increase in proportion to their strength Finland's share in the defense of the empire," but that while they were not petitioning "for any alleviation in the present military burden," they could only hold that the new military law "manifested a distrust for which the Finnish people," during nearly a century's union with Russia, had "in no way given occasion."

FIRE PROTECTION. The danger of overhead trolley and electrc wires to firemen, when fighting fires, was discussed in a paper read by Morris W. Mead, superintendent of the Bureau of Electricity of Pittsburg, before the International Association of Fire-Chiefs, at their 1901 meeting in Indianapolis. Mr. Mead contended that all electrical circuits should be run in parallel, and at regular intervals run off to switches, and that such locations should be numbered and blue prints of every switch and of the location of every circuit should be prepared and kept on file at the headquarters of the fire department. The firemen should be trained in handling the switches, as well as in general electrical principles, so as to understand the easiest and safest way of operating them in case of emergency. Trolley wires should be arranged on the same principle, so they may be cut out at every 1,000 or 2,000 feet in crowded cities, and these cut-outs should be carefully marked and records of them placed on file at department headquarters. In the larger cities, one or two electricians should be attached to the fire department and go to all fires, to assist and to instruct the members of the department in self-protection from high potential currents. Another arrangement which Mr. Mead suggested for the protection of firemen was that all electric light and power companies, including trolley lines, should have thoroughtly equipped wagons, located at reasonable intervals along their lines, with competent men in charge, to respond in every case of fire. Gongs connected with the fire department lines should be at all such wagon stations, and, if necessary, there should be two crews attached. to relieve each other, or else to sleep there regularly, as firemen do, and answer calls both day and night. A more radical remedy was also suggested, that cities compel all wires to be placed underground, at least in the business portions and on the main avenues.

The legal aspect of the relation between fire protection and an adequate water supply has again been brought to the front by the failure of the Greensboro Water Supply Company, at Greensboro, N. C., to furnish sufficient fire service during a fire which destroyed a hotel, in June, 1899. The water company was sued for $40,000 damages and early in 1901, in a jury trial, $25,000 damages was awarded against the company.

Perhaps the most notable additions, in the way of fire fighting equipment, made during 1901 were the seven steam fire engines built by the Mansfield (Ohio) Machine Works for the city of Cleveland. The steam cylinders of these engines are 74 inches in diameter, the water cylinders 434 inches in diameter, and the stroke 8 inches. The results of the tests of five of these engines were about the same. The fifth engine gave the following results: In all the trials the hose used was 21⁄2 inches in diameter and 150 feet in length. With one line of hose, a 1%-inch fire nozzle, and 135 pounds of steam pressure, water was thrown a distance of 255 feet. Under the same conditions, but with two lines of hose and 200 pounds water pressure, a stream was thrown 240 feet. With one line of hose, same size and length as above, but with a 14-inch nozzle, 130 pounds steam and 265 pounds water pressure a stream was thrown 275 feet. In the next two trials two lines of hose, each 100 feet long, were "siamesed" or connected to one length of 50 feet of hose. On applying a steam pressure of 130 pounds and a water pressure of 240 pounds, water was thrown to a distance of 263 feet through a 12-inch nozzle and with a 134-inch nozzle and 210 pounds pressure, the steam conditions being the same, water was thrown 250 feet. FISH AND FISHERIES. The Second International Conference for the Exploration of the Sea, which is actually a conference for the scientific study of fishery questions, met at Christiania, Norway, during the second week of May, 1901. Delegates were present from all the countries of northern Europe, and also from Great Britain, and among them were a number of well-known biologists. The work was chiefly the revision and completion of the programme adopted at the first conference, held in Stockholm two years before. This programme falls under two headings, "Hydrography" and "Biology." The former was casily disposed of, but the biological programme was finally recast and caused much discussion, although every decision reached was harmonious. The organization of the scheme of international research was completed only in part, since several points required reference to the governments concerned. The biological programme adopted includes the biology of food fishes, their distribution in all stages of growth, their life histories, migrations, etc.; the quantitative distribution of pelagic eggs, larvæ, and young fishes, the collection of material showing local varieties of plaice, herring, and mackerel; the study of the plankton and bottom fauna, especially with reference to the nutrition of food fishes; and lastly, the elaboration of fishery statistics so as to yield data for making maps of the fishing grounds, and for determining the influence of physical conditions

on fish. The Conference proposed the establishment of an international council, a central bureau, and an international laboratory, to direct the operations, and it urged the governments interested not only to undertake the support of these bodies, but also to provide steamers to carry on the work. It was further urged that the programme be carried out for not less than five years, beginning in the spring of

1902.

As shown by the interest in this conference, the importance of fisheries is coming to be more and more clearly seen in Europe. The United States has long given special attention to the subject, and our fisheries are in excellent condition, but in Great Britain there is much complaint over the condition of the industry. The year 1901 saw much discussion of the situation, and it was stated that Parliament is uninterested and is unwilling to appropriate funds necessary for ascertaining the facts. It is claimed that trawling is ruining the fishing grounds, and scientific methods of replenishing them are not used. Moreover, it is said that the protection of gulls and other sea-birds is resulting in a great increase in their numbers, and as they are fish-feeders, their competition is really being felt by the fishermen. In other countries, however, investigations into the condition of the fisheries have been carried on with marked success. The marine resources of the West Indies were carefully considered at a conference held in Barbados early in 1901. The yearly value of the fish caught in Jamaica alone is about $150,000, while nearly five times that amount is imported. It is urged, that with improved methods of fishing, the local supply might be greatly increased. The feature of the conference was the paper by Dr. J. E. Duerden, on The Marine Resources of the British West Indies. This has been published in pamphlet form, and is a valuable contribution to the literature of the fishing industry. It shows conclusively what the government ought to do to put that industry on a firm foundation in the West Indies. During 1901 our own government investigated the marine resources of the Hawai'an Islands (see ZOOLOGICAL EXPEDITIONS). The results are not yet tabulated, but there is reason to believe that the investigations will lead to great improvements in the methods used and in the results obtained.

The fish and fisheries of Japan were the subject of a very large amount of literature during 1901. It will be remembered that during 1900, Dr. Jordan and Dr. Gilbert visited Japan and made extensive collections of fish. The Albatross also collected there, and other collections came into the hands of Jordan and Gilbert, who have now published a large part of their results. Dr. Jordan has also published accounts of the geographical distribution of Japanese fishes, but some of his conclusions have not met with universal acceptance. About 1,100 species of fish are recognized by Jordan as occurring in Japan, of which only 50 are fresh-water. The latter are all distinctively Asiatic. The marine fishes occur in five fairly distinct faunal areas, of which the northernmost is clearly sub-arctic, while the two southernmost are tropical, one of them showing Polynesian and the other East Indian features. Another contribution has been made to our knowledge of the fish fauna of Lake Tanganyika, and the remarkable fact has been brought out that the former connection of that lake with the ocean was probably not to the northeastward, as had been surmised, but westward through the valley of the Congo. About 90 species of fish are known from Tanganyika and Kivu, of which 75 were new to science when first taken in those lakes.

It is worth noting that the smallest known fish and the largest known deep-sea fish were both described during 1901. The former is not only the smallest known fish, but the smallest of vertebrates, for the adults measure from 10 to 15 mm. in length, the average being less than 13 mm. It is found only in Lake Buhi, Luzon, but is extremely abundant there, and although so small it is an important article of diet among the natives. It has been named Mistichthys luzonensis by Dr. H. M. Smith, the name meaning smallest fish of Luzon. The largest deep-sea fish was captured by the Albatross, off the coast of southern Chile, at a depth of 1,050 fathoms, and was about 5 feet long. Unfortunately, after a photograph of it had been taken, the fish was accidentally thrown overboard and lost. The capture was made some years ago, but the description has only just been published by Gill and Townsend, under the name Macrias amissus, which refers to the large size and the lost specimen. Early in 1901 some observations of much interest were published on the food of the cod. An examination of several hundred stomachs showed that the food is almost wholly made up of crustaceans, chiefly Panopeus, but hermit crabs and young lobsters were found. The presence of the latter may throw some light on the great decrease of lobsters in recent years; for, thanks to the United States Fish Commission, the number of cod-fish has greatly increased.

In this connection it is proper to mention the important work, begun by the Commission in 1900, and continued during the past year, on the artificial culture of lobsters. The great difficulty has always been to keep the young alive. Usually they become covered with parasites and die. Various inclosures have been tried with

more or less success, but the best are large bags of scrim, 3 feet in diameter, and 4 feet deep, in which the water is kept agitated either by the tides or artificially. It has been found that the most important thing is to keep the young off the bottom. Growth is rapid, and the so-called "lobsterling" stage, which occurs after 3 moults, may be reached in 9 or 10 days. The work during the summer of 1901 proved very encouraging, and great hopes are entertained by those in charge that it will be possible to replenish the depleted waters of the New England coast with an abundance of healthy young lobsters. Along other lines the Commission has had a successful year, although little of the routine work is reported in current literature. The FishHawk has been employed along the east coast of the United States, at Wood's Hole, Beaufort, and in Florida, while the Albatross has been for a large part of the year among the Hawaiian Islands. The records of the work of the Albatross were published during 1901. They cover the eighteen years she has been in commission. During that time she made 1,786 hauls of the dredge and trawl, at depths varying from less than 100 to more than 4,100 fathoms. The greatest depth (4,173 fathoms), is the deepest dredge haul ever made. She has also made more than 4,000 soundings, giving character of the bottom as well as depth. Nearly 2,000 species of animals, largely deep-sea fishes and crustaceans, new to science, have been collected by the Albatross and many have been described. For accounts of the work of the Albatross during 1901, and the work of the Fish Commission stations at Wood's Hole and Beaufort, see ZOOLOGICAL EXPEDITIONS AND STATIONS.

FISKE, JOHN (EDMUND FISKE GREEN, the name Fiske being that of his maternal grandfather), American historian and philosopher, died at Gloucester, Mass., July 4, 1901. He was born at Hartford, Conn., March 30, 1842, and graduated at Harvard College in 1863. Although a graduate of the Harvard Law School (1865) he never practiced, choosing rather to pursue a scholar's career. In 1869 he became lecturer in philosophy at Harvard and an instructor in history in 1870, and from 1872 to 1879 was an assistant librarian of the college. At 19 he had attracted attention by an article in the National Quarterly Review on Mr. Buckle's Fallacies (1861), and from that time he occupied a prominent place among the American advocates of the theory of evolution and the Spencerian philosophy, his Cosmic Philosophy being probably the clearest exposition of these doctrines ever published. His discovery of the causes of the prolonged infancy of mankind, and the part played by it in determining human development (1871), was one of the most important contributions to the Darwinian theory. After 1871 Mr. Fiske was best known for his lectures on American history, which he delivered throughout this country and Great Britain, and for his publications dealing with the same subject. He lectured at University College, London, in 1879 and at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in 1880. In his historical writings he was an avowed popularizer rather than a thorough investigator. While not a final authority, therefore, he nevertheless infused into his work a spirit genial and broad enough to make it readable for its own sake instead of merely as history. He covers the history of the United States from the earliest discoveries to the year 1789 in a clear, minute style, and may be said to have done more than any other historian to spread the story of that period. Mr. Fiske occupied a place in American literature notable for the character of his labors, his prodigious industry, and a magnetic personal charm that endeared him to all who met his influence. He was a joint editor with James Grant Wilson of Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography (6 vols., 1887-89); and his other works include Myths and Myth-makers (1872); Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy, Based on the Doctrine of Evolution (1874); The Unseen World (1876); Darwinism and Other Essays (1879); Excursions of an Evolutionist, (1883); The Destiny of Man Viewed in the Light of His Origin (1884); The Idea of God as Affected by Modern Knowledge (1885); The Critical Period of American History (1888); The Beginnings of New England (1889); The American Revolution (2 vols., 1891); The Discovery of America (2 vols., 1892); History of the United States for Schools (1894); Old Vir ginia and Her Neighbors (2 vols., 1897); Dutch and Quaker Colonies (1899); The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War (1900); Through Nature to God (1900); Life Everlasting (1901); and, posthumous, The French and English in America. FITZGERALD, GEORGE FRANCIS, F.R.S., professor of natural and experimental philosophy in the University of Dublin, died February 21, 1901. He was born in Dublin in 1851, and received his education at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated in 1871. Becoming a fellow in 1877, he served as tutor until 1887, when he was appointed professor of experimental philosophy. He devoted himself to theoretical and experimental investigation, and in 1878 published an important memoir On the Electromagnetic Theory of the Reflection and Refraction of Light, which is considered a classic among the works of modern physical science. In 1899 he received one of the royal medals of the Royal Society, of which he had been elected a fellow in 1883. He was also a member and for many years secretary of the Royal Dublin Society. His researches dealing with the electromagnetic theory of light did much