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SCIENCE 



[N. 8. Vol. XXVIII. No. 727 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



The program of papers for the meeting of the 

 National Academy of Sciences, held at the Johns 

 Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., on November 

 17 and 18, was as follows: 



Henry F. Osborn: "The Close of the Cretaceous 

 and Beginning of the Eocene in the Hell Creek 

 Region of Montana." Based on explorations of 

 the American Museum between 1902 and 1908. 



A. G. Webster : " On the Distribution of Sound 

 from the Megaphone, or Speaking Trumpet." 



H. S. Jennings (introduced by Ira Remsen) : 

 " Elementary Species and the Effects of Selection 

 in a Unicellular Organism." 



R. W. Wood (introduced by Ira Remsen) : 

 "Absorption Spectra of Mixtures of Metallic 

 Vapors." 



R. W. Wood (introduced by Ira Remsen) : 

 " The Mercury Paraboloid as a Reflecting Tele- 

 scope." 



H. N. Morse : " Results Obtained in the Direct 

 Measurement of Osmotic Pressure." 



Simon Flexner: "Certain Examples of Bio- 

 chemical Control of Cell Development, (a) Meta- 

 plasia of Transplantable Tumors. (6) Inhibition 

 of Spirocheta pallida." 



Russell H. Chittenden : " Further Studies on 

 the Effect of a Low Protein Diet on High Protein 

 Animals." 



A. Agassiz and H. L. Clark : " The Echini of 

 an Insular Fauna." 



Alexander Agassiz: "The Work of the U. S. 

 Fish Commission Ship Alhatross." 



H. C. Jones and John A. Anderson (introduced 

 by Ira Remsen ) : " The Absorption Spectra of 

 Solutions of Certain Salts." 



John B. Watson (introduced by Ira Remsen) : 

 " The Reactions of Primates to Monochromatic 

 Lights." 



E. G. Conklin: "Effects of Centrifugal Force 

 on the Organization and Development of the Eggs 

 of Certain Animals." 



C. R. Van Hise: "The Phosphates of the Soil." 



B. 0. Peirce: "Biographical Memoir of Joseph 

 Lovering." 



W. H. Dall and W. H. Brewer : " Biographical 

 Memoir of William M. Gabb." 



Charles S. Hastings : " Biographical Memoir of 

 Josiah W. Gibbs." 



the scientific association of the JOHNS 

 HOPKINS university 



The Scientific Association of Johns Hopkins 



University held the first monthly meeting of the 

 present scholastic year in Hopkins Hall, Novem- 

 ber 11. Two important papers were presented. 



The first was by Professor J. B. Watson, the 

 newly-elected professor of experimental and com- 

 parative psychology, upon the subject of " Methods 

 and Apparatus in Comparative Psychology." 



Professor Watson gave a brief description of the 

 nature of the problems in comparative psychology. 

 The position was taken that the behavior of ani- 

 mals can be studied in a scientific way; that the 

 facts thus obtained can be stated objectively and 

 that they deserve to have equal rank with other 

 observations in experimental psychology and in 

 biology. 



The view was expressed that the study of the 

 sensory processes of animals is the most hopeful 

 field at present. Exact and scientific statements 

 concerning the nature of color vision, hearing, 

 smell, contact, etc., in animals are much needed. 

 At present almost nothing is known in any exact 

 way of the functioning of the sense organs of the 

 higher animals. Such studies should be under- 

 taken in a more comprehensive way than has here- 

 tofore been the case. Observations made by the 

 same investigator on many species of animals are 

 desirable at present. Only in this way can a true 

 phylogeny of mind be obtained. When the facts 

 are before us we shall be in a position to begin the 

 comparison of the behavior of animals with the 

 behavior of man. 



Several pieces of apparatus for testing hearing, 

 vision, temperature, etc., were briefly described. 

 A description of an apparatus for the study of 

 olfactory sensations was given at length. The 

 principal feature of this apparatus consists of a 

 constant air blast supplied with two vents. Two 

 leads of glass tubing attached to these vents pass 

 respectively into two flasks containing different 

 odorous solutions, or different intensities of the 

 same solution, and from the flasks to short metal 

 tubes which project into a glass-lined, air-tight 

 compartment. The ends of the two tubes pro- 

 truding into the compartment are narrowed to an 

 opening of 1 mm. The tubes are placed about 

 twelve inches apart and are inclined at an angle 

 such as to force the two streams of air, laden with 

 the olfactory particles, to converge in a funnel 

 situated in the opposite side of the compartment. 

 To the stem of this funnel (which projects from 

 the compartment) a tube is attached leading to 

 a vacuum pump. Two fine streams of air are 

 thus forced out over the surface of the odorous 



