138 Mathews Plan for American Biological Society [Oct. 



present time. There is no Journal that adequately and completely 

 reviews all the current biological literature, and the biologist must 

 himself plod through all the biological Journals in the languages 

 which he can read, and trust to luck that in the periodicals which he 

 has not examined there is naught of interest for him in the special 

 biological field that he may be working in. I have had occasion to 

 look through most of the abstract Journals in medicine and in chem- 

 istry, and I have found them all wanting. The Jour. of the Royal 

 Micros. Soc'y omits all papers of biochemical nature, and usually 

 treats only of those biological papers which deal with morphology. 



Alfred P. Lothrop, Columbia Univ. The plan suggested by 

 Prof. Mathews is an admirable one provided the autonomy and 

 Organization of the existing societies are preserved in the new Or- 

 ganization. In other words the mere payment of dues should in- 

 clude membership in the general society, but the sections (the exist- 

 ing societies) should be entirely free to elect into their membership 

 such members of the general society as can present the qualifications 

 required for membership in the existing societies. A biological 

 abstract Journal would be of immense value and the Biolog. Sect. 

 of Chem. Ahstr. might well be turned over to the management of 

 the proposed " Biological Abstracts." A plan of a scale of fees to 

 include the abstract Journal and as many other publications as might 

 be selected would seem to be more feasible than levying dues large 

 enough to include subscriptions to all the Journals on the list. 



S. S. Maxwell, Univ. of California. I have taken time to 

 give considerable thought to the Mathews plan before expressing an 

 opinion. It now seems clear to me that, notwithstanding the good 

 features of the proposal, the result would be an additional Journal 

 and an additional society, and that thus the bürden would not be 

 lifted but made heavier. 



Amos W. Peters, The Training School at Vineland, N. J. Any 

 serious consideration of the Mathews plan at once raises several im- 

 portant questions. Is the proposed Organization desirable in addi- 

 tion to those now existing, or, if it is to absorb them by what is 

 essentially an extension of the present Federation plan, would it be 

 desirable to extend the process of federation so as to include all 

 biological organizations ? In other words, are the unity of inves- 



