858 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIX. No. 492. 



ported for tlie species, namely, the production 

 of lateral' root-slioots from the upper part of 

 the narrow roots near the surface of the soiL 

 These root-shoots at a favorable opportunity- 

 produce a bud which develops into a new 

 plant. Drawing's and specimens were pre- 

 sented to illustrate the paper, which will be 

 published in full in the Plant World. 



Wilfred H. Osgood, 

 Secretary. 



THE CORNELL SECTION OP THE AMERICAN 

 CHEMICAL SOCIETY. 



The Cornell Section of the American Chem- 

 ical Society closed the second year of its ex- 

 istence on May 3, when officers for the coming 

 year were elected. An additional meeting 

 will occur on May 31, at which the retiring 

 president, Professor W. D. Bancroft, will give 

 his president's address. He will discuss the 

 theory of electroplating, and will illustrate his 

 remarks by experiments. 



From the first meeting of the Cornell Sec- 

 tion in December, 1902, it has grown in num- 

 bers and interest. Seventeen new members 

 have been added during the past year and at 

 the present date there are forty-three members 

 all told. A peculiarity of the Cornell Sec- 

 tion is that its life and work are centered so 

 entirely within the Cornell University Depart- 

 ment of Chemistry. Of its members twelve 

 are undergraduate students; seven, graduate 

 students; and twenty-two, members of the 

 staff of instruction of Cornell University. 

 Two are connected with the Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station at Cornell. 



The meetings of the year have been well 

 attended and considerable interest has been 

 evinced in original work. Eight sessions were 

 held, with an average attendance of twenty- 

 four members and twenty-five visitors. Eight 

 papers, giving the results of research in the 

 department, were read and discussed. 



Dr. J. E. Teeple presented a paper on 

 ' Bilirubin, the Eed Coloring Matter of the 

 Bile,' and another on ' The Electrolytic Prep- 

 aration of Iodoform and Chloroform.' Mr. 

 E. S. Shepherd presented ' An Apparatus for 

 the Electro-deposition of Metals using a Ro- 

 tating Cathode.' Mr. J. M. Bell discussed 



the ' Vapor Pressure of Tobacco.' Mr. F. C. 

 Robinson gave a description of ' A New Boil- 

 ing Point Apparatus.' Dr. H. R. Carveth 

 discussed the data obtained from a study of 

 distillation, boiling point methods of molec- 

 ular weight determination, and vapor composi- 

 tion. Dr. A. W. Browne presented some data 

 and conclusions from experiments performed 

 elsewhere in conjunction with Dr. W. P. Brad- 

 ley on the ' Resistance of Glass Tubes to Burst- 

 ing Pressure.' Mr. I. Baum read a paper 

 which was produced in collaboration with Mr. 

 F.J.Schwab, on 'Electrolytic Copper Refining.' 



Aside from this original work the section has 

 enjoyed several interesting addresses. Pro- 

 fessor G. W. Cavanaugh outlined the ' Appli- 

 cations of Chemistry to Modern Agriculture.' 

 Mr. J. A. Bonsteel gave a resume of the work 

 of the United States Soil Survey. Professor 

 E. L. Nichols and Professor E. Merritt jointly 

 gave an address on ' The Behavior of Indi- 

 cators at Low Temperatures,' which they 

 illustrated by experiments. Dr. E. M. Chamot 

 discussed the results of the examinations of 

 Ithaca waters during 1903. Dr. W. R. Orn- 

 dorff lectured on the history and development 

 of ' The Manufacture of Indigo from Coal Tar.' 



The most notable meeting of the year was 

 addressed by Professor Ernest Rutherford, of 

 McGill University, on ' The Emanations of 

 Radiiim.' His experimental lecture was en- 

 joyed by a large audience of students and 

 others interested in radioactivity. 



The Cornell Section begins the next year 

 with the following officers : 



President — Professor E. M. Chamot. 



Vice-President — Dr. J. E. Teeple. 



Secretary-Treasurer — ^Mr. F. C. Eobinson. 



Executive Committee — The above officers ex- 

 officiis and Dr. H. R. Carveth, Mr. W. S. Bishop 

 and Professor W. R. OrndorfiP. 



Councilors — Dr. G. C. Caldwell and Professor L. 

 M. Dennis. 



William C. Geer, 



Secretary. 



THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OP SCIENCES. 

 SECTION OP GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 



The section held its regular meeting Mon- 

 day evening, April 18, with the chairman. 

 Professor James F. Kemp, presiding. The 



