The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-31
THE MEN OF SCIENCE.
The Work of the Association-Brief State
ment Of New Discoveries.

The Work of the Association-Brief State
ment of New Discoveries.
Spec Correspondence of the indianapolis Journal
ANN ARBoR, Aug 2S.-The evening of the
first day of the association is always devoted to
the address of the retiring president Professor
Lesley. of Pennsylvania, is an old man, but
very interesting 49,. I'D his address was full of
SUGGESTION. The catch phrase, and g. good one,
was dead work." that expression characterizng
useless work. There is no doubt that much of
the scientific work of to day is misguided and
useless, and any amount of energy is dissipated
in accomplishing nothing. The people of Ann
Arbor must be the most hospitable and long
enduring ever visited. Their town is entirely at
our mercy, and public reception. on Thursday
evening at their handsome courthouse showed
no sparing Of time or money in making US well
come. Flowers and notices, and drapery were
everywhere. Refreshments in profusion solaced
the hungry and thirsty seekers for knowledge,
while fine quartet band from Cleveland at
tracted the unsteady inclined. A reception of
the association is very composite affair in ap
pearance, and upon no similar occasion is there
seen such variety Of dress and appearance,
from the most elaborate dress-suits of some city
members to the careless half dress of others.
Men the most dignifed and impressive in ap-
pearance are looked at with ave. until the name
discovers a nobody, while many of the insig-
nifcant in appearance prove to be the giants of
to- day. Physiognomy finds a poor illustration
in meeting of the association, and the most
skllltul character readers might well be baffed.
The local press is giving great dissatisfaction
to tie members, as a spirit OF utter irreverence
seems to pervade the knights of the pencil. The
fact is, that the reporters are a set of boys who
have conception whatever of what is going
on; hear nothing that they can understand; do
not understand how to find out anything and
ending in despair, fill up their space with gibes.
Thursday and Friday are days of hard work,
the sections being full of papers, and every one
anxious to m ISIS nothing good The section of
microscopy has ceased any longer to draw out
precarious existence, and has frankly merged
itself with the section of biology where
holds the day up here, both in the number of its
papers, the interested crowds which attend its
meetings. and the spirited conduct of its mem
bers. Botanists and biologists vie with each
other in maintaining the honor of their respect
i've specialities, and this healthy rivalry has
pers from each faction. Professors Bossey,
Arthur. Beal, Halsted Underwood, Barnes, Bur
rl, Coulter, etc sit upon the botanical end of the
plank. while Professors Cope Riley. Gage, Mar
tin, Bayer, Sewall, etc., keep the other end from
tipping up.
Many important discoveries have been an
nOunced, which the readers of the Journal would
take no special interest in, but brief statement
of some of them would hardly be out of place.
Professor Cope announced q most complete
''phylogeny of placental mammals" as it is
called, which, being interpreted, means their
descent OF course his views are eminently
evolutionary, but his authority is equally mi
nent. Professor Gage has proved that the soft
shelled turtles have aquatic respiration, which
is an exceedingly important discovery in q
reptiian group and this same persistence Of at
least occasional attempts at aquatic respiration
was traced to higher forms, and even limited at
in man. The details would be necessary to a
complete understanding of the conclusions. A
lively discussion was sprung by Professor Ar
thurs paper upon bacteria as a cause of pear
blight but the discovery announced was a brill
liant and convincing one. Professor Burriil a
few years ago announced that bacteria were the
cause of of pear blight, but there remained to
prove that the bacteria themselves and not their
SURF ounding liquids induced the disease, that is,
that they were the cause and not simply the
attendants of the disease. The difficult feat of
isolating bacteria from their surrounding LIQUIDS
has been accomplished by Professor Arthur. By
NEGOTIATIONS it was then shown that the pres
ence of the bacteria themselves produced the
disease, which result could not be obtained from
the Isolated surrounding nulQS. Er01eSSOr
Barnes read paper upon the fertilization of
campanula Americana, giving results which
showed a skill in the of the microscope in
this most difficult work that ranked him at once
among the most advanced of our botanical
workers Professor Coulter announced the dis.
covery of a constant feature in the embryology
OF Towering plants, which promises to revolu-
tlonize their very unsatisfactory classification.
Of course the seventeen-vear locust has claimed
large share Of attention, and papers, scientific
and popular, interesting and hardly so, have
been only less numerous than the locusts them
selves. Professor Riley our enterprising ma
tional entomologist, who ate locusts and de-
clared them to be good eating when cornered by
your correspondent, confessed that he had eaten
better food, and thought that probably once in
seventeen years was enough. Professor Win
chell, one of our famous biologists, is at this
moment discoursing concerning 'cpnostrOma
and idiostroma, and the comprehensive charac-
ter Of stromatoporoids all of which is intensely
interesting to those who know what they are
After the conclusion of this pa per there is to
be lawn fete upon the university grounds, and
the ladies of Ann Arbor are even now fiuttering
about the numerous tables decorating and
arranging, and it will not be many moments
before the scientists cannot be restrained from
rushing towards the goodly sight. Two other
Indiana professors have reported in the persons
of Professor Branner, of the State University
and Professor Young of Hanover.
Saturday tomorrow is to be devoted TO an
elaborate excursion across the lake, given by
the citizens of Detroit. NM