442 
- 39. The nature of spoken vowels, with reference to 
the theories of Helmholtz and Hermann. E. W. 
Scripture, New Haven, Conn. Read by title. 
40. Pressure and wave-length. J. F. Mohler, Car- 
lisle, Pa. Read by title, Astrophysical Journal. 
41. The attenuation of sound and the constant of 
radiation of air. A. Wilmer Duff, Ithaca, N. Y. 
Read by title. Physical Review. 
42. Optical calibration of the slit of a spectrometer. 
E. V. Capps, Lincoln. Nebr. 
WILLIAM HALLOCE, 
Secretary. 
CoLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 
SECTION I.—SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SCIENCE. 
SEVENTEEN papers were announced, four- 
teen of which were given in full and three 
were read by title. The address of the 
Vice-President, Dr. Marcus Benjamin, will 
be published in a subsequent number of 
SCIENCE. 
There were four morning sessions and 
two afternoon sessions, and the interest was 
sustained till 3:30 on the last day. 
The first paper was by Mr. John Hyde, 
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, on 
‘The Relation of Indian Corn to the Wheat 
Problem.’ Mr. Hyde traced the develop- 
ment of corn raising and wheat raising 
from their beginnings, showing that wheat 
had passed a maximum while corn was ap- 
parently approaching one. Though quite 
independent in production, the sympathetic 
agreement in priceis remarkable. Mr. Hyde 
predicted a permanent foothold and an in- 
creasing demand for American corn. While 
the United States is admirably fitted for 
corn the same is true of relatively few other 
lands. Wheat may be sown either in the 
spring or fall, and in many lands. 
not expect to control the wheat market, 
but we can the corn. 
Miss Cora A. Benneson, a lawyer of high 
standing on Federal matters, gave a paper 
on ‘Federal Guarantees for Maintaining 
Republican Government in the States,’ in 
which she pointed out that the constitution 
guaranteed to every State in the Union a 
SCIENCE. 
We can- — 
[N. S. Vou. X. No. 248. 
republican government without defining - 
what this is. This power has been used in 
regard to disputed possession of territory, 
to suppress riots, etc., and the reconstruc- 
tion following the Civil War, federal in- 
tervention was constantly needed, even be- 
yond those warranted by the constitution. 
It is a question how far the provision of 
the constitution guarantees a republican 
form of government to territories, it de- 
pending on what is included under ‘ United 
States.’ 
Mr. Henry Farquhar, of the U.S. De- 
partment of Agriculture, gave a short paper 
on ‘Calculations of population in June, 
1900.’ The formula employed by Mr. Far- 
quhar was 
oe Pp 
AP= e+ ip + op 
in which p is the population shown by a 
United States Census. A p is the ‘natural 
increase’ in a decade, excluding immigra- 
tion; e, f, g are constants determined from 
former United States Censuses, after de- 
ducting immigration figures. In all his 
calculations Mr. Farquhar rejected the Cen- 
sus of 1870 as defective. The immigration 
for the decade ending next June he put at 
3,750,000. Expressing p in millions, and 
calculating the constants from different 
sets of data, the writer produced four sep- 
arate calculations of the population, as thus 
shown: 
e f g p in 1900 
A 2.862 | 0.035 | 0.00091 73,648,000 
B 2.279 | 0.086 | 0. 74,693,000 
Cc 2.570 | 0.073 | 0. 75,679,000 
D 3.350 0.000 0.0012 74,466,000 
The writer preferred C over the others, 
and concluded that the next Census would 
show more than 75,000,000 and less than 
76,000,000. 
Mrs. Florence Kelley, the Corresponding 
Secretary of the National Consumers’ 
League, read a thirty minute paper on 
