148 
Lewis, Maine Experiment Station; F. Ramaley, 
University of Colorado; D. Reddick, Cornell Uni- 
versity; Frances G. Smith, Smith College; A. 
Stewart, University of Wisconsin; H. N. Whit- 
ford, Bureau of Forestry, Manila; F. D. Wolf, 
Alabama Experiment Station. 
The address of retiring President Erwin F. 
Smith on ‘‘Some Aspects of the Relationship of 
the Crown-gall Disease to Human Cancer’’ and 
the symposium on ‘‘Modern Aspects of Paleo- 
botany,’’ participated in by F. H. Knowlton, 
John M. Coulter, Edward C. Jeffrey and Arthur 
Hollick, will be published and distributed to the 
members of the society. 
The dinner for all botanists was held Thursday 
night. Mr. David Fairchild was toastmaster and 
a number of botanists spoke briefly upon the par- 
ticular aspect of work in which they were inter- 
ested. 
The smoker given by the members of the Wash- 
ington Botanical Society to all visiting botanists, 
on Friday night, was largely attended and a most 
enjoyable affair. 
Following are abstracts of papers presented at 
the symposium on ‘‘Modern Aspects of Paleo- 
botany’’: 
I. The Relations of Paleobotany to Geology: F. H. 
KNOWLTON. 
The present paper emphasizes the fact that 
paleobotany, in common with all the other branches 
of paleontology, admits of subdivision into two 
lines or fields of study—the biological and the geo- 
logical—depending upon the prominence given to 
the one or the other of these phases of the subject. 
As the biological side is to be handled by other 
contributors to this discussion, the present con- 
tribution is, naturally, confined to the geological 
aspects of the science. It is shown that fossil 
plants afford a series of stratigraphic marks, 
serving for the identification of geological hori- 
zons, that are unsurpassed in value by those af- 
forded by any of the many other branches of 
paleontology; and nowhere in the world is this 
fact so thoroughly recognized and accepted as in 
North America. Objection is frequently made, 
especially by botanists, that impressions of plants, 
the form in which they are most utilized by geol- 
ogists, are often of doubtful biologic value. In 
reply to this it is shown that while the paleobot- 
anist uses his utmost endeavor correctly to fix the 
biologie status of the material he uses, it makes 
not the slightest difference to the stratigraphic 
geologist whether the fossils upon which he most 
SCIENCE 
[N.S. Von. XXXV. No. 891 
relies are correctly named, biologically, so long as 
their horizon is known and they are clearly defined 
and capable of recognition under any and all con- 
ditions. The various phases of this aspect of 
paleobotany are set forth in detail, especially in 
its general geological and economic applications. 
The value of paleobotany in the interpretation of 
geological climate is also treated at some length. 
II. The Relations of Paleobotany to Botany. 
1. Phylogeny and Taxonomy: JOHN M. CouULTER. 
It is impossible to disentangle morphology and 
phylogeny, for the largest motive in modern 
morphology is to construct phylogenies. An ex- 
cessive amount of overlapping will be avoided in 
this paper by laying the emphasis upon the infer- 
ences to be drawn from morphological investiga- 
tions as to probable lines of descent, rather than 
upon the morphological results themselves. 
As a result of the recently developed paleo- 
botanical connections, the phylogeny of the vas- 
cular groups can be made now a resultant of com- 
parative structures and actual history. Many an 
old phylogeny, based upon the comparative struc- 
tures of existing plants alone, has been contra- 
dicted by history, which, in the nature of things, 
must furnish the final check upon any proposed 
phylogeny. 
The title of this paper includes the taxonomy, 
but in so far as this deals with great groups, 
defined or discovered, it is covered by the state- 
ments concerning phylogeny. So far as it deals 
with the recognition of individual forms, it is clear 
that paleobotany must learn to recognize the rela- 
tionships of fossil plants, or there will be no re- 
liable taxonomy or phylogeny. So long as paleo- 
botany depended upon the form resemblances of 
detached organs, there could be no taxonomy in 
the real sense. It was merely a cataloguing of 
plant material. But when it learned to uncover 
structure, it began to establish a real taxonomy. 
The contributions of paleobotany to taxonomy, 
therefore, may be summed up in the statement 
that it has begun to extend our schemes of classi- 
fication into the ancient floras; that this has re- 
sulted in a far truer view of the great groups than 
their expression in the present flora can possibly 
give; and that this makes a rational phylogeny 
possible. 
Illustrations are given of the great changes of 
view, brought about by paleobotany, that have 
occurred during the last decade. The illustrations 
are taken from the Lycopodiales (Lycopodium, 
Selaginella, Isoetes), showing the present opinion 
