SCIENCE 



Friday, May 2, 1919 



CONTENTS 

 Cooperation between Zoological Laboratories 

 and the Government Bureaus : E. W. Nelson. 409 



The History of Poison Gases: Major Clar- 

 ence J. West 413 



Duty Free Supplies: Dr. Thomas B. Freas 

 AND Dr. W. L. Est.\brooke 417 



Scientific Events: — 



The Use of Beinforced Concrete in Ship- 

 building; Education and Science in the Brit- 

 ish Civil Service Estimates; Appointments 

 at Harvard University 419 



Scientific Notes and News 421 



University and Educational Netvs 422 



Discussion and Correspondence : — 



Erroneous Generic Determinations of Bees: 

 Dr. Charles Robertson. Geomorphology: 

 C. A. Cotton. "A Wave of Life:" G. B. 

 Cl.\tcomb 422 



Quotations : — 

 The Physiology of a Working Day 424 



Scientific BooTcs: — 



Washburn on Injurious Insects and Useful 

 Birds: W. E. Britton 425 



Anthropological Research: Des. Franz Boas, 

 Ales Hrdlicka, Alfred M. Tozzer 426 



Special Articles: — 

 Egg-weight as a Criterion of Numerical 

 Production in the Domestic Fowl: Dr. 

 Philip Hadley 427 



Societies and Academies: — 

 The National Academy of Sciences 429 



M8S. intended for publication and books, etc., intended for 

 review should be sent to The Editor of Science, GarriaoQ-OD- 

 Hudson, N. Y. 



COOPERATION BETWEEN ZOOLOG- 

 ICAL LABORATORIES AND THE 

 GOVERNMENT BUREAUS 



The establishment of the Council of Na- 

 tional Eesearch and the utilization of a host 

 of other scientific workers from universities 

 and colleges in all sections of the country as 

 parts of the war machinery of the government 

 has for a considerable period and on a large 

 scale brought the college scientists in close 

 contact with the scientists of the govern-* 

 mental bureaus in Washington. This has, I 

 believe, brought about a mutual feeling of 

 friendship and cordial understanding far be- 

 yond anything hitherto existing. 



Now that the extraordinarily varied scien- 

 tific work being regularly conducted in Wash- 

 ington under governmental auspices has be- 

 come more widely known to college workers, 

 the way is open to make this information use- 

 ful. For instance, would it not be practicable 

 for the head of each college biological or 

 zoological laboratory to make a point year by 

 year to secure first-hand information as to the 

 many lines of governmental work in progress 

 in his branch of science, botli as to research 

 problems and as to the application of scien- 

 tific knowledge to economic work ? Probably 

 no field of research offers the student a greater 

 number of subjects of general value to the 

 community. 



Possibly the college zoological laboratories 

 might obtain funds, perhaps as fellowships 

 or in other form, with which the more promis- 

 ing students could be given opiwrtunity to 

 visit government laboratories in Washington 

 and elsewhere and become acquainted with 

 government workers in the lines in which they 

 are interested. In this way they could get 

 definite information as to methods of research, 

 the practical handling of various problems 

 and the technique of the leading government 



