Decembee 17, 1915] 



SCIENCE 



863 



supply. Ovule and seed formation are 

 associated with the closing activities of a 

 period of growth, and any shortening of 

 this period by a sharp differentiation of 

 seasons should leave some impress upon 

 ovule and seed development. This pro- 

 gressive simplification of the ovule deserves 

 attention in the effort to discover its con- 

 ditions; and the whole story, excepting the 

 introductory chapter, is recorded in the his- 

 tory of gymnosperms. 



In conclusion it may be emphasized that 

 the gymnosperms, with their unparalleled 

 perspective, are not only of importance in 

 connection with the problems of the origin 

 of seed plants and of angiosperms, but also 

 in developing some conception of evolu- 

 tionary progress quite apart from fluctu- 

 ating variations or even mutations, and 

 certainly beyond the control of any experi- 

 mental work in genetics. It is obvious now 

 that the phenomenon of progressive evolu- 

 tion in plants is not to be explained by any 

 so-called "inherent tendency," but rather 

 as a continuous response to progressive 

 changes in the conditions for vegetative 

 activity. When these conditions are anal- 

 yzed, the response called orthogenesis in 

 plants will become to some extent an index 

 of the evolution of climate. 



John M. Coulter 

 "University op Chicago 



TEE CONVOCATION WEEK MEETINGS OF 

 SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES 



The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science and the national scientific 

 societies named below will meet at Columbus, 

 Ohio, during convocation week, beginning on 

 Monday, December 27, 1915: 



American Association for the Advancement of 

 Science. — President Dr. W. W. Campbell, Di- 

 rector Liek Observatory; retiring president, Dr. 

 Charles W. Eliot, Harvard University; perma- 

 nent secretary, Dr. L. O. Howard, Smithsonian 



Institution, Washington, D. C; general secretary, 

 Mr. Henry Skinner, Academy of Natural Sciences, 

 Logan Square, Philadelphia, Pa.; secretary of the 

 council. Professor W. E. Henderson, Ohio State 

 University. 



Section A — Mathematics and Astronomy. — • 

 Vice-president, Professor A. 0. Leuschner, Uni- 

 versity of California; secretary. Professor Forest 

 E. Moulton, University of Chicago, Chicago, 111. 



Section B — Physics. — Vice-president, Professor 

 Frederick Slate, University of California; sec- 

 retary, Dr. W. J. Humphreys, U. S. Weather 

 Bureau, Washington, D. C. 



Section C — Chemistry. — Vice-president, Pro- 

 fessor W. McPherson, Ohio State University; sec- 

 retary, Dr. John Johnston, Geophysical Labora- 

 tory, Washington, D. C. 



Section D — Mechanical Science and Engineering. 

 — Vice-president, Bion J. Arnold, Chicago; sec- 

 retary, Professor Arthur H. Blanchard, Columbia 

 University, New York City. 



Section E — Geology and Geography. — ^Vice- 

 president, Professor C. S. Prosser, Ohio State 

 University; secretary. Professor George F. Kay, 

 University of Iowa. 



Section F — Zoology. — ^Vice-president, Professor 

 V. L. Kellogg, Stanford University; secretary, 

 Professor Herbert V. Neal, Tufts College, Mass. 



Section G — Botany. — Vice-president, Professor 

 W. A. Setehell, University of California; secre- 

 tary. Professor W. J. V. Osterhout, Harvard Uni- 

 versity, Cambridge, Mass. 



Section H — Anthropology and Psychology. — • 

 Vice-president, Professor G. M. Stratton, Univer- 

 sity of California; secretary. Professor George 

 Grant MacCurdy, Tale University; New Haven, 

 Conn. 



Section I — Social and Economic Science. — Vice- 

 president, Geo. F. Kunz, New York; secretary, 

 Seymour C. Loomis, 69 Church St., New Haven, 

 Conn. 



Section K — Physiology and Experimental Medi- 

 cine. — ^Vice-president, Professor F. P. Gay, Uni- 

 versity of California; secretary, Professor C.-E. 

 A. Winslow, Yale University. 



Section L — Education. — Vice-president, Professor 

 E. P. C'ubberley, Stanford University; secretary, 

 Dr. Stuart A. Courtis, Detroit, Mich. 



Section M — Agriculture. — Vice-president, Pro- 

 fessor Eugene Davenport, University of Illinois; 

 secretary. Dr. E. W. Allen, U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



