﻿FIELD AND FOREST. 47 



Meeting of the American Association. 



The American Association for the Advancement of Science held it s 

 quarter centennial anniversary at Buffalo, N. Y., from Sept. 23d to the 

 30th inclusive. The meeting may fairly be called one of the most im- 

 portant in the history of the association in regard to the number and 

 standing of members and others attending, the value of the papers 

 presented, and the cordial and even enthusiastic welcome given by 

 the citizens of Buffalo. 



One hundred and twenty-two members registered on the day of 

 opening, and the maximum attendance probably exceeded 200. Of 

 course the most notable feature was the presence of many distinguished 

 scientists, and visitors or delegates to the Centennial Exposition. 

 Among them we saw Prof. Von Baumhauer, Netherlands, several mem- 

 bers of the Swedish, Egyptian, and Austrian Centennial Commissions, 

 Dr. Rudolph Koenig of Paris, perhaps the leading physicist of our day on 

 the suject of sound, and Prof. Huxley of London. The address of Pres- 

 ident Wm. B. Rogers introducing Dr. Huxley to the general meet- 

 ing on Friday morning, might have been a fitting welcome to a demi- 

 god of science. The extempore reply was very pleasant, though an ap- 

 parent diffidence of manner somewhat marred the force of delivery of the 

 accomplished savan. He was reminded of a Scotch lake by the Hud- 

 son river, and thought the English race had suffered less modification by 

 coming to America than was usually supposed. If there was any sign 

 of degeneracy it was in an excess of the savage virtue of hospitality, 

 which was not satisfied with merely giving a good dinner, but required 

 the guests to carry off the spoons and plates. And while the average 

 Englishman who acquired wealth devoted it to the purchase of real 

 estate and the founding of a family ; the nobler ambition of wealthy 

 Americans seemed to be to establish public institutions like Yale Col- 

 lege, in whose walls were assembled antiquities far exceeding in quan- 

 tity and scientific value any collections in Europe, and compared with 

 which historical remains were mere trumpery. 



A peculiar feature of the meeting was the delivery of papers by Prof. 

 Baumhauer arid Koenig in German, and the attendance seemed to in- 

 dicate a knowledge of German is very general among physicists. The 

 subject of Prof. Baumhauer' s paper was a method for the rapid analy- 

 sis of milk, arranged by him while acting as chemist to the Amster- 



