406 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIX. No. 1002 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



THE NEW ORLEANS ACADEMY OP SCIENCES 



The regular monthly meeting of the Academy 

 was held at Tulane University, on Tuesday, Jan- 

 uary 20. Dr. Isadore Dyer, the president, pre- 

 sided and there was a large attendance of fellows 

 and members. 



The subjects of the meeting were: (1) a paper 

 on "The Passive State of Metals," by Dr. B. P. 

 Caldwell, professor of chemistry at Tulane. The 

 speaker reviewed the different theories which have 

 been brought forward to account for the facts of 

 passivity from the time of Keir to the present, 

 pointing out the facts in support of, and in oppo- 

 sition to, each theory. He also called attention to 

 certain especially peculiar phenomena attendant 

 upon the processes of passivating and activating, 

 and in closing pointed out the industrial impor- 

 tance of scientific study of the problem of making 

 iron and metals in general more resistant to cor- 

 rosion. 



The second paper was read by Dr. W. L. Owen, 

 of the United States Bureau of Agriculture, upon 

 the problem of the maintenance of soil fertility. 

 The speaker brought out the fact that the prob- 

 lem seemed much more complex to-day than it did 

 when Liebig made his celebrated contribution to 

 the subject. The problem of the future, according 

 to the speaker, will concern itself more with the 

 detection of soil toxines and the best means of 

 stimulating the various groups of soil bacteria 

 than in the increased use of commercial fertilizers. 



There was some discussion at the conclusion of 

 these papers, in which Drs. Gustav Mann, C. C. 

 Bass and J. H. Clo and other speakers partici- 

 pated. 



R. S. Cocks, 



Secretary 



THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF VCASHINGTON 



The ninety-fourth regular meeting of the Bo- 

 tanical Society of Washington was held in the 

 Assembly'Hall of the Cosmos Club, at 8 p.m., Tues- 

 day, February 3, 1914. Messrs. Raymond B. Wil- 

 cox, Arno Viehoever and Henry Pittier were 

 elected to membership. 



The scientific program was as follows: 



Brief notes and Reviews of Literature. 



Dr. David Griffiths reviewed a prospectus of a 

 stock company which has been organized in Aus- 

 tralia for the pui-pose of eradicating the cactus, 

 which is there considered a serious pest. 



Mr. 8. C. Stuntz called attention to the return 

 from Brazil of Mr. A. D. Shamel, who has been 

 there with Messrs. Dorsett and Poponoe, who are 

 studying methods of tropical fruit culture and 

 introducing the varieties that may be of value in 

 this country. Mr. Shamel brought back over 1,100 

 photographs which have thus far been taken by 

 them, and prints of these will soon be available 

 for study at the Oface of Foreign Seed and Plant 

 Introduction for those who are ittterested. 



A Seport on the Atlanta Meeting of the Botanical 

 Society of America: Dr. R. H. Teue. 

 Dr. True gave a report on the attendance at the 

 meetings and number and character of the papers 

 read before the different sections, with special 

 notes regarding those of a botanical character. 

 The Belation Between Transpiration and the Ab- 

 sorption of Inorganic Constituents iy Plants: 

 Dr. H. Hasselbring. 



Published in Bot. Gaz., 57: 72-73, January, 

 1914. 



A Fertile Eybrid Between Tripsacum and 

 Euchlwna: G. N. Collins. (With lantern.) 

 To be published in the Journal of the Washing- 

 ton Academy. 



An Attempt at Bevegetation on Kodiak Island, 



Alaska: Dr. Walter H. Evans. 



The conditions on Kodiak Island following the 

 eruption of Mt. Katmai in May, 1912, were de- 

 scribed and ani account was given of experiments 

 in restoring the meadows and pastures of the 

 experiment station on that island. 



The level land was covered with the ash, or, 

 more correctly, the debris from the explosion, to a 

 depth of 12 to 14 inches, and practically all vege- 

 tation was destroyed. The only natural revegeta- 

 tion was where hummocks of earth brought the 

 original soil nearer the surface or where plants 

 came through cracks that formed in the deposit 

 during the summer season. In these places fire- 

 weed, Epilobium angustifolvum, and Alaskan red- 

 top, Calamagrostis langsdorfii, have come up quite 

 abundantly. 



In gardens and wherever an especial effort was 

 made to mix the deposit with the underlying soil, 

 better growth was reported than normal, the ash 

 appearing to have been of benefit, probably by 

 reason of the improved physical condition of the 



soil. 



P. L. Ricker, 

 Corresponding Secretary 



