THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 



381 



Tower Telescope of the Mt Wilson Observatory 



the Desert Laboratory, the Department 

 of Botanical Eesearch has studied the 

 conditions of the Salton Sea, and Dr. 

 MacDougal has continued his remark- 

 able experiments, showing that re- 

 agents ingested into the ovaries of 

 seed-plants produce new characters 

 which are transmissible and stable. 

 The important work in experimental 

 evolution under Dr. Davenport and in 

 marine biology under Dr. Meyer has 

 produced interesting results. The spe- 

 cial new undertaking of the year has 

 been the erection of a laboratory ad- 

 jacent to the Harvard Medical School 

 for the study of nutrition. 



Since its establishment in 1902 the 

 Carnegie Institution has appropriated 

 $1,356,185 for large projects and $784,- 

 678 for minor projects. In 1904 more 

 than twice as much was spent on 

 minor projects as on large projects, 

 whereas in 1907 more than six times 

 as much was spent on departments con- 

 ducted by the institution as for minor 

 grants. The institution is thus coming 

 to be a congeries of scientific depart- 

 ments situated in different parts of 

 the country with administrative head- 

 quarters at Washington. In the ap- 

 propriations astronomy and geophysics 

 have been shown special generosity, as- 

 tronomy having received $524,925 and 



geophysics and terrestrial magnetism 

 $428,500. On the other hand, only 

 $6,500 has been appropriated for psy- 

 chology and $5,900 for mathematics. 



While it is gratifying that the Car- 

 negie Institution is able to carry for- 

 ward on a larger scale work that was 

 being admirably done by Professor 

 Hale at the Yerkes Observatory, Dr. 

 Boss at the Dudley Observatory, Dr. 

 Bauer under the Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey, Dr. Day under the Geolog- 

 ical Survey, Professor Benedict at 

 Wesleyan, Professor Davenport at Chi- 

 cago, Dr. MacDougal at the New York 

 Botanical Garden, etc., it is certainly 

 disappointing that it has so completely 

 failed to become a central force for 

 the organization and the advancement 

 of science, literature and art in this 

 country. If a million dollars had been 

 given to each of our twelve leading 

 universities for the endowment of re- 

 search professorships and fellowships, 

 more would have been accomplished for 

 science and scholarship. It is, how- 

 ever, none the less true that the estab- 

 lishment of the Carnegie Institution 

 has contributed in large measure to 

 the advancement of science, and Mr. 

 Carnegie's addition of two million dol- 

 lars to the original endowment of ten 

 million dollars is very welcome. 



