April 17, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



569 



tive electrons are precisely alike, from what- 

 ever form of matter they may he derived. 

 Thus we are prepared to witness some of the 

 transformations of the chemical elements, such 

 as the spontaneous disintegration of radium 

 and the production of helium from it. 



These addresses on the fundamental struc- 

 ture of matter will prepare the way for suc- 

 ceeding lectures, which will deal with the 

 various transformations of matter involved 

 in the evolution of the earth and its inhabi- 

 tants. 



The second course in the Evolution Series 

 will be given at the next autumn meeting of 

 the Academy by Dr. William Wallace Camp- 

 bell, director of the Lick Observatory, Mount 

 Hamilton, California. Provided with his raw 

 material, as it were, by Sir Ernest Rutherford, 

 Dr. Campbell will sketch the various types of 

 bodies which make up the universe, describe 

 their connection in systems, and explain the 

 principal theories of stellar evolution. His 

 object will be to show how stars and stellar 

 systems are gradually evolved from an earlier 

 state and to afford a view of the earth in its 

 first phases of development. In this way the 

 intimate relationship of the earth with the 

 moon and the other bodies of the solar system 

 will be made apparent, as well as the continu- 

 ity of the process which connects the present 

 with the remote past. Dr. Campbell will in- 

 troduce some of the results of his extensive 

 researches with the powerful instruments of 

 the Lick Observatory and will employ a large 

 collection of astronomical photographs for 

 illustration purposes. 



A distinguished European geologist will be 

 invited to give the third course of lectures at 

 the annual meeting of the Academy in 1915. 

 Taking the earth from the hands of the 

 astronomer, he will show how its surface fea- 

 tures have been altered in the process of time. 

 Later lectures, preserving the continuity of 

 the series, will then enter the field of organic 

 evolution and illustrate the bearing of recent 

 investigations in paleontology, zoology and 

 botany on the evolution of plant and animal 

 life. The evolution of man will form the sub- 

 ject of a subsequent course, and the series will 



close with an account of the rise of the earliest 

 civilizations, coming into touch with modem 

 times in the life of the Nile Valley. 



In all cases the lectures will be given by 

 leading European and American investigators, 

 whose personal researches have contributed 

 largely toward the development of the fields of 

 science which they represent. Every effort 

 will be made to secure continuity and homo- 

 geneity of treatment, in order that the pub- 

 lished lectures may unite into an adequate and 

 well-balanced description of evolution in the 

 broadest sense. The lecturers chosen will be 

 able to eliminate unessential technicalities 

 and to present their subjects clearly and intel- 

 ligibly to general audiences. The series on 

 Evolution should therefore appeal to a large 

 public, interested in the broader aspects of 

 science, but not necessarily familiar with its 

 special methods or technical details. 



The lectures will be open to the public with- 

 out charge, and a cordial invitation is ex- 

 tended to all who may wish to attend them. 

 Arthur L. Day, 

 Home Secretary 



Smithsonian Institution, 

 Washington, D. C. 



THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY 

 A REGULAR meeting of the Physical Society 



will be held at the Bureau of Standards, 



Washington, on April 24 and 25. Morning 



sessions will begin at 9 :30. 



Attention is directed to the following special 



features of the coming meeting: 



1. The members of the Physical Society are 

 invited by the National Academy of Sciences 

 to attend the William Ellery Hale lectures by 

 Sir Ernest Eutherford, F.R.S., upon "The 

 Constitution of Matter and the Evolution of 

 the Elements" (illustrated). The lectures are 

 two in number, and are delivered in the audi- 

 torium of the National Museum on April 21, 

 and April 23, at 4 :00 p. M. 



2. A special attraction will be the exhibit 

 of apparatus arranged by a local committee of 

 the Physical Society. Thus far entries have 

 been received from more than thirty manufac- 

 turers, importers and industrial research estab- 



