ASSOCIATIONS FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. 



33 



effort being made to prevent absolute deteriora- 

 tion or exhaustion. Land excepted, the value 

 of the possessions of the people dot-s not equal 

 the sura total of three years' production of our 

 industries. Food, clothing, shelter, and fuel 

 are almost entirely derived from or dependent 

 on the soil. For twenty years agricultural 

 products have constituted three quarters of our 

 exports. This involves a heavy drain upon the 

 nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash of the 

 soil. Hence we should witness with feelings 

 of congratulation the increase of interest in 

 agricultural studies and the number of men of 

 ability who are making them their life's work. 

 Other Papers. Prof. Edward S. Morse de- 

 livered his address as retiring president on 

 ' What American Zoologists have done for 

 Evolution." It was a very able presentation 

 of the present aspect of the Darwinian the- 

 ory. The speaker appeared as a strong par- 

 tisan of and advocate for the doctrine of evo- 

 lution, and appealed to the standing of Ameri- 

 can naturalists on the subject, as well as to 

 observed facts in natural history in support of 

 his arguments. His address was very long, 

 and gave a full presentation of the subject. 

 It referred more particularly to the work done 

 for the establishment of the theory during the 

 last ten years. Prof. Lucien I. Blake, of Terro 

 Flaute, spoke on " A Method of Telephonic 

 Communication at Sea." It described the use 

 of the sea-water as a sound-bearing medium, 

 and gave an account of some of the author's 

 experiments in sound-transmission by water 

 without the aid of a telephone. These were 

 performed in 1883-'85, and were believed to 

 antedate all attempts at devising telephonic 

 methods. Drs. Michelson and Morley excited 

 much attention, and received quite an ovation 

 for the researches on " A Method for making 

 the Wave-Length of Sodium Light the Actual 

 and Practical Standard of Length." This pro- 

 posal amounted to fixing a definite natural 

 standard for measurements of all kinds, some- 

 thing that has never yet been obtained. The 

 metre was only an unsuccessful effort to ob- 

 tain such a standard. The society immediately 

 voted to recommend the council to appropriate 

 money to continue the investigation in order 

 that a new unit might be produced, to be known 

 as the American Association unit. This would 

 be a worthy rival to the British Association or 

 B. A. units. Prof. Lewis M. Norton spoke on 

 "The Fatty Acids of the Drying Oils," treat- 

 ing of linoleic acid, the characteristic of linseed- 

 oil and ricinoleic acid (of castor-oil). Prof. 

 Arthur L. Green, of Purdue University, pre- 

 sented a scheme of analysis entitled " A Process 

 for the Separation of Alkaloid al Poisons for 

 Students' Use." An interesting paper was 

 presented by Prof. Robert II. Thurston, of 

 Cornell, on " The Strength of Nicaraguan 

 Woods." It embodied the results of a research 

 by Rufus Flint, a native of Nicaragua. It 

 proved that in that country there exist most 

 valuable varieties of wood. The present im- 

 TOL. xxvii. 3 A 



pending wood-famine may, the speaker said* 

 be averted by the use of tropical timber. " The 

 American System of Water Purification," and 

 notes on a recent outburst of typhoid fever, its 

 cause and cure, were given by Prof. Albert 

 R. Leeds, of Stevens Institute. Rev. Dr. 

 William M. Beauchamp discussed " Aboriginal 

 Villages in New York State." This gave a vivid 

 picture of the old forts, stockades, and long 

 houses of the Iroquois Indians, and alluded to 

 the tenure of land among the aborigines. Prof. 

 Wilber O. Atwater gave papers on " The 

 Economy of Food " and " Food of Working- 

 men and its Relations to Work done." In 

 these the question was brought down to the 

 most practical basis of cost and nutritive value. 

 The American workman, he said, eats one half 

 more than the German ; his daily food repre- 

 sents 6,776 foot tons of potential energy. A 

 description of the Boston cooking-schools, by 

 Mrs. Ellen II. Richards, appropriately fol- 

 lowed Prof. Atwater's laborious and practical 

 papers. Later, the Panama Canal and the rival 

 plans for crossing the Isthmus were treated by 

 several essayists. Commander Taylor, U. S. N., 

 in his paper on " The General Question of 

 Isthmian Transit," and Civil Engineer R. E. 

 Peary, U. S. N., in his paper on " The Engi- 

 neering Features of the Nicaragua Canal," pre- 

 sented two aspects of the problem, while Mr. 

 J. W. Miller, of the Nicaragua Steamship Com- 

 pany, on " Historical and Geographic Notes 

 concerning the Nicaragua Canal Route," and 

 Surgeon J. F. Bransford, U. S. N., on " Climatic 

 and Sanitary Notes on the Nicaragua Canal 

 Route," gave some practical views of the case. 

 Prof. George F. Barker read two papers by 

 Thomas A. Edison on a direct conversion of 

 heat into electricity effected by "The Pyro- 

 Magnetic Dynamo " and on " A Magnetic Bridge 

 or Balance for Measuring Magnetic Conduc- 

 tivity." These can not well be described here, 

 but both mark an important advance in elec- 

 trical science. 



Many entertainments and visits to places of 

 interest tilled up the leisure hours, and finally on 

 Monday, Aug. 16, the Association adjourned. 



Committees, Etc. President Langley appointed 

 Professors E. D. Cope, J. R. Eastman, and G. 

 K. Gilbert, a committee to devise methods of 

 obtaining from Congress a reduction of the tariff 

 on scientific books. Miss Alice C. Fletcher and 

 Mrs. T. Stephenson were appointed a commit- 

 tee to petition Congress to take the necessary 

 steps to preserve the archaeological monuments 

 on the public lands of the United States. 



A resolution was passed recommending the 

 publication by the Government of an index to 

 the literature of meteorology, now being pre- 

 pared by the Chief Signal-Service officer, Cleve- 

 land Abbe. Another resolution urged Presi- 

 dent Cleveland to appoint at once a permanent 

 superintendent of the United States Coast and 

 Geodetic Survey. A third petitioned Congress 

 to provide a Bureau of Standards, by which 

 accurate standards of measure should be estab- 



