APML 14, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



543 



the plankton species should, of course, be collected 

 wherever and whenever possible. In our present 

 fragmentary knowledge of the littoral and sub- 

 littoral flora of the Pacific, it is not possible to 

 say just what are likely to be the most important 

 general problems ultimately to be investigated. 

 What is first needed is a more detailed knowledge 

 of the flora of certain centers than we at present 

 possess. A practical question is what regions can 

 be better explored by a special expedition and 

 what regions can be sufficiently well studied by 

 resident algologists. In the latter category 

 should be included the islands on the western 

 limit as the Bonin and Loochoo Islands and For- 

 mosa, now studied by the Japanese and the out- 

 lying Sandwich Islands where large collections 

 have recently been made by some of our own algo- 

 logists. The flora of the Philippines, although not 

 well known, can be studied from collections easily 

 made by local botanists. From the islands in 

 Polynesia proper, as the Fiji and Samoa Islands 

 which lie on the route from Australia to North 

 America we have a certain amount of material 

 which has been studied by experts, as Harvey and 

 Grunow, but of the islands to the east of the 

 Friendly Islands we have, with the exception of 

 Tahiti, almost no knowledge. It therefore seems 

 to be advisable that an exploring expedition 

 should make the Fiji Islands or Samoa a center 

 from which to explore the islands to the eastward 

 as far as the Marquesas Islands. If means per- 

 mit, starting from the same base, it would then be 

 desirable to visit the islands extending as far to 

 the northwest as the Caroline and Ladrone Islands, 

 of whose flora we have a partial knowledge from 

 collections made by some of the exploring expedi- 

 tions of the last century. 



Problems of the Pacific Floras: D. H. Campbell. 

 The Pacific as a Field for Anthropological Investi- 

 gation: J. W. Fewkes. 



There is no large island in the Pacific ocean 

 which was uninhabited by man when discovered 

 by Europeans, and several show evidences of hu- 

 man occupation for a considerable antiquity. Our 

 knowledge of the Polynesians is very deficient. 

 This race presents many anthropological prob- 

 lems of great interest. From what direction, how 

 and when did man migrate across the Pacific 

 from one isolated island to another; how many 

 traits of ancestral culture still remain, and how 

 much have they been modified by oceanic insular 

 environment, are questions which await intensive 

 work in this field before they can be satisfactorily 



answered. Where there are so many unsolved 

 problems, it is almost impossible to single out one 

 in preference to others; but perhaps that which 

 appeals most directly to us is the part the Pacific 

 may have played in the aboriginal peopling of 

 America. We know next to nothing of the physi- 

 cal features, much less of the language and com- 

 paratively little of the material culture of this 

 race. Our knowledge of the history of the in- 

 habitants of the Pacific islands is small. There 

 are archeological remains scattered from Java to 

 Easter Island. Our knowledge of the physical 

 anthropology, linguistics and ethnology of Aus- 

 tralia is very limited. Much that has been pub- 

 lished ought to be critically examined and ampli- 

 fied by intensive studies. Anthropological work in 

 the Pacific will be a service to science by shed- 

 ding a flood of light on culture history. The har- 

 vest is sure to be great if we can find the man com- 

 petent to gather it. 



PAPERS OF THE EEGULAB PKOGEAM 



Hereditary Transmission of Defects resulting 

 from Alcoholism. (By invitation of the Pro- 

 gram Committee.) Charles R. Stockaed. 



Becent Observations on the Activity of some Glands 

 of Internal Secretion: W. B. Cannon. 

 Studies on conditions of activity of the adrenal 

 glands have shown that during emotional excite- 

 ment they secrete into the blood a substance which 

 affects the bodily organs in a manner simulating 

 the nervous influences of strong emotions. Elec- 

 trical studies of the thyroid gland indicate that it 

 also is brought into action in great emotional ex- 

 citement, both by nervous and by chemical stim- 

 uli. These glands have a routine function without 

 which certain bodily processes are not normal. 

 They may also be reasonably regarded as having 

 emergency functions which are called forth in 

 times of emotional stress and are important for 

 the needs of the organism (e. g., for struggle) 

 under such circumstances. 



Studies in the Water Content of the Nervous Sys- 

 tem: H. H. Donaldson. 

 8:00 P.M. — Auditorium, National Museum. 

 First William EUery Hale Lecture, by Henry 

 Fairfield Osborn, president of the American Mu- 

 seum of Natural History. Subject: "The Origin 

 and Evolution of Life on the Earth." (Illus- 

 trated.) 



The lecture will be followed by a conversazione 

 in the art gallery of the museum. All members of 

 the scientific societies of Washington, with ladies. 



