702 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVII. No. 958 



showed a collection of first editions of the 

 works of Vesalius, among which was the Fab- 

 rica of 1543, one of the most sumptuous works 

 ever published. Harvey — the first great stu- 

 dent of a function of the body — demonstrated 

 the circulation of the blood in a series of 

 masterly experiments which have been a model 

 for all subsequent workers. In the publica- 

 tion of the " de Motu Codris." modem physiol- 

 ogy may be said to have had its origin. 



In lecture five Professor Osier described 

 the steps by which we had obtained our knowl- 

 edge of the changes wrought in the body by 

 disease — morbid anatomy, the rise of clinical 

 medicine, the introduction of means of phys- 

 ical diagnosis and the development of experi- 

 mental pathology. The modern study of in- 

 fectious diseases was traced, the work of Pas- 

 teur and of Koch described, and the practical 

 application by Lister of the antiseptic method. 

 The new problems in relation to the internal 

 secretions were discussed, and it was held that 

 the future would be largely concerned with 

 studies in metabolism and clinical chemistry. 



In the last lecture the practical application 

 of the knowledge derived from recent re- 

 searches was considered in relation to some 

 of the more important diseases. The story of 

 malaria was told in full and it was urged that 

 a more active campaign against the disease 

 should be undertaken in the southern states. 

 The victory over yellow fever was retold, and 

 the experience of the Panama Canal Commis- 

 sion was held up as a model showing what 

 efficient organization will do. The building 

 of the canal was made possible by the work of 

 Laveran and of Ross and of Walter Reed and 

 his colleagues. An appeal was made for more 

 efiicient control of typhoid fever and for a 

 continuance of the fight against tuberculosis. 



PEOFESSOB BOWMAN'S EXPEDITION TO 

 THE CENTPAL ANDES 



Professor Isauh Bowman, of Yale Univer- 

 sity, sailed from New York on April 26 to con- 

 duet a South American expedition under the 

 auspices of the American Geographical So- 

 ciety. His purpose is to complete the investi- 



gations he began in 1907 in northern Chile 

 and Bolivia and continued in 1911 in the 

 basin of the Urubamba River, Peru. His 

 work this summer will be in that part of the 

 central Andes lying in Peru, northwestern 

 Argentina, adjacent portions of northern 

 Chile and southwestern Bolivia. Professor 

 Bowman will be accompanied by Mr. H. S. 

 Palmer as geologist and a surveyor. 



His field work will chiefly relate to the 

 anthropogeography and the physiography of 

 this region. The investigation of topography, 

 drainage and climate will thus go hand in 

 hand with the distribution and customs of the 

 people. Part of the work will lie in the dri- 

 est portions of the Puna of Atacama and the 

 adjacent desert of Atacama where villages in 

 isolated situations, vast salt plains and lofty 

 table lands alternate with rugged volcanic 

 masses and snow-capped sierras. It is a little- 

 known region and some of the most interest- 

 ing parts of it have not yet been studied scien- 

 tifically. The climatic conditions are of great 

 interest and the possibility exists of securing 

 critical data on past changes of climate since 

 the region lies in the transition zone of the 

 horse latitudes, between the trades and the 

 westerlies. The shifting routes of trade have 

 had remarkable effects on the towns and vil- 

 lages scattered along them, not only in stim- 

 ulating them to an unnatural degree, but also 

 in sudden decay. 



An attempt will be made to cross the 

 Andean Cordillera and the Desert of Ata- 

 cama along two different parallels where the 

 contrasts in altitude are most marked and thus 

 to study the distribution of people under 

 extreme conditions of physical environment. 



The last part of the field season will be 

 spent in investigating the border of the Titi- 

 caca Basin and descending the Desaguadero 

 River as far as possible towards Lake Poopo. 

 The elevation of the ancient strand lines of 

 Lake MinchiUf which once occupied a part of 

 the Bolivian high plateau, will be determined. 

 The relations of this now vanished lake and 

 Lake Titicaea have never been investigated 

 and the key to the problem will be sought in 

 the outlet of the Titicaea Basin. There, also, 



