FEB 4 n05 



SCIENCE 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, PUBLISHING THE 

 OFFICIAL NOTICES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION 

 FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. 



Friday, February 3, 1905. 



CO'MTE'MTS: 

 The 'National Bureau of Standards and its 

 Relation to Scientific and Technical Lahora- 

 tories: Professor Edward B. Eosa 161 



The American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science: — 

 Section A — Mathematics and Astronomy: 

 Professor Laenas Gifford Weld 174 



Albatross Expedition to the Eastern Pacific: 

 Alexander Agassiz 178 



Scientific Books: — • 



Halsted's Rational Geometry: Professor 

 Arthur S. Hathaway. West on the British 

 Freshivater Algce: Dr. George T. Moore.. 183 



Scientific Journals and Articles 185 



Societies and Academies: — 

 Biological Society of Washington: Wilfred 

 H. Osgood. Section of Geology and Min- 

 eralogy of the New York Academy of Sci- 

 ence: Dr. Amadeus W. Grabau. The Sci- 

 ence Club of the University of Wisconsin : 

 F. W. WOLL 186 



Discussion and Correspondence : — 

 A Biological Station in Greenland: Dr. 

 Pehr Olsson-Seffer 189 



Special Articles: — 



The Dexter, Kansas, Nitrogen Gas Well: 

 Professor Erasmus Hawortii, D. F. Mc- 

 Farland and Professor H. L. Fairchild. . 191 



The Teaching of Agriculture in South Caro- 

 lina: P. H. Mell 193 



Scientific Notes and News 195 



University and Educational News 199 



MSS. inteuded for publicatiou aud books, etc., iDteuded 

 for review should be sent to the Editor of Science, Garri- 

 sin-on-Hudson, N. Y. 



THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS 

 AND ITS RELATION TO SCIENTIFIC 

 AND TECHNICAL LABORATORIES* 



The dedication of a large and well-ap- 

 pointed building to be devoted exclusively 

 to instruction and research in physics is a 

 notable event in the history of a college. 

 In this instance it is the realization of a 

 hope long cherished by many, and by none 

 more than by the present speaker. That so 

 splendid a building has been deemed neces- 

 sary for the work to be done in physics 

 suggests two things. First, the high stand- 

 ard which Wesleyan is setting for herself 

 in this as in other departments of work, 

 and, second, the rapid development which 

 has occurred in recent years in physics, 

 rendering imperative an equipment for ex- 

 perimental work of an entirely different 

 order of magnitude from that thought suf- 

 ficient a generation ago. So great has been 

 the demand for the best instruments and 

 standards to be used in experimental work, 

 both in pure and in applied physics, that 

 the government has been led to establish at 

 Washington a national laboratory, one of 

 whose functions is to cooperate with scien- 

 tific and technical institutions and manu- 

 facturers in the work of improving instru- 

 ments and standards and developing meth- 

 ods of measurement. It, therefore, seems 

 not inappropriate that something be said 

 on this occasion concerning this work of 

 the national government, so recently in- 



* An address delivered at the openinfj of the 

 John Bell Scott Memorial Laboratory of Physical 

 Science, at Wesleyan University, Middletown, 

 Conn., December 7, 1904. 



