508 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LV, No. 1428 



Harbor, for the study of the biology of the 

 fishes utilized in the now very large sardine 

 and tuna canning industries. The state govern- 

 ment has found that such studies are an im- 

 perative necessity in the exercise of its legal 

 control over the fisheries. They are necessary, 

 not merely for the determination of biological 

 facts bearing directly upon methods of con- 

 servation, but also for the interpretation of 

 the statistics which are now collected by the 

 state for the purpose of observing the condi- 

 tion of the fisheries. The statistical system 

 used is unique, and has proved its independence 

 of the errors usually introduced by statistics 

 gathered by personal inquiry, but the perfec- 

 tion of the data thus gathered does not elim- 

 inate, but rather enlarges the importance of 

 biological knowledge and hence of laboratory 

 work. 



The building is of reinforced concrete, two 

 stories in height, and of modified Spanish 

 architecture with red tile roof. There are suf- 

 ficient accommodations for from sis to ten re- 

 search workers in the three laboratories and 

 work room. A large library room, a file room, 

 a dark room and store room are also provided. 

 It is hoped to collect a library upon fishery 

 subjects which will be very complete, and to 

 that end a number of the important periodicals 

 in the field have been purchased in their en- 

 tirety. However, aside from the publications 

 of the International Council for the Investiga- 

 tion of the Sea, there are not a great many 

 such periodicals, and the real sparseness of our 

 knowledge of the commercial fishes is empha- 

 sized by their lack. 



The permanence of the laboratory is assured 

 by the existence of a law specifying the collec- 

 tion of the statistics and the biological inves- 

 tigations necessary. It is felt that it wUl be 

 very difficult for reactionary interests to repeal 

 the law, or to attack the funds collected by 

 special taxes for the maintenance of the' work. 

 Dependence upon appropriations made from 

 year to year has proved disastrous in the case 

 of the federal government and in those of a 

 number of states, and it is to be hoped that 

 such a system as is in existence in California 

 will remain independent of appropriations. 

 The laiological problems which face the 



fishery expert are wide in scope and will inev- 

 itably interest the ecologist and the systematist. 

 For their solution vast quantities of materials 

 are available in the canneries and fish markets, 

 while the detailed records of the catch which 

 are gathered provide a basis for a real science 

 of vital statistics of the fisheries. Men inter- 

 ested along such lines will be cordially wel- 

 comed in the new laboratory, in so far as its 

 accommodations are adequate. 



Will ¥. Thompson 



MATHEMATICAL PUBLICATIONS 



The Bulletin of the American Mathematical 

 Society contains several notes concerning math- 

 ematical publications from which we quote. 



The council of the society has received an 

 offer from an anonymous donor to pay the 

 cost, up to $4,000, of an extra volume of the 

 Transactions of the society, to be brought out 

 promptly. This extra volume will be sent 

 without charge to all subscribers and exchanges 

 now on the list. 



Mrs. Mary Hegeler Carus, as trustee for the 

 Edward C. Hegeler Trust Fund, has given to 

 the Mathematical Association of America the 

 sum of $1,200 annually for five years for the 

 purpose of publishing a series of monographs 

 whose purpose should be to popularize mathe- 

 matics by making accessible at nominal cost 

 the best thoughts and keenest researches in this 

 field set forth in expository form comprehensi- 

 ble to teachers and students of mathematics and 

 to other readers of mathematical intelligence. 

 The deed of gift includes the promise to capi- 

 talize this annual income by a pei-manent en- 

 dowment fund if at the end of five years the 

 project shall have proved successful. 



The members of the division of mathematics 

 of Harvard University have constituted them- 

 selves an informal committee to solicit contribu- 

 tions to relieve the present financial need of 

 the Jahrbuch iiber die Fortschritte der Mathe- 

 matik. The deficit for the coming fiscal year 

 will amount to about $1,000. The editor, Pro- 

 fessor L. Lichtenstein, has appealed for aid. 

 The Emergency Society for German and Aus- 

 trian Science and Art, which last year appro- 

 priated 20,500 marks for the Jahrbuch, con- 

 templates the continuance of its support, sub- 



