876 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXIV. No. 



there is diiference of opinion with regard to 

 the place that genetics holds in the interest of 

 the average zoologist, anatomist, botanist, etc., 

 but the assumption is, on the part of the 

 officers of the Naturalists, that the field is 

 sufficiently broad and fundamental to em- 

 brace the interests of men from all fields of 

 biological work. Personally, I am interested 

 in genetics, from the general standpoint, but 

 the minutise are as technical and demand as 

 close attention as any other field of biological 

 work. The terminology and treatment of the 

 science of genetics are changing daily and 

 unless one take this as his special field of 

 work he finds difficulty in following the dis- 

 cussions. There is another point, too, in this 

 connection: I am not willing to admit that 

 the data of genetics are any more fundamental 

 than the data of other lines of endeavor, as 

 for instance, the subject of development or of 

 differentiation, or of metabolism, or one of a 

 half dozen other things. Genetic development 

 is but one group of phenomena in the en- 

 semble we know as a living thing, even if it 

 is an important one. 



It is impossible for the Naturalists to 

 justly solicit membership from botanists, geol- 

 ogists, psychologists, anthropologists and 

 from other departments of science and expect 

 these members to attend the meetings of the 

 Naturalists when this organization meets in 

 cities other than the one in which the special 

 societies are meeting. At least it is not fair 

 to the members of the other societies, who are 

 at the same time members of the Naturalists. 

 If it is the mountain and Mahommed, the 

 mountain will not come to the prophet; of 

 this I am quite sure. 



Another point: The field of zoology is so 

 wide and is so intimately connected with 

 many other fields that no one cares to risk his 

 reputation for logical thinking in fixing the 

 limits of this science. Its devotees are not all 

 embryologists, nor students of regeneration, 

 nor of vertebrate anatomy; many of them are 

 interested in animal psychology and others 

 are interested in the physiological aspects of 

 zoology, which stand on the border land be- 



tween these sciences and zoology sensu 

 A.S.Z. ( !) Now meeting at Washington and 

 in affiliation with the American Association 

 for the Advancement of Science are several 

 societies which yearly present papers of direct 

 interest to our members, whose research in 

 comparative psychology or animal behavior 

 causes them to have this interest in the pro- 

 grams of the psychological associations, such 

 as the American Psychological Association 

 and the Southern Society. There are a num- 

 ber of papers presented before the Biochem- 

 ists and Physiologists which are of interest to 

 other members of the Zoologists and of the 

 Anatomists. Now I wish to submit : Is it fair 

 to these men to demand that they be loyal to 

 the Zoologists and forego the pleasure and 

 profit of attending such meetings in other 

 departments as they desire? Do the reasons 

 given above for isolating the meetings of the 

 zoologists and anatomists compensate for 

 this desideratum ? I do not think they do. 



It is my impression that there are a number 

 of men whose views coincide with the ones ex- 

 pressed here and this is the raison d'etre for 

 this communication. 



M. W. Morse 



REGARDING PAYING THE EXPENSES OF STATION 

 WORKERS TO SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS 



The American Association of Agricultural 

 Colleges and Experiment Stations at their 

 meeting at Columbus in November passed the 

 recommendation of their Committee on Sta- 

 tion Organization and Policy, which reads as 

 follows : 



" At the request of one of the societies, with 

 which members of the station's staffs would 

 naturally be associated, the question of mem- 

 bers of the staff attending the meetings of the 

 scientific societies was discussed. Tour com- 

 mittee believes that the leading members of 

 the staff should, for their own sakes, so far as 

 they are able, attend the sessions of at least 

 one such society annually. It also believes 

 that the station administration should be 

 alive to the fact that there are frequently 

 meetings and conventions at which the best 



