244 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XX. No. 503. 



tentacles, the adhesive cells, epithelial gland 

 cells, ciliated rosettes, etc., have been retained 

 unchanged. The ciliated rosettes, for ex- 

 ample, must be looked upon as vestigial struc- 

 tures, in a form with so little parenchyma and 

 such an extensive gastric canal system as 

 Geeloplana possesses. And all the details of 

 structure indicate a highly specialized form 

 rather than a primitive one. Gienoplana 

 would seem to represent a midway stage in 

 which the costee have been reduced, but not 

 entirely lost. Such a loss of an organ through 

 disuse indicates merely specialization and 

 adaptation to littoral conditions rather than 

 degeneration. Hence Willey's contention that 

 Ctenoplana is not ' degenerate ' is unnecessary, 

 and his hypothesis that the form is a primitive 

 one, untenable. Dr. J. Arthur Harris spoke 

 of recent experimental work in floral ecology, 

 discussing the relative importance of color and 

 odor in the attraction of insects as shown in 

 the work of Plateau, Andreae and others. 

 Professor Abbott was elected to membership — 

 the first person to be elected to membership 

 in the society — after which the society ad- 

 journed until the September meeting. 



J. Arthur Harris, 



Secretary. 



AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY. 



The thirty-third annual meeting of the 

 American Fisheries Society was held at At- 

 lantic City, New Jersey, July 26-28. Seventy 

 members, representing 26 states, were in at- 

 tendance. About 50 new active members were 

 elected, and 6 foreigners were made honorary 

 members. The oiScers for this meeting were: 



President. — Frank N. Clark, Michigan. 



Vice-President. — Tarleton H. Bean, New York. 



Recording Secretary. — George F. Peabody, Wis- 

 consin. 



Corresponding Secretary. — W. de C. Ravenel, 

 Washington, D. C. 



Treasurer. — C. W. Willard, Rhode Island. 



The sessions were devoted largely to the 

 presentation and discussion of papers, which 

 covered a wide range of subjects. Among the 

 noteworthy papers were the following : 



De. Taeletojt H. Bean : ' The Fish and Game 

 Department of the Universal Exposition at St. 

 Louis.' 



Mk. W. E. Meehan: 'A Year's Work of the 

 Fisheries Interest in Pennsylvania.' 



De. H. F. Mooee : ' An Account of Progress in 

 Sponge Culture.' 



Me. Chaeles G. Atkins : ' The Utilization of 

 Neglected Fishes.' 



De. F. M. Johnson : ' A Western Charr in an 

 Eastern Home.' 



Me. S. G. Woeth: 'The Cultivation of the 

 Striped Bass.' 



Mr. John W. Titcomb presented some 

 ' Fishery Reminiscences of South America,' 

 and Dr. H. M. Smith gave a lecture on ' Japan, 

 the Paramount Fishery Nation,' illustrated 

 with lantern slides. 



One session was devoted to a very interest- 

 ing symposium on the black basses and their 

 cultivation; and the carp question incidentally 

 came up on several occasions. 



Mr. George F. Peabody paid a feeling trib- 

 ute to the late Hon. E. E. Bryant, president of 

 the Wisconsin Fish Commission, who died 

 while on his way home from the last meeting 

 of the society at Woods Hole. 



Near the close of the session, U. S. Fish 

 Commissioner Bowers was called for and made 

 some felicitous remarks. 



Mr. Henry T. Root, president of the Rhode 

 Island Commission of Inland Fisheries, was 

 elected president of the society for the next 

 term, and White Sulphur Springs, West Vir- 

 ginia, was selected as the place of meeting in 

 1905. 



The society has about 450 active members, 

 most of whom are engaged in practical or ad- 

 ministrative work in fish culture or fishery pro- 

 tection, but some are biologists whose work 

 brings them into touch with the fishery inter- 

 ests, others are commercial fishermen, and a 

 few are simply anglers. 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 



areas in the united states suitable for beet 



CULTURE. 



To THE Editor of Science : In the second 

 part of Professor Armstrong's article, which 

 appeared in Science, August 5, 1904, I note 

 the statement made by him in regard to the 

 preparation of a map showing the probable 

 areas in the United States suitable for beet 

 culture. In this connection it is only just 



