Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 1.djvu/834

 mc gee] ANTHROPOLOG Y AT COL UMBUS 763

Dr McCurdy; and of definite anthropologic [bearing were the papers in the Section of Social and Economic Science on " Cal- culations of Population in June, 1900," by Henry Farquhar, and " The Increase in the Median Age of the Population of the United States since 1850," by Mansfield Merriman. Professor Merriman's paper was suggestive, incidentally as forming a means for trustworthy age determination in the broadly collective way, and directly as indicating the rapid increase of viability in this country under existing social and economic conditions ; his fig- ures indicating that the mean age of Americans is some years greater today than it was even so late as the middle of the century.

Peculiarly germane to the work in the Sections of Anthro- pology and of Social and Economic Science, by reason of the prominence given to the broader humanities forming the basis of modern anthropology, was the vigorous opening address of the venerable President of the Association, Professor Edward Orton. Summarizing the growth of knowledge, from primal darkness through the shadow of the Middle Ages and into the enlighten- ment of the nineteenth century, he noted three advances in the essentially human activities as buttresses of all scientific progress, viz : Arabic numerals, the alphabet, and the printing press. And his view of the splendid present and brilliant future of science was quite in accord with that of the normal anthropologist: " The field, which is the world, was never so white unto the harvest as now ; yet it is still early morning on the dial of sci- ence." Coming from an eminent geologist, the words are pecul- iarly grateful to students of Human Science ; and they acquire a permanent significance as among the last public utterances of one of America's pioneers in knowledge-making. Professor Orton died on October 16.

�� �