THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.
For the first time in many years there has been this summer no meeting of the American Association. It will be remembered that the Association held a winter meeting at Washington during convocation week and adjourned to meet at St. Louis a year later. The lack of a summer meeting is in some ways to be regretted. For the presentation of scientific work by specialists to specialists, the most business-like meetings can be held in the winter; but for social intercourse and especially for the bringing of those not specially engaged in scientific work in contact with men of science, a summer meeting with a certain amount of open-air leisure seems to be desirable. Many of our societies continue to meet in the summer, and it seems that the American Association should provide a center. For example, this year the American Mathematical Society met in Boston, the American Chemical Society in Cleveland, the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education at Niagara Falls, etc. For a general meeting of scientific men, we must, however, turn this summer to the congresses in France, Germany, Great Britain and other foreign countries.
The British Association met at Southport, beginning on September 9, under the presidency of Sir Norman Lockyer, known for his contributions to astronomy and as editor of Nature. In the latter capacity, he has been much interested in the endowment of research work, which he treated in the presidential address from which we quote below. In addition to this address evening lectures were given by Dr. Robert Monroe on man as artist and sportsman in the paleolithic period; by Dr. Arthur Roe on the Old Chalk Sea and some of its teachings, and by Dr. J. S. Flett on the volcanic eruptions in the West Indies. Then there were the usual addresses before the sections—Professor W. Noel Hartley, before the section of chemistry, reviewed the work of spectroscopy of the last twenty-five years and discussed especially its relation to the investigation of the composition of matter and of chemical theory; Professor W. W. Watts, before the section of geology, laid special stress on the value of geology as an educational subject; Professor Sydney J. Hickson, before the section of zoology, reviewed the question of the influence of environment in the production of variation in animals with special reference to the coelenterata; Captain E. W. Creak, before the section of geography, spoke of the connection between geography and terrestrial magnetism, explaining what has latterly been done in the direction of magnetic surveys and what is still needed; the subject of the address of Mr. E. W. Bradbrook before the section of economics was 'Thrift'; Professor J. Symington in addressing the anthropological section discussed the significance of variations in cranial forms with special reference to fossil man; Mr. A. C. Seward, before the section of botany, reviewed the geographical distribution of fossil plants. The programs of the sections contain the usual number of interesting papers. The International Meteorological Committee met at Southport in conjunction with the association;
