SCIENCE 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, PUBLISHING THE 



OFFICIAL NOTICES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION 



FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 



Fbidat, May 29, 1908 



CONTENTS 

 The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: — 

 Melody and the Origin of the Musical 

 Scale: Pkofessoe W. C. Sabine 84X 



The Relation of Instinct to Intelligence in 

 Birds : Professor Feancis H. Heeeick . . 847 



Scientific Boohs: — 



Clarke's Early Devonic History of North- 

 eastern North America : De. H. M. Ami . . 850 



Societies and Academies: — 



The Michigan Academy of Science: Waltee 

 G. Sackett. The Torrey Botanical Club: 

 De. C. Stuaet Gagbe. The American 

 Chemical Society, New York Section: De. 

 C. M. Joyce 851 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 



The German Anatomical Society: Peo- 

 FESSOE J. S. Kingslet. Dates of Early 

 Santorin and Ischian Eruptions: De. C. E. 

 Eastman 854 



Special Articles: — 



A Note on the Proportion of Injured Indi- 

 viduals in a Natural Group of Bufo: De. 

 Wm. E. Kkt.t,icott 855 



Botanical Notes: — • 



Flowering Plant Notes; Biographical 

 Notes: Peopessoe Chaeles E. Bessey ... 857 



The Administration of Syracuse University: 

 Dean William Kent 859 



Conference on Conservation of Natural Re- 

 sources 867 



Scientifio Notes and News 869 



University wnd Educational News 871 



MSS. iutended for publication and books, etc., Intended foi 

 review should be sent to the Editor of Science, Garrison-on- 

 Hudson, N. Y. 



THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 



MELODY AND THE ORIGIN OF THE 



MUSICAL SCALE'- 



In the vice-presidential addresses of the 

 American Association great latitude in the 

 choice of subjects is allowed and taken, but 

 there is, I believe, no precedent for choos- 

 ing the review of a book, printed fifty-five 

 years before. Helmholtz's Tonenempfin- 

 dungen, produced by a masterful knowl- 

 edge of physiology, physics and mathe- 

 matics, and a scholar's knowledge of the 

 literature of music, has warded off all 

 essential criticism by its remarkable 

 breadth, completeness and wealth of detail. 

 Since it was first published it has been 

 added to by the author from time to time 

 in successive editions, and greatly bul- 

 warked by the scholarly notes and ap- 

 pendices of its translator. Dr. Alexander 

 J. Ellis. The original text remains un- 

 changed and unchallenged on physical 

 grounds. In taking exception at this late 

 day to the fundamental thesis of Part III., 

 I derive the necessary courage from the 

 fact that should such exception be sus- 

 tained, it will serve to restore to its full 

 application that greater and more original 

 contribution of Helmholtz which he in- 

 cluded in Part II. Having given a phys- 

 ical and physiological explanation of the 

 harmony and discord of simultaneous 

 sounds, and therefore an explanation of 

 the musical scale as used in modern com- 



"^ Address of the vice-president and chairman of 

 Section B — Physics — American Association for 

 the Advancement of Science, Chicago, 1907-8. 



