﻿318 
  JOURNAL 
  OF 
  THE 
  WASHINGTON 
  ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES 
  VOL. 
  12, 
  NO. 
  13 
  

  

  oysters, 
  clams, 
  crabs, 
  etc., 
  occurs 
  there 
  will 
  be 
  normal 
  data 
  at 
  hand 
  from 
  which 
  

   to 
  determine 
  the 
  abnormal 
  conditions 
  that 
  bring 
  about 
  the 
  trouble. 
  

  

  Second, 
  to 
  learn 
  all 
  that 
  is 
  possible 
  concerning 
  the 
  movement 
  of 
  layers 
  of 
  

   water 
  of 
  different 
  density, 
  different 
  temperatures 
  and 
  different 
  plankton 
  

   content 
  (fish 
  food 
  value) 
  in 
  the 
  hope 
  that 
  the 
  information 
  may 
  throw 
  light 
  on 
  

   the 
  migration 
  of 
  fishes 
  and 
  crabs 
  at 
  certain 
  times 
  of 
  the 
  year. 
  

  

  Third, 
  to 
  study 
  especially 
  the 
  fauna 
  of 
  the 
  deep 
  holes 
  which 
  occur 
  in 
  many 
  

   places. 
  

  

  Fourth, 
  to 
  study 
  the 
  so-called 
  "barren 
  bottoms," 
  at 
  the 
  mouths 
  of 
  rivers. 
  

  

  Fifth, 
  to 
  gather 
  as 
  much 
  information 
  as 
  possible 
  which 
  will 
  bear 
  on 
  the 
  con- 
  

   servation 
  of 
  the 
  fisheries 
  resources 
  of 
  Chesapeake 
  Bay. 
  

  

  In 
  discussion 
  Mr. 
  Hitchcock 
  said 
  that 
  in 
  British 
  Guiana 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  tide 
  

   of 
  several 
  feet 
  for 
  60 
  miles 
  up 
  certain 
  rivers, 
  and 
  the 
  mangrove 
  grows 
  up 
  

   that 
  far, 
  showing 
  that 
  salt 
  water 
  comes 
  up 
  underneath 
  the 
  fresh. 
  

  

  R. 
  W. 
  Shufeldt: 
  Observations 
  on 
  the 
  fauna 
  and 
  flora 
  of 
  the 
  District 
  of 
  

   Columbia. 
  In 
  the 
  paper, 
  which 
  was 
  illustrated 
  with 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  excel- 
  

   lent 
  lantern 
  slides 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  speaker, 
  a 
  general 
  review 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  common 
  

   or 
  noted 
  animals 
  and 
  plants 
  was 
  given. 
  

  

  640th 
  meeting 
  

  

  The 
  640th 
  meeting 
  was 
  held 
  at 
  the 
  Cosmos 
  Club 
  on 
  April 
  29, 
  1922, 
  with 
  

   President 
  BailEY 
  in 
  the 
  chair 
  and 
  67 
  persons 
  present. 
  LeE 
  M. 
  Hutchins, 
  

   H. 
  B. 
  Humphrey, 
  F. 
  E. 
  Kempton, 
  Miss 
  Grace 
  Holmes, 
  Miss 
  Mary 
  Brad- 
  

   ley, 
  and 
  Mrs. 
  Theodore 
  Knappen 
  were 
  elected 
  to 
  membership. 
  

  

  The 
  speaker 
  of 
  the 
  evening, 
  Dr. 
  Wm. 
  E. 
  Ritter, 
  of 
  the 
  Scripps 
  Institution 
  

   for 
  Biological 
  Research, 
  was 
  then 
  introduced 
  by 
  Dr. 
  L. 
  O. 
  Howard. 
  Dr. 
  

   Ritter 
  then 
  addressed 
  the 
  Society 
  on 
  The 
  usefulness 
  and 
  the 
  peril 
  of 
  the 
  lab- 
  

   oratory 
  method 
  in 
  biology. 
  

  

  The 
  speaker 
  himself 
  had 
  had 
  an 
  extended 
  training 
  some 
  years 
  ago 
  in 
  the 
  

   best 
  laboratories 
  in 
  existence, 
  and 
  as 
  a 
  university 
  professor 
  he 
  carried 
  on 
  the 
  

   method 
  in 
  educating 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  college 
  students, 
  so 
  that 
  he 
  was 
  well 
  

   prepared 
  to 
  discuss 
  the 
  good 
  points 
  of 
  this 
  educational 
  method. 
  Neverthe- 
  

   less 
  he 
  had 
  come 
  to 
  appreciate 
  very 
  keenly 
  the 
  gulf 
  too 
  often 
  existing 
  between 
  

   academic 
  science, 
  or 
  more 
  particularly 
  academic 
  biolog}^, 
  and 
  any 
  phase 
  of 
  

   actual 
  human 
  life. 
  He 
  quoted 
  from 
  Wm. 
  Bateson 
  and 
  L. 
  O. 
  Howard 
  on 
  the 
  

   same 
  line. 
  

  

  The 
  usefulness 
  of 
  the 
  laboratory 
  he 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  unquestioned 
  in 
  the 
  fol- 
  

   lowing 
  matters: 
  (a) 
  Phenomena 
  concerning 
  which 
  no 
  positive 
  knowledge 
  

   whatever 
  can 
  be 
  gained 
  without 
  laboratory 
  studies. 
  (6) 
  Phenomena 
  concern- 
  

   ing 
  which 
  very 
  little 
  positive 
  knowledge 
  can 
  be 
  gained 
  without 
  a 
  combination 
  

   of 
  "field" 
  and 
  laboratory 
  studies, 
  (c) 
  Phenomena 
  concerning 
  which 
  no 
  

   positive 
  knowledge 
  whatever 
  can 
  be 
  gained 
  in 
  the 
  laboratory 
  (negative 
  

   utility 
  of 
  laboratory). 
  

  

  The 
  perils 
  of 
  the 
  laboratory 
  are: 
  (a) 
  Laboratory 
  necessarily 
  limited 
  to 
  

   samples 
  of 
  nature; 
  hence 
  {b) 
  Laboratory 
  procedure 
  necessarily 
  restricted 
  

   mostly 
  to 
  analysis; 
  and 
  to 
  deductive 
  reasoning 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  interpretation 
  of 
  

   actual 
  nature 
  is 
  concerned. 
  And 
  (c) 
  Necessarily 
  tends 
  to 
  beget 
  laboratory- 
  

   mindedness, 
  and 
  mental 
  and 
  social 
  isolation, 
  {d) 
  There 
  is 
  a 
  similarity 
  between 
  

   monasticism 
  in 
  religion 
  and 
  laboratorism 
  in 
  science. 
  

  

  He 
  proposed 
  the 
  following 
  steps 
  to 
  remedy 
  the 
  situation: 
  (a) 
  Preliminary 
  

   instruction 
  of 
  all 
  would-be 
  scientists 
  with 
  three-fold 
  end 
  in 
  view: 
  (1) 
  to 
  

  

  