504 Mathews Plan for American Biological Society [April 



edge of the fundamentals (speaking in a technical sense) of any one 

 of the biological sciences. For these reasons it seems to me that the 

 Organization of an Amer. Biolog. Soc'y cannot proceed on quite the 

 same basis as the Organization of the Amer. Chem. Soc'y. 



I am in heartiest sympathy with the general features of the pro- 

 posed plan and shoiild very much like to see an arrangement worked 

 out whereby there could be a closer affiliation between the various bio- 

 logical societies of the country than now exists. 



" Pharmacologist." I feel that there is a great need for an ab- 

 stract Journal of a somewhat different field from that suggested. One, 

 namely, that would mention or abstract all articles dealing with the 

 administration of drugs to animals (and man), including in its scope, 

 pharmacology, toxicology, therapeutics and veterinary medicine. Arti- 

 cles dealing merely with the treatment of disease and not treating of 

 the Physiologie action of the drug should merely be indexed. Pharmacy 

 and the chemistry of drugs should be included as far as such articles 

 were of scientific interest. The action of antiseptics on germs in vitro 

 could better be left out as they are handled elsewhere. Local action 

 of drugs need not be considered when it is merely action on a parasite, 

 or cleansing, etc. Salt action should be included as well as articles 

 dealing with the physics of absorption, etc. (where absorption of drugs 

 is implied). None of the Centralblatts or other Journals cover this 

 field in a way which is at all satisfactory and such a Journal should 

 have a widespread demand. 



E. W. Rockwood, State Univ. of loiva. While I should certainly 

 favor any plan which would advance biological interests, I am not cer- 

 tain that the Mathews plan would be the best. The case of the Amer. 

 Chem. Soc'y is not a parallel one. When that was organized, and for 

 a great many years afterwards, there were no strong societies occupy- 

 ing any part of the field. There are a number of them in biology and 

 the field is not only covered but perhaps more than covered, that is, 

 their work overlaps in many instances. In the Amer. Chem. Soc'y, 

 membership in the society carries with it membership in all sections 

 and divisions. I do not think there is any chance of such an arrange- 

 ment prevailing in a Biolog. Society. In other words the present or- 

 ganizations would keep their identity and we should have a rather loose 

 affiliation. 



I do not think there is any possibility of the majority of the mem- 

 bership of 2000 being willing to pay $25 to $30 per year to receive all 



