^2 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 158. 



^'Resolved, That the American Society of Naturalists, 

 as representatives of the principal scientific and edu- 

 cational interests of this country, unanimously ex- 

 press to the President and Congress of the United 

 States their sentiment that the Commissioner of Fish 

 and Fisheries should, according to the law of 1888, 

 governing his appointment, be ' a person of proved 

 ■scientific and practical acquaintance with the fish and 

 fisheries of the coast.' 



' ' Resolved, That it is of the utmost importance 

 that the Fish Commission, as one of the most useful 

 scientific institutions of the government, should be 

 free from political influence and should be adminis- 

 tered with the highest degree of scientific efficiency by 

 .an experienced ofiicer. " 



It was then voted that Professor H. F. 

 ■Osborn, of Columbia University, be a 

 delegate to convey the resolutions of the 

 Society to the President of the United States, 

 a.nd the members were asked to urge their 

 Congressmen to prevent the appointment of 

 any person unfitted for the place. The keen 

 interest that was manifest in the discussion 

 is a guarantee to Mr. McKinley that if his 

 appointment is in accord with the spirit of 

 the law he will gain the active support of 

 scientific men throughout the country. 



Professor T. H. Morgan stated that the 

 ' American Tables ' at Naples were quite 

 inadequate to the needs of American stu- 

 ■dents, and that were it not for the unlimited 

 generosity of Professor Dohrn many Ameri- 

 cans could not have availed themselves of 

 the privileges of the Zoological Station. 

 Professor Osborn said that a friend of Co- 

 lumbia University had offered two hundred 

 and fifty dollars towards the five hundred 

 necessary for the support of an additional 

 table, and Professor John B. Smith moved 

 that the Society appropriate one hundred 

 dollars to be added to that already in the 

 hands of Professor Osborn. It was so 

 voted. It was also voted that that fifty 

 ■dollars be appropriated for the continuance 

 of the ' Naturalists' Table ' at Woods Holl. 



An amendment to the constitution, pro- 

 viding for the extension of the territory in 

 which the Society may meet, was actively 



discussed, but failed of the number of votes 

 necessary for its passage. The members 

 then listened to the annual discussion on 

 ' The Biological Problems of To* day:' 



Paleontology. Professor H. F. Osborn, 



Columbia University. 



Botany. Professor Wm. Trelease, 



Missouri Botanic Gar- 

 dens. 



Anatomy. Professor Burt G. Wil- 



der, Cornell Univer- 

 sity. 



Psychology. Professor J. McKeen 



Cattell, Columbia Uni- 

 versity. 



Physiology. Professor Jacques Loeb, 



University of Chicago. 



Developmental Mechanics. Professor T. H. Morgan, 

 Bryn Mawr College. 



Morphogenesis. Professor Charles B. 



Davenport, Harvard 

 University. 



Each participant was limited to ten min- 

 utes and the papers were short and to the 

 point. They will be printed in full in this 

 Journal at an early date. Special papers 

 were presented by Professors Osborn, Will- 

 iams and Wilder. 



The following officers were elected for 

 1898: 



President. — H. P. Bowditoh, Harvard Medical 

 School. 



Vice-Presidents. — Professor Wm. James, Harvard 

 University ; Professor S. H. Gage, Cornell Univer- 

 sity; Professor H. S. Williams, Yale University. 



Secretary. — Professor H. C. Bumpus, Brown Uni- 

 versity. 



Treasurer. — Professor John B. Smith, Rutgers 

 College. 



Executive Committee. — Professor J. P. McMurrich, 

 University of Michigan ; Professor E. G. Conklin, 

 University of Pennsylvania. 



The annual dinner, given at Cascadilla 

 Place, was a thoroughly enjoyable occasion. 

 Professor Osborn presided in the absence 

 of Professor Whitman, who, being unavoid- 

 ably detained, was unable to give the ad- 

 dress on ' Some of the Functions and Fea- 

 tures of a Biological Station,' that he had 



