June 5, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



SSO' 



from a distance. It is because they receive 

 stimuli from and make possible reactions to 

 a wider environment that these sense organs 

 of the head dominate the whole system of 

 phasic reactions ; it is for the same reason that 

 the cerebrum is dominant. 



Bringing as it does the methods of minute 

 and continued observation and of close reason- 

 ing into a field where the casual has been the 

 rule, the book deserves, and requires as well, 

 attentive study. Its importance to the phys- 

 iologist is evident. The physician will find a 

 number of special topics, such as the nervous 

 symptoms of strychnin poisoning, of tetanus, 

 and of shock, made the subject of careful in- 

 vestigation. The psychologist also will find a 

 number of points of special interest, such as a 

 study of certain fundamental aspects of 

 binocular vision, an experimental test of the 

 James-Lange theory of the emotions, and sug- 

 gestive analogies between certain laws of 

 spinal reflexes, such as reciprocal inhibition 

 and successive induction, and familiar facts 

 of attention and of sensation. 



e. s. woodworth 



Columbia Univeesity 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES 

 The contents of the June number of The 

 American Journal of Science are as follows : 

 " Determination of the Molecular Weight of 

 Radium Emanation by the Comparison of its 

 Rate of Diffusion with that of Mercury 

 Vapor," by P. B. Perkins ; " Paleozoic Porma- 

 tions in Trans-Pecos, Texas," by G. B. 

 Richardson ; " Rectification Effect in a 

 Vacuum Tube," by H. A. Perkins ; " Life of 

 Radium," by B. B. Boltwood ; " New Occur- 

 rence of Proustite and Argentite," by F. R. 

 Van Horn ; " Occurrence of Gedrite in 

 Canada," by N. N. Evans and J. A. Bancroft ; 

 " lodometric Determination of Arsenic and 

 Antimony Associated with Copper," by F. H. 

 Heath. 



The editors of The Botanical Gazette an- 

 nounce that the price is to be advanced from 

 $5.00 to $7.00 a year on July 1, 1908. They 

 say : " You will easily realize that the finan- 

 cing of The Botanical Gazette has always been 



a problem, and you will not be surprised to 

 hear that the University of Chicago has been 

 obliged to contribute about $2,000 annually 

 toward its support. It is not probable that 

 the amount of this subsidy can be increased in 

 the future, and at the same time the cost of 

 production has been growing greater year by 

 year. An interesting comparison has been in- 

 stituted between The Botanical Gazette on 

 the one hand and five leading botanical 

 journals of Europe on the other in the matter 

 of size and prices. It appears that on the 

 average these journals give their readers 648 

 pages a year each, 12 plates, and 122 text 

 figures, and the average price is $6.50. The 

 Botanical Gazette on the other hand gives 

 945 pages, 45 plates, and 182 text figures, and 

 its subscription price has been $5.00 in spite 

 of the greater cost of manufacture in this 

 country. The advice of nimierous botanists 

 has been sought and freely given, and with 

 great unanimity their opinion favors the 

 maintenance of the present standard of size 

 with an increased subscription price; for it 

 seems evident that the pressure of publication 

 is increasing rather than diminishing. In 

 view of the whole situation, it has been de- 

 cided to increase the annual subscription to 

 $7.00, in the belief that this represents a fair 

 charge for the service rendered. The new rate 

 will be applied to subscriptions begun or re- 

 newed with the July number, 1908, and there- 

 after." 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES 



THE CHICAGO SECTION OF THE AMERICAN 

 MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY 



The twenty-thii-d regular meeting of the 

 Chicago Section of the American Mathemat- 

 ical >Society was held at the University of 

 Chicago, on Friday and Saturday, April 17- 

 18, 1908. 



Professor G. A. Miller, vice-president of the 

 society and chairman of the section, presided 

 at all of the sessions. In opening the meeting- 

 he referred to the great loss of the society in 

 the recent death of Professor Heinrich 

 Maschke and appointed a committee, consist- 

 ing of Professors E. B. Van Vleck, Alexander- 



