1889.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 237 



EDITORIAL. 



The American Society of Microscopists. — We are glad to see 

 that this Society, after having had very small meetings for a period of 

 years, has at length experienced a very successful meeting. This, how- 

 ever, was due to the indomitable energy of Dr. Lewis, and of the 

 Buffalo people, headed by Dr. Geo. E. Fell and Dr. Lee H. Smith. 

 The present advantage will be utilized or not according to the arrange- 

 ments made for the future meetings. The leading members of this 

 Society are, to a considerable extent, members also of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science. Of course it is well 

 known that some of them constituted, at one time, an important part 

 of the Microscopical section of that Association. 



It came to be felt, and was doubtless true, that a national society of 

 Microscopists could command more influence than the section of a gen- 

 eral Association. Our volumes of Proceedings are much superior to 

 what such a section could present, and being published separately are 

 more available to microscopists the world over, and they ought at 

 least to appear more promptly. The officers of our Society doubtless 

 secure greater prominence than officers of a section. Our soirees and 

 working sections have become very useful. At least 250 microscopes 

 were used at Buffalo. There are people who join our Society from an 

 interest in microscopy who would not pay the higher dues of the 

 American Association and to whom that Association might not like to 

 accord the rank of fellowship, which is a qualification to holding office. 



On the other hand, it has been noticed, at least in the past two years, 

 that, with the organizations meeting in different cities, there has come 

 a loss of time to those wishing to attend both. The Buffalo meeting 

 closed four days before the Toronto meeting began, thus producing a 

 waste of time to those who had come from a distance. This, in turn, 

 caused some of them to cut short the Toronto meeting. But the Co- 

 lumbus meeting overlapped the Cleveland meeting so as to deprive us 

 from attending both on Tuesday, and several hours travel had to in- 

 tervene. 



We think that the Microscopical Society should either hold its meet- 

 ings at entirely different times and places from the American Associa- 

 tion, and thus avoid even the appearance of parasitism, or else it should 

 boldly assemble at the same place with the American Association, and 

 make its meetings come as close upon the other as possible without much 

 detriment to either. The American Association always closes on Tues- 

 day, with an important evening session, but its morning and afternoon 

 sessions of Tuesday are usually rather unimportant. Without dis- 

 courtesy, the microscopists could meet Tuesday morning or afternoon, 

 and continue during Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. 



A good many auxiliary clubs and societies are springing up about the 

 Association. The Entomological and Botanical Clubs are within the 

 Association. The Agricultural and Geological Societies are inde- 

 pendent. An independent chemical society is about being organized. 



The American Association of Scientists is, perhaps, destined to be- 

 come a confederation of societies, and the microscopists should certainly 

 stand in as close relations as the geologists, the chemists, the agricul- 

 turists, and the botanists. 



