842 



POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



TgdiiUx^s "gxmt. 



MEETING OF THE AMERICAN 

 ASSOCIATION AT DETROIT. 



THE American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science had a 

 very pleasant meeting at Detroit. 

 Socially it was all that could be de- 

 sired, and was perhaps in this re- 

 spect among the best in the history 

 of the body. The people of Detroit, 

 who call their town "the Conven- 

 tion City," and are proud of the 

 hospitality they show to the assem- 

 blies that visit them, strove to out- 

 do themselves in entertaining their 

 guests, and, what with the lunches 

 they served and the receptions and 

 excursions they gave, made the oc- 

 casion a brilliant one. The high- 

 school building, in which the asso- 

 ciation met, was one of the best it 

 has occupied, for it amply accom- 

 modated all the meetings and fur- 

 nished room for doing ail the work 

 under one roof. 



The association suffered from the 

 absence of its designated president. 

 Prof. Wolcott Gibbs, who was kept 

 at home by illness. His presence 

 would have lent it much dignity, 

 and would have recalled its older 

 and best days. His place was taken 

 by Vice-President McGee, who dis- 

 charged the executive and adminis- 

 trative duties of the office satisfac- 

 torily. A happy feature in the 

 opening meeting was the felicitous 

 address of General Palmer, who, al- 

 though not a man of science, evi- 

 dently appreciated its value, and 

 knew well how to fit his remarks to 

 the occasion. The memorial address 

 on Prof. Cope, by Prof. Theodore 

 Gill, was perhaps the feature of the 

 whole meeting which most deserves 

 notice and will be remembered long- 

 est. The president's address and the 



addresses of the chairmen of the sec- 

 tions were well-wrought-out pres- 

 entations of their several subjects, 

 creditable to the speakers and to the 

 association. Of the papers, the ma- 

 jority appear to have been technical. 

 Of the others, some were very good, 

 and some, we are constrained to say, 

 should have no place in the proceed- 

 ings of such a body as the association 

 ought to be. 



The attendance was not large ; the 

 whole number of registered members 

 being only two hundred and ninety- 

 one. 



An important new step was taken 

 in making the nomination of officers 

 by the council and its nominating 

 committee valid without further pro- 

 ceedings. Heretofore the nomina- 

 tions have been subject to approval 

 by the association. The joint meet- 

 ings of affiliated societies with sec- 

 tions of the association, of which 

 there were several, were a feature 

 to be commended. 



The meeting made more promi- 

 nent the fact which has been evident 

 for many years, that our strongest 

 and most experienced men of science 

 are losing their interest in the asso- 

 ciation. They seem to have all the 

 field for work and distinction they 

 want in their own separate organi- 

 zation, which does not reach the 

 people at all ; while this field, in 

 which they could gain quite as 

 much repute, add fully as much to 

 knowledge, and contribute vastly 

 more to its diffusion, they neglect. 

 It is hard to conceive a nobler or 

 more desirable way in which the stu- 

 dent of Nature can contribute to the 

 instruction and elevation of his fel- 

 low-men than by giving his support 

 to this body which courts the sym- 



