214 
Mrs. Christine Ladd Franklin read a 
paper on the ‘ Reduction to Absurdity of 
the Ordinary Treatment of the Syllog- 
ism,’ which will be published in ScrEncz. 
Other papers in the philosophical section 
were ‘The Kantian Doctrine of Space,’ by 
Professor George S. Fullerton; ‘Nietzsche,’ 
by Professor Grace Neal Dolson ; ‘ Professor 
Ladd’s Theory of Reality,’ by Professor 
William Caldwell; ‘The Doctrine of the 
Two-fold Truth,’ by Professor F.C. French ; 
“A Study of Pluralism,’ by Professor A. H. 
Lloyd; ‘The Problem of an Emotional 
Logie,’ by Professor W. M. Urban; ‘ Ex- 
amination of Professor Sidgwick’s Proof of 
Utilitarianism,’ by Dr. Ernest Albee ‘A 
Peripatetic Formula for the Moral Ideal,’ 
by Professor W. R. Newbold; ‘ Active and 
Passive Reason in the Writings of Aris- 
totle,’ by Professor W.A. Hammond. The 
last named paper was read by title. 
Liyineston FARRAND. 
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 
IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
Tur fifteenth annual meeting of the Acad- 
emy met in Des Moines, Iowa, on December 
-26, 27, 28,1900. A lengthy and an excel- 
lent program was carried out. The annual 
semi-popular lecture was given by Dr. Wm. 
Trelease, of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 
on the ‘Harriman Alaska Expedition’ on 
Thursday evening to a large and highly 
appreciative audience. The president, Pro- 
fessor W. H. Norton, delivered his presi- 
-dential address on the ‘Social Service of 
Science’ on Wednesday evening. Professor 
Norton sketched briefly the service of 
science to society. This service is not ap- 
preciated as it should be, and yet nearly 
every modern convenience in the industrial 
world had its origin in the discovery of 
‘some scientific truth by some scientist, as 
in medicine, physics, electricity and me- 
chanics. 
Geological papers were presented by Dr. 
SCIENCE. 
[N. S. Vou. XIII. No. 319. 
Charles R. Keyes on ‘ Depositional Equiv- 
alent of Hiatus at Base of our Coal Meas- 
ures’; and the ‘ Arkansan Series,’ a new 
terrane of the carboniferous in the western 
interior basin. The present Arkansas val- 
ley, however, has probably been formed 
entirely since Tertiary times, and by a sys- 
tem of drainage in no way dependent upon 
the carboniferous drainage. Where the great 
uplift, of Missouri and Arkansas over the 
northern part—embraced by the so-called 
Ozark isle—and-the southern part com- 
posing the Ouchita mountains were made 
up of resistant limestones, these yielded less 
quickly to erosion than the central soft 
shales ; and the Arkansas river, which hap- 
pened in old peneplain to traverse the cen- 
tral part of the uplifted area, was able to 
cut its way down as fast as the region rose, 
and was thus able to maintain its old course. 
In his paper on ‘ Names of Coals West of the 
Mississippi River’ he indicated the strati- 
graphical units of the carboniferous in the 
western interior coal fields—the terranes of 
the Missourian, Des Moines and Arkansan 
being given. In a paper on the volcanic 
necks of Piatigorsk, Southern Russia, he 
briefly described the highest peak in Europe, 
Mt. Elburz, which is 18,526 feet above the 
level of the sea. Mr. T. E. Savage briefly 
gave an account of the ‘pre-Kansan Drift 
Exposure in Tama County, Iowa.’ His con- 
clusions were based on the buried soil, in 
which organic matter was found, leaching, 
and an oxidized zone. Professor Shimek 
made a comparison of the loess and modern 
‘Molluscan Fauna of Iowa City and Vi- 
cinity.’ A large number of the species en- 
umerated are aquatic. 
Of chemical papers, Professor Nicholas 
Knight, on ‘Some Recent Analyses of Iowa 
Building Stones,’ stated that the chemical 
composition varied from nearly typical 
dolomite to admixtures in different propor- 
tions of calcium carbonate and dolomite. In 
his paper on ‘ Potable Waters ’ chemical an- 
