SCIENCE 



Friday, January 2, 1920 



CONTENTS 

 The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: — 



The Evolution of Botanical Research : Peo- 

 FESSOE John M. Coultee 1 



Time, Space and Gravitation: De. Albeet 

 Einstein 8 



Scientific Events : — 



The Annual Report of the Director of the 

 Bureau of Standards; Needs of the Coast 

 and Geodetic Survey; The Royal Medals of 

 the Royal Society; Mr. RocTcefeller's Gifts. 10 



Scientific Notes and News 13 



University and Educational News 14 



Discussion and Correspondence : — 



Thread Moulds and Bacterig, in the Devon- 

 ian: Professoe Eoy L. Moodie. Vibration 

 Bate of the Tail of a Rattlesnake : Mabel C. 

 Williams. A TicTcet to St. Louis: School- 

 master 14 



: Articles: — 

 The Protective Influence of Blood Serum on 

 the Experimental Cell Fibrin Tissue of 

 Limulus: Dr. Leo Loeb. A Preliminary 

 Note on Soil Acidity: O. B. Winter 17 



Alaham,a Meeting of the Association of Ameri- 

 can State Geologists: Peopessoe Thomas 

 L. Watson 19 



The American Chemical Society : Dr. Chaeles 

 L. Parsons 20 



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

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

 Hudflon, N. Y. 



THE EVOLUTION OF BOTANICAL 

 RESEARCHi 



A MEETING of the American Association in 

 St. Louis is of special interest to botanists. 

 When this city was little more than a frontier 

 town, Dr. George Englemann became one of 

 its citizens. In spite of his duties as a suc- 

 cessful physician, he became one of our great- 

 est botanists. In fact, in the days when tax- 

 onomy was practically the whole of botany, 

 and our virgin flora was being explored, the 

 great American trio of botanists was Asa 

 Gray, of Cambridge, John Torrey, of New 

 Tork, and George Englemann, of St. Louis. 

 Englemann's distinction was that he published 

 no general botanical works, but selected a 

 series of the most difS.cult problems in taxon- 

 omy, and in a masterly way organized for us 

 many perplexing groups. With these groups 

 his name will always be associated. To a 

 botanist, therefore, St. Louis means the home 

 of George Englemann. 



There is another association also for the 

 botanist. St Louis is the home of one of our 

 great botanical gardens, identified for those 

 of us who are older with the name of Henry 

 Shaw; but we are becoming accustomed to its 

 later name, the Missouri Botanical Garden. 

 Its plans and activities represent a fitting 

 continuation of the spirit of Englemann and 

 Shaw, adapted to the progress of botanical 

 science. 



In consequence of these associations, St. 

 Louis may be said to have a botanical atmos- 

 phere, of which botanists are very conscious. 

 We have the feeling, therefore, not of a visit, 

 but of a home-coming. 



A presidential address, delivered to a group 

 composed of investigators representing all the 

 sciences, and including also those interested 



1 Address of the president of the American Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science, St. Louis, 

 December, 1919. 



