520 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1404. 



phenomena par excellence, while curiosity 

 or wonder, which Aristotle regarded as the 

 very beginning of knowledge, is not dis- 

 cussed at all in terms. 



It seems a bit strange that the book does 

 not mention the recently published works 

 (" The Principles of Natural Knowledge," 

 and " The Concept of Nature ") of Profes- 

 sor Whitehead, for these works are weighty 

 contributions to the problem Mr. Russell is 

 trying to solve. 



I wish finally to say that as a model ex- 

 hibition of the scientific spirit, this work 

 would be highly valuable even if its conclu- 

 sions were unsound. Mr. Russell's notably 

 frequent public recantations of opinion, of 

 which there are no fewer than five instances 

 in the present work, are regarded by some 

 as a token that he does not know his own 

 mind or that he publishes prematurely. Such 

 critics are no doubt mistaken. The fre- 

 quency of lecantation in Mr. Russell's wri- 

 tings is due partly to the exceeding difiiculty 

 of the fields in which his researches lie, partly 

 to his ceaseless re-examination of seeming 

 certitudes, and partly to an unsurpassed in- 

 tellectual candor. 



Cassius J. Keyser 



Columbia IJNiVERSirY 



TESTIMONIAL TO DEAN H. L. RUSSELL 



(From a correspondent) 



At the October meeting of the Wisconsin 

 branch of the Society of American Bacteri- 

 ologists, Dean H. L. Russell was presented 

 by his former students with a volume entitled 

 " Papers on Bacteriology and Allied Sub- 

 jects." This memorial was given in com- 

 memoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary 

 of his doctorate. The real anniversary day 

 occurred several years ago but due to the war 

 conditions immediately following, the publi- 

 cation of the volume was delayed. 



It is a comprehensive volume containing 

 contributions from thirteen of the leading 

 bacteriologists who were among the early 

 students of Dr. Russell. E. G. Hastings,, of 

 the University of Wisconsin, reviews the 

 dean's scientific career and points out the 



strategic opportunities presented to pioneer 

 bacteriologists. Dr. Russell was the first full- 

 time agricultural bacteriologist in America. 

 He was likewise one of the first men to be 

 employed in this country to teach and do re- 

 search work in bacteriology outside of the 

 medical school. His scientific papers, books, 

 and bulletins number well over 125 and are 

 of fundamental importance. 



A development of the city milk supply 

 problems is the contribution of H. A. Hard- 

 ing, formerly of the University of Illinois. 

 He states the problems past and present in 

 an interesting way and concludes by saying 

 of Dr. Russell, 



This pioneer bacteriologist in person and 

 through his students has taken an honorable part 

 in the solution of these problems. 



That the greater prevalence of mold spores 

 over bacteria in the air is due to the fact that 

 most bacteria are readily killed by the sun's 

 rays while mold spores are only slightly af- 

 fected is the conclusion reached by John 

 Weinzirl of Washington State University in 

 his treatise on the resistance of mold spores 

 to sunlight. 



In a series of experiments carried on at 

 the University of Minnesota, C. H. Eckles 

 found that the percentage of fat in milk 

 could be markedly increased for the first 

 twenty to thirty days when it is followed by 

 underfeeding during the period of lactation. 

 Underfeeding of the cow must be taken into 

 consideration in the interpretation of data 

 involving variation in the composition of 

 milk and butter fat. 



L. A. Rogers, chief of the dairy division 

 of the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture, summarizes the work done in his de- 

 partment on the characteristics of the colon- 

 aerogenes group of bacteria. He regards B. 

 coll and B. aerogenes as very distinct types. 

 He discusses the taxonomic position of other 

 members of this group in relation to these 

 two varieties. 



D. J. Davis, of the medical school of the 

 University of Illinois, presents evidence and 

 argues convincingly to show that the fungus 

 which causes sporotrichosis disease affecting 



