December 1, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



617 



lield aimual meetings in the summer; itJhe 

 American Society of Naturalists, with an affili- 

 ated group of societies in the oatural- sciences, 

 ii'ad met in the Chmstmias holidays. Others 

 of the nationail societies had met at various 

 itimes and places. 



The summer aneetings of the American Asso- 

 ciation were found unsatisfactory owing to the 

 difficulty of traveling am'd the wide dispersion 

 of scientific men at that season. There had 

 (been a gradual development in the direction of 

 making the American Association an affiliation 

 of scientific societies responsible for their own 

 programs, and the special programs of the 

 sections of the association wei'e becoming tes 

 important. After long discussion, it was con- 

 sequently decided to transfer the meeting to the 

 Christmas holidays, and to make closer the 

 affi'Hation with the national scientific societies. 



A committee, of which the late Professor 

 Charles S. Minot was chairman and the chair- 

 man of the present committee was secretary, 

 'proposed and arranged a convocation week 

 meeting of the American Association and other 

 national societies to be held during the week 

 in which New Tear's day falls. The plan was 

 to let the meeting follow Christmas day, at a 

 sufficient interval to allow scientific men to 

 spend the first part of the Ohiistmas hoiidays 

 at home, devoting the second half to the scien- 

 tific meetings. Extensive correspondence was 

 conduoted with universities and colleges and 

 about sixty leading institutions aigreed either 

 to let their Chiistm-as holidays include the en- 

 tire week in which New Year's day falls, or 

 in case that were not possible to give leave of 

 absence to those wlio wished to attend the 

 meetings. 



It was thought that the official recognition 

 of convocation week would lead the authorities 

 of the universities and other institutions to 

 realize that attendance at scientific meetings 

 is a part of the academic duties and privileges 

 of their teachers. Efforts, in part successful, 

 were also made to obtain payment of traveling 

 expenses by the institutions. 



A further part of the plan of convocation 

 week was to hold a greater convocation of scien- 

 tific, and perhaps also of learned, societies 



once in four years, in alternation in Washing- 

 ton, New York and Chicago. It was proposed 

 that at the intervening two-year periods the 

 asso'ciation should meet in a large central city, 

 where there would be accommodation for all 

 the societies to meet with it. In the alternate 

 years — the end of the year of odd numbers in 

 the calendar — ^the meeting would be held ia a 

 smaller or more remote city, and in this case 

 it was assumed that many of the scientific so- 

 cieties would prefer to meet singly or in groups, 

 often in smaller university towns. This plan 

 has since been carried out, the four-year con- 

 vocation meeting, for example, having been 

 held at the end of 1920 m Chicago, with a very 

 large representation of national smentific so- 

 cieties and soienitific men. The meeting last 

 year was held in Toronto, a smaller city, where, 

 however, the arrangements were admirable and 

 the attendance large. The meeting this year 

 will be at Boston, whei-e the facilities are ample 

 for a large meeting. 



A difficulty 'has, however, occuri-ed owing to 

 the preseientifie arrangement of the calendar, 

 according to which the same day of the week 

 does not coincide with the same day of the 

 month. When New Year's day came eaiiy in 

 the week, many institutions resumed their 

 regular work in the middle of that week, and 

 scientific men found it difficult to be absent to 

 attend meetings of scientific societies at the 

 beginning of their work. The present com- 

 mittee was appointed with special reference 

 to this difficulty, but was authorized to report 

 on other problems connected with convocation 

 week. 



This year Christmas occurs on Monday and 

 it was not regarded as feasible to postpone the 

 meetings to the following week. The council 

 at Toronto appeared to be nearly equally di- 

 vided among three alternatives — holding the 

 meeting during Christmas week, extending it 

 over Sunday, or postponing it to New Year's 

 week. It was finally decided to hold the open- 

 ing session on Tuesday. This has obvious dis- 

 advantages — it shortens convocation week by 

 a day; it requires most members of the soci- 

 eties who wish to be present at the opening to 

 leave home on or before Christmas day; it does 



