84 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIX. No. 1256 



The indirect fruits of the studies of Mendal 

 and De Vries and their followers are profit- 

 able to the race, very profitable, though this 

 was not foreseen probably during the years 

 that monk and professor were working in their 

 g-ardens on problems of apparently purely the- 

 oretical interest. In the light of subsequent 

 events it is easy for us to guess that an in- 

 telligent visitor might have appraised these 

 experiments as more likely to be useful at 

 some time to the race than some others which 

 we may imagine him to have seen at about the 

 same period. And we can to-day naake just 

 such judgments, leading our students, how- 

 ever elementary, to thoughts no less develop- 

 ing, no less elevating, but more suggestive of 

 possible benefit to themselves and their con- 

 temporaries, than others which we may select 

 from our repertoire. 



In a meeting which has been filled with 

 interesting and enthusiastic descriptions of 

 work done, a " paper " which contains nothing 

 but reflections may seem the more completely 

 out of place if the question which it asks is 

 not answered in definite terms; but I am so 

 averse to anything which may even seem to 

 dictate what intelligent, thoughtful, conscien- 

 tious students and teachers should do that, 

 even if I had a formula, I should keep it to 

 myself. My purpose will have been served 

 if, in addition to those who have so far dis- 

 cussed with themselves and others the ques- 

 tion before us, we all search for an answer 

 which we can effectively put into action. For 

 the college no less than for business, peace 

 will bring the need of reconstruction; and he 

 who fails to take a long, broad and deep view 

 of the subject of his own greatest interest will 

 fail to share his best with the world which 

 supports him. George J. Peiece 



DAVID ERNEST LANTZ 



After an illness of only a week, Professor 

 David E. Lantz, assistant biologist in the 

 Bureau of Biological Survey, died of pneu- 

 monia at his home in Washington, D. C, on 

 October 7. He was born at Thompsontown, 

 Pa., March 1, 1855, and his early education 



was received in the public schools and at the 

 State Normal School at Bloomsburg, Pa., 

 where he graduated with the degree of M.S. 

 In 1878 he removed to Kansas where he be- 

 came widely known in educational and scien- 

 tific circles. He served as superintendent of 

 schools at Manhattan, professor of mathe- 

 matics in the State Agricultural College from 

 1883 to 1857, principal of the Dickinson 

 County High School, and field agent of the 

 Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. 



In 1904 he received an appointment in the 

 Biu"eau of Biological Survey as assistant 

 biologist, and since that time has been occu- 

 pied mainly in investigating mammals of eco- 

 nomic importance. He was particularly active 

 in collecting and applying information in re- 

 gard to the domestication and uses of native 

 mammals, and published papers on deer farm- 

 ing, raising rabbits for food, muskrats and 

 skunks for fur,- and guinea pigs for use in 

 laboratory work. His work was especially im- 

 portant in relation to food conservation in 

 developing and applying practical methods of 

 destroying animals injurious to agriculture 

 and stock raising. He spent much time in 

 the field demonstrating methods of preventing 

 the depredations of prairie-dogs, pocket goph- 

 ers, jack rabbits, ground squirrels and field 

 mice. More recently he devoted his attention 

 with a considerable degree of success to the 

 organization of cooperative campaigns to de- 

 stroy rats. 



Professor Lantz was always active in scien- 

 tific circles. He served as secretary and presi- 

 dent of the Kansas Academy of Sciences, of 

 which he was a life member. He was also an 

 honorary life member of the Kansas State 

 Horticultural Society, an associate member 

 of the American Ornithologists' Union, and 

 a member of the Biological Society of Wash- 

 ington. 



While in Kansas, he took a lively interest 

 in its fauna, devoting his spare time largely to 

 collecting specimens and compiling informa- 

 tion relating to the vertebrates of that state. 

 He acquired a field and museum knowledge of 

 birds and published a revised edition of Snow's 

 " Birds of Kansas." He also prepared a work- 



