SCIENCE 



FRfflAY, May 6, 1921 



CONTENTS 



The Equilibrium Functions of the Internal 

 Ear: Professor S. S. Maxwell 423 



Meeting of the Geneticists interested in Agri- 

 culture: Dr. D. F. Jones 429 



National Pa/rTcs: Professor V. E. Shelford. 431 



Scientific Events: — 



World Production of Coal in 1920; Top 

 Minnows as Yellow Fever Eradicators; 

 The National Botanic Garden; Medical 

 Prizes; The Committee on Physiological 

 Optics of th-e National Research Council. 431 



Scientific Notes and News 434 



University and Educational Notes 437 



•Discussion and Correspondence : — 



Paleobotany as viewed by Two Geologists: 

 De. 6. E. "WiELAND. Have Birds an Acute 

 Sense of Sound Location: Dr. A. 6. Pohl- 



MAN 337 



Quotations : — 

 Scientific Organization 440 



Scientific Boohs: 



Long's Catalogue of the Coleoptera of 

 America north of Mexico: L. O. Howard. . 441 



Notes on Meteorology and Climatology: — 

 Meteorology and Balloon Racing: C. Le- 

 EoT Meisingbb 442 



Special Articles: — 



The Catalytic Properties of the Respiratory 

 Metals: John F. Fulton, Jr. The In- 

 fluence of Seat and Oxidation upon the 

 Nutritive and Antiscorbutic Properties of 

 Cow's Milk: Edla V. Anderson, R. Adams 

 Dtjtcheb, C. H. Eckles, J. W. Wilbur 444 



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

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

 Hudson, N. Y. 



THE EQUILIBRIUM FUNCTIONS OF 

 THE INTERNAL EARi 



In this paper I have not attempted to sur- 

 vey the whole range of present-day problems 

 on the functions of the labyrinth but have 

 confined myself to some phases of two funda- 

 mental questions. (1) What and how much 

 differentiation of function can be proved to 

 exist in the different labryinthine structures 

 concerned in equilibrium? (2) How does 

 movement or change of position of the body 

 give rise to the excitation process in the 

 labyrinth ? 



I wish to state at the outset that merely 

 for the sake of brevity specific mention will 

 not be made of the reasons for assigning the 

 functions discussed to the inner ear rather 

 than to the movement of retinal images or 

 to other sources of sensory stimuli, but must 

 have it understood that those possible errors 

 have not been left uncontrolled. Further- 

 more I have dealt with the phenomena ob- 

 jectively, becaiise the experimental work 

 which can throw light on these questions has 

 necessarily been done upon animals in which 

 the postulation of subjective sensations is un- 

 safe or unnecessary. Furthermore I have not 

 been unmindful of the fact that the reactions 

 in the form of compensatory movements and 

 forced positions include the simultaneous 

 activity of many muscle groups, but I have 

 used the compiensatory movements of the eyes 

 as the most convenient index of the labyrin- 

 thine refiexes, and also as the simplest to 

 describe. 



The labyrinth of the higher vertebrates 

 must be used in the solution of many yet un- 

 solved problems, but for the two fundamental 

 questions now before us it presents insuper- 

 able difficulties. On the other hand the ears 



1 Read before a joint session of the American 

 Society of Naturalists and American Society of 

 Zoologists, December 30, 1920. 



