1913] Editoriais 5^5 



suggests, which aims to concentrate and assist the efforts of the 

 secondary school biologist to keep abreast of the times, must com- 

 mend itself to him most forcibly. 



C. Stuart Gager, Brooklyn Botanic Garden. While I think 

 that an Organization such as is proposed by Prof. Mathews has 

 admirable features, especially if it were an initial step in the Organi- 

 zation of the biological interests of the country, nevertheless, I do 

 not feel that it could be successful, or that another society is now 

 desirable. I also think that the inducement of receiving periodicals 

 over such a wide ränge of interests as experimental psychology to 

 bacteriology would not be very attractive to most workers, whose 

 interests are too narrow to respond to such an inducement. It seems 

 to me that the Mathews plan would result in an Organization which 

 in actual fact would not prove to be much more coherent than does 

 the present Amer. Assoc. for the Adv. of Science, with its various 

 sections, some of which at present exist chiefly on the printed 

 program. 



Paul J. Hanzlik, Western Reserve Univ. So far as the uni- 

 fication of the various biological societies is concerned, there is 

 already the " Federation." This should suffice. The Biolog. Ah- 

 stract Joiir. would be a supernumerary because there are already 

 several abstract Journals which cover adequately the field of the 

 biological sciences. Among the most widely circulated are probably 

 the Zent. f. Bioch. u. Biophy. and Chem. Abstracts. It would be an 

 additional financial bürden for the Society. This is objectionable. 

 I understand that Chem. Abstracts is a very expensive enterprise 

 and, in spite of the very large membership (running into the thou- 

 sands) of the Amer. Chem. Soc'y, its financial support is not 

 adequate for its needs. It would be much more difficult for the 

 Amer. Biolog. Soc'y with its comparatively small membership to 

 support Journals to the extent that the Amer. Chem. Soc'y does. 

 Therefore, I disagree with the idea of organizing an "Amer. 

 Biolog. Soc'y" and the establishment of a Biolog. Abstract Jour., 

 as proposed in the Mathews plan. 



Chas. W. Hargitt, Syracuse Univ. One feature of the propo- 

 sition appeals to me, namely, that of the Abstract Journal. I have 



