42 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XVI. No. 393. 



of the meeting was most fully exploited by 

 the local committee, about fifty excursions 

 having been arranged, some of which entail- 

 ed the charter and use of large river steam- 

 ers for an entire day. The arrangements 

 for the excursions and for the general 

 entertainment of the members were on a 

 larger scale than anything attempted at 

 recent meetings of the Association, the local 

 committee having collected and at its dis- 

 posal a fund of $9,000.00 for this purpose. 

 In face of such splendid liberality it must 

 be added, somewhat ungraciously perhaps, 

 that the agreement with the headquarters 

 hotel was so loosely made that exorbitant 

 rates were demanded of those who found it 

 necessary to occupy quarters near the cen- 

 ter of business interest of the Association. 



A census of the papers read before the 

 several sections and affiliated societies shows 

 that 320 papers and addresses were given, 

 in addition to the various lectures by the 

 presiding officers of these organizations and 

 the other special lectures in the evening ses- 

 sions, which would probably bring the total 

 up to nearly 350. An analysis of the special 

 papers discloses the fact that their titles 

 were distributed among the separate 

 branches of science as follows: 



Mathematics and astronomy 24 



Physics 59 



Physics 45 



American Physical Society 14 



Chemistry 69 



Mechanical science and engineering. . .23 



Geology and geography 26 



Zoology 28 



Botany 79 



Section G 26 



Botanical Club 23 



Botanical Society of America .... 30 



Anthropology 30 



Social and economic science 22 



The membership shows a steady increase, 

 the total number at the close of the sessions 

 being about 3,500 (as compared with about 

 2,800 at the close of the Denver meeting, 

 September 1, 1902), and the financial af- 



fairs of the Association are also in a very 

 satisfactory condition. A notable event in 

 this connection was the transfer by the re- 

 quest of the permanent secretary of $2,000.- 

 00 from his funds to the permanent fund 

 in the hands of the treasurer, a result 

 largely due to the skillful business manage- 

 ment of the affairs of the Association by 

 the secretary which called out a special 

 vote of thanks by the council. 



But little was done in the way of new 

 legislation of importance. A single amend- 

 ment to article 20 of the Constitution was 

 proposed by which the words ' for one week 

 or longer ' are to be omitted. This amend- 

 ment will come up for action at the next 

 meeting, and would have the effect of allow- 

 ing meetings of less than a week 's duration 

 to be held under the action of the council. 

 This section now reads as a result of an 

 amendment completed at this meeting : 



Aet. 20. The Association shall hold a public 

 meeting annually, for one week or longer, at such 

 time and place as may be determined by vote of 

 the General Committee, and the preliminary ar- 

 rangements for each meeting shall be made by 

 the Local Committee, in conjunction with the 

 Permanent Secretary and such other persons as 

 the Council may designate. But if suitable pre- 

 liminary arrangements cannot be made, the Coun- 

 cil may afterward change the time and place ap- 

 pointed by the General Committee, if such change 

 is believed advisable by two thirds of the mem- 

 bers present. 



As a result of other amendments other 

 portions of the constitution now read as 

 follows : 



Art. 9. The officers of the Association shall be 

 elected by ballot by the General Committee from 

 the fellows, and shall consist of a President, a 

 Vice-President from each Section, a Permanent 

 Secretary, a General Secretary, a Secretary of 

 the Council, a Treasurer, and a Secretary of each 

 Section; these, with the exception of the Perma- 

 nent Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Secretaries 

 of the Sections, shall be elected at each meeting 

 for the following one, and, with the exception of 

 the Treasurer and the Permanent Secretary, shall 

 not be reeligible for the next two meetings. The 

 term of office of the Permanent Secretary, of the 



