THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 



20I 



University in its earlier years largely 

 by fellowships and using laboratory 

 methods of investigation will bear 

 comparison better than Dr. Jordan 

 seems to think with the earlier group 

 of naturalists of the school of Agassiz. 



The addresses of the vice-presidents 

 of the association maintained high 

 standards and were in most cases of 

 general interest. Thus Professor 

 Minot, of Harvard, treated the method 

 of science; Professor Brown, of Yali, 

 the relation of Jupiter with the aster- 

 oids; Dr. Bauer, of the Carnegie In- 

 stitution, research in terrestrial mag- 

 netism; Professor McPherson, of Ohio 

 State University, the production of 

 carbohydrates in plants; Director 

 Brock, of the Canadian Geological 

 Survey, northern Canada, and Pro- 

 fessor Bitter, of the University of 

 California, mechanism and vitalism. 

 The addresses before the special socie- 

 ties and the discussions and papers of 

 more than ordinary interest can not 

 even be mentioned by title in a short 

 note. 



Dr. Charles E. Bessey, professor of 

 botany at the University of Nebraska, 

 dean and on several occasions acting 

 president, distirguished for his con- 

 tributions to science and for establish- 

 ing in a western university a c?nter 

 of botanical teaching and research 

 whose influence has extended over the 

 whole country, was elected president 

 of the American Associa ion to pre- 

 side over the meeting to begin at 

 Washington on December 27, 1911. 



While the American Association and 

 a large group of national scientific 

 societies were meeting at Minneapolis, 

 other societies were meeting elsewhere. 

 At Ithaca the American Society of Nat- 

 uralists under the presidency of Dr. D. 

 T. MacDougal had an interesting pro- 

 gram devoted to problems of experi- 

 mental evolution. With them met the 

 eastern zoologists and the bacteriolo- 

 gists. The geologists, geographers and 

 paleontologists met in Pittsburgh, the 

 physiologists at New Haven, the math- 

 ematicians in New York and the an- 



vol. lxxviii. — 14. 



thropclogists in Providence. There are 

 scientific and s cial advantages both in 

 a large convocation-week gathring of 

 all men of science and in smaller 

 meetings of groups devoted to a single 

 science. Probably the best results are 

 obtained by adopting different plans 

 on different occasions. 



THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA 

 There are at least three objects 

 attained by attendance at scientific 

 meetings. The papers and discussions 

 are the official occasion, and are cer- 

 tainly of importance. They exhibit 

 contemporary and common interests in 

 a way that is not otherwise possible, 

 and they often serve as a stimulus to 

 research work both before and after 

 the meeting. Of scarcely less conse- 

 quence are the personal acquaintances 

 and renewed friendships. The third 

 advantage of migratory meetings is 

 the opportunity to visit different parts 

 of the country and to see their scien- 

 tific and educational institutions. The 

 more distant the place of meeting, the 

 more interesting they are likely to be. 

 So men of science are repaid for their 

 journeys in d'rect proportion to their 

 length. 



A long trip would be well rewarded 

 by the opportunity to see the Univer- 

 sity of Minnesota. The development 

 of our state universities is probably 

 the most significant movement in higher 

 education, and nowhere are the oppor- 

 tunities and problems exhibited on a 

 more comprehensive scale than in Min- 

 nesota. The adjacent states of Mich- 

 igan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minne- 

 sota possess four of our greatest uni- 

 versities. For many years Michigan 

 led the way; more recently Wisconsin 

 has made the most rapid advances, 

 both in the standards reached in its 

 faculties and in its influence in th? 

 state. Illinois and Minnesota, .estab- 

 lished later, are now likely to press 

 forward in Iriendly rivalry for leader- 

 ship. The state of Illinois has two 

 private universities — one of them 



