566 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



THE PKOGEESS OF SCIENCE. 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR 

 THE ADVANCEMENT OF 

 SCIENCE. 

 For the first time in many years 

 there has been this summer no meet- 

 ing of the American Association. It 

 will be remembered that the Associa- 

 tion held a winter meeting at Wash- 

 ington during convocation week and 

 adjourned to meet at St. Louis a 

 year later. The lack of a summer 

 meeting is in some ways to be re- 

 gretted. For the presentation of sci- 

 entific work by specialists to special- 

 ists, the most business-like meetings 

 can be held in the winter; but for 

 social intercourse and especially for 

 the bringing of those not specially 

 engaged in scientific work in contact 

 with men of science, a summer meet- 

 ing with a certain amount of open-air 

 leisure seems to be desirable. Many 

 of our societies continue to meet in 

 the summer, and it seems that the 

 American Association should provide 

 a center. For example, this year the 

 American Mathematical Society met 

 in Boston, the American Chemical So- 

 ciety in Cleveland, the Society for the 

 Promotion of Engineering Education 

 at Niagara Falls, etc. For a general 

 meeting of scientific men, we must, 

 however, turn this summer to the con- 

 gresses in France, Germany, Great 

 Britain and other foreign countries. 

 The British Association met at 

 Southport, beginning on September 9, 

 under the presidency of Sir Norman 

 Lockyer, known for his contributions 

 to astronomy and as editor of Nature. 

 In the latter capacity, he has been 

 much interested in the endowment of 

 research work, which he treated in the 

 presidential address from which we 

 quote below. In addition to this ad- 



dress evening lectures Avere given 

 by Dr. Robert Monroe on man as 

 artist and sportsman in the paleo- 

 lithic period; by Dr. Arthur Roe on 

 the Old Chalk Sea and some of its 

 teachings, and by Dr. J. S. Flett on 

 the volcanic eruptions in the West 

 Indies. Then there were the usual 

 addresses before the sections — Profess- 

 or W. Noel Hartley, before the sec- 

 tion of chemistry, reviewed the work 

 of spectroscopy of the last twenty- 

 five years and discussed especially its 

 relation to the investigation of the 

 composition of matter and of chemical 

 theory; Professor W. W. Watts, be- 

 fore the section of geology, laid spe- 

 cial stress on the value of geology as 

 an educational subject; Professor 

 Sydney J. Hickson, before the section 

 of zoology, reviewed the question of 

 the influence of environment in the 

 production of variation in animals 

 with special reference to the coelen- 

 terata; Captain E. W. Creak, before 

 the section of geography, spoke of the 

 connection between geography and ter- 

 restrial magnetism, explaining what 

 has latterly been done in the direction 

 of magnetic surveys and what is still 

 needed; the subject of the address of 

 Mr. E. W. Bradbrook before the section 

 of economics was 'Thrift'; Professor 

 J. Symington in addressing the an- 

 thropological section discussed the 

 significance of variations in cranial 

 forms with special reference to fossil 

 man; Mr. A. C. Seward, before the 

 section of botany, reviewed the geo- 

 graphical distribution of fossil plants. 

 The programs of the sections con- 

 tain the usual number of interesting 

 papers. The International Meteor- 

 ological Committee met at Southport 

 in conjunction with the association; 



