SCIENCE 



Friday, Septembee 18, 1914 



CONTENTS 



The British Association: — 

 Cosmical Physics: Professor Ernest W. 

 Brown 389 



Botany in the Agricultural College: Dr. E. B. 

 COPELAND 401 



Sanitation in Vera Cruz 405 



Foreign Students and the United States .... 406 



Botanists of the Central States 406 



Scientific Notes and News 407 



University and Educational News 408 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 

 A Becent Case of Mushroom Intoxication: 

 Professor A. E. Verrill 408 



fie Boolcs: — 

 WilczynsTci's Plane Trigonometry and DicTc- 

 son's Theory of Equations: Professor G. 

 A. Miller. Loch on Eubber and Euhher- 

 planting: Professor F. E. Lloyd 410 



The Work of the V. S. Fisheries Marine Bio- 

 logical Station at Beaufort, N. C, during 

 1913 : Lewis Radcliffe 413 



Special Articles: — 



The Transmission of Terrestrial Badiation 

 iy the Earth's Atmosphere in Summer and 

 in Winter: Dr. Prank W. Very 417 



MSS. intended for publication and books, etc., intended for 

 review should be sent to Professor J. McKeen Cattell, Garxison- 

 on-Hudson, N. y. 



COSMICAL PHYSICSi 



To one who has spent many years over 

 the solution of a problem which is some- 

 what isolated from the more general ques- 

 tions of his subject, it is a satisfaction to 

 have this opportunity for presenting the 

 problem as a whole instead of in the piece- 

 meal fashion which is necessary when there 

 are many separate features to be worked 

 out. In doing so, I shall try to avoid the 

 more technical details of my subject as well 

 as the temptation to enter into closely 

 reasoned arguments, confining myself 

 mainly to the results which have been ob- 

 tained and to the conclusions which may be 

 drawn from them. 



In setting forth the present status of the 

 problem, another side of it gives one a 

 sense of pleasure. When a comparison be- 

 tween the work of the lunar theorist and 

 that of the observer has to be made, it is 

 necessary to take into consideration the 

 facts and results obtained by astronomers 

 for purposes not directly connected with 

 the moon: the motions of the earth and 

 planets, the position of the observer, the 

 accuracy of star catalogues, the errors of 

 the instruments used for the measurement 

 of the places of celestial objects, the per- 

 sonality of the observers — all these have to 

 be considered; in fact, almost every one of 

 the departments of the astronomy of posi- 

 tion must be drawn upon to furnish neces- 

 sary data. The time has now arrived when 

 it may perhaps be possible to repay in some 

 measure the debt thus contracted by fur- 

 nishing to the astronomer, and perhaps 



1 Address of the Vice-president of Section A, 

 British Association for the Advancement of Sci- 

 ence, Australasian meeting, 1914. 



