1913] Editoriais 583 



plan of facilitating open consideration and possible removal of the 

 difficulties in the way of more effective biological Organization in 

 this country, and will also contain a summary of the ideas expressed, 

 in this Journal, on the Mathews plan of reorganization. 



James P. Atkinson, A^". Y. City Dep't of Health. I believe the 

 plan for the Amer. Biolog. Soc'y to be a very feasible one, espe- 

 cially as regards the combining of one or more of the Journals. It 

 seems to me to be especially adapted to individuals who cannot 

 afford to subscribe to many Journals, and I hope that it will be 

 successful. 



R. P, BiGELOW, Mass. Inst, of Technology. The plan of 

 Organization for the Amer. Biolog. Soc'y proposed by Prof. 

 Mathews seems inadvisable for the f ollowing reasons : 



1. Details of Organization. The society as proposed would 

 simply be a confederation of existing biological societies, which in 

 turn would become sections of the new society. The large size, 

 national scope, and wide ränge of interest in the new society would 

 involve (a) difficulties in securing suitable places for meetings, (&) 

 long journeys and hence less regulär attendance of many members, 

 (c) long programs and formality of proceedings; as contrasted with 

 independent small societies meeting within a restricted area and 

 limited in scope, which have for their main object the promotion of 

 intimacy and good-fellowship, with opportunity for informal dis- 

 cussion among men whose interests are alike. 



2. Ohjects. (a) Cooperation in the abstract seems a rather 

 hazy basis on which to found a new society. Moreover, when a 

 definite need of Cooperation arises, organizations suitable for this 

 purpose may be found in the A. A. A. S. and the Amer. Soc'y of 

 Naturalists. (&) The starting and supporting of a Biolog. Abstract 

 Jour. seems to involve competition rather than Cooperation. Such 

 a publication, to be of any practical use, should segregate in one 

 place the results of a year's work at least in each division of the 

 subject and should be international in scope. This is the aim of 

 L'Annee Biologique, Ergeh, d. Anat. u. Entzvickelungsges., Ergeh. 

 d. Physiol., and the Jour. of the Royal Micros. Soc'y. Why not 

 coöperate towards the improvement of one of these existing publi- 

 cations, instead of starting a rival Journal, (c) The attempt to 



