30 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Prof. R. W. Ritchie of the Mount Wilson Observatory, whose mechanical 
skill and scientific knowledge are contributing largely to the successful 
development of the great enterprise undertaken in our immediate 
vicinity, was the speaker of the evening, and his topic was the compara- 
tive value of photographie and visual methods of astronomical observa- 
tion. During this clear cut and luminous presentation of facts the stere- 
opticon was brought into use, and the glories of the heavens revealed 
in a way to entrance the soul, and to overwhelm one with the realization 
of the infinite magnitude and harmony of God’s creation. Suns, 
planets, star clusters and nebulae, in all the grandeur of their brillianey 
and infinitude, were thrown upon the screen, and lucidly explained, to 
the extreme delight and fascination of the audience. 
During this lecture most gratifying reference was made to the 
inarvelous possibilities anticipated by astronomers on the completion of 
the great one-hundred-inch lens, munificently provided for by Mr. John 
D. Hooker, the vice-president of the Academy; a matter which appeals 
intensely to the pride and gratification of the Academy. 
The March meeting of the Academy was devoted to an address 
on the planet of Jupiter, by Mr. Holdridge O. Collins, LL.D., a member 
of the board of directors, and a valuable contributor to the highest 
interests of the Academy. The speaker discussed the giant planet of 
our system in all of its phases, entering minutely into the detail of its 
physical conditions, periodicity, influence and probable history, past 
and future. The lecture was full of practical and valuable information, 
and was greatly enjoyed. 
The April meeting of the Academy was addressed by Dr. A. David- 
son, also a member of the directorate, and for years the leading spirit 
in the Botanical Section of the Academy, choosing for his subject, 
‘‘Harly Man in Europe.’’ The speaker made clear distinctions among 
the earliest races of men, the paleolithic, the neolithic, the Celtic, ete., 
and with the aid of the stereopticon presented evidences of man’s 
development into a condition of civilization from a state of barbarism, 
and expressed the opinion that all real progress in civilization has 
emanated from those portions of the human family who have lived in 
tropical or semi-tropical climates, where men were not compelled to 
exhaust their energies and consume their time in procuring necessary 
food. 
The May meeting of the Academy was given to a discussion of 
the topic now uppermost in the minds of our citizens, the Owens River 
aqueduct. The subject was presented by Mr. J. B. Lippincott, assistant 
chief engineer of the project, in a most interesting statement relative 
to the great undertaking, the country it will traverse, its viaduct, flumes, 
pipes, tunnels, manner of construction, and estimate of expenses. His 
discourse was illustrated with maps, charts, profiles and views along the 
region of its course, thrown upon the screen, and the explanations were 
supplemented by remarks from Mr. Wm. Mulholland, chief engineer, 
whose identification with the enterprise dates from its inception. Much 
interest in the subject was manifested by the audience. It was 
announced that the final meeting of the Academy for the season, to be 
held in June, would be addressed by President Baumgardt on ‘‘ Russia 
and Her Scientific Men,’’ and that a special program would be prepared 
for that occasion, to which admission would be by card only. 
Since the May meeting a very important step has been taken in 
the history of the Academy by organizing it into an incorporated body, 
