THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. 307 



tory, the meetings being large and fruitful. Thus the attendance at 

 Boston in 1880 was 997; at Montreal in 1882 it was 937, and at Phila- 

 delphia in 1884 it was 1,261. But with the organization and growth 

 of the special societies and journals referred to above, the Association 

 did not maintain its commanding position. The American Society of 

 Naturalists, with a more compact membership, chose midwinter as its 

 time of meeting, and other societies became affiliated with it. The spe- 

 cial societies, consisting of groups of experts, appealed to the loyalty of 

 their members more directly than did the larger and more amorphous 

 Association. There was even lack of sympathy between these societies 

 and the Association. The attendance at the meetings became smaller, 

 and the total membership decreased. The more eminent men of science 

 and the younger workers were not regularly in attendance at the meet- 

 ings and were perhaps not even members of the Association. The pro- 

 grams of the sections became heterogeneous and sometimes did not 

 reach a very high standard. The amateur and picnic elements were 

 rather prominent, while at the same time they were mediocre. Many 

 men of science regarded the Association as a survival that had outlived 

 its usefulness. 



But to-day no one acquainted with the most recent work of the 

 Association will deny that it has entered on a new period of its history. 

 This began with a change of attitude toward the special societies, 

 replacing rivalry with cooperation. There was much opposition to the 

 plan of letting the American Chemical Society meet in affiliation with 

 the Association, but when this was accomplished chemistry at once 

 became its strongest section. So it has been in other cases, where spe- 

 cial societies have met in affiliation with the Association. At 

 the recent New York meeting there were sixteen such societies 

 including practically all national societies that hold summer meet- 

 ings. Other improvements in the organization of the Association 

 have been effected. The council has been strengthened and made a 

 truly legislative and executive body. The permanent funds have been 

 increased, and appropriations for research have been granted to com- 

 mittees. Care has been exercised in the election of fellows, and in 

 the admission of titles to the programs. 'Science' is sent free of 

 charge to all members, thus increasing and consolidating interest in 

 the Association and in the advancement of science, giving even those 

 unable to attend the annual meetings an adequate return for member- 

 ship, and tending to unite all men of science and those interested in 

 science in the Association and in the ends that it represents. The 

 last three meetings, held at Boston, Columbus and New York, were all 

 excellent, representing different types adjusted to the occasion and 

 place. The meeting at Denver this year will be equally typical and 

 equally successful. The membership of the Association is now larger 



