A CENTURY OF ZOOLOGY IN AMERICA 421 



great association was organized in 1848, as the successor 

 of the Association of American Geologists and Natural- 

 ists. This was itself a revival of the American Geolog- 

 ical Society which firskmet at Yale in 1819. Its meetings 

 have given a great support to the scientific work of the 

 country. 



The American Society of Naturalists was founded in 

 1883. The original plan of the society was for the dis- 

 cussion of methods of investigation, administration and 

 instruction in the natural sciences, but its program is 

 now entirely devoted to discussions and papers of a broad 

 biological interest. It also arranges for an annual din- 

 ner of the several biological societies and an address 

 on some general biological topic. 



In 1890, toward the end of the period in which morpho- 

 logical studies were being emphasized, the professional 

 zoologists of the eastern states founded the American 

 Morphological Society. This association held annual 

 meetings during the Christmas holidays for the presenta- 

 tion of zoological papers. This name became less appro- 

 priate after a few years because of the gradual decrease 

 in the proportion of morphological investigations owing 

 to the greater attention being directed to problems in 

 experimental zoology and physiology. Consequently the 

 name was changed to the American Society of Zoologists. 

 To be eligible for membership in this society a person 

 must be an active investigator in some branch of zoology, 

 as indicated by the published results. 



The American Association of Anatomists includes in 

 its membership investigators and teachers in compara- 

 tive anatomy, embryology, and histology as well as in 

 human anatomy. Many professional zoologists and 

 experimental biologists present their papers before this 

 society, or at the meetings of the American Physiological 

 Society. The Entomological Society of America and the 

 American Association of Economic Entomologists are 

 large and active societies. 



These national societies have been of great service in 

 fostering a high standard of zoological research. A still 

 more important service, though generally less conspicu- 

 ous, is rendered by the journal clubs in connection with 

 all the larger zoological laboratories, and by local scien- 



