812 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXX. No. 779 



the evolution and transformation in thought 

 that has been one of the greatest results from 

 the work of the great naturalist. These three 

 addresses have been brought together and 

 privately printed, making a pretty 64-page 

 pamphlet with the general title " Charles 

 Darwin: Three Appreciations, by J. M. Mac- 

 farlane." 



Here may be listed Dr. E. G. Eccles's 

 " Parasitism and Natural Selection : A Med- 

 ical Supplement to Darwin's Origin of 

 Species," first published in the Medical 

 Record, July 31, 1909, and now reprinted as 

 a 34-page pamphlet. The author emphasizes 

 the part taken by parasites in the evolution of 

 organisms, not only in the present, but also in 

 the remote past. 



A NEW BOTANICAL HISTORY 



Proofs have been received of the first part 

 of Dr. E. L. Greene's " Landmarks of Botan- 

 ical History," now in the press and soon to be 

 published in the " Smithsonian Miscellaneous 

 Collections." When completed the work will 

 consist of three volumes, and judging from 

 the pages we have examined it will be a most 

 helpful and discriminating contribution to 

 our knowledge of the development of the sci- 

 ence. At the outset the author makes the 

 rather startling statement that " What is 

 here undertaken is not a history of botany." 

 He has not planned to present " in chrono- 

 logical succession the long line of the con- 

 tributors to the upbuilding of this science 

 with an account of the best contributions 

 each has made," but rather to touch here and 

 there upon the work accomplished by botan- 

 ists in the gradual development of botany 

 from its earliest beginnings. In the phrase of 

 to-day, he proposes " to touch the high points " 

 in the history of botany. 



Every botanist will await the publication 

 of this book with great interest, for no man is 

 better prepared by nature and education for 

 this task than Dr. Greene. An early notice 

 of the first completed volume will appear in 

 these columns. 



Charles E. Bessey 



The University or Nebraska 



AX INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION 



Some recent developments in the relation of 

 producers and manufacturers of cotton in the 

 United States certainly call for a scientific 

 study of the question with a view to devising 

 some plans by which the elements entering 

 into the cotton industry shall the more clearly 

 understand the situation and be better under- 

 stood by other factors of the industry. 



At a recent meeting of the Georgia Indus- 

 trial Association in Atlanta, Ga., the cotton 

 mill owners of the state passed the following 

 resolutions : 



Resolved by the Georgia Industrial Association 

 that, owing to the disparity between the cost price 

 of cotton goods and yarns, based upon the present 

 price of cotton, and the market price thereof, that 

 it is necessary for the mills of this association, 

 as a matter of self-protection, to inaugurate and 

 enforce the curtailment of not less than 25 per 

 cent, of their running time. 



Resolved, further, that each mill of this asso- 

 ciation is instructed to make such curtailment 

 not later than November 1, 1909, and continuing 

 until January 1, 1910, and thereafter until the 

 selling price of the finished product approximates 

 its cost. 



We further recommend that all the mills of this 

 association decline all oflfers and withdraw all 

 quotations upon finished product at a less price 

 than the cost thereof, based upon the price of 

 cotton at the time of sale. 



It is a well-known fact that the cotton 

 raisers of the south have long been trying to 

 organize themselves, so that they would be able 

 to have something to say about the price of 

 cotton, and in view of the present high prices, 

 they think that they have cause to rejoice at 

 their efforts, and to believe that they have 

 scored a victory. While the writer believes 

 that the law of supply and demand will even- 

 tually regulate, it must be conceded that this 

 misunderstanding is calculated to lead to seri- 

 ous results, if the cotton industry of the south 

 and country fails to grasp its meaning. 



The National Farmers' Union of America 

 in answer to the above resolutions recently 

 issued a statement through the public press 

 that " curtailment of output by cotton mills 



