Januaky 24, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



143 



spray-showered rock, on sandy plains, in well- 

 drained alpine meadows and in saturated sphag- 

 num bogs. ... we are hardly justified in depend- 

 ing upon these (physical) factors to explain the 

 distribution indicated in tlie preceding tabulation. 

 In other words, Fernald's observations show 

 that in accordance with the ancient experi- 

 ence of mankind (although contrary to the 

 officially promulgated doctrine), certain chem- 

 ical soil-conditions are not only equally as 

 potent as, but sometimes prepotent over, even 

 extreme physical conditions, notably in the 

 case of lime; so that without the accompany- 

 ing study of chemical soil-composition, mere 

 physical analysis gives no definite clew to 

 soil-values, adaptations and peculiarities. It 

 is to be ardently hoped that the broader 

 method of ecological investigation, as exem- 

 plified by Fernald's work, will be more gen- 

 erally applied, and so render such work both 

 theoretically and practically more fruitful 

 than it has been in the past. For what is 

 true of wild plants is of necessity true for 

 cultivated ones also. 



E. W. HiLGARD 



Beekelet, Calif., 

 Oct. 10, 1907 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 

 THE OHIO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



The seventeenth annual meeting of the 

 academy was held at Miami University, Ox- 

 ford, O., on November 28, 29 and 30, the 

 president of the society, Mr. Charles Dury, 

 of Cincinnati, presiding. On Thursday eve- 

 ning an informal reception took place in Hep- 

 burn Hall, where accommodations for mem- 

 bers of the academy were generously provided 

 by the university authorities. The sessions 

 on Friday and Saturday were held in Briee 

 Hall. 



The address of the president on " Zoological 

 Reminiscences of the Cincinnati ' Zoo,' " oc- 

 curred at 1 :30 P.M. Friday, while in the eve- 

 ning at 7:30 Professor G. W. Hoke discussed 

 " The Nearer East — A Study in Social Geog- 

 raphy." Other papers of interest were those 

 by Professor Bruce Fink on " The Status of 

 American Lichenology," Professor S. R. Wil- 

 liams, " A Peculiar Circulatory Modification 



of Necturus maculosus," E. F. McCampbell, 

 " Report on a New Pathogenic Pirosome " 

 (presented by Professor Herbert Osborn in 

 the absence of the speaker). 



The following is the complete program: 

 " A Study of the Origin and Growth of the Egg 

 in Syncoryne mirabilis," by Mary D. Mackenzie. 

 " A Better Method of Preparing Herbarium 

 Specimens," by W. A. Kellerman. 



" Compensatory Growth in Podarke obscura," 

 by Sergius Morgulis. 



" Note on the Development of the Skull in 

 Clupea," by Edward L. Rice. 



" Factors determining Cave Habitation as illus- 

 trated by the Cave Isopod and its Nearest Out- 

 door Ally," by A. M. Banta. 



" Symbiotes duryi n. sp., *a New Endomychid 

 from Ohio," by L. B. Walton. 



" Notes on tlie Early Development of Enterop- 

 nuesta," by B. M. Davis. 



" The Discomycetes of Oxford and Vicinity," by 

 Freda M. Bachman. 



" Wolffia brasilensis in Ohio," by Robert F. 

 Griggs. 



" The Psychology of Speaking," a Scientific An- 

 alysis of the Art of Speaking," by John S. Royer. 

 " The Flora of Cranberry Island, Buckeye 

 Lake," by W. A. Kellerman. 



" Reaction of Amphibian Embryos to Tactile 

 Stimuli," by G. E. Coghill. 



•■ The Epibranchial Placodes of Ameiurus," by 

 F. L. Landacre. 



" Periodicity of Spirogyra," by W. F. Copeland. 

 " The Dispersal and Planting of Seeds by Na- 

 ture's Methods," by W. L. Lazenby. 



" The Male Reproductive Organs of Cimbex 

 americanus Leach," by H. H. Severin and H. C. 

 Severin. 



"A Peculiar Circulatory Modification in Nec- 

 turus maculosus," by S. R. Williams. 



" A Migration of Anosia pleooippus in Ohio," by 

 Herbert Osborn. 



•' The Variability of Zygospores in Spirogyra 

 quadrata formed by Scalariform and by Lateral 

 Conjugation, and its bearing on the Theory of 

 Amphimixis," by L. B. Walton. 



" Some Observations concerning the Effects of 

 Freezing on Insect Larvae," by J. S. Hine. 



" The Status of American Lichenology," by 

 Bruce Fink. 



" Stains for Embryonic Skeletons," by E. L. 

 Rice. 



"A Note on the Occurrence of TypMopsylla 

 octaetenus in Ohio," by Herbert Osborn. 



