458 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIX. No. 1004 



capacity of about three million gallons per 

 day. An artesian well on the grounds near the 

 river offers a limited flow of hard water, which 

 is not stored. 



The grounds comprise sixty acres of cleared 

 and wooded land, mostly with a gentle slope, 

 and extending from the banks of the river to 

 the top of the bluffs. The river frontage is 

 about a quarter of a mile. 



The station has two launches and a num- 

 ber of rowboats, with one portable Evinrude 

 motor. A fishing crew is engaged almost daily. 

 Opportunities are, therefore, offered for col- 

 lecting in the various parts of the river or in 

 the lakes and slues which are found in the 

 islands and the lowlands of the Illinois shore. 

 Interesting aquatic environments are also pre- 

 sented by the ponds on the station grounds, 

 which are generally very rich in plankton. 



The laboratory will not only be used by the 

 permanent staff and associates of the bureau 

 ■engaged on special problems, but it is desired 

 to extend the facilities of the institution to 

 other investigators desiring to study problems 

 for which the conditions at Fairport may be 

 particularly favorable. 



The laboratory is furnished with the ordi- 

 nary glassware and scientific apparatus. No 

 charge will be made for occupancy of tables or 

 dormitory rooms, but the mess will be operated 

 upon a cooperative plan, each participant 

 sharing in the expense. Further conditions 

 and information will be supplied upon request. 



Since only a limited number can be accom- 

 modated in the first season, it is requested 

 that applicants for tables address the Com- 

 missioner of Fisheries, Washington, D. C, or 

 the director of the biological station, Fairport, 

 Iowa, as early as practicable. Investigators 

 requiring the use of special or unusual appa- 

 ratus should communicate particularly with 

 the director, in order that they may be in- 

 formed as to the special equipment of the 

 station related to their needs. 



Egbert E. Coker, 



Director 



March 2, 1914 



A NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF UNIVER- 

 SITY PSOFESSOSS 

 In the spring of 1913 a circular letter, 

 signed by most of the full professors of the 

 Johns Hopkins University, was sent to mem- 

 bers of the faculties of nine other universities, 

 inviting them to consider the advisability of 

 the formation of a national association of uni- 

 versity professors, and to send delegates to 

 an informal conference for the discussion of 

 the matter. The letter contained the follow- 

 ing statement of the reasons actuating the 

 signers of it: 



The reasons which seem to demand the forma- 

 tion of such an association are fairly evident. 

 The university teacher is professionally concerned 

 with two distinct, though related, interests. Both 

 of these interests can be furthered by cooperation 

 and the interchange of views, and therefore, by 

 organization; for only one of them has suitable 

 organization yet been attained. As scholar and 

 investigator the teacher is interested in the ad- 

 vancement of learning and the diffusion of knowl- 

 edge in his specialty; and cooperative effort for 

 these ends is already effectively organized, 

 through our numerous technical societies and the 

 several sections of the American Association. But 

 the university professor is also concerned, as a 

 member of the legislative body of his local insti- 

 tution, with many questions of educational policy 

 which are of more than local significance; he is 

 a member of a professional body which is the spe- 

 cial custodian of certain ideals, and the organ 

 for the performance of certain functions essential 

 to the well-being of society; and concerning the 

 character, efficiency, public influence and good re- 

 pute of this body he can not be indifferent. It is 

 on this side that there is need for more definite and 

 more comprehensive organization. The general 

 purposes, therefore, of the contemplated associa- 

 tion would be to promote a more general and 

 methodical discussion of the educational problems 

 of the university; to create means for the authori- 

 tative expression of the public opinion of the pro- 

 fession; and to make possible collective action, on 

 occasions when such action seems called for. 



A favorable response was received in all 

 cases, and statements expressing the belief in 

 the desirability of the formation of such an 

 association were drawn up and signed by 

 members of the faculties of most of the uni- 



