December 28, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



advocated by those who have carefully stud- 

 ied the question, is apparently a necessary 

 step in the suppression of this evil. 



3. The utilization of educational institu- 

 tions in the development of a rational sys- 

 tem of forestrj'. — In this, again. New York 

 is well in advance, although Connecticut 

 has followed in the establishment of a 

 school of forestry at its leading university, 

 and in calling in the services of a trained 

 forester whose work will be carried on in 

 connection with the State experiment sta- 

 tion. There can be no doubt that institu- 

 tions of learning, endowed by public funds, 

 owe to the State the best that they can con- 

 tribute towards the solution of such prob- 

 lems of public interest, nor is there any 

 doubt that these institutions, permanent in 

 their nature and to a great degree free from 

 political influences, are the best fitted to 

 fulfill a duty in which a consistent policy 

 and continuity of action are indispensable. 

 Both the University and the Agricultural 

 College of Michigan have recognized this 

 duty and have cooperated in rendering 

 such service as they have found practicable. 

 There is still every reason for the continu- 

 ance of this cooperation and for the enlarge- 

 ment of plans for further work. Should 

 we follow in this the lead of Connecti- 

 cut, which is similarly situated in the separ- 

 ation of the institutions directly concerned, 

 there would fall to the University the 

 establishment of a department of forestry 

 devoted largely to investigation, while upon 

 the Agricultural College would naturally 

 devolve the care and further development 

 of its experimental forestry stations. Should 

 either or both institutions come into posses- 

 sion of extensive tracts of cut over lands, 

 with which it has been proposed to entrust 

 them, these new possessions would furnish 

 a series of problems the solution of which is 

 quite as likely to prove of financial value to 

 the State as to themselves. Profits must 

 necessarily be relatively remote, but it is a 



matter of encouragement that the director 

 of the New York School of Forestry, with 

 but 30,000 acres of land on which to oper- 

 ate and the work barely under way, is con- 

 fident that hereafter the forestry operations 

 of which he has charge will be self-support- 

 ing, and it is the judgment of experienced 

 lumbermen, as well as of scientific foresters, 

 that in Michigan the conditions are such as 

 to insure to the State, or to institutions that 

 can afford to wait, a substantial profit from 

 practical forestry. 



V. M. Spalding. 

 University of Michigan. 



GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY AT THE 

 A3IEBICAN ASSOCIATION. 



The joint session of Section E of the 

 American Association and the American 

 Geological Society was opened on Monday, 

 June 25th, in Schermerhorn Hall, Columbia 

 University, to listen to the address of Vice- 

 President Kemp, of Section E, on the ' Pre- 

 cambrian Sediments in the Adirondack 

 Mountains.' This address, which has al- 

 readj' been published in full in Science, 

 July 20, 1900, was an exceedingly valuable 

 and lucid contribution to the geology of 

 this complicated but interesting region. 



The first paper before the regular session 

 of Tuesday morning was also one by Profes- 

 sor J. F. Kemp on the ' Local Geology about 

 the City of New York,' which during the 

 past several years has been studied in con- 

 siderable detail by Dr. F. J. H. Merrill and 

 others. This paper was given at the re- 

 quest of the ' sectional committee ' and 

 was preliminary to the three geological ex- 

 cursions arranged for and participated in 

 by the members of Section E and of the 

 Geological Society on the three following 

 afternoons. 



The second paper of the Tuesday morn- 

 ing session was by Mr. E. 0. Hovey, on the 

 ' Geological and Paleontological Collections 

 in the American Museum of Natural His- 



