EDITORIAL. 605 



society was formed to further the study of nutrition problems. in 

 France, because it was recognized that the extended work which had 

 been carried on in the United States, Germany, Enghuid, and other 

 countries had yielded results of very great value. Among the or- 

 ganizers were Dr. H. Ricard, senator from the Cote-d*Or; M. Ber- 

 tlielot, the permanent secretary of the Academy of Sciences; Prof. 

 Armand Gautier, Dr. L. Grandeau, Dr. Henri de Rothschild, M. 

 Kaufmann, professor at the National Veterinary School at Alfort; H. 

 Yallee, and others, the list as a Avhole including the names of men 

 eminent in nutrition, chemistry, agriculture, hygiene, veterinary medi- 

 cine, analysis and inspection work, and other topics pertaining to the 

 general subject of hygienic and rational nutrition. 



The society received the recognition of the French Government 

 and established a journal, the Revue de la Societe Seientifique cVIIy- 

 giene AUmentaire, which records the proceedings of the society 

 and prints original articles and abstracts and reviews of current 

 literature. It is interesting to recall that the first article in the first 

 issue of this jonrnal dealt with the scope and extent of the nutrition 

 investigations of this Office, and that in his introduction Doctor Gran- 

 deau, the author, made special mention of the society's indebtedness 

 to Prof. W. O. Atwater, who took an active interest in its organiza- 

 tion. 



Recognizing the desirability of international conference and co- 

 operation, the societ}^ organized the first international congress, 

 which was held in Paris in 190G. In the attendance, the interest 

 manifested in its work, the high grade of papers presented, and the 

 importance of its deliberations, the congress was a marked success. 

 When the second international congress was being arranged for. the 

 society selected Brussels as the place of meeting, and fornndated plans 

 for a gathering on the same general lines as the l*aris congress. 



The foreign countries invited to participate in the Brussels con- 

 gress were asked to form organization counnittees, and Dr. II. W. 

 Wiley, chief of the Bureau of Chemistry, acted as chairman of the 

 American committee. Dr. C. F. Langworthy, wlio was chairman 

 of the American subcommittee of section 1, biological physics and 

 energetics, also supervised the collection of American papers on 

 nutrition and other branches of home economics, and was in alteud- 

 ance at the congress. 



The Brussels congress was divided into seven sections, namely: (1) 

 biological physics and energetics; (2) physiology and physiological 

 chemistry — rational nutrition and dietetics; (3) hygiene of nutri- 

 tion, bacteriology, and parasitology — food poisoning: (4) food mate- 

 rials — their composition, analysis, and adulteration, with subsections 

 on general food materials and on dairy products; (5) potable waters; 



