eral recognition, the one as a result of educational thought before the war, the other in connection with the wide upheaval of opinion that the war has caused.

In December, 1912, we published a draft scheme for the teaching of science upon a synthetic method-the term "synthetic," in this case, implying that science was to be taught as a whole in the more elementary stages, with the rudiments of the separate, specialized sciences blended together and taught in connection with one another as parts of a single realization. The sciences were in danger of becoming the monopoly of specialists; not a mere financial monopoly. but a monopoly of faculty and intelligence. In a civilization increasingly governed by science, it seemed to us of importance that citizens should have a general comprehension of science. More than this: specialists themselves go wrong if they never fully realize the broad foundations of their specialties. A narrow specialist is a bad specialist. The more important specialism in science was destined to become, the more essential we felt it to be that a wide general conception of science should be taught; not only that people might have some conception of the scientific principles upon which they were increasingly governed, but also that the specialists of the future might have a broader foundation for their work through a better realization of the dependence of one branch of science upon the others.

The war has taught us by force what we might not, perhaps, have learned so rapidly by the peaceful exercise of our wits: that in national endeavor all branches of activity must be subordinated to a conception of the whole. The present demand for more science comes of a recognition that, for all our special excellences, our general ignorance of causes had come near to destroying us. And with this recognition there comes a conception of science that goes beyond a synthesis of "the sciences." The scientific outlook, the scientific method, call for a place not only in science teaching, but in all teaching. This is not because we admire German scientific organiza

tion. As a matter of pure science, we detest German scientific organization because it is fundamentally unscientific, just as it is fundamentally inhuman. It favors prejudices, not truths. We want to put a right scientific organization in its place; we have seen the results of having no scientific organization at all, though we have battled against these evil results with extraordinarily rapid success.

The war is teaching us a new science of our own and a new humanism of our own. Both are in embryo, as far as education is concerned; much thought and discussion are still needed for the further evolution of a complete system. But one thing becomes increasingly clear. There is no war between our new science and our new humanism. The dying quarrel lies between prejudices rather than between principles. We need a science teaching that is complete and unified; but by now we are coming to realize that we also need a humanistic science, and a humanism that is scientific. Such a solution, if we take the pains to work it out, will be thoroughly in accord with the English genius.-London Times Educational Supplement.

SCIENTIFIC BOOKS

Bridge Engineering. By J. A. L. WADDELL. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1916. 2 Vols. 2177 pp.

Like most branches of science or of engineering, the field of structural engineering is abundantly supplied with text-books and treatises. However, as in a vocation there is always room at the top, so in the literature of a subject there is always room for a new work if it presents the subject from a fresh point of view, or if it contributes something new, or puts in a new light something which may be a matter of even common knowledge.

In engineering there is always opportunity for a contribution which will be of value if it embodies results of experience, even upon subjects of which the fundamental principles are well understood, for engineering deals with the applications of science, and, in those applications, conditions are so available that, as is well known, good judgment, common sense and

the ability to meet emergencies are more important requisites for success than deep or accurate scientific knowledge.

The author of the work under review is not only possessed of deep and accurate scientific knowledge, but has had an exceptionally wide. and valuable experience as an engineer. The present work is not an ordinary text-book; indeed most of the subjects discussed in ordinary text-books are entirely omitted here. This work begins, broadly speaking, where the usual text-book leaves off, and concerns itself with an exhaustive discussion ranging from large questions down to details of design, and throughout it all the author draws upon his experience, and, in an easy conversational way which makes the book very readable, places here on record his opinions, his deductions, and his experiences regarding most of the important matters involved in the design of bridge structures.

The work is a large one, comprising two bulky volumes, with a total of over two thousand pages. Indeed, if any criticism is to be made of the work, it is that it is too bulky and includes some information which might well have been omitted, such for instance, as a glossary of terms covering 220 pages which might have been relegated to a technical dictionary rather than included in a treatise on bridge engineering. However, the book, as stated, is not a text-book, and will not be carried about by college students in their grips; it is a reference book for the office and for the consulting engineer, and for such it will be found of great value. The bridge engineer who desires to inform himself with reference to any type of structure, or to investigate any particular problem, will be apt to find in this work some clue which will guide him, if indeed he does not find the direct answer to his inquiry.

The book is rather uneven, it is true, in its treatment, devoting for instance, forty-eight pages to the subject of cantilever bridges, thirty pages to arches of all the various kinds, sixteen pages to suspension bridges, and seven pages to wooden bridges and trestles. However, the work does not pretend to be a com

plete treatise; it is supplementary to the usual text-books and the author has not thought it necessary or desirable, merely for the sake of completeness, to cover ground which is quite adequately treated in other works. This work is supplementary to such treatises and aims to give the profession the results of the experience and study of its author, and the opinions which he has been led to hold on the various matters of bridge design and construction. It will be found a very valuable work for the consulting engineer and the bridge specialist, while the engineering student will find an opportunity therein to pursue lines of inquiry upon which he may be engaged, and to learn the opinions of an eminent bridge engineer.

A characteristic of the work is the inclusion therein of a number of chapters relating to matters not generally touched upon in such works, such, for instance, as Esthetics in Design," "Office Practise," "Bridge Failures and Their Lessons," "Responsibility of the Bridge Engineer," "Ethics of Bridge Engineering." A very interesting chapter is that on "Expedients in Design and Construction" in which instances are give of the exercise of the important quality of "gumption" which every successful engineer must possess in greater or less degree. The book will be found of value, not only for the technical information which it contains, but because it emphasizes the necessity for qualities, other than mere mathematical ability or an understanding of small technical details, for the successful structural engineer. It is a book which will tend to broaden the view and so increase the usefulness of the young engineer.

GEORGE F. SWAIN

HARVARD UNIVERSITY AND THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SPECIAL ARTICLES

ON THE ELECTRIC ORGANS OF GYMNOTUS CARAPUS

It was suggested to the writer by Professor U. Dahlgren, of Princeton University, that Gymnotus carapus might furnish material for the study of electric organs. Miss A. Lowrey1 1 Jour. Morph., Vol. 24, p. 693.

in her examination of several Gymnotid fishes was unable to find electric tissues. She found that

in or between the first and second muscular units of the ventral portion of the great lateral muscles, there was a slight degeneration of parts of the muscles. The larger units had been reduced to two minute oval muscles embedded in either strands of cartilage, or strands of cartilage and fat, and occupied parts of two triangular spaces, one on each side of the median septum just above the (muscle) unit which controls the anal fin. No plates, special nerve fibers, or nerve endings were

seen.

In my examination of the specimen which had been collected by Professor Dahlgren some years ago, I noticed that when the fish was scaled a portion of the body appeared almost translucent. The location of this part corresponds exactly to the location described by Miss Lowrey where "slight degeneration of parts of the muscles" had taken place. Sections were made of this portion of the body, and a study of these has shown beyond all doubt that the portion of the body in question is composed of electric tissue. Not only were the characteristic electroplaxes found, but also the special electric nerve fibers and bloodvessels supplying them.

The fish used for this study measured approximately 31 cm. in length. The body is more or less filiform, tapering to an extremely finely pointed tail. The head is flattened dorsally and the upper lip projects slightly over the lower lip. The gill opening is rather small with a dusky spot just above it. The vent opens just behind the throat. The dorsal fin is entirely lacking, while the ventral fin extends from the tip of the finely pointed tail to a position just posterior to the vent opening. The fin is controlled by a muscle unit lying just dorsal to it. The electric organs extend from the tip of the tail forward, following along the entire length of the ventral fin and lying dorsal to the muscle unit controlling the fin. There are two such organs, one on each side of the body, each tapering more or less at the cephalad and caudad ends, thus giving the organs the form of muchelongated spindles. In cross-section these

electric areas appear triangular in shape and are separated by the median septum.

The electric spindles are divided into five longitudinal tiers by horizontal sheets of connective tissue running the entire length of the organ. In these tiers the electroplaxes are arranged perpendicular to the septa in compartments bounded by the electrolemma and embedded in the "electric jelly." These compartments, with the electroplaxes lying in about the middle, are relatively large, with the result that the electroplaxes are rather widely separated. Since the strength of the electric current produced is proportional to the number of electroplaxes, it is safe to assume that the electric current produced by G. carapus must be extremely weak, if it is at all perceptible.

The electroplaxes are plainly seen in any section taken through the electric organ. They are more or less square or oblong in shape, with irregular projections (papilla) on the cephalad and caudad sides. These papillæ are usually longer on the caudad sides. Numerous oval nuclei are arranged peripherally and no cell walls are present. The core of the electroplax is homogeneous in appearance. The nerves and blood-vessels always approach the caudad side of the plates, a condition which is similar to that found in the electric eel and other Gymnotids.

It is thus evident that the tissue which Miss Lowrey has described as degenerated muscle units is really an electric organ. Her mention of "strands of cartilage" being intermingled with the degenerated muscle leads me to believe that she has seen the electroplaxes and interpreted them as being cartilage. They are usually of a homogeneous, hyaline appearance and with their numerous nuclei might present a cartilaginous appearance. Yet their form is that so characteristic of electric plates that one can not overlook them.

Another of the Gymnotids which Miss Lowrey has examined and reported to possess no electric organs is Eigenmannia virescens. In the posthumous work of Sachs (1881) on Gymnotus electricus, some of his field notes are published which describe and figure por

tions of the body which he considered to be the electric organs of Eigenmannia (Sternopygus). It is interesting to note that his description of the macroscopic appearance of the electric organs exactly fits that of Gymnotus carapus presented here.

From an evolutionary standpoint, the weak or pseudo-electric fishes form a subject of interesting speculation. The Gymnotids (except Electrophorus electricus, the electric eel) and certain of the Raiidæ possess these weak electric organs. Darwin, in his "Origin of Species "2 has admitted that the electric organs of fishes present difficulties to his theory of natural selection. Are the weak electric organs rudimentary, or are they new organs in the process of progressive development? If they are rudimentary why have they been discarded; if they are new organs just beginning to appear, of what selection value can they be if they produce no perceptible electric current? Only a study of the development of these organs can throw light on these questions. In certain of the Raiide which have been investigated it seems quite evident that the electric organs have been recently acquired and are not, therefore, the rudiments of previously existing well-developed ones. ELMER L. SHAFFER

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, December 14, 1916

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PHARMACOLOGY AND EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTICS

THE eighth annual session of the Pharmacological Society took place on December 28, 29 and 30, 1916, at Cornell Medical School, New York City. The other members of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology met at the same time and place.

The sessions were opened and concluded by a joint meeting of all four societies. The papers

read at these meetings will be found in the report of the General Secretary of the Federation. In addition to these joint meetings, the Pharmacological and Physiological Societies held a joint session devoted entirely to demonstrations on Friday afternoon, December 29.

2 P. 167, sixth edition.

Officers for 1917.-The following officers were elected for the present year:

President: Reid Hunt.

Secretary: L. G. Rowntree.
Treasurer: Wm. deB. MacNider.

Additional Members of the Council: John Auer, Carl Voegtlin.

Membership Committee: Torald Sollmann (term expires 1919).

New Members: The following candidates were elected to membership upon recommendation by the membership committee and the council: Franklin C. McLean, Union Medical College, Peking, China; Harold B. Meyers, University of Oregon; Maurice I. Smith, University of Michigan; Julius M. Rogoff, Western Reserve University; James A. Waddell, University of Virginia.

Membership in the A. A. A. S.-The attention of new members is called to the following resolution of the council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science:

Resolved, that the entrance fee to this association shall be remitted for members of regularly affiliated societies who are elected to the A. A. A. S. within one year of their election to membership in the affiliated society.

The extension of this privilege (it was formerly limited to the year 1916 only) to all new members of affiliated societies for the year in which they join the affiliated society, is greatly to be welcomed, and all new members of the Pharmacological Society should avail themselves of this opportunity.

Amendment of the Constitution.-The mandatory provision of Article V., Section 1, that the annual meeting of the society be held between December 25 and January 1 at a place determined by the council was altered to read: "The annual meeting of the society shall be held at a time and place determined by the council in consultation with the executive committee of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology." The federal executive committee, it may be added, is formed by the presidents and secretaries of the constituent societies of the federation.

The object of this amendment was to permit a tentative change of the meeting time, if a majority of the federated societies should deem this advisable. There are a number of reasons why the scientific sessions should be held at some other time of the year than Christmas week: the season is usually inclement and imposes hardships and dangers on all members, especially the elderly, who are compelled to travel considerable distances in order to attend; the time available for the preparation of papers from the beginning of the

school year to December 1 when the title usually must be in the hands of the secretaries, is too short; in addition the December meetings interfere with, and for many practically abolish, the Christmas holidays as a family festival.

Privileges of Discussion.-As a number of inquiries were received during the last two years concerning the privilege of discussing papers before the Pharmacological Society by members of the Federation who do not belong to the Pharmacological Society, it was moved, seconded and unanimously carried that this privilege be accorded to all members of the Federation. At the same time, the executive committee-members of the society were instructed to propose before the executive committee of the Federation that all the constituent societies grant the same privilege, so that any member of one society is entitled to join the discussion of any paper delivered before any other society.

Such a

It should be noted that this motion refers only to the privilege of the floor; it obviously does not confer the right to read a paper before a society of which the author is not a member. transfer can only be made after the consent of the secretary of that society has been obtained before which the paper is to be read.

Meeting Place in 1917.-The next meeting of the Pharmacological Society, together with the other members of the Federation, will be held at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Dinners and Smokers.-Two informal dinners and smokers were given, the first at the Hotel McAlpin on December 28, and the second at the Chemists Club on December 29. At the first dinner, with Dr. Simon Flexner as toastmaster, speeches were delivered by Drs. Mendel, Pearce, Carlson, Cannon and Jones.

Scientific Program.-Before giving a list of the papers read and discussed, it may be mentioned with satisfaction that all papers announced by their authors for delivery were read with but one exception, and in this instance the title was changed.

DECEMBER 28, 2.00-4.30 P.M. "Pharmacological Studies with Cocain and Novocain," by G. B. Roth.

"The Fate of Iodin, Iodids and Iodates in the Body," by T. Sollmann.

"The Fate of Strychnin in the Animal Body," by R. A. Hatcher and Cary Eggleston.

"The Reduction of Toxicity of Strychnin by the Simultaneous Administration of Large Quantities of Fluid," by I. S. Kleiner and S. J. Meltzer.

DECEMBER 29, 9.00-12.30 P.M.

"The Effect of Unilateral Excision of the Adrenal, Section of the Splanchnic Nerve and Section of the Renal Nerves on the Secretion of the Kidney," by E. K. Marshall, Jr., and A. C. Kolls (by invitation).

"The Effect of Nicotin on the Two Kidneys after Unilateral Section of the Splanchnic Nerves,'' by A. C. Kolls (by invitation) and D. K. Marshall, Jr.

"The Protective Action of Diet against Renal Irritants," by W. Salant and R. Bengis (by invitation).

"A Consideration of the Relative Toxicity of Uranium Nitrate for Animals of Different Ages,'' by W. deB. MacNider.

"A Study of the Conditions affecting the Rate of Excretion of Phenosulphonephtalein," by R. R. Snowden (by invitation), Clyde Brooks and T. S. Arbuthnot (by invitation).

"The Action of Distilled Water on the Isolated Uterus,' by C. Voegtlin and G. C. Lake (by invitation).

"A Study of Ethylhydrocuprein (Optochin) in Lobar Pneumonia," by H. F. Moore (by invitation) and A. M. Chesney (by invitation).

"Further Observations on Albuminuria and Changes in Renal Function following Full Therapeutic Doses of Salicylate," by R. W. Scott (by invitation), T. W. Thoburn (by invitation), and P. J. Hanzlik.