220 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXVII. No. 684 



the side farthest away, wliere the pull is 

 weakest" (p. 436). While literally true, the 

 statement is likely to mislead the student who 

 does not notice the sudden change from 

 " because " in the first part of the sentence, to 

 " where " in the second part. The reason for 

 the existence of two waves is not referred to. 



Throughout the volume one sees abundant 

 evidence of the author's extended field experi- 

 ence and untiring industry in collecting illus- 

 trations of physiographic features. While the 

 book is, in its present condition, of value to 

 teachers, for general school use the subject- 

 matter will require, possibly in another edi- 

 tion, more carefully considered and systematic 

 treatment. 



D. W. Johnson 



SGIJBNTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES 

 The Journal of Experimental Zoology, Vol. 

 v., ISTo. 1 (November, 1907), contains the fol- 

 lowing papers : " Determination of Sex in 

 Hydatina senta," by David Day Whitney. 

 " A ISTew Explanation of the Mechanics of 

 Mitosis," by Arthur B. Lamb. It is suggested 

 that the characteristic configuration of the 

 chromatin substance in dividing cells may be 

 due to a synchronous pulsation or oscillation 

 of the astral centers and it is shown that this 

 explanation presents certain unique advan- 

 tages as contrasted with previous explanations. 

 " The Eeactions of Planarians to Light," by 

 H. E. Walter. The action of light upon 

 planarians is a function of its intensity, which, 

 under certain conditions, is emphasized by the 

 direction of the light. The orientation and 

 phototaxis of planarians is more consistently 

 explained by the theory of tropisms than by 

 the theory of trial and error. The evolution 

 of the photoreceptive apparatus of planarians 

 stands at such a low stage of differentiation 

 that the light environment of these worms is 

 of slight importance to them. 



At the recent Chicago meeting of the Asso- 

 ciation of Economic Entomologists a stock 

 company was organized for the purpose of 

 publishing a Journal of Economic Entomol- 

 ogy. This bimonthly publication is devoted 

 to economic entomology in its widest aspects. 



The first number will appear in February. 

 It has a board of editors and advisory board 

 composed of well-known investigators. E. P. 

 Felt, state entomologist, Albany, N. T., is 

 editor; A. F. Burgess, secretary of the Asso- 

 ciation of Economic Entomologists, Washing- 

 ton, D. C, associate editor, and E. D. Sander- 

 son, business manager. On the advisory board 

 are Dr. S. A. Eorbes, Illinois; Dr. James 

 Fletcher, Canada; Dr. L. O. Howard, Wash- 

 ington; Dr. H. T. Fernald, Massachusetts; 

 Professor Herbert Osborn, and Professor H. 

 A. Morgan, Tennessee. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



THE TOREEY BOTANICAL CLUB 



The regular meeting of the club for De- 

 cember 10, 1907, was held at the American 

 Museum of Natural History at 8:30 p.m., with 

 President Rusby in the chair and fourteen 

 persons present. In the absence of the secre- 

 tary, Mr. Charles L. Pollard was appointed 

 acting secretary. The minutes of the last 

 preceding meeting were read and approved. 



The following scientific program was pre- 

 sented : 



Dictionaries and their Relation to Biology: 



Charles Louis Pollard. 



The speaker referred to the fact that a large 

 part of the increment in our language in re- 

 cent years has consisted of scientific terms, 

 including new Latin classificatory names, bio- 

 logical descriptive words and phrases, and 

 vernacular names. In spite of this there is 

 a very general lack of interest among working 

 scientists in the average dictionary, and it is 

 not the indispensable reference book which it 

 should be. The reasons for this are to be 

 sought in the attitude of the publishers toward 

 the style of definitions, the effort to avoid 

 undue technicality often resulting in scientific 

 inaccuracy. Obsolete words and meanings are 

 frequently given too great prominence and are 

 not properly differentiated from those in cur- 

 rent usage. There is also a tendency to mag- 

 nify the importance of so-called popular 

 names, many of which are coined by the 

 writers of manuals and are not used elsewhere. 



