Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

ington city; I, Archibald Blue, Toronto, Canada. Treasurer, Robert S. Woodward, New York city. Opening Proceedings.-The usual regular preliminary meeting of the council with which the association begins its sessions was held in the Hotel Cadillac, which was the headquarters of the association, on Aug. 7, at noon. At this session the final details pertaining to the arrangements of the meetings were settled, and the reports of the local committees acted on. The names of 52 applicants for membership were then favorably considered. The general session with which the public meetings began was held in the auditorium of the Central High School at 10 A. M., Aug. 9. The meeting was called to order by Secretary Putnam, who, after referring to the death of President Cope, presented his successor, Prof. Gill, who promptly declared the meeting open, and then called to the chair the senior vice-president of the association present, Mr. W J McGee, who acted as presiding officer in the place of President Gibbs, who was unable to attend on account of illness. A short prayer was made by the Rev. Frank J. Van Antwerp, and then a tenor solo, "A Song of Thanksgiving," by Marshall Pease, followed. The Hon. William C. Maybury, Mayor of Detroit, then welcomed the association in a short but pleasant address, in the course of which he said: "We are a scientific city. There was formed here years ago a society by that good man Bela Hubbard out of which grew your organization which is now in session here. We are founded on science, and in this building for a place of meeting we offer you a temple of science which affords you an environment that must have its influence upon your work within its halls." He was followed by Hon. Thomas W. Palmer, former United States Senator for Michigan, who spoke more at length and offered for the consideration of the association the following apt definition of science. He referred to it as "a classification of phenomena so arranged that general principles may be reduced upon which rules of action may be established in particular cases." Mr. McGee replied to both addresses in fitting words, after which a duet, "Contentment," was rendered by Miss Mary L. Denison and Mr. Pease. The usual announcements then followed by the permanent, the general, and the local secretaries, and then Miss Denison sang "The Danza," at the close of which the meeting adjourned.

Address of the Retiring President. Owing to the death of Edward D. Cope, the retiring president, on April 13, 1897, the council of the American Association designated the senior vice-president, Theodore N. Gill, of Washington city, to succeed to the presidency at the Detroit meeting. Prof. Gill was invited to present an address that should be descriptive of the work of Cope. As the scientific careers of Gill and Cope began simultaneouslythat is, their first published contributions to science were accepted for publication on April 29, 1859, by the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphiaand as they had been friends ever since, no more appropriate subject could have been chosen by Prof. Gill. The association convened to hear this address in the auditorium of the Central High School at 8 P. M. on Aug. 9. The title given to his address by Prof. Gill was "Edward Drinker Cope, Naturalist: A Chapter in the History of Science." After relating his own long friendship with Cope, as indicated above, he gave a brief biographical sketch of the more important events in the life of the deceased naturalist, and then considered successively his contributions to herpetology, ichthyology, mammalogy, and paleontology, after which he examined his philosophical views, especially those relating to evolution, closing with an attempt to forecast the position he is destined to enjoy in

the history of science. Of the first named he said: Cope, "found herpetology an art; he left it a science; he found it a device mainly for the naming of specimens; he left it the expression of the co-ordination of all structural features. The reformations he effected in the classification of the anurous amphibians and the saurian reptiles were especially notable." The ichthyological labors of Cope he described as "unusually valuable contributions to science, and the progress of ichthyology has been much accelerated, not only by these labors,

[graphic][merged small]

but by the investigations they challenge." Concerning his work on mammals, he said that "he always considered the old and new-the extinct and recent

forms together. He refused to be bound by consistency or by precedent, either set by himself or others. Fresh discoveries opened new vistas to him, and he modified his views from time to time, and as often as he received new evidence." Most of Cope's contributions to the science of palæontology were discussed by Prof. Gill in the various branches, as above enumerated, to which the fossils properly belonged, but he made reference to his publications on palæontology, and closed that section with these words: "The evolution of the various animal, and especially mammalian types, was also continually the subject of Cope's researches, and he attempted to trace the passage from those of the most ancient periods to those of later ones." Concerning his philosophical views, Prof. Gill said: "The transmission of acquired characters was one of the accepted and most cherished dogmas of Cope, and the belief in transmissibility of such characters is an essential of the creed of so many who have become his followers in America, that a special school came into existence known as the Neo-Lamarckian and also as the American school."

In closing, he compared Cope with Cuvier, Owen, and Huxley, and said: "Cope covered a field as extensive as any of the three. His knowledge of structural details of all the classes of vertebrates was probably more symmetrical than that of any of those with whom he is compared; his command of material was greater than that of any of the others; his industry was equal to Owen's; in the clearness of his conceptions he was equaled by Huxley alone; in the skill with which he weighed discovered facts, in the aptness of his presentation of those facts, and in the lucid methods by which the labor of the

student was saved, and the conception of the numerous propositions facilitated, he was unequaled. His logical ability may have been less than that of Huxley and possibly of Cuvier. He has been much blamed on account of the constant changes of his views, and because he was inconsistent. Unquestionably he did change his views very often. Doubtless some of those changes were necessitated by too great haste in formulation and too great rashness in publication. The freedom to change which he exercised, and which was exercised too little by at least one of his predecessors, was an offset to his rashness. He exercised a proper scientific spirit in refusing to be always consistent at the expense of truth."

Proceedings of the Sections.-The association is divided into 9 sections, each of which is presided over by an officer having the rank of vice-president of the association. Subsequent to the opening proceedings, each section meets by itself and effects its organization by electing a fellow to represent it in the council, a sectional committee of 3 fellows, a fellow or member to the nominating committee, and a committee of 3 members or fellows to nominate officers of the section for the next meeting. As soon as this organization is effected the secretary of the section reports to the general secretary, who then provides him with a list of papers that, having been considered suitable by the council, may be read and discussed before the section. A press secretary, whose duties are to prepare abstracts of the papers read, and to give them to reporters of newspapers, is also commonly chosen.

A. Mathematics and Astronomy.-This section was presided over by Prof. Wooster W. Beman, who fills the chair of Mathematics in the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The subject of his address was " A Chapter in the History of Mathematics." It was a sketch of the development of the geometric treatment of the imaginary, particularly in the latter part of the eighteenth and the first part of the nineteenth centuries. The speaker referred, in opening, to the fact that the square root of a negative quantity appeared for the first time in the "Stereometria" of Heron of Alexandria, B. C. 100. From this date the development of the use of the square root applied to a negative number was briefly traced through several centuries, accompanied by quotations and arguments from the various writers who attempted the problem. He devoted much attention to the memoir by Caspar Wessel, entitled, "An Essay on the Analytic Representation of Direction, with Applications in Particular to the Determination of Plane and Spherical Polygons," which was published in 1797, claiming for it that it was the first clear, accurate, and scientific treatment of directed lines in the same plane. He referred to the later works of Buée, Argand, and Warren, and closed with: "Such were the beginnings of the study of the geometric representation of the imaginary, which has led in modern times to the establishment of such great bodies of doctrine as the theory of functions on the one side and quaternions on the other, with the Ausdehnungslehre occupying a position between. Who can tell what the next century may bring forth?" The following-named papers were read and discussed before the section: "A Problem in Substitution Groups," by George A. Miller; "Continuous Groups of Spherical Transformations in Space," by Henry B. Newson; "Commutative Matrices," by James B. Shaw; "On the Theory of the Quadratic Equation," by Alexander Macfarlane: "Condition that the Line common to n - Planes in an n-Space may lie on a Given Quadraic Surface in the Same Space," by Virgil Snyder; “The Psychology of the Personal Equation," by Truman H. Safford; "ComVOL. XXXVII.-3 A

[ocr errors]

pound Determinants," by William H. Metzler; Waters within the Earth," by William S. Auchincloss; "On the Secular Motion of the Earth's Magnetic Axis" and "Simple Expressions for the Diurnal Range of the Magnetic Declination and of the Magnetic Inclination," by Louis A. Bauer; "The Theory of Perturbations and Lie's Theory of Contact Transformations," by E. O. Lovett; "On Rational Right Triangles, No. I," by Artemus Martin: Some Results in Integration expressed by the Elliptic Integrals," by James McMahon; "Modification of the Eulerian Cycle due to Inequality of the Equatorial Moments of Inertia of the Earth and "Integration of the Equations of Rotation of a Nonrigid Mass for the Case of Equal Principal Moments of Inertia," by Robert S. Woodward; "General Theorems concerning a Certain Class of Functions deduced from the Properties of the Newtonian Potential Function," by James W. Glover; "The Importance of adopting Standard Systems of Notation and Co-ordinates in Mathematics and Physics," by Frank H. Bigelow; "Stereoscopic Views of Spherical Catenaries and Gyroscopic Curves," by Alfred G. Greenhill; and “A Remarkable Complete Quadrilateral among the Pascal Lines of an Inscribed Six-Point of a Conic," by R. Daniel Bohannan. On Aug. 12 a joint meeting of Sections A and B was held, at which the following papers were read : "On the Electrostatic Capacity of a Two-Wire Cable," by George W. Patterson, Jr.; “Screening Effects of Induced Currents in Solid Magnetic Bodies in an Alternating Field." by Charles P. Steinmetz; "The Treatment of Differential Equations by Approximate Methods," by William F. Durand; and A New Method of solving Certain Differential Equations that occur in Mathematical Physics," by Alexander Macfarlane.

B. Physics. The presiding officer of this section was Prof. Carl Barus, who fills the chair of Physics in Brown University. His inaugural address was on "Long-Range Temperature and Pressure Variables in Physics." He began by giving a history of the various attempts to provide suitable apparatus for high-temperature measurement. Fusion first played an important part in the manufacture of thermoscopes, and later those instruments based on specific heat showed an advantage over the fusion instruments. The gas thermometer was referred to as the only fruitful method of absolute pyrometry. The speaker dwelt at length on high-temperature work, the first thorough-going instance of which was by Prinsep in 1829. Then the experiments down to 1887 were considered in detail, and the conclusion reached that the data furnished by the Reichsanstalt will eventually be standard. "For the present," he said, "I should be more impressed by some sterling novelty either in the direction of a larger range of measurement or of method. Conceding that an accuracy of 5 at 1,000 has been reached, all results above 1,500 remain none the less subject to increasingly hazardous surmise." Turning to the applications of pyrometry, he referred to the variation of metallic ebullition with pressure. Results already attained show an effect of pressure regularly more marked as the normal boiling point is higher. Igneous fusion was considered in its relation to pressure and with regard to the solidity of the earth, and the inference was drawn that the interior solidity of the earth, now generally admitted, is due only to superincumbent pressure, withholding fusion. The question of heat conduction was next taken up, and the results deduced by various writers as to the age of the earth discussed. High-pressure measurement was lengthily dealt with. Passing from this subject, the entropy of liquids was considered. "This subject is only in its infancy," he said, “and

66

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

only a year ago were any results of a satisfactory nature obtained." The paper ended with a reference to isothermals and several kindred subjects. The following-named papers were read and discussed before the section: The Design, Construction, and Test of a 1,250 Watt Transformer," by Henry S. Carhart; Electrolytic Action in a Condenser," by Karl E. Guthe; "The Magnetic Survey of Maryland," by Louis A. Bauer; "The Transmission of Radiant Heat by Gases at Varying Pressures" and "The Measurements of Small Gaseous Pressures," by Charles F. Brush; "On the Rate at which Hot Glass absorbs Superheated Water" and A Method of obtaining Capillary Canals of Specific Diameter," by Carl Barus; "A New Method of determining the Specific Heats of Liquids," by Robert L. Litch; "On the Coefficient of Expansion of Certain Gases," by Edward W. Morley and Dayton C. Miller; "The Effect of Heat on the Elastic Limit and Ultimate Strength of Copper Wire," by Frank P. Whitman and Mary C. Noyes; "Kites and their Use by the Weather Bureau in Explorations of the Upper Air," by Charles F. Marvin; "Experiments upon the Acetylene-Oxygen Standard of Light," by Clayton H. Sharp; "Arc Spectra," by Arthur L. Foley; "On the Brightness of Pigmented Surfaces under Various Sources of Illumination," by Frank P. Whitman; "Note on the Construction of a Sensitive Radiometer," by Ernest F. Nichols; "Photographs of Manometric Flames," by Edward L. Nichols and Ernest Merritt; "The Discharge of Electrified Bodies by X-Rays," by Clement D. Child; "A Final Determination of the Relative Lengths of the Imperial Yard of Great Britain and the Meter of the Archives," by William A. Rogers; "An Electrical Thermostat," by Willis R. Whitney; "An Apparatus for Testing the Law of Conservation of Energy in the Human Body," by Wilbur O. Atwater and Edward B. Rosa; "The Electric Conductivity of Certain Specimens of Sheet Glass, with Reference to their Fitness for Use in Static Generators," by Dayton C. Miller; "Graphical Treatment of Alternating Currents in Branch Circuits in Case of Variable Frequency," by Henry T. Eddy; "On Simple Nonalternating Currents," by Alexander Macfarlane; "Exhibition of Instruments for determining the Frequency of an Alternating Current,” by George S. Moler and Frederick Bedell; "The Predetermination of Transformer Regulation," by Frederick Bedell, Richard E. Chandler, and R. II. Sherwood, Jr.; "The Effect of Pressure on the Wave Lengths of the Lines of the Emission Spectra of the Elements," by W. J. Humphreys; "A New Form of Coal Calorimeter," by Charles L. Norton; "Notes on the Recent History of Musical Pitch in the United States," by Charles R. Cross; "A New Form of Harmonic Analyzer," by Frank A. Laws; "The Determination of the Surface Tension of Water and of Certain Aqueous Solutions by Means of the Method of Ripples," by N. Ernest Dorsey; "The Series of International Cloud Observations made by the United States Weather Bureau and their Relation to Meteorological Problems," by Frank H. Bigelow; "The Effects of Tension and Quality of the Metal upon the Changes in Length produced in Iron Wires by Magnetization," by Byron B. Brackett; "Electrical Resonance and Dielectric Hysteresis," by Edward B. Rosa and Arthur W. Smith; "A Method of the Determination of the Period of Electrical Oscillations and Other Applications of the same," by Margaret E. Moltby; The Influence of Time and Temperature upon the Absolute Rigidity of Quartz Fibers," by Samuel J. Barnett; and "On the Methods of Measuring Mean Horizontal Candle Power," by C. P. Matthews.

..

C. Chemistry.-Prof. William P. Mason, who occupies the chair of Chemistry in the Rensselaer

66

Polytechnic Institute of Troy, N. Y., presided over this section. His subject was on Expert Testimony." This address not only covered the entire ground from the standpoint of practical experience, looking at the question both through the eyes of the lawyer and the expert, but was also a compact syllabus, pointing out the province of the expert, reviewing errors that he might be subject to, and suggesting the solution for numerous difficulties. Concerning the duties of an expert, he said: "It is a fatal error to know too much, and a pit into which the expert may fall is prepared for him by questions leading him to venture an opinion upon matters outside of his specialty. Terse, clear answers, well within the narrow path leading to the point in question is the only safe way, and when the line of inquiry crosses into regions where the witness feels himself unsafe his proper course is to refuse to answer. Unfortunately, the expert is often invited to take these collateral flights by the side employing him, as well as by the opposition. An expert, especially in early cases, is sure to have authorities quoted against him, so it behooves him to be familiar with the literature of the subject, so as to be able to point out that such and such a writer is not up to date, or that, if the entire passage is quoted in full, it would not carry the adverse construction that its partial presentation carries." In conclusion, he said: "The expert witness should be absolutely truthful; of course that is assumed, but beyond that he should be clear and terse in his statements, homely and apt in his illustrations, incapable of being led beyond the field in which he is truly an expert, and as fearless of legitimate ignorance as he is fearful of illegitimate knowledge. Mounting the witness stand with these principles as his guide, he may be assured of stepping down again with credit to himself and to the profession he represents."

This section met in conjunction with the American Chemical Society, many of whose members were also members of the chemical section of the American Association. The papers presented to either organization were grouped under seven heads and were presented before subsections as follows: Organic chemistry, presided over by Albert B. Prescott; inorganic chemistry, presided over by William A. Noyes; analytical chemistry, presided over by Louis M. Dennis; agricultural chemistry, presided over by Harvey W. Wiley; industrial chemistry, presided over by William McMurtrie; physical chemistry, presided over by Arthur A. Noyes; and physiological chemistry, presided over by Harvey W. Wiley.

66

The following-named papers were read and discussed before the section: "Alkyl Bismuth Iodides " and "Kola Tannin," by Albert B. Prescott: "The Chemistry of Methylene," by John U. Nef; "On the Action of Sodium on Methylpropylketon and on Acetophenon" and "On the Constitution of some Hydrazones," by Paul C. Freer; "The Decomposition of Heptane and Octane at High Temperatures," by Arthur W. Burwell; "Derivatives of Eugenol," by F. J. Pond and F. F. Beers; "“Determination of the Volatility of Phosphorus Pentoxide," by Edward W. Morley; Recent Progress in Analytical Chemistry" and "A New Form of Discharger for Spark Spectra of Solutions," by Louis M. Dennis; "Qualitative Analysis: A Point in Teaching that was not a Full Success," by Arthur L. Green; "A New Color Standard for Use in Water Analysis" and "Contributions from the Laboratory of Water Analysis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology," by Ellen H. Richards; “ A Comparison of Methods for determining Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide," by Louis M. Dennis and C. G. Edgar; "A Preliminary Thermo-Chem

66

66

66

ical Study of Iron and Steel," by Edward D. Campbell and Firman Thompson; Further Study on the Influence of Heat Treatment and Carbon upon the Solubility of Phosphorus in Steel," by Edward D. Campbell and S. C. Babcock; “The Chemical Composition of Cement Plaster," by Edgar H. S. Bailey; "The Decomposition of Halogen-Substituted Acetic Acids by Water," by E. A. De Bar; "On the Determination of Fat and Casein in Feces," by Herman Poole; "On Reactions between Mercury and Concentrated Sulphuric Acid," by Charles Baskerville and F. W. Miller; Apparatus for Photometric Determination of Humic and Sulphuric Acids," by J. I. D. Hinds; “Position in the Periodic Law of the Important Elements found in Plant and Animal Bodies," by Harry Snyder; "On Solutions of Silicates of the Alkalies," by Louis Kahlenberg and A. T. Lincoln; "The Electrical Conductivity and Electrolysis of Certain Substances dissolved in Liquid Ammonia," by Hamilton P. Cady and Edgar H. S. Bailey; "The Rate of Solution of Solid Substances in their own Solutions," by Arthur A. Noyes and Willis R. Whitney; "The Stereometric Measurement of the Velocity of a Reaction," by Willis R. Whitney; "Some Contributions to Methods of Testing Flour," by Robert C. Kedzie; "Distillation in General," by Leon Labonde; "An Electrical Laboratory Stove," by M. D. Sohon; "Recent Progress in Agricultural Chemistry," by Harvey W. Wiley; "Calculations of Calorimetric Equivalents of Agricultural Products from Chemical Analysis," by Harvey W. Wiley and Willard D. Bigelow; "On the Solubility of Pentosans," by William H. Krug and Harvey W. Wiley; "Detection of Foreign Fats in Butter and Lard,' by C. B. Cochran; "The Action of Certain Bodies on the Digestive Ferments," by Frank D. Simons; The Bacteriological Products of Hog Cholera and Swine Plague," by Emil A. De Schweinitz; "Recent Progress in Industrial Chemistry," by William McMurtrie; "Annual Report on Indexing Chemical Literature," by Henry C. Bolton; and "A Continuously Revised Compendium of Chemistry," by Ervin E. Ewell.

D. Mechanical Science and Engineering.-Over this section Prof. John Galbraith, of Toronto, Canada, presided, and he discussed "The Groundwork of Dynamics" in his address. In opening he said that "the subject of dynamics is too often treated as if it were a department of applied mathematics rather than of mechanical science. It is necessary that the student of dynamics should know something of mathematics. It is not required of him to be an expert in refined mathematical analysis, but he should possess in some degree the mechanical instinct." The speaker then gave a history of dynamics from the day when the experiments were carried on with the rudest machinery down to the present time. His closing remarks were descriptive of the status of the science of dynamics as it is understood at the present time. He said it "includes among its fundamental principles, in addition to the law of motion, the principle of the equivalence of work and energy and the principle of the conservation of energy, energy being measured, however, only in terms of force and displacement, or momentum and velocity. The only actions known in dynamics are force and its integrals -impulse and work. To identify with these all the other actions involving the transfer and transformation of energy-such as the conduction of heat, chemical reactions, induction of electric currents, etc.-forms to-day the severest task of mathematical physics."

The following-named papers were read and discussed before the section: 66 Development of Engineering Industries by Scientific Research," by

66

William S. Aldrich;

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

66

The Cement Laboratory as a Field for Investigation," by Frank P. Spalding; "The Effect of Spark Losses on the Efficiency of Locomotives," by William F. M. Goss; "A New Apparatus for Testing Indicator Springs," by Mortimer E. Cooley; "Flue Gas Analysis in "Boiler Tests," by Daniel S. Jacobus ; Effect of Temperature on the Strength of Steel" and "The Properties of Aluminium Alloys," by Rolla C. Carpenter; "Analysis of Composite, Concrete, and Iron Beams and "Definition of Elastic Limit for Practical Purposes," by John P. Johnson; "Theories of Some Planimeters without the Aid of Calculus," by Forrest R. Jones: The Production of X-Rays by Means of the Planté Accumulator, in which Voltage is chiefly concerned, the Effect of Current being largely eliminated," by William A. Rogers; A Universal Alternator for Laboratory Purposes," by Henry S. Carhart; "Calculation of the Energy Loss in Armature Cores," by W. E. Goldsborough: "A New Formula for determining the Width of Leather Belting" and A Graphical Solution of Belting Problems," by John J. Flather; "On Engineering Conditions connected with the mounting of Instruments used on Eclipse Expeditions," by David P. Todd; and "On a Machine for measuring Friction under Heavy Pressures," by T. Gray. E. Geology and Geography.-The presiding officer elected for this section was Prof. Israel C. White, of the University of West Virginia, who was absent from the country, having gone to Russia to attend the International Congress of Geologists, and therefore Prof. Edward W. Claypole, of Buchtel College, Akron, Ohio, was nominated by the council to preside. The address of Prof. White, however, on "The Pittsburg Coal Bed" was read before the section by Prof. Herman L. Fairfield. The age, area, and structure of this formation were carefully gone over, and the geological elements and features of the great Appalachian coal field elaborated in the hope, as the author said. "of emphasizing the necessity and importance of observing the smaller details of stratigraphy more closely." Prof. White criticised the United States Geological Survey for entertaining the theory that no coal bed can be certainly identified beyond the area of its continuous outcrop, This, he claimed, gives a local name to every isolated area, thus adding greatly to the burden of geological nomenclature, a fault of geologists everywhere. He urged a reform in the methods of work which led to such undesirable results.

During the sessions on Tuesday, Aug. 10, and Wednesday, Aug. 11, the Geological Society of America met with this section, during which time papers presented before that body only were read. Subsequently the following-named papers were read and discussed before the section: "Stylolites," by Thomas C. Hopkins; "A Suggestion in Regard to the Theory of Volcanoes," by William N. Rice; "The Ores and Minerals of Cripple Creek, Colorado," by F. D. Smythe and H. P. Parmelee; "Observations on the Genus Barrettia," by Robert P. Whitfield; "An Account of the Researches relating to the Great Lakes," by John W. Spencer; "Lake Chicago and the Chicago Outlet," by Frank Leverett; "The Lower Abandoned Beaches of Southeastern Michigan" and "Some Features of the Recent Geology around Detroit," by Frank B. Taylor; Recent Earth Movement in the Greal Lake Region," by Grove K. Gilbert; "Preglaciat Topography and Drainage of Central Western New York," by Herman L. Fairchild; “Progress of Hydrographic Investigations by the United States Geological Survey," by Frank H. Newell; "The Lower Carboniferous of Huron County, Michigan," by A. C. Lane; "The Geological Age and Fauna

[ocr errors]

of the Huerfano Basin in Southern Colorado," by Henry F. Osborn; "A Supplementary Hypothesis respecting the Origin of the American Loess," by Thomas C. Chamberlain; and “Ice Jams and what they accomplish in Geology," by Major A. Veeder. F. Zoology. This section was presided over by Dr. Leland O. Howard, entomologist of the Department of Agriculture, Washington city, who had been nominated by the council to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dr. G. Brown Goode. Dr. Howard spoke on "The Spread of Species by the Agency of Man, with Special Reference to Insects." He showed that natural spread was for centuries the rule, but that with the improvement of commercial intercourse between nations the agency of man has become predominating. He spoke of the international introduction of useful plants from foreign countries, and of the occasional introduction of flowering species which escape from cultivation and became weeds. The intentional introduction of wild animals has generally been disastrous. He instanced the introduction of the English sparrow, of the Indian mongoose into Jamaica, of the flying foxes from Australia into California, of the gypsy moth from Europe into North America. Accidental introductions have been more powerful in extending the range of species and in changing the character of the plants and animals of given regions than intentional introductions. The era of accidental importations began with the beginning of commerce and has grown with the growth of commerce. The vast extensions of international trade of recent years, every improvement in rapidity of travel and in safety of carriage of goods of all kinds, have increased the opportunities of accidental introductions, until at the present time there is hardly a civilized country which has not firmly established and flourishing within its territory hundreds of species of animals and plants of foreign origin, the time and means of introduction of many of which can not be exactly traced, while of others even the original home can not be ascertained, so widespread has their distribution become.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

66

The following-named papers were read and discussed before this section: "On the Relationships of the Nematognaths," by Theodore Gill: "On a Collection of Cephalopoda from the Albatross' Expedition," by William E. Hoyle; "On the Characters of the Brains of Nematognaths and Plectospondyls," by Benjamin T. Kingsbury; "The Insect Fauna of Cereus giganteus," by Henry G. Hubbard; "On the Sarcostyles of the Plumularidæ," by Charles C. Nutting; "A Study of the Development of Drasteria erechta" and "Brood XVI of Cicada Septemdecim," by Francis M. Webster; Notes on the Embryology of the Pig" and Harvard Embryological Collection," by Charles S. Minot; Geological Distribution of the Golden Warblers," by Harry F. Oberholser; "On the Malodorous Carabid, Nomius pygmæs," by Walter B. Barrows; "Remarks on the Distribution of Scale Insect Parasites." "A Valuable Coccid," "Temperature Experiments as affecting the Received Ideas on the Hibernation of Injurious Insects," and "Additional Observations on the Parasites of Orgyia leucostigma," by Leland O. Howard; "Characters for distinguishing the North American Species of Ceresa," by William H. Ashmead; "The Peach Twig Borer (Anarsia lineatella)," by Charles L. Marlett; "A Successful Lantern Trap" and " Vernacular Names of Insects," by Charles P. Gillett; "On the Preparation and Use of Arsenate of Lead as an Insecticide," by Philip II. Rolfs; "Insects of the Year," by Francis M. Webster and C. W. Malley; "Reconstruction of Phenacodus primævus, the Most Primitive Ungulate," "Homologies and

66

Nomenclature of the Elements of the Molar Teeth," Modification and Variation, and the Limits of Organic Selection," and "Skeletons and Restorations of Tertiary Mammalia," by Henry F. Osborn. Also a joint session of Sections F and G was held on Aug. 11, when a discussion was held on "Organic Selection," in which Henry F. Osborn and Edward B. Poulton were the chief participants. G. Botany. The presiding officer of this section was Prof. George F. Atkinson, of Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. His address was on "Experimental Morphology." He discussed the various points of view held by different authorities during the last one hundred and fifty years, and claimed that the leading idea in the study of morphology held by these authorities during this period was the inductive method for the purpose of discerning fundamental principles and laws, not simply the establishment of individual facts, which was especially characteristic of the earlier period when the dogma of the constancy of species prevailed. Other points of view were considered and the speaker gradually worked his way up to the proposition as to whether a new period in the study of comparative morphology had not been entered on. Then passing direct to the subject of his address, he referred to experimental morphology as including in its broadest sense the domain of cellular morphology and the changes resulting from the directive or taxic forces accompanying growth, but it was rather to experimental morphology as applied to the interpretation of the modes of progress followed by members and organs in attaining their morphologic individuality in the tracing of homologies, in the relation of members associated by antagonistic or correlative forces, the dependence of diversity of function in homologous members on external and internal forces, as well as the course which determines the character of certain paternal or maternal structures, that he discussed, and perhaps even more restrictedly the experimental evidences touching the relation of the members of the plant, as expressed in the metamorphosis theory of the idealistic morphology, which subject the speaker then discussed very fully and elaborately, giving numerous illustrations to emphasize his ideas, taken from recent investigations by prominent botanists published within the last ten years.

666

The following-named papers were read and discussed before the section: "Changes during Winter in the Perithecia and Ascospores of Certain Erysiphea" and "The Erysiphea of North America: A Preliminary Account of the Distribution of the Species," by Benjamin T. Galloway; "Some Contributions to the Life History of Hæmatococcus," by Lewis R. Jones; Bacteriosis' of Carnations," by Albert F. Woods; "Wakker's Hyacinth Bacterium," "Description of Bacillus phaseoli, New Species, with Some Remarks on Related Species," and "On the Nature of Certain Pigments produced by Fungi and Bacteria, with Special Reference to that produced by Bacillus solanacearum," by Erwin F. Smith; "Notes on Jamaica," by Douglas H. Campbell; "Notes on Some New Genera of Fungi" and "Comparison of the Pollen of Pinus, Taxus, and Peltandra," by George F. Atkinson; " Reproductive Organs and Embryology of Drosera," by Clayton A. Peters; "Development of Some Seed Coats," by Julius O. Schlotterbeck: "Morphology of the Flower of Asclepias Cornuti." by Fanny E. Langdon; "Report upon the Progress of the Botanical Survey of Nebraska," the Trees receding from the Nebraska Plains?" and "Some Characteristics of the Foothill Vegetation of Western Nebraska," by Charles E. Bessey; "On the Distribution of Starch in Woody Stems," by Bohumil Shimek; "Mechanism of Root Curva

Are

« AnteriorContinuar »