JANUARY I 8, 191 2] 



NATURE 



383 



istry, on •'Ihe Resins and their Chemical Relations 

 to the Terpenes " ; \'ice-President A. L. Rotch, before 

 the Section of Mechanical Science and Engineering, 

 on "Aerial Engineering"; Vice-President Jacoo 

 Reighard, before the Section of Zoology, on "Adapta- 

 tion " ; Vice-President R. A. Harper, before the Sec- 

 tion of Botany, on "Some Current Conceptions of 

 the Germ Plasm " ; Vice-President R. B. Dixon, be- 

 fore the Section of Anthropology and Psychology, on 

 "The Independence of the Culture of the American 

 Indian"; Vice-President Theodore Burton, before the 

 Section of Social and Economic Science, on "The 

 Cause of High Prices"; Vice-President F. G. Novy, 

 before the Section of Physiology and Experimental 

 Medicine, on "Carriers of Disease"; Vice-President 

 A. Ross Hill, before the Section of Education, on 

 "The Teaching of General Courses in Science." 

 (Owing to the death of Vice-President Christopher W. 

 Hall, of the Section of Geology and Geography, no 

 address was delivered before that section.) 



The meeting showed, as in other recent years, an 

 increased number of affiliated scientific societies of 

 national scope, and was marked by the presence of 

 the strong group of societies of economic character, 

 including the American Economic Association, the 

 American Statistical Association, the American Asso- 

 ciation for Labour Legislation, the American Socio- 

 logical Society, and the American Home Economics 

 Association. 



As has been the growing tendency in the associa- 

 tion, several important symposia were held, and a 

 number of meetings of interest to several sections 

 and societies. Among these may be mentioned a sym- 

 posium relating to safety in mines ; one on aero- 

 d\namics, and another on good roads; one on ten 

 \iars' progress in vertebrate palaeontology; one on 

 mineral wastes and conservation, and a joint session 

 of the zoologists and psychologists on questions relat- 

 i. ing to animal behaviour. A most important confer- 

 ence on psychology and medical education was held 

 i\K the Government Hospital, in which eminent 

 jj^vchologists and alienists discussed pertinent ques- 

 1 nns. The Botanical Section held a symposium on 



ils, and another on modern aspects of palseobotany. 



ill another symposium was conducted on acapnia 

 ;md shock. 



The council passed resolutions favouring the estab- 

 lishment of a national quarantine and inspection ser- 

 vice directed against the introduction of injurious 

 insects and plant diseases, and others favouring the 

 establishment of a national department of health. 

 Reports of delegates to several international con- 

 gresses were read. 



The general committee selected Cleveland, Ohio, 

 for the place of the next meeting, to open December 



, 1912, and recommended to the following general 



umittee that Atlanta, Georgia, be selected for the 



cting in the winter of 1913-14. It also expressed 



desire that arrangements for a summer meeting 



1! ing 1915 be made. 



The following officers for the ensuing year were 



(ted: — President: Dr. E. C. Pickering, director of 



Harvard Astronomical Observatory, Cambridge, 



iss. Vice-Presidents {or Presidents of Sections) : 



I tion A, E. B. Van Vleck, University ot Wisconsin, 

 idison, Wis.; Section B, A. G. Webster, Clark 

 liversity, Worcester, Mass.; Section C, W. Lash 

 iller, Toronto, Canada; Section D, J. A. Holmes, 

 iieau of Mines, Washington, D.C. ; Section E, J. E. 

 (id, l^niversity of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas; Sec- 



II F, W. A. Locy, North-Western University, Evan- 

 in, Illinois; Section G, D. S. Johnson, Johns Hop- 

 kins I'niversity, Baltimore, Maryland; Section H, 

 ]. Walter Fewkes, Smithsonian Institution, Washing- 



NO. 2203, VOL. 88] 



ton, D.C. ; Section I, J. Hays Hammond, New York, 

 N.Y. ; Section K, J. J. R. Macleod, Western Reserve 

 Medical College, Cleveland, Ohio; Section L, J. 

 McKeen Cattell, Columbia University, New York, 

 N.Y. Secretaries of Sections: Section B, W. J. Hum- 

 phreys, U.S. Weather Bureau, Washington, D.C. ; 

 Section E, George F. Kay, Universitv of Iowa, lowu 

 City, Iowa; Section K, W'aldemar Koch, Universitv of 

 Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. General Secretary: 

 Henry E. Summers, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa. 

 Secretary of the Council: H. W. Springsteen, Western 

 Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. 



The first meteorological gathering in connection with 

 a meeting of the association was held in the Forecast 

 Room of the Weather Bureau on December 28, the 

 second day of the Washington meeting. As the in- 

 terval of time between the morning and afternoon 

 sessions of the various sections and societies was too 

 short — and the meeting places were too widely 

 separated — to admit of a "meteorological luncheon," 

 in emulation of the British Association, a "meteoro- 

 logical tea " was decided on as the most practicable 

 and agreeable form of gathering for the interchange 

 of ideas among persons interested in the science of 

 weather. After an hour spent in informal intercourse 

 and an inspection of the buildings and installations 

 of the bureau, five-minute talks were given on the 

 subject, "The Relation of Meteorology to Other 

 Sciences" by Prof. A. Lawrence Rotch ("Aero- 

 nautics"), Prof. E. B. Frost (" Astronomv "), Prof. 

 Henry Crew ("Physics"), Prof. W. M. Davis 

 (" Physical Geography "), Prof. W. I. Milham 

 (" Education "). The chief of the W'eather Bureau, 

 Prof. Willis Moore, gave the address of welcome, and 

 the speakers were introduced by Prof. W. J. 

 Humphreys. 



As a whole, both from the point of view of the 

 attendance and the character of papers read and the 

 general interest shown in the symposia, conferences, 

 and important papers, the meeting undoubtedlv will 

 rank as the most important ever held. 



The social features of the meeting were of great 

 interest, receptions, dinners, smokers, and visits to 

 the many places of interest in and about Washington 

 more than occupying all the time which could be 

 spared from the sectional meetings. The most notable 

 social function was a reception to the lady visitors at 

 the White House in the afternoon of December 28. 



NOTES. 

 On January 21 mathematicians of many countries will 

 meet at the Sorbonne to do honour to M. Gaston Darboux 

 on the jubilee anniversary of his entry at the Polytechnic 

 School. As the successor, first of Liouville, and then of 

 Chasles, M. Darboux has added lustre to two famous 

 chairs, and by his published works has earned a reputa- 

 tion of the very first order. To Englishmen he is perhaps 

 best known by his connection with the Bulletin, his re- 

 searches on cydides (in conjunction with Casey), and his 

 admirable treatise on the tii<>ory of surfaces. The last- 

 named work, both in style and method, may be compared 

 with Salmon's classical treatises. Like Salmon, M. 

 Darboux has an equal mastery of geometrical and 

 analytical theories, and combines them with the happiest 

 effect ; like him, too, he has the 43o\ver of drawing material 

 from the most diverse sources, and fusing it into a homo- 

 geneous whole. In offering him our congratulations, we 

 feel that we are expressing a sentiment shared by all who 

 are acquainted with M. Darboux's scientific work; and we 

 are sure that they will join with us in hoping that his 

 cnrri^'y .uui vigour may be long maintained. 



