January 23, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



91 



ing values of the estimated number of bac- 

 teria per c.c. ; that is, the odds are even that 

 this nmnber lay between 14.82 and 17.31, 

 about 4.6 to 1 that it lay between 13.72 and 

 18.72, about 22 to 1 that it lay between 12.69 

 and 20.22, and nearly 142 to 1 that it lay 

 between 11.74 and 21.86. 



This, I believe, answers Dr. Johnstone's 

 question in so far as the small series of counts 

 permit. The problem is ts^pical of many that 

 have not received due consideration by either 

 biologist or statistician; and conclusions de- 

 parting widely from the truth are continually 

 being reached through failure to apply any 

 criterion of reliability on the one hand, and 

 through an erroneous application of the prob- 

 able error on the other hand. It is hoped this 

 brief presentation will stimulate discussion. 



Ellis L. Michael 

 ScRipps Institution, 

 La Jolla 



THE AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL 

 SOCIETY 



The twenty-sixth annual meeting of the society 

 was held at Columbia University on Tuesday and 

 Wednesday, December 30-31, with the usual morn- 

 ing and afternoon sessions on each day. The at- 

 tendance included 96 members. President Frank 

 Morley occupied the chair, being relieved at the 

 last session by Professor J. L. Coolidge. The fol- 

 lowing new members were elected : Dr. H. E. Bray, 

 Rice Institute; Professor I. L. Miller, Carthage 

 College; Dr. Helen B. Owens, Cornell University; 

 Professor E. W. Pehrson, University of Utah. Ten 

 applications for membership were received. 



At the annual election the following officers and 

 other members of the council were chosen: vice- 

 presidents, C. N. Haskins and E. G. D. Richardson; 

 secretary, E. N. Cole; treasurer, J. H. Tanner; li- 

 brarian, D. E. Smith; committee on publication, 

 E. N. Cole, Virgil Snyder, and J. W. Young; mem- 

 bers of the council to serve until December, 1922, 

 T. H. Hildebrandt, Edward Kasner, "W. A. Man- 

 ning, H. H. Mitchell. 



The total membership of the society is now 733, 

 including 80 life members. The total attendance of 

 members at all meetings, including sectional meet- 

 ings, during the past year was 393 ; the number of 

 papers read was 187. The number of members at- 

 tending at least one meeting during the year was 



252. At the annual election 156 votes were cast. 

 The treasurer's report shows a balance of $10,- 

 692.23, including the life membership fund of 

 $7,168.87. Sales of the society's publications dur- 

 ing the year amounted to $1,811.52. The library 

 now contains 5,690 volumes, excluding some 500 

 unbound dissertations. 



It was decided to proceed with the incorpora- 

 tion of the society under the general law of the 

 state of New York. A committee was appointed to 

 consider plans for the organization and adminis- 

 tration of the society after the retirement of the 

 present secretary and librarian from their offices 

 at the close of the present year. A committee was 

 also appointed to consider the formation of an in- 

 ternational union of mathematicians. The com- 

 mittee on mathematical requirements presented a 

 report, which was laid over for consideration at 

 the February meeting. 



The following resolutions, introduced by Pro- 

 fessor R. C. Archibald as chairman of the com- 

 mittee on 'bibliography, were adopted by the coun- 

 cil: 



The council regards the preparation and publi- 

 cation, in America, of a dictionary of mathemat- 

 ical terms as not only most desirable but also en- 

 tirely feasible, provided that financial aid for the 

 preparation of the manuscript can be secured. 



Impressed with possibilities for the more exten- 

 sive development of pure and applied mathematics 

 in America, and with the importance of such de- 

 velopment to the nation, the Council records its 

 conviction that there are undertakings whose ac- 

 tive consideration would be highly desirable if ade- 

 quate financial assistance might be regarded as 

 available. Among such undertakings are: 1. The 

 preparation and publication by societies or individ- 

 uals of surveys, introductory monographs, transla- 

 tions, memoirs, and treatises, in important fields, in- 

 cluding the history of mathematics. 2. The organi- 

 zation of research fellowships. 3. The preparation 

 and publication of an encyclopaedia of mathematics 

 ii. English. 4. The preparation and publication of 

 an annual critical survey, in English, of the mathe- 

 matical literature of the world. 5. The prepara- 

 tion and publication of a biographical and biblio- 

 graphical dictionary of mathematicians. 



The meeting of the society immediately preceded 

 that of the Mathematical Association of America 

 on January 1-2. A very pleasant occasion was the 

 joint dinner of the two organizations on New 

 Year 's eve with an attendance of 114 members and 

 friends. 



The following papers were read at the annual 

 meeting : 

 The sum of the face angles of a polyhedron in 



space of n dimensions: H. F. MacNeish. 



