duction," "New Camps of Nevada." "Facts About the Big Horns," "Geology of Montana Mines," "Mendeleef's Last Prophecy."

Photo-Era for April: "The Third American Photographic Salon," William Howe Downes; "The Gum-Bichromate Process." B. F. Langland: "Bromide Prints by Contact," T. H. Ferguson; "Elmwood." W. Prentiss Parker: "The Camera in Science." Frank Collins Baker; "Kallitype for Winter Landscapes," James S. Escott.

Physical Review for April: "On the Magnetic Behavior of Certain Nickel Alloys," "Rotation and Elliptic Polarization produced by Iron Films in a Magnetic Field," "The Percentage Bridge." "A Spectrophotometric Study of the Absorption and Fluorescence of Resorufin.”

Popular Science Monthly for May: "The Jamaica Earthquake." "Notes on the Development of Telephone Service." "The Value of Science." "Is the Mind in the Body?" "Drug Abuses and their Effects on the People," "Illusions of Vision and the Canals of Mars."

Reviews of Reviews for April: "The Newest Washington Department," "The Transvaal Restored to the Boers," by W. T. Stead (with portraits); "The Doctor in the Public School," by John J. Cronin (with illustrations) "Pittsburg's Home of the Fine Arts," by Frank Fowler (with illustrations); "The Making of a Forest Ranger." by Arthur Chapman (with illustrations): "Chicago's New Judicial System." by Stanley Waterloo: "The Protection of Life on Railroads: I. 'Reducing the Railroad Death Rate.' by Arthur McTavish; II. 'Railway Accidents and Personnel.' by Wyatt W. Randall; III. 'Psychology of Railroad Accidents.'" by Charles R. Keyes; "The Immigration Laws of 1907," by William S. Rossiter; "Japan and Our Wage-Earners," by Harris Weinstock.

Science for April 19: "The Sanitary Engineering Problems of Water Supply and Sewage Disposal in New York City." "Upon the Teaching of the Subject of Respiration." For April 26: "Present-day Conditions and the Responsibility of the University." "The Chemist and the Community." "Anthropology at the New York Meeting," "A Plant Tumor of Bacterial Origin."

Scientific American for April 6: "The Evaporation of Solid Metals and their Compounds," "The Construction of a Magnetic Detector." April 13: "Seal Hunting on the Floes of the North," "The North CarolinaVirginia Inland Waterway." "The Carnegie Technical Schools, Pittsburg." April 20: "A Harvest of the Sea." April 27: "Australian Sapphires."

Scientific American Supplement for April 20: "The rate of Recession of Niagara Falls," "How Coke is Made." "Foundation Problems in New York City." "The Evolution of the Elephant." April 27: "How Coke is Made," "Rate of Recession of Niagara Falls."

Technical World for May: "Pioneers of Progress," "To Drain the Florida Everglades," "New Wizard of Power." "Make Money Growing Weeds." "Man's Fight with a Monster." "Taking the Beet's Crystal Gift," "Life-Saving Dogs of Paris," "New Wealth from the Sea." "War Against the Silent Death," "Engineering Progress," "America's Pearl-bearing River." Zeitschrift für den Physikalischen und Chemischen Unterricht for March: "Vorschläge zur Hochschulausbildung der Lehramtskandidaten für Physik," "Uber Schul-Mebrücken." "Ein Apparat zur Demonstration langsam fortschreitender Wellen." "Beiträge zur geometrischen Optik." "Einfache Versuche zur Demonstration der Lichttelephonie," "Über einen Apparat zum Beweis des Coulombschen magnetischen Gesetzes." "Einige physikalische Vorlesungsversuche," "Einge Remerkungen über die Verwendung des Calciummetalles beim Unterricht."

Biologists who have used the stereopticon in their lecture and class work have long been looking for a book which would tell them how to do this work to a better advantage. Professor Aaron H. Cole, of the Chicago Normal School, who without doubt is the highest authority on biological lantern projectors in this country, has just written a Manual of Biological Projection and Anesthesia of Animals. This book is being published by the Neeves Stationery Company, 543 West 63rd Street, Chicago, Ill., and will be ready for mailing July 1st. Price, $1.59. See the advertisement on another page.

DRAINAGE OF SWAMP LANDS.

There are in the United States over sixty million acres of swamp lands. Now that agricultural lands are becoming scarce and the Government has shown what it can do to water the barren deserts of the West, the people of the country are beginning to realize that the Government might be equally successful in removing superabundant water. The fact has been established that by drainage these waste swamp lands may be rendered habitable and productive. Since the Governernment has set aside millions of dollars for the reclamation of the desert lands of the arid west through the agency of irrigation, this fact is specially interesting, for the vast swamps of the lower Mississippi Valley and of Florida, of the Sacramento valley of California, or the portion of the country once covered by the Wisconsin ice sheets, and the southeastern coastal plain are now the great remaining sources of future agricultural lands.

The effort to drain swamp lands began, like the movement to irrigate the deserts, with the individual, was taken up by the corporation or colony, and is now fast becoming the concern of the State. In northern New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin corporations as well as individuals have drained some of the larger swamps and now raise in them the finest quality of celery, onions and asparagus. In California the State has aided in draining the tule lands, as the extremely fertile swamp lands of the lower Sacramento valley are called. Here are grown crops of asparagus, onions, and other vegetables that love rich and moist soil. In Florida a Governor has recently won an elec tion on the drainage issue, and the people of that State are hoping to drain not only their more acessible swamps but possibly even the great Everglades. In Minnesota and North Dakota a State drainage commission has been organized and vast areas are being drained and settled under State auspices.

Evidence of the extent to which drainage has already been undertaken in a small way by individual farmers is afforded by a comparison of the preliminary editions of topographic maps made by the Geological Survey of areas in Wisconsin with the final topographic sheets of the same areas. The final sheet of the Koshkonong quadrangle, for example, made in 1903, shows a great diminution in the original area of swamp land, as represented in the reconaissance survey of 1887. An examination of the two maps indicates clearly, in the light of what has since occurred, how a study of the earlier sheets would have suggested possible lines of drainage ditches. Differences of elevation recorded on the map have indicated to an engineer the probable results of constructing drainage ditches in certain places. The new sheet of Madison, Wis., quadrangle. just issued, shows not only what has been done by private enterprise, during the past fifteen years, in the way of draining swamps, but indicates what may be done to drain other thousands of acres of swamp land.

Few people realize how valuable these topographic maps may be in furnishing accurate data on which to base plans for improving swamps

and marshes. On these sheets a general drainage plan may be laid down and the feasibility of the proposition definitely determined without preliminary surveys. The maps afford an opportunity for the comprehensive study of each case without regard to State or County boundaries. A good illustration of the usefulness of these atlas sheets is afforded by the recently surveyed Linesville (Pa.) and Andover (Ohio) quadrangles, which show Pymatuning swamp. This covers an area of about 8,000 acres in Crawford County, Pa., but drains through Shenango Creek into Ohio and back again into Pennsylvania, and at one time furnished water for the summit level of the abandoned Pittsburg and Lake Erie canal. This land is at present nearly worthless, though by proper drainage it may be rendered exceedingly fertile. Ashtabula Creek, heading a little south of the village of Pennlin, has a greater fall than Shenango Creek, the natural outlet, but it is separated from Pymatuning Swamp by a ridge about forty feet in height. Should detailed examination of the material of which the divide is formed prove favorable, Ashtabula Creek might be utilized in draining the swamp lands, and a much larger area thus be reclaimed.

This is only one of dozens of similar areas mapped by the Geological Survey in which enough information has already been collected to make a substantial beginning for studies in drainage. The really important marsh areas such as the Dismal Swamp, the Florida Everglades, and wide reaches in Minnesota are yet to be mapped, and until the work is done, no comprehensive plans for their drainage can be perfected.

The possibility of improving these lands is only beginning to interest people in this country. Abroad, much more attention has been given to these questions. In the United States most efforts in this direction are the result of private enterprise. In only a few cases have examinatious been made by County and State authorities. Unfortunately, there are millions of acres of swamp land so situated that their drainage would involve the outlay of hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars. Such vast undertakings can not be financed by private individuals nor even by States. The aid of the Federal Government is necessary, especially in view of the fact that most of these wet lands have been patented in trust to the States with a view to their drainage by State aid, or are still in public ownership.

The topographic maps of the Geological Survey constitute a wealth of material on which to plain drainage works, but the Government should now go a step further and direct the energies to the topographers more immediately into swampy regions. It is possible that the result of such surveys will show up enough reclaimable land to warrant the enactment of federal legislation for the general drainage of existing swamps. Without such aid millions of acres of the richest land must remain waste, while the settlers on our western desert lands are being helped to fortunes. All of the sixty million acres of swamp lands in the country can not of course be reclaimed by drainage.-United States Geological Survey Bulletin.

MEETING OF THE MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICAL SECTION OF THE ONTARIO EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION.

The Annual Meeting of the Mathematical and Physical Section of the Ontario Educational Association was held in the Physics lecture room of the University of Toronto, on April 2nd and 3rd. The following program was carried out:

Tuesday.-President's address "Modern tendencies in the teaching of Secondary Mathematics," H. S. Robertson, Stratford Collegiate Institute; "The Poetry of Mathematics," Wilson Taylor, Chatham Collegiate Institute; "Integers, finite and infinite," Prof. W. Findlay, McMaster University.

Wednesday.—“"Mathematics as a means of Culture," Prof. Alfred Baker, University of Toronto; "Junior Leaving Arithmetic,” J. S. Wren, Harbord St. Collegiate Institute, Toronto; Discussion of the 1906 Problem Paper, J. T. Crawford, Hamilton Collegiate Institute; "The Transformation of Matter," Prof. Rutherford, F.R.S., McGill University.

The following officers were elected for 1907-08:

Hon. President, Prof. Alfred Baker, University of Toronto; President, C. L. Cressweller, Sarnia Coll. Inst.; Vice-President, Wilson Taylor, Chatham Coll. Inst.; Sec'y-Treas., R. Wightman, Jarvis St. Coll. Inst. Toronto; Councilors, G. H. Hogarth, W. Findlay, A. W. Overholt, J. rs. Wren; Library Committee, Prof. DeLery, Prof. Loudon, Chancellor McKay, Dr. Birchard, H. S. Robertson,

CENTRAL IOWA ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE AND MATHE

MATICS TEACHERS.

The third meeting of this Association was held in conjunction with the Iowa Academy of Science, at Drake University, Des Moines, April 26-27.

At the joint meeting Friday evening Professor H. L. Russell of the University of Wisconsin gave a most interesting and helpful address on "Recent Discoveries with Reference to Insect-Borne Diseases."

After the general meeting Saturday morning the Association divided itslf into section meetings on Chemistry, Mathematics, Earth Science and Physics. These section meetings were in the nature of round-table talks, no set papers being read.

In the Chemistry section the discussion centered on: Chemistry in the High School, Theoretical Chemistry, The Chemical Equation and Qualitative Analysis. Many new points were brought out to those in attendance.

The Mathematical Section had for its topics the following:

1. The High School Course in Mathematics.

3. What can be done to develop a student who, having reached the age of reason, has not acquired the power of reason; or help the

student who is lacking in independent methods of investigation? 4. To what extent is individual work with a student helpful or harmful?

5. Do frequent examinations in mathematical studies tend to increase thoroughness?

6. What can be done to induce students to be more careful and accurate in explanation i. e. to give reasons and explain methods rather than read equations?

7. In teaching arithmetic, what can be done to form in young pupils minds a clear concept of units of measure, such as rod, acre, etc.? 8. The laboratory method.

Spirited talks were given by many present, and all received an inspiration.

The Earth Science Section had for subjects to be discussed. Physiog raphy, Weather Observations, Field Work, Physiology, Biology, and the Science Teacher.

The Physics Section centered its talk around the three timely themes: The Physics Unit, Laboratory Supervision and the Laboratory Note Book.

Many who attended these meetings expressed themselves as having received as much help in their respective lines of work as in any meeting of the kind which they ever attended.

C. H. S.

INDIANA ASSOCIATION OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

TEACHERS.

The twelfth annual conference of the Indiana Association of Science and Mathematics Teachers was held in Indianapolis Fri. and Sat., April 26 and 27, and in some respects the meeting was of unusual interest.

The general session was held on Friday at 2 P. M. in the Manual Training High School. Leonard Young of Evansville, Pres. of the Association, delivered the annual address. The subject was a general consideration of the teaching of physics, and set forth many points of interest relative to this phase of science work.

The speaker thinks (1) that a broader view should be given to some details of the subject of Physics rather than attempting to cover too much ground.

2.

Teachers should have some latitude in choosing those parts of the subject best adapted to the subject and environments.

3. Experimental work should not be made too easy, but should require close thinking and should mean something when completed. 4. The industrial and concrete side of physics should have as much prominence as possible.

At the close of this address the subject of "Laboratory Physiography" was discussed by L. C. Wessel of Huntington, followed by a paper on the subject: "Shall Science work in Secondary Schools have a strong economic bearing?"