76 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXI. No. 785 



The discovery of the great deposits of Ne- 

 braskan, Aftonian and Loveland is especially 

 important. A more complete discussion of 

 these deposits will soon appear. 



B. Shimek 

 Iowa Citt, Iowa, 

 December 2, 1909 



THE BOSTON MEETING OP TEE AMERICAN 

 ASSOCIATION FOR TEE ADVANCE- 

 MENT OF SCIENCE 



REPORT OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY 



The sixty-first roeeting of the American Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science was held 

 in Boston, during convocation week, 1909-10; the 

 iirst general session was called to order in Hunt- 

 ington Hall at ten o'clock on the morning of 

 Monday, December 27, 1909, by the retiring presi- 

 dent, Professor T. C. Chamberlin, who introduced 

 the president of the meeting. President David 

 Starr Jordan. Addresses of welcome were made, 

 on behalf of Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 

 nology by President Richard C. Maclaurin and on 

 behalf of Harvard University by Dean Wallace C. 

 Sabine. President Jordan replied briefly on behalf 

 of the American Association. Announcements 

 were made by the permanent secretary, the gen- 

 eral secretary and the local secretary, after which 

 the general session adjourned. 



The various sections and the affiliated societies 

 met in their respective halls, according to the 

 published program, the Massachusetts Institute of 

 Technology and Harvard University having placed 

 their lecture halls and laboratories freely at the 

 disposal of the association. 



The address of the retiring president of the 

 association, Professor T. C. Chamberlin, was given 

 in Sanders Theater of Harvard University, on the 

 evening of Monday, December 27, the subject 

 being, " A Geologic Forecast of the Future Oppor- 

 tunities of our Race." This address was preceded 

 by an address of welcome to Harvard University 

 by Professor F. W. Putnam, and was followed by 

 a reception given by the corporation of Harvard 

 University to the members of the association and 

 the affiliated societies and their accompanying 

 ladies, in Memorial Hall. 



The registered attendance of members of the 

 association was 1,140, the largest in the history 

 of the association. The registration by sections 

 was as follows: A, 106; B, 124; C, 200; D, 36; 

 E, 166; F, 218; G, 132; H, 92; I, 12; K, 50; 

 L, 104. The registration of members of affiliated 

 societies at the association headquarters was only 



166. This conveys no meaning with regard to the 

 attendance of affiliated members, as one instance 

 will show; the registration at the headquarters of 

 the American Chemical Society was 558, while 

 only 200 registered as belonging to Section of 

 the association. No doubt tlie attendance of other 

 affiliated members was large, and no registration 

 was secured. It seems, therefore, that the attend- 

 ance of scientific men may have exceeded 2,000. 



GENERAL EVENTS 



On Tuesday evening, December 28, a public lec- 

 ture complimentary to the citizens of Boston, was 

 given by Dr. C. W. Stiles, on "The Hookworm 

 Problem in this Country in Reference to Public 

 Health." 



On Thursday evening, December 30, under the 

 auspices of the Entomological Society of America, 

 a lecture was given by Dr. John B. Smith on 

 " Insects and Entomologists : Their Relation to 

 the Community at Large." 



A reception by the president and corporation 

 of Massachusetts Institute of Technology to the 

 members of the association and affiliated societies 

 and their accompanying ladies was given on the 

 afternoon of Wednesday, December 29. 



A reception by President and Mrs. Maclaurin 

 was given to the visiting physicists and their 

 ladies, at their home on the afternoon of Thurs- 

 day, December 30. 



On the afternoon of Friday, December 31, a lec- 

 ture was given by Dr. Percival Lowell on " The 

 Canali Novse of Mars." 



The business meeting and banquet of the So- 

 ciety of the Sigma Xi were held on the afternoon 

 and evening of Wednesday, December 29. 



There were many dinners arranged for groups 

 of members, such as mathematicians and astron- 

 omers, physicists, chemists, geologists, zoologists 

 and entomologists, anatomists and physiologists; 

 tliere were many less formal but very pleasant 

 " smokers " and other gatherings at various hotels 

 and club houses. 



ITEMS OF GENERAL INTEREST FBOM THE 

 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNCIL 



The council met at nine o'clock in the morning, 

 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and 

 Friday, December 27 to 31. 



At these meetings 57 new members were elected. 

 A much larger number had been elected quite 

 recently, and should be considered as being elected 

 at the Boston meeting. The membership is now 

 more than 8,000. 



