394 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. II. No. 39. 



many opinions in opposition to trade sfiec- 

 ialization in engineering colleges, and many 

 others in favor of thoroughness and pre- 

 cision in all technical work. 



' Mechanical Engineering,' by Prof. H. 

 W. Spangler, presented statistics showing 

 the lines of work followed by graduates of 

 mechanical engineering courses; out of 587 

 gi-aduates all but 9 had followed their 

 chosen profession. The relative importance 

 of laboratory and shop work was treated at 

 length. 



' Mining Engineering Laboratories,' by 

 Professor H. O. Hofmann, fully detailed the 

 equipment and methods of work in the 

 laboratories of the Massachusetts Institute 

 of Technology, where 325 hours of practical 

 work are required of each student in mining. 



'A Course of Instruction in Engineering 

 Materials,' by Professor J. B. Johnson, gave 

 a comprehensive outline of both the theo- 

 retic and practical divisions of mechanics of 

 materials, the laboratory work recom- 

 mended being about fifty hours in length; 

 The proper kinds of testing machines for 

 the use of students received an extended 

 consideration in the discussion. 



The five sessions of the meetings were 

 not sufficient for the reading of all the 

 papers presented ; three were read by title, 

 their authors being absent. The time for 

 discussion also often proved too limited. 

 Perhaps the most interesting discussion of 

 the session was that between the engineers 

 and the physicists regarding the units of 

 force best adapted for use in the teaching 

 of mechanics. 



THE NEXT MEETING. 



It was decided to hold the next annual 

 meeting at Buffalo, beginning on August 

 20, 1896. The following officers were 

 elected: Pi-esident, Mansfield Merriman, of 

 Lehigh University ; Vice-Presidents, F. O. 

 Marvin, of the University of Kansas, and 

 Cady Staley, of the Case School of Applied 



Science; Secretary, C. Frank Allen, of 

 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 

 Treasurer, J. J. Flather, of Purdue Uni- 

 versity. 



The number of new members elected at 

 this meeting was 33, thus bringing the total 

 membership to 189, representing about 75 

 technical colleges. The number of members 

 and guests present at the Springfield meet- 

 ing was nearly 100. - There is now little 

 doubt but that the Society will have a great 

 and lasting influence in shaping the devel- 

 opment of engineering education. 



THE SECOND SUM3IEB 3IEETING OF THE 

 AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY. 



The Second Summer Meeting of the 

 American Mathematical Society was held 

 in the High School building at Springfield, 

 Mass., on August 27th and 2Sth. Among 

 those present were : Prof A. L. Baker, Dr. 

 J. H. Boyd, Prof. C. H. Chandler, Prof. L. 

 L. Conant, Prof. C. L. Doolittle, Prof W. 

 P. Durfee, Prof. E. Frisby, Dr. G. D. Gable, 

 Dr. J. W. L. Glaisher, Prof. A. Hall, Jr., 

 Prof. Ellen Hayes, Dr. G. W. Hill, Prof. W. 

 Woolsey Johnson, Mr. P. A. Lambert, Prof. 

 J. McMahon, Prof M. Merriman, Prof F. 

 Morley, Prof. H. B. N'ewson, Prof. W. F. 

 Osgood, Prof. M. I. Pupin, Mr. E. A. Eob- 

 erts, Mr. C. H. Rockwell, Prof J. B. Shaw, 

 Prof W. E. Story, Prof. H. Taber, Prof. 

 J. M. Van Vleck, Prof E. B. Van Vleck, 

 Prof C. A. Waldo, Prof H. S. AVhite, Prof. 

 J. M. Willard, Prof C. B. Williams, Prof 

 F. S. Woods and Prof. R. S. Woodward. 



The President, Dr. G. W. Hill, occupied 

 the chair. Two sessions were held each 

 day, meeting respectively at 10 A. M. and 

 2:30 P. M. The following papers were read: 



1. The periodic solution as a first approximiilion in the 

 lunar theory : De. G. W. Hill. 



2. TliC linear vector operator of quaternions : Pkof. J. 

 B. Shaw. 



3. .( new iippUeation of rjiiaternions to ijcometry : PuoF. 

 J. B. Shaw. 



