ASSOCIATIONS FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OP SCIENCE. 



37 



and more complex. They possess almost abso- 

 lutely no utilitarian aspect, yet there is no single 

 group of plants that occupies such a unique 

 position in the plant world. What the compre- 

 hensive and heterogeneous group Verrnes is 

 to the animal kingdom the Hepatic* are to 

 plants, only they are less complicated. The 

 Hepaticse have undergone a triple differentiation. 

 Beginning with a simple thallose plant with its 

 unmodified sporogone, it is evident that there 

 are three possible lines of specialization : (1) The 

 development of the thallus as such; (2) the 

 transformation of the thallus into a leafy axis 

 combined with the modification from creeping 

 to ascending or erect habit ; and (3) the spe- 

 cialization of the sporogone at the expense of 

 the thallus. Even a cursory acquaintance with 

 the diverse structures that are developed in the 

 group will make it evident that the Hepaticae 

 have improved their opportunity in each of these 

 three possible lines, and have carried the dif- 

 ferentiation of each line to a high degree of per- 

 fection. These three lines of development were 

 discussed in detail. In conclusion he pointed 

 out that the relations of the Hepatic* might be 

 summarized as follows : (1) The group is not of 

 recent origin. This is shown by the widespread 

 geographic distribution of its major group, its 

 extensive modification into diverse genera, and 

 its relations to higher groups which have a great 

 antiquity. (2) The group is not a compact one, 

 nor is it entirely circumscribed. The present 



ruping is unsatisfactory and artificial. (8) 

 such a triple development as exists among 

 the Hepaticse no single plant can stand as a type 

 which will fairly represent the entire group. 

 (4) We must recognize at least five families 

 among the Hepatic*. (5) The Hepatic* are 

 especially interesting as constituting the con- 

 necting link in the evolution from thallophytes 

 (alg*) to. the higher plants. 



The following-named papers were then read 

 and discussed before the section : 



u The Numerical Intensity of Faunas," by Louis 

 P. Gratacap; "The Growth 'of Kadishes as affected 

 by the Size and Weight of the Seed," by Benjamin 

 T*. Galloway, "The Work of the Indiana Biological 

 Survey," by Amos W.Butler; "The Movement of 

 Gases 'in Rhizomes," by Katherine E. Golden ; " Some 

 Interesting Conditions in Wood resulting from the 



by John M. Coulter; "Regulatory Growth of Me- 

 chanical Tissue," by Frederick C. Newcombe ; " Sim- 

 plification and Degeneration" and " Further Studies 

 in the Relationship and Arrangement of the Flower- 

 ing Plants," by Charles E. Bessey ; " The Watermelon 

 Disease of the South," by Erwin F.^mith ; " On the 

 Swarm Spores of Pythium and Ceratwmyxa" and 

 " Relation between the Functions of the Vegetative 

 and Reproductive Leaves of Onoclea^ by George F. 

 Atkinson; " Lopjiopapp us, a New Genus of Muti- 

 siaceous Composite, and Fluckigeria, a New Genus 

 of Gesneriaceae," by Henry II. Rusby ; " Products of 

 Metamorphosis and Monstrosities," by Albert Mann ; 

 " A Hybrid among the Mosses," " Some Notes on the 

 Genus Eucalypta? and " A Revision of the Genus 

 Kcoulerial" 1 by Elizabeth G. Britton ; " Evidence as 

 to the Former Existence of Large Trees on Nantucket 

 Island^' by Burt G. Wilder; " On Torreyn as a Ge- 

 neric Name" and " Notes on the Primary Foliage and 

 the Leaf Scars in Pinus Rigida? by Nathaniel L. 

 Britton ; " Notes upon QJialara Paradoxa " and " Notes 



upon a Root Rot of Beets," by Byron D. Halsted ; 

 and " Species of Taphrina parastic on Populus " by 

 Mrs. F. W. Patterson. 



H. Anthropology. Franz Boaz, of New York, 

 presided over this section, and he spoke on 

 " Human Faculty as determined by Race." At 

 the beginning he said : " Proud of his wonder- 

 ful achievements, civilized man looks down upon 

 the humbler members of mankind. He has con- 

 quered the forces of Nature and compelled them 

 to serve him. He has transformed inhospitable 

 forests into fertile fields. The mountain fast- 

 nesses are yielding their treasures to his de- 

 mands. The fierce animals which were obstruct- 

 ing his progress are being exterminated, while 

 others which are useful to him are made to in- 

 crease a thousandfold. The waves of the ocean 

 carry him from land to land, and towering 

 mountain ranges set him no bounds. His genius 

 has modeled inert matters into powerful ma- 

 chines, which wait a touch of his hand to serve 

 his manifold demands. What wonder that he 

 pities a people who have not succeeded in sub- 

 duing Nature ; who labor to eke an existence out 

 of the products of the wilderness ; who hear with 

 trembling the roar of the wild animals ; who re- 

 main restricted by ocean, river, or mountains; 

 and who strive to' secure the necessaries of life 

 with the help of few and simple instruments! 

 What wonder if civilized man considers himself 

 a being of higher order than primitive man, if 

 it is claimed that the white race represents a 

 higher type than all others ! " Then, tracing the 

 history of civilization from its dawn in the far 

 East until now, and showing how ideas arid in- 

 ventions were carried from one nation to an- 

 other, he took up the civilizations in ancient 

 Peru and Central America, and showed that the 

 general advancement was the same as in Asia 

 and Europe. The various physical character- 

 istics of different races were discussed from the 

 point of view of their mental ability. The psy- 

 chological characteristics of primitive people 

 were reviewed, and in conclusion he said : " The 

 average faculty of the white race is found to the 

 same degree in a large proportion of individuals 

 of all other races ; and although it is probable 

 that some of these races may not produce as 

 large a proportion of great men as our own race, 

 there is no reason to suppose that they are un- 

 able to reach the level of civilization represented 

 by the bulk of our own people." 



The following-named papers were then read 

 and discussed before the section : 



" Primitive Trephining in Peru," by W J McGee ; 

 " On Certain Morphologic Traits of American Lan- 

 guages " and " Variations in the Human Skeleton," 

 by Daniel G. Brinton ; " Southern Visits of the Eski- 

 mo " and " Iroquois Migrations," by William M. Beau- 

 champ; "Anthropological Matters in Michigan," by 

 Harlan I. Smith ; " The Value of Games in Ethnolo- 

 gy " and " Coreari Children's Games," by Stewart 

 Culin ; " The Scat of Conscimaners," by Paul Carus ; 

 " Notes on Child Study," by J. Edward Warren ; 

 " Shell Mounds of Nicaragua " and " Prehistoric Man 

 in Nicaragua," by John Crawford : u Ancient Occupa- 

 tion of the Mississippi Valley," by Asa S. Tiffany ; 

 " Notes on tbe Customs and Traditions of the Mic- 

 macs " and u Legends of the Magic Wooing and the 

 Piasa," by Stans'bury Hagar ; " The Child of the Fu- 

 ture," by Laura O. Talbott ; " On tbe History of the 

 Meander Pattern and its Connection with the Swas- 

 tika," by William H. Goodyear; "Modern and Pre- 



