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B. Brackett; "On the Susceptibility of Diamagnetic and Weakly Magnetic Substances," by A. P. Wills; "On Magnetic Periodicity as connected with Solar Physics," by Arthur Harvey; "On the Refractivity of Mixtures of Gases," by William Ramsay; "On the Use of the Trifilar Suspension in Physical Apparatus," by Sylvanus P. Thompson; "On Zeeman's Discovery of the Effects of Magnetism on Spectral Lines," by Oliver Lodge; "On the Use of Constant Total Current Shunt with Ballistic Galvanometers," "The Sensibility of Galvanometers," "Short versus Long Period Galvanometers for very Sensitive Zero Tests," by W. E. Ayrton and J. Mather; "On a Research in Thermo-electricity by means of a Platinum Resistance Pyrometer," by H. M. Tory; “On a Simple Modification of the Board of Trade Form of the Standard Clark Cell," by H. L. Callendar and H. T. Barnes; "On the Cyclical Variation with Temperature of the E. M. F. of the H. Form of Clark's Cell," by F. S. Spiers, F. Twyman, and W. L. Waters; "On the Disruptive Discharge in Air and Dielectric Liquids," by J. W. Edmondson.

Also the following reports of committees were received and discussed. "On Seismological Observations," "On the Present State of our Knowledge in Electrolysis and Electric Chemistry," "On the Application of Photography to the Elucidation of Meteorological Phenomena," "On Tables of Certain Mathematical Functions," "On Observations at the Ben Nevis Observatory," and "On Electrical Standards."

B. Chemistry.-The opening address before this section was delivered by Prof. William Ramsay, one of the discoverers of the element argon and Professor of Chemistry in University College, London.

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The subject of his address was "An Undiscovered Gas." He said: "I shall describe to later its curious properties, but it would be unfair to put you at once in possession of the knowledge of its most remarkable property-it has not yet been discovered. As it is still unborn, it has not been named. The naming of a new element is no easy matter. For there are only 26 letters in our alphabet, and there are already over 70 elements. To select a name expressible by a symbol which has not already been claimed for one of the known elements is difficult, and the difficulty is enhanced when it is at the same time required to select a name which shall be descriptive of the properties (or want of properties) of the element." After describing how as long ago as 1817 Dobereiner showed that certain elements could be arranged in groups of 3, and also how later Mendeleeff showed similarly that the elements grouped themselves in certain well-arranged classes, Prof. Ramsay went on to say that subsequent to the discovery of argon and helium he was led to suspect the presence of another element. He pointed out several conditions in his experimental work on argon and helium that could be only explained by the presence of another element. "There should, therefore, be an undiscovered element between helium and argon, with an atomic weight 16 units higher than that of helium and 20 units lower than that of argon-namely, 20. And if this unknown element, like helium and argon, should prove to consist of monatomic molecules, then its density should be half its atomic weight, 10. And pushing the analogy still further, it is to be expected that this element should be as indifferent to union with other elements as the two allied elements."

Among the more important papers read before this section were the following: "Reform in the Teaching of Chemistry," by W. W. Andrews; "On Helium" and "Demonstration of the Spectra of

Helium, and Argon," by William Ramsay; “Contributions to the Chemistry of the Rare Earth Metals" and "The Atomic Weight of Thorium," by B. Braunner; "The Atomic Weights of Cobalt and Nickel," by T. W. Richards: "The Occurrence of Hydrogen in Minerals," by M. Travers: "Spectroscopic Examination of Minerals and Metals," by W. N. Hartley and H. Ramage; "Demonstration of the Preparation and Properties of Fluorine," by M. Meslans; "The Properties of Liquid Fluorine," by M. Moissan and J. Dewar; "The Permeability of Elements of Low Atomic Weight to the Röntgen Rays" and "Notes on Concentrated Solutions of Lithium and Other Salts," by J. Waddell; "Continuation of Experiments on Chemical Constitution and the Absorption of X-Rays,” by J. H. Gladstone and W. Hibbert; "On the Action exerted by Certain Metals on a Photographic Plate," by W. J. Russell: "Photographs of Explosion Flames," by Harold B. Dixon; "Titanic Oxide" and "Deliquescence and Efflorescence of Certain Salts," by F. P. Dunnington; "The Formation of Crystals," by W. L. T. Addison; "A Compound of Ozone and Mercury." by E. C. C. Baly; "The Interaction of Hydrobromic and Bromic Acids," by J. W. Walker; "The Composition of Canadian Virgin Soils," by F. T. Shutt; Analysis of Some Pre-Carboniferous Coals," by W. H. Ellis; "The Constitution of Aliphatic Ketones,” by Paul C. Freer; The Chemistry of Methylene,” by John U. Nef; "Formation of a Benzene Ring by Reduction," by A. Lehmann; "Condensation Products of Aldehydes and Amides," by C. A. Kohn; "A New Form of Bunsen Burner," by Hugh Marshall; "Molecular Movement in Metals," by W. C. Roberts-Austen; "The Causes of Loss incurred in roasting Gold Ores containing Tellurium," by T. K. Rose; "The Behavior of Lead and of Some Lead Compounds toward Sulphur Dioxide," by H. C. Jenkins: "The Vapor Tensions of Liquid Mixtures,' by W. L. Miller and T. R. Rosebrough; The Electrolytic Determination of Copper and Iron in Oysters," by C. A. Kohn; "The Nitro-alcohols," by A. Henri; The Plaster-of-Paris Method in Blowpipe Analysis," by W. W. Andrews; "Some Experiments with Chlorine," by R. Ransford.

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Also the following reports of committees were received and discussed: "On the Teaching of Science in Elementary Schools," "On preparing a New Series of Wave-Length Tables of the Spectra of the Elements," "On the Proximate Chemical Constituents of the Various Kinds of Coal," "On the Isometric Naphthalene Derivatives," "On the Action of Light on Dyed Colors," "On the Electrolytic Methods of Quantitative Analysis," "Isometric Naphthalene Derivatives," "The Direct Formation of Haloids from Pure Materials," "The Bibliography of Spectroscopy," "The Carbohydrates of Barley Straw."

C. Geology.-Dr. George M. Dawson, who is director of the Geological Survey of Canada, presided over this section. His address was on the "PreCambrian Rocks of History." He said: “The nature and relations of the more ancient rocks of North America are problems particularly Canadian, for these rocks in their typical and most easily read development either constitute or border upon the continental protaxis of the north. The questions involved are, however, at the same time perhaps more intimately connected with a certain class of world-wide geological phenomena than any of those relating to later formations, in which a greater degree of differentiation occurred as time advanced. A reasonably satisfactory classification of the crystalline rocks beneath those designated as Palæozoic was first worked out in the Canadian region by Logan and his colleagues—a classification of which the validity was soon after generally recognized.

The greatest known connected area of such rocks is embraced within the borders of Canada, and, if I mistake not, the further understanding of the origin and character of these rocks is likely to depend very largely upon work now in progress or remaining to be accomplished." In order to bring out what may be regarded as established respecting these older rocks, and in what direction the most hopeful outlook exists, Dr. Dawson adopted the historical method of treatment, and recapitulated briefly the first steps made in the classification of the crystalline schists in Canada, reviewing the work and reports of Logan and his colleagues in the Ottawa valley and the north shores of Lake Superior and Lake Huron. He also described with care the modern and chemical methods of research that have been applied to the ancient crystalline schists of Canada, and which have resulted in establishing the fact that a greater part of the Huronian is essentially composed of contemporaneous volcanic material, effusive or fragmental. He discussed the use of the name Archæan, and contended that its application was "to include all rocks below the hiatus of which evidence was first found in the Lake Superior region." Of the Laurentian he said that. "It is still appropriately made to include both the Fundamental Gneiss and the Grenville series." He referred to the uncertainty of the beginning of the Palæozoic rocks, contending that "the base of the Cambrian was a question almost entirely palæontological." In conclusion, he said: "If all the sedimentary rocks below the Olenellus zone are to pass under one name, let us cling to the venerable name Greywacke. It can do no mischief, while it describes things indefinite, simply because it is without meaning."

Among the more important papers read before this section were the following: "Some Typical Sections in Southwestern Nova Scotia," by L. W. Bailey; "Problems in Quebec Geology," by R. W. Ells: The Stratigraphic Succession in Jamaica," by Robert T. Hill; "Preliminary Notice of Some Experiments on the Flow of Rocks," by F. D. Adams and J. T. Nicholson; "The Former Extension of the Appalachians across Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas," by John C. Branner; "A Group of Hypotheses bearing on Climatic Changes" and "Distribution and Succession of the Pleistocene Ice Sheets of the Northern United States," by Thomas C. Chamberlain: "The Glacial Deposits of the Alps," by A. Penek: "On the Asar of Finland," by Prince Krapotkin; "The Chalky Bowlder Clay and the Glacial Phenomena of the Western Midland Counties of England,” by H. B. Woodward; “Glacial and Interglacial Deposits at Toronto," by A. P. Coleman; "On the Continental Elevation of the Glacial Epoch," by John W. Spencer; "The Champlain Submergence and Uplift and their Relations to the Great Lakes and Niagara Falls," by F. B. Taylor; “Remarks introductory to the Excursion to Niagara Falls and Gorge," by Grove K. Gilbert; Drift Phenomena of Puget Sound and their Interpretation," by Bailey Willis; "The Southern Lobe of the Laurentian Ice Sheet," by Charles H. Hitchcock; "On the Origin of Drumlins," by Nathaniel S. Shaler: "The Preglacial Decay of Rocks in Eastern Canada,” by R. Chalmers; "Note on Certain Pre-Cambrian and Cambrian Fossils supposed to be related to Eozoön," by William Dawson; Note on a Dendrodont Fish Tooth from Silurian Rocks of Nova Scotia," by J. F. Whiteaves; "On Some New or hitherto Little-known Paleozoic Formations in Northeastern America," by H. M. Ami; "Palæozoic Geography of the Eastern States," by Edward W. Claypole; "Some Characteristic Genera of the Cambrian," by G. F. Matthew: "Influence d'un eboulement sur le régime d'une rivière,” by J. C. K. La

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flamme; "On the Relations and Structure of Certain Granites and Associated Arkoses on Lake Temiscaming, Canada," by A. E. Barlow and W. F. Ferrier; "On Some Nickeliferous Magnetites," by W. G. Miller; “Differentiation in Igneous Magmas as a Result of Progressive Crystallization," by J. J. H. Teall: "The Glaciation of North Central Canada, by J. B. Tyrrell; "The Geological Horizon of Some Nova Scotia Minerals," by E. Gilpin, Jr.; "On the Possible Identity of Bennettites, Williamsonia, and Zamites Gigas," by A. C. Seward; "Glacial Geology of Western New York," by H. LeRoy Fairchild; Earth Strains and Structure," by O. H. Howarth; "On the Structure and Origin of Certain Rocks of the Laurentian System," by F. D. Adams.

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Also the following reports of committees were received and discussed: "On Life Zones in the British Carboniferous Rocks," "For the Investigation of a Coral Reef," "On the Fossil Phyllopoda of the Paleozoic Rocks," "On the Secondary Fossils of Moreseat, Aberdeenshire," "On the Coast Erosion of the East Kent and Dover Natural History Societies," "On the Fauna of Caves near Singapore," "On Seismological Investigation," "On collecting Photographs of Geological Interest."

On Aug. 25 a joint session was held with Section H, when a discussion was held on "The First Traces of Man in America."

D. Zoology. This section was presided over by Prof. C. Miall, who fills the chair of Biology in the Yorkshire College, Leeds. Prof. Miall spoke on "The Transformation of Animals." At the outset he referred to the importance of the study of zoölogy as tending to enlarge our sense of the possibilities of life. Prof. Miall then took up the question of animal transformation and the reasons therefore, discussing at considerable length the history of the life of the eel, which for many years was involved in obscurity. His conclusions were that "the general rule which connects the presence or absence of transformation with habitat is well founded, but that it is apt to be modified, and even reversed by highly special circumstances. The effects of habitat may, for instance, be overruled by parasitism, parental care, a high degree of organization, or even by a particular trick in egg laying. The direct action of the medium is probably of little consequence. Thus the difference between fresh and salt water is chiefly important because it prevents most species from passing suddenly from one to the other. But the abyssal and the fluviatile faunas have much in common, and also have the littoral and the pelagic faunas. Relative density and continuity of population seem to be of vital importance, and it is chiefly these that act upon the life history." The balance of the address was devoted to a discussion of alternation of generations and kindred subjects, largely of a technical character. In conclusion he said: "This hasty review of animal transformation reminds me how great is the part of adaptation in Nature. To many naturalists the study of adaptation is the popular and superficial side of things; that which they take to be truly scientific is some kind of index making. But we should recognize that comparatively modern adaptations may be of vital importance to the species, and particularly luminous to the student, because at times they show us Nature at work."

Among the more important papers read before this section were the following: "The Naples Marine Station and its Work," by Anton Dohrn; " On a Proposed Lacustrine Biological Station," by R. Ramsay Wright; "The Origin of Vertebrata," by Charles S. Minot; "On a Restoration and Phenacodus Primavus," "On Skeletons and Restorations of Tertiary Mammalia," and "The Origin of Mammalia,” by Henry F. Osborn; "Oysters and the

Oyster Question," by W. A. Herdman; "The Blind Fishes of America," by Carl H. Eigenmann; "Description of Specimens of Sea Trout, Capelin, and Sturgeon from Hudson Bay" and "The Esocida of Canada, with Description of a New Species of Pike found in Ontario," by E. E. Prince; "Recent Additions to the Fish Fauna of New Brunswick," by Philip Cox; "Theories of Mimicry as illustrated by African Butterflies" and "Mimicry as Evidence of the Truth of Natural Selection," by E. B. Poulton; "On the Surface Plankton of the North Atlantic," by W. Garstang; "Remarks on Branchipus stagnalis," by A. Halkett; "Economic Entomology in America," by Leland O. Howard; "On New Sepiade from the Lower Cretaceous of the South Saskatchewan," by J. F. Whiteaves; "On the Statistics of Bees," by F. Y. Edgeworth; "The Appearance of the Army Worm in Ontario during the Summer of 1896," by J. Hoyes Panton; "On a Supposed New Insect Structure," by Louis C. Miall; "On Recapitulation in Development, as illustrated by the Life History of the Masked Crab (Corystes)," by M. W. Garstang; "On Musculo-glandular Cells in Annelids," by Gustave Gilson; "On the Plankton collected continuously during a Traverse of the Atlantic," by W. A. Herdman; "The Determinants for the Major Classification of Fishlike Vertebrates and "On the Derivation of the Pectoral Member in Terrestrial Vertebrates," by Theodore Gill; "The Morphological Significance of the Comparative Study of Cardiac Nerves," by W. H. Gaskell; "Observations upon the Morphology of the Cerebral Commissures in the Vertebrata," by G. Elliot Smith; "Some Points in the Symmetry of Actinians," by J. P. McMurrich; "The Natural History of Instinct," by C. Lloyd Morgan; "On the Hæmatozoön Infections of Birds," by W. G. McCallum; "The Post-embryonic Development of Aspidogaster Conchicola," by J. Stafford; "On a particularly Large Set of Antlers of the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus), with Photographic Illustrations" and "On the Evolution of the Domestic Races of Cattle with Particular Reference to the History of the Durham Shorthorn," by G. P. Hughes.

Also the following reports of committees were received and discussed: "The Naples Zoological Station," "Marine Biological Laboratory, Plymouth," "Zoological Bibliography and Publication," "Index Generum et Specierum Animalium," "Zoölogy and Botany of the West Indian Islands," "Migration of Birds" "The African Lake Fauna," The Zoology of the Sandwich Islands," and "The Biology of Oceanic Islands."

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E. Geography. This section was presided over by Dr. J. Scott Keltie, well known as the editor of the "Statesman's Yearbook," and as the secretary of the Royal Geographical Society. The subject of Dr. Keltie's address was on "Exploration and Geographical Research." He referred to the progress, made in geography during the past sixty years, and said: "The great continent of Africa has practically been discovered, for sixty years ago almost all but its rim was a blank. In 1837 enormous areas in North America were unexplored, and much of the interior of South America was unknown. In all parts of Asia vast additions have been made to our knowledge; the maps of the interior of that continent were sixty years ago of the most diagrammatic character. The Australian interior was nearly as great a blank as that of Africa; New Zealand had not even been annexed. Need I remind you of the great progress which has been made during the period both in the north and south polar areas, culminating in the magnificent achievements of Dr. Nansen? It was just sixty years ago that the great antartic expedition under Sir James Ross was being organized; since that, alas, little or nothing has been

done to follow up his work. Sixty years ago the science of oceanography, even the term, did not exist; it is the creation of the Victorian era, and may be said almost to have had its origin in the voyage of the "Challenger," which added a new domain to our science and opened up inexhaustible fields of research." Mr. Keltie then discussed the functions and field of geography, and indicated ways in which geographical research might be profitably carried on in Great Britain and on the European Continent. He also referred to what remained to be done in the way of explaining the unknown or little-known regions of the globe. Of Asia, he said, the most important desiderata so far as pioneer exploration is concerned, is southern and central Arabia and Tibet. The forbidden city of Lhasa was referred to as the goal of several adventurers. In Africa he called attention to the fact that to the south of Abyssinia and to the northwest of Lake Rudolf, on the upper Nile, is a region of considerable extent which is still practically unknown. After speaking of the excellent work done by the geological surveys of Canada and the United States, he referred to the fact that there "is ample scope for the study of many problems in physical geography-past and present glaciations and the work of glaciers, the origin and régime of lake basins, the erosion of river beds, the oscillation of coast lines." The unexplored regions of Central South America were mentioned, and of South America he said, "There is a wider and richer field for exploration than in any other continent." The conditions in Australia were referred to, and the present status of polar and antarctic exploration fully described. His closing paragraph consisted of a brief summary of the works done in recent years in the new science of oceanography.

Among the more important papers read before this section were the following: "Kafiristan and the Kafirs," by G. S. Robertson; "Novaia Zemlia and its Physical Geography," by E. Delmar Morgan; "Temperature Observations off Spitzbergen,” by B. Leigh_Smith; "Scientific Geography for Schools," by R. E. Dodge; "Forestry in India," by F. Bailey; "The Classification of Geography," by H. R. Mill; "The Distribution of Detritus by the Sea," by Vaughn Cornish; "On Certain Submarine Changes," by John Milne; "The Congo and the Cape of Good Hope, 1842 to 1888," by Ernest G. Ravenstein; "Institutions engaged in Geographical Work in the United States," by Marcus Baker; "The Hydrography of the United States," by Frank H. Newell; "The Geographical Work of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey," by Thomas C. Mendenhall; "The Coastal Plain of Maine," by W. Morris Davis; "The Unification of Time at Sea," by C. E. Lumsden; "The Barren Lands of Canada,” by J. B. Tyrrell; "The Daily Weather Survey of the United States," by Willis L. Moore; "The Geographical Work of the United States Geological Survey," by Charles D. Walcott; "The Topographical Work of the Canadian Geological Survey," by J. White: "The Economic Geography of Rhodesia, by F. C. Selous; " A Journey in Tripoli," by J. T. Myres; "On the Direction of Lines of Structure in Eurasia," by Prince Krapotkin: "Potamology as a Branch of Geography," by A. Penck: "Geographical Development of the Lower Mississippi," by E. L. Corthell; Southeastern Alaska: Geography and the Camera," by Otto J. Klotz; "The First Ascent of Mount Lefroy and Mount Aberdeen," by Harold B. Dixon; Mexico Felix and Mexico Deserta." by O. II. Howarth; "The Material Conditions and Growth of the United States," by Henry Gannett; "Geographical Pictures," by H. R. Mill; “Geographical Wall Pictures," by A. Penck; and "Geography as a University Subject," by W. M. Davis.

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Also the following reports of committees were read and discussed upon this section: On the Climate of Tropical Africa" and On Geographical

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F. Economics and Statistics.-Prof. Edward C. K. Gonner, who is Professor of Political Economy in University College, Liverpool, had been chosen as president of this section; illness, however, prevented him from being present, but he prepared an address on "The Labor Question," which was read by Sir C. W. Fremantle, late deputy master of the mint and a vice-president of the section. In opening, he spoke of the confusion that had arisen in regard to the meaning of the word "labor," which at least in this address would be restricted to "manual labor." He touched upon the change in the method of employment common to all countries, owing to the growth of the system of great industry and the consequent demarcation of those engaged into the classes of employers and employed. After speaking of the purely economic influences which have added prominence to this important separation into the two classes of employers and employed, a very small class of employers and a very large class of employed, the address dwelt upon the other influences which have contributed to this result. Among these was the effect of the franchise, concerning which he said: "It is impossible to underrate its effect as subsidiary in the cause of a change already accomplished and capable of attracting more interest with each fresh access of attention bestowed upon it." To characterize an age is never easy, but at present there are some features so marked and so capable of identification "that one pauses to ask in amazement if the age of the Renaissance had not dawned upon us again in an altered guise." In response to our needs and our circumstances we are seeking a positive moral guidance in an enlarged conception of social duty and solidarity, and the position which employed labor occupies with regard to them is sufficient to insure it attention, and not attention only, but sympathetic attention. In England the imagination of the people has been struck and its feelings stirred with regard to this particular problem, which stands out before other matters sharply marked and conspicuous. Of trade organization he said: "Dependence on wages finds a corrective in the growth of benefit societies and the insurance clauses of trade associations; separation from management and capital has in some instances been stayed by schemes for co-operation and profit sharing, while the greatest defect of all, the weakness of employed labor in competition with the allied and resourceful forces of capital and management, has led to the marvelous organization of trade unions and kindred associations." In closing, he advocated an advance in economic study and the increase in knowledge of the conditions of labor. One of his illustrations in this connection was the following: "Incorrect theories as to taxation led to the separation between England and those colonies which now form the United States of America; unsound economic and social theories lit throughout Europe the cleansing if devouring fires of the French revolution; unsound economic theories threatened to sap the vigor of England in the third and fourth decades of the present century, and, to take a specific instance, embodied themselves in the opposition to factory reform."

Among the more important papers read before this section were the following: "The History and Policy of Trade Combination in Canada," by W. H. Moore; Recent Aspects of Profit Sharing," by N. P. Gilman; "A Consideration of a European Monopoly as a Contribution to the Theory of State Industries," by S. M. Wickett; "Statistics of Deaf

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mutism in Canada," by G. Johnson; "Some Fallacies in the Theory of the Distribution of Wealth," by Arthur T. Hadley; Canada and the Silver Question," by J. Davidson; "The Origin of the Dollar," by W. G. Sumner; "Silver and Copper in China," by J. Edkins; "Characteristics of Canadian Economic History," by A. Shortt; " Economic History of Canada," by J. Castell Hopkins; "National Policy and International Trade," by Edwin Cannan; Public Finance, with Special Reference to Canada," by J. L. McDougall; "Crown Revenues in Canada, 1763-1847," by J. A. McLean; "The Evolution of the Metropolis and Problems of Municipal Government," by William H. Hale; "Local Difference in Discount Rates in the United States," by R. M. Breckenridge; "The Conception of Justice in Taxation," by C. C. Plehn; The Economic Geography of Rhodesia," by F. C. Selous; "Economic Aspects of the Workman's Compensation Bill," by R. Macdonald; "The Relation of the Employment of Women and Children to that of Men," by Carroll D. Wright; "Recent Reaction from Economic Freedom in the United States," by R. R. Bowker; "The Theory of Economic Choices," by Franklin H. Giddings; "Some Economic Notes on Gold Mining in Canada,” by Prof. Mavor; and "Theory of Railway Rates," by W. M. Acworth. G. Mechanical Science.-The presiding officer of this section was George F. Deacon, a well-known civil engineer, who from 1877 to 1897 had charge of the task of supplying the city of Liverpool with a new water supply. His address treated largely of the methods that are and should be adopted in training men to be mechanical engineers. He said: "I shall make no attempt to review the large number of excellent courses which are now available for the teaching of applied science in relation to engineering. Experience of the results as judged by the students who have come directly under my notice, and examination of many calendars, has aroused various thoughts concerning them, and this thought is perhaps uppermost: Are we not in some cases attempting at too early a stage the teaching of subjects instead of principles? Complete subjects, I mean, including the practical working of details, which will become the regular study of the student in office or works of an engineer. It certainly seems to me to be so. I do not say that subject training of this kind at college may not be useful; but we have to consider whether it does not for the sake of some little anticipation of his office work divert the attention of the student from the better mastery of those principles which it is so essential for him to grasp at the earliest possible time, and which do not limit his choice in the battle of life to any branch whatever of the profession or business of an engineer, but which, on the contrary, qualify him better to pursue with success whatever branches his inclination or his opportunities or his means may suggest. There is some danger in the usual limitation of compulsory subjects in examinations for certificates and degrees. When an examination has to be passed subjects not made compulsory are too often entirely neglected, however important to the engineer they may be. At present it too often happens that, unless an engineering student is predestined to practice electrical work of some chemical industry, he begins life as an engineer with no knowledge of the principles of either the one or the other, and chiefly as a result of their neglect for the sake of certain subjects made compulsory for the test he has had to pass, which subjects are not always the more important and too often include perfected details which, I venture to think, can not be rightly mastered in schools. For these reasons it appears to me that a certain very moderate standard in all such sub

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jects should be made compulsory if a certificate of proficiency, whether by degree or otherwise, is to be given in engineering or even in physical science." Among the more important papers read before this section were the following: The Soulanges Canal, a Typical Link of the 14-Foot Inland Navigation of Canada between Lake Erie and Montreal,' by T. Munro; "The Hydraulic Laboratory of McGill University" and "The Strength of Columns," by G. Lanza; " Experiments on the Strength of White Pine, Red Pine, Hemlock, and Spruce," by H. T. Bovey; "A New Apparatus for studying the Rate of Condensation of Steam on a Metal Surface at different Temperatures and Pressures," by H. L. Callendar and H. A. Nicolson; "Tests on the Triple-Expansion Engine at Massachusetts Institute of Technology," by Prof. Peabody; Montreal Electric Tramway System," by G. C. Cunningham; 'Present Tendencies of Electric Tramway Systems in England," by J. G. W. Aldridge; A New Method of Measuring Hysteresis in Iron," by J. L. W. Gill; "A New Method of investigating the Variation of the Magnetic Qualities of Iron with Temperature," by F. H. Pitcher; "Some Tests on the Variation of the Constants of Electricity Supply Meters with Temperature and with Current,' by G. W. D. Ricks; Roller Bearings," by W. B. Marshall; "Analysis of Speed Trials of Ships," by W. G. Walker; "A Modern Power Gas Plant working a Textile Factory," by H. Allen; "Effect of Temperature in varying the Resistance to Impact, the Hardness, and the Tensile Strength of Metals,' by A. Macphail.

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Also the following reports were read and discussed before the section: "On Calibration of Instruments in Engineering Laboratories” and “On Small Screw Gauges."

H. Anthropology.-Sir William Turner, who is Professor of Anatomy in the University of Edinburgh, presided over this section. The subject of his address was "Some Distinctive Characters of Human Structure." The distinctive characteristics of man, such as his erect carriage, the peculiarities of his spinal column, and his specialized extremities, were discussed at length and contrasted with similar features in other animals, and especially the apes. The cranial cavity in man was shown to be larger than in any other vertebrate except in the elephant and in the large whales, in which the huge mass of the body demands the great sensorymotor centers in the brain to be large. His closing remarks were: "We know that an animal is guided by its instincts, through which it provides for its individual wants and fulfills its place in Nature. In man, on the other hand, the instinctive acts are under the influence of the reason and intelligence, and it is possible that the association centers, with the intermediate association fibers which connect them with the sensory and motor centers, may be the mechanism through which man is enabled to control his animal instincts, so far as they are dependent on motion and sensation. The higher we ascend in the scale of humanity, the more perfect does this control become, and the more do the instincts, emotions, passions, and appetites become subordinated to the self-conscious principle which regulates our judgments and beliefs. It will therefore now be a matter for scientific inquiry to determine, as far as the anatomical conditions will permit, the proportion which the association centers bear to the other centers both in mammals and in man, the period of development of the association fibers in comparison with that of the motor and sensory fibers in different animals, and, if possible, to obtain a comparison in these respects between the brains of savages and those of men of a high order of intelligence. The capability of erect

ing the trunk, the power of extending and fixing the hip and knee joints when standing, the stability of the foot, the range and variety of movement of the joints of the upper limb, the balancing of the head on the summit of the spine, the mass and weight of the brain and the perfection of its internal mechanism are distinctively human characters. They are the factors concerned in adapting the body of man, under the guidance of reason, intelligence, the sense of responsibility, and power of self-control, for the discharge of varied and important duties in relation to himself, his Maker, his fellows, the animal world, and the earth on which he lives."

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Among the papers read before this section were: "The Scalp Lock: A Study of Omaha Ritual and "The Import of the Totem among the Omaha," by Alice C. Fletcher; "Sqaktktquacht, or_the Benign-Faced, Oannes of the Ntlakapamuq, British Columbia," by C. Hill-Tout; The Blackfoot Legend of Scar Face" and Blackfoot Sun Offerings," by R. N. Wilson; "Star Lore of the Micmacs of Nova Scotia," by Stansbury Hagar; "The Lake Village of Glastonbury and its Place among the Lake Dwellings of Europe," by R. Munro; "Some Old-World Harvest Customs." by F. T. Elworthy; "A Demonstration of the Utility of the Spinal Curves in Man," by Anderson Stuart'; The Causes of Brachycephaly and "Notes on the Brains of Some Australian Natives," by A. Macalister; "On Some Cases of Trepanning in Early American Skulls," by W J McGee; A Case of Trepanning in N. W. Mexico," by Carl Lumholtz and A. Hrdlicka; "An Experimental Analysis of Certain Correlations of Mental and Physical Reactions," by Lightner Witmer; "The Growth of Toronto School Children," by Franz Boas; "The Physical Characteristics of European Colonists born in New Zealand," by H. O. Forbes; "The Seri Indians of the Gulf of California," by W J McGee; "Notes Historical and Philological on the Indians of British Columbia," by C. Hill-Tout; "The Kootenays of British Columbia and their Salishan Neighbors" and "Kootenay Indian Drawings," by A. F. Chamberlain; "A Rock Inscription on Great Central Lake, Vancouver Islands," by J. W. MacKay; "Blackfoot Womanhood," by J. Maclean; "On the Hut Burial of the American Aborigines," by E. Sidney Hartland; "The Origin of the French Canadians," by B. Sulte; "The Evolution of the Cart and Irish Car," by A. C. Haddon; "The Jesup Expedition to the North Pacific," by Frederick W. Putnam; Why Progress is in Leaps," by George Iles; "The Kafirs of Kafiristan," by George Robertson; "The Mangyans and Tagbanus of the Philippine Islands," by Dean C. Worcester; "Exhibition of Lance-Headed Implements of Glass from Northwest Australia," by Sir William Turner; "The Genesis of Implement Making," by Frank H. Cushing; " Adze Making in the Andaman Islands,” by A. C. Haddon.

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On Aug. 24 there was a discussion before this section on the Evidences of American Asiatic Contact," and on Aug. 25 a joint session was held with Section C (geology) on The First Traces of Man in the New World," at which the following papers were read: "The Trenton Gravels," by Frederick W. Putnam, and "Human Relics in the Drift of Ohio," by Edward W. Claypole.

The following reports were read and discussed: "On the North Dravidian and Kolarian Races of Central India," "On the Silchester Excavations." "On the Mental and Physical Deviations in Children from the Normal," "On Anthropometric Measurements in Schools," "On the Northwest Tribes of Canada." "On the Ethnographic Survey of Canada," "On the Ethnographic Survey of the

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