SCIENCE 



- im 



Friday, January 7, 1916 



CONTENTS 

 The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: — 



Botany in Relation to Agriculture: Db. G. 

 P. Clinton 1 



The Mineral Production of the XJnited States 

 in 1915 13 



Medalists of the Moyal Society 15 



Memorial to John Wesley Powell 16 



Scientific Notes and News 16 



University and Educational News 20 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 



The Origin of the "Niter Spots" in Cer- 

 tain Western Soils: Professor Eobert 

 Stewart and Professor William Peter- 

 son. Mottled Limestones and their Bearing 

 on the Origin of Dolomite : Francis M. Van 

 TuYL. Serpent Instinct in Man: T. G. Dab- 

 ney. The Teaching of Elementary Dynam- 

 ics : Wm. Kent 20 



Scientific BooTcs: — • 



Herms's Medical and Veterinary Entomol- 

 ogy: Dr. L. 0. Howard. Child's Senes- 

 cence and Mejuvenescence: Professor 

 Charles Zeleny. Bauer and Fleming on 

 Land Magnetic Observations: Professor 

 W. G. C'ADY 27 



Special Articles: — 



Some Suggestions on Metlwds for the Study 

 of Nitrification : Professor W. P. Kellby. 

 Experiments with Agents Calculated to Kill 

 the Tromiidium holoserioeum : B. F. Kaupp. 

 The Growth of Bone in Cretaceous Times: 

 Dr. Boy L. Moodie 30 



The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: — 

 The Columbus Meeting : Dr. L. 0. Howard. 36 



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

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

 on-Hudson. N. Y. 



THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR 



THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 



BOTANY IN RELATION TO AGRICUL- 



TUREi 



It is the aim of this discussion not merely 

 to show the relation of botany to agricul- 

 ture, but also to point out on the one hand 

 what botanical investigation has actually 

 done for American agriculture, and on the 

 other, how recent agricultural development 

 has stimulated the science of botany along 

 both educational and investigational lines. 



Though much of its practical application 

 passes under such titles as agronomy, horti- 

 culture, animal and dairy industry, and 

 soil technology, scientific agriculture de- 

 pends primarily upon the three fundamen- 

 tal sciences of chemistry, zoology and bot- 

 any. Of these, botany should and does 

 have the closest relationship with it. This 

 is indicated by the fact that out of 5,500 

 persons concerned with agricultural teach- 

 ing and investigation in the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and the various agri- 

 cultural colleges and stations, about 700, 

 or 12 per cent., may be classified as bot- 

 anists. 



There are botanists, however, who are so 

 engrossed in the pure science of their sub- 

 ject that they have little interest in its 

 economic, or, what to-day is almost the same 

 thing, its agricultural relation; on the 

 other hand, there are those working on the 

 practical side who do not appreciate how 

 much the pure science of botany has aided 

 them in their work. We have no quarrel 



1 Address of the vice-president and chairman of 

 Section G, Botany, American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science, Columbus, December, 

 1915. 



