ers of to-day, as he had been, thirty years ago, an active member of the Royal Canadian Institute and the Science Club that immediately preceded the present Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He had been more especially interested in the Natural History department of the Science Club, but continued to be a frequent attendant at meetings of the Royal Astronomical Society until failing health in recent years forced him to be absent.

Charles Heron Armstrong was born of English parentage at Bombay, India, October 10, 1841. His father, a British soldier, died at the close of the Indian Mutiny, 1857-8, near Lucknow, and he soon returned to the native English soil of his parents. On coming later to Canada, he was for some years the practical assistant to Dr. Thomas Kirkland in the science department at the Toronto Normal School. He made a special study of biology and became a skilled microscopist, adding also the art of the photographer to his acquirements at a time when this art was less universal than now.

Afterward, he visited the West Indies and also spent some time in British Guiana. At Georgetown, Demerara, where he made a stay to study tropical nature in its profusion, he met. James Rodway, Curator of the Museum, author of "In the Guiana Forest," and other interesting scientific books on British Guiana, and he became much interested in Mr. Rodway's biological work. He also became familiar with the sugar industry and its manufacture, and amongst many curiosities of that region he had an acquaintance with 18 different species of mosquitoes.

Mr. Armstrong had long since ceased to recognize German scientists as authorities, and deplored their method of overspecialization in particular lines-working a whole lifetime, for example, on the antennae of beetles, or the eyes of some insect genus. He regretted the cramping and narrowness which such a method brings about, and he advocated broader methods in biological study, for everyone, and, indeed, less narrow lines in every other branch of knowledge.

The recent deaths of his early co-workers in science-Andrew Elvins and George G. Pursey-were losses that grieved him very deeply and he soon afterward followed them to the tomb. The life of a self-educated man like Mr. Armstrong, who had read widely in general literature, especially in scientific subjects, is always a pleasant one to review. Although he had given more especial attention to biological subjects than to the branch of science to which this JOURNAL is devoted, he had a good general knowledge of astronomy and was familiar with its main outlines.

THE PARIS FOOT IN QUEBEC.

In some of our newspapers a short time ago reference was made to legislation introduced into the House of Commons providing for a change in the definition of the "Paris foot" as used in Quebec. I presume few people were aware that any "foot" other than the ordinary English measure was legalized in Canada; and on writing to Mr. G. Blanchard Dodge, of the Department of the Interior, Ottawa, asking for information, he kindly supplied the following:

Section 17 of the Weights and Measures Act reads as follows:

In the province of Quebec, the measures of length and superficies for all lands comprised in those parts of the province originally granted under the seigniorial tenure, shall be French measures, the ratio and proportion of which shall be to the Dominion standard measures as follows, that is to say:

(a) The foot, French measure or Paris foot, shall be held to contain twelve inches and seventy-nine hundredths of an inch, standard measure;

(b) The arpent, when used as a measure of length, shall be one hundred and eighty French feet; and when used as a measure of superficies, shall contain thirty-two thousand four hundred square French feet; and the perch, as a measure of length, shall contain eighteen French feet; and as a measure of superficies, three hundred and twenty-four square French feet;

Provided, that the provisions of this section shall apply only to territorial measurement; and the French measures toise and aune shall not

be used as standard measures, but the Dominion standard yard, as hereinbefore described shall be used instead thereof.-R.S., c. 104, s. 12.

This Act was formerly administered under the Department of Inland Revenue; it was last year transferred to the Department of Trade and Commerce. The Hon. A. K. Maclean, acting Minister of Trade and Commerce, introduced a Bill (42) in the House this session making some amendments to the Weights and Measures Act. One of these amendments was the change at the request of the Association of Provincial Land Surveyors of Quebec of the statute length of the "toise" or French foot from 12.79 inches to 12.789 inches. The Bill was given its first reading on the 28th March.

C. A C.