May 1, 1903.J 



SCIENCE. 



715 



There are two possible dates of sailing from 

 New York; June 20 and July 4. The labora- 

 tory will be opened for those who sail on June 

 20 and will remain open eight weeks, thus 

 providing for those who can not sail until 

 July 4. 



The well-known richness of the sub-tropical 

 fauna and flora, the healthfulness and equable 

 temperature of the islands, and the ease with 

 which they may be reached combine to make 

 the Bermudas a most attractive field for bio- 

 logical research. 



Venerable George Tucker, archdeacon, presi- 

 dent, Bermuda Natural History Society. 



Hon. W. Maxwell Green, Consul U. S. A., vice- 

 president, Bermuda Natural History Society. 



F. Goodwin Gosling, honorary secretary, Ber- 

 muda Natural History Society. 



E. L. Mark, director Zoological Laboratory, 

 Harvard University. 



C. L. Bristol, professor of biology. New York 

 University. 



Circulars and detailed information will be 

 supplied on application either to Professor C. 

 L. Bristol, University Heights, New York 

 City, or to Professor E. L. Mark, 109 Irving 

 St., Cambridge, Mass. 



PROGRESS TOWARD AN INTERNATIONAL 



COMMISSION OF ARCHEOLOGY AND 



ETHNOLOGY. 



During the Second International Conference 

 held in Mexico in the winter of 1901-1902, a 

 proposal that the creation of an International 

 Archeologic Commission be recommended to 

 the participating countries received much at- 

 tention; and on January 29, 1902, a formal 

 recommendation to that effect was adopted. It 

 is printed in extenso, in Spanish, English 

 and Erench, on pages 141-147, in the report 

 of ' Eecomendaciones, Resoluciones, Conven- 

 ciones y Tratados,' published ofiicially soon 

 after the adjournment of the conference. 



Action was taken on the recommendation 

 within a few months by the Eepublic of 

 Mexico, President Diaz appointing Sefior Don 

 Alfredo Chavero (a distinguished archeologist, 

 soon afterwards made director of the Museo 

 Nacional) to inquire into the feasibility of 

 establishing such a commission, and to confer 

 with representatives of other countries. Dr. 

 Chavero visited the United States in the 



autumn of 1902, and conferred with the diplo- 

 matic representatives of the various Ameri- 

 can countries in Washington, as well as with 

 the archeologists and ethnologists in attend- 

 ance at the International Congress of Ameri- 

 canists held in New York in October. On re- 

 turning to Mexico he reported progress, 

 pursuant to which President Diaz delegated 

 His Excellency, Senor Don Manuel de Aspiroz, 

 the Ambassador from Mexico to the United 

 States, as a representative of the cormnission 

 empowered to treat with similar delegates from 

 other countries. 



The reconunendation of the International 

 Conference came to the notice of several sci- 

 entific societies in this country; and on July 

 1, 1902, the American Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science and the American An- 

 thropological Association adopted resolutions 

 approving the contemplated action. 



In November, 1902, the Secretary of State 

 designated Dr. W J McGee, ethnologist in 

 charge. Bureau of American Ethnology, as a 

 representative on the part of the United 

 States to confer with similar representatives 

 on the part of other countries in arranging for 

 the organization of the commission; being in 

 the City of Mexico soon afterwards, he con- 

 ferred with President Diaz, Dr. Chavero and 

 others, and after his return continued the con- 

 ferences with the Mexican Ambassador as well 

 as with Honorable W. W. Eockhill, director 

 of the Bureau of American Eepublics. In 

 these conferences a plan for the organization 

 of the commission was framed. 



On April 15, 1903, a meeting of representa- < 

 tives of several American countries, convoked 

 by the Secretary of State at the instance of the 

 Ambassador for Mexico, ■w.a.s held in the State 

 Department. The draft of plan for organiza- 

 tion of the commission was submitted by His 

 Excellency, Senor de Aspiroz, and some of its 

 features were explained by Dr. McGee. After 

 full discussion the plan was approved without 

 dissenting voice; the representatives of four 

 countries signified the intention of adopting 

 it on behalf of their governments, while other 

 ministers explained the necessity of withhold- 

 ing final action pending instructions from 

 their respective governments, and it was 



