MarcH 22, 1912] 
tures at once more secure and more com- 
modious. 
On account of lack of quarters the di- 
rector has been able to afford facilities for 
research at the laboratory to only eight 
investigators. Nevertheless, the year has 
proved fruitful im important advances. 
One of these, attained by Mr. G. H. Drew, 
of Cambridge University, relates to the role 
of certain bacteria in depriving surface sea 
water of nitrogen and in precipitating the 
vast deposits of chalky mud (oolite) of the 
Florida-Bahama region; another, by Dr. T. 
W. Vaughan, records definite progress in 
his quantitative determinations of the 
growth of corals and coral reefs; while the 
director and his collaborators have pub- 
lished twenty-one papers, mostly included 
in volumes Nos. 132 and 133 of the publica- 
tions of the institution. 
DEPARTMENT OF MERIDIAN ASTROMETRY 
As already explained in a preceding sec- 
tion of this report, the meridian determina- 
tions of stellar positions at the temporary 
observatory at San Luis, Argentina, were 
finished in January, 1911. This comple- 
tion in an unexpectedly short time of the 
more formidable part of the undertaking 
of the department in the southern hemi- 
sphere leaves only the minor task in pho- 
tometry of measuring the magnitudes (or 
brightness) of those stars for which this 
property has not been hitherto measured. 
This task, requiring only two observers and 
light equipment, will be subject to small 
expense. 
In the meantime the deductions of stellar 
positions and motions are proceeding expe- 
ditiously in the computing section of the 
department at the Dudley Observatory ; so 
that the final catalogue, giving precise posi- 
tions of all stars up to the seventh magni- 
tude inclusive, may be expected to appear 
in due time. As often happens in such 
SCIENCE 
441 
extensive scientific investigations, many by- 
products are arising of hardly less impor- 
tance than the primary ends in view. One 
of these, deduced from the director’s pre- 
liminary Star Catalogue, published by the 
institution about two years ago, shows the 
mean velocities relative to the solar system 
of stars of different spectral types. The 
values derived from the ‘‘proper motions”’ 
of the catalogue are in striking agreement 
with those derived for the same stars by 
Professor W. W. Campbell from direct 
measurements of the motions of these stars 
in the line of sight. The remarkable result 
which is thus brought out from independent 
investigations is that the speed of a star 
through space increases with its age. At- 
tention is here invited to the director’s 
interesting summary of this by-product in 
his current report, the investigation in full 
having been published in the Astronomical 
Journal, April 3, 1911. It is of interest to 
note in this connection that the independent 
investigations of Campbell, referred to 
above, were also carried out by aid of 
grants made by the institution. 
NUTRITION LABORATORY 
Allusion has been made frequently in 
previous reports to a prime characteristic 
in the progress of all of the more highly 
developed sciences. This consists in the 
passage from the stage of observation and 
experiment to the stage of measurement 
and calculation, or in the transition from 
the stage of qualitative to that of quantita- 
tive knowledge. It is marked by the intro- 
duction of the meter, the balance, the ther- 
mometer, the telescope, the microscope, ete., 
and the definite methods of chemistry and 
physics. The development of the work of 
the nutrition laboratory affords a capital 
illustration of this characteristic mode of 
procedure, and therein we find also the best 
