THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 



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of which shall be " the improvement American observatories, under the di- 



of social and living conditions in the 

 United States. The means to that end 

 will include research, publication, edu- 

 cation, the establishment and main- 

 tenance of charitable and beneficial ac- 



rection of the Astronomische Gesell- 

 schaft. Second, to bring together so- 

 cially astronomers from all parts of 

 the country, especially the older and 

 younger men. The latter may think 



tivities, agencies and institutions, and the work of the older men out of date, 

 the aid of any such activities, agencies but they may fi nd the experience of 

 and institutions already established." t h e older men and their personal ac- 

 The original trustees are: Robert W. q ua i n tance with the eminent men of 

 De Forest, Cleveland H. Dodge, Daniel stm ear ii er da t e of great assistance. 

 C. Gilman, John M. Glenn, Miss Helen The older men have much to learn re- 

 Gould, Mrs. William B. Rice, Miss gar( ji n g new methods, and the extensive 

 Louisa L. Schuyler and Mrs. Sage. appliances at their command may often 

 This foundation represents a move- be employed to much greater advantage 

 ment that is likely to become dominant if t hey keep themselves personally in 

 in the twentieth century. The future to uch witn . the most recent develop- 

 of the race depends largely upon ments f astronomical research. Third, 

 whether what Dr. Galton has named the presentation of papers. While 

 'eugenics' can be made a science and hitherto this has been the principal 

 applied for our welfare. We trust that f unc ti on of this and other societies it 



the income will not be used mainly to 

 establish or assist charitable institu- 



is not necessarily the most valuable. 

 General discussions are more interest- 



tions, but rather for the purposes first ing and instructive than long technical 



stated above — research, publication and p ape rs. It may, therefore, be wise to 



education. The difficulties are un- I0 n ow the example of some of the engi- 



doubtedly very great, and the first step neer ing societies, and print abstracts of 



must probably be to train those com- p a p er s for distribution some days be- 



petent to deal with the complex condi- fore the mee ting. A brief statement is 



tions. But increased interest in the made by the au thor of each paper, and 



scientific aspects of the problems is full the g rea ter portion of the time is de- 



of promise for the future. voted to discussion. The ideal condi- 

 tions for meetings of the society would 



THE PROBLEMS OF ASTRONOMY seem to be _ a large hotel where all 



At the eighth annual meeting of the would eat and sleep under the same 



Astronomical and Astrophysical So- roof, and where the meetings could be 



ciety of America, held December 27 to held in the same building. 



29, 1906, at Columbia University, New On the afternoon of December 28 a 



York, Professor E. C. Pickering, di- general discussion took place regarding 



rector of the Harvard College Observa- neglected fields of work in astronomy, 



tory, on taking the chair, discussed in which a large number of members 



three lines of work which he believed took part, and the views expressed were 



the society should pursue. According varied and interesting. The president, 



to the report of the editor, Professor in opening the discussion, cited a num- 



Harold Jacoby, these are : First, by ber of examples of fields ot work, which 



cooperation to carry out some great seemed to him important but neglected, 



routine investigation too extensive to For example, in the astronomy of posi- 



be undertaken by a single observatory, tion the formation of a standard cata- 



The best example of this was the ac- logue of stars uniformly distributed, 



curate determination of the positions having similar spectra, and of nearly 



of the northern stars by European and the same magnitude. Many trouble- 



