Hardly any fact has excited more interest among evolutionists than the blindness of cave animals; and various theories have been advanced to explain the fact. It is known that the blind condition is due to a degeneration of formerly functional eyes. The difficulty has been to understand what advantage is gained by losing the eyes even in a locality where eyes are of no use. It has been affirmed that ‘Nature is economical’ and will not expend energy in building an unnecessary organ. Weismann has suggested that the only reason why we have eyes at all is because Natural Selection is constantly weeding out poor eyes. Withdraw the necessity for good eyes, and poor eyes and good eyes will have an equal chance of surviving. According to a third theory, the functional activity of any organ is essential to its maintenance. Just as the unused arm withers so the unused eye degenerates. Of course all these theories assume that the ancestors of the blind species--for instance, of the blind fishes--had originally no inherent tendency to blindness or degeneration of the eyes. This assumption has, however, been recently combatted by Professor Eigenmann, who has shown that although many kinds of fish are accidentally swept into caves, only one kind has become blind; of this kind the nearest allies which live in open streams shun the light, live in crevices and under stones, and have less perfect eyes than other fishes. Some of the allies of such light-shunning fishes have made their way into caves, and have there worked out their tendency to a reduction of eyes. That has been the history of eyeless fishes. To continue the researches of Professor Eigenmann, so auspiciously begun, the Association last year granted one hundred dollars to a committee on the cave vertebrates of North America. With the aid of the grant Dr. Eigenmann has during the past year penetrated into numerous caves and obtained much additional material for his researches. * * * * * The American Association will meet next year at Denver, beginning on August 26th. The newly elected officers are: _President._ Prof. Charles Sedgwick Minot, Harvard Medical School. _Vice-Presidents._ Mathematics and Astronomy: Prof. James McMahon, Cornell University. Physics: Prof. D. D. Brace, University of Nebraska. Chemistry: Prof. John H. Long, Northwestern University. Mechanical Science and Engineering: Prof. H. S. Jacoby, Cornell University. Geology and Geography: Prof. C. R. Van Hise, University of Wisconsin. Zoölogy: President D. S. Jordan, Leland Stanford Jr. University. Botany: B. T. Galloway, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Anthropology: J. W. Fewkes, Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D. C. Economic Science and Statistics: John Hyde, Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. _Permanent Secretary._ L. O. Howard, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. _General Secretary._ Prof. William Hallock, Columbia University, New York.