48 



17 persons present. The minutes of the October 5th, October 

 20th and November 2nd meetings were read and approved. 



The deaths of Dr. J.J. Davis of the University of Wisconsin 

 on March 5, 1937, and of Dr. George C. Osterhout, Windsor, 

 Colorado, on April 2, 1937, were reported to the Club. 



For the scientific part of the program Dr. Joseph J. Cope- 

 land of the College of the City of New York spoke on Nitrogen 

 Fixation by the Blue-Green Algae. He reported that it had long 

 been supposed that blue-green algae might fix nitrogen because 

 of their close relationship to bacteria, but this has been hard to 

 prove because of the difficulty in culturing the algae, free from 

 bacteria. Dr. Copeland stated that his interest in the subject 

 was aroused when studying the thermal types of blue-green 

 algae found in hot springs. The water of many of these springs 

 was found to lack nitrogen. He discovered that certain forms 

 which he isolated from such springs had the ability to fix nitro- 

 gen, while very closely related forms isolated from water with 

 an abundant supply of nitrogen lacked this ability. In one case 

 the nitrogen fixing and non nitrogen fixing strains belonged to 

 the same species, Oscillatoria princeps. 



Eight species of blue-green algae have been found by analyt- 

 ical chemical analysis to fix nitrogen ; fifteen to twenty species 

 have been found not to fix it. Algae which grow in symbiotic 

 relationship with other species of plants are among the nitrogen 

 fixing types, as well as algae which live in nitrogen deficient 

 habitats. 



After some discussion the meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m. 



D. Elizabeth Marcy 

 Recording Secretary 



Meeting of December 7, 1937 



The meeting, held at the American Museum of Natural 

 History, was called to order at 8 : 30 p.m. by President Barnhart. 

 Thirty-eight persons were present. The reading of the minutes 

 was omitted. The following nominees for annual membership, 

 having been approved by the Council, were unanimously elected 

 by the Club: Mr. W. L. Dix, 801 Crown Street, Morrisville, Pa. 

 Mr. Edward E. Gaige, 111 Passaic Street, Hackensack, N.J. 

 Miss Elizabeth C. Hall, 45-20 243rd Street, Douglaston, L.I. 

 Mr. Noe L. Higginbotham, Botany Dept., Columbia University 



