November 26, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



513 



to distinguisli clearly between " the group " 

 and what we may designate as " unspecified 

 individuals " ; the use of the term " society " 

 for forgotten sources of suggestion or for in- 

 fluential individuals, may be occasionally dis- 

 appointing to the reader whose psychology is 

 stiU more individualistic than that of the au- 

 thor. The conclusion that low intelligence is 

 not an innate but " merely an acquired char- 

 acteristic " may not seem necessarily to follow 

 from the evidence presented, and is at least at 

 variance with current views concerning the 

 nature of intelligence. But these are minor 

 points. The general reader and the specialist 

 alike will welcome the book as a substantial 

 contribution to the subject of collective psy- 

 chology. 



H. L. HOLLINGWORTH 



CALL FOR A MEETING OF GENETI- 

 CISTS INTERESTED IN AGRI- 

 CULTURE 

 There is a steadily increasing number of 

 teachers and investigators in the country 

 interested in genetics in its relation to agri- 

 culture. The greater proportion of these are 

 connected with agricultural colleges and ex- 

 periment stations, and in this relationship 

 they encounter a distinctive set of problems 

 and responsibilities. These include questions 

 of organization, scope of teaching and in- 

 vestigation, cooperation, relation to extension 

 activities, and the like. As an example, take 

 the matter of organization, which involves 

 both intradepartmental and interdepartmental 

 relations. Is it preferable that the genetics 

 work and workers in an institution should be 

 brought together in a single departmental 

 organization, or can the interests of the in- 

 stitution, the students and the investigational 

 projects be best served by having different 

 geneticists on the staff attached to such exist- 

 ing departments as animal husbandry, horti- 

 culture and agronomy ? Each of these plans 

 doubtless has its advantages and its disad- 



The question of where and by whom the 

 elementary course in genetics should be 

 taught, and what its scope should be, is an- 



other important question on which practise 

 varies greatly in different institutions. To 

 what extent, if at all, should investigators in 

 agricultural experiment stations be limited 

 in their investigations to projects which have 

 more or less immediate practical application? 

 And to what extent can the results of recent 

 advances in genetics be put before the prac- 

 tical breeder and be made of use to him? 

 These examples will serve to indicate the na- 

 ture of some of the problems which face the 

 geneticists in agricultui-al institutions. It is 

 felt by those whose names are appended to 

 this letter that much benefit might be derived 

 from a conference of such workers, at which 

 these and other similar questions might be 

 discussed, since mutual advantage could 

 doubtless be derived from the ideas and ex- 

 perience of others. To this end we are pro- 

 posing that an attempt be made to arrange 

 for such a conference to be held in con- 

 nection with the meetings of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science 

 and affiliated societies in Chicago this winter. 

 The most feasible date can not be stated at 

 this time; it might be necessary, in order to 

 avoid conflicts, that those interested in this 

 project should come a day earlier or stay over 

 a day later than the other meetings. 



The organization of a formal society is not 

 at present contemplated, and it should be em- 

 phasized that it is not proposed to have a 

 meeting for the presentation of technical 

 papers in genetics, provision for which is 

 already made on the programs of various 

 societies. This is contemplated purely as a 

 conference for the discussion of the problems 

 peculiar to the geneticists of agricultural in- 

 stitutions or other persons interested in the 

 application of genetics to agriculture. Corre- 

 spondence and suggestions are solicited from 

 all who may be interested in promoting or 

 attending such a meeting. Address comtmuni- 

 cations to L. J. Cole, College of AgTiculture, 

 University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisv 



E. B. Babcoek, professor of genetics, University 



of California. 

 Leon J. Cole, professor of genetics, University of 



Wisconsin. 



