54 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIII. No. 837 



netie elements between the five-degree 

 points and within the accuracy attain- 

 able even by ocean magnetic work. In 

 fact the outstanding residuals would be on 

 the order of 10 to 100 times the error 

 of observation. This inability to represent 

 the earth's magnetic condition by means of 

 a closed mathematical formula having a 

 definite physical interpretation might 

 again be looked upon as a disadvantage. 

 I, however, am inclined to look upon it as 

 an advantage; for we have thereby a defi- 

 nite proof of the fact that magnetic obser- 

 vations are sufficiently delicate to disclose 

 all of the heterogeneities and irregularities 

 in the constitution of our earth. Had we 

 time we might profitably spend a few 

 minutes in looking at the testimony which 

 may be furnished the geologist in this re- 

 spect by the magnetic needle. 



In conclusion permit me to refer to an 

 incident which occurred at the meeting of 

 the British Association held at Bristol in 

 1837. Sir William Hamilton, attending the 

 session of the Chemical section and getting 

 into a quarrel with his chemical brethren, 

 remarked: "The nearer all the sciences 

 approach Section A (mathematics and 

 physics), the nearer they would be to per- 

 fection." I would make but one slight 

 alteration in this assertion, namely, that 

 the nearer we all approach to mathematics 

 and cosmical physics, the nearer we should 

 be to perfection. 



L. A. Bauee 



The Cabnegib Institction 

 OF Washington 



^ CHARLES OTIS WHITMAN 

 Professor Charles Otis Whitman, head of 

 the department of zoology of the University 

 of Chicago, died of pneumonia after a brief 

 illness on December 6, 1910. He was born in 

 Woodstock, Maine, December 14, 1842. He 

 received the degree of A.B. from Bowdoin 

 College in 1868, and A.M. in 18Y1. From 



1869 to 18*72 he was principal of Westford 

 Academy and in 1872 was teacher in the Eng- 

 lish High School of Boston. A few years 

 later he was studying zoology with Leuckart 

 in the University of Leipzig and received the 

 degree of doctor of philosophy from this uni- 

 versity in 1878. From 1880-81 he was pro- 

 fessor of zoology in the University of Tokio, 

 and in 1882 we find him studying at the Zo- 

 ological Station of Naples. From 1883-85 

 he was assistant in the Zoological Laboratory 

 of Harvard University and was then appointed 

 Director of the AUis Lake Laboratory at Mil- 

 waukee (1886-89). He was then called to the 

 charge of the department of zoology of the 

 newly founded Clark University, and in 1892 

 he became head of the department of zoology 

 in another newly founded university, the Uni- 

 versity of Chicago, which position he held 

 until his death, being thus associated with the 

 whole of the formative period of this institu- 

 tion. He was the first director of the Marine 

 Biological Laboratory, from 1888 to 1908, and 

 established the policy of the institution. He 

 was founder and also editor of the Journal of 

 Morphology, the Biological Bulletin and the 

 Woods Hole series of Biological Lectures. 

 He was the chief organizer of the American 

 Morphological Society, now the American So- 

 ciety of Zoologists, and was its president for 

 the first four years. He was also a devoted 

 teacher of advanced students many of whom 

 now occupy important academic positions in 

 this country. He was a member of many sci- 

 entific academies and societies, and received 

 the honorary degrees of LL.D. from Nebraska 

 in 1894 and Biol.D. from Clark University in 

 1909. Among the subjects that occupied him 

 during a life of intense activity in biological 

 research were: the embryology, morphology 

 and natural history of leeches, the morphol- 

 ogy of the Dicyemidas, the embryology of the 

 bony fishes; evolution of color characters in 

 pigeons; natural history of pigeons; hybridi- 

 zation and heredity in pigeons; and studies 

 in animal behavior. 



Professor Whitman's life was devoted en- 

 tirely to scholarly ideals of biological research 



