26 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVIII. No. i 



celluloid, cut in strips seven or eight inches 

 wide, and rolled into cylinders, are thrust 

 into the wire tube. This makes a cylinder 

 that is soil-tight, transparent and durable. 

 With reasonable use it wiU last several sea- 

 sons, though the celluloid may crack or be- 

 come scratched and opaque. They prove very 

 satisfactory for capillary rise experiments 

 and are excellent for studying distribution of 

 water, as the inner tube can be withdrawn 

 and unrolled, exposing the soil for easy samp- 

 ling. 



Charles F. Shaw 

 University of California 



lee's "introduction to botany" 

 To THE Editor op Science : For a particular 

 purpose I wish much to see a copy of James 

 Lee's " Introduction to Botany," published in 

 London in 1760, the first edition. I have in- 

 quired, but in vain, of all the large libraries 

 in the United States, though all of them have 

 later editions. Can any reader of Science 

 tell me where a copy may be found in thii 

 country ? 



W. F. Ganong 

 Smith College, 

 Northampton, Mass. 



the leonhard euler society 

 It is well known that in 1909 the Swiss 

 Naturforschende Gesellsehaft resolved to pub- 

 lish the works of the extremely prolific and 

 famous mathematician Euler. The estimated 

 cost for the complete edition of over 40 large 

 quarto volumes was supposed to be approxi- 

 mately $100,000 and was covered by about 400 

 subscribers (25 francs per volume, or $80,000 

 by subscription) and the so-called Euler-Fund 

 resulting from contributions of governing 

 bodies, scientific societies, industrial estab- 

 lishments and private persons. 



So far six volumes have appeared and a 

 seventh is in press. The work is apparently 

 very carefully edited, and the typography is 

 perfect. 



Unfortunately the experience gained by the 

 publication of the first volumes and the fact 

 that a large number of additional papers and 



letters recently found among the documents of 

 the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg and 

 in various other places will increase the total 

 number of volumes show that the original esti- 

 mate of cost is not nearly enough to guaran- 

 tee a successful completion of the entire un- 

 dertaking. 



In order to partly meet an expected deficit 

 of $40,000 it is proposed to found a Leonhard 

 Euler Society with unlimited membership. 

 The annual dues will be 10 francs (about $2) 

 and membership is merely an honorary obliga- 

 tion to contribute to the success of a great 

 scientific enterprise. 



The originality and importance of Euler's 

 writings, even at the present time, make it 

 very desirable to have a uniform edition of all 

 his works and it is so hoped that the appeal of 

 the Swiss society will be generously answered 

 by scientific circles. 



Arnold Emch 



Univeesitt op Illinois 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS 

 Fixite de la Cote Atlantique de I'Amerique 



du Nord. By Douglas W. Johnson. 



The quite harmonious interpretation of 

 coast-level changes along the American At- 

 lantic, made by scores of clean-witted and 

 experienced observers through scores of years, 

 are here briefly scrutinized and fundamentally 

 contested. The supposed ups and downs of 

 the Atlantic coast, which have been so care- 

 fully and abundantly recorded from Gaspe to 

 the Carolinas, had promulgated a widely ac- 

 cepted notion that the North Atlantic sea- 

 board was very uneasy, still undergoing warp- 

 ings which might well have been in direct 

 inheritance of its ancient Appalachian insta- 

 bility. Dr. Johnson's paper under the above 

 title is not quite new, its date being rather 

 more than a year back, but in these prolific 

 and harlequin days of scientific ideas, it takes 

 a little while for the leaven of reformation to 

 register its effect. There are many excellent 

 reasons for not taking grave exception to 

 Dr. Johnson's general conclusion that the 

 eastern American land is as a whole in fairly 

 stable equilibrium — ^that is to say, is not now 



