594 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVII. No. 955 



programs of which there were thirteen addi- 

 tional titles. 



An American zoologist could not fail to be 

 fitruck with the relatively small number of 

 titles lying in the experimental phases of 

 zoology, and so complete has become the 

 •divorce between continental zoology and 

 genetics that the program of the congress 

 contained but two titles within the latter 

 ifield. 



The topic subtending the widest angle, 

 'both in informal discussion and in the busi- 

 ness of the congress, was that of nomen- 

 clature, more specifically, the advisability of 

 continuing the application of the rule of 

 priority adopted by the International Com- 

 mission on Nomenclature. This question 

 was discussed first in the section on nomen- 

 clature, where the opinions of American 

 zoologists were presented chiefly by Dr. Stiles, 

 Professor Williston and Dr. Field. The sec- 

 tion first resolved to recommend to the con- 

 gress the proposal of Dr. Field, that an au- 

 thor might, in special instances, present to 

 the commission a request that a name be es- 

 tablished although not in accordance with the 

 strict priority rule. Such cases were to be 

 transmitted to a sub-committee of specialists 

 and to be published before their adoption. If 

 the commission were unable to accept the de- 

 cision of the sub-committee, an appeal might 

 then be had to the congress at its next meet- 

 ing. 



Later, however, the section on nomencla- 

 ture reversed this action and made a recom- 

 mendation which was finally presented to the 

 congress and adopted by a large majority. A 

 precise statement of this action wiU doubt- 

 less be published later, but in substance it is 

 as follows. The International Commission 

 on Nomenclature is given full power to sus- 

 pend the rules of nomenclature, including 

 that of priority, in special cases presented to 

 it by authors, with the understanding that 

 the commission will confer with specialists 

 in the groups concerned before coming to a 

 decision. If then, the vote of the commis- 

 ■sion should be unanimous, the suspension of 



the rule in that case becomes effective im- 

 mediately; if two thirds of the commission 

 favor the suspension, the question is to be 

 laid before a special committee of three, to be 

 appointed by the president of the section on 

 nomenclature, at the subsequent meeting of 

 the congress, this committee to consist of one 

 member favoring the suspension, one opposed 

 to it, and a third, whose opinion has not been 

 formed. 



The result of this action is primarily to 

 free the commission from the obligation of a 

 strict adherence to the application of the 

 priority rule. Whether this action will per- 

 mit a reasonable flexibility in the interpreta- 

 tion of the rules of nomenclature, of course 

 remains to be seen. To many it seems regret- 

 table tliat so much of the time and work of 

 these congresses must be devoted to the dis- 

 cussion of so special a topic, and one so in- 

 directly related to the advancement of zoolog- 

 ical knowledge. 



At the last general session on March 29, 

 the award of the Emperor Nicolas II. prize 

 was made to Professor Ernst Bresslau, Strass- 

 burg, for his work on the mammary organs 

 of the lower mammals, and to Professor Th. 

 Mortensen, Copenhagen, for his investigations 

 of the invertebrates of the Arctic oceans. 

 The O. Kowalewsky prize was awarded to 

 Professor Paul Pelseneer, Gand, for his well- 

 known work on the phylogeny of the Mol- 

 lusca. At this meeting Budapest was se- 

 lected as the place of the tenth congress, in 

 1916, and Professor G. Horvath, of the Hun- 

 garian National Museum was elected presi- 

 dent of that congress. 



The social events of the congress were espe- 

 cially brilliant, thanks to the hospitality of 

 Prince Albert I., and these added to the won- 

 derful natural beauties and charms of 

 Monaco, combined to render the congress a 

 memorable occasion. 



The congress was very largely attended, the 

 enrollment of members reaching approxi- 

 mately seven hundred, a considerable number 

 of whom were, however, not able actually to 

 be in attendance. While the date of the ses- 



