SCIENCE. 



[Vol. IX., No. 205 



not a single voice has been heard in any quarter 

 expressing a desire to return to the old usage. 

 So satisfactory in every vray has the new system 

 proved, that the Canadian Pacific railvpay com- 

 pany have decided to extend its apphcation east- 

 ward to Ontario and the valley of the St. Law- 

 rence. The branch and connecting lines are 

 following the same course, and I am assured 

 that by the end of next year the twenty -four hour 

 system will be in common use by the railways 

 from Halifax in Nova Scotia to Vancouver on the 

 Pacific coast. You are, no doubt, already aware 

 that the twenty-four hour system is in use 

 throughout the extensive lines of telegraph be- 

 tween Great Britain, Egypt, India, South Africa, 

 China, and Australia and New Zealand." 



However important these changes are, they can 

 only be viewed as provisional steps in the general 

 unification of time throughout the world. They 

 are means to an end, and the great end of the 

 movement may be the universal adoption of a 

 new notation of time which will be common to 

 all nations. It is only step by step, and by famil- 

 iarizing men's minds with the new ideas, that the 

 larger reform can be accomplished. With this 

 end in view, the Smithsonian institution, desiring 

 to co-operate in the movement, have agreed to 

 publish and circulate, in all countries where their 

 reports are sent, a paper on ' Time-reckoning for 

 the twentieth century.' 



" This question," continued Mr. Fleming, " has 

 an educational interest ; and, such being the case, 

 much could be done by appealing to the educa- 

 tional institutions. Probably the njost effective 

 means of influencing the rising generation of this 

 country would be to bring the subject under the 

 notice of the public schools. If the children of 

 both sexes were taught the true principles of 

 time-reckoning, in a very few years their influ- 

 ence would be felt, and the main obstacle in the 

 way of adopting a common notation would dis- 

 appear throughout this continent. I venture to 

 suggest, therefore, that the society would in the 

 highest degree advance the important movement 

 by taking such steps as may be deemed neces- 

 sary and proper, to bring the question to the no- 

 tice of the superintendents of education in each 

 state with the view of reaching each boy and 

 girl of school age between the two oceans. If 

 America takes the lead in this matter, I do not 

 doubt that the other continents will follow in 

 good time." 



The society would be pleased to correspond with 

 any one desiring to use his influence in bringing 

 about the adoption of the metric system, or who 

 is interested in a common method of time-reckon- 

 ing such as is indicated in Mr. Fleming's letter. 



The office of the secretary is at Columbia 

 college. 



The officers for 1887 are, president, F. A. P. 

 Barnard, president of Columbia college ; vice- 

 president, Prof. E. N. Horsford, Cambridge, Mass. 

 recording secretary, Melvil Dewey, librarian Co- 

 lumbia college ; corresponding secretary, Alfred 

 Colin, New York ; treasurer. Prof. J. K. Rees, 

 Columbia college. 



THE NATURALISTS' MEETING AT 

 PHILADELPHIA. 



The meeting of the Society of naturalists held 

 in Philadelphia during Christmas week was at- 

 tended by about fifty members, and proved an en- 

 joyable and stimulating gathering. The strict 

 enforcement of the rule limiting membership to 

 persons "who regularly devote a considerable 

 portion of their time to the advancement of 

 natural history," allows only a slow growth to the 

 society, but it insures the illumination of the 

 association by its members, rather than the reverse. 

 Mutual acquaintance is increased ; the meetings 

 become as informal as meetings may be ; and The 

 naturalist, who has spent a good part of the year 

 too much alone in his own company, finds sugges- 

 tive intercourse with his fellows. The constitu- 

 tional object of the society is chiefly the discussion 

 of methods of investigation and instruction ; for it 

 is held that the announcement of the results of 

 investigation finds more fitting and sufficient op- 

 portunity in local societies. But in the present 

 day of special investigation there is some danger 

 that the detailed description of methods, useful in 

 their place, and entertaining enough to a few 

 members, may still fail to hold the attention of 

 the meetings as a whole ; especially when, as 

 too often appears, the inventive specialist has 

 failed to cultivate the art of presentation. 



The day that was devoted to methods of teach- 

 ing was apparently the most satisfactory to the 

 gathering. H. S. Williams of Cornell spoke on 

 general instruction in geology ; Davis of Harvard 

 followed on instruction in geological investigation. 

 In the afternoon, Farlow of Harvard considered 

 the lines profitable for botanical investigation in 

 the United States. Martin of Johns Hopkins dis- 

 cussed collegiate teaching of biology, and Whit- 

 man of Milwaukee discribed the proper position 

 of biological investigation in the university. All 

 these papers awakened the meeting to active dis- 

 cussion, and it was decided' that the executive 

 committee of the society should consider the ad- 

 visability and means of publishing the proceed- 

 ings of the day ; for it was generally agreed that 

 both the papers and the discussion that they ex- 



