454 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLV. No. 1167 



tially the converse of the one by which Maswell 

 tried in vain to exhibit the inertia of electricity— 

 of, as we now say, the mass of electrons. Professor 

 Tolman has devised a simpler and more promising 

 method than that which he previously employed for 

 producing the acceleration of the wire. 



GEOLOGY 



Three hundred dollars to Professor Herman L. 

 Pairehild, of the University of Rochester, to de- 

 fray traveling expenses in a study of the Post- 

 glacial land uplift in New England and the mari- 

 time provinces of Canada. Professor Fairchild has 

 already determined the amount of Postglacial up- 

 lift in New York and the western part of New 

 England. The results are well shown on the maps 

 submitted. It seems very desirable to extend this 

 important survey eastward across New England 

 and the maritime provinces, and so complete the 

 study across this very significant and possibly 

 critical region. The diastrophic movements con- 

 nected with the withdrawal of the last ice-sheet, 

 when better understood, are likely to throw much 

 light upon the much larger problem of earth de- 

 formation, which is one of the greatest problems 

 now confronting the philosophical geologist. A 

 continuation of this work by Professor Fairchild 

 is likely to prove an important contribution both to 

 Post-Pleistocene geology and also to dynamic geol- 

 ogy. 



One hundred dollars to Professor Samuel W. Wil- 

 liston, of the University of Chicago, toward the 

 expenses of an artist to help draw the figures of 

 the many new Permian fossil vertebrates which 

 Dr. Williston has discovered and is now describing. 

 Professor Williston has been obliged to draw him- 

 self practically all of the numerous figures which 

 illustrate his very important publications. This 

 consumes much very valuable time which might 

 otherwise be employed to far better purpose. 



One hundred dollars to Mr. Ralph W. Chaney, 

 advanced graduate student, University of Chi- 

 cago, toward field expenses of further studies upon 

 a radically new ecological problem presented by 

 the Eagle Creek flora of the Columbia River gorge. 

 As a result of last summer 's field work in this por- 

 tion of Oregon, Mr. Chaney has happened upon a 

 new method for determining the past topography 

 and physiography of a region, based on plant ecol- 

 ogy. Its essential features are these: Leaves of 

 two distinct types, the one representing a xero- 

 phytic plant association and the other a mesophytie, 

 are found intimately mixed in the same strata. 

 It is not possible to conceive of these having grown 



together in the same habitat, for their moisture re- 

 quirements are too widely different. The conclu- 

 sion is that the xerophytes reflect the nature of the 

 climate of the upland country whUe the mesophytes 

 in a region with such a climate must have been 

 limited to narrow and deep valleys into which the 

 direct rays of the sun did not penetrate and where, 

 as a result, humid conditions existed. 



PATHOLOGY 



Five hundred dollars to Professor Frederic P. 

 Gay, of the University of California, for animals 

 and materials to be used by Dr. Takeoka, in the 

 study of the specific treatment of tuberculosis in 

 animals, especially in the use of taurine derived 

 from the muscles of certain shell fish. By the use 

 of this animo acid of bile Dr. Takeoka has been 

 able to cause tuberculous lesions in guinea pigs 

 and rabbits to disappear completely. Taurine be- 

 ing a normal constituent of the body and proving 

 harmless when given intravenously, is now being 

 used cautiously in the treatment of human beings. 



BOTANY 



Two hundred and fifty dollars to Professor Her- 

 bert M. Richards, Barnard College, Columbia Uni- 

 versity, for the continuation of the investigation 

 of the physiology of succulent plants. The grant 

 is to be used, partly in carrying on experiments at 

 Carmel, California, where the plants are under in- 

 vestigation, partly in purchasing new apparatus 

 and partly in employing assistants, in whatever 

 proportion seems most profitable for the produc- 

 tion of results. 



One hundred dollars to E. C. Benedict, Brook- 

 lyn Botanic Garden, for the continuation of the 

 investigation on the Boston fern. This grant is 

 recommended by the sectional committee of Sec- 

 tion G of the association. 



One hundred dollars to Professor C. H. KaufE- 

 mann, of the University of Michigan, to aid in his 

 studies of the fungus genus Coriinarius. The grant 

 is to be used for field explorations in the Rocky 

 Mountains, it being necessary to study there the 

 genus, which is a large and difficult one with 

 evanescent characters. 



PSYCHOLOGY 



One hundred dollars to Professor J. B. Watson 

 toward the study of the development of the re- 

 flexes and instincts of infants. Dr. Watson, who is 

 professor of psychology in the Johns Hopkins Uni- 

 versity, has done important work on animal be- 

 havior and the psychology of conduct. The obstet- 



