1913] Editoriais 143 



Plan: Name: The American Biological Society. 



Objects: (A) To unite the biological interests for the pur- 

 pose of mutual support, education, more effective Cooperation, de- 

 fence and encouragement of research, and to increase the influence 

 of biological knowledge; (B) to start and support a biological ab- 

 stract Journal; (C) to provide new Journals as the need arises; 

 (D) to diminish to members the cost of dues and Journal sub- 

 scriptions. 



CoNDiTioNS FÜR MEMBERSHip : (a) All membcrs of present 

 biological societies to be eligible; (b) all persons sufficiently inter- 

 ested in biology to pay dues to be eligible; (c) local sections to be 

 established with a certain percentage of the dues returned for sup- 

 port; (d) present biological societies to organize as sections in the 

 general society (membership in a section might be left to the de- 

 cision of the section) ; (e) dues to be sufficient to provide each mem- 

 ber with the abstract Journal and some or all of the biological 

 Journals. Professor Mathews estimates that it would be possible 

 to provide an abstract Journal and thirteen other Journals which 

 cost $83 for a fee of $25 per year. The Journals he listed (in 1908) 

 were the following: Amer. Jour. of PhysioL, Amer. Jour. Anat., 

 Jour. Compar. Neurol., Jour. of Morphol., Jour. Infec. Dis., Jour. 

 Exp. Med., Jour. Med. Res., Biol. Bull., Jour. Biol. Chem., Jour. 

 Exp. Zool., Anat. Rec, Psychol. Rev., and Botan. Gaz. 



Methods of ORGANIZATION : (a) Either organize the " Natu- 

 ralists " into a new society or form an entirely new society on lines 

 similar to the Amer. Chem. Soc'y; (&) a scale of fees might be pre- 

 sented with an Option as to the Journals desired; (c) the present 

 management of the Journals could be retained and a club rate of 

 subscription offered to members of the society; {d) the Wistar Inst, 

 might be made the Publishing house for the abstract Journal and the 

 other Journals. 



Objections: The principal ohjections that have been raised to 

 the scheme may be tabulated as follows : 



I. Doubt of the accuracy of the financial estimate submitted. 

 It is believed that the cost of the thirteen Journals plus that of the 

 abstract Journal would not only exceed Professor Mathews' esti- 

 mate but so much so as to render the plan unfeasible. 



