November 18, 1904.] 



SCIENCE. 



693 



AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOB THE 



ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. 



SECTION C. 



Owing to the large number of papers an- 

 nually presented at the joint meeting of the 

 American Chemical Society and Section C 

 and the utter impossibility of reading them 

 all with any hope of a proper appreciation of 

 their contents, a radical change has been ad- 

 opted in the arrangement of the program for 

 this winter's meeting. 



The time to be devoted to papers has been 

 divided about equally between general meet- 

 ings and meetings of subsections and the sub- 

 sections have each been put in charge of a 

 leader of wide reputation in the special de- 

 partment over which he presides. It is hoped 

 thereby to arouse an increased interest in the 

 hearers and particularly to stimulate discus- 

 sion. Also it is hoped to increase the social 

 intercourse and acquaintance of chemists who 

 are working along the same lines of investi- 

 gation. 



At the same time the advantage of the gen- 

 eral session is not to be lost sight of and the 

 leaders of the subsection will recommend spe- 

 cial papers of broad and general interest from 

 among those presented to them to the sec- 

 tional committee for a place on the general 

 program. Details will be left to the subsec- 

 tions where they may be adequately discussed. 



The leaders chosen for this year are: Dr. 

 Arthur A. Noyes, physical and electro-chem- 

 istry; Dr. Jas. Lewis Howe, inorganic chem- 

 istry; Dr. James F. ISTorris, organic chem- 

 istry ; Dr. Edward Hart, industrial chemistry ; 

 Dr. William P. Mason, sanitary, physiological 

 and agricultural chemistry. 



Abstracts of papers intended for the meet- 

 ing may be mailed to me or may be sent direct 

 to the leaders of the subsections. But one 

 program is to be printed for this meeting, and 

 to insure insertion all abstracts should be sent 

 in time to reach me, directly or indirectly, 

 before December 10. 



Charles Lathrop Parsons, 

 Secretary Section C. 

 Durham, N. H., November 9, 1904. 



TRIMMED COPIES OF SCIENCE. 



At a recent meeting of the committee on 

 the policy of the association, it was recom- 

 mended ' That the publishers of Science be 

 requested to announce prominently that cut 

 copies will be sent to members who request it.' 

 Trimmed copies of Science are now supplied 

 to the news companies and to all subscribers 

 who express a preference for them. Those 

 who prefer trimmed copies should address a 

 postal card to The Macmillan Company, 66 

 Fifth Avenue, New York City, and they will 

 be thereafter sent. 



Some subscribers to Science may wonder 

 why all copies are not trimmed. It is not to 

 save the cost, which is trifling, probably not 

 more than the saving in postage. There are 

 two reasons. One is that the copies can be 

 bound to better advantage when they are un- 

 trimmed. The other appeals with unequal 

 force to different people. It is largely a mat- 

 ter of tradition and association. The best 

 journals and magazines have in the past been 

 untrimmed, while the cheaper and more tran- 

 sient publications have been trimmed. An 

 untrimmed journal looks to some of us as if 

 it were ready for the binder and the library 

 shelf, a trimmed copy as if it were half way 

 to the waste paper basket. The larger mar- 

 gins look better, and the uneven edges repre- 

 sent the difference between objects that are 

 hand-made and those that are machine-made. 

 For the same reasons. Science is not wired, 

 but sewn, though the cost is a little more. 

 Nature has recently been trimmed and wired, 

 the convenience being gained at a certain in- 

 tangible loss of dignity and authority. The 

 utilitarian will doubtless prevail over the 

 esthetic in the end, and the argument from 

 tradition and association will gradually lose 

 its force. But Science is reluctant to break 

 with its past and with a long literary tradi- 

 tion. Such conservatism may seem unreason- 

 able, but it is at least harmless, so long as 

 every one who wishes can receive trimmed 

 copies. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 

 Professor E. Eat Lankester, director of 

 the Natural History Museum, London, has 



