. He has edited and issued large atlases of England and Scot- land; he has planned and issued the first vol- ume of a great physical atlas which will take the first place among works of its kind; he has for years been collecting material for a com-

SCIENCE. [N. S. VOL.XXI. NO.537.

plete atlas of the British Empire. All this has been achieved a t his own expense, and has entailed the expenditure of thouqnnds of pouiids, which he can never hope to recover.

Of the society's rninor awards, the Murcxhi- son Grant goes to Xr. Willialil Wallace, C.M.G., Deputy l l igh Coil~missioner of the h'orthern Nigeria Protectorate. During the many years he has served as an ofiicial in Northern Nigeria, Jlr. \V<tllac.e ha5 renclered grcat senice to exploration and geography, both directly and indirectly. Colonel F. R. Alaunsell, 12.A., is awarded the Gill Memorial for his explorations during many years7 'esi- dencc in Asia Minor, and in particular for the largc map which he has caornlsiled, largely from his own malcriali, and placed at Ihc disposal of the society. 'I'he recipient of the Cuthbert Peelc Grant is Mr. Francais J. Lewis, who has xilade valuable contributions to the lr~ioxvledge of botanical distribution by his researches into thc geographical cZistributioii of vegetation In tlie North of England. Finally, Captain Philip I\Isud, R.E., is desigpated to receive the Back Grant for valuable survey worlr in 190:: along the southern bordcr of Abyssinia.

11~1tva~tuUNIVCI~SITPhas invited Z'rofessor TTilhelm Ostwald, of the Uiii~rersity of 1,eip-zig, to serve as lecturer in the firit half of the coming acaclcmic year, under the arrange- nlcnt for an exchange of professors which has recently been agreed upon by llarvard Uni- versity and the German Governinent. Pro-fessor Ostwald is rcgarded as one of thc founders of thc rnoderr~ science of physical chemistry; and hc has achievcd a position of the highest ranlr in the scientific world, not only as an investigator and thinker, but also as a reformer, organizer and teacher in the field of nalural science. With J. IL. van't IIoft, Ostwald founded in 1887 the Ze i t s chr i f i fiii. physi7~alisclze Chemie , ant1 ill 1901 the A ~ ~ , ~ a l e n 1904 he d w Ncct~t7-p7~ilasophio. I n gavc the Earaday lecturc before the ILoyal Soc.irty. Fle Elas been a prolific and inde- fa1ig:rble invcstigatnr ant1 writer, arid a lisl 01 his publications mould occupy scver:~l t2losely

printed pages. Although he achieved erni-nence first in the field of physical chemistry, I'rofessor Ostwald has during the last four or five years diverted, or perhaps rather extendetl, his studies to the broad field of thc philosophy of science, a subject to which orie of his best- known worlrs, as well as the A~aiz~rlcnabove mentioned, is devoted.

Professor Ostwaltl has not yet definitely an- nounced the subjects of the courses which he will give during his residence a t Jlarvard. I t is hoped, hon~ever, that he will give orie course counting for :I degree on thc history of sciencc, a course nhich would be of interesl lo students in all branclles of science as well as to students of philosophy. I t is also hoped that hc will announc2e one or two courses in his spccial field of physical chclmistry, thus affording a rare opporturity to graduatc stu- ilellls in chernistry who may be in residence next year.

Fricdrich Wilhelm Ostwald was born in the city of Riga in Russia Scpternber 2, 18.53. FIe attended the Rronsknabenschule and t h ~ Realgymnasium of Itiga, showinq as a school- bog a relnarkable talent for writing arid draw- ing, which hc put intd use as erlitor of a school- boy magazine. I n 1872, against the wish of his father, who thought to malrc an engineer of him, he entered tlie University of I>orpat iii Russia to pursue thc study of chemistry. I n 1875 he becalne an assistant in physics to .iron Octtingen. I l c took the master's exain-lnation at Dorpat in 1877 and the doctorate in 1878. I n 1879 he began his teaching career as a privatdoccnt, and in the same year ex-changed his assistantship in physics for one in chenlistry under Carl Schmidt. I n 1881 he was called to a professorsllip of chenlistry at the Polylcchriilrum in his nativc city, arid held this place until 1887, when he accepted an appointment as prolcssor of physical chem- istry at Leipzig-thc position which he still llolds. Professor Oitwald was one of tlie delc- gates to the lntcrnational Congress of Arlz and Science at St. Louis last year.

A 007fPKRl3~4VCE OF' 4NATOAffR11S. ~ N ~ I T A T J O N Hhave been issued by tho Wistar

Institute of Anatomy, 7'hilndolphia, to ten of