184 proceedings: Washington academy of sciences 



After the list of new officers was read the newly elected president, 

 Mr. R. S. Woodward took the chair, and the retiring president, Mr. 

 David White gave his address on Sotne relations in origin between coal 

 and ^petroleum. No review of this excellent paper need be given here 

 as it will soon appear in the Journal. 



After this address the Recordiiig Secretary read the minutes of the 

 previous annual meeting and of the various other meetings, all of which 

 was approved. The report of the Corresponding Secretary showed the 

 total membership of the Academy to be 414, a net gain of 46 for the 

 year. It also reminded the Academy that while it had gained largely 

 in numbers it had also suffered severely in the loss by death during the 

 past year, of the following members: Resident, Henry Gannett, 

 Theodore Gill, Bernard R. Green, A. F. A. King, and F. W. True; 

 non-resident, W. L. Dudley, Frederick Forchheimer, John Muir, 

 D. E. Salmon, and Newton H. Winchell. 



The Treasurer's report showed: Total receipts $4,937.69, dis- 

 bursements $3,340.38, cash on hand $1,597.31, investments $12,590. 

 The report of the Auditing Committee confirming that of the Treas- 

 urer, was also received. 



The Board of Editors gave an interesting report in which they showed 

 by a number of diagrams the healthy and parallel growth of the Acad- 

 emy and its Journal. 



The 97th meeting of the Washington Academy of Sciences, a joint 

 meeting with the Biological Society of Washington, was held the eve- 

 ning of January 19, 1915, in the Auditorium of the National Museum. 

 Vice-President Paul Bartsch, President of the Biological Society was 

 in the chair and an audience of about 100 present. 



Dr. Johan Hjort, director of the fisheries of Norway, gave a talk 

 on Migrations and fluctuations of the marine animals of western Europe. 

 The distances and prevailing directions of migration of fish were deter- 

 mined by setting free large numbers that had been properly tagged and 

 noting the times and places of their subsequent capture. This also 

 gave an idea of the ratio, not far from 1 to 10, of the catch of any given 

 year to the total number of fish available. 



It was also explained that fish scales have rings indicative of annual 

 growth from which one can safely infer not only the age of any given 

 specimen but also, by the distance between the rings, the amount of 

 growth during any particular year of its life. By these means it was 

 learned, among other things, that fish, whatever their individual ages, 

 grow much faster during certain years than during others. Also that 

 there are great inequalities in the relative numbers of fish of different 

 ages, in some cases the number of one age exceeding the number a 

 year or even two years younger. 



In addition to its scientific interest this investigation has already 

 greatly increased and rendered more profitable the enormous fishing 

 industry of Norway and, presumably, that also of adjacent countries. 



W. J. Humphreys, Recording Secretary. 



