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At the afternoon session on Friday, Prof. J. McK. Cattell, of Columbia, read his President's Address. It was, on the whole, a defense of that experimental method of which he is the leading representative in this country, and was, therefore, in a way, a reply to the rather unfavorable estimate of the method and its results which had been expressed by Prof. James of Harvard in his President's Address of the preceding year. The burden of Prof. Cattell's argument was found in the statement, that every science is either genetic or quantitative in its method; that those sciences which have been predominently quantitative will undoubtedly, in time, be formulated in genetic terms, that, conversely, into the genetic sciences also, such as biology and psychology, the quantitative method will ultimately be introduced. This is the aim of experimental psychology in the narrower sense. While expressing the strongest conviction of the importance of this experimental method to the science of psychology, Prof. Cattell displayed such moderation in his estimate of the results thus far achieved by it, and such sympathetic insight into the aims and relative values of other methods, that his address was received with the warmest applause by all, and no one could be found to pass a criticism upon it.

Prof. Chas. A. Strong, of the University of Chicago, read a paper on "Consciousness and Time," of which, on account of its exceedingly abstract character, I could not venture to give an analysis from

memory.

The morning of Saturday, December 28th, was occupied by a discussion on "Consciousness and Evolution."

Prof. William James, of Harvard, opened the discussion by outlining the general features of the problem at issue: First, whether consciousness is coextensive with the universe or originated in time; second, whether consciousness is an active force capable of controlling brain movement, or whether it is a mere epiphenomenon, produced by the brain but not capable of affecting the brain; third, whether consciousness has been a factor in the production of adaptation.

Prof. Cope, of the University of Pennsylvania, who had been especially requested to take the leading part in the discussion, attacked the question from the point of view of the paleontologist. He held that natural selection is not sufficient to account for adaptation, that the adaptation of the individual organ is the result of use, and that the effects of use can be inherited. In supporting this position he gave many illustrations, based upon his personal observation. He held further that organic evolution involved combinations and recombinations of matter which not only never could have been produced by the opera

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tion of known physical and chemical forces, but were of a character precisely the opposite of their known effects. To account for this, he thought we must assume in organic matter the existence of an activity distinct from all the other activities of nature. Progressive evolution is the chief outcome of this activity, and therefore he had proposed to term it an anagenetic, or upbuilding activity, as opposed to the katagenetic or destructive activities of physics and chemistry. This anagenetic activity Prof. Cope was inclined to believe due to the presence of sensation, and therefore maintained that consciousness is an active factor in the individual and in evolution.

Prof. Cope was followed by Prof. J. Mark Baldwin, of Princeton, who commented upon several points of Prof. Cope's argument, drawing special attention to the fact that recent investigation into the effect on young children of their surroundings makes it more easy to account for adaptation without reference to inheritance of acquired aptitudes. He also deplored the sharp antithesis between the doctrine of consciousness as a cause and as a epiphenomenon, holding that both views found their reconciliation in monism.

Prof. C. Sedgwick Minot, of Harvard, attacked the neo-Lamarckian doctrine from the neo-Darwinian point of view, supporting his position by evidence drawn from his own work in embryology. He suggested, as a speculation, that consciousness, although not itself a force, might be conceived to possess the property of selecting out of the brain forces that one which it is control conduct.

Prof. G. S. Ladd, of Yale, welcomed Prof. Cope's address as an important contribution from the purely scientific point of view to the support of doctrines held by himself in common with many other metaphysicians, and made a plea for the recognition of the metaphysician on the part of scientists as a coworker in the field of knowledge.

Prof. Fullerton, of the University, called attention to our actual ignorance on all these points, and expressed the opinion that fundamental differences exist which cannot be glossed over by such vague doctrines as that of monism.

Other speakers were: Prof. J. H. Hyslop, of Columbia; Dr. D. S. Miller, of Bryn Mawr, and Dr. Wesley Mills, of McGill University, Montreal.

Prof. Cope then concluded the discussion by adducing a series of arguments in favor of the inheritance of acquired attributes, any one of which, he held, would be sufficient to set the matter at rest.

At the afternoon session, Prof. G. T. W. Patrick, of the University of Iowa, reported an experiment on the effects of loss of sleep. A patient

had been kept awake for 90 consecutive hours, during which time careful experimental tests were made of his physical and mental condition, and the results were reported in detail. Among the more interesting of these results were, continuous increase in weight, relatively slight loss of muscular strength, the production of visual hallucinations, and the sudden disappearance of all symptoms after only 10 hours of sleep-about 25 per cent. of that which had been lost.

Prof. Wesley Mills, of McGill University, Montreal, announced his intention of contributing at the next meeting of the Association further researches on the psychic development of young animals and its physical correlations.

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Prof. Lightner Witmer, of the University of Pennsylvania, read a paper on Variations in the Patellar Reflex as an Aid in Mental Analysis. Dr. Witmer described the apparatus and the method used to determine, 1st, The extent of the normal jerk; 2d, the increment due to the synergic activity of the cortical processes concerned in sensation, thoughts, etc. His results he regarded as tentative only; they appeared, however, to show (1) that sensation or thought processes which did not directly tend to produce movement had little effect upon the knee jerk; (2) that all processes which tended to produce muscular contraction in any part of the body tended to increase the knee jerk ; (3) that this increase was quite as marked in the case of the thought of a movement as in that of the movement itself.

Prof. James H. Hyslop, of Columbia, reported a series of experiments on hallucinations induced by a crystal. He did not attempt to give any explanation of the phenomena, but pointed out that in two cases the phantasms possibly indicated some unknown method of acquiring information.

Prof. W. R. Newbold narrated informally three cases vaguely described as "Dream Reasoning," which had occurred in the experience of two of his colleagues. Dr. W. A. Lamberton, Professor of Greek in the University of Pennsylvania, when a young man, after giving up as insoluble a problem in descriptive geometry upon which he had been working for weeks by the analytical method, awoke one morning several days later to find an hallucinatory figure projected upon a blackboard in his room with all the lines necessary to a geometrical solution of the problem clearly drawn. He has never had any other visual hallucination. Dr. H. V. Hilprecht, Professor of Assyriology in the University of Pennsylvania, some years ago dreamed an interpretation of the name Nebuchadnezzar which has since been universally adopted. At a later period he dreamed that an Assyrian priest

gave him information about some inscribed fragments that had puzzled him which was afterwards confirmed in all points now capable of confirmation. Dr. Newbold offered a psychological explanatiou of these curious cases.

Prof. G. S. Fullerton, of the University of Pennsylvania, was elected President, and Dr. Livingston Farrand, of Columbia, Secretary, for the ensuing year.

Among the members present, besides those already mentioned, were Mr. Henry Rutgers Marshall, of New York; Prof. N. S. Gardiner, of Smith College; Dr. H. C. Warren, of Princeton; Prof. E. S. Sanford, of Clarke University; Prof. E. H. Griffen, of Johns Hopkins; Prof. J. C. Creighton, of Cornell; Prof. James Seth, of Brown, and Dr. Warner Fite, of Williams' College.-W. R. N.

The Cat's Funeral.-Every one has observed instances of affection between those proverbially hostile animals, the dog and the cat, but a case cited by l'Eleveur merits especial attention. A dog and a eat belonging to the same master were the best friends in the world, and spent their time in frolicking together. One day, while playing as usual, the cat died suddenly, falling at the dog's feet. The latter, at first, did not realize what had happened, but continued his play, pulling, pushing and caressing his companion, but with evident astonishment at her inertness. After some time he appeared to understand the situation, and his grief found vent in prolonged howls. Presently he was seized with the idea of burying the cat. He pulled her into the garden, where he soon dug a hole with his paws, and put in it the body of his former companion. He then refilled the hole with dirt, and, stretching himself out on the grave, resumed his mournful howling. The idea of burying the dead cat was extraordinary. Whence came the thought? Could it be imitation, or, which is a better explanation, did the dog have a vague idea of concealing the event which might possibly be imputed to him. But then it would seem unreasonable for him to call attention to the fact, by installing himself on the grave and howling. However, even human criminals are sometimes equally inconsistent. It is difficult to form an exact idea of what gave rise to the dog's conduct in this case. (Revue Scientific Juillet, 1895).-E.

D. C.

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

American Academy of Arts and Sciences.-The 11th of December. The following papers were read: On the temperature of the crust of the earth at great depths. By Messrs. Alexander Agassiz and P. C. F. West. Palestine in the fifteenth century B. C. according to recent discoveries. By Professor Crawford H. Troy.

Boston Society of Natural History.-December 4th.-The following paper was read: Mr. L. S. Griswold, "The San Francisco Mountains and the Grand Canyon."

December 18th.-The following paper was read. Prof. G. Frederick Wright, "The present status of glacial man in America." The subject of Professor Wright's paper was discussed by Prof. F. W. Putman, Prof. H. W. Haynes, and others.

January 1st, 1896.-The following papers were read: Mr. A. W. Grabau, "Lake Bouvé, a glacial lake in the Boston Basin;" Prof. W. O. Crosby, "Glacial lakes in the valleys of the Neponset and Charles Rivers; and the Post-tertiary history of the Nashua Valley.-SAMUEL HENSHAW, Secretary.

January 15th.--The following paper was read: Mr. William Brewster, Notes on the Natural History of Trinidad. Stereopticon views were shown.-SAMUEL HENSHAW, Secretary.

New York Academy of Sciences, Section of Biology.-December 9, 1895.-The following papers were presented: Prof. C. L. Bristol, “The Classification of Nephelis in the United States." The study of abundant material, collected from Maine to South Dakota, has shown that the color characters cannot be depended upon for specific determination. An examination of the metameral relations of this leech indicate that not more than a single species occurs in this country. Prof. F. H. Osborn, "Titanotheres of the American Museum of Natural History." The complete skeleton of Titanotherium robustum is remarkable in possessing but twenty dorso-lumbar vertebræ, a number identical with that typical of the Artiodactyla, but entirely unique among Perissodactyla. It is now appears probable that the development of horns in the Titanotheres became a purely sexual character, and that the genera Titanops, Marsh and Brontops, Marsh, are founded respectively upon male and female individuals of Titanotherium robustum. Dr. J. L. Wortman, "The expedition of 1895 of the Amer

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