642 
ing to the second or third of the following 
January. For them the changes will be 
slight. 
three days involved cannot, in the opinion 
In those cases in which the two or 
of those deciding, be spared, it will prob- 
ably be practicable to shorten correspond- 
ingly one or more of the vacations at other 
periods of the year. As regards the few 
colleges and technical schools which do 
not have the usual Christmas vacation, it 
may be suggested that it will suffice to vote 
to grant leave of absence during convoca- 
tion week to those who desire to attend 
the society meetings, and perhaps later, 
when the ‘week’ has an assured and 
clearly permanent place these institutions, 
will conform to what will then be a recog- 
nized as a prevailing custom. 
Columbia University has the honorable 
distinction of being the first to adopt the im- 
portant innovation, and has already changed 
its calendar for 1901-1902, setting free the 
week of January first for convocation pur- 
poses. It is expected that several other 
universities also will soon announce their 
adherence to the plan, and it is hoped that 
in a short time the majority of American 
and Canadian universities will adopt the 
recommendation under consideration. 
The reasons for asking for the estab- 
lishment of a convocation week are obvious, 
since they are the direct outcome of condi- 
tions and experiences which are distinct- 
ively American and are familiar to all. 
The general proposition that annual 
meetings of scientific men are desirable re- 
quires no demonstration. Every one real- 
izes that, after remaining a long time within 
the circle of his own university, it is im- 
SCIENCE. 
[N. 8. Vou. XIII. No. 330. 
mensely stimulating to meet with a number 
of other men, pursuing the same branch of. 
science. Moreover, the oral presentation 
of the results of investigation has certain 
real advantages over the written form, 
while the informal discussions at meetings 
are frequently worth more than the whole 
cost and trouble of attendance. The gain 
in these ways and many others is so great 
for the professors that it must be consid- 
ered an important part of sound university 
policy to encourage and promote attendance 
at scientific meetings, since thereby a uni- 
versity can easily, and often greatly, in- 
crease the value of its teaching staff. 
It is to be recalled next that attempts to 
hold meetings in summer time encounter 
difficulties so serious that such attempts 
are and can be only partially successful. 
It is the conviction that this difficulty is 
great and without remedy which has led 
the American Association for the Advance- 
ment of Science to wish to change its time 
It ac- 
cordingly appointed a committee to take 
necessary action for this purpose. The 
committee, of which Dr. Minot is chairman 
of meeting to the winter season. 
and Professor Cattell secretary, is consti- 
tuted by Charles S. Minot, President-Elect ; 
R. 8. Woodward, President ; L.O. Howard, 
Permanent Secretary; EH. L. Nichols and 
J. McK. Cattell. 
The tropical character of the American 
summer has led to the gradual extension 
of the national custom of scattering to 
mountain, seashore and country, and those 
connected with Universities utilize the long 
vacation to settle down in a summer home, 
from which it is more than difficult to en- 
