Hotel at 10 o'clock on Friday evening, December 27. The several sections of the Association will hold their sessions for the nomination of officers and the transaction of other business on the call of the chairman, in most cases just before or just after the address of the retiring vice-president. 66 It is expected that there will be a number of joint meetings and the usual smokers and dinners and meetings of specific societies and groups. Among these, may be mentioned the symposium of the Geological Society of America, the Association of American Geographers and Section E on the Relations of Geology to the War. The Geological Society will hold a smoker on Friday night and its annual dinner on Saturday night, followed by the address of its retiring president. The American Society of Naturalists will hold its usual dinner on Saturday night, followed by an address by Dr. Vernon L. Kellogg on The German philosophy of war." Section F, on Saturday afternoon, will hold a general conference between governmental and laboratory zoologists. The American Association of Economic Entomologists will have a program giving particular prominence to the insect problems that are vital in connection with war activities. The Botanical Society of America, with the American Phytopathological Society, will hold a symposium on Our Present Duty as Botanists. The Botanists' annual dinner will be held on Friday night. The American Phytopathological Society will hold its tenth anniversary dinner on Wednesday night. Baltimore hotels are: Southern Hotel-Association Light and German Streets. attendance will be unduly hampered in finding quarters. Camps Holabird and Meade are in proximity of Baltimore, it is true, and the hotels have been previously crowded by the wives and families of the Army men stationed at these camps; but this condition, it is thought, will be somewhat alleviated. For the convenience of members who prefer room and board in private residences in proximity to the meeting-places at the university, the association has been fortunate in securing the services, through the courtesy of President Goodnow, of a librarian of the Johns Hopkins University for the handling of such details as would regularly devolve upon the local committee. This librarian, Miss L. M. Bollman, is now advertising for rooms in private residences and is asking for rates on (1) room with board, (2) room without board, and (3) board only, the latter for the convenience of those members who are located downtown but wish to dine in proximity to the university. Miss Bollman will maintain a list, available to members of the American Association and the affiliated societies, of all accommodations listed under the above three headings. Members of the association and the affiliated societies will, doubtless, realize that a reduction on railway fares is not practicable at a critical time such as this. The assistant secretary, at the time of his interview with the United States Railroad Administration, was assured that the only exceptions to this policy were in the cases of the gatherings of the veterans of the Civil and Spanish wars and of the State Agricultural Fairs, the latter having Headquarters, precedence because of the need of stimulating food production. Emerson-Baltimore and Calvert Streets. The following affiliated societies have indicated their intention to meet in Baltimore during Convocation Week: American Federation of Teachers of the Mathematical and the Natural Sciences.-Will meet on date to be announced. Secretary, William A. Hedrick, Central High School, Washington, D. C. American Physical Society.-Will hold joint sessions with Section B, A. A. A. S., on dates to be announced. President, H. A. Bumstead. Secretary, Dayton C. Miller, Case School of Applied Science, Cleveland, Ohio. Optical Society of America.-Will meet on Friday, December 27. President, F. E. Wright. Secretary, P. G. Nutting, Westinghouse Research Laboratory, East Pittsburgh, Pa. Society for Promotion of Engineering Education.-Will meet on date to be announced. President, John F. Hayford. Secretary F. L. Bishop, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. Geological Society of America.-Will meet on Friday and Saturday, December 27 and 28. Joint meeting with Association of American Geographers, afternoon of December 28; joint meeting with Section E, A. A. A. S., on night of December 28. President, Whitman Cross. Secretary, E. O. Hovey, American Museum of Natural History, New York, N. Y. Association of American Geographers.-Will meet on Friday and Saturday, December 27 and 28. Joint meeting with the Geological Society of America on the afternoon of December 28. President, Nevin M. Fenneman, 3755 Broadway, New York, N. Y. Secretary, O. L. Fassig (absent). Paleontological Society of America.-Will meet on Saturday, December 28. President, F. H. Knowlton. Secretary, R. S. Bassler, U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C. American Society of Naturalists.-Will meet Saturday morning, December 28. Annual dinner, Saturday night. Secretary, Bradley M. Davis, Statistical Division, U. S. Food Administration, Washington, D. C. American Society of Zoologists.-Will meet on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, December 26 to 28. Joint session with American Society of Naturalists Saturday morning, December 28. President, George Lefevre. Acting Secretary, W. C. Allee, Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Ill. American Association of Economic Entomologists. Will meet Thursday and Friday, December 26 and 27. President, E. D. Ball. Secretary, Albert F. Burgess, Gipsy Moth Laboratory, Melrose Highlands, Mass. Botanical Society of America.-Will meet on Thursday to Saturday, December 26 to 28. Joint sessions with Section G, A. A. A. S., and American Phytopathological Society on Thursday afternoon, December 26. Joint sessions with American Phytopathological Society on Friday and Saturday, December 27 and 28. Joint session with Ecological Society of America on Saturday morning, December 28. President, William Trelease. Secretary, J. R. Schramm, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. American Phytopathological Society.-Will meet from Monday to Saturday, December 23 to 28. Joint meetings with Botanical Society of America on Friday and Saturday, December 27 and 28. Tenth anniversary dinner, 6:30 P.M., Wednesday, December 25. President, Mel. T. Cook. Secretary, C. L. Shear, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Ecological Society of America.-Joint session with Botanical Society of America on Saturday morning, December 28. Dates of other sessions to be announced. President, Henry C. Cowles. Secretary, Forrest Shreve, Desert Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona. American Anthropological Association.Will hold joint meetings with Section H, A. A. A. S., and American Folk-Lore Society on Friday and Saturday, December 27 and 28. President, A. L. Kroeber. Acting Secretary, Bruce W. Merwin, University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia, Pa. American Folk-Lore Society.-Will hold joint session with American Anthropological Association on Friday, December 27. President, C. Marius Barbeau. Secretary, Charles Peabody, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. American Metric Association.-Will meet on Friday and Saturday, December 27 to 28. The session of Saturday will be held at the Bureau of Standards, Washington. President, George F. Kunz. Secretary, Howard Richards, Jr., 156 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. American Society for Horticultural Science. -Will meet on Friday and Saturday, December 27 and 28. President, C. A. McCue. Secretary, C. P. Close, College Park, Md. Society of American Foresters.-Will meet on Friday and Saturday, December 27 and 28. President, Filibert Roth. Secretary, E. R. Hodson, U. S. Forest Service, Washington, D. C. School Garden Association of America.Will meet on dates to be announced. President, J. H. Francis. Acting Secretary, V. E. Kilpatrick, 124 West 30th St., New York, N. Y. The officers for the Baltimore meeting are: President-John Merle Coulter, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. Vice-Presidents-A (Mathematics and Astronomy) George D. Birkhoff, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. B (Physics): Gordon F. Hull, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H. C (Chemistry): Alexander Smith, Columbia University, New York. D (Engineering): Ira N. Hollis, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Mass. E (Geology and Geography): David White, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. F (Zoology): William Patten, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H. G (Botany): A. F. Blakeslee, Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y. H (Anthropology and Psychology): Aleš Hrdlička, U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C. I (Social and Economic Science): John Barrett, Pan American Union, Washington, D. C. K (Physiology and Experimental Medicine): Frederic S. Lee, Columbia University, New York. L (Education): Stuart A. Courtis, Department of Educational Research, Detroit, Mich. M (Agriculture): Henry P. Armsby, State College, Pa. Permanent Secretary-L. O. Howard, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. General Secretary-O. E. Jennings, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Pa. Secretary of the Council-(No election). Secretaries of the Sections-A (Mathematics and Astronomy): Forest R. Moulton, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. B (Physics): George W. Stewart, State University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. C (Chemistry): Arthur A. Blanchard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. D (Engi neering): F. L. Bishop, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa. E (Geology and Geography): Rollin T. Chamberlin, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. F (Zoology): W. C. Allee, Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Ill., in absence of Herbert V. Neal. G (Botany): Mel T. Cook, Agricultural Experiment Station, New Brunswick, N. J. H (Anthropology and Psychology): E. K. Strong, Jr., 1821 Adams Mill Road, Washington, D. C. I (Social and Economic Science): Seymour C. Loomis, 82 Church Street, New Haven, Conn. K (Physiology and Experimental Medicine): A. J. Goldfarb, College of the City of New York, New York, N. Y. L (Education): Bird T. Baldwin, Walter Reed General Hospital, Washington, D. C. M (Agriculture): Edwin W. Allen, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Treasurer R. S. Woodward, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D. C. Assistant Secretary-F. S. Hazard, Office of the A. A. A. S., Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. SCIENTIFIC EVENTS A JOURNEY ROUND THE ARCTIC COAST OF ALASKA A LETTER written by Archdeacon Stuck, at Fort Yukon, Alaska, in June of this year, describing a journey made by him last winter round the whole Arctic coast of Alaska, is abstracted in the British Geographical Journal. The journey, which naturally involved no small amount of hardship, afforded an unrivalled opportunity for gaining acquaintance with the Eskimo throughout the great stretch of country traversed, as well as for a comparative study of the work carried on among them by the various Christian organizations busy in that remote region. These Eskimo, the writer says, are "surely of all primitive peoples the one that has the greatest claim to the generous consideration of civilized mankind. Where else shall a people be found so brave, so hardy, so industrious, so kindly, and withal so cheerful and content, inhabiting such utterly naked country lashed by such constant ferocity of weather?" Everywhere he received from them the greatest possible help and kindness, and brought away the warmest feeling of admiration and friendship. The start was made on the west coast first made known to the world by Cook and Kotzebue, Beechey, Collinson and Bedford Pim, and here it was possible to find some habitation, usually an underground igloo, on every night but one of the journey. Storms were encountered, but there were commonly fair winds and there were no special hardships, traveling being far more rapid than is usual in the interior. At Point Barrow a halt of two weeks gave opportunity for the study of the largest Eskimo village in Alaska. In spite of the advancing season the difficulties increased with the resumption of travel, March being the month in which the severest weather is to be expected here. Throughout the 250 miles to Flaxman Island the party saw only one human being and were housed only twice. "It is," says the writer, "the barrenest, most desolate, most forsaken coast I have ever seen in my life: flat as this paper on which I write, the frozen land merging indistinguishably into the frozen sea; nothing but a stick of driftwood here and there, half buried in the indented snow, gives evidence of the shore.” The fortnight's travel along this stretch was a constant struggle against a bitter northeast wind with the thermometer 20° to 30° below zero Fahrenheit, and at night, warmed only by the "primus" oil cooking stove, the air within their little snow house was as low as from 48° to 51° below zero. The almost ceaseless wind was a torment, and the faces of all were continually frozen, There are Eskimo on the rivers away from the coast, but it was impossible to visit them. East of Point Barrow all the dog-feed had to be hauled on the sledge, and-for the first time since the archdeacon had driven dogs-they occasionally hungry when there was no driftwood to cook with. The heaviest task however came on the journey inland to Fort Yukon. Beyond the mountains the winter's snow lay unbroken, and for eight days a trail down the Collen River had to be beaten ahead of the dogs. At the confluence of the Collen with the Porcupine Stefánsson and his party were met with, es corted on the way to Fort Yukon by Dr. Burke, of the hospital there. Stefánsson had lain ill all the winter at Herschel Island, and would never have recovered had he not finally resolved to be hauled 400 miles to the nearest doctor. A PROPOSED BRITISH INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL ART WE learn from the London Times that the British Board of Trade in conjunction with the Board of Education and with the advice of representative members of the Royal Society of Arts, the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, the Art Workers' Guild, the Design and Industries Association, and various persons and organizations connected with manufacture and commerce, have framed a scheme for the establishment of a British Institute of Industrial Art, with the object of raising and maintaining the standard of design and workmanship of works and industrial art produced by British designers, craftsmen and manufacturers, and of stimulating the demand for such works as reach a high standard of excellence. The institute will be incorporated under the joint auspices of the Board of Trade as the department dealing with industry and the Board of Education as the authority controlling the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the methods by which it is proposed to achieve its objects include: (a) A permanent exhibition in London of modern British works selected as reaching a high standard of artistic craftsmanship and manufacture. (b) A selling agency attached to this exhibition. (c) A purchase fund for securing for the state selected works of outstanding merit exhibited at the institute. (d) The establishment of machinery for bringing designers and art workers into closer touch with manufacturers, distributors and others. (e) The organization of provincial and traveling exhibition of a similar character, either directly or in cooperation with other organizations. It is not at present intended that the exhibition of the institute shall be actually opened until after the war, but all preparatory steps are being taken so as to avoid delay when peace has been restored. There is reason to hope that within a short period of years the institute may become self-supporting (except, of course, as regards the cost of purchasing for the nation selected works of outstanding merit). But it is necessary to provide for an adequate guarantee fund to ensure the stability of the scheme, at least during its initial stages, and thus to enable a high standard to be rigorously maintained without regard to immediate financial necessities. The Board of Trade confidently hope that such a guarantee fund will be forthcoming. AGRICULTURE AND THE GOVERNMENT1 In the field of agriculture we have agencies and instrumentalities, fortunately, such as no other government in the world can show. The Department of Agriculture is undoubtedly the greatest practical and scientific agricultural organization in the world. Its total annual budget of $46,000,000 has been increased during the last four years more than 72 per cent. It has a staff of 18,000, including a large number of highly trained experts, and alongside of it stand the unique land grant colleges, which are without example elsewhere, and the 69 state and federal experiment stations. These colleges and experiment stations. have a total endowment of plant and equipment of $172,000,000 and an income of more than $35,000,000 with 10,271 teachers, a resident student body of 125,000, and a vast additional number receiving instructions at their homes. Country agents, joint officers of the Department of Agriculture and of the college, are everywhere cooperating with the farmers and assisting them. The number of extension workers under the Smith-Lever Act under the recent emergency legislation has grown to 5,500 men and women working regularly in the various communities and taking to the farmer the latest scientific and practical information. Alongside these great public agencies stand the very effective voluntary organizations among the farmers themselves which are more 1 From President Wilson's Message to Farmers' Conference at Urbana, Ill., January 31,1918. and more learning the best methods of cooperation and the best methods of putting to practical use the assistance derived from governmental sources. The banking legislation of the last two or three years has given the farmers access to the great lendable capital of the country, and it has become the duty of both of the men in charge of the Federal Reserve Banking System and of the Farm Loan Banking System to see to it that the farmers obtain the credit, both short term and long term, to which they are entitled not only, but which it is imperatively necessary should be extended to them if the present tasks of the country are to be adequately performed. Both by direct purchase of nitrates and by the establishment of plants to produce nitrates, the government is doing its utmost to assist in the problem of fertilization. The Department of Agriculture and other agencies are actively assisting the farmers to locate, safeguard and secure at cost an adequate supply of sound seed. The Department has $2,500,000 available for this purpose now and has asked the Congress for $6,000,000 more. USE OF THE METRIC SYSTEM IN THE MORE extensive use of the metric system in the trade and commerce of the United States is recommended in a resolution adopted by the United States section of the International High Commission, of which Secretary McAdoo is chairman. The commission has regarded this subject as of particular importance in the United States. It is, of course, unnecessary for the United States section to recommend to the Latin-American sections of the commission anything in connection with the metric system, which is exclusively in use throughout Latin America. One of the main obstacles to documentary uniformity as between the United States and Latin America is to be found in the fact that the United States does not make the use of the metric system obligatory, and consequently its consular documents have to 1 Publication authorized by the Treasury Department. |
