1010 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 365. 



two thousand years be roughly divided into 

 two parts — the latter one dating practically 

 from the beginning of the nineteenth century— 

 and if the causes making for the amelioration 

 of man's condition during these two periods be 

 examined, we shall see that a single century of 

 applied science has done more for the world's 

 direct advancement in enlightenment, tolerance 

 and real culture, as well as in material prog- 

 ress, than was accomplished in the preceding 

 nineteen hundred years. Furthermore, a com- 

 parison of the opportunities and advantages 

 possessed by man at the beginning, the middle 

 and the end of the nineteenth century will 

 show how much the rate of progress was ac- 

 celerated during the latter half of the century, 

 and if, judging by this, any prediction for the 

 future may be ventured, we may gain some 

 faint idea of the place applied science is des- 

 tined to fill in the next fifty years." 



Among the subjects dwelt upon somewhat in 

 detail were astronomy, physics, especially elec- 

 tricity, civil engineering, chemistry and biology, 

 with special reference to bacteriology. This 

 address will appear in full in Part II. of Vol- 

 ume IV. of the Transactions of the Academy soon 

 to be published. 



The second meeting for the year was held on 

 November 22. Mr. T. U. Taylor, professor of 

 applied mathematics in the University, read an 

 abstract of his report to the Hydrographic Di- 

 vision of the United States Geological Survey 

 on the 'Water Power of Texas.' In this re- 

 port he treats of the water power of the State, 

 both existing and prospective, with special ref- 

 erence to that of the following rivers : Pecos, 

 Devils, San Felipe, San Antonio, Guadalupe, 

 Comal, San Marcos, Colorado and tributaries, 

 Brazos and tributaries. The potential water 

 powers at Llano and Marble Falls are consid- 

 ered in detail, and the latter is pronounced as 

 having the grandest possibilities of any place 

 in Texas. Llano and Marble Falls are in the 

 heart of one of the finest granite regions of the 

 country, and every unit of power could be 

 made to pay in that industry alone. 



A translation of a part of the introduction to 

 Dr. Ferdinand Roemer's ' Kreidebildungen von 

 Texas,' by Dr. Frederic W. Simonds and Ed- 

 mund Wild, was read by the latter. ' Die Krei- 



debildungen von Texas ' contains observations 

 upon the geology of the State made fifty years 

 ago. It is, in fact, the foundation of Texas 

 geology, and won for its writer the title ' Father 

 of the Geology of Texas.' This work has been 

 a fruitful source of inspiration to later writers 

 upon the geology of this region, and it is now 

 the intention of Messrs. Simonds and Wild to 

 make it accessible to all by means of a carefully 

 prepared English translation. 



The midwinter meeting of the Academy will 

 be held simultaneously with that of the State 

 Teachers' Association in Waco during the holi- 

 day recess. Frederic W. Simonds, 



Secretary. 

 University of Texas. 



the boston society op natural history. 



At the meeting of the Society, held November 

 6, 1901, Professor William Morris Davis spoke 

 on 'River Terraces in New England,' with a 

 view to supporting a recent theory to account 

 for the successive stair-like terraces with con- 

 cave fronts found in many New England valleys. 

 A buried ledge of gradual slope encountered by 

 a meandering stream in its sidewise swingings, 

 throws the stream to one side, and prevents its 

 further cutting action at that point. When the 

 stream, in subsequent swinging across the val- 

 ley floor, returns once more to the attack, it 

 encounters the ledge at a lower level, and is 

 again turned back ; thus the terraces as formed 

 are protected from erosion. 



At the meeting of November 20, 1901, Pro- 

 fessor E. S. Morse presented the results of his 

 researches on living Brachiopoda. He gave 

 an account of the habits of Lingula and Olottidia 

 and called attention to their marvelous vitality. 

 He described in detail the structure of the 

 leading forms and announced for the first time 

 the oesophageal glands in Lingula. A correla- 

 tion was shown between the presence or absence 

 of setae and. the development of the pedicle ; 

 the errantian forms and those moving freely on 

 the pedicle having the setae greatly developed, 

 those more restricted in their motion having 

 shorter and fewer setse, while those with lower 

 valve fixed to the rock, such as Mergerlia, Crania, 

 etc. , are without setse. In the young of all forms 

 studied, the setse were present, and of great 



