172 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. II. No. 33. 



take in all the sciences by changing the 

 name to The American Association foi- the 

 Advancement of Science. 



In 1848 the new association met in Phila- 

 delphia, the birth-place of its predecessor, 

 and adopted the constitution which in all 

 its vital points has remained unchanged to 

 this time. The first clause of this consti- 

 tution is as follows: "The objects of the 

 Association are, by periodical and migratory 

 meetings, to promote intercourse between 

 those who are cultivating science in different 

 parts of America, to give a stronger and 

 more general impulse and more sj^stematic 

 direction to scientific research, and to pro- 

 cure for the labors of scientific men increased 

 facilities and a wider influence." Acting 

 under this clause the Association has held 

 forty- three meetings in the following cities: 

 Philadelphia twice (in 1848 and 1884), 

 Cambridge, Charleston, JSTew Haven, Cin- 

 cinnati twice (in 1851 and 1881), Albany 

 twice (in 1851 and 1856), Cleveland twice 

 (in 1853 and 1888), Washington twice (in 

 1854 and 1891), Providence, Montreal twice 

 (in 1857 and 1882), Baltimore, Springfield, 

 Newport, Buffalo three times (in 1866, 1876 

 and 1886), Burlington, Chicago, Salem, 

 Troy, Indianapolis twice (in 1871 and 1890), 

 Dubuque, Portland, Hartford, Detroit, Nash- 

 ville, St. Louis, Saratoga, Boston, Minne- 

 apolis, Ann Arbor, New York, Toronto, 

 Rochester, Madison and Brooklyn. 



At first it was contemplated to hold two 

 meetings each year, one in the early spring, 

 mainly in the Southern cities, and the other 

 in the summer in the more Northern cities. 

 Thus two meetings were held in the years 

 1850 and 1851, but no meeting was held in 

 1852. The large number of members con- 

 nected with colleges and schools soon made 

 it essential to hold the meetings annually 

 during the summer vacation. In 1859 a 

 meeting was held in Springfield, and in 1860 

 at Newport. The fifteenth meeting was to 

 have been held in Nashville, but was sus. 



pended owing to the unhappy condition of 

 the country. Five years later the meeting 

 was held in Buffalo, when 79 members ral- 

 lied to revive the meetings which have since 

 that time been annually increasing in im- 

 portance and have been attended by from 

 200 to 1000 members according to special 

 circumstances and to locality. 



The Association has now about 2000 

 names on its roll of members, and it has 

 called to its annual meetings the principal 

 societies of a national character, which, 

 largely as ofishoots from the Association, 

 hold annual meetings as affiliated societies 

 in connection with the Association. Dur- 

 ing the existence of the Association there 

 has been on its roll the name of nearly 

 every man and woman of eminence in sci- 

 ence in the country, as well as many others 

 equallj^ distinguished in literature and art; 

 while hundreds of men and women have 

 found in the membership of the Association 

 the opportunity of increasing their knowl- 

 edge by contact with professional workers 

 in science, and have had their minds made 

 broader and their lives more useful as a 

 consequence. The influence of the Associa- 

 tion, meeting as it does in various piarts of 

 the country, has unquestionably been of the 

 greatest importance to the people in bring- 

 ing scientific methods and results to their 

 notice; and it is beyond question that many 

 a young mind has been led to pursue a life of 

 scientific research in consequence of in- 

 centives derived from these annual gather- 

 ings. 



The men who have held the position of 

 President since 1848 are such a guarantee 

 of the high character of the Association and 

 the diversity of its'interests that it is well 

 to mention the names of Rogers, Redfield, 

 Henry, Bache, Agassiz, Pierce, Dana, Tor- 

 rey. Hall, Caswell, Alexander, Lea, Barn- 

 ard, Newberry, Gould, Foster, Hunt, Gray, 

 Smith, Lovering, J. L. LeConte, Hilgard, 

 Newcomb, Marsh, Barker, Morgan, Brush, 



