584 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXV. No. 641 



the new roots. The pseudobulb of an orchid 

 proved able to regenerate roots and a shoot 

 from the base, and in a conifer the apparent 

 ' restoration ' of a single root on the seedling 

 and in an older stem-part was described. Of 

 eighty-two species of leaves used in experi- 

 mentation only two new ones were found 

 which produced a shoot, though the large ma- 

 jority formed roots. Modified leaves of vari- 

 ous types, phyllodes and bulb-scales, were also 

 found to be able to root. Regeneration was 

 likewise reported in the inflorescence of Dud- 

 leya californica and Buellia rosea, in the 

 fruits of PJiaseolus vulgaris and P. lunatus, 

 and finally in the ' head ' of the alga Penicillins 

 capitatus. 



An extended discussion followed. 



Owing to the lateness of the hour. Dr. Eusby 

 did not present his paper on ' Field Observa- 

 tions of the Past Tear,' but exhibited a few 

 interesting plants collected at Oscoda, Mich. 



Dr. Southwick exhibited several interesting 

 specimens of the seeds of Bicirms. 



0. Stuart Gager, 



Secretary 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE 

 THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL EXHIBITS AT THE AMER- 

 ICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 



To THE Editor of Science: The Marcli 

 number of the American Mtiseum Journal 

 contains a brief description of ' A New Eskimo 

 Exhibit.' In the fii-st paragraph of this article 

 is found the following: "the American Mu- 

 seimi stands preeminent among all institutions 

 along the lines of ethnological research amid 

 Arctic peoples. The completeness of the ma- 

 terial and data thus assembled has enabled the 

 Museum, to install a series of groups and cases 

 which illustrate vividly the home and village 

 life of the Central Eskimo, together with their 

 utensils, implements and weapons and the 

 methods of using them." Those who are 

 familiar with the historical development of 

 the department of anthropology of this insti- 

 tution realize the significance of this article. 

 It seems to point to a change in policy which 

 is so far-reaching and of such importance to 

 all American anthropologists as to desei-ve 

 consideration. I propose to consider, there- 



fore, the question whether the old point of 

 view is so entirely wrong and the new point 

 of view is so entirely right as to warrant this 

 change which blots out of existence the results 

 of many years' work. 



The activity of the department of anthro- 

 pology in the American Museum of Natural 

 History became very great ten or twelve years 

 ago and continued with increasing strength 

 until about two years ago, at which time thero 

 seems to have been a change in the adminis- 

 tration. During the ten years above referred 

 to, we find a systematic attempt on the part of 

 those in charge to carry on investigations over 

 an ever-increasing large area as fast as means 

 would permit. As a result of this intelligently 

 directed series of field operations there grew 

 up in the American Museum one of the great- 

 est departments of anthropology to be found 

 in any museum in the world. The plan of 

 exhibition was on the broadest and most liberal 

 scale. One could for the first time in an 

 American museum study in detail the essen- 

 tial and salient features of the culture of a 

 very large number of tribes, especially those 

 of North America and northeastern Asia ; and 

 it seemed it was only a question of time and 

 the continuance of the same policy when all 

 cultures, exclusive of that of Europe, would 

 be found adequately represented. It seems 

 doubtful if any institution ever acquired in 

 the same period of time collections of such 

 magnitude or ever accumulated material with 

 such intelligence or exhibited it in an equally 

 sound manner. Here one could really study 

 the culture of tribes, one could study condi- 

 tions as they exist; one felt that one was not 

 looking at the illustrations of some elementary 

 text-book, but that he had in front of him the 

 data from which the history of the material 

 culture of mankind might be written. One 

 felt instantly in the haUs of the department 

 the spirit of investigation and it was every- 

 where apparent that this was prompted by 

 the desire to advance science and not by the 

 desire to find material which would fit into 

 or harmonize with some ideal scheme of ex- 

 hibition. One instinctively felt in the pres- 

 ence of these exhibits that one was in close 

 contact with actual conditions and that one- 



