June 9, 1922] 



SCIENCE 



619 



state in which the areheologic collections are is 

 exactly the same, I suppose — no worse. Mr. 

 Kozevnikofl: (the curator) ia a zoologist. 



Part of my time was dedicated to work among 

 the natives (folklore and collections) and part to 

 excavation of the Bronze age mounds (kurgans) 

 under the directions of Professor S. Eudenko — 

 Professor Volkov 's pupil and his successor at the 

 University of Petrograd now. (By the way, I 

 suppose you have heard that Volkov, Eadloff, 

 Princes Oukhtomsky — son and his father quite re- 

 eently — are no more). 



Last summer we spent a couple of months with 

 the Kirghiz of the Turgai region, ' ' taking stock, ' ' 

 BO to say, of possibilities for work on a larger 

 scale, if circumstances permit. Anthropometric 

 measurements (800 individuals) and 2-3 Neolithic 

 stations were among the results. 



Next spring and summer I may return to the 

 Kirghiz — they are in my department at the Eus- 

 siau Museum with which I am now scientifically 

 connected. 



In spite of unfavorable conditions and difficul- 

 ties scientific work in Eussia has not ceased to 

 progress, and scientists of all classes continue 

 their field and home studies with all the energy 

 they are capable of. There is one great privation 

 of which we are acutely sensible, and that is — 

 book famine. We are so thoroughly isolated that 

 scarcely any literary news comes filtering through 

 the frontier. The appearance of a copy of some 

 comparatively fresh publication from the outside 

 world becomes known immediately to the circles 

 interested in its subject, is welcomed with joy 

 and every one tries to get at the book and have 

 it lent to him for a time; individual book, peri- 

 odicals, pamphlets, all one. 



Without knowing what goes on elsewhere in 

 science one feels like going about with plugs of 

 cotton wool in one 's ears. 



Now, Professor Eudenko, with whom I am on 

 Tery friendly terms, begs me to put a businesslike 

 question to you in a quite unofficial way. 



During your stay in Petrograd in 1912, you 

 spoke to Professor Volkov and Pr. Oukhtomsky of 

 the desirability of establishing here a bureau for 

 the exploration of the northeastern portions of 

 Siberia by Eussians with American cooperation. 

 Having this idea of yours in mind, Eudenko, who is 

 now the curator of the Siberian Department and is 

 proposed to the post of director of the Euss Mu- 

 seum,! would like to know whether you still think 

 this project practicable, and if so would your or any 



1 Formerly the Museum of Alexander III. 



other institution wish to participate in the realiza- 

 tion of a series of expeditions to the Par East 

 (Mongolia, the Amur region. Central Siberia) 

 which would make it possessor of scientific re- 

 sults and collections. The Euss Museum has a suffi- 

 cient number of well qualified explorers. The 

 question of fitting them out for the field may 

 prove difficult in some respects; but such diffi- 

 culties would be easily allayed if the work were 

 planned on the principles of cooperation. 



Ales Hedlicka 

 XJ. S. National Museum 



DOCTORATES IN AGRICULTURE 



In Science, Vol. LV, page 271, appears an 

 article by Callie Hull and Clarence J. West 

 on ''Doctorates conferred in the sciences by 

 American universities in 1921." Three theses 

 are listed for the subject of agriculture. There 

 are in universities, generally, no departments 

 of agriculture, but colleges of agriculture con- 

 sisting of departments using methods of their 

 own development and methods of the different 

 sciences in studying agricultural problems. 



Students being trained for work in such de- 

 partments are listed in the article mentioned as 

 having done their work primarily in bacteri- 

 ology, botany, chemistry and zoology, perhaps 

 because the titles indicate that the methods of 

 these sciences were used. The fact remains, 

 however, that they were preparing to study 

 agricultural problems. Thus, at Cornell Uni- 

 versity alone, at least fifteen of the persons 

 named under these four sciences were working 

 in the College of Agriculture, preparing to 

 study agricultural problems. And from the 

 titles, I can be certain of at least four such 

 men for other universities. 



If no names had been listed under the sub- 

 ject of agriculture, no harm could have been 

 done, but to list a subject of agriculture with 

 only three names, it seems to me, might leave 

 the impression that, with the great develop- 

 ment of the agricultural colleges, there is very 

 little tendency for workers to secure the train- 

 ing necessary to attack problems in an effective 

 way. I believe that every one acquainted with 

 the conditions in the colleges is convinced that 

 there is a very hopeful development of gradu- 

 ate work and that the number of young men 

 who are securing sound training for effective 



