136
YATLH ° ALUMnNs. Weta Le
At Prof. Atwater’s invitation, forty
members made the trip to Middletown
to inspect his calorimeter.
Another theme of interest was the
- new anzesthetic, chloretone, described by
Prof T. B. Aldrich of the University
of Michigan. It is a solid and taken
internally. Its properties and the best
method of administering it are not yet
known. :
Most of the papers were quite techni-
cal, such as “On the phenylcarbamic
esters of epinephrin. -Those who _pre-
sented papers were: Prof. L. B. Men-
del, ’91, of Yale, and H. C. Jackson,
Yale 96 S.; Prof. W. J. Gies, Yale ‘94,
the College of Physicians and Surgeons,
New York, and A. N. Richards, Yale
’97; Prof. Gies and W. D. Cutler, Yale
’°99; Prof. T. Hough, Massachusetts In-
stitute of Technology, Boston; Prof. J.
Loeb, Chicago University; Prof. S. J.
Meltzer, the College of the City of New
York; Prof. W. T. Porter, Harvard
Medical School; Prof. E. T. Reichert,
the University of Pennsylvania; Prof.
B. Moore, Yale Medical School; Prof.
R. Hunt, Johns Hopkins; Prof. J. J.
Abel, Johns Hopkins; Prof. C. S. Minot,
Harvard Medical School; Prof W. H.
Howell, Johns Hopkins; Prof. R. H.
Chittenden, Director of the Sheffield
Scientific School, and Yandel Hender-
son, Yale ’95, and Prof. Chittenden and
A. C. Eustis, Yale ’99 S.
THE PSYCHOLOGISTS——A PRODIGY.
The most interesting feature of the
meetings of the American Psychological
Association, which met in the Psychologi-
cal Laboratory and Osborn Hall, was the
exhibition, by Profs. Lindley and Bryan
of Indiana University, of a new arithmet-
ical prodigy, William Griffith, a young
man, 19 years old. He was heard of
recently by these professors in a small
Indiana town, and, though having had
only a common school education, is
found to be the most rapid arithmetical
calculator living. In fact he is one of
the most wonderful persons of his kind,
because, unlike others, he-is able to de-
scribe the processes through which his
mind acts. He has carried further for
himself the same development which
arithmetical science has passed through
in its history, viz., an abridgement of
operations. For instance, the multipli-
cation of a number of three figures by
another similar number required over
300 operations in the system of Roman
numerals. It requires about 25 distinct
operations in the system of Arabic
numerals. Griffith does it in 2 or 3
operations. Some of his methods are
well known in algebra, but he never
studied that subject. Some of them are
improvements of the methods described
in books on “Lighting Calculation.”
Many of them are unique. His enor-
mous memory helps him greatly. He
knows the multiplication table up to 130,
and the powers and roots of many num-
- bers. All these facts were the more
readily believed when the young man
was presented in person and questioned
by the audience, including two profes-
sors of mathematics, who were greatly
delighted. Except for one or two failures,
due doubtless to his effort to be rapid,
which were corrected directly, all his re-
sults were correct, whether they involved
quintillions and sextillions, or the days
of the week in the early part of the
century, all of which seemed easier to
him than the multiplication table does
to some people.
Prof. Scripture of Yale, in his paper
on “Some New Apparatus Used at
Yale,” described one which induces
anesthesia by electricity. It has not
been sufficiently perfected yet to render
teeth-extraction painless, but it can
render any portion of the skin numb for
a time. Afterwards Prof. Scripture
showed many of the members of the
Association through the Psychological
~ Laboratory.
In the set papers in this section psy-
chology as a science of mental life,
rather than as an abstract science, the
‘teaching of psychology and the physical
basis of mental activity, to be understood
_by physiological and experimental psy-
chology, were emphasized.
PROFESSORS LADD AND JAMES CHOSEN.
The American Psychological Associa-
tion elected Professors G. T. Ladd of
Yale and William James of Harvard to
be its representatives at the meeting of
the International Psychological Associa-
tion to be held at Paris during the Ex-
position next Summer.
Among the speakers were the follow-
ing professors: E. F. Buchner, Yale
’93, School of Pedagogy, New York Uni-
versity; G. S. Fullerton, University of
Pennsylvania; John Dewey, Chicago
University; Max Meyer, Clark Univer-
sity; A. H. Pierce, Amherst; E. ;
Griffin, Johns Hopkins; J. H. Hyslop,
Columbia; William Caldwell, Chicago;
J. A. Leighton, Hobart College; Alexan-
der Meiklejohn, Brown; Albert Schinz,
the University of Wisconsin; J. E.
Creighton, Cornell; E. B. McGivalry,
Cornell; J. G. Hibben, Princeton; Miss
Mary Calkins, Wellesley; Miss -Ellen.
Talbot, Chicago; Joseph Jastrow, Wis-
consin; W. G. Everett, Harvard, and
E. H. Sneath, Yale.
THE ANATOMISTS.
At the Association of American Anato-
mists, which assembled in the Medical
School, nothing especially new was an-
nounced other than “A Hitherto Un-
recognized Form of Vertebrate Blood
Circulation in Organs Without Capil-
laries,’ by Prof. Minot of the Harvard
Medical School. A knowledge of human
anatomy seems fairly well on towards
completion. Investigations on the
anatomy of the brain were the import-
ant ones reported. The nomenclature
of the nervous system is. being revised,
on the basis of the nomenclature adopted
by the German Anatomical Society in
1895. A committee on this subject, in-
cluding Prof. Ferris of the Yale Medical
School, was appointed.
A paper on the fatigue caused by ath-
letic contests was illustrated by numer-
ous instantaneous photographs taken of
men in various stages of the mile run.
The facial expressions and general pose
of the body gave good indications of the
degree of exhaustion in the runner.
The newly-elected President of the
Association, Prof. Burt G. Wilder of
Cornell, read a paper on “If an Isthmus
Rhombencephali, why not an Isthmus
Prosencephali?” Other papers were by
Dt DD: -S. ‘Lamp, Washitieton, 3. 2c:
Prof. E. W. Holmes, University of
Pennsylvania ;
Hopkins; Prof G. C. Huber, Michigan
University; ,Dr. J. P. Foster, Lecturer
on Anatomy at Yale; Prof G. S. Hunt-
ington, Columbia; Prof. Gerrish, Bow-
doin Medical School; Dr. William Keil-
ler, Galveston, Texas; Prof. J. F. Shep-
herd, McGill University, Montreal;
Prof. Thomas Dwight, Harvard Medi-
cal School; Prof. J. A. Blake, Columbia
Medical School; Dr. D. S. Lamb, Pathol-
ogist in the Army Medical Museum,
Washington, and Professor in Howard
University, and Prof. G. A. Piersol, Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania.
The Association has 150 members,
several new ones being elected at this
session.
THE MORPHOLOGISTS—PARTHENOGENESIS.
The American Morphological Society
‘met in the Peabody Museum. Practi-
cally all the facts presented here were
new, but generally meaningful only for
the student of Zodlogy or Natural
History. Reports were made on the in-
vestigations which have seemed to show
that in certain forms of animal life the
union of the male and female cells is
not necessary for the production of life.
It was shown that it is only a very little
way that unfertilized ova will develop
under the influence of strychnine and of
certain compounds of magnesium. The
female cells may be made to segment,
but they will not form an embryo.
An interesting case of regeneration of
the end of a human finger was described.
Papers were read among others by J.
S. Kingsbury, Cornell; C. S. Minot,
Harvard, who received an honorary de-
gree from Yale last June; Maynard
Metcalf, Woman’s College, Baltimore;
Prof F. P. Mall, Johns
G. H. Parker and C. Bullard, Harvard:
Bashford Dean, Columbia; C. L. Bristol
and F. W. Carpenter, New York Uni-
versity; Miss Wilcox, Wellesley; John
H. Gerould, Dartmouth; Charles B. Wil-
son of the Normal High School, West-
field, Mass.; William L. Tower o
Brown; G. C. Scott, Princeton: Thomas
H. Montgomery, the University of Penn-
sylvania; William E. Ritter, University
of California; Charles L. Edwards, Cin-
cinnati; Frank R. Lillie, Vassar: T. H.
Morgan, Bryn Mawr, and Prof. R. H.
joes Yale, and Robert W. Hall, Yale
95 8.
PLANT MORPHOLOGY.
TheSociety for Plant Morphology and
Physiology met in the Sheffield Botani-
cal Laboratory. Mr. H. J. Webber of
the U. S. Department of Agriculture
advanced a new theory explaining why
the crossing of two different species of
orange trees does not produce a hybrid.
It is because more than one embryo is
formed from the pistils, the one which
produces the non-hybrid being developed
vegetatively, not fertilized sexually.
All the papers were extremely techni-
cal. They were by Dr. G. E. Stone,
Massachusetts Agricultural College;
Prof. J. M. Coulter, University of
Chicago; Prof. W. G. Farlow, Harvard;
Mr. R. E. Smith, Massachusetts Agri-
cultural College; Mr. Henry S. Conard,
University of Pennsylvania; Mr. F. C.
Stewart, New York Experiment Sta-
tion; Mr. G. T. Moore, Dartmouth;
Prof. D. T. MacDougal, New York
Botanical- Garden; Prof. fF. i. Lleyd,
New York Teachers’ College; Dr. Ro-
land Thaxter, Shaw School of Botany;
Mr. Frederick H. Blodgett, New York
Experiment Station; Prof. L. M. Under-
wood, Columbia; Dr. Henry Kraemer,
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy; Dr.
Henry H. True; Cambridge, Mass. ; Dr.
J. B. Pollock, University of Michigan;
Mr. W. C. Coker, Johns Hopkins; Dr.
A. W. Evans, Yale: Dr. CoO. Town-
send, Maryland Agricultural College;
Dr. E. B. Copeland, University of West
Virginia; Miss Harriet B. Winsor,
Springfield, Mass.; Dr. W. F. Ganong,
Smith College; Dr. J. M. Macfarlane,
University of Pennslyvania; Dr. Erwin
F. Smith, United States Department of
Agriculture. Abstracts of the proceed-
ings will be published in the Botanical
Gazette.
FOLK-LORE STUDIES.
The American Folk-Lore Society met
in Osborn Hall. The Society is some-
what recent. Its object is to collect
the myths, legends, superstitions, art,
history, language, music and other inter-
esting lore of various peoples, especially
primitive ones. The North American In-
dians have been the special object of
their study. Their myths have been
found to contain some close parallels to
the Biblical stories of creation, the de-
luge, Jonah, and other early Hebrew
legends.
The Council of the Society urged that
energetic steps be taken to collect data
concerning the earliest inhabitants of
this country and that for this purpose
the legislatures of the several western
states, in which archeological remains
and remnants of the aboriginal popula-
tion still exist, be requested to appro-
priate funds for the desired investiga-
tions.
A collection and scientific study of
the music of the southern negroes is be-
ing made. Miss Alice M. Brown, of
Hampton Institute, illustrated her paper
on this subject by phonographic repro-
ductions of several “conn songs.”
Mrs. Isabel C. Chamberlain, of Wor-
cester, narrated the Indian legend of
$’The Devil’s Grandmother’ and Mr.
Stewart Culin, of Philadelphia, described
“American Indian Evening Games.”
Other papers and speakers were: “Amer-
ican Sun Myths,” Mr. Frank Boas, New
York; “The Countingout Rhymes of
Children,” Mr. William S. Monroe;
“Star-Lore of the Mimacs,” Mr. Stans-
bury Hagar, Brooklyn; “Taboos of Tale-
Telling,’ Mr. Alexander F. Chamber-
lain, Worcester.
Not: AT THE
Eleventh Hour,
But with plenty of time, prepare
for the social engagements of
January and February. You
may be coming to the Prom.
It is really quite time to get
ready. We can equip you,
wherever you are.
CHASE & CO..,
New Haven House Block.
ENRY
HEATH Harts.
THE BACTERIOLOGISTS. ~
The Society of American Bacteriolo-
gists was assembled in the Medical School
for its first annual meeting. The Society
was organized only this year by Prof.
H. W. Conn of Wesleyan University,
and Prof. A. C. Abbott of the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania.
No new theories were advanced, but
several hypotheses concerning the pro-
pagation and destruction of bacilli were
confirmed. All the papers were of a
highly technical character, giving the
results of original research, by Edwin F.
Smith, United States Department of
Agriculture; Prof. H. W. Conn, Wes-
leyan University; F. D. Chester, Dela-
ware College Agricultural Experiment
station; Prof. H: @) #2nst, Harvard ;
H. A. Harding, New York Agricultural
Experiment Station; Professors W. T.
Sedgewick and C. E. A. Winslow,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology ;
M. O. Leighton, Board of Health, Mont-
clair, N.-J.;°S2 (> Mem, Jr. Boston;
Archibald K. Ward, Cornell Agricultural
Experiment Station; H. W. Clark and
Ss. D. Gage, Lawrence Experiment Sta-
tion of Harvar; Prof. E. O. Jordan, Uni-
versity of Chicago; Professors V. A.
Moore and Floyd R. Wright, Cornell :
H. W. Clark, Massachusetts State Board
of Health; Pron: Ls 2. Kinnicut,.Wor-
cester Polytechnic Institute; Adolf
Gehrman, Chicago; Oscar Loew, United
States Department of Agriculture; Lud-
wig Hektaen, Rush Medical College,
Chicago; William H. Park, Laboratory
of the New York Board of Health.
THE CHEMISTS.
The American Chemical Society held
its twentieth general meeting in the
Kent Chemical Laboratory and the
Shefheld Chemical Laboratory.
The papers ‘in this department also
were of a strictly technical character.
The retiring President, Prof. Edward
W. Morley, of Adelbert College, dis-
cussed whether new processes are needed
for the determination of the atomic
weight of oxygen. Mr. Morley is the
chemist who has made the most ex-
haustive investigations on the atomic
weights of oxygen and hydrogen, so that
the possibility of error in the case of
hydrogen is now reduced to one five-
thousandth part. He is the most
famous chemist of the world in his line,
Physical Chemistry. }
The new President is Mr. William
McMurtrie, of New York City. He is
the head chemist of the Royal Baking
Powder Co.
Prof. James Locke, of Yale, an-
nounced his recent discovery of the
[Continued on r4oth page.]
For 1900 and all years-the KNOX.
