66 
appearing from our scientific laboratories, which are too much in danger 
of becoming mere factories. . 
Your number is so small that you can really know one another and 
can know the work that is being done by one another, and that is just 
the sort of thing you need. You do not need to come here for training in 
science; the Academy is no place for training, it is for association and per- 
sonal inspiration. (Applause. ) 
PROFESSOR DENNIS: Ladies and Gentlemen: Some years ago “plank- 
ton” got into the reservoir of our waterworks at Richmond, and we were 
a unit that we could not get along with it there any longer, and when we 
set out to procure a remedy we found that such a remedy had been worked 
out by a member of this Academy, and this man is the one I will now eall 
on to speak. He is a graduate of Wabash College. THe is the inventor of 
a means of culture for the nitrifying bacteria of the soil, which invention 
he did not patent, but gave to the American people. This puts us all under 
obligations to him. 
Mr. George T. Moore, of the Botanical Gardens of St. Louis. (Ap- 
plause. ) 
In his response Mr. Moore called attention in a humorous way, to some 
of the advantages of scientific knowledge, and in conclusion presented the 
greetings and best wishes of the St. Louis Academy of Science and the 
Missouri Botanical Garden. 
Proressor DENNIS: A number of telegrams and letters have been re- 
ceived since the adjournment, and I will ask Prof. Butler to read them 
now. 
(The letter of Dr. Wiley is appended as it was the basis for action in 
the closing session on Saturday morning). 
WASHINGTON, D. C., Nov. 22, 1909. 
Mr. A. W. Butler, Indianapolis, Indiana. 
Dear Mr. Butler—I have received from you and other members of the 
Academy of Science, cordial invitations to be present at the 25th anni- 
versary meeting, November 25th-27th, 1909. Should I consult my personal 
desires I would surely accept the invitation. Just at this time, however, 
two extremely important cases are in preparation for trial before the 
United States courts, (1) the use of borax in foods, and (2) the use of 
peroxides of nitrogen in bleached flour. I am compelled to give every mo- 
ment of my time to the preparation for these cases, the first one of which 
will be called in the federal court in Peoria on the Sth of December, I 
