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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LI. No. 1316 



minimum of time for administration. The 

 university and state administrations were able 

 and willing to give him cordial supjKirt, and 

 he made his laboratory the resort of all who 

 were pursuing plant-physiological studies or 

 were interested in them. 



His long list of publications, beginning with 

 one on mosses, plant-geographical in character, 

 and one or two embryological papers, not only 

 opened the way for plantnphysiological work by 

 many others, but directed and to a great ex- 

 tent molded their studies. He not only in- 

 fluenced botanical study, but his osmotical in- 

 vestigations were and are of fundamental im- 

 portance in physical-chemistry. As friends and 

 neighbors for years, PfefFer and Ostwald con- 

 versed and thought together, to the correspond- 

 ing advantage of the sciences to which they 

 were devoted. 



Two publications stand out from the many 

 because of their general, rather than special, 

 botanical interest, namely the Handbueh der 

 Pflanzenphysiologie, which passed through two 

 editions and in the second was translated by 

 Ewart into English, and was the great refer- 

 ence book in plant-physiology for two genera- 

 tions ; and the Jahrbiicher fiir wissenschaftliche 

 Botanik, founded by Pringsheim, and con- 

 tinued after Pringsheim's death and until 

 Strasburger's, in collaboration with him. The 

 TJntersuchungen aus dem botanischen Institut 

 zu Tiibingen, which lasted only during Pf effer's 

 stay at the south German university, gave him 

 experience in the mechanical detail as well as 

 in the editorial work of serial publication. 



Pfeffer is survived by his widow, his daugh- 

 ter-in-law, and a -grandson. He had one child, 

 a son who was of age to be one of the direct 

 sacrifices of the war, and presimiably was. But 

 he himself, a man of deep feeling and clear 

 vision, must also have been a sacrifice. 



Just as the war began, a jubilee volume was 

 being prepared to celebrate the fibEtieth anni- 

 versary of his doctorate and his seventieth 

 birthday. Contributions had been promised 

 by his students all over the world. With the 

 coming of war many found themselves pre- 

 vented from sending their papers, and in con- 

 sequence the Jubilee Volume which appeared 



in 1915, as part of the Pringsheim series of 

 Jahrbiicher, contained only a fraction of the 

 contributions to science which his students had 

 planned to make in his honor. 



Belonging to an age in Germany in which 

 ideas were more sought than discipline, when 

 scholarship was more honored than military 

 rank, when a professor was more likely than a 

 tradesman to become a Geheimrath, his life 

 lasted through the fall of German imperialism 

 and came to an end before German reconstruc- 

 tion was more than begun. Honors, national 

 and international, were conferred upon him; 

 and we who had the privilege of studying under 

 his direction will continue to honor him as an 

 inspiring teacher and a great example of schol- 

 arly devotion and productiveness. 



G. J. P. 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



THE ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC WORK IN 

 INDIAi 



The reorganization and development of sci- 

 entific work in India are now under considera- 

 tion, and impoi'tant and far-reaching decisions 

 on these questions will shortly be made by the 

 Secretary of State. It has already been de- 

 cided, both by the government of India and by 

 the Secretary of State, that large sums of 

 money must be found at the earliest possible 

 moment for the purpose of fostering the devel- 

 opment of the Indian empire by means of sci- 

 entific research. The principle of state aid on 

 a generous scale has been accepted, but the im- 

 portant question of the best method of utilizing 

 this form of assistance in the future develop- 

 ment of India remains to be settled. These 

 matters were referred to by the Viceroy on 

 January 30 last in his speech opening the pres- 

 ent session of the Imperial Legislative Council 

 at Delhi. It is evident from the report of Xord 

 Chelmsford's remarks which appeared in the 

 London Times of February 6 that the govern- 

 ment of India is now considering large schemes 

 of expansion in regard to the scientific activi- 

 ties of the state. 



Two policies at present hold the field: (a) 

 Centralization under a proposed Imperial De- 



1 From Nature, February 19, 1920. 



