72 



iSGIENGE 



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



fully considered in my papers as the follow- 

 ing quotations will show. Wieman says (p. 

 186), " The granules may therefore be of the 

 nature of chromatin and actually represent 

 the chromatin of the nurse cells. . . ." In 

 my paper (1909, p. 274) is this statement, 

 " the granules of the pole disc may be derived 

 from the nuclei of the nurse cells which, in 

 many insects, pass into the early oocytes." 

 Again Wieman remarks (p. 186) " The fact 

 that the pole disc occupies a position between 

 the pole cells and the yolk gives a considerable 

 foundation for regarding it as a source of nu- 

 trition for these cells." My suggestion reads 

 as follows (1909, p. 275) " they may hasten 

 the growth at the posterior pole of the egg, 

 and that later they may possibly increase the 

 vigor of the pole cells. That the pole cells 

 need special means of nourishment is doubt- 

 less the case, for, contrary to the condition in 

 the blastoderm cells, they are at an early 

 period entirely separated from the yolk, and 

 later use up energy in their migration." 



Furthermore, Wieman unconsciously admits 

 that the pole disc granules are really germ 

 cell determinants in the following words (p. 

 186) : " If then the pole disc represents a part 

 of the nutritive stream of the ovum that has 

 not been transformed into ordinary yolk, but 

 instead has been reserved to supply the pole 

 cells, the conclusion presents itself that the 

 latter as a result of this special kind of nutri- 

 tion, undergo a peculiar method of metabolism 

 which differentiates them from the somatic 

 cells." 



An account of the significance of the germ 

 cell determinants in chrysomelid beetles and 

 other animals is now in press.'' 



E. W. Hegneb 



Univeesitt of Michigan, 

 December 21, 1910 



TEE AMERWATf ASSOCIATION FOR THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 



THE MINNEAPOLIS MEETING 



REPORT OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY 



The sixty-second meeting of the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science 

 * American Naturalist. 



was held at the University of Minnesota, 

 Minneapolis, December 27 to 31, 1910. The 

 registered number of members in attendance 

 was approximately 500, but the actual attend- 

 ance was probably not far from 1,200. Both 

 in registration and attendance the meeting 

 was an advance upon those of St. Louis and 

 New Orleans. It also furnished an illumina- 

 ting answer to the question whether a suc- 

 cessful and well-attended meeting can be held 

 in the middle west. 



All meetings of the sections and affiliated 

 societies were held on the campus of the uni- 

 versity, with the exception of the Thursday 

 sessions of the botanists and the entomolo- 

 gists, which were held at the college of agri- 

 culture. Three public addresses were held. 

 On Tuesday evening, the retiring president. 

 Dr. David Starr Jordan, gave his address, 

 " The Making of a Darwin," in Minneapolis. 

 On Thursday evening, Mr. W. A. Bryan gave 

 an illustrated public lecture on the Hawaiian 

 volcano Kilauea. On Wednesday evening in 

 St. Paul, Mr. A. B. Stickney delivered a pub- 

 lic lecture on the subject, " Should Practical 

 Agriculture and the Physical Development of 

 Childhood be Added to the Curriculum of the 

 Public Schools." Of general interest also was 

 the symposium on aviation under the auspices 

 of Section D on Friday, and the unusually 

 well-attended dinner and convention of Sigma 

 Xi on the afternoon of the same day. 



Section A and the Chicago Section of the 

 American Mathematical Society met for the 

 most part in joint session, with a total of 34 

 papers. On Friday afternoon they considered 

 the report of the Committee on the Teaching 

 of Mathematics to Students of Engineering. 

 Section B and the American Physical Society 

 met constantly in joint sessions, at which 33 

 papers were presented. In addition, a general 

 interest session in charge of Section B was 

 held on Thursday morning, while in the after- 

 noon, B and D met jointly for the reading of 

 the vice-presidential addresses. 



In accordance with the present plan, Sec- 

 'tion C held no meetings apart from a session 

 for the delivery of the vice-presidential ad- 

 dress. All sessions of the general program 



