286 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LII. No. 1343 



is believed to represent readvance, or at least 

 a long pause in the ice front. For these some- 

 what regular oscillations no secular cause ap- 

 pears adequate except the precision of the 

 equinoxes, and Taylor figures the time, using 

 the minimum of the precession periods, as 

 75,000 to 150,000 years. In New York we 

 have many clear proofs of the great length of 

 Glacial and Postglacial time. One of them 

 refers to continental land uplift. Since the 

 glacier passed off from Ifew York the land at 

 the north boundary has risen 740 feet, and 

 that rise is all subsequent to the deposition of 

 the Hudson-Champlain clays, though not to 

 that of the clays of the St. Lawrence. 



Any measurement of time by counting sea- 

 sonal lamination of the Pleistocene clays will 

 require conscientious study of many sections, 

 with the same scrupulous care that Hunting- 

 ton gave to the counting of the growth rings 

 in the California Big Trees. 



The clay record, it should be repeated, is 

 only the time while the latest ice sheet was 

 passing off, and that time is only a fraction 

 of glacial time, to say nothing of true Post- 

 glacial time. 



It is apparent that the proposed study can 

 not be done hurriedly, by reconnaissance and 

 cursory methods. It is the work of a lifetime, 

 and when done is little more than a guess. 

 Possibly such study might develop criteria 

 and methods that would give precision. 



To attribute the long-period variation in 

 world climate which produced the Pleistocene 

 Glacial Period, and other vastly more ancient 

 glaciation, to variability in solar radiation is 

 the easiest way of explaining a diificulty. It 

 has no scientific basis. We would better seek 

 causes for climatic changes in the known geo- 

 logic and atmospheric changes. For this Pro- 

 fessor Chamberlin has blazed the path. 



H. L. Fairchild 



TJniveksitt of Eochester 



GENERAL RESOLUTIONS OF THE PAN- 

 PACIFIC SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCEi 



1. FUTURE CONFERENCES 



Since the present conference has been found 

 highly inspiring and illuminating and an in- 

 1 Held at Honolulu, August 2 to 20, 1920. 



valuable aid in defining the essential prob- 

 lems of the Pacific region, be it 

 i Resolved that future similar conferences 

 should be held at intervals of not over three 

 years. 



2. PERMANENT ORGANIZATION 



The results of the First Pan-Pacific Confer- 

 ence have demonstrated the high value of 

 meetings for the discussion of problems com- 

 mon to all countries whose interests lie wholly 

 or in part within the Pacific area; and have 

 shown that the problems relating to the wel- 

 fare of Pacific peoples are too large and too 

 complex to be solved satisfactorily except by 

 sympathetic cooperation of individual insti- 

 tutions and governmental agencies. To de- 

 velop a unity of interest and to make har- 

 monious coordination practicable, it seems de- 

 sirable that some permanent organization be 

 established which may serve as the point of 

 contact for representatives of various interests 

 in the countries of the Pacific. Be it therefore 



Resolved that the attention of the governor 

 of Hawaii be called to the great opportunity 

 afforded by an organization designed for the 

 advancement of the common interests of the 

 Pacific, including scientific research, and to 

 the desirability of taking action which may 

 lead to the development of such an organiza- 

 tion vouched for and supported by the various 

 Pacific countries. 



3. INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL 



Since this conference commends the organi- 

 zation of the International Research Council 

 as a means toward coordinating research in 

 science; be it 



Resolved that it is the desire of this con- 

 ference that any agency created for the guid- 

 ance of scientific research and exploration in 

 the Pacific region may be affiliated with the 

 council and with the various national research 

 councils of the nations of the Pacific. 



4. SHIPS FOR EXPLORATION 



The cost of scientific researches in the Pa- 

 cific which involve the continuous use of a 

 ship is prohibitive for most scientific institu- 

 tions and individuals. The results of the 

 Challenger and the WilJces expeditions have 



