528 



NATURE 



[September 25, 1890 



THE AMERICAN ASSOCIA TION FOR THE 

 ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. 



THE thirty-ninth annual meeting of this body was held on 

 August 20-26 at Indianapolis, which is the capital and 

 largest city of the State of Indiana, and is the largest inland 

 city of the United States, being a railroad centre without 

 navigable water of any kind, and having, with its suburbs, a 

 population of about 140,000. 



Near the city is located the greatest region of natural gas in 

 the world. The manufacturing business of this whole region 

 has received a wonderful stimulus from the discovery of natural 

 gas, which has caused a rapid increase in population and manu- 

 facturing within the past three years. The gas is found in the 

 Trenton limestone at a depth of neaHy a thousand feet over a 

 large area north and e^st of the city, and, besides being used in 

 situ, is brought to the city in pipes for use there, where it has 

 displaced other fuel in the large factories. One of the most in- 

 structive object-lessons the Association has ever had was the 

 excursion on Saturday through this gas belt, stopping at 

 Noblesville (whence the supply for Indianopolis is drawn), 

 Kokomo, Marion, Muncie, and Anderson. At the latter place 

 a remarkable exhibition was made of gas forced through the 

 river and ignited upon the surface. President Goodale warned 

 the citizens in an address of the necessity of economizing this 

 resource, since it is not inexhaustible. 



The sessions of the Association were held in the new Capitol, 

 a fine building completed only two or three years ago at the cost 

 of about 2,000,000 dollars, and decidedly the most sumptuous 

 quarters ever offered to the Association, being also spacious 

 enough to accommodate all the eight Sections under one roof. 



A number of affiliated associations meet at or about the time 

 of the principal one. Of these the Society for the Promotion of 

 Agricultural Science, and the Society of American Geologists 

 preceded the main meeting, while the Botanical, Entomological, 

 and, this year for the first time, the Ornithological Club, met at 

 intervals between meetings of the parent Association. 



On Wednesday morning the retiring president. Prof. T. C. 

 Mendenhall, called the Association to order, and resigned the 

 chair to Prof. George L. Goodale, President-Elect. The 

 morning was devoted to addresses of welcome and responses, 

 and to the organization of the several sections. Among the 

 speakers were Mayor Sullivan and Lieutenant-Governor Chase. 

 An invitation was received from the Australasian Association for 

 the Advancement of Science to attend the meeting at Christ 

 Church, New Zealand, in January 1891, and President Goodale 

 was deputed, and will attend as a delegate. 



In the afternoon the eight Vice-Presidents read their several 

 annual addresses before their respective Sections. These 

 addresses were generally ably written. 



Section A (Mathematics and Astronomy) was addressed by 

 Prof. S. C. Chandler, of Harvard, on the variable stars. The 

 number of these discernible with an ordinary field-glass is two 

 thousand, while our largest telescopes reveal, perhaps, hundreds 

 of thousands. The cycle of change, commonly called the period, 

 ranges from less than eight hours in the wonderful variable 

 recently found by Paul, up to two years. Between these limits 

 is a highly significant deviation from uniformity of distribution. 

 At least five-sixths of the variables are reddish, and the redness 

 of the variable stars is, in general, a function of the length of 

 their period of light variation. The redder the tint, the longer 

 the period. An examination of fluctuations in brightness, or 

 light curves, enables us to distinguish a number of types, of 

 which the most remarkable is that of Algol. The cause of 

 variability is still problematic, except for the ten stars of the 

 Algol type, which seem to be explained by the theory of 

 an occulting satellite, somewhat modified however. For the 

 other types we may perhaps seek an explanation in certain con- 

 sequences of rotation of the stars upon their axes, or by 

 introducing modifying suppositions of unequally illuminated 

 surfaces, irregular forms, tidal action upon light-absorbing 

 atmospheres, spontaneous and intermittent explosions, meteor 

 swaims, and the like. 



Section B (Physics) was addressed by Prof. Cleveland, Abbe 

 of Washington, colloquially designated throughout the United 

 States "Old Probs," for the reason that he is in charge of the 

 weather bureau, and makes up the daily weather report, with 

 indications, formerly called probabilities. His theme was 

 terrestrial physics. There are two kinds of physics — molecular 

 and terrestrial. The latter he names, following the German 



NO. lOQI, VOL. 42] 



nomenclature, geo-physics. It relates to the earth as a whole, 

 including all phenomena relating to earthquakes, volcanoes, 

 gravitation, and the variations in its intensity on land and sea, 

 mountain, plain, and valley, magnetism of the earth, tidal 

 motion and tidal stress of the earth's crust as well as of the 

 ocean, and in general the study of the entire interior of the 

 earth, of the earth's crust, both land and water, meteorology, 

 auroras, &c. He deplores the lack of laboratories for such 

 researches, and deems a good geo-physical laboratory a great 

 desideratum. He urges that some such institution should be 

 founded and endowed, rather than to continue the founding of 

 laboratories for research in chemistry or molecular physics of 

 which so many are already in existence, or the establishment 

 and endowment of universities to teach only what is already 

 known. 



The address of Prof. R. B. Warder, of Washington, to 

 Section C (Chemistry), on geometrical isomerism, was de- 

 cidedly the most abstruse of the series, but to one able to follow 

 him, it was of unusual interest, giving tlie latest results of study 

 into the subject of the relative positions of atoms in a molecule, 

 including a careful study of the right-handed and left-handed 

 carbon molecules. Most of this material is very recent, the 

 prominent workers, such as Wislicenus and Wunderlich, having 

 made more progress within two or three years than in any 

 previous period. Besides the speculative interest of these 

 studies they have a very important practical application in the 

 physiological and pathological action of isomers, many of which, 

 while identical in chemical constitution, affect living organisms 

 very differently, whether administered as food or as medicine. 



Prof. James E. Denton, of Hoboken, addressed Section D 

 (Mechanical Science and Engineering) on mechanical tests of 

 lubricants. Experiments to determine the co-efficient of friction 

 between lubricated rubbing surfaces have been prosecuted for 

 two hundred years, and have resulted in the existence of many 

 forms of satisfactory apparatus for such measurement, which are 

 now known as oil-testing machines. The overheating of bear- 

 ings is due, however, to accidental abrasion of rubbing surfaces, 

 which generates an intense heat at some points, and tends to 

 vaporize some oils more than others. Oil-testing machines are 

 inadequate to reveal these differences, and moreover the supply 

 of oil is artificially abundant, instead of feeding through practical 

 forms of oil-cups. It is concluded, therefore, that each oil must 

 be tested with a series of conditions of the rubbing surfaces, and 

 practical feeding devices which involve opportunities for abrasion 

 and overheating. Explanation was given of the paradoxical 

 fact that overheating is often remedied by supplying sand or 

 emery to bearings. The sand grains make grooves around the 

 wearing parts, and as a result the oil is uniformly distributed, 

 and the hot-box cools down to the limit of safety. 



Prof. John C. Branner, State Geologist of Arkansas, addressed 

 Section E (Geology and Geography) on relations of the 

 state and the national geological surveys to each other. He 

 thus recapitulates the benefits to be derived from voluntary 

 cordial co-operation between all geologists and all geological 

 organizations in this country. 



"(i) Geologic research being under the nominal direction of 

 the leading investigators would be so conducted as to be of the 

 greatest utility to the greatest number. 



"(2) When a piece of work was done by one it would be 

 done for all, and duplication by state surveys and by individuals, 

 and the consequent waste of energy, time, and money would 

 cease. 



"(3) The functions and fields of official organizations being 

 better defined, state and national surveys and individuals could 

 so direct their efforts as to serve the purposes of others without 

 neglecting their own immediate aims, and without infringing 

 upon each other's ground. 



"(4) National and state surveys would be strengthened, and 

 local organizations and individual effort encouraged. 



"(5) It would give us a better geologic literature, better 

 instruction, better geologists, and more thorough specialists. 



" (6) And finally, we trust it would put a stop to those oracles 

 of science who are so ready to prophesy in its name." 



Dr. Charles S. Minot, of Boston, addressed Section F 

 (Biology) on certain phenomena of growing old. The loss of 

 vital power commences from birth ; the older an organism is the 

 more time it takes to produce a given change, and this indicates 

 a progressive loss of vitality. Anatomical peculiarities can be 

 found correlated with this progressive loss of vitality. Con- 

 sidering in detail the various tissues of the body in the order of 



