Makch 22, 1918] 



SCIENCE 



285 



They shall mobilize the available botanical 

 forces of the United States, especially those 

 workers who are now engaged in war 

 emergency work, and by careful distribu- 

 tion of the work and by correlation of ef- 

 fort seek the early solution of those prob- 

 lems which are of greatest immediate sig- 

 nificance. The support which any move- 

 ment receives and its effectiveness depends 

 largely upon its leaders, hence these com- 

 mittees must be wisely selected and com- 

 posed of aggressive men of action whose 

 wisdom and personality will command the 

 allegiance of their fellow botanists. 



Many may doubt the wisdom of the plan 

 I have suggested and feel skeptical of the 

 results to be obtained through committees. 

 I do not care what plan is adopted — the 

 essential thing is action. No one can longer 

 doubt the sei-iousness of the path which 

 lies before this nation or question the im- 

 perative need for the greatest service bot- 

 anists can render. American manhood is 

 preparing to suffer and die upon the battle- 

 fields of Europe, and we who stay at home 

 must not fall one inch short of the greatest 

 accomplishment of which we are capable 

 in providing the food and supplies our sol- 

 diers need. Any failure on our part means 

 prolonging and intensifying the frightful 

 agony. Have we thus far done our best as 

 botanists? Are all botanists working with 

 the single purpose of doing their full duty 

 in this war ? Does not unpreparedness still 

 characterize us as a class? Have we not in 

 general continued our pre-war activities, 

 thinking the war would soon be over, or 

 waiting for some mighty call to draft us 

 into service? Let us wait no longer, but 

 call ourselves to service. There is time to 

 prepare for an effective campaign during 

 1918 ; there are many botanical questions 

 of paramount national importance which 

 3hould be solved this coming year; and 

 there are many botanists who have assured 



me that they will gladly turn aside from 

 their present work if they can serve more 

 effectively elsewhere. Let us organize for 

 more effective service that we may attract 

 all available workers to our ranks and enlist 

 every botanist in war emergency work. 

 Let us develop a logical and comprehensive 

 plan of campaign which shall supplement 

 the plans of federal and state departments 

 of agriculture and receive the united sup- 

 port of American botanists. Let us wisely 

 correlate our efforts that we may increase 

 our immediate accomplishment and make 

 of American botanists a powerful army of 

 trained scientists moving forward with 

 power and precision in the service of the 

 nation and the world. 



G. R. Lyman 

 Bureau op Plant Industry, 

 Washington, D. C. 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



ENGLISH VITAL STATISTICS 



The Registrar-General's return of vital 

 statistics for 1916 in England and Wales, ac- 

 cording to an abstract in the London Times, 

 shows a reduction of 4.5 in the marriage rate 

 as compared with that for 1915, when it was 

 exceptionally high, and the lowest death-rate 

 of children imder one year ever recorded. 



The report refers to the difficulties of fram- 

 ing estimates of population owing to the war. 

 These have become so formidable that it is no 

 longer possible to put forward figures other- 

 ■ wise than as rough appro-ximations. As the 

 estimates (except those for birthrate and mar- 

 riage-rate purjKjses) are for the civil popxila- 

 tion only, enlistment has been treated as 

 equivalent to emigration. The estimated civil 

 population of England and Wales was 34,000,- 

 000 in 1916 (15,000,000 males and 19.000,000 

 females). 



The marriages during 1916 nujnbered 279,- 

 846, a rate of 14.9 persons married per 1,000, 

 0.6 below the average rate of the decade 1901- 

 10. The marriage rates for 1916 were 49.6 for 

 males and 41.0 for females, the lowest hitherto 



