Gifts of the Past Year.

The treasurer of the college in his annual report has a statement of all the gifts received by the University during the past year. It may be well to draw attention to some of these gifts as showing the interest that outsiders take in the college, and also the departments which received the greater shares of this thoughtful aid. What is perhaps the most important of all to notice is the way in which these funds are presented. The tendency to present money to the college for immediate use is rapidly increasing; and the total amount thus presented for the past year was some $162,000.

To begin with gifts received to establish or increase funds, two new scholarship funds have been founded, $6,000 for the Charles Haven Goodwin scholarship, and $10,000 for the Richard Augustine Gambrill scholarship.

Work in original investigation has been aided by a gift of $6,000 from J. I. Bowditch to promote such investigations at the Physiological Laboratory of the Medical School. An incentive to original work is also offered by various gifts of Hindoo, Sanskrit and Syriac manuscripts. Various prizes of from $100 to $250 have been received, and $6,000 has been presented to found a George B. Sohier Prize Fund.

The Botanical department has been very generously remembered; it has received in all something over $32,000 in addition to the Ware collection of glass flower models. Among these gifts for the Botanical department, it is interesting to note one from Mrs. Asa Gray.

The Medical School has had even more generous presents than the Botanical Department. The gifts that it has received have amounted this year to over $52,000. This is to go mainly towards fitting out laboratories for special investigation.

We are all familiar with Major Higginson's generous gift of "The Soldiers' Field," and it remains with us to show our appreciation of the gift when the field is put into condition to use.

Finally the college has received a number of material gifts, among which may be mentioned as curiosities a miniature portrait of George Washington, from a member of Parliament from Mid-Worcester, an ancient watch, a bronze bust of George Bancroft (now in the Library), and a portrait of Galileo for the Observatory.