to appoint an official committee to advise the secretary of agriculture in regard to the chief of the Weather Bureau. This was done and the secretary! of agriculture appointed Dr. Marvin, one of the three men endorsed by the committee of the academy. The secretary of agriculture would probably have made the same appointment without official scientific advice, though it is evident that this is a valuable safeguard.
Another instance of the usefulness of the council of the association is the committee on expert testimony appointed last year which made a preliminary report at Atlanta through Dr. E. C. Pickering and Dr. W. H. Holmes. The committee includes members of the association so eminent in their subjects as Dr. W. H. Welch in medicine, and Senator Elihu Root in law. It is a matter of public notoriety that the present methods of expert testimony in courts often defeat the ends of justice and bring science into disrepute. It is fortunate that we have a body so well fitted to attempt the reform of this procedure as the American Association.
The third action of the council which may be noted is the appointment of a committee of one hundred in research. Two sub-committees have already been organized, one to report on the existing research funds of the country and possible means of cooperation to increase their usefulness, the other on research in educational institutions which will make inquiries as to the extent to which research work by professors and instructors is encouraged in colleges and universities.
At Atlanta there were also adopted several plans looking to the increased
Dr. Theodore Hough,
Vice-president for physiology, professor of physiology, University of Virginia.
