SCIENCE 



Friday, August 22, 1919 



CONTENTS 

 The Seientifio Mohilisation in Italy for the 

 War: Dr. Georgio Abetti 169 



The Personal Relation of tlie Investigator to 

 his Problem: Professor Chaeles Zelent. 175 



Scientific Events: — 



American Astronomy ; Organisation of the 

 American Meteorological Society 179 



Scientific Notes and News 181 



University and Educational News 182 



Discussion and Correspondence : — 



Tandler and Keller on the Free-Martin: 

 Professor Frank E. Lillie. The Anti- 

 scorbutic Properties of Saw Lean Beef: 

 Professor B. Adams Ddtcher, Edith M. 

 PiERSON, Alice Biester. Auroral Displays: 

 Dr. Charles F. Brooks, Frederick Ehren- 

 FELD, Wm. a. Conrad. Monkeys as Coco- 

 nut PicTcers: Carl D. La Eue 183 



Scientific Books: — 

 Vital Statistics : Dr. Louis I. Dublin .... 187 



A Sistorical Note on the Synchronous Flash- 

 ing of Fireflies : Dr. E. W. Gudger ] 88 



Special Articles: — 



The Origin of Nerve Cell Pigments: Dr. 

 David H. Dollet, Frances V. Guthrie . . . 190 



MSS. intended for publication and books, etc., intended for 

 review should be sent to The Editor of Science, Garriaon-on- 

 Hudson, N. Y. 



THE SCIENTIFIC MOBILIZATION IN 

 ITALY FOR THE WAR 



The various manifestations of the present 

 war have bad, for the most part, their founda- 

 tion in applied science and industry. The best 

 minds turned to study methods of offense and 

 defense, based on the application of pure or 

 applied science, and inventive genius has had 

 and istill has a wide field in which to find new 

 arms and new devices and to perfect those now 

 existing. 



From the beginning of the war, Italy, no less 

 than her Allies, has mobilized her scientific 

 and industrial forces for the one purpose to 

 which all the activities of the country have had 

 to be devoted, and nothing has been spared to 

 help and perfect the great war-machine which 

 had to bring victory. 



The work began first individually and as de- 

 manded by the necessities of the moment; then, 

 a little at "a time, for individual work, for the 

 work of individual scientists as officers on the 

 fighting line or in the rear where their tech- 

 nical skill was required, or in the war indus- 

 tries which had to enlarge all their plants 

 rapidly and modify them according to oircum- 

 stanices, there was substituted a single organi- 

 zation, a state institution. This was founded 

 in order to mobilize properly for war purposes 

 all available Italian scientific forces and aU 

 the means at the disposal of the numerous lab- 

 oratories of the ischools and state technical es- 

 tablishments. 



This institution, which naturally was situ- 

 ated at the Ministry of Arms and Munitions, 

 had the following duties: 



(1) To classify and mobilize the various sci- 

 entific institutions according to their possible 

 utilization and the means at the disposal of 

 each. (2) To study the problems which were 

 eventually proposed by the military technical 

 offices, distribute them to the laboratories and 

 institutions best adapted to the particular 



