January 31, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



105 



The relation of birds in agriculture has been 

 a most debated and debatable question and 

 largely because of the inconstancy in food 

 habits of many of the most familiar species. 

 Considered strictly from an economic point of 

 view there is little doubt that the status of 

 many species is still open to investigation. So 

 too the place of spiders in the ecologic associa- 

 tion is one of much complexity along with that 

 of a host of predaceous and parasitic forms. A 

 phase of their relationship that seems however 

 to be often overlooked is that except for the 

 abundance of the species on which they subsist 

 their presence in any given association could 

 be dispensed with. Since they are dependent 

 on forms that again are dependent on vegeta- 

 tion it is obvious on second thought that all 

 such forms are indirectly a drain upon the 

 plant element and, speaking agriculturally, 

 might best be wanting if the host forms were 

 absent. 



I need not weary you with further examples 

 but submit that here is a field of work of in- 

 tense interest biologically, offering an infinite 

 number of fascinating problems, calling for the 

 finest ability in field obsei-vation and labora- 

 tory analysis and promising results of decided 

 importance for economic applications in agri- 

 culture, forestry, fisheries and many other 

 fields. 



These animal associations lead quite natur- 

 ally to the conditions shown among social si)e- 

 cies and these social organizations among vari- 

 ous groups of animals, as also the psychology 

 of the lower animals, ofier much that is sug- 

 gestive for the sociologist and psychologist and 

 certainly there should be some point of con- 

 tact for students in these various fields. It is 

 only upon such broad biological foundation 

 that we can build a rational sociology or phi- 

 losophy both for zoology and for human life. 



Certainly one of the great aims in our sci- 

 ence is to discover as rapidly as possible all the 

 forms of life that inhabit the earth and, I may 

 add. all those for which we can gain evidence 

 of existence in the geological ages of the past. 

 Only -with this knowledge in hand can future 

 students expect to reach the most conclusive 

 knowledge as to the inter-relations and inter- 



actions of the organic world or the derivation, 

 affinities and possible relation to human inter- 

 ests. 



Zoological exploration has been a favorite 

 activity in all the periods of zoological study. 

 I see no possibility that its interest can lag so 

 long as there are unexplored fragments of the 

 earth's surface or the waters or the air sur- 

 rounding it or unknown forms of life to be un- 

 covered. Indeed with the greater facilities pos- 

 sible in modern transportation and communi- 

 cation we may expect a great impulse for this 

 kind of work. " Impenetrable jungle " and 

 " inaccessible " mountain peak may be brought 

 within easy access of the modern airship while 

 continuous means of wireless communication 

 wiU greatly favor such enterprises. No doubt 

 our zoological explorers will take advantage of 

 these means and add tremendously to their con- 

 tributions to science, and, probably, to the 

 world's sources of wealth, convenience or en- 

 joyment. 



And what of our taxonomy? WiU future 

 generations be content to endure some of the 

 enormities perpetrated under our system of 

 nomenclature? Names we must have and 

 recognition of specific, generic and other nat- 

 ural groups of organisms, so also uniformity 

 and stability for the world of science, but I 

 certainly have deep sympathy for the mor- 

 phologists, physiologists, cytologists and other 

 workers who must perforce use some name to 

 designate the material on which their work is 

 based and who find a most chaotic assemblage 

 of names from which to select. Of course 

 systematists are not alone in such troubles, as 

 the terminologies of morphology, cytology, 

 etc., appear to have some uncertainties of 

 their own. 



It is to be hoped that the efforts of the 

 international commission may be supported 

 and their work now pushed forward with re- 

 newed zeal. With closer and more universal 

 relationship between workers in all coimtries 

 it becomes more and more essential that we 

 have a recognized and established system for 

 all languages and all groups of animals. 

 Especially imiwrtant is the fixing of such 

 names as are most generally used in research 



