As?PtJe0mbe?hia89™'}  Association  for  Advancement  of  Science.  457 
The  president-elect,  F.  W.  Putnam,  of  Harvard  University,  was  introduced 
by  the  retiring  president,  and  made  a  brief  address. 
Professor  Desire  Charnay  was  introduced  and  he  spoke  briefly  in  French.  A 
message  was  read  from  the  Russian  Geological  Committee  of  St.  Petersburg, 
sending  to  the  American  Association  respectful  congratulations  and  good 
wishes.  After  listening  to  announcements  of  meetings  to  be  held,  invitations 
to  partake  of  the  hospitalities  of  societies  and  clubs,  and  other  matters  of  detail, 
the  Association  adjourned  until  2.30  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
In  the  afternoon  the  vice-presidents  of  the  various  Sections  gave  their  annual 
addresses.  Among  which  may  be  mentioned  that  by  Dr.  Whitman,  "  On  the 
Perception  of  Light  and  Color  ;  "  Dr.  Farlow,  on  "The  Conception  of  Species 
as  Affected  by  the  Recent  Investigations  on  Fungi;"  Dr.  Smith,  on  "The 
Electrical  Current  in  Organic  Chemistry  ;  "  etc. 
In  the  evening  the  retiring  president,  Wolcott  Gibbs,  gave  the  annual  address, 
the  topic  being,  "  On  Some  Points  in  Theoretical  Chemistry." 
On  Tuesday  the  Sections  met  at  10  a.m.  and  2  p.m.  to  hear  the  reading  of 
scientific  papers.  The  amount  of  work  accomplished  at  this  meeting  was 
enormous,  as  on  this  day  alone,  a  total  of  278  papers  were  presented,  making 
an  average  of  thirty-one  for  each  of  the  nine  Sections.  The  topics  and  treat- 
ment were  eminently  scientific  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  Association  ever  had  the 
pleasure  of  a  larger  attendance  of  enthusiastic  scientists  and  more  numerous 
technical  and  scientific  papers  were  ever  presented.  Among  the  botanists,  the 
foremost  exponents  of  cytology  discussed  their  recent  labors  ;  the  morphologist 
and  ecologist  met  with  the  systematist,  and  all  contributed  valuable  papers. 
Not  only  was  there  a  harmony  and  a  union  in  the  Botanical  Section,  but  in  all 
the  Sections,  and  some  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  problems  considered  may  be 
gleaned  by  giving  abstracts  of  a  few  of  the  papers  presented  by  some  of  the 
Sections. 
In  a  paper  on  "  The  Ripening  of  Cheese  "  S.  M.  Babcock  and  H.  D.  Russell 
stated  that  it  has  heretofore  been  supposed  that  the  process  was  aided  by  the 
action  of  bacteria.  The  authors  were  unable  to  account  for  the  many  dis- 
crepancies which  occurred  in  the  process,  by  explaining  them  as  caused  by 
bacterial  action.  They  added  mild  antiseptics,  such  as  ether  and  chloroform  to 
the  milk,  which  would  stop  the  action  of  bacteria.  Such  milk  underwent 
changes  similar  to  those  that  occur  in  cheese.  From  these  it  was  evident  that 
the  bacteria  were  not  the  agents  causing  the  ripening  of  cheese,  but  it  is  proba 
ble  that  the  milk  contains  an  unorganized  ferment  capable  of  digesting  casein. 
They  gave  the  name  of  galactase  to  the  ferment. 
Dr.  G.  Frederick  Wright  described  a  newly  discovered  Strontian  cave  at  Put- 
in-Bay, O.  Strontium  does  not  occur  native,  but  is  found  chiefly  as  sulphate. 
This  forms  crystals  of  a  delicate  blue  color.  These  crystals  occur  in  many 
places  in  Europe  ;  but  the  principal  locality  in  America  from  which  museums 
have  been  supplied  with  specimens  is  Strontian  Island,  two  or  three  miles  from 
Put-in-Bay  Island,  in  the  western  end  of  Lake  Erie.  But  just  as  this  supply 
was  becoming  exhausted,  a  remarkable  fissure  was  discovered  last  winter  on 
Put-in-Bay  Island,  which  is  completely  surrounded  with  very  large  crystals  of 
this  beautiful  mineral.  The  fissure  was  penetrated  in  digging  a  well  seventeen 
feet  below  the  surface,  and  is  large  enough  to  permit  the  entrance  of  ten  or 
twelve  people  at  a  time.  It  is  not  an  ordinary  cavern,  but  apparently  is  the 
interior  of  an  immense  "  geode  "  lined  with  crystals  of  this  mineral. 
