878 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVIII. No. 729 



In 1907 there was an excess of births in only 

 29 departments, as compared with 42 in 1906 

 and 43 in 1905, the departments showing this 

 excess most markedly being: Pas-de-Calais, 

 103 per 10,000 inhabitants; Finistere, 89; 

 Nord, 57; Morbihan, 51; Territorie de Bel- 

 fort, 49; Haute- Vienne, 44; Seine-Inferieure, 

 37; Vosges, 36; Meurthe-et-Moselle, 35; 

 Lozere, 34; Vendee, 33; Doubs, 26; Cotes du 

 Nord and Corsica, 23. It will thus be seen 

 that the regions which show an excess of births 

 are the North, Britanny, the Eastern frontiers, 

 Limousin, and Corsica, the departments in- 

 habited by the Celtic, Flemish, and Basque 

 races. In the basins of the Garonne and the 

 Ehone each year the proportion of deaths over 

 births increases, and thus Gaseony and Prov- 

 ence are rapidly losing their characteristic 

 population. 



THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANIMAL 

 NUTRITION 



In connection with the International Live 

 Stock Exposition at Chicago, there was held 

 on November 28, 1908, a meeting of those 

 college and experiment station workers more 

 especially interested in investigation in stock 

 feeding. About thirty were present, represent- 

 ing experiment stations from Massachusetts 

 to California and from Minnesota to Ala- 

 bama. The meeting grew out of a conference 

 of investigators in this subject, held at Cornell 

 University last summer during the graduate 

 summer school of agriculture, and resulted 

 in the formation of The American Society of 

 Animal Nutrition. 



The objects of the society, as stated in the 

 constitution which was adopted, are " To im- 

 prove the quality of investigation in animal 

 nutrition, to promote more systematic and 

 better correlated study of feeding problems, 

 and to facilitate personal intercourse between 

 investigators in this field." In addition to 

 holding an annual meeting, the society pro- 

 poses to take up actively the consideration of 

 methods of investigation and later to enter 

 upon cooperative study of important problems 

 of stock feeding. To this end, a standing 

 committee on experiments and two special 

 committees on methods were provided for and 



the committee appointed at the Cornell con- 

 ference presented a full report outlining the 

 work to be undertaken. 



The officers of the new society are: Presi- 

 dent, H. P. Armsby, of Pennsylvania; Vice- 

 president, C. F. Curtiss, of Iowa; Secreta/ry- 

 treasurer, D. H. Otis, of Wisconsin ; Registrar, 

 J. T. Willard, of Kansas. Committee on 

 Experiments: H. J. Waters, of Missouri; H. 

 W. Mumford, of Illinois; T. L. Haecker, of 

 Minnesota; E. B. Forbes, of Ohio; W. H. 

 Jordan, of New Tork. 



SYMPOSIUM ON CORRELATION 



SECTION E, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE AD- 

 VANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, AND GEOLOGICAL 

 SOCIETY OF AMERICA 



The program for a Symposium on the Prin- 

 ciples and Criteria of Correlation is now com- 

 pleted, the following scientists having stated 

 their readiness to discuss the several subjects 

 opposite their names. The symposium will 

 begin on Monday, December 28, under the 

 auspices of Section E, and be carried as far as 

 the time at the disposal of that section on 

 Monday permits. On Tuesday and the fol- 

 lowing days, until completed, it wiU form a 

 part of the program of the Geological Society 

 of America, under a special subsection on 

 correlation. The presentation and discussion 

 of papers will be conducted strictly according 

 to a definite time sched^ule, which wiU be 

 stated in the program of the meeting. 



C. R. Van Hise or C. K. Leith : " Principles of 

 pre-Cambrian Correlation." 



F. D. Adams : " The Basis of pre-Cambrian Cor- 

 relation." 



C. D. Waleott: "Evolution of Early Paleozoic 

 Faunas in Relation to their Environment." 



A. W. Grabau: "Physical and Faunal Evolu- 

 tion of North America in the Late Ordovicic, 

 Siluric and Early Devonic Time." 



Stuart Weller : " Correlation of Middle and 

 Upper Devonian and Mississippian Faunas of 

 North America." 



G. H. Girty : " Physical and Faunal Changes of 

 Pennsylvanian and Permian in North America." 



David White: "The Upper Paleozoic Floras, 

 their Succession and Range." 



S. W. Williston: "Environmental Relations of 

 the Early Vertebrates." 



