Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-04-16
MEN OF SCIENCE,
The National Academy Begins its ANIMAL
Session.
PROCEEDINGS AT THE MUSEUM THIS MORNING
OFFICERS TO BE ELECTED To-MoRRow-Two
PAPERS READ AT THE OPENING sEssIoN-MEM-
BERs PRESENT.

The general color of the top of the heads
upon which the light from the high windows Of
the National museum lecture hall shone down
this morning was gray. Here and there,
though, there was head of brown hair or of
black hair or head that was almost innocent
of hair, but the average was gray. The men
that owned these polls, and some of them were
exceedingly capacious looking heads with
great strong foreheads, were members of the
National Academy of Sciences assembled here
to hold their annual meeting. The members
met IN private session In the morning in the
library of the museum There it was decided
to hold the election for president, vice-presi-
dent, home secretary and additional members
OF the council tomorrow, and the election of
new members of the academy to fill the four or
flve existing vacancies, Thursday. The men,
bers then assembled at noon in the lecture hall
There were number of spectators present be-
sides members of the academy, and some of
these were ladies'.
sTHE MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMY PRESENT
were: Cleveland Able, J. Asaph Allen, Alex
ander Graham Bell, John s. Billings, Seth c.
Chandler, John H. &. Coffin, Cyrus b. Com
stock, Edward d. Cope, VIM. Ferret, Wolcott,
Gibbs, Theodore n. Gill, G.. Browf Goode. Benz
A. Gould, Arnold Hague. Asaph Hall. Geo. W.
Hill, Alpheus Hyatt, Saml z. Langley, o. c.
Marsh, Alfred NJ. Mayer, NJ. c. Meigs, fhos c.
Mendenhall, Albert A. Nicholson. S. Weir
Mitchell, Simon Newcomb, Chas s. Pierce c..
ii. L. Peters, Raphael Pumfelly. Fred W. Put
nam. Ira Remsen, Henry A. Rowland, and Chas
A. Scholl.
THE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY.
A man OF comfortable figure, neatly dressed
in black, who looked like prosperous cosmo-
pohtan business man, wearing neatly-trimmed
blonde beard slightly tinged with gray, took a
seat on the platform aud, adjusting his eve
glasses, looked for a moment over the audience
and then over the printed list Ofpapers he held
In his hand. This was Prof. o. C. Marsh, of
Yale college, the president of the academy.
At table on the floor near him was the Sec
rotary, Prof. Asaph Hall, of this city, who when
not engaged in keeping the records of the
academy straight. lives in and studies the
worlds, out in space, that the great telescope
at the naval observatory nightly takes him to-
THE FIRST PAPER READ.
Prof. Marsh did not deem any introductory
remarks necessary. He announced at once the
first paper to be read, which was by c. 5.
Pierce, of the coast survey, his topic being
Sensations of Color" Mr.. Pierce took his
place on the platform before blackboard and
drawing diagrams as he talked. explained ex-
periments he had conducted to show that color
sensations were produced by distinct modes of
nerve eXcitation.
The only other paper read at the academy at
the open session was one by Wolcott Gibbs and
Hobart Dare, the subject being Notice on the
Method and Results of a Systematic Study of
the Action OF Definitely Related Chemical Com
pounds upon Animals"
The Academy then took a recess until half
past two o'clock when the reading Of. papers
was resumed.
TIE OFFICERS.
The present officers of the academy are o. c.
Marsh, president; Simon Newcomb, vice-presi-
dent; Wolcott Gibbs, foreign secretary; Asaph
Hall, home secretary; John s. Billings. treas
urer. Additional members of the council: G.
j. Brush, B. A. Gould, S. p. Langley, NJ. c.
Meigs, E. C.. Pickering, and Ira Remsen. The
terms of the president, vice-president, and
home secretary, who are elected each for six
years, expire at this meeting, and this fact
gives more than usual importance to the pres
ent meeting. The six additional members of
council go out of Office annually. There is
much interest also in the elections of new
members.