Mr. Charles Sedgwick Minot, embryology; Mr. Charles Fish, entomology. Mr. Morse will lecture on the invertebrates. The school will commence July 6th, and continue six weeks. It is designed expressly for teachers.
A Summer School of Biology will be opened at Drury College, Springfield, Missouri, on July 1st, to continue not less than six weeks. The course is designed mainly for teachers; and lectures, laboratory study, and excursions will be the chief means employed for carrying on the work. Mr. E. M. Shepherd, of Drury College, will instruct in the departments of Invertebrate Zoölogy and Cryptogamic Botany; Mr. C. H. Ford, of the State Normal School, is to have charge of Vertebrate Zoölogy and Phamogamic Botany; Mrs. H. C. Milner will give instruction in methods of teaching Elementary Science; and Dr. T. U. Flanner will instruct in Microscopy.
Rearing Silkworms in England.—Mr. Alfred Wailly contributes to the "Journal of the Society of Arts" some valuable notes on silk-producing bombyces which were bred in England during 1878. The Attacus Yama Mai, or Japanese oak silkworm, is difficult to rear, since it is in the egg state in the winter. The eggs have to be kept protected from the rain and the rays of the sun, and a special provision of young oak-trees which have been potted and protected from the frost, not forced, is recommended in case they hatch out too soon. The Attacus Pernyi, or Chinese oak silkworm, is very easy to rear in the open air, and will feed, like Yama Mai, on all species of oak. The young worms of the first brood hatch in June or the beginning of July, when there is an abundance of foliage to feed them. The species is reproduced with great facility. The hatching of the second brood in the fall should be prevented by keeping the cocoons in a cool place. Attacus cynthia, or the ailantus-worm, will feed, but not as well as on the ailantus, on the laburnum, lilac, and cherry. Attacus Atlas feeds on the apple, plum, peach, barberry, etc., and seems to have been reared with success. Attacus Sclene, a "magnificent species" from India, was introduced into Europe in 1878. The raising of it is apparently hazardous, for, though there were plenty of ova, and they batched out well, many of the larvae died in the last stage. A good account is given of the Attacus polyphernus and Attacus cecropia, from North America, which thrive well on a variety of plants.
About Beer.—An account of the production and consumption of beer throughout the world is given in the work of Mr. Von der Planitz on "Beer," which we have already noticed. The scientific investigations which have been made on subjects relating to fermentation have led to improvements in the processes of manufacture, and to the establishment of numerous schools or departments of schools in Germany and other countries where these subjects are specially studied. The foundation of a brewers' school in the United States has been talked of since 1871, and was one of the subjects considered at the Brewers' Congress held during the Great Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876; but it has not yet taken shape. A considerable library of books relating to the practice and science of brewing has been published, and journals devoted to the business and the art are printed in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, France, England, and the United States. A number of scientific and experimental stations and laboratories have been established in Germany, where special researches are still carried on. A consolidation of works for brewing seems to be going on in all countries, so that the steady increase in the production of beer is attended by a decrease in the number of breweries. This feature is, however, common to most contemporary industries. Great Britain leads all other countries in the manufacture of beer, as well as in the production of barley, but returns a smaller production of hops than Germany. Germany is not far behind it, while the United States stands third in the list, and is followed by Austria, Belgium, and France. Belgium produces the largest quantity (149 quarts) per head of the population, and Great Britain (143 quarts) next. Germany (94 quarts) holds the third place by this criterion, and the United States (38 quarts) the sixth, being surpassed by Denmark and the Netherlands. The statistics of single states in Germany and of the Austrian Empire indicate that
