SCIENCE 



Friday, ^Iarch 1, 1918 



CONTENTS 

 The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: 

 The Significance of the Declining Birth 



Sate: Louis I. Dublin 201 



Minutes of the War Emergency/ Board of 

 American Plant Pathologists : G. E. Ltmax. 210 



Scientific Events: — 



The Tate Medical School; Farm Products 

 of the United States; Plan of War Organi- 

 sation of Division of Medicine and Belated 

 Sciences of the National Eesearch Council. 213 



Scientific Notes and News 216 



University and Educational News 218 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 

 Domination of the Antarctic Ice Cap and the 

 Amelioration of Climate: Professor Kirt- 

 LEY r Mather. Labeling of Microscopic 

 Slides in Staining Technique: Chas. H. 

 Otis. Professional Courtesy: Professor 

 E. B. Hart 218 



Scientific Books: — 

 Eingsley's Comparative Anatomy of Verte- 

 irates: Professor Herbert V. Neal. Cal- 

 vert on Costa Eican Natural History: Wm. 

 Beebb 221 



Special Articles: — 



The Effect of Omnivorous and Vegetarian 

 Diets on Reproduction in the Albino Eat: 

 Professor J. K. Slonaker and T. A. Card. 



MSS. intended for publication and books, etc., iriiended (or 

 review should be sent to The Editor of Science, Gairiaon-on- 

 Hudson. N. Y. 



THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DECLIN- 

 ING BIRTH RATEi 



It is a custom of this Section, I believe, 

 for the retiring vice-president to select for 

 his address a subject of national interest in 

 the field of social economy. He is expected 

 to avoid narrow and technical discussion of 

 specialties but he maj' properly summarize 

 the important works of other investigators 

 in specialized fields to show their trend and 

 bearing and he may also point out the direc- 

 tion which further research should take. 

 These requirements of the occasion are all 

 the more necessary now in view of the cir- 

 cumstances under which we are living. We 

 are going through a period of serious con- 

 flict. Our nation is at present engaged in 

 concentrating its resources of men, of ma- 

 terials and, above all, of thought, to make 

 itself felt in the world struggle for pre- 

 serving civilization. This is no time for 

 trivialities or for small detail. Under 

 these conditions, the Section on Social and 

 Economic Science of the American Asso- 

 ciation may be expected to have a message 

 of national import. It would be inexcus- 

 a;ble to take your time and attention 

 for anj'thing but -a topic of the widest 

 practical significance in the present na- 

 tional emergency. 



"With these considerations in mind, I 

 have chosen as the subject of this address 

 the significance of our de«lining birth rate. 

 I have done so with considerable hesitancy 

 because of the difiBculty of the subject and 

 the importance of its present lesson. I 



1 Address of the retiring vice-president and 

 chairman of Section I, Social and Economic Sci- 

 ence, American Association for Advancement of 

 Science, Pittsburgh, December 29, 1917. 



