tory, the meetings being large and fruitful. Thus the attendance at Boston in 1880 was 997; at Montreal in 1882 it was 937, and at Philadelphia in 1884 it was 1,261. But with the organization and growth of the special societies and journals referred to above, the Association did not maintain its commanding position. The American Society of Naturalists, with a more compact membership, chose midwinter as its time of meeting, and other societies became affiliated with it. The special societies, consisting of groups of experts, appealed to the loyalty of their members more directly than did the larger and more amorphous Association. There was even lack of sympathy between these societies and the Association. The attendance at the meetings became smaller, and the total membership decreased. The more eminent men of science and the younger workers were not regularly in attendance at the meetings and were perhaps not even members of the Association. The programs of the sections became heterogeneous and sometimes did not reach a very high standard. The amateur and picnic elements were rather prominent, while at the same time they were mediocre. Many men of science regarded the Association as a survival that had outlived its usefulness.
But to-day no one acquainted with the most recent work of the Association will deny that it has entered on a new period of its history. This began with a change of attitude toward the special societies, replacing rivalry with cooperation. There was much opposition to the plan of letting the American Chemical Society meet in affiliation with the Association, but when this was accomplished chemistry at once became its strongest section. So it has been in other cases, where special societies have met in affiliation with the Association. At the recent New York meeting there were sixteen such societies including practically all national societies that hold summer meetings. Other improvements in the organization of the Association have been effected. The council has been strengthened and made a truly legislative and executive body. The permanent funds have been increased, and appropriations for research have been granted to committees. Care has been exercised in the election of fellows, and in the admission of titles to the programs. 'Science' is sent free of charge to all members, thus increasing and consolidating interest in the Association and in the advancement of science, giving even those unable to attend the annual meetings an adequate return for membership, and tending to unite all men of science and those interested in science in the Association and in the ends that it represents. The last three meetings, held at Boston, Columbus and New York, were all excellent, representing different types adjusted to the occasion and place. The meeting at Denver this year will be equally typical and equally successful. The membership of the Association is now larger
