SCIENCE 



Friday, April 8, 1921 



CONTENTS 



A New Agency for the Popularisation of 

 Science: De. Edwin E. Slosson 321 



The Distriiution of HooTcworms in the Zoolog- 

 ical Regions : De. Samuel T. Daeling H23 



Vegetation Mapping : De. Paul B. Seaks . . . 325 



Scientific Events: — 



The Systematization of PlanTcton Investiga- 

 tions; Madame Curie's Visit to America; 

 The Rochester Meeting of the American 

 Chemical Society; The Herter Lectureship. 332 



Scientific Notes and News S27 



University and Educational Neius 329 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 



Osteom,yelitis in the Permian: De. Eoy L. 

 MooDiE. The Chromosomes of Conooepha- 

 lum conicum: Amos M. Showaltee. The 

 Cost of German Publications: De. M. W. 

 Senstius. The cost of American Publica- 

 tions in Boumania: Peofessoe E. G. Eaco- 

 GiTZA. Requests for Biological Publica- 

 tions : Pbofessoe Charles A. Kopoid 333 



Scientific Boohs: — 



Weaver on Root Development in the Grass- 

 land Formation: Peopescoe B. E. Liv- 

 ingston 335 



Notes on Meteorology and Climatology : — 

 Physiological Meteorology: De. C. LeEoy 

 Meisingee 33 7 



Special Articles: — 

 A New Type of Inheritance : Peofessoe "W. 

 E. Castle 339 



The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: — 



Section A and Associated Mathematical Or- 

 ganizations: Peofessors Wm. H. Eoevee, 



ARNOLD DeESDEN AND W. D. Caiens 342 



The American Society of Agronomy: Pro- 

 fessor P. E. Beown 944 



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

 review ebould be seat to The Editor of Science, Garrison-on- 

 Hudson, N. Y. 



A NEW AGENCY FOR THE POPULARI- 

 ZATION OF SCIENCE 



In a democracy like ours it is particularly 

 important that tlie people as a whole should 

 so far as possible understand the aims and 

 achievements of modern science, not only be- 

 cause of the value of such knowledge to them- 

 selves but because research directly or in- 

 directly depends upon popular appreciation 

 of its methods. In fact the success of demo- 

 cratic government as well as the prosiKsrity o£ 

 the individual may be said to depend upon 

 the ability of the people to distinguish be- 

 tween real science and fake, between the 

 genuine expert and the pretender. 



The education of children in schools and 

 of a few in colleges is not sufficient for this. 

 It must be carried into maturity through 

 such channels as the newspapers and the 

 motion pictures. Unfortunately the rapid ad- 

 vance and increasing complexity of modern 

 science has made it difficult for the general 

 reader to follow its course and he has often 

 given up the attempt in despair. Conse- 

 quently we find the reading public divided 

 into two classes as may be discerned in any 

 public reading room; a minority that habit- 

 ually read the scientific journals and a major- 

 ity that never touch even the most popular 

 of them. 



In the effort to bridge this gap and to 

 aid in the dissemination of scientific informa- 

 tion, a new institution, the Science Service, 

 has been established at Washington. It is 

 chartered as a non-profit-making corporation 

 and all receipts from the sale of articles, 

 books or films will be devoted to the develop- 

 ment of new methods of popular education 

 in science. The governing board of fifteen 

 trustees consists of ten scientists and five 

 journalists. 



The charter is a wide one, authorizing 

 Science Service to publish books and maga- 

 zines, to conduct conferences and lecture 



