SCIENCE. 



FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 1883. 



THE LESSONS OF THE MEETING. 



The question as to the distance from the 

 eastern seaboard to which the American 

 association for the advancement of science 

 can carrj- its annual assemblages is partly 

 solved b3" the meeting at Minneapolis. That 

 has registered about three hundred members 

 in attendance ; a small number, indeed, as 

 compared with the Boston and Montreal meet- 

 ings, but larger than was at first anticipated. 

 One-third came from the Atlantic and New- 

 England states. Astrouomj- and physics are 

 fairly represented in the list ; geology, as was 

 expected, claimed the largest proportion ; of 

 botanists, there were over twenty-five — this 

 was a surprise ; the ethnologists were in con- 

 siderable force ; in all otlior branches of 

 science, the attendance was somewhat meagre. 



This, therefore, has riot been one of the 

 large meetings. Its addresses and papers 

 have not contained an}' very striking feature 

 that appealed to the interest of the general 

 public. On the other hand, all that was pre- 

 sented, with few exceptions, though not bril- 

 liant, was above mediocrity. Looking over 

 the list of papers, we find fewer than usual 

 of the kind that brings sorrow to the hearts of 

 scientific students ; that [)rovokes the question. 

 How did such things ever pass the standing 

 artd sectional committees? 



The merits and tlie disadvantages of the pres- 

 ent system of conducting these meetings have 

 been placed in very sharp light. Excellent 

 addresses were delivered by most of the presi- 

 dents of sections ; in fact, these productions 

 this j-ear are a credit to the association. But 

 the strain of obtaining sucli representative 

 addresses from so many sections will soon be 

 apparent: it may prove difHcult to find the 

 men to deliver them, within a very few years, 

 especialh' if the number of sections continues 



No. 28.— 1853. 



to increase. The deliver}' of two or more of 

 tliese addresses simultaneously, and the com- 

 ))letion of the delivery of all of them in one 

 afternoon, was felt to be a matter of gi-ave 

 injustice, both to speakers and hearers. To 

 our readers we shall offer the only remedy now 

 possible for this injustice, by printing the ad- 

 dresses in full, and by detachments. 



Local committees, in cities to which the 

 association will hereafter be invited, may learn 

 some valuable lessons from tiie experience at 

 Minneapolis. There was no lack of hospi- 

 table intention : the hearty courtesies of a 

 western community were liberally extended. 

 But the generous intentions were not carried 

 out in the minor details that are essential to 

 comfort if not to success. The meetings were 

 held at a distance from the city, at the extreme 

 end of a one-horse car route. Consequently 

 the conveyances were overcrowded, much time 

 was lost in going and coming, and — worse 

 than all — few of the citizens of Minneapolis 

 attended the sessions. We do not remember 

 a meeting of the association at which the local 

 interest, so far as audiences indicate it, was so 

 deficient. The hotel selected for he.id quarters 

 was not agreeable, because not exactly suit- 

 able. Members scattered to distant points, 

 finding delicious havens of rest and recreation 

 at summer-hotels on the lakes, but having to 

 take yet longer time to attend the daily ses- 

 sions. Free railroad transportation was pro- 

 vided to these distant resorts, but there was 

 a confusing uncertainty about late trains that 

 caused many embarrassments. These things 

 may be trifles, but the}' are apt to be remem- 

 bered when the lavishness of entertainment is 

 forgotten. 



As was anticipated, the association has 

 chosen Philadelpliia for its next session, where 

 we may look again for the great numbers 

 whicii attended the Boston and Montreal meet- 

 ings. The exact date for holding it has been 

 wisely left in the hands of the executive board, 



