the author, Washington, D. C., 1912). If it intellect, the letters probably do not add much should seem impracticable to name all colors, to what the shrewd reader would infer from a numerical system could be devised. The the“ Principles of Psychology," the “Varieties writer has felt the need of some such set of of Religious Experience," "Pragmatism” and color standards in the Soil Survey work in other writings. The letters show brilliantly South Dakota. Perhaps others may have felt the extreme fertility of mind, the receptivity the same need. to facts, theories and viewpoints of all sorts, J. G. HUTTON the impulsive reaction to approve and make the best out of every man's offering, the S. D. EXPERIMENT STATION intuitive sense of causes and consequences, and the perfect candor and directness. They SCIENTIFIC BOOKS do not show so well the sheer mastery in obThe Letters of William James. Edited by his serving and organizing the facts of human son, HENRY JAMES. Two volumes, xx + 348 nature and behavior, the final recognitions of truth and value, and the persistent refusal to and xiii +382, The Atlantic Monthly Press, tolerate inadequacies or imperfections by Boston, 1920. $10.00. which James worked his way to them. William James was one of the half dozen As literature the letters have the verve, the greatest Americans of his generation; he was magic gift of epithet and the utter sincerity also a past master of writing. Every one which, writing or speaking, James never with intellectual interests will wish to read lacked. His caricature, or possibly characterhis letters. They will be well rewarded, ization, of the university professor will be whether they seek better acquaintance with a often quoted: great man, or literature itself, or stimuli to reflections upon the conditions of scholarly -a being whose duty is to know everything, and and scientific work in America. have his own opinion about everything, connected with his Fach. . . . has the most prodigious facThe most notable fact about James himself ulty of appropriating and preserving knowledge, which the letters reveal and emphasize is that and as for opinions, he takes au grand sérieux his he was from youth a philosopher and moralist, duties there. He says of each possible subject, tremendously interested in the world as a “Here I must have an opinion. Let's see! whole and in its deeper meanings. Painting, What shall it be? How many possible opinions natural history and medicine, each for a brief are there? three? four! Yes! just four! Shall I time, and psychology for almost a score of take one of these? It will seem more original to years, restrained him from the study of fun- take a higher position, a sort of Vermittelungsdamental questions and sweeping statements ansicht between them all. That I will do, etc., which really had his life-long allegiance. At So he acquires a complete assortment of opinions of his own; and, as his memory is so the age of twenty-six, while studying medicine good, he seldom forgets which they are! But this and expecting to earn his living by practising is not reprehensible; it is admirable-from the it, and while gaining considerable acquaint professorial point of view. ance with the best work of the time in physiology and psychology, he was reading Hegel He tells his little daughter of a big mastiff: and writing that Kant's “ Kritik” “strikes me The ears and face are black, his eyes are yellow, so far as almost the sturdiest and honestest his paws are magnificent, his tail keeps wagging piece of work I ever saw.” In the partial list all the time, and he makes on me the impression of an angel hid in a cloud. He longs to do good. of his readings during the half year after he took his M.D. philosophy and religion out Of the subtleties in the theme and treatweighed science and medicine nearly ten to ment of his brother's latest novels he writes : You know how opposed your whole “third manIn respect to the actual working of James's ner" of execution is to the literary ideals which etc.", one. animate my crude and Orson-like breast, mine being to say a thing in one sentence as straight and explicit as it can be made, and then to drop it forever; yours being to avoid naming it straight, but by dint of breathing and sighing all round and round it, to arouse in the reader who may have had a similar perception already (Heaven help him if he hasn't!) the illusion of a solid object, made (like the “ghost” at the Polytechnic) wholly out of impalpable materials, air, and the prismatic interferences of light, ingeniously focused by mirrors upon empty space. But you do it, that's the queerness! And the complication of innuendo and associative reference on the enor. mous scale to which you give way to it does so build out the matter for the reader that the result is to solidify, by the mere bulk of the process, the like perception from which he has to start. As air, by dint of its volume, will weigh like a corporeal body; so his own poor little initial perception, swathed in this gigantic envelopment of sug. gestive atmosphere, grows like a germ into something vastly bigger and more substantial. To this Henry James replied with unparalleled conciseness, You shall have, after a little more patience, a reply to your so rich and luminous reflections on my book—a reply almost as interesting as, and far more illuminating than, your letter itself. Of a night in the Adirondacks he writes : magical checkered play, and it seemed as if the Gods of all the nature-mythologies were holding an indescribable meeting in my breast with the moral Gods of the inner life. The intense significance of some sort, of the whole scene, if one could only tell the significance; the intense inhuman remoteness of its inner life, and yet the intense appeal of it; its everlasting freshness and its immemorial antiquity and decay; its utter Americanism, and every sort of patriotic suggestiveness, and you, and my relation to you part and parcel of it all, and beaten up with it, so that memory and sensation all whirled inexplicably together; it was indeed worth coming for, and worth repeating year by year, if repetition could only procure what in its nature I suppose must be all unplanned for and unexpected. It was one of the happiest lonesome nights of my existence, and I understand now what a poet is. It would be unwise, within the limits of this review, to discuss the “ Letters” as evidence concerning the forces which determine intellectual production and moral zeal in men of science. The readers of this journal will also prefer to draw their own conclusions. I note only a few matters which might not attract attention. James writes apologetically of having the sole copy of the “Principles" insured for $1,000 in transit! In 1896, being then fiftyfour, under the spell of Chicago, I tried a stenographer and typewriter with an alleviation that seemed almost miraculous. I think I shall have to go in for one some hours a week at Cambridge. It just goes “whiff” and six or eight long letters are done. Apparently he had spent seven years in Europe before ever going west of the Adirondacks; and seems not to have visited Yale or Princeton or Johns Hopkins or Columbia until he was fifty. James's output seems to have been influenced greatly by outside pressure. Except for the enterprise of a publisher and the existence of the lecture foundations of Gifford, Lowell and the Columbia Department of Psychology, we might well have gone without the “Principles," "Varieties," “ and “Pragmatism," though we might, of course, have had something better. In the I was in a wakeful mood before starting, having been awake since three, and I may have slept a little during this night; but I was not aware of sleeping at all. My companions, except Waldo Adler, were all motionless. The guide had got a magnificent provision of firewood, the sky swept itself clear of every trace of cloud or vapor, the wind entirely ceased, so that the fire-smoke rose straight up to heaven. The temperature was perfect either inside or outside the cabin, the moon rose and hung above the scene before midnight, leaving only a few of the larger stars visible, and I got into a state of spiritual alertness of the most vital description. The influences of Nature, the wholesomeness of the people round me, especially the good Pauline, the thought of you and the children, dear Harry on the wave, the problem of the Edinburgh lectures, all fermented within me till it became a regular Walpurgis Nacht. I spent a good deal of it in the woods, where the streaming moonlight lit up things in a prime of his life, when his ability was entirely obvious, James taught logic to beginners, extra courses in Radcliffe, and courses in summer schools! EDWARD L. THORNDIKE is in the vast majority of cases, if not always, Ee and e; while similarly that of the EEe flies is Ee and E. The variation in somatic appearance of the Eee form and the selective type of mitosis, referred to above, make it difficult to demonstrate genetically the presence of EeEe individuals. If flies of this type have occurred their mitosis is commonly Ee and Ee. One mating only indicates a possible exception to this type of mitosis. This mating shows a peculiar ratio possibly due to the presence of eee eyeless forms. A further detailed report of the work will shortly be published. I am greatly indebted to Dr. E. G. Anderson for helpful suggestions and discussion and to the Misses E. E. Jones and D. M. Newman for assistance in the laboratory. C. C. LITTLE COLD SPRING HARBOR, N. Y., January 6, 1921 If an SPECIAL ARTICLES CHROMOSOME OF DROSOPHILA IN Drosophila melanogaster the gene for “eyeless” (e) and its normal allelomorph (E) are situated in the small fourth chromosome. Normal eye is dominant When heterozygous Ee normal flies are crossed with eyeless ee, a ratio of 1:1 is expected. Actually this ratio is approached, although the greater viability of the normal type modifies the ratio to approximately 1.3:1. In a single mating of this sort a count of 171 normal to 206 eyeless was obtained. Breeding tests of the descendants of this mating indicate that in all probability nondisjunction of the fourth chromosome has taken place. Ee fly formed non-disjunctional gametes Ee and—, the cross with an ee individual would give rise to Eee flies. Here two doses of “eyeless” meet one of normal” eye. The opportunity is given for an upset in the balance of dominance between E and e. The excess of eyeless flies, mentioned above, suggests that such an upset has taken place. Further matings make it appear that the Eee form may be either normal or eyeless in appearance, certain individuals being extremely difficult to classify. In the course of the breeding work several interesting results were obtained. Among these was the isolation of eyeless flies, theoretically of the formula Eee, which when crossed inter se or with other eyeless ee, gave normal eyed progeny in considerable numbers. Ratios of 8, 9, 10 or even 12 normals to 1 eyeless were also produced from matings presumably EE X Ee. Both these conditions were expected on the hypothesis of non-disjunction. Using the appearance of eyeless flies as a test, it seems that the mitosis of the Eee flies THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE REPORT OF THE TREASURER FOR 1920 In conformity with Article 2, Section 6, of the By-Laws and by direction of the Council, the Treasurer has the honor to submit the following report for the period December 20, 1919, to December 23, 1920. The total cash receipts during the period in question is $13,096.05. These include $4,381.21 from the W. Hudson Stephens estate; $1,850 from 32 Life Membership commutations, and $5,707.75 from interest on securities of the association. The total disbursements made during the period in question amount to $10,272.56. These include an aggregate of $4,500 for 19 grants authorized by the council, and $4,431.31 paid for $4,500 face value Victory Loan 4% bonds. The total amount of funds of the association consisting of cost value of securities purchased, appraised value of securities received from the Colburn Estate, and cash in banks, is $125,723.59. A balance sheet, showing assets and liabilities, and tables showing details of receipts and dis. bursements, are appended hereto. (Signed) ROBERT S. WOODWARD, Treasurer Dated December 23, 1920 Dec. 23, BALANCE SHEET—DECEMBER 23, 1920 S. I. Kornhauser 250.00 Assets P. W. Whiting 200.00 Investments : Donald Reddick, Chr..... 500.00 Securities (Exhibit “A”) $119,242.41 Irving W. Bailey 500.00 Cash in Banks 6,481.18 Daniel W. La Rue 200.00 $125,723.59 Margaret F. Washburn 200.00 Liabilities Jos. Peterson 200.00 . Funds: Asa A. Schaeffer 200.00 Life Memberships: Theo Hough 100.00 345 at $50 $17,250 Carl J. Wiggers 150.00 500 $ 17,750.00 250.00 4,500.00 Jane M. Smith Fund 5,000.00 Interest on Life Membership W. Hudson Stephens Fund 4,381.21 350 members at $3 ...... 1,050.00 Colburn Fund 77,755.74 2 members (Jane M. Accumulated Investments 14,355.46 Smith Fund)...... 200.00 1,250.00 Unappropriated Interest 6,481.18 Cash in Banks $125,723.59 Fifth Avenue Bank..... 5,271.26 U. S. Trust Company... 1,209.92 6,481.18 $16,753.74 1920. Balance from last report $3,657.69 I certify that I have audited the accounts of the Treasurer of the American Association for the Interest from securities...$5,707.75 Interest from bank balance. 51.72 Advancement of Science for the period December Interest from R. M. Yerkes. 5.37 20, 1919, to December 23, 1920; that the securiRevertment of grant made ties representing the investments of the association R. M. Yerkes..... 100.00 have been exhibited and verified; and that the in10 Life Commutations, 1919 500.00 come therefrom has been duly accounted for. 22 Life Commutations, 1920: The financial statements accompanying the Treas17 at $50 .......$850 urer's report are in accord with the books of the 5 at $100 500 association and correctly summarize the accounts thereof Sustaining member ....... 1,000.00 (Signed) HERBERT A. GILL, Estate of W. H. Stephens. 4,381.21 13,096.05 Auditor $16,753.74 Dated December 23, 1920 At the autumn meeting of the executive com$ 100 U. S. First Liberty mittee of the council, held in New York on OcLoan 4% $91.25 tober 17, 1920, the following report was received $4,500 U. S. Victory Loan and ordered to be printed in SCIENCE. It covers Bonds 4*$: only a portion of the fiscal year on account of the Purchase price. $4,381.60 fact that the records of the Permanent Secretary's Interest pur office were turned over to the new Permanent Secchased 46.90 retai on April 1, 1920. The former Permanent Commission 2.81 4,431.31 $ 4,522.56 Secretary, Dr. L. 0. Howard, presented his resig. Grants: nation at the St. Louis meeting, at which he was Samuel D. Robins 100.00 elected president for 1920 and 1921, but the new S. Lefschetz 300.00 Permanent Secretary, Dr. Burton E. Livingston, Olive C. Hazlett 100.00 did not assume his duties until February 1, 1920, A. A. Knowlton 200.00 and did not actually take charge of the accounts John C. Shedd 100.00 until April 1, 1920. During the interim Dr. HowPhilip Fox . 600.00 ard continued to care for the affairs of the assoAnne S. Young ciation, and he has given much valuable advice and Frank B. Taylor 100.00 250.00 assistance to the new Permanent Secretary. Dr. SCHEDULE OF SECURITIES Securities Purchased Par Value Purchase Value $9,425.00 9,287.50 10,050.00 10,487.50 9,350.00 $10,000 Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co. general mortgage 4 per cent. bonds, due 1987 10,000 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. general mortgage 4 per cent. bonds, due 1995 10,000 Great Northern Railway Co. first and refunding mortgage 4.25 per cent. bonds, due 1961 10,000 Pennsylvania Railroad Co. consolidated mortgage 4.5 per cent. bonds, due 1960 10,000 Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. general mortgage 4 per cent. bonds, due 1958 10,000 Union Pacific Railroad Co. first lien and refunding mortgage 4 per cent. bonds, due 2008 10,000 Northern Pacific Railway Co. prior lien railway and land grant 4 per cent. bonds, due 1997 10,000 New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Co. 3.5 per cent. bonds, due 1997 100 U. 8. First Liberty Loan Bonds 8,000 U. S. Second Liberty Loan Bonds 2,000 U. S. Third Liberty Loan Bonds 2,000 U. S. Fourth Liberty Loan Bonds 6,500 U. S. Victory Liberty Loan Bonds Bonds from Colburn Estate 20,000 Acker, Merrall and Condit Co. debenture 6 per cent. bonds 7,000 Buffalo City Gas Co. First mortgage 5 per cent. bonds bonds, due February 1, 1952 $171,000 |