of instructive papers and discussions which have filled these busy days. Some idea of them will have been gathered from the reports and the articles by our medical correspondent which we have published. But the general trend and spirit of the proceedings are sufficiently illustrated by the president's opening address. Like Sir Douglas Haig, Sir Clifford Allbutt had no new principles to announce. What he did was to restate with striking force and clearness some old principles, which occasionally appear to sink out of sight, and to show how they irradiate and inform whole masses of new facts. He does not hesitate to speak of the present as "the greatest moment in the history of medicine," or of the revelation to us that medicine has " come to a new birth." But when all is said and done, when all the magnificent examples of discovery and of interrelation have been described and arrayed, the widest and the most fundamental conclusion reached goes back from generation to generation to Coleridge, to Dante, and the schoolmen, to the greatest of the Greek thinkers. Coleridge insisted upon the interrelation of all knowledge, and invented the term "esemplastic" to describe it. "All things," wrote the great Florentine, "have order between them," and he declares that in this order lies the "form" which makes the universe like to God and in which angels see the impress of His power. The thought runs through the Divine Comedy, and guides him through the "gran mar doll' essere," as it does his master, Thomas Aquinas. How does it differ from the doctrine laid down by Sir Clifford Allbutt,. when he tells us that "as the individual is but a link in the chain, so the human chain is a strand in the web of all living things." Our work, he says, must be upon the Aristotelian double track" of the one into the many, and of the many into the one.

The principle is old, but the facts which have to be brought under it are overwhelming in their number and in their novelty. The war has added to them enormously, and has suggested complex systems of interrelation unsuspected before, besides affording incontrovertible proofs of truths seen but dimly

66

until now. It is this seemingly endless progress upon lines known and established which makes medicine so fascinating to the scientific imagination. What can be more wonderful than some of the facts mentioned in this address; what more stimulating than some of the unsolved problems on which it touches? Sir Clifford dwells upon the light which modern physics throws upon medicine. He instances the electric methods of taking quantitative measurements of mechanical pressures in the circulation of the fluids of the body and in the heart, and he comes to the conclusion that apparently all biological reactions are determined by molecular structure. Above physics comes biology, but we can not even guess at the links of the chains where physics recedes and biochemistry takes the lead." Merely to glance at the questions presented to us, he declares, is to discern "how vast is the realm of knowledge yet unconquered-nay, undiscovered." The tiny cell itself is a microcosm full of intense activities, which are beginning to emerge into the light through the labors of the mathematical physicist, of the spectroscopist, of the radiologist, and of the physical chemist. How are these new and vast worlds to be explored, and the knowledge of them adapted to the welfare of man? That is the practical problem. The yarn of biochemistry and biology, Sir Clifford says in a fine image, must be continually carried and woven into the web of the practising doctor's art. It is impossible for any man in practise, whatever his abilities and his industry, to perform the work for himself. He can not by his unassisted efforts keep pace with the great tide of fresh learning that is sweeping in upon him. There must be some intermediary between the working doctor and the men devoted to laboratory research-some middlemen, some liaison officers to keep them in touch-and the investigator, be it remembered, needs this touch as much as does the practitioner; the bedside and the laboratory must work hand in hand, if either is to derive the fullest fruit from the interrogation of nature. Sir Clifford is clear that in every good clinical school there ought to be a body of whole-time professors with

fully-equipped laboratories and staffs, who should be "continually irrigating the profession from the springs of the pure sciences." In that way, or in another, the problem must be solved, if English medicine is to keep its unsurpassed position in the world.-The London Times.

SCIENTIFIC BOOKS

A Sketch of the Natural History of the District of Columbia, together with an Indexed Edition of the U. S. Geological Survey's 1917 Map of Washington and Vicinity. By W. L. MCATEE. Bulletin of the Biological Society of Washington, No. 1, May, 1918, pp. 142, 5 maps.

Reliable information regarding the biology of restricted areas is, for many reasons, of much value far beyond its mere local significance. The capital city of our country has been fortunate during the past century in the many famous naturalists that have either resided or studied here. The present comprehensive though succinct account of biological aspects of the region about the city of Washington is therefore most acceptable. Its purpose is to present a brief biological history of the District of Columbia, to point out the best places for field study, and to furnish geographical assistance in locating them. Thus the bulletin falls naturally into three parts: (1) A historical sketch of the various branches of natural history in their relation to the District of Columbia; (2) an account of the distribution of life in the District of Columbia region; and (3) an index to the United States Geological Survey's 1917 map of Washington and vicinity.

The history of the biology of the District of Columbia, it is interesting to note, dates back, we are told in a brief introduction, to the year 1608, and the redoubtable Captain John Smith of Pocahontas fame was the first observer. A number of early authors on general subjects have references to the animals and plants of the region.

The first information regarding the botany is by Petiver in 1698, who published some notes on animals and plants sent him from

Maryland. The first actual list of plants of the District of Columbia appeared in 1816, as a part of David Baillie Warden's Chorographical and Statistical Description of the District of Columbia," and contained 142 species. A résumé of the progress of botanical study in the District of Columbia since that time down to the present shows a final list of 1,598 species, many of which have been described as new from local material. A short botanical bibliography includes the most important local publications.

The first insects from the District of Columbia were recorded in 1816 by Warden, but little was known of this group until 1859, when Baron Osten Sacken began the publication of his important articles on the insect fauna of the District. Many workers since his time have, like him, found the District of Columbia excellent collecting ground for insects, and the total list of species for the region is now very large, including 3,000 beetles alone. Many hundred species, chiefly diptera and hymenoptera, have been described from material collected near Washington. A partial bibliography, arranged according to orders and covering 16 pages, shows graphically the activity of local entomologists. Of other invertebrates there have been recorded from the District 90 species of mollusks, 308 species of spiders, 10 species of phalangids and 246 rotifers.

Fishes have here received more attention than any other group of vertebrates excepting birds, and the list of species now totals 94, several of which were described from specimens taken in the vicinity of Washington. The distribution of fishes in this region is made interesting by the fact that tidewater ends here, so that in addition to the freshwater fauna at least 26 species of salt-water fishes occur more or less regularly.

Of batrachians, 27 species are said to occur; and of reptiles, 36. The only poisonous snake at present extant is the copperhead, though the rattlesnake formerly lived in this region. As with the other groups, the account of reptiles and batrachians is followed by a short bibliography.

The birds of the District of Columbia have been more closely studied than any other group of vertebrates, and the present total comprises about 300 species and subspecies. The earliest list of the birds of the District of Columbia, consisting of 322 species, was published by David Baillie Warden in 1816. There are, however, scattered through the writings of earlier authors, many references to the birds of this region. A partial bibliography mentions the more important papers on the avifauna.

Of mammals there are now 41 species known from the vicinity of Washington, of which 3 were originally described from material collected here. It is of more than passing interest to note that within historic times the buffalo, elk, white-tailed deer and puma all lived about Washington.

A brief account of the history of early man in the District shows that the North American Indians inhabiting this region were of Algonquian stock, but all departed about the year 1700.

The most important part of this bulletin, at least from the standpoint of general biology, is the discussion under the "Distribution of Life in the District of Columbia Region," and particularly that relating to the piedmont plateau and coastal plain as faunal and floral provinces. The characteristics of the piedmont plateau and the coastal plain are explained, as is also the geological significance of the fall line separating them. The textfigure map showing the fall line and also the islands of coastal plain deposits within the piedmont plateau area is an illuminating addition to this discussion. The conclusion reached is that the fall line acts as a more or less definite faunal barrier, most so in the case of plants and insects. The substantiation of this statement, so far as the plants are concerned, is furnished in long lists of species restricted respectively to the piedmont plateau and to the coastal plain.

Fully as interesting from an ecological point of view is the discussion of the magnolia bogs about Washington in their relation to

the pine barrens of New Jersey. The author seems conclusively to show that a large percentage of characteristic pine barren plants are present in these magnolia bogs (so called because the swamp magnolia [Magnolia virginiana] is the one plant never absent from them), and to reach the apparently sound conclusion that the absence of pine barrens in the District of Columbia region is due solely to the absence of extensive areas of suitable soil deposits. These magnolia bogs, by furnishing a habitat where the typical pine barren plants are relieved from competition with the ordinary vegetation of the district, serve to preserve the survivors of the plant waves that accompanied the successive depressions of the Atlantic Coast region.

An account is given also of the other types of collecting ground about Washington, with mention of localities where such are to be found, together with some of the more desirable plants and animals to be obtained at each.

A decidedly useful feature of this bulletin is a map of the District of Columbia and vicinity in four sheets, on which, by means of close cross index lines, the old collecting spots, archeological sites, and minor topographical details have been indicated, so far as it has been possible to ascertain them. An index of 23 pages furnishes a ready means of reference. The map and its index have apparently been prepared with exceedingly great care, and will prove a boon to any one who has occasion to work on the local natural history.

Mr. McAtee has brought together an astonishing amount of important, not to say interesting, information concerning the biota of the District of Columbia, and not only will his bulletin prove a mine of riches for the local student, but will, as well, be of value to all ecological investigators.

HARRY C. OBERHOLSER

SPECIAL ARTICLES

THE AMPHIBIOIDEI, A GROUP OF FISHES PROPOSED TO INCLUDE THE CROSSOPTERYGII AND THE DIPNEUSTI

THE typical fishes or Teleostomi (Osteichthyes) obviously form a monophyletic group,

being distinguished from the Elasmobranchii (Selachii) by: the development of true scales and of two related structures-articulated fin rays and membrane bones, the latter including an opercle covering the branchial clefts; the reduction of the interbranchial septa; the presence of a developed air-bladder or lung, of two external nostrils on each side; the lack of pelvic claspers (mixipterygia), etc. The Teleostomi, as Mr. C. Tate Regan1 has recently stated, "may be arranged in two series: in the Actinopterygian series (Chondrostei and Teleostei) the duct of the air-bladder opens dorsally or dorsolaterally into the alimentary canal, the branchiostegals retain their primitive serial arrangement, and the supports of the paired fins are either in the form of a series of parallel pterygiophores each of which is segmented into a basal and a radial portion or are modified from this plan by a simple process of concentration and reduction; in the Crossopterygian series (Crossopterygii and Dipneusti) the opening of the pneumatic duct is ventral, the branchiostegals are replaced by a pair of gular plates, and the paired fins are more or less lobate, with their supports tending to the biserial arrangement with axial basalia." The first of these two series, the primary subdivisions of the Teleostomi, is known as the Actinopterygii or Actinopteri; the second series apparently has received no definite name. As both morphological and paleontological evidence indicate the monophyletic naturalness of this group, it should receive a distinctive designation; to indicate its similarity and relationship with the primitive Amphibia, this group, comprising the Crossopterygii and the Dipneusti (Dipnoa), may be termed Amphibioidei.

The taxonomic rank to which the Amphibioidei may be assigned is largely a matter of personal opinion. The writer would classify the group in serial arrangement among other chordates as follows, leaving out of consideration several groups wholly extinct and of doubtful affinities (of these the Arthrodira or 1 Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (8), 3, 1909, p. 76. 2 Dollo, Bull. Soc. Belg. Géol., 9, 1895, p. 79.

Arthrognathi have often been regarded as re-
lated to the Dipneusti or the Crossopterygii):
Subphylum Euchorda.
Superclass Pisces.

Class Marsipobranchii.

Class Elasmobranchii.
Class Teleostomi.
Subclass Actinopterygii.
Superorder Chondrostei.
Superorder Holostei.
Superorder Teleostei.
Subclass AMPHIBIOIDEI.
Superorder Crossopterygii.
Superorder Dipneusti.
Superclass Tetrapoda.
Class Amphibia, etc.

CARL L. HUBBS FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

THE BUFFALO MEETING OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SO

CIETY

THE Buffalo meeting of the society, known as the "Victory'' meeting, was held April 7 to 11 and was attended by approximately 1,100 chemists, and was one of the most enthusiastic meetings the American Chemical Society has ever held. Professor Giacomo Ciamician was elected an honorary member of the society as Italy's leading organic chemist. Publication of compendia of chemical literature and monographs was undertaken by the society and committees appointed to carry the plan into effect. The society also joined with the National Research Council in approving the forma tion of an International Research Council and an International Chemical Council in which all neutral nations were to be allowed to participate on the same basis as the allies. The society again took a strong stand against the free importation of chemicals and chemical apparatus for educational institutions, believing that such a privilege not only retarded the production of such materials in this country, but it also created a false impression as to the superiority of foreign-made materials. The society voted that at the Philadelphia meeting which is to be held from September 2-6, inclusive, a Dye Section of the society should hold meetings with Charles L. Reese, as chairman. The opening meeting on Tuesday, April 8, was made especially interesting by the three following addresses, which have been published in full in the May issue of the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry:

Introductory remarks on The future of American chemical industry: WILLIAM H. NICHOLS, president, American Chemical Society.

American chemical industries and the tariff commission: WILLIAM S. CULBERTSON, U. S. Tariff Commission.

German methods and our present situation: JOSEPH H. CHOATE, JR., Chemical Foundation.

A paper by Irving Langmuir on "The arrangement of electrons in atoms and molecules" proved so interesting that, on request, it was given a second time to a large audience of several hundred, some of whom were unable to attend the first presentation.

The following symposium on "Mustard Gas" with Wilder D. Bancroft, as chairman, was also especially well attended, and although abstracts of the papers have not been furnished, the papers themselves, will be published in the society's journals.

The social affairs of the meeting and the excursions were well planned and were a credit to the energy and good fellowship of the Western New York Section. The ladies were given a round of entertainment at the local clubs, theater parties and teas, and were also prominent at the banquet. Over 800 members of the society sat down to the smoker on Tuesday evening and enjoyed the lavish refreshments and entertainment offered by the Smoker Committee. The extensive excursion program was also enjoyed on Thursday afternoon and Friday to the chemical industries of Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

MUSTARD GAS SYMPOSIUM

Wilder D. Bancroft, Chairman

General properties: W. D. BANCROFT.
Mustard gas at the front (lantern): B. C. Goss.
Chlorhydrine synthesis: M. GOMBERG.
Sulfur chloride synthesis: J. B. CONANT.
Manufacture of mustard gas: WILLIAM MAR-

SHALL.

Tests: A. B. LAMB.

Accelerated hydrolysis: R. E. WILSON. Permeability of protoplasm: CLOWES, LILLIE and CHAMBERS.

Permeability of skin: CLOWES, MARSHALL and

SMITH.

Protective ointments: R. E. WILSON.
Protective clothing: A. E. HILL.

Protective clothing: CLOWES, GORDON and GREENSFELDER.

Persistency: A. B. LAMB.

The action exerted by antagonistic electrolytes on the electrical resistance and permeability of emulsion membranes: G. H. A. CLOWES.

Some reactions of mustard gas: O. B. HELFRICH and E. EMMET REID.

DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD CHEMISTRY

W. D. Richardson, Chairman

T. J. Bryan, Secretary

Sampling tankage and the effect of moisture on the ammonia content: PAUL SMITH.

Light weight vs. heavy oats: P. F. TROWBRIDGE. Soft corn its composition and nitrogen distribution: GEORGE SPITZER, R. H. CARR and W. F. EPPLE. A study has been made of the composition of the dry matter of corn which has been prevented from maturing, because of injury by frosts. The investigation also included the distribution of the nitrogen found in both mature and soft corn. It has been found that the soft corn is high in amide nitrogen in proportion to its softness, and that the zein content is lower in about the same proportion as the amide is higher. A circular diagram is presented, showing the relative amounts of amide, zein, globulin and glutelins present in both the mature and soft corn. Less of the total proteins in mature corn was found to be zein than has been reported. A separation of the nonamines from the diamines was made by the Van Slyke method, but no great difference in the nitrogen distribution was noted between soft and mature corn. The true starch is usually thought to be higher in mature corn, but this did not prove to be the case, as the fat which seems to be made last is at the expense of the starch, whereas in soft corn the frost caught it before there was a chance for starch to be changed over to the fat, hence the fat content of soft corn was only about one half of that of the matured.

A modified valenta test for butter: CHARLES P. Fox.

Heat penetration in processing canned foods: W. D. BIGELOW, G. S. BOHART and ALLAN C. RICH

ARDSON.

A further study of the DeRoode method for determining potash: T. E. KEITT.

The loss of moisture from sugar samples under different methods of preservation: C. A. BROWNE and G. H. HARDIN. The loss of moisture from raw sugar samples in tin cans and glass jars, unsealed and with various methods of sealing, was determined. The daily loss from sugar in ordinary tin cans varied usually from 0.01 per cent. to 0.02 per