March 22, 1918] 



SCIENCE 



287 



Only in this and in one other respect did the 

 conference propose any change in the French 

 system. The second change is one of nomen- 

 clature only, but it is of some importance. In 

 the French system the time zones are num- 

 bered eastward from to 23 hours, which, 

 while in many respects convenient, has the dis- 

 advantage that it does not give without ambig- 

 uity the reduction from the time of any zone 

 to the time and date of Greenwich. The con- 

 ference therefore recommended that 



The zone extending from 7i degrees east to 7 J 

 degrees west of the meridian of Greenwich should 

 be the Zero Zone. The zones west of the Zero 

 Zone should be described as Plus 1, Plus 2 . . . 

 up to Plus 12 for that part of Zone 12 lying east 

 of the date line (i. e., the line described in the Ad- 

 mirality Sailing Directions based on the 180th 

 meridian, on crossing which from east to west the 

 date must be advanced or put back one day re- 

 spectively), and the zones east of the Zero Zone 

 should be described as Minus 1, Minus 2 ... up to 

 Minus 12, for that part of Zone 12 lying west of 

 the date line. 



To ensure the application of the above 

 scheme the conference considered it desirable 



(a) That the alteration of the time of the 

 clocks in ships should always be one hour, and 

 be invariat^ly recorded in the ship's log ; but the 

 instant at which the clock is altered need not 

 necessarily be that at which the ship passes 

 from one zone to another. 



(6) That the zone description, i. e., the cor- 

 rection required to obtain Greenwich time, be 

 always plainly shown on the clocks, either by 

 labels or otherwise. 



(c) That in all entries in ship's records, 

 whenever a date is given it should be accom- 

 panied by the zone description ; and that in all 

 official communications and corresxwndence, 

 when a time is given the zone description 

 should be added. 



(d) That for all regular meteorological ob- 

 servations the ship's clock time should be used. 

 That, as a rule, all self-recording meteorolog- 

 ical instruments on board ship (which it would 

 be difficult to adjust continually for zone time) 

 should keep Greenwich time ; the zone descrip- 

 tion should be entered daily on the record. 



MEETING OF PETROLEUM GEaLOGISTS 



At a meeting of petroleum geologists held 

 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on February 15 

 and 16, the American Association of Petro- 

 leum Geologists was formed. The new organi- 

 zation was largely a change of name and 

 widening of scope of activites of a highly suc- 

 cessful local organization, the Southwestern 

 Association of Petroleum Geologists, which has 

 been in existence for three years. Over 100 

 geologists from various parts of the country 

 were present. The widespread interest in 

 petroleum geology and the large number of 

 men now engaged in the profession was 

 thought to warrant a national organization 

 and the momentum gained by the local body 

 assured the success of such a step. 



Thos. M. O'Donnell, representing the Fed- 

 eral Fuel Administration, addressed the meet- 

 ing and brought assurance from Washington 

 that there need be no fear of hampering inter- 

 ference from his department as long as the 

 oil men of the country did their patriotic duty 

 and exerted their utmost eilorts to maintain 

 an adequate supply of oil to meet war demands. 



An evening session was entertained with a 

 talk by Professor James F. Kemp, on the 

 geologic problems connected with the New 

 York water supply, illustrated by stereopticon 

 slides. The same session was addressed by 

 Dr. I. C. White, who gave an interesting ac- 

 coimt of the huge gushers of Mexico. Dr. 

 White's connection with the Doheny interests 

 in Mexico gave weight and interest to his re- 

 marks on this subject through the courtesy of 

 Mr. E. L. Doheny the moving pictures of the 

 Huasteca Petroleum Company's wonderful 

 well, Cerro Azul No. 4, were exhibited. 



Professor R. D. Salisbury, of the University 

 of Chicago, attended the meeting and was 

 greeted by some twenty students of his de- 

 partment, who are now interested in the oil 

 business of the southwest. 



The list of papers presented at the several 

 technical sessions included: 



The distribution of underground salt water and 

 its relation to the accumulation of oil and gas, by 

 Boswell H. Johnson, Pittsburgh, Pa. 



