return, as they not only receive the volume of the proceedings, but also the weekly journal Science. But even apart from these practical advantages, it is desirable that all those who wish to further the advancement of science in America should ally themselves with the association. Information in regard to the conditions of membership may be obtained from the permanent secretary, Dr. L. O. Howard, Cosmos Club, Washington, D. C.
PRESIDENT ASAPH HALL.
One of the greatest of the world's astronomers will preside over the Pittsburgh meeting of the American Association. Dr. Hall has obtained a wide reputation by the discovery of the satellites of Mars, and among astronomers his continuous observations at the Naval Observatory from 1863 onward are recognized as of the highest value. He has also taken part in a number of important government expeditions, including one to Bering Straits in 1869 to observe the eclipse of the sun—to Sicily in 1870, and to Colorado in 1878 for the same purpose; and to observe the transit of Venus in Siberia in 1874 and in Texas in 1882. While the life of a man of science is usually uneventful, Dr. Hall's early career is full of interest. His father died when he was thirteen years old, and he took charge of the farm. He then became a carpenter; and, having saved a little money, at the age of twenty-five years went to a small college in New York State. There he married one of his fellow students. He taught school and studied at the University of Michigan, where he became interested in astronomy under Professor Brünnow. In 1857, when he was twenty-eight years old, he obtained a position in Harvard College Observatory under Professor Bond, with a salary of $3 a week. Appointed professor of mathematics in the U. S. Navy at the beginning of the year 1863, he worked first with the 91⁄2-inch equatorial; from 1868 to 1875 he was in charge of the small equatorial, and from 1875 until his retirement in 1891 he was in charge of the 26-inch equatorial. Dr. Hall was professor of astronomy at Harvard University from 1895 until last year. He is vice-president of the National Academy of Sciences and a member of many foreign scientific academies. He has received the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the Lalande prize and the Arago medal of the Paris Academy of Sciences; he has received the degree of LL.D. from Yale and Harvard Universities and many other honors. A recent portrait of Dr. Hall is given as a frontispiece; an earlier portrait and an extended biographical sketch will be found in the issue of The Popular Science Monthly for October, 1894.
AN AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
While we have in this country societies for nearly all the sciences, a society for anthropology has not hitherto been established. The section of the American Association representing anthropology has to a certain extent filled the function of a special society, having in recent years held a separate meeting in mid-winter. The time, however, appears to have come when a national anthropological society can be established to advantage, and the formation of such a society is now under discussion. Professor Franz Boas, in a paper read before the Anthropological Society of Washington, presented very clearly the need of such a society and the precautions that should be taken in its establishment. He points out that anthropology is one of the subjects in which there is a considerable popular interest, without a very large body of well-trained specialists, and that there would be some danger in establishing a society to which every one would be admitted. Not only might the meetings of such
