Evening star., 1927-04-26

session of the National Academy OF
Sciences today to the days when
strange plants f1ourished and strange
beasts wallowed in that section of the
North American continent now rep
resented by the Grand Canyon.
DR.. John c. Merriam of the Car
negie Institution of Washington. DR..
Charles w. Gilmore of the Smithson-
ian institution and DR.. David White
Of the Geological Survey told of their
researches in the different rock strata
laid bare by the river.
Footprints i'm Stone.
mr. Gilmore told of the footprints
of unidentified vertebrate animals in
the stone. These creatures apparently
roamed over mud flats, which later
hardened. leaving no other means by
which they can be identified, but
which obviously were .amphibians and
early reptiles.
Some of the plants of that early
day, according to DR. White, were
preserved much as flowers are pre-
served today by pressing them be-
tween the leaves of a book. The
nearest relative of these plants still
living are the ferns and the tropi-
cal cyads. The remains all were de-
posted at the bottoms of small
streams or ponds which appeared dur
ing rainy seasons. Pressed between
thin layers of water-deposited sand,
which gradually hardened into sand.
stone, the leaf and stem fragments
were preserved and the imprints re-
manned long after the substance had
disappeared.
Insects Are Discovered.
More than two tons of stone slabs
,nl .tVa4 e,~a
now in the L. S. National Museum
awaiting further study. Among them
remains of insects have been found
flor the first time. Footprints of the
ancient reptiles and amphibians were
found in three distinct formations.
DR.. Merriam spoke on the signifi-
seance Of the geological range, or life
period of various animal species, a sub.
.jeet to which he has devoted a con-
siderable amount of research.
Still far back in history, but bare.
ly yesterday in comparison with the
ancient plants and animals, were the
remains described by DR.. Neil NJ.
Judd, curator of American archaeology
at the New National Museum, and
who for the past six years has
directed excavations at Pueblo Boni-
ito which he described as the Athens
of the southwest 1000 years ago.
-Four Major Periods.
The excavations have revealed. DIR.
Judd said, that this strange Indian
city went through four major periods
of building activity, and two distinct
groups of similar vet unrelated Indi-
ans We're responsible for the prodi-
gious building operations. The first
residents Of the community were con-
servatives, who built small. low
Soofed rooms with rough sandstone
slabs. adding on rooms as their fami-
lies increased, without any plan for
regularity or design. The second
group set to work to build orderly
dwellings, with the skill Of master
craftsmen. although they had no
snetal tools or beasts of burden 10
aid them. These two groups evidently
aseIt together in harmony. Pueblo
Bonito had nearly 500 rooms and
sheltered between 1900 and 1900 in
dividualS. Archaeological evidence
points 10 its abandonment about 1909
gears ago.
: The first part of the session this
morning was given over TO papers on-l
the physical sciences. Starting with
a biographical memoir of William
Henry Brewer by r. H. Chittenden,
the, neXt paper was on ''Thermionic
Emission and the Universal Constant
A. by DR.. Edwin H. Hall of Har-
yard, who defended the conceptions
that free electrons have the energy
of thermal agitation, despite various
arguments advanced to the contrary,
thus restoring, with some modifca-
tons suggested by the dual theory
Of electric conduction, Richardson's
classical kinetic theory of thermionic
emission.
Magnetic Hydrogen Atoms.
II. f. BIchfeldt presented a mathe.
matical paper on the minimum values
of positive quadratic forms <and there
was discussion by w II. Crew on
pressures in discharge tubes.
DIR. X. T. Compton of Princeton
University discussed the theory of
the normal cathode fall, and DR. w.
A. Noyes of the University of Illinois
spoke on magnetic hydrogen atoms
and non-magnetic hydrogen molecules
The presentation of papers closes
this afternoon with papers on geology
and isostacy.
DIR. Ales Hrdlicka of the Smithson-
ian Institution was engaged today in
making anthropometric measurements
of the various scientists attending the
meeting. From these measurements
he hopes to secure general data on
the physical characteristics of the
American scientific type.
TelevisiOn Demonstrated.
Members of the academy and their
guests last night were shown the
complete action Of television appara-
tus after DR.. Herbert Z. Ives of the
Bell laboratories, the principal figure
in the development Of the system, had
described the history Of the work and
the principles upon which it was con-
StI'ucted.
The television circuit was in opera
tion between two rooms of rne acad-
cmy, building. Those who attended
the lecture first filed past the sending
apparatus and then past the receiving
apparatus, where the figure Of the
operator could be seen.
The same apparatus employed in
the recent Washington-New York test,
when teleyision first was announced
TO the public, was used. This is real.
~ the first opportunity Washingto-
mans have had to see the complete
operation The demonstration at the
Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co.
office here two weeks ago was con-
hhed 70 the sending end.
The apparatus VIII remain set up
at the academy building for the rest
~ the week. and may be inspected by
The public Wednesday, Thursday, Fri.
day and Saturday afternoons from
10 4 O'Clock.
Not New Idea, He Says.
The idea of television. DR.. Ives said
was not new. He showed on the
screen diagrams of a German inyen-
tlon patented in 1884, which embraced
ihe basic ideas used in the present
apparatus, but which was constructed
nf such crude materials that il could
rot possibly have succeeded. The Ger