SCIENCE 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, PUBLISHING THE 



OFFICIAL NOTICES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION 



FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 



Friday, Septembeb 13, 1907 



CONTENTS 

 Address at the Dedication of the Walker 

 Laboratorij of the Rensselaer Polytechnic 

 Institute: Db. William McMukteie .... 329 



The Rational Basis of Mathematical Peda- 

 gogy: Professor S. E. Slocum 334 



Scientifio Books: — 

 Sabine's Laboratory Course in Physical 

 Measurements; Watson's Text-book of 

 Practical Physics: Professor Karl E. 

 GUTHE 341 



Societies and Academies: — 



Society for Experimental Biology and 

 Medicine : Professor William J. Gies . . 342 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 



The Parasitism of Neocosmospora — Infer- 

 ence versus Fact: Dr. Erwin F. Smith. 

 English as she is written: Professor E. 

 W. HiLGAED. The Artificial Production of 

 Mutants : Professor V. M. Spalding . . . 347 



Special Articles: — 



Patagonia and Antarctica: M. Albert 

 Gaudrt 350 



Quotations : — 

 The Physician in the School 353 



Current Notes on Land Forms: — 

 Otago Peninsula, Neio Zealand; The FayUm, 

 Depression, Egypt; The Arid Cycle in 

 Egypt: W. M. D 353 



International Conference on Plant Hardiness 

 and Acclimatization 356 



The British Museum 357 



Scientific Notes and Neios 358 



University and Educational News 360 



MSS. intended for publication and books, etc., intended for 

 rCTiew should be sent to tbe Editor of Science, Garrison-on- 

 Hudson, N. Y. 



ADDRESS AT THE DEDICATION OF THE 

 WALKER LABORATORY OF THE RENS- 

 SELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE 



I CONSIDER it an honored privilege to be 

 allowed to take part in the ceremony of 

 dedication of this beautiful building de- 

 voted to the study and promotion of the 

 science of chemistry in its application to 

 the arts and industries. In this connection 

 it behooves us I think to consider briefly 

 the history of the movement which brings 

 us together, to ponder the purposes .of the 

 great institute, of which the work to be 

 done in this building constitutes an in- 

 tegral and important part. 



Thinking over what I might be able to 

 present on this occasion it occurred to me 

 to make some inspection of the historic 

 archives of the city of Troy, pai-ticularly 

 as they relate to the founding of this, 

 which has taken such a proud position 

 among the educational institutions of the 

 world. In my search I learned that in 

 1823 Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer made, 

 most wisely in his lifetime, provision for a 

 school to be located on the outskirts of the 

 city of Troy to be known as the Rensselaer 

 School, and the history of this fact written 

 by Weise offers a copy of the first circu- 

 lar issued to announce that the institution 

 was ready for practical operation, as fol- 

 lows : 



Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer having established 

 a school near the northern limits of Troy for 

 teaching the physical sciences with their applica- 

 tions to the arts of life, having appointed Pro- 

 fessors A. S. Eaton and L. C. Beck to give courses 

 of instruction, particularly calculated to prepare 



