630 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLVII. No. 1226 



with ttose of still wider distribution, the tables 

 show that their range goes in the order: En- 

 demics least, Jamaica-Cuba species next, wides 

 greatest. Then the angiospermous flora of the 

 Hawaii archipelago, which comprises seven is- 

 lands, is tested, and it is found that the wides 

 range much more than the endemics, of which 

 more than one half is found on one island 

 only. These latter must be the yoimgest, the 

 remaining having originated before the split- 

 ting up of the region into separate isles. 



A study of Callitris in Australia shows that 

 the law holds good for Conifers also, and the 

 fern floras of Hawaii and New Zealand give 

 ample material to prove that the endemic spe- 

 cies, although following the same rule, show a 

 much greater range than the endemic angio- 

 sperms, a result to be expected on "Willis's hy- 

 pothesis, but contrary to what one would ex- 

 pect if endemics were dying out, since ferns 

 are generally considered as a much older group 

 than the flowering plants. A last argument is 

 given by the outlying islands around New Zea- 

 land. Starting from his hypothesis "WiUis pre- 

 dicted that the most widespread plants in the 

 two main islands would be those that reach the 

 outlying isles also, and that those which do not 

 reach them, are less widespread. The figures 

 given in the tables bear out this fact in a 

 striking way, both in the ease of wides and 

 endemics. 



From these results it seems clear that all 

 over the earth and in every systematical group 

 of plants the rule prevails that the most wide- 

 spread species are the oldest, whereas the 

 others are the younger, the smaller their area 

 is. This law would provide us with a new 

 method of constructing pedigrees and of judg- 

 ing the relative age of diagnostic characters, 

 and it seems evident that these points would 

 be of paramount importance in the study of the 

 real relationships and the common origin of 

 species. Hugo de Vries 



LuNTEEEN, Holland 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



THE CHICAGO MEETING OF THE AMERICAN 

 MEDICAL ASSOCIATION! 



The sixty-ninth annual session of the Ameri- 

 1 From tie Journal of the American Medical 

 Associatioa. 



can Medical Association, held in Chicago last 

 week, was one of the most important the Asso- 

 ciation has ever held. This statement is made 

 as the meetings, the exhibits, the addresses and 

 the results of the past week pass in retrospect 

 before us. The House of Delegates considered 

 many topics of current war interest and passed 

 a number of resolutions of important, timely 

 character, conspicuous among them being 

 those on animal experimentation, on universal 

 military training, on welfare work among 

 children, on the use of enemy manufactured 

 pharmaceutic products, and on the work of 

 Surgeon-General Gorgas. 



The opening meeting of the Scientific As- 

 sembly, held in the Auditorium Theater, was 

 greeted by an audience of over 4,500 persons, 

 every seat and available space in the theater 

 being occupied. Unfortunately, many who 

 desired to attend were unable to find accom- 

 modations because of late arrival. The music 

 for this session was provided by the Fort 

 Eiley Band, which was a conspicuous feature 

 of the annual session, and aided in arousing 

 military enthusiasm. At this meeting, as in 

 all of the night meetings, the medical officers 

 in uniform were seated on the stage, and added 

 military tone and color to the picture. The 

 scientific programs began on Wednesday and 

 contained numerous papers of military inter- 

 est, as well as those of a strictly scientific 

 character. 



An imusual feature of the session was the 

 replacing of the president's reception by a 

 medical war meeting held in Medinah Temple, 

 the report of which appears elsewhere in this 

 issue. The local committee on arrangements 

 had done notable work in staging this meet- 

 ing. Every seat in the immense auditorimn 

 was filled, over 6,000 persons being present. 

 The speakers were the noted foreign guests, 

 the surgeon-generals, the president of Leland 

 Stanford University and Major Alexander 

 Lambert, of the American National Red 

 Cross. The enthusiasm of the audience can 

 not be depicted by words, every speaker and 

 patriotic enunciation being greeted with an 

 ovation. "With the introduction of each for- 

 eign guest the audience, led by a local choral 

 organization and accompanied by the music 



