SCIENCE 



Friday, March 25, 1921 



CONTENTS 

 Plants and Plant Culture: Charles V. Piper. 269 



Scientific Events : — 



The Carnegie Trust for Scottish, Universi- 

 ties; Meeting of the Organising Committees 

 of the Sections of the British Association; 

 The Personnel Research Federation; Grants 

 for Besearch made by the American Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science 279 



Scientific Notes and News 282 



University and Educational News 286 



Discussion and Correspondence : — 



The Preglacial Outlet of Lake Erie: Dr. 

 G. Pbedeeick Weight. The Conservation 

 of Game and Fur-hearing Animals: Pro- 

 fessor Henry B. Ward. Relativity and 

 Estimates of Star Diameters : Dr. Reginald 

 A. Fessenden 286 



Scientific Books: — 



Wilder 's Laboratory Manual of Anthro- 

 pometry: Dr. George Grant MacCdrdy. . . . 288 



The Production of Biological Stains in Amer- 

 ica: Dr. H. J. Conn •. 289 



Special Articles: — 



The Static Atom: Dr. Irving Langmdie. . . 290 



The OTclahoma Academy of Science: L. B. Nice. 293 



The Western Society of Naturalists — North- 

 west Section: Geo. B. Eigg 294 



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

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

 Hudeon, N. Y. 



PLANTS AND PLANT CULTUREi 



The enthusiasm resultant from the success- 

 ful establishment of Botanical Abstracts by 

 the combined efforts of all Americans inter- 

 ested in plants and plant culture has tended 

 to revitalize the belief that a closer union of 

 all scientific societies concerned with plants 

 is a desideratum of great importance. In this 

 connection the solidarity of chemistry and 

 the consistent efforts of chemists to ally their 

 science with industry is contrasted with the 

 very different state of affairs that exists in 

 botany. Another new influence of unifying 

 tendency is the N'ational Research Council, 

 which, rather defying tradition, has combined 

 in one division all of biology and agriculture. 

 Besides it is attempting to bring about greater 

 cooperation of research institutions and to 

 amplify scientific activities by securing sup- 

 port from commercial and other sources. 

 There still exist men who earnestly decry the 

 economic tendencies of science and consider 

 such argument, either as justification or for 

 support, to be futile or dangerous. Whatever 

 appeal there may be to botany and correlative 

 sciences in the phrase " research for research's 

 sake," it is Quixotic to expect it to be effective 

 in such fields of effort as medicine, engineer- 

 ing and agriculture, where the relations to 

 health, industry and prosperity are obvious. 



If there is to be adopted a broader view of 

 plant science, one that is to embrace all of 

 conventional botany as well as plant culture, 

 it is manifestly important that there be full 

 discussion of the desirability of such amalga- 

 tion as well as of the causes that have led to 

 the existing state of affairs. There is appar- 

 ently need of considerable readjustment of 



1 Address in the joint program of the American 

 Society of Agronomy, Botanical Society of Amer- 

 ica and American Phytopathological Society, Chi- 

 cago, December 30, 1920. 



