SCIENCE. 



261 



SCIENCE: 



A Weekly Record of Scientific 

 Progress. 



JOHN MICHELS, Editor. 



Published at 



229 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 

 P. O. Box 3838 



SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1880. 



The editorial on the American Society of Micro- 

 scopists has called forth a reply from Professor 

 Hitchcock, who, as editor of the American Monthly 

 Microscopical journal, publicly raised the ques- 

 tion of the necessity for the dissolution of the Society. 

 Professor Hitchcock now states that when he spoke 

 of the leaders being incompetent, as a cause of the 

 want of success of the Society, lie did not refer to the 

 Presidents who have held office, but to some people, 

 whom he does not name, who were active in the or- 

 ganization of the Society. 



We accept this explanation, as it removes an 

 unnecessary personal question from the discus- 

 sion, although it is not clear why mention should 

 be made of these delinquents now, if the Society 

 has never been in their power. 



Other minor reasons may now be dropped, as 

 Professor Hitchcock states that his objection to 

 the Society is fundamental, and does not alone rest 

 on the side issues he described so fully. 



In another portion of this issue we publish a state- 

 ment bearing on this matter, which will appear next 

 month in the American Naturalist, an advanced 

 sheet of which has been kindly furnished to us. 

 This is written by Dr. R. H. Ward, of Troy, the 

 first President of the Society. Dr. Ward puts the 

 case in his usual clear and forcible manner, and 

 the simple merits of the case, from a scientific point 

 of view, are stated with precision. 



It now appears that nearly half of the delegates? 

 who created the Society, were opposed to its organi- 

 zation as a separate body ; a part of these have since 

 formed a " cabal," and like the original inhabitants 

 of the Cave of Abdullah, are restless and discon- 

 tented, determined on the destruction of the Society, 

 rather than to promote its success. 



Dr. Ward authoritatively calls upon the mem- 



bers of the Society for unity of purpose and action ; 

 he gives excellent reasons for keeping the Society 

 intact and maintaining its independence and free- 

 dom ; but if the peaceful work of the Society can 

 be continued only by the sacrifice of the opinions 

 of the majority to those of the turbulent minority? 

 then he is willing to let the sacrifice be made. 

 In a word, Dr. Ward says, cease the squabbling 

 and get to work. 



We quite endorse Dr. Ward's advice, and are 

 equally indifferent respecting the name of the orga- 

 nization ; the reasons he gives for not amalgamating 

 with the A. A. A. S., will carry conviction to 

 those not influenced by personal or petty consider- 

 ations. Why should the Society cancel its freedom 

 of action, become a mere sub-section of another 

 Society, and be hampered with a set of rules and 

 regulations which ai'e most undesirable, and from 

 which there can be no escape? 



We might add that the A. A. A. S. is becoming 

 already overloaded with its sections and sub-sec- 

 tions, and if the work to be done at its meetings 

 increases at the present ratio, the resources of the 

 Society to perform it in a week will be very heavily 

 taxed. 



We find no fault with Professor Hitchcock for 

 the article he prepared, as he evidently is but the 

 mouthpiece of many members of the Society, and 

 rather give him credit for his candid utterances. 

 This undercurrent of restlessness is as old as the 

 Society, and it is as well that he has given public 

 expression to it ; we, however, trust that he will ad- 

 mit the force of Dr. Ward's reasoning, and as Editor 

 of a Microscopical Journal, endeavor to use his 

 influence to restore full harmony to the Society, 

 and remind those who prefer the sub-section of 

 the A. A. A. S. to the American Society of Mic- 

 roscopists, that no impediment exists to the gratifi- 

 cation of their wishes ; two courses are open to them ; 

 they can make use of either of the societies, or even 

 attend both. 



«»» 



Those interested in the progress of Physiology in this 

 country will be glad to learn that, at their recent meet- 

 ing, the Regents of the University of Michigan appoint- 

 ed Dr. Charles H. Stowell Assistant Professor of Physi- 

 ology in the Department of Medicine and Surgery. 

 Dr. Stowell is a graduate of the Institution, and since 

 1876, has been in charge of a flourishing laboratory of 

 Practical Physiology and Histology which was then es- 

 tablished at the suggestion of the veteran professor of 

 anatomy and physiology, Dr. Corydon L. Ford. Dr. 

 Stowell has also been delivering part of the physio- 

 logical lectures, and has made some interesting obser- 

 vations and experiments. B. G. W. 



