February 6, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



193 



dressed the Academy at the opening of the 

 first session. After alluding to the fact 

 that the idea of forming such an institution 

 had long existed, he dwelt on the signifi- 

 cance of unanimous action by congress at a 

 time when the country was suffering under 

 the burden of the great civil war. With its 

 widely distributed membership, he felt that 

 the Academy would contribute in the future 

 toward the unity and indivisibility of the 

 nation. 



With Professor Henry in the chair, and 

 other leaders of American science taking 

 part in the deliberations, the work of the 

 Academy was begTin under the most favor- 

 able auspices. The constitution and by- 

 laws were prepared by a strong committee, 

 including such men as Agassiz, Benjamin 

 Gould, Peirce and Silliman, with Baehe as 

 chairman. After three days of discussion 

 they were adopted by the Academy, and 

 finally ratified at the first Washington 

 meeting, held in one of the committee rooms 

 of the senate on January 4-6, 1864. 



In the space at our disposal, we must 

 content ourselves with a brief glance at the 

 principal acts of the Academy during the 

 fifty years of its existence, referring the 

 reader to the work so often cited for further 

 details. In accordance with the terms of 

 the constitution, the members were divided 

 into two classes, (a) mathematics and phys- 

 ics, and (6) natural history, each class hav- 

 ing a chairman and secretary. The names 

 of the sections, and the number of members 

 in each, are given in the following table : 



Class of Mathematics and Physics 



Number 



of 

 Members 



Sect. 1. Mathematics 6 



Sect. 2. Physics 6 



Sect. 3. Astronomy, Geography and Geod- 

 esy 9 



Sect. 4. Mechanics 6 



Sect. 5. Chemistry 3 30 



Cla^s of Natural History 



Number 



of 

 Members 



Sect. 1. Mineralogy and Geology 6 



Sect. 2. Zoology 5 



Sect. 3. Botany 1 



Sect. 4. Anatomy and Physiology 2 



Sect. 5. Ethnology 14 



Total ~ 44 



It is interesting to contrast this organi- 

 zation with that existing at the present 

 time : 



Sect. 1. Mathematics and Astronomy. .. .23 



Sect. 2. Physics and Engineering 25 



Sect. 3. Chemistry 23 



Tl 

 Deduct names counted twice. 5 66 



Sect. 4. Geology and Paleontology 24 



Sect. 5. Botany 9 



Sect. 6. Zoology and Animal Morphology. 18 



Sect. 7. Physiology and Pathology 15 



Sect. 8. Anthropology and Psychology 9 



75" 

 Deduct names counted twice 9 66 

 Total ~ 132 



At the outset, two thirds of the members 

 belonged to the class of mathematics and 

 physics, and only one third to the class of 

 natural history. At present, while the two 

 classes no longer exist as such, it is easy to 

 group the members in the same way. De- 

 ducting the names counted twice, we find 

 that 66 would now fall in the first class, and 

 exactly the same number in the second. 

 Thus the discrepancy formerly existing 

 between the two classes has been adjusted 

 in the process of time.^ 



It is important to note that the division 

 of members into sections is solely for the 

 purpose of facilitating nominations for new 

 elections, as now provided by the constitu- 

 tion. 



s DeCandolle notes a similar preference for the 

 mathematical and physical sciences on the part of 

 the Berlin Academy during the eighteenth cen- 

 tury, which was subsequently adjusted by revision 

 of the statutes. ("Histoire des Sciences et des 

 Savants," 2 ed., p. 261.) 



