5o6 Mathcivs Plan for American Biological Society [April 



be satisfactorily overcome, the proposed merger would doubtless prove 

 usefui and economical. 



H. W. WiLEY, Bureau of Foods, Sanitation and Health, Wash- 

 ington, D. C. I have read with interest the plans for the reorganiza- 

 tion of the American biological societies, or perhaps better the Organiza- 

 tion of an Amer. Biolog. Soc'y. Of course the term " Biological" is a 

 most comprehensive one and would practically include every science or 

 activity relating to live organic processes. More particularly I suppose 

 it would include those sciences enumerated under " Details of Organi- 

 zation." If all these societies could be united into one great Organiza- 

 tion, it would be highly desirable. 



The scheme proposed is very much like that which has made the 

 Amer. Chem. Soc'y the great Organization which it is. I am especially 

 favorable to the establishment of local sections and the scheme of 

 affiliation of the present societies. I should think that all the Journals 

 that are published ought to be collected into one Journal as has already 

 partly been done with the chemical publications of the country. 



This method is favorably commented upon by Dr. Mathews on page 

 262 of the proposed plan of Organization. I believe that the Organiza- 

 tion of such a Society would promote efficiency and economy. I think 

 the two thousand members would come over easily if the plan of 

 affiliation were agreed upon ; and especially I believe that the cost of the 

 literature would be materially reduced. Upon the whole I am quite 

 favorably impressed with the proposed plan. 



F. C. Wood, Columbia Univ. — In answer to your request for a dis- 

 cussion of the Mathews plan for the Organization of an Amer. Biolog. 

 Soc'y, I would say that anything which will lead to a concentration of 

 the widely scattered interests in biology will have my hearty approval. 

 We already have too many small societies and do not give them suffi- 

 cient Support. There would be many advantages in the proposed 

 Biolog. Soc'y becoming the Biolog. See. of the Assoc. for the Adv. of 

 Science, but I think there would have to be some line of cleavage inside 

 the Biolog. Soc'y; that is, experimental medicine, pharmacology, pa- 

 thology, and bacteriology might form one group, taking over the mem- 

 bership of the Assoc. of Amer. Pathol. and Bacteriol. and the Soc. of 

 Amer. Bacteriol., and of a recently formed Soc. for the Promotion of 

 Scientific Med., and preventing the formation of a proposed Soc. for 

 Exper. Pathology. 



Anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry could form another group; 

 and zoology, botany, and psychology ( ?) a third. No one wants to 



