XOVBMBER 24, 1911] 



SCIENCE 



715 



ernment, there is still no justification for the 

 action taken in depriving them of their scien- 

 tific materials. No doubt the government 

 claims that all these things belong to the col- 

 leges, and not at all to the particular men; 

 but while this may be true in a sense, all scien- 

 tific men vpill agree that they had rights in the 

 matter which have been apparently ignored. 



Would it be possible for some representative 

 scientific body to appoint and pay the expenses 

 of a man who would enquire into all the facts, 

 and furnish a carefully considered report? 

 Should such a plan be contemplated, prelim- 

 inary enquiries might be made to see whether 

 the case of the exiles was apparently good. 

 If the report supported the exiles, organized 

 protests from the scientific bodies of different 

 countries might be appropriate. 



t. d. a. cockerell 



University of Colokado 



" domesticated animals and plants" 

 To THE Editor of Science: I write to cor- 

 rect an impression made by Professor Cock- 

 erell's criticism of " Domesticated Animals 

 and Plants " in Science, issue of October 27. 

 The impression left by this article is that the 

 errors he mentions are to remain uncorrected, 

 whereas the facts are they were corrected 

 months ago. 



I have no desire to discuss the criticisms 

 made further than to relate how the unpar- 

 donable error as to the types of pigeons oc- 

 curred, which may be of interest to the psy- 

 chologist if not to other scientists. The 

 manuscript was submitted in advance of pub- 

 lication to a number of individuals, and 

 every attempt was made to utilize and har- 

 monize the criticisms and suggestions. This 

 resulted in the practical reorganization of the 

 copy. My original intention had been to use 

 cuts and descriptions of both the rock pigeon 

 and the passenger pigeon, and how the two 

 became so completely confused in the final 

 make-up is a mystery which I have not yet 

 solved. It is perhaps unnecessary to say that 

 for thirty years I had known that the rock 

 pigeon is the foundation of the domesticated 

 types, and the appearance of the plates was. 



perhaps, as much of a surprise to me as to 

 others. The only explanation is that the 

 proof was running during my illness and a 

 press of other work, and my own attention 

 was directed chiefiy to eliminating the difii- 

 culties that had arisen by the rearranging 

 of the text and the references. The publishers 

 are in no wise to blame for this mix-up, for 

 which I accept full responsibility and which 

 was corrected at the first possible moment. 



The same remarks apply to the " defini- 

 nitions " mentioned and to one or two other 

 errors not mentioned by Professor Cockerell. 



I have only this remark to add ; namely, the 

 book was prepared, after repeated suggestions, 

 for boys and girls in the secondary schools 

 and not for the elucidation or even the dis- 

 cussion of such disputed points among scien- 

 tists as the ramifications of Mendelism or the 

 controversy between biologists and mathema- 

 ticians. My regret is for the absurd errors 

 that crept into this volume, not for statements 

 that may be disputed when taken out of their 

 connections. 



E. Davenport, 

 Dean and Director 



QUOTATIONS 



pensions and the LEARNED PROFESSIONS 



It is part of the undisciplined heritage 

 which we call human nature to assert rights 

 strenuously and assume obligations reluc- 

 tantly. With the growth of the altruistic 

 spirit, which cultivates thinking in the larger 

 terms of social benefit, the sense of public obli- 

 gation is gradually and laboriously maturing. 

 There is no idea that stands in greater need 

 of this beneficent socialization than that con- 

 veyed by the term " pension." American ex- 

 perience had been peculiarly unfortunate in 

 linking the term with one of the greatest 

 scandals of public extravagance, showing hu- 

 man quality at its worst. It is also unfortu- 

 nate that the pity extended to old age and 

 poverty and lack of thrift, has enveloped the 

 term in an atmosphere of charity. Foreign 

 examples and an attention to principles should 

 have kept in mind the more dignified sense 



