234 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIII. No. 1103 



study of the monkeys, apes and other primates 

 than by any other means. 



It does not seem, extravagant to claim that 

 the securing of adequate provision for the 

 systematic and long-continued study of the 

 primates is by far the most important task for 

 our generation of biologists, and the one which 

 we shall therefore be most shamed by neglect- 

 ing. But it is also a task which, as history 

 clearly indicates, will not be accomplished un- 

 less we devote ourselves confidently and deter- 

 minedly to it, with faith, vision and enthu- 

 siasm. For my own part, I am so entirely con- 

 vinced of the scientific importance and human 

 value of this kind of research that I am will- 

 ing to devote my life wholly to it. 



If we are to progress beyond the present 

 narrow limits of our knowledge of the lower 

 primates and make them contribute impor- 

 tantly to human welfare, it must be through 

 adequate provision for their systematic study. 

 I have presented to my fellow biologists a plan 

 in the hope that their interest, criticisms, and 

 support may ultimately lead to excellent facil- 

 ities for this work, if not to the realization of 

 the particular plan in question. 



Egbert M. Terkes 



Harvard University 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 



The forty-fifth anniversary of its establish- 

 ment was celebrated on February 9 by the 

 United States Bureau of Fisheries, with the 

 unveiling of a tablet in memory of its founder, 

 Spencer Fullerton Baird, presented by his 

 associates and followers. Professor Edwin 

 Linton, of Washington and Jeilerson College, 

 presented the tablet, and Mr. Edwin F. Sweet 

 accepted it on behaH of the Department of 

 Commerce. The bronze tablet bears a bas- 

 relief of Professor Baird with the inscription : 



He devoted his life to the public service and 

 through the application of science to fish culture 

 and the fisheries gave his country world-wide dis- 

 tinction. 



The Albert medal of the Eoyal Society of 

 Arts has been presented to Sir J. J. Thomson, 

 " for his researches in chemistry and physics 



and their application to the advancement of 

 arts, manufactures and commerce." 



The fifth annual dinner of the Columbia 

 University Biochemical Association took place 

 on February 10, at the Hotel Majestic, with 

 about 250 members and guests present. Dr. 

 A. B. Macallum, professor of physiology at 

 the University of Toronto, was the guest of 

 honor, and made the principal address. 



Professor Samuel Wendell Williston, of 

 the department of paleontology at the Univer- 

 sity of Chicago, has been elected a fellow of the 

 A m erican Academy of Arts and Sciences. 



Willlam H. Burr, professor of civil engi- 

 neering in Columbia University, retires from 

 active service at the close of the present 

 academic year. 



At the annual meeting of the Royal Meteor- 

 ological Society on January 19 the Symons 

 memorial gold medal was presented for trans- 

 mission to Dr. C. A. Angot, of the French 

 Meteorological Bureau. 



Professor Ayres Kopke, of Lisbon, has re- 

 ceived the prize offered by the Sociedade de 

 geographia of Lisbon for the best work by a 

 Portuguese writer on sleeping sickness. 



The Academy of Sciences at Vienna has 

 granted a further subsidy of $960 to Professor 

 R. Poch to continue his anthropologic meas- 

 urements and photographing of the various 

 ethnologic types among the prisoners of war. 



The Tri-State Medical Society of Arkansas- 

 Louisiana-Texas has awarded the gold medals 

 for the three best papers on original research 

 work presented to the society, as follows : first 

 prize. Dr. Thomas E. Wright, Monroe, La.; 

 second prize. Dr. Herbert L. Mc!Neil, Galves- 

 ton, Texas, and third prize. Dr. Truman C. 

 Terrell, Fort Worth, Texas. 



The Journal of the American Medical Asso- 

 ciation states that Dr. Richard P. Strong has 

 accepted the position of vice-president to the 

 American International Corporation. This 

 corporation recently formed with a capital of 

 fifty million dollars is designed to explore, 

 purchase or lease, lands and mercantile busi- 

 ness in any part of the world. Dr. Strong wiU 



