SCIENCE 



Friday, July 28, 1911 



contents 



Mechanisms of Cell Activity: Professor Carl 

 L. Alsberg 97 



The Total Solar Eclipse of April S8, 1911: 

 Dk. L. a. Bauer 105 



Samuel Calvin: Professor George F. K4t . 1.06 



Scientific Notes and iV ews 107 



University and Educational News 112 



Discussion and Correspondence: — 



On "Soma Influence" in Ovarian Trans- 

 plantation: Professor W. E. Castle. 

 Genotypes are the Species upon which 

 Genera are based: Dr. Charles H. T. 

 TowNSEND. Measuring the Merit of Eng- 

 lish Writing: Dr. W. H. Dall. Latin 

 Diagnosis of Fossil Plants: Dr. Edward 

 W. Berry. Executive Besponsibility : Pro- 

 fessor Sidney Gunn. Academic and In- 

 diistrial Efficiency: Professor Wm. G. 

 Eaymond. The Methods of a Veteran In- 

 vestigator and Teacher: Professor Burt 

 G. Wilder '113 



The Department of Agriculture and Dr. 



121 



Scientific BooJcs: — 



Contributions to Medical Science of Howard 

 Taylor Eioketts: J. E. Hoive's The Geol- 

 ogy of Building Stones: Dr. Geo. P. Mer- 

 rill. Tutton's Crystallography, Groth's 

 Optical Properties of Crystals: Professor 

 Charles Palache 122 



Special Articles: — 



West Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, Deep Well: 

 Professor Thomas L. Watson. Note on 

 Eeticulated Fish-scales: Professor T. B 

 A. CocKERELL. The Genus Typha and its 

 Nematode Soot Gall: L. N. Hawkins. 

 Correlation Notes: Albert B. Eeagan ... 125 



Societies and Academies: — 



The Torrey Botanical Club : B. 0. Dodge . 128 



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

 review should be sent to the Editor of Science, Garrison-on- 

 Hudson. N. Y. 



MECHANISMS OF CELL ACTIVITY^ 



Every scientist who concerns himself 

 with the problems of his own specialty- 

 must devise for himself certain concrete 

 pictures of the nature of the fundamental 

 units with which his specialty deals, in 

 order that he may have a concrete form in 

 which to clothe his thoughts. Thus each 

 chemist must form for himself some sort of 

 concrete notion concerning fundamentals, 

 like atoms, molecules, chemical affinity, 

 valence and ionization, imagery which he 

 must avoid mistaking for absolute reality, 

 and which he must be ever ready to shift 

 and change andlnodify, in accordance with 

 the development of chemistry. 



The biochemist also has his imagery, 

 only he takes the data of the chemist and 

 physicist as the material out of which he 

 constructs an imagery of his own, dealing 

 not with atoms or molecules as such, but 

 with conceptions of the physical and chemi- 

 cal nature of protoplasm. 



I would present to you to-day the hy- 

 pothesis which some biochemists have de- 

 veloped for themselves concerning the 

 structure of protoplasm and the cell. Such 

 a presentation must be very largely a per- 

 sonal one, for two biochemists would hardly 

 be likely to agree on all the details, however 

 much they might be in accord on the essen- 

 tials. Consequently, what I am about to 

 offer will contain nothing essentially new.^ 



' Address presented before tlie general meeting 

 of the American Chemical Society at Minneapolis, 

 Minn., December 28, 1910. Published by permis- 

 sion of the Secretary of Agriculture. 



^For an earlier presentation cf. Hofmeister, 

 Fr., ' ' Die Chemische Organisation der Zelle, ' ' 

 Braunschweig, 1901. ' 



