June 9, 1904] 



NA TURE 



127 



in the bovine animal by material of bovine origin, and 

 so far, both in broad, general features, and finer 

 histological details, the two conditions have been found 

 to be identical. The commission has, so far, failed to 

 discover any character by which the one could be dis- 

 tinguished from the other, and the records contain 

 accounts of the post mortem examination of bovine 

 animals infected with tuberculous material of human 

 origin, which might be used as typical descriptions of 

 ordinary bovine tuberculosis. 



There is no doubt that this interim report will be 

 useful in strengthening the hands of local authorities, 

 medical officers of heallh, and others, who have been 

 struggling in ditTicult circumstances to obtain for 

 the people a purer milk supply and food free from 

 tuberculous contamination. As stated by the com- 

 missioners, the results obtained seem " to show quite 

 clearly that it would be most unwise to frame or modify 

 legislative measures in accordance with the view that 

 human and bovine tubercle bacilli are specifically 

 difl'erent from each other, and that the disease caused 

 by the one is a wholly different thing from the disease 

 caused by the other." G. D. 



THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF 

 ACADEMIES. 



A COPY of the official record of the proceedings 

 of the International Association of Academies at 

 its plenary meeting on May 25, and of the proceedings 

 of the section of science on the following day, has now- 

 been received from the Royal Society. The complete 

 protocol of the meeting cannot yet be made up, 

 because no report has yet been received of the proceed- 

 ings of the section of letters; but we are informed 

 that the proceedings on the last day of the general 

 assembly in their plenary meeting consisted mainly of 

 receiving the resolutions of the sections of science and 

 of letters, and of certain complimentary resolutions 

 with regard to the president of the meeting and to 

 the Royal Society. 



In the subjoined summary the foreign translations 

 of the resolutions and details of the discussions have 

 been omitted. 



Wednesday, May 25. — After a few words of welcome from 

 the president of the council (Sir M. Foster), Prof. Darboux 

 (Secretaire perpetuel de r.-\cad6mie des Sciences) proposed 

 sir .Michael Foster as president of the general assembly. 

 The proposal was carried by acclamation. 



The president opened the proceedings with an address, in 

 the course of which he said : — 



I accept with pleasure, though not without anxiety, the 

 duties of the honourable though arduous post in which you 

 have placed me, and trust that such short-comings as I 

 may disclose may prove as little hindrance as possible to 

 the success of our meeting. When we met in Paris our 

 association was an infant of some fifteen months ; it had 

 just begun its dentition. It is now a lusty child of four 

 years and more; it has cut all of its first set of teeth. I 

 feel sure that you will join with me in the hope that its 

 teeth will be used, never for secondary purposes, as 

 aggressive weapons, but always for primary purposes, for 

 carrying out the first stages of the digestion and assimil- 

 ation of scientific knowledge and scientific thought into 

 living active scientific flesh and blood. When I say 

 " scientific " I use the word in the broad sense used by 

 my illustrious predecessor in this chair, in his opening 

 address at Paris, as meaning all knowledge which is exact 

 and which can be verified. Though we call the two sections 

 into which we divide ourselves, the one " scientific," the 

 other " literary," we are none of us, I venture to say, 

 satisfied with our nomenclature. We wish, all of us, that 

 we could use names which should free us from the mere 

 suspicion that there is even the taint of antagonism between 

 the kinds of knowled''e with which we have to deal. 



The association began as a brotherhood of existing 

 academies, but it has already advanced from brotherhood 

 to parentage. At a meeting at Paris, the Royal Society of 

 London excited much sympathy by its lone condition ; while 

 the delegates of most other countries represented the whole 

 round of knowledge with which the association deals, those 

 of England could speak of one part only. That sympathy 

 provoked action, and led to the establishment of the British 

 Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and 

 Philological Studies ; and it has been one of the pleasant 

 duties of my three years' term of otTice to bring about the 

 admission of that academy into our fold. 



One of the matters brought before the council of the 

 association last year, concerning the relations of the 

 association to proposals for international investigations re- 

 quiring State aid, is placed on the agenda for the present 

 meeting. The subject is one which demands our most 

 anxious attention ; may we be able to come to a decision 

 which, while assuring the future usefulness of the associ- 

 ation, mav not tend to hamper scientific activity outside 

 ourselves. ' On another matter, namely, the question 

 whether the association should hold property, the council 

 came to the conclusion that it was undesirable to attempt 

 at present a definitive decision : and there the matter at 

 present stands. The question does not come up for con- 

 sideration at the present meeting, but it is one on which 

 a decision must, sooner or later, be taken. 



On the motion of Prof. Diels, Lord Reay was nominated 

 vice-president. 



Secretaries for the meeting were nominated as follows : — 

 German, Dr. K. Krumbacher, JIunich ; French, M. A. 

 de Lapparent, Paris; English, Dr. A. D. Waller, London. 



The president proposed the following delegates as Presi- 

 dents d'lwnncur :— Dr. Diels, Prof. Darboux, Count 

 Balzani, Dr. Bakhuvzen. 



Prof. Gomperz proposed that section ix. (4), {5), ot the 

 statutes be amended to read as follows : — Section ix. (4). 

 The president (of the council) shall be appointed by the 

 directing academv. Section ix. (5). The vice-president 

 who shall belong to the other section, shall be appointed 

 in the same way. In the event, however, of the directing 

 academy having only one section, the association shall 

 entrust the appointment of the vice-president to another 

 academy. The proposal was carried. 



Prof. Darboux moved " That the initiation of any new 

 international organisation, to be maintained by subventions 

 from different States, demands careful previous examin- 

 ation into the value and objects of such organisation, and 

 that it is desirable that proposals to establish such organ- 

 isations should be considered by the International Associ- 

 ation of Academies before definite action is taken. llie 

 resolution was carried. . 



Prof -Armstrong presented the draft report of tlie 

 executive committee of the International Catalogue of 

 Scientific Literature. Prof. Credner moved ' That this 

 meeting recognises the great value of the International 

 Catalogue of Scientific Literature, and the importance of 

 aiding the work by making its existence known, as well 

 as of contributing to its efficiency and completeness by 

 endeavouring to secure the indexing of scientific publi- 

 cations at the time of issue, in accordance with the plan 

 adopted by the Royal Society." The resolution was carried 

 unanimouslv. 



Mr. Brvce announced that the British Academy was 

 taking ste'ps to publish a similar catalogue for philology, 

 and the other branches of learning not included among the 

 sciences of nature. 



M. Boutroux gave a brief account of the work completed 

 and contemplated in connection with the preparation of a 

 complete edition of the works of Leibniz, and moved That 

 the association be requested to renew the commission to the 

 three academies above named to prepare an edition of the 

 works of Leibniz committed to them by the resolution of 

 the association of April 18, 1901, and to request them to 

 bring about, between now and the general assembly of the 

 association in 1907. the publication of a critical catalogue, 

 for which they have already collected the materials, of the 

 Leibniz manuscripts." The resolution was carried. 



The president proposed Vienna as the place of meeting 

 of the next general assembly in 1907. The proposal was 

 adopted unanimously. 



NO. 1806, VOL. 70] 



