908 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 388. 



the class of words composing the list' — names 

 of colors having an average of 87 per cent., 

 names of concrete things 75 per cent., words 

 connected with tactile experiences 70 per cent., 

 emotions 68 per cent., sounds 58 per cent., 

 abstract words 50 per cent., numbers 45 per 

 cent. (3) That the usual retardation at 12 

 with acceleration at 13 is shown in each class 

 of words, with the exception of emotions, where 

 there is a marked retardation at 13, with accel- 

 eration at 14. (4) That in each of the lower 

 grades of school (4A-5B) the brighter pupils 

 have the better memory, while in each of the 

 higher grades (6A-7B) the duller pupils have 

 the better memory. 



In discussing this paper, it was remarked 

 by Professor Thorndike that grammar school 

 girls of 14 to 15 do not fairly represent all 

 girls of that age, since the brighter individuals 

 are apt to leave the grammar school before 

 reaching 14 years. 



Professor Cattell, in a paper on the 'Inten- 

 sity of Light and the Error of Perception,' 

 described experiments in which 211 shades 

 of gray between white and black were sorted 

 out into the order of brightness. The steps 

 were smaller than can be perceived, and there 

 was consequently an error of displacement, 

 measuring the just observable difference. For 

 the more accurate observers the error was six 

 cards or about 0.03 of the range between white 

 and black. Observers differ within the ex- 

 tremes of about 1 : 2. The just observable dif- 

 ference increases with the magnitude of the 

 stimulus, but not in direct proportion as re- 

 quired by Weber's law. The increase is more 

 nearly in proportion to the square root of the 

 magnitude, which the speaker has found to 

 hold in other cases and has elsewhere at- 

 tempted to explain. 



Professor E. L. Thorndike presented results 

 bearing oh the question of 'Sex Differences 

 with Respect to Variability.' A large number 

 of psychological tests of school children has 

 afforded him the opportunity of comparing 

 the variability of boys and girls, as classes, 

 and, on the whole, there is practically no dif- 

 ference between them. 



Dr. W. Borgoras reported some results of 

 his recent observations, undertaken for the 



Jesup North Pacific Expedition, in north- 

 eastern Siberia, among the Chuckchi, Koryak 

 and Kamchadal peoples. These he found to 

 resemble each other strongly in the structure 

 of their languages and in their folklore. What 

 is especially interesting is the striking simi- 

 larity, almost identity, between some of their 

 traditions and some of those current among 

 the North American Eskimos and the Indians 

 of British Columbia. It is not, however, the 

 Asiatics living nearest to Bering Strait, but 

 more southerly tribes, that show most evidence 

 of kinship with the Indians. 



R. S. WOODWORTH, 



Secretary. 



TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB. 



At the meeting of April 30, held at the Bo- 

 tanical Garden, the first paper was by Dr. C. 

 C. Curtis, on 'Some Features connected with 

 Transpiration.' 



Transpiration may be illustrated by a fluc- 

 tuating curve. The maximum of the curve is 

 found in the forenoon and corresponds to the 

 periodicity in the stems. Transpiration can 

 hardly be considered to be wholly a physical 

 property. The volume of water given off by 

 plants in the night is very considerable, and 

 probably the stomata are never completely 

 closed. It seems perfectly rational that the 

 stomata are open, partly, in the dark, and that 

 some transpiration takes place. During the 

 early morning hours, the amount of water 

 given off is much more than in the afternoon, 

 as the stoma has become used to the light. 



Another paper was by Professor F. E. Lloyd, 

 on 'Compound Leaf Forms.' In many cases, 

 when a leaf is lobed, or has one lobe, the leaf 

 on the opposite side of the stem also has a lobe 

 on the opposite side of the midrib. This may 

 be seen in the bud as well as in full grovm 

 leaves; as in the pear, elm, etc. 



The fourth paper was by Dr. H. M. Rich- 

 ards, on 'Turgor Changes in Injured Tissues.' 

 It has been shown that the curved respiration 

 in injured plant-tissues rises for a time and 

 then falls off to the normal. The 'wound- 

 fever,' or 'rise-in- temperature' curve is simi- 

 lar to that of respiration. Turgor changes ap- 

 parently accompany these reactions towards 



