918 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXIX. No. 753 



THE ELISHA mTCHELL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY OF THE 

 UNIVERSITY OP NORTH CAROLINA 



The lS3d meeting of the society was held in 

 Chemistry Hall, »Tuesday, April 1909, at 7:30 

 P.M. The following papers were presented: 



" The Linear Classification of the Cubic Sur- 

 face," by Professor Archibald Henderson. 



" Trichlorethylidenediphenamine Compounds," 

 by Professor Alvin S. Wheeler. 



Alvin S. Wheeler, 

 Recording Secretary 



THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. NORTHEASTERN 

 SECTION 



The ninety-second regular meeting of the sec- 

 tion was held at the Twentieth Century Club, 

 Boston, on April 8. Professor W. D. Bancroft, 

 of Cornell University, addressed the section upon 

 " The Reversal of the Photographic Image." The 

 speaker advanced a new theory to account for the 

 appearance of a positive and of a second negative 

 upon the development of over-exposed photo- 

 graphic plates, and showed how, by the aid of this 

 theory, many obscure phenomena connected with 

 reversal are capable of a simple explanation. Dr. 

 H. W. Morse, of Harvard University, addressed 

 the section upon " Some New Methods of Nitric 

 Acid Manufacture." After describing the method 

 of synthesis used in Norway, the speaker discussed 

 in detail the " Ostwald Process" for the oxidation 

 of ammonia to nitric acid by the air with plati- 

 num foil as the catalyzer. 



ICenneth L. Mark, 



Secretary 



THE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY OF NORTH DAKOTA 



In October of last year a general scientific 

 society was organized with headquarters at the 

 North Dakota Agricultural College and lOxperi- 

 ment Station. Administration officers are as fol- 

 lows : 



President — J. H. Shepperd, dean of agriculture. 



First Vice-president — Linwood A. Brown, pro- 

 fessor of pharmacy. 



Second Vice-president — H. L. Bolley, professor 

 of biology. 



Secretary — Roe E. Remington, instructor in 

 food chemistry. 



The society meets fortnightly, and the following 

 papers have been presented: 



October 7 — " Fixation of Nitrogen," Roe H. 

 Remington. 



October 21 — "Weed Eradication by Means of 

 Chemical Sprays," H. L. Bolley. 



November 4 — " The Geology of the Stump l^ake 

 Region," D. E. Willard. 



November 18 — "The Relation of some Recently 

 Formulated Biological Principles to Plant Breed- 

 ing," O. 0. Churcuill. 



December 2 — " Some Engineering Problems con- 

 nected with Water Filtration," R. H. Slocum. 



December 16 — " The Sanitary and Bacteriolog- 

 ical rurification of Water," T. D. Beckwith. 



January 13 — " Some New Productions in jirlant 

 Life," J. H. Shepperd. 



January 27 — " Denatured Alcohol, Manufacture 

 and Uses," Grant J. Morton. 



February 10 — " Darwin and after Darwin," C. 

 B. Walaron. 



February 24—" Birds of North Dakota," W. B. 

 Bell. 



March 10 — " istudies on Soil Toxins," J. W. 

 Ince. 



THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



A SPECIAL meeting of the society was held on 

 Tuesday, April 27, 1909, President Fewkes in the 

 chair. The program consisted of a paper by Miss 

 Frances Densmore entitled " The Study of Indian 

 Music " based upon her own recent investigations 

 among the Chippewa of Minnesota. She stated 

 that the object of this study was to find by an- 

 alj'sis what constitutes Indian song and musical 

 performance and to make the results of the study 

 available and clear to those who are not musicians 

 but who are interested in the genuine progress of 

 science. Her method of procedure is to make 

 phonograph records of Indian songs, transcribe 

 these, analyze both record and transcription, and 

 tabulate the analyses in accordance with a definite 

 system. Among the interesting results of this 

 work Miss Densmore mentioned the fact that some 

 songs were found to be melodic and some to be 

 harmonic in structure, and also that the rhythm 

 was most peculiar in songs intended to exert a 

 mental influence such as "medicine" songs, cer- 

 tain Mide songs, and also songs intended to incite 

 to war. The paper was illustrated by means of 

 phonograph records and vocal selections to the 

 aceonipaniment of a drum and the piano. An 

 interesting discussion followed. 



John R. Swanton, 



Secretary 



