SCIENCE 



Friday, March 10, 1911 



CONTENTS 



The Influence of Astronomy on Mathematics: 



Professor F. E. Moulton 357 



Statistics of German Universities : Professor 



Rudolf Tombo, Jr 364 



Memorial to Charles Otis Whitman 365 



Scientific Notes and News 366 



University and Educational News 370 



Discussion and Correspondence : — 



The Use of Numerals for Specific Names in 

 Systematic Zoology: President David 

 Starr Jordan. The Use of Symbols in 

 Zoological Nomenclature: A. Ars^ne Gir- 

 AULT. On Factors Contributing to a Lori: 

 Scientific Productivity in America: Pro- 

 fessor E. S. WooDWORTH. Biological 

 Teaching in Secondary Schools: W. L. W. 

 Field 370 



Soientifio Books: — 



Osborn on Questioned Documents: Pro- 

 fessor June E. Downey. Bowles's Tables 

 for the Determination of Bocks: E. W. 

 Clark ri79 



Scientific Journals and Articles 380 



Special Articles: — 



A Kinetic Theory of Gravitation : De. 

 Charles F. Brush 381 



Ainerican Society of Zoologists — Eastern 

 Branch : De. Raymond Pearl 386 



The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: — 

 Section D : Professor G. W. Bissell .... 392 



MSS. intended for publication and bookg, etc.. Intended for 

 review sliould be seat to tlie Editor of Science, Gairison-on- 

 BodsoB. N. Y. 



TBE INFLUENCE OF ASTRONOMY ON 

 MATHEMATICS 



There are probably many reasons why 

 the members of the eleven sections of the 

 American Association, representing at 

 least fifteen sciences, have united in a 

 single society. One of these is undoubt- 

 edly that the mingling of men of varied 

 chief interests, points of view and methods 

 of work has at least a tendency to correct 

 those intellectual provincialisms which are 

 characteristic of isolation, and to show how 

 wide and how rich is the field of scientific 

 activity. While it is unquestionably ad- 

 vantageous on some occasions for narrower 

 groups of men whose interests are more 

 nearly common and whose scientific activi- 

 ties run more nearly in the same channel, 

 to meet apart for the consideration of their 

 own special problems, yet on the whole the 

 benefits to be derived from occasional joint 

 meetings are so great that it is earnestly 

 hoped the American Association will pros- 

 per in the future even more than it has 

 prospered in the past, and that the indi- 

 vidual scientific societies will not cease to 

 cooperate with it. 



If it is agreed that there are real benefits 

 to be derived from an association of many 

 distinct scientific societies, it will equally 

 be granted that some advantages may be 

 obtained from a meeting where so many 

 points of view, modes of thought, and 

 methods of investigation are represented 

 as among the members of Section A. 

 These diverse, and in some cases conflict- 

 ing, points of view have arisen from the 

 narrow specialization of recent times, and 

 from the fact that the boimds of our 

 knowledge have extended more rapidly 



