SCIENCE 



Friday, Dbcembee 22, 1911 



CONTENTS 



Graduate Work in Mathematics in Universi- 

 ties and in Other Institutions of Like Grade 

 in the United States 853 



Address at the Unveiling of the Bust of 

 Wolcott Giibs in Eumford Hall, Chemists' 

 Club : Professor Charles E. Munroe . . . 864 



Scientific Notes and News 868 



University and Educational News 872 



Dismission and Correspondence: — 

 Astronomical Beferences in Text-booJcs on 

 Physics: Professor C. A. Chant. Air in 

 the Depths of the Ocean: G. W. Little- 

 hales. Contagious Abortion of Cattle: W. 

 J. MacNeal. The Meetings of Scientific 

 Societies: Professor M. W. Morse. Be- 

 garding paying the Expenses of Station 

 Workers to Scientific Meetings: Professor 

 F. L. Washburn 873 



Scientific Books: — ■ 



Yerkes's Introduction to Psychology, Pills- 

 bury 's The Essentials of Psychology, 

 Myers's Introduction to Experimental Psy- 

 chology, Ladd and Woodworth's Physiolog- 

 ical Psychology: Professor Howard C. 

 Warren. Hammarsten's Text-book of 

 Physiological Chemistry: Professor La- 

 fayette B. Mendel 877 



Special Articles:- — 



On the Nature and Seat of the Electro- 

 motive Forces manifested by Living Or- 

 gans: Professor Jacques Loeb and Rein- 

 hard Beutner. The Permeability of the 

 Ovarian Egg-membranes of the Fowl: Dr. 

 Oscar Riddle 884 



The Convocation Week Meetings of Scien- 

 tific Societies 889 



Societies and Academies: — 



The Biological Section of the New York 

 Academy of Sciences: Dr. L. Hussakop. 

 The Torrey Botanical Club : Fred J. Seaver 891 



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

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

 Hudson, N. Y, 



GRADUATE WORK IN MATHEMATICS IN 

 UNIVEESITIES AND IN OTBEB IN- 

 STITUTIONS OF LIKE GBADE IN 

 TEE UNITED STATES^ 



I. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVANCED IN- 

 STRUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES 



Forty years ago the bachelor's degree 

 granted on the completion of a four years' 

 course of a general character marked not 

 merely the close of a young man's liberal 

 education, but also, except in the case of 

 some lawyers, ministers and physicians, the 

 end of all academic instruction of any 

 kind. In particular, apart from a few- 

 exceptional cases, no advanced instruction 

 in mathematics was anywhere provided be- 

 yond the usually rather meager ingredients 

 — hardly more than analytic geometry and 

 a little calculus — of this college course, 

 which consisted mainly of prescribed 

 studies. As an external sign of this state 

 of affairs we note that the master's degree, 

 where it existed, was conferred for reasons 

 having very little to do with study, while 

 the doctor's degree was practically non-ex- 

 istent.- The desire for higher education 

 in America, which had been felt for many 

 years by some of the leading minds of the 

 country, had been able so far to achieve 

 only momentary and sporadic success, 



' General report of the committee consisting of 

 Professor Maxime Boeher, Harvard University, 

 Cambridge, Mass., chairman; Professor D. E. 

 Curtiss, Northwestern University, Bvanston, 111.; 

 Professor Percey F. Smith, Yale University, New 

 Haven, Conn., and Professor E. B. Van Vleok, The 

 University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. The re- 

 port is Bulletin No. 6 (1911) of the United States 

 Bureau of Education. 



= Except at Yale University, where the degree of 

 doctor of philosophy was established in 1860. 



