Coe — A Century of Zoology in America. 383 



society, organized in 1850, is said to have been the suc- 

 cessor of the Association of American Geologists and 

 Naturalists. This was itself a revival of the American 

 Geological Society which first met at Yale in 1819. Its 

 meetings have given a great support to the scientific work 

 of the country. , 



In 1890, toward the end of the period in which morpho- 

 logical studies were being emphasized, the professional 

 zoologists of the eastern states founded the American 

 Morphological Society. This association held annual 

 meetings during the Christmas holidays for the presenta- 

 tion of zoological papers. This name became less appro- 

 priate after a few years because of the gradual decrease 

 in the proportion of morphological investigations owing 

 to the greater attention being directed to problems in 

 experimental zoology and physiology. Consequently the 

 name was changed to the American Society of Zoologists. 

 To be eligible for membership in this society a person 

 must be an active investigator in some branch of zoology, 

 as indicated by the published results. 



The American Society of Naturalists was founded in 

 1883. The original plan of the society was for the dis- 

 cussion of methods of investigation, administration and 

 instruction in the natural sciences, but its program is 

 now entirely devoted to discussions and papers of a broad 

 biological interest. It also arranges for an annual din- 

 ner of the several biological societies and an address 

 on some general biological topic. 



The American Association of Anatomists includes in 

 its membership investigators and teachers in compara- 

 tive anatomy, embryology, and histology as well as in 

 human anatomy. Many professional zoologists and 

 experimental biologists present their papers before this 

 society. 



These national societies have been of great service in 

 fostering a high standard of zoological research. A still 

 more important service, though generally less conspicu- 

 ous, is rendered by the journal clubs in connection with 

 all the larger zoological laboratories, and by local scien- 

 tific societies which are now maintained in all the larger 

 centers of learning throughout the country. There are 

 also specific societies for some of the different fields of 

 biological work. 



