Hit ; i ae. ae epee et iene ts Se; “3 je lenestgegese steers carne sorts : SEeEE: SS Soros Sas Spanos Ay its he ate i d a tH ny if} Fale HAG i Hit === nn f if! i rf a ‘ heat) BPE fae Irae aes 4) pati ir: et He Sa Na an AMOUR EER ATC Fa sate Ht i } hy ‘ eat ih H i abiex Hy Biri ‘ : aan Aa ae ae i ED ei } Beit i fc he t Bi) iit flee Banean ie Steet Hi Ha a i) iH i 4 } i caw tit die i Ce ae He (ie a A Be i aa 4 it Ren tates Hah fy Ma : é ae ; STi oe i uel eaeeeeees scteistie =e Sess Se Ser etarsee: Sos Sta SS) Pe ta peptone seen pee Sa ees ae eae 5 it RHC ERR Re ee se ae ae a a Pea Mee eet ean ReeaT ee RE OR OCI 444 Ch Ne a = « we ny i) Det ae ‘a a ya ‘ 4 ant i na ia I ee a ean i on Doan Tone alae EAT avai ha A ks ny ewe tyes Wt ae bien) i SC rE NCE A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, PUBLISH- ING THE OFFICIAL NOTICES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: S. NEwcomsB, Mathematics; R. S. WooDWARD, Mechanics; E. C. PICKERING, Astronomy ; T. C. MENDENHALL, Physics ; R. H. THurston, Engineering ; IRA REMSEN, Chemistry ; CHARLES D. WALCOTT, Geology ; W. M. Davis, Physiography ; HENRY F. OsBorN, Paleontology ; W. K. Brooks, C. HART MERRIAM, Zoology ; 8. H. ScuppER, Entomology ; C. E. BESSEy, N. L. Brirron, Botany ; C. S. Minor, Embryology, Histology ; H. P. Bownprircu, Physiology; J. S. Briuryes, Hygiene; WiL~tiAamM H. WELCH, Pathology ; J. MCKEEN CATTELL, Psychology ; J. W. POWELL, Anthropoiogy. NEW SERIES. VOLUME XV. JANUARY -JUNE, 1902. NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1902 IPA SH THE NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY, 41 NORTH QUEEN STREET, LANCASTER, Pa. e059. / 9 CONTENTS AND INDEX. N.S. VOL. XV.—JANUARY TO JUNH, 1902. The Names of Contributors are Printed in Small Capitals. A., C., Guatemala Harthquake Waves, 873 A., J. A., Hiicker’s Gesang der Végel, 98; Ridg- way’s Birds of North and Middle Amer., 225 ApBBE, C . Pernter’s Meteorological Optics, 708; In- dian Summer, 793 Aeronauties, R. H. T., 633 Agricultural Experiment Stations, A. C. TRUE, 939 Agriculture and Experiment Stations, H. F. Ros- ERTS, 430; Graduate School of, 997 Agriculturists, College work for, R. H. THuRSToN, 534 ALLEN, F., Injuries to the Hye caused by Intense Light, 109 ALLEN, G. M., Boston Society of Natural History, 192, 471, 666 American Association for the Advancement of Science: Anthropology, 121, 509, 532, 1032; Zoology, 132; Membership in, 616, 814, 982; Physics, 631; Meeting of Council, 657; Me- chanical Science and Hngineering, 668, 1031; Mathematics and Astronomy, 668; Pitts- burgh Meeting, 801, 868, 911, 955, 998; Social and Economie Science, 827; Chemistry, 869, 1030 Ami, H. M., Union and Riverdale Formations in Nova Scotia, 392 Anatomists, American, Association of, 130 Anthropological, Society of Washington, W. Hoven, 147, 391, 544, 790; Expedition to Torres Straits, J. Jastrow, 742; National, Society, F. Boas, 804; W J M., 1035 Anthropology, in United States, G. G. MacCurpy, 211; Twenty Years of, G. G. MacCurpy, 532 Appointments, Scientific, under the Government, 634, 997 Astronomical, and Astrophysical Society of Amer- ica, W. S. HICHELBERGER, 255, 284; Bulletin, HE. C. PickerRine, 996 Bacteriologists, Amer. Society of, H. W. Conn, 361 Baer, von, The Law of, O. C. GLAsER, 976 Baae, Jr., R. M., Discorbina Rugosa d’Orbigny, 755 Baldwin, J. M., Dictionary of Philosophy, F. Tuitty, 302; Social and Ethical Interpreta- tions, G. Tostr, 551 ‘Bancrorr, W. D., Roozeboom on Die heterogenen Gleichgewichte, 537; Ostwald’s Analytic Chemistry, 538 BANES, N., Sjéstedt’s Der Termiten Afrikas, 307 Barnes, OC. R., Némec’s Die Reizleitung bei den Pflanzen, 660 Barometry, F. H. BierLow, 417 Barrows, F. W., and L. C. NEwertt, R. EH. Dope, M. R. Miniter, H. R. Linvinie, N. Y. State Teachers Association, 729 Barus, C., Graded Condensation in Benzine Va- por, 175; Amer. Jour. of Physics, 629; Prop- erties of Nuclei, 912 BASKERVILLE, C., Elisha Mitchell Scientific So- ciety, 2382, 312, 549, 747; and H. R. Weiier, Black Rain in North Carolina, 1034 Barner, F. A., ‘dicology,’ 747, 993 Baurr, L. A., Magnetic Disturbance and Erup- tion of Mont Pelee, 873 Brat, W. J., What is Nature Study? 991 ee B. A., A ‘Whale Shark, 353; Conger Eel, 15 Brrse, C. W., A Subdermal Mite in Birds, 754 Bessey, C. E., Botanical Notes, 75, 274, 511, 632, 793; ‘Ecology,’ 593; Campbell’s Botany, 900 Bicrtow, F. H., A New Barometry, 417 Biological Society of Washington, F. A. Lucas, ie 189, 269, 389, 468, 588, 709, 746, 907, Birds, Song in, W. E. D. Scorr, 178; W. Crate, 590; W. S. Ketiry, 715 Birer, HE. A., A aer. Society of Naturalists, 299 Blood-corpuscle:, Red, Nodules in, G. Mactosxi1e 499; G. N. Srewarr, 714 Boas, F., Variability of Organisms, 1; National Anthropological Society, 804 Botton, H. C., Réssing’s Geschichte der Metalle, 139; Memorial Lectures at Chemical Society of London, 421; Correspondence of J. Ber- zelius and F. Wéohler, 740; of Liebig and Schénbein, 816 Boorn, E., Chemistry in California Schools, 35; Pacific Coast Assoc. of Chem. Teachers, 868 Boston Society of Natural History, G. M. Arren, 192, 471, 666 Botanical, Notes, C. E. Bessey, 75, 274, 511, 632, 793; Garden, Missouri, 157; Section of Con- cilium Bibliographicum, H. H. Frenp, 357; Society of Washington, H. J. Wrsser, 895, 903, 989 Botanists of Central States, A. Scunememr, 454 Brapiey, W. P., Sensitive Thermostat, 510 Britton, W. E., The Gray Squirrel as Twig- pruner, 950 Brooxs, A. H., Geological Society of Washington, =150; 350, 389, 506, 545, 664, 710, 822; North- western America and Northeastern Asia, 909 Brooxs, W. K., Intellectual Conditions for the Science of Embryology, 444, 481 BroucH, B. H., Andrew Carnegie Research Schol- arship, 73 Brown, A. C., Ions of Electrolysis, 881 Brown, J. S., Injuries to the Eye by Intense Light, 433 Broun, William Le Roy, 316 2 iv SCIENCE. Buregss, E. S., Torrey Botanical Club, 350, 508, 589, 627, 711 Burnuam, S. H., Torrey Botanical Club, 908 Burier, N. M., President’s Inaugural Address, 641 C., E. G., Morgan’s Regeneration, 620 C., T. D. A., Las Vegas Science Club, 590 Capy, W. G., Earth-Current Observations, 222 California, Dredging on Coast, W. E. RITTER, 55; Submarine Valleys of, W. 8S. T. Smiru, 670 CatKins, G. N., Lankester’s Treatise on Zoology, 267 Catt, R. E., Unpublished Letter of Rafinesque, 713 Canada, Royal Society of, President’s Address, J. Loupon, 1001; Geology and Biology, G. U. Hay, 1009; Mathematics, Physics and Chem- istry, W. L. Mirier, 1012 Carnegie, Research Scholarship, B. H. Brouen, 73; Institution, 77, 114; D. C. G., 201; As- tronomy, E. C. PICKERING, 553 Casey, T. L., Jackson Outcrops on Red River, 716 Catalogue, International, of Scientific Literature, 796 Carrett, J. McK., Amer. Soe. of Naturalists, 253 Chemical, Society, American, J. L. H., 126; Nich- ol’s Research Medal, 875; Northeastern Sec- tion, H. Fay, 72, 308, 509, 628; North Caro- lina Section, C. B. Wriitiams, 105; Society of Washington, L. 8S. Munson, 145, 666 Chemistry, in California Schools, E. Boorn, 35; Development of, F. W. CrarKrE, 161; Notes on Inorganic, J. L. H., 233, 393, 434, 513; Technical, W. A. NoyEs, 382; Instruction in, A. LacuMan, 775; and Toxicology of Plant Substances, V. K. Cuesnut, 1016 Cuusnur, V. K., Chemistry and Toxicology of Plant Substances, 1016 Cuinp, C. D., Discharge from Hot Platinum Wires, 553 Cnuitp, C. M., Univ. of Chicago Zoological Club, 310, 467 CHITTENDEN, F. H., Sanderson’s Injurious Insects, 540 CHITTENDEN, R. H., Roscoe-Schorlemmer’s Chemie, il Cuurcu, I. P., Bovey’s Treatise on Hydraulics, 65 CiarK, H. L., Humming-birds, 108 CiarKE, F. W., Development of Chemistry, 161 CrarKeE, J. M., Centenary of Hugh Miller, 631 Crayton, H. H., Daily Barometric Wave, 232; Endowment of Research, 351; Volcanic Erup- tion in Martinique, 791 Ciements, F. E., Mohr’s Plant Life of Alabama, 23; The Dismal Swamp, 306; yon Manna- getta’s Die Vegetationsverhiiltnisse der Illy- rischen Liinder, 819 Coal-tar Industry, A. C. Grenn, 7 CockErRELL, T. D. A., English Sparrow in New Mexico, 149; Monophlebine Coccide, 717; Newstead on Coccide of British Isles, 744 Coin, F. N., American Mathematical Society, 103, 427, 821 Colorado Academy of Science, W. C. Ferri, 548 Comstock, G. C., Neweomb’s The Stars, 220 Conarp, H. 8., The Embryo of Nymphea, 316 Condensation, Graded, in Benzine Vapor, C. Barus, 175 pconeas AND INDEX. Conn, H. W., American Society of Bacteriolo- gists, 361 Cook, O. F., Types and Synonyms, 646; Kinetic Evolution of Man, 927 Crate, W., Song in Birds, 590; ‘Heology,’ 793 Crampton, H. E., N. Y. Acad. of Sci., Biology, 191, 229, 470, 626; Public Lecture, 508 CRAWFORDES, J., High Water in Lakes of Nic- aragua, 392 Crawiey, Hi. S., Math. and Astr. at the Amer. Assoc., 668 Dati, W. H., On the True Nature of Tamiosoma, 5; Botanical Nomenclature, 749 Davenport, C. B., American Society of Natural- ists, 244; Schmeil’s Zoology, 901 Davis, B., Motion of Ions, 853 Davis, W. M., Current Notes on Physiography, 74, 154, 234; Geographical Society of North America, 313 Dean, B., Weber on Dutch Expedition to Malay Archipelago, 658 Dr Vries, H., Origin of Species by Mutation, 721 Ditier, J. S., Mt. Mazama, 203; and G. STEIGER, Voleanic Dust and Sand, 947 Discussion and Correspondence, 72, 148, 195, 232, 271, 318, 351, 392, 430, 472, 509, 549, 590, 629, 668, 712, 747, 791, 824, 868, 909, 947, 991, 1033 Dopcr, R. E., N. Y. Acad. of Sci., Geology and Mineralogy, 106; Annual Meeting, 391 Donkin, Bryan, R. H. T., 515 Dooxirrir, C. L., Scientific Research, 841 Dovetass, E., Dinosaurs in the Ft. Pierre Shales, 31; Torrejon Mammals in Montana, 272 Duane, W., On the Siphon, 152 Duerrprn, J. E., Vaughan’s Fossil Corals, 143 Dwieut, T., Fick and Fischer on Animal Me- chanics, 24 Dyar, H. G., Hampson’s Lepidoptera Phalene, 99 Harthquake Waves, Guatemala, C. A., 873 ‘ Ecology,’ C. E. Brssny, L. F. Warp, T. Girt, G. K. Givpert, 593; F. A. Barner, 747, 993; W. F. GAnone, 593, 792; W. Crate, 793; J. Jastrow, 793; W. M. WuHeetrr, 971 Kel, Conger, B. A. Bran, 715 Effront, J., Enzymes, A. F. Woops, 586 EICHELBERGER, W. S., Astronomical and Astro- physical Soc. of Amer., 255, 284 Electro-Chemical Society, American, 505 Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society, C. BAsKeErR- VILLE, 232, 312, 549, 747 Huis, H., Boies’s The Science of Penology, 787 Embryology, Science of, W. K. Brooxs, 444, 481] — Emcu, A., Steiner’s Lost Manuscript, 713 Engineering, Notes, R. H. T., 273, 473; Index, M. MERRIMAN, 539 Evolution, W. M. Wie trr, 766; Kinetic, of Man, O. F. Coox, 927 Experimental Stations, Central Control of, HE. W. Hizearp, 668 Farrineton, O. C., Museum Study by Chicago Public Schools, 181 Fay, H., Northeastern Section of Amer. Chem. Soec., 72, 308, 509, 628 Frerritt, W. C., Colorado Acad. of Sci., 548 Fieip, G. W., The Lobster Industry, 612 New eal VoL. XV. Fietp, H. H., Botanical Section of Concilium Bib- liographicum, 357 Filhol, Henri, H. F. O., 912 Fuatuer, J. J., and C. A. Watpo, Mechanical Science and Engineering at Amer. Assoc., 668 Fitcer, E., Wundt on Fechner, 386 Forses, S. A., Amer. Society of Naturalists, 251 Forestry in N. Y. State, 91 Forests, Sacramento, R. T. Hi, 315 Fossil, Mammals, Cuban, T. W. VaucHan, 148; Shells, R. E. C. Stearns, 153, 393 FRANELIN, W. S., Wireless Telegraphy, 112 Frost, H. B., Lockyer’s Inorganic Evolution, 584 G., D. C., The Carnegie Institution, 201 Ganone, W. I, Society for Plant Morphology and Physiology, 401; ‘Hcology, 593, 792; Botanical Laboratory, Smith College, 933 GARDINER, H. N., Amer. Philos. Assoc., 583 Gasoline, Use of, A. P. Saunprrs, 151 Geographic Society, National, 157; A. J. Henry, 270; Notes, 836 Geographical Society, An American, I. C. Rus- SELL, 195; W. M. Davis, 313; J. S. Brown, 433; W J McGmx, 549; J. P. Goopr, 592 Geological, Society, of America, A. W. GRABAU, 81; H. Le R. Farrcnuirp, 826; Cordilleran Section, A. C. Lawson, 410; of Washington, A. H. Brooks, P50, 350, 389, 506, 545, 664, 710, 822; F. L. RANSomE, 905; Survey, 395 Germann, G. B., University Registration Sta- tistics, 16 GizBeErT, G. K., ‘ Heology,’ 594 Gitt, T., ‘ Ecology,’ 593; The ‘ Whale-Shark,’ 824 Gitman, D. C., Johns Hopkins University, Com- memorative Address, 321 -Glaciology, R. D. SaLispurRy, 353 GiasEr, O. C., The Law of von Baer, 976 Goons, J. P., Injuries to the Eye by Intense Light, 433; Geographical Society of America, 592 GoopspPrEp, A. W., Mass and Weight, 951 Gorpon, R. H., Explosive Force of Volcanoes, 1033 GraBau, A. W., Geological Society of America, 81 Gravity of the Ocean, O. H. T., 514 Green, A. C., Coal-tar Industry, 7 GREENHILL, A. G., Mathematical Theory of the Top, 712 H., J. L., American Chemical Society, 126; In- organic Chemistry, 233, 393, 434, 513 Hats, A. C., and F. C. Puiiis, Amer. Chem. Soc., 869 Hatstep, G. B., Barbarin’s La géométrie non- Euclidienne, 984 Hamilton, W. H., A. MAcFrARLANE, 950 Haton, M., Retirement of, R. H. THurston, 235 Hay, G. U., Section of Natural Sciences, Royal Society of Canada, 1009 Henry, A. J., National Geographic Society, 270 HENSHAW, S., Alpheus Hyatt, 300 Herine, C., Mass and Weight, 993 Herricr, C. J., Cole and Johnstone’s Pleuronectes, 465 HersnHey, O. H., Tertiary Peneplain Region, 951 Hirearp, BH. W., Alkali Salts and the Soil Sur- face, 314; Control of Experimental Stations, 668 Hitz, R. T., Sacramento Forests, 315 SCIENCE. Hosgss, W. H., Meteoric Iron, 826 Horeatr, T. F., Chicago Section of American Math. Soe., 349, 625 Hottanp, W. J., Biologia Centrali-Americana, 186; American Association, 868, 911 Horiick, A., Endowment of Research, 472 Hoprxins, T. C., Onondaga Acad. of Sci., 509, Hoven, W. Anthropological Soc. of Washington, 147, 391, 544, 790 Houser, G. L., Intracellular Canaliculi of the Liver, 874 Hovey, E. O., N. Y. Acad. of Sci., Geology and Mineralogy, 27, 469, 744, 867 Howarp, lL. O., Theobald on Culicide; Mosquito Brigades, 345 Howe, H. M., Metallurgical Laboratories, 761 Howse, M. A., Torrey Botanical Club, 72 Hunt, M. H., The Will of the People not of an Oligarchy, 749 Huntmr, Jr. G. W., N. Y. Assoc. of Biology Teachers, 549, 629 Hyatt, Alpheus, S. HensuAw, 300 Ross’s Indian Summer, C. Appr, 793 Interest, Rate of, on Government Securities, 954 Ions, Electrical Charge of, J. Loms, 434; Motion of, B. Davis, 853; of Electrolysis, A. C. Brown, 881 Iowa Academy of Sciences, A. G. Lronarp, 388 Jackson, D. C., Fleming on the Electrical Labora- tory, 817 Jastrow, J., Cambridge Anthropological Expedi- tion to Torres Straits, 742; ‘ Heology, 793 Johns Hopkins University, Commemorative Ad- dress, D. C. Giuman, 321; Inaugural Ad- dress, I. Remsen, 330; Honorary Degrees, 339 JULIEN, A. A., Pyrite and Marcasite, 870 Kansas Academy of Science, D. E. Lantz, 193 Ketiey, W. 8., Song in Birds, 715 Keyurs, C. R., Differentiation of Rocks, 32 King, Clarence, 113 Kinestey, J. S., Gaupp’s Anatomy of the Frog, 100 Koper, G. M., Willoughby’s Hygiene, 861 Lacuman, A., Technical Chemistry, 775 Lanetry, 8. P., The Laws of Nature, 921 Language of Science, T. A. RicKaRpD, 132 Lantz, D. E., Kansas Acad. of Science, 193 Las Vegas Science Club, T. D. A. C., 590 Lawson, A. C., Cordilleran Section, Geological Soe. of Amer., 410 Lrg, F. S., Amer. Physiological Soc., Chicago See- tion, 341; Verworn’s Allgemeine Physiologie, 423 Lewy, J., Correspondence of Professor Leidy, 715 Jeirn, C. K., Wisconsin Univ. Sci. Club, 270, 542, 712, 909 Lronarp, A. G., Iowa Acad. of Sciences, 388 Lepidoptera, Strecker Collection, 156 Luoyp, F. E., Caldwell’s Botany, 786 Lobster Industry, G. W. Fietp, 612 Locy, W. A., Hertwig’s Entwicklung der Biologie, 17; Packard’s Life of Lamarck, 988 vi SCIENCE. Los, J., Physiological Effect of the Electrical Charge of Ions, 434 ; Loupon, J., The University in Relation to Re- search, 1001 Lucas, F. A., Biological Sogiety of Washington, 107, 189, 269, 389, 468, 588, 709, 746, 907, 1032 a M., W J, American Anthropologie Assoc., 1035 MacCurpy, G. G., Anthropology at the American Association, 121; Teaching of Anthropology in United States, 211; Section H, 532 MacDoucati, R., Reprints, 315 Macrartaner, A., W. EB. Hamilton, 950 McGrr, W J, American Society of Naturalists, 246; Union Among Geographers, 549 Mactosxin, G., Nodules and Molecules of Red Blood-corpuscles, 499 McNair, F. W., Divergence of Long Plumb-lines, 994 ; Manpet, J. A., Chittenden’s Physiological Chem- istry, 141 Mason, O. T., Hoerne’s Primitive Man, 142; Coiled Basketry, 872 Mass and Weight, A. W. GoopsprrEp, 951; C. Herne, 993 Mathematical Society, American, F. N. Corr, 103, 427, 821; Chicago Section, T. F. Horeats, 349, 625; Pacific Section, G. A. Mmer, 789 Maturws, A. P., Nerve Stimulation, 492 Marrrmws, A., Rafinesque and Cutler, 951 Mazama, Mt., Wreck of, J. S. Dinter, 203 Mrans, T. H., Salts near the Surface of Soils, 33 Measurement and Calculation, R. S. Woodward, 961 Membership of the American Association, 616, 814, 982 Merriman, M., The Engineering Index, 539 Merritt, E., American Physical Society, 227, 425, 865 Messencer, J. F., How Many One-dollar Bills equal in Weight a Five-dollar Gold Piece, 672 Metallurgical Laboratories, H. M. Howe, 761 Mercatr, H., Gorham’s Bacteriology, 188 Mercarr, M. M., Amer. Morphological Society, 521, 571; Microscopic Illumination, 937 Meteoric Iron, W. H. Hopgs, 826 Meteorite, Arabian, H. A. Warp, 149 Meteorology, in Argentina, 875; Current Notes, R. DeC. Warp, 110, 435, 555, 594, 756, 914 Metrie System, 829 Michigan, Uniy. of, Research Club, F. C. Nrew- COMBE, 28, 466 Miter, G. A., Amer. Math. Soc., Pacific Sec- tion, 789 Mitier, W. L., Mathematical, Physical and Chem- ical Sciences at Royal Society of Canada, 1012 Miller, Hugh, Centenary, J. M. Crarne, 631 Minot, C. 8., American Society of Naturalists, 241; Vacations at American Universities, 441 Mite, Subdermal, occurring among Birds, C. W. Brrse, 754; H. B. Ward, 911 Moorr, J. W., A Mud Shower, 714 Morphological Society, American, M. M. Merrt- CALF, 521, 571 CONTENTS AND INDEX. Morsg, E. 8., Our Sister Societies, 698 Morsr, M., Range of Fox Snake, 1035 Morton, Henry, R. H. Tuurston, 858 * Mosrtey, E. L., Ohio Academy of Science, 227 Losquitoes, J. B. SmirH, 13, 898, 1028 Mud Shower, J. W. Moorr, 714; A. HE. VERRILL, 872 Munson, L. §., Chem. Soc. of Washington, 145, 666 Museum Study by Chicago Public Schools, O. C. FARRINGTON Mutation, Origin of Species by, H. Dz Vries, 721 Nacutries, H. F., Shipley and MacBride’s Zool- ogy, 386 National Academy of Sciences, 663 ‘Natural History,’ ‘ Gicology,’ or ‘ Kthology, W. M. WHEELER, 971 Naturalists, American Society of, Chicago Meet- ing, 41; Relation of, to other Scientific So- cieties, C. S. Minor, 241; C. B. Davenport, 244; W J MoGrn, 246; W. TRELEASE, 250; S. A. Forprs, 251; J. McK. Carretn, 253; K. A. Birex, 299 Nature, Laws of, 8. P. Lanetny, 921; Study, W. J. Bra, 991 Nebraska Academy of Science, R. H. Wo.cort, 428 Netson, H., Hydrolysis and Synthesis of Ethyl Butyrate by Platinum Black, 715 Nerve Stimulation, A. P. MarHrws, 492 Newcomb, S., The Stars, G. C. Comstocn, 220 Newcomss, F. C., Univ. of Mich., Research Club, 28, 466 Newstead on Coccide, T. D. A. CockmRELL, 744 New York, Academy of Sciences, Geology and Mineralogy, EH. O. Hovey, 27, 469, 744, 867; R. E. Dover, 106; Astronomy, Physics and Chemistry, F. L. Turrs, 71, 230, 310, 547; Biology, H. EH. Crampron, 191, 229, 470, 626; Anthropology and Psychology, R. S. Woop- WORTH, 309, 547, 627, 907; Annual Meeting, R. E. Doper, 391; Public Lecture, H. E. Crameton, 508; Assoc. of Biology Teachers, G. W. Hunter, Jr., 549, 629; State Science Teachers Association, F. W. Barrows, 729; L. C. NrEwett, 732; R. E. Dope, 733; M. R. Minter, 734; H. R. Linvinin, 734 Nicaragua, Lakes of, High water, J. CRAWFORDES, 392 Nicuots, E. F., and W. S. Franxxin, Physics at the American Association, 631 Nomenclature, Scientific, F. W. Very, 472; H. Wuirr, 511; W. H. Dat, 749; F. A. Barner, 747; W.M. WHEELER, 971 P Nova Scotia, Union and Riverdale Formations, H. M. Amt, 392 Noyrs, W. A., Technical Chemistry, 382 Nuclei, Certain Properties of, C. Barus, 912 Nymphea, Embryo of, H. S. Conarp, 316 O., H. F., Recent Zoopaleontology, 355, 514; Henri Filhol, 912 Ohio Academy of Science, EH. L. Mosrtey, 227 ° Onondaga Academy of Science, T. C. Hopxins, 509; P. F. ScuNnrIDER, 629 O’Rettty, M. F., Schultze and Sevenoak’s Geom- etry, 384 NEw SERIES VoL. XV. P., A. S., Kidd’s Use-Inheritance, 142 PacKkarp, A. S., Beecher’s Studies on Evolution, 503 Paleontological Notes, F. A. L., 554 Parker, G. H., Kellogg’s Zoology, 864 Pathology, Vegetable, A. D. SELBY, 736 Peneplain, Early Tertiary, O. H. Hersury, 951 Petrology, Progress in, F. lL. RANSOME, 673 Philippines, Map of, 113 Philosophical, Society, of Washington, C. K. Wea \oaabooade!” sill Woceopneaos Ih, osbaenacs 375 (BEN (110))| seseesbo0,. ||) eacsosceo 21 O(—10)| ........ 466 [41] [160] [269] 229TH eee [PUSi Pee leisecceeca eillsacecsen [53] 1228 (—90)/3816 (64) |3536(113)) 1549(214) | 1903 |2365 (125) |2520(—29)/|1362(111)| 2812 |2680(178) 164 239 | 260 # Bee 270 90 170 | 290 tember, 1900, gehalten von Oscar Hertwic. Jena, Gustav Fischer. Pp. 31. The advancement in knowledge of organic nature was so remarkable during the nine- teenth century that it is of unusual interest to have the progress in biology summed up by one of the leaders in the movement. As might be expected from Hertwig’s well-known powers of clear exposition, the reading of this lecture is enjoyable; the line of thought is not difficult to follow and the analysis of the subject is as simple and direct as it is pos- sible to make it within the limits of thirty- one pages. It is, of course, impossible in many instances to do more than suggest the line of influence of a group of men whose work has been of epoch-making importance. The names of most of the great leaders are men- tioned categorically—and the list is a long one, but it is a disappointment to miss any reference to Bichat. His influence was so * Included under College. 170 students in law are enrolled ; loss of 15. of a blunder. However clear the general ac- count of biological progress may be, it is in- adequate if no place is found in it for such names as Cope, Marsh and Gray or for the mention of the embryological and cytological researches of American investigators. The subject is naturally considered under two main divisions—the progress in morphol- ogy and that in physiology. In regard to progress in morphology, the four following factors are indicated as having had the greatest influence: (1) The establishment of the cell theory and the closely related proto- plasm doctrine. (2) The development of the science of bacteriology. (38) Progress in em- bryology. (4) The doctrine of organic evo- lution. : The great influence of the cell theory is es- pecially emphasized, not only as to its unify- ing tendency in uniting animals and plants on the broad basis of similitude of structure, but also as opening to naturalists the real problems of the living organism. The dis- 18 SCIENCE. covery that fermentation, putrefaction and finally, that many diseases are due to micro- organisms, stimulated studies which led to the establishment of the science of bacteriol- ogy. The revival in the nineteenth century of the question of spontaneous generation is mentioned, and the great triumph of Pasteur in demonstrating the falsity of the position of the heterogenists. Here also one notes an- other omission—no reference is made to the luminous researches of Tyndall on this subject with optically pure air. The great influence of embryology as founded on the work of Pan- der and yon Baer is sympathetically although briefly treated. The facts that all animals be- gin as single cells, and show every gradation between that simple condition and the more complex one of the adult, and that ontogeny is in a sense an epitome of phylogeny, are sufficiently striking to endue this subject with unusual interest. Lastly, the influence of the establishment of the theory of evolution is spoken of. In physiology the fundamental importance of experiment is pointed out—what the mi- eroscope is for anatomy, experiment is for physiology. Among the greatest advances mentioned in the first half of the century are the demonstration of Bell’s law and the elabo- ration of the theory of specific energy by Johannes Miller. The development of phys- iology along the respective lines of chemical and physical physiology is discussed, together with the opposition aroused by these researches to the old theory of vitalism. The obserya- tions as to the action of chemical substances within the bodies of lower animals were turned to practical account in medicine. While phys- iology was being developed along chemical lines by one school, represented by Claude Bernard Pettinkofer, Voigt, Pfliiger, Heiden- hain and others, it was being advanced along physical lines by Robert Meyer, Helmholtz, Ludwig, Dubois-Reymond and others. With the latter school came exact methods of meas- uring and recording physiological activities, as with the kymograph, myograph, etc. The greatest triumph of the chemical and physical methods was in demonstrating that physio- logical processes are chemico-physical rather [N.S. Von. XV. No. 366. than vital. But this conception has been car- ried too far; some physiologists look upon life, with all its complex manifestations, as being entirely chemical and physical. This is as far wrong as the old theory of vitalism. The re- lation of the physicist to biological questions is similar to that of the chemist. Physiologi- cal questions can not be explained on purely chemical and physical grounds. We can not find out the réle played by albumin in vital processes by study of its chemistry, but by direct study of the protoplasm in living cells. We must return to an anatomico-biological basis and let it be modified by the chemico- physical conception. The material world must be united by biological studies with the mani- festations of the immaterial world of life. Witiram A. Locy. Comparative Physiology of the Brain and Comparative Psychology. By Jacques Lors. The Science Series. New York, G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 1900. Pp. x+309. $1.50. Professor Loeb’s book forcibly calls atten- tion to the importance of the comparative method in physiology and psychology. The present work is a translation, with additions and changes, of the German edition of 1900 by Mrs. Loeb. The book has been made into English with singular skill. Jt is clear, con- cise, scientifically accurate in statement, and, withal, readable. Of it may truthfully be said ‘every words counts.’ Whether one agrees or disagrees with any or all of the conclusions reached, the discussion is valuable, for it pleads for opposition, contradiction, investiga- tion. There are not so very many physiolo- gists, we faney, who will fully agree with all the theories which Professor Loeb seeks to maintain; fewer still are the psychologists who will find themselves in sympathy with his attitude, and among ethical thinkers scarcely any will come to the support of the new scien- tific construction whose possibility, nay, neces- sity—for our author is evidently a man of strong convictions—is hinted at. But opposi- tion is needed for the testing of the theories in which the book abounds, although we doubt not that in the main the author’s position is a safe one. Nothing is clearer than the seri- JANUARY 3, 1902.] ousness with which Professor Loeb takes him- self and his work. Every sentence indicates that he realizes the importance of the study of life phenomena, and appreciates the inti- mate relationship of all physiological investi- gation to the practical problems of our work- a-day life. The book is itself a collection of experimen- tall discovered facts of neural physiology so arranged that they inevitably lead the reader to the definite conception of the réle of the nervous system held by the author. Note- worthy is the fact that a majority of the ex- perimental studies from which evidence is drawn in support of the views presented have been made by Professor Loeb himself. They form, as thus gathered together, and unified by a single purpose, a splendid monument to the energy, patience and enthusiasm of a physiolo- gist who has well earned the praises of the scientific world. To say of most physiologists ‘he has based a general discussion of the func- tion of the nervous system solely upon the re- sults of his own researches,’ would be equiv- alent to characterizing and condemning the work as narrow and incomplete. But of the work in question this cannot be said, for Pro- fessor Loeb’s investigations have covered such a wide range of physiological andpsychological phenomena, and his problems have been se- lected with such rare insight into the general implications and relative importance of differ- ent aspects of his chosen work, that they fur- nish an excellent foundation for the theories which he presents. The conscious and avowed goal of Professor Loeb’s researches is ‘the control of life phe- nomena.’ His slogan well might be ‘more life and fuller that we want.’ It is not simply to understand the functions of the organism for the sake or satisfaction of understanding, but that we may be the better able to regulate our lives that we should strive toward the control of vital processes. Toward this goal we are to progress by the use of the methods of phys- ics and chemistry. To quote, “It seems to me that living organisms are machines and that their reactions can only be explained accord- ing to the same principles which are used by the physicist.” On the basis of the physical SCIENCE. 19 and chemical qualities of protoplasm our au- thor proposes to explain al] activities. ‘Comparative Physiology of the Brain and Comparative Psychology’ may for review be divided into four parts. Of these the first deals with the relation of reflex action to the nery- ous system. Experimental evidence is pre- sented to prove that such actions are not de- pendent upon any specific character of nerve tissue, but upon the general properties of pro- toplasm. This is followed by a consideration of the morphological and physiological evi- dence bearing upon the ‘center theory’ and the ‘segmental theory’ of the nervous system, with a defense of the latter. The third main sub- ject is the relation of instinctive action to the réle of the nervous system and to reflex action. Experiments are cited to show that the in- stinctive act is really only a chain of reflexes. Finally, in the portion of the book which comes under the title ‘comparative psychology,’ asso- ciative memory is pointed out as the psychic fact of prime importance. Its connection with brain functioning is discussed, and the possi- bility of analyzing all complex psychic phe- nomena into associative processes maintained. It is common to refer all actions to nerve centers. Even the simplest reflex act is thought of by many as dependent upon the functioning of a ganglionic center. Now it is Professor Loeb’s conviction that this is an erroneous view; and by an examination of experimental studies of representatives of the Celenterata, Echinodermata, Vermes, Arthropoda, Mollusca and Vertebrata he proves that reflexes can be ~ executed in the absence of ganglia. A few of the instances mentioned in the book may be cited. Study of the Medusz has shown that the bell will make normal spontaneous, coordinated movements after the nervous system has been removed. Thus by a very simple experiment, spontaneity, coordination and reflex action are proved to be independent of the central nery- ous system. Among the Ascidians, Ciona intestinalis, whose nervous system consists of a single gan- glion, normally exhibits a peculiarly character- istic reflex in the closing of both the oral and aboral openings, when open, if either is 20 SCIENCE. touched. If the ganglion be removed the ani- mal will still carry out this reflex. But care- ful study shows that there are differences be- tween the action of the normal animal and the one which lacks its ganglion. In the latter the threshold of stimulation is higher and the reaction-time greater. From this Professor Loeb concludes that ‘the nerves and ganglion only play the part of a more sensitive and quicker conductor for the stimulus.’ The tentacles of Metridium in the food-tak- ing activity of the animal move in such a way as to bring the object with which they are in contact to the mouth. The action is one of ap- parent adaptation, and one would scarcely ex- pect to see the same kind of a reflex oceur after ‘the tentacle had been cut from the body. Such, however, is the result of the experiment; no difference between the action of the tentacle in normal relation to the nervous system and that which has been isolated is observable. We have to conclude, therefore, that the action is determined by the properties of the protoplasm of the tentacle itself, and not by special proper- ties of the nervous tissues. Other observations prove that certain worms when deprived of their brains are able to move spontaneously. As a case in point, the fresh- water Planarian, Planaria torva, is sensitive to stimulation by light. To any increase in in- tensity it responds by movement. It also se- leets the darkest region of a dish in which it is left. When the anterior portion of the body is cut off it is found that the brainless por- tion will give the same responses to light as the normal animal. And the only significant fact in favor of the influence of the brain upon such activities is that the reaction-time of the brainless animal is longer. Of the reflexes of higher animals that are known to be in part at least independent of the brain and cord are the movements of the iris, the bladder, rectum, blood vessels, respira- tory organs, ete. Experiments upon fishes, frogs and dogs have established the independ- ence of many of their reflexes. In one instance the whole brain and spinal cord of a larval frog were destroyed without interfering with spon- taneous movements. There are so many ob- servations of this kind for the vertebrates that [N. S. Vou. XV. No. 366. one cannot question the general truth of Pro- fessor Loeb’s conclusion. As he states, those instances in which the reflex is interfered with by the destruction of the nervous system are explicable by the fact that the only existing connection between the sense organ and the musele has been broken. Establish any kind of protoplasmic connection between the region in which the disturbance arises and the motor apparatus, and the appropriate reflex will be executed. But the fundamental experiment for the proof of the independence of reflexes is that made by Professor Loeb upon isolated muscles. He has shown that muscles containing no gan- glion cells will beat rhythmically when placed in a pure sodium chloride solution of the same osmotie pressure as the blood. To put the matter in his words, “It is not the presence or absence of ganglion cells which determines the spontaneous rhythmic contractions, but the presence or absence of certain ions. Na ions start or increase the rate of spontaneous rhyth- mical contractions; Ca ions diminish the rate or inhibit such contractions altogether.” Now it is clear that to prove the isolated muscle ca- pable of responding to stimuli is to establish the thesis which has been stated. The conception of the nervous system as a series of more or less intimately related cen- ters, each with its own special function, arose and found an observational basis in the many experiments on localization. Certain parts of the brain apparently control certain groups of muscles. This is undoubtedly true, but Pro- fessor Loeb attempts to show that the concep- tion as a whole is false. From comparative morphology and physiology comes abundant evidence of the segmental theory of the nerv- ous system. In the Annelids, for example, the segments, each with its ganglion and nerves, are to a certain extent independent organisms. Each ganglion in this case functions in con- nection with a very definite portion of the worm. “The so-called centers of the cerebral cortex are merely the places where the fibers from single segments of the central nervous system enter.” If the spinal cord of a dog be cut it will be found, after the shock of the operation Bon JANUARY 3, 1902.] has passed, that all of the reflexes belonging to the segments of the body which are represented by the portion of the cord severed can be ex- ecuted. Rubbing of the skin causes scratching movements of the hind legs, and the reflexes of bladder, rectum and respiratory organs occur im response to the appropriate stimuli. “According to the segmental theory,” writes our author, “there are only indifferent seg- mental ganglia in the central nervous system, and the different reactions or reflexes are due to the different peripheral organs and the ar- rangements of the muscles. The center theory must remain satisfied with the mere problem of localizing the apparent ‘seat’ of a ‘function’ without being able to give the dynamies of the reactions of an animal, as the latter depend in reality upon the peripheral structures, and not on the structures of the ganglia. For this reason the segmental theory alone will be able to lead to a dynamical conception of the fune- tions of the central nervous system.” In taking up the problem of instinct Pro- fessor Loeb touches a field which he has made distinctively his own; for no one has done so much as he toward the analysis and explana- tion of this type of action. He holds that there can be no sharp separation of reflex ac- tion from instinctive. The reflex usually is the activity of a single organ, and the instine- tive act one in which the whole organism is concerned. Instinctive actions are character- ized by an apparent adaptation to a special purpose, an adaptation to the circumstances in which they occur. For this reason there is a strong tendency to regard them as results of intelligence. For years Professor Loeb has been studying, and, as it were, dissecting, in- stinct after instinct in order to show the ab- surdity of this conception. The fly that instinctively selects for the de- positing of its eggs a substance on which the laryee can feed does so not because it has a faint notion of the utility of the action, or even because it chooses so to do, but because the chemical particles emanating from the sub- stance stimulate it in such fashion as to cause an orientation of its body in reference to the source of the stimulus, and this orientation in turn determines the movement toward the sub- SCIENCE. 21 stanee. The whole is simply a mechanical prob- lem; physics and chemistry serve to explain the instinct. An insect comes within the range of vision of a frog and is instinctively stalked, seized and swallowed. In this event the visual stimu- lus initiates a series of reflexes whose result is the obtaining of food. There is no deliberate choice, no intelligence in the action. The crus- tacean or insect or worm that instinctively moves toward a source of light does so, experi- ments indicate, simply because the light forces it to take a certain orientation, just as the chemical stimulus did in ease of the fly. Once having taken this position, there is only the possibility of moving toward the source of the stimulus. The ‘orientation theory’ is one of Professor Loeb’s chief contributions to the explanation of instincts. It is based upon the assumption that when a stimulus affects symmetrical points of an animal’s body un- equally there is resulting inequality of mus- cular activity on the two sides, and as a result the organism is finally forced into that position in which symmetrical points are equally stimulated. Such a position is evidently at- tained when the long axis of the body is par- allel with the rays of light, for example, with the head either toward or away from the source of the light. From this position it is clear the animal can move only toward or away from the light. And again it is noticed that certain arthro- pods and worms ‘hide’ in crevices. Jf we study this action we learn that the animals are able to remain quiet only when the body is in contact with some object, and so long as it is not in such a position the animal moves about continuously. In the act ‘hid- ing’ plays no part. The phenomenon is merely the inhibition of movement by a stimulus, it matters not whether the stimulus be given by a board which really ‘hides’ the animal or by a plate of glass which leaves it fully exposed to view. And so one might go on with the enumeration of simple instinctive acts that appear to be guided by reason, but whose careful study reveals only the influence of certain environmental factors upon a defi- nitely describable organic structure. 22 SCIENCE. To the most important of these environ- mental factors the name ‘tropism’ has been applied. Heliotropism is the response to light; chemotropism, to chemicals; galvano- tropism, to electricity; stereotropism, to con- tact; geotropism, to gravity; hydrotropism, to moisture; thermotropism, to temperature, ete. All simple instinctive acts are found to be responses to one or more such factors either external or internal; those more complex ac- tions of which nest building and the instinct- ive processes of ants, bees and wasps are rep- resentative are presumably due to a number of factors working simultaneously and giving rise to a series of reflex acts, the whole of which in their interconnection is an instinct- ive action. No one has yet succeeded in satisfactorily analyzing any of these complex activities, but Professor Loeb has confidence that the subjecting of any of them to labora- tory requirements will reveal the same kind of structure as has been discovered in the simple acts. The chapter on instinct closes with some remarks concerning the relation of the con- ception presented to ethics. “The analysis of instincts from a purely physiological point of view will ultimately furnish the data for a scientific ethics. Human happiness is based upon the possibility of a natural and harmon- ious satisfaction of the instincts.” Such are the significant statements with which we are introduced to the author’s ethical philosophy. From the naturalistic point of view ethics can have no other foundation than that indicated above; and there is no doubt that he who is only a physiologist can find complete satis- faction init. But one feels, instinctively, that Professor Loeb, despite his unpleasant, though appropriate, introductory words concerning the mixing of metaphysical and scientifié con- ceptions, is of a philosophic mind, and it seems probable that physiology alone saved him from becoming a technical metaphysician. We find upon turning to the discussion of comparative psychology that Professor Loeb considers as the central and chief problem of the physiology of the central nervous sys- tem the study of the ‘mechanisms which give rise to the so-called pyschic phenomena.’ [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 366. As the elemental psychic fact he names ‘as- sociative memory, by which he means neither more nor less, so far as we can see, than what the psychologist designates as an associative process. Wherever associative memory is found there is material for the psychologist. His first task must be to determine in what animals this psychic phenomenon occurs, and his second, to analyze the more complex pro- cesses of higher animals into the elements of the psychic process, much as the instinctive act is analyzed into reflexes. An animal which can learn is said to have psychic processes. In this criterion of asso- ciative memory is seen, by Professor Loeb, the basis of a future comparative psychology. Among vertebrates it is well known that as- sociative processes are found; even the Am- phibia and Fishes profit by experience, al- though it is stated by the author that the frog has not yet been proved to have associative memory. Of the invertebrates in this respect little is known for they have not been studied experimentally. But at present it seems safe to say the Celenterata and Vermes are not known to profit by training. By this criterion of the psychic a very sharp limit for the field of psychology is indicated. Those who do not believe in what Professor Loeb describes as crises in development will not be likely to take much stock in his- conception of the réle of comparative psychology until experimentation has proved the abrupt appearance of the as- sociative process in the animal series. For until then there will remain the possibility that the whole thing is a matter of degree of ability to profit by experience, rather than of the presence or absence of a brain mechanism which is able to mediate the association. On this point the author says, “The idea of a steady, continuous development is inconsistent with the general physical qualities of proto- plasm or colloidal material. The colloidal sub- stances in our protoplasm possess critical points.” Two chapters of great interest treat of the ‘Cerebral Hemisphere and Associative Mem- ory’ and ‘Anatomical and Psychie Loealiza- tion.’ Concerning the valuable experimental data furnished in them we may make only JANUARY 3, 1902. ] a general statement. It proves that the as- sociative process in vertebrates is dependent upon the cerebral hemisphere. “The assump- tion of ‘centers of association,’” says the author, “is just as erroneous as the assump- tion of a center of coordination in the heart. Association is, like coordination, a dynamical effect determined by the conductivity of the protoplasm. Associative processes occur every- where in the hemispheres (and possibly in other parts of the brain), just as coordination occurs wherever the connection between two protoplasmic pieces is sufficient. It is just as anthropomorphic to invent special centers of association as to invent special centers of coordination.” Finally, attention should be called to the stress which in this valuable contribution to the literature of comparative physiology is laid upon the chemical and physical study of protoplasm and its transformations. Ulti- mately it would appear all physiological in- vestigations resolve themselves into problems of the physies of colloidal substances. In this imperfect and inadequate review of Professor Loeb’s book an attempt has been made to indicate a few of the general tenden- cies and conclusions which seem of prime im- portance. There are a large number of inter- esting experimental studies discussed in the book which have not even been mentioned here. We have taken the liberty to quote freely from the text, and it is hoped that the sentences thus selected to indicate the author’s point of view will in no case misrepresent him because of their isolation. Rosert Mearns YERKES. CAMBRIDGE, MASS. Plant Life of Alabama. An account of the distribution, modes of association and adaptations of the flora of Alabama, to- gether with a systematic catalogue of the plants growing in the State. By Caries Mour, Ph.D. Contributions from the U. S. National Herbarium. VI. Washington. 1901. 8vo. Pp. 921. 12 plates and 1 map. The ‘Plant Lite of Alabama’ is a note- worthy addition to the list of works which treat of State floras. The book consists of two parts; one, ot 127 pages, dealing chiefly with SCIENCE. 23 the floristics of the vegetation, the other, of 708 pages, containing a complete catalogue of the flora. The first part will be particularly welcomed by phytogeographers as the first serious analysis of a portion of the vegetative covering of the southeastern United States. The value of this portion lies chiefly in the observations and lists which it contains, as no systematic investigation of the vegetation has yet been made. The absence of recent methods and the lack of detailed formational analysis detract much from this part, though the lapse of time between the completion of the manuscript and its publication would seem to indicate that this is not the fault of the author. It is much to be regretted that the author’s death occurred before his book finally appeared. The author sketches the history of the bo- tanical exploration of Alabama, giving a brief account of the labors of Bartram, Peters, Buckley and others. This is followed by a summary of the general physiographical and climatic features of the State. Physiographic- ally, the area considered falls into five re- gions, the coastal plain, the region of crys- talline rocks, the region of the coal measures, the Coosa Valley and the Tennessee Valley. The author gives a brief discussion of the gen- eral principles underlying plant distribution, in which he has unfortunately made use of Merriam’s divisions of the North American continent, which are phytogeographically in- correct. The formational treatment is based upon the work of Willkomm and Warming. The accurate classification of formations, how- ever, as hydrophytic, mesophytic or xerophytic, is hardly to be determined otherwise than by actual physiometric investigation of forma- tions, which have been tentatively determined by means of floristic. The formational anal- ysis of the vegetation is neither close nor thorough, consisting for the most part of flor- istic lists of the various habitats, with very slight consideration of the interrelations of the species which constitute the formation. In some instances (page 65) the difficulty seems to rise from the fact that the acquaint- ance with the particular vegetation is at sec- ond hand. a Under biological and ecologieal relations, the author treats briefly of the forest flora, in which are included shrubby-plant associa- tions and arboreal-plant associations, ever- green and deciduous, the campestrian flora, the water and swamp flora, including the hy- drocharidean, lithophytic, limnzan and palus- trian classes, and of the organotopic flora, comprising epiphytic, saprophytic, symbiotic and parasitic plant associations. This is fol- lowed by an interesting discussion of intro- duced plants, which are regarded as natural- The more de- vegetation is ized, adventive and fugitive. tailed consideration of the taken up under plant distribution, in connec- tion with the Carolinian and Louisianian areas. In delimiting the two the author makes use of ‘truly zonal plants,’ which, except in restricted formations, usually of hypdrophytie stamp, are illusive. The Carolinian area falls into the mountain region, the table-lands, the region of the Tennessee Valley and the lower hill country. Under each is given a summary of the physiographical features and climate, and a discussion of the various formations, grouped as xerophile and mesophile forests, and xerophile, mesophile and hydrophytic plant associations. The Louisianian area is likewise divided into several regions, central pine belt, central prairie, maritime pine and coast plain, in which the treatment of the formations is similar. Notwithstanding the valuable information now made ayailable for the first time in the part just considered, the second part is a more important contribution. It contains an excel- lent catalogue of the entire flora, in which are enumerated more than 4,500 plants, of which 2,500 are flowering plants and upward of 2,000 eryptogams, numbers which indicate an ex- treme richness and diversity of vegetation. The large list of fungi, which is contributed by Professor Earle, is a testimony of the energy and industry of a few workers, notably Peters, Atkinson, Underwood and Earle. The algee are apparently little known as yet, a fact which explains the preponderance of anthro- pytes in the list. The entries of the flowering plants are models of floristic cataloguing. The bibliography is full, and indications of range, o4 SOTENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 366. both ‘State and continental, are given with unusual care. The type locality is indicated wherever known, as is also the disposition of the Alabama exsiceati. Altogether the catalogue is the most complete and painstaking State ~ list so far contributed to American botany. The book closes with a list of the plants eulti- vated in Alabama, a tabular statement of the plants of the State, and a, very satisfactory index. - Freperic E. CLemMeEnts. THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA. TWO PAPERS ON ANIMAL MECHANICS. Ueber die Bewegungen in den Handgelenken, von Rupotr Fick; Ueber die Bewegungen des Fusses u. s. w., von Orro Fiscuer; both in the 26th volume of the Abhandlungen der Math. phys. Classe der Konig. Siachsischen Gesellschaft der Wissen., Leipzig, 1901. These papers are alike, but in some respects quite different. In the former Fick discusses the movements of the bones of the wrist as shown by the X-rays, and though mathematies are not avoided, they are rather subordinate to the results of observation. Thus anyone who is suticiently at home in the anatomy of the hand ean follow the author provided only he take pains enough. JF ischer’s paper is the fourth part of his ‘Gang des Menschen’ in which the share of the foot in the walk is scientifically and mathematically studied. This puts it beyond the reach of most readers. With- out pretending to be able to appreciate it, we think we run little risk, from the reputation of the author, in recommending it to students of this field. The paper on the wrist is one that, while very valuable, is not of very general interest to readers other than anatomists. Since the introduction of the X-ray, hands, as con- venient objects, have been photographed every- where, and several anatomists have given at- tention to the movements of the bones. So far as the results obtained from the dead body go, we are not inclined to modify the opinion which we have expressed, namely, that the X-rays have done little more than confirm what was already known of the movements of the wrist. (This must however be understood JANUARY 3, 1902. ] with the proviso that more was known than was found in most anatomical. text-books.) But in these studies the living hand has been used, and although our contention still in the main holds good, it is to be admitted that a@ priort we really did not know how closely the movements made on a dead body repro- duced the conditions which were the result of motions from within. The work has been very thorough, much attention being given to in- dividual bones. Some of the views strike us as quite original. Thus we do not remember to have seen, in any of the monographs on this subject the position of the carpal bones in palmar and dorsal flexion shown directly from either the front or the back as in the usual view of the wrist. The objection which naturally presents itself, when such a course is proposed, is that the foreshortening of the flexed bones and the hiding of more or less of one row under the other would make the figure worthless, but this objection has by skill in technique been well met. The illustrations are admirable, and are made still more practi- eal by being almost always accompanied by an outline drawing. The results in the main are these: In lateral motions of the hand we may accept the theory of two oblique axes crossing: each other at about the middle of the wrist with the proxi- mal and distal angles larger than the lateral ones; but in flexion and extension we must assume a single transverse axis. A point em- phasized is that the mid-earpal joint is a very important one. This is not new to anatomists, but we doubt if it is very familiar to the aver- age student of anatomy. The work in short is both an interesting and a valuable one. Tuomas Dwicnt. The Teaching of Mathematics in the Higher Schools of Prussia. By J. W. A. Youne, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the University of Chicago. New York, Longmans, Green & Co. 1900. Pp. xiv+141. The feeling that German schools have some- thing well worth the American teacher’s atten- tion is not at all new. It has been said and written for a century, and within a few years it has given rise to the publication of several SCIENCE. a5) works of genuine merit, not to speak of numer- ous books and articles of no merit whatever. Of the former class this one by Professor Young is unique in that it is the first to devote itself entirely to the mathematical phase of education. Furthermore, it is somewhat unique in being a well-balanced, practical book for practical and well-balanced teachers. It tells one what one wishes to know. Not many Americans have been able critically to ex- amine the subject of mathematics in Prussia. Here is a book that answers just the questions the intelligent teacher would ask if he were there, that gives him courage to face the issues of the present, and that should make him confident of the future. And it does all this, not bypreaching American or German suprem- acy, but by intelligently pointing out the superior features of German education and by showing us our lines for improvement. The real interest in the book is not so much in the carefully selected general information, for this it is not difficult to find in standard works like those of Baumeister and Russell, but in the consideration of the two questions: Are the Prussian schools doing better work in mathematics than the American? If so, how is this accomplished ? When we consider that we give about ten per cent. more time to mathematics than they do, that they recognize less homé study than we, and that their children leave even the clas- sical gymnasium knowing more of mathe- matics than do our high-school graduates in scientific courses, there can be only one answer to the first question. The reasons for this state of facts are, briefly, the following: (1) The teachers in the gymna- sia are men, and they enter the profession as a life work. (2) These men are university grad- uates, with at least two additional years of professional training. They have been rigidly examined, not by school teachers whose politi- eal pulls have given them place, but by univer- sity professors, specialists in their various sub- jects, appointed by the state. And in addi- tion to all this, they have had at least one year of probationary teaching. nations for the elementary classes include the calculus, and those for the high school grades Their exami- 26 SCIENCE. require independence of thought in the higher geometry, in analysis, and in analytic me- chanies, with a good knowledge of the litera- ture of these subjects. (3) The teacher’s posi- tion is one of honor, recognized in cases of superior excellence by the title of ‘Professor,’ bestowed by the government, a title with us “defamed by every charlatan and soiled by much ignoble use.’ (4) The teacher has fewer classes per week than the American teacher, and when out of class instead of being set to watch a ‘study hall’ he has time for recreation and study. (5) Considering the purchas- ing power ot the money, the teacher comes, after a reasonable time, to receive a somewhat better salary than is offered in America, and hence a relatively stronger set of men enter the profession. (6) His countrymen appre- ciate that the teacher “can do his best only in an atmosphere of financial and mental tran- quility. He must himself be continually grow- ing, and if he is embarrassed by financial cares and harrassed by struggles to improve his ma- terial position, his growth is retarded and the quality of his work inevitably deteriorates.” He is, therefore, accountable to no local au- thorities; political ‘pulls’ have no meaning to him; his superiors in law are his educational superiors as well. He works with the assur- ance that a pension awaits him when the ‘rainy day’ comes, and yet he is urged to pro- gress by such manifold inducements that he does not stagnate. (7) The school year is longer than in America, the twenty-minute class periods of our lower grades are unknown, and hence the instruction means more when it is being given and is more consecutive than with us. (8) The teacher teaches; he does not merely hear a recitation. Text-books mean little; home study is not a serious mat- ter; but the class period is a time for serious study, rapid work, heuristic teaching and gen- eral inspiration. Space does not permit of speaking of other reasons, or of the results of the system as shown by examination tests. Professor Young does not, however, claim that Germany is all good and America all bad. Neither does he claim that we can adopt their system. He is eminently judicial in his con- clusions, pointing out what we can safely use, [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 366. and where we can unquestionably improve. On the whole, the book is one of the best balanced works on German education that have ap- peared, and as such is recommended to every American teacher of mathematics. Daym EuGene Smita. TEACHERS COLLEGE, CoLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. Tue Botanical Gazette for November con- tains the following leading articles: G. T. Moore has published with three plates his second paper entitled ‘New or Little-Known Unicellular Algz,’ giving a detailed account of the life history of Hremosphera viridis, and coming to the conclusion that for the present, at least, the genus should be classed with the Protococeoidee; and also describing as a new genus a form which has been confused here- tofore with Hremosphera, and naming it Ha- centrosphera. T. C. Frye has published with one plate an account of the development of the pollen in certain Asclepiadacez, his in- vestigation having been suggested by the record that in certain members of this family there is no tetrad division. . The development of the sporangium was found to be of the gen- eral type, the primary sporogenous cells pass- ing over directly into pollen mother cells; these latter divide in the usual tetrad man- ner, but subsequently through mutual adjust- ment the four spores are arranged in a linear series. Miss F. Grace Smith has published the results of a large number_of observations upon the distribution of red color in vegeta- tive parts in the New England flora. A gen- eral conclusion is reached that the statistical observations obtained fit no one theory of color in all particulars. Mr. George A. Shull has published with illustrations the results of observations upon ‘Some Plant Abnormali- ties.’ He records instances of fasciation in Hri- geron Canadense and Hchiwm vulgare; abnor- mal foliage leaves in Pelargonium and Hicoria; and abnormal floral organs in Lathy- rus odoratus, as well as in certain species of Clematis. Under the head of ‘Briefer Arti- cles,’ E. B. Copeland has discussed Meissner’s paper on evergreen needles, answering certain JANUARY. 3, 1902.] eriticisms of the author, and presenting new observations; M. L. Fernald publishes a final paper upon the instability of the Rochester nomenclature, being an answer to papers of Messrs. C. L. Polard, L. M. Underwood and N. L. Britton; and Charles Robertson has pub- lished a third set of observations of flower visits of oligotropic bees. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. SECTION OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. Tue regular meeting of the Geological Sec- tion of the New York Academy of Sciences was held on Monday evening, November 18, with the chairman, Dr. A. A. Julien, presi- ding. The program of the evening was begun with the reading of a memorial of Dr. Theo- dore G. White by Professor James F. Kemp, who said in part: Theodore Greely White was born in New York, August 6, 1872, and was the only child of his parents, both of whom he lost but a short time before his own death. He was grad- uated from the School of Mines of Columbia University in the course in geology and pa- leontology as Ph.B. in 1894, as M.A. in 1895 and as Ph.D. in 1898. He was appointed as- sistant in the department of physics in 1896 and held the position until 1900, being especi- ally in charge of the experimental work in optics. From early boyhood Dr. White was in- terested in natural science, and while yet an undergraduate he began investigations both geological and botanical. His bachelor’s thesis was a description of the geology of Hssex and Willsboro towns on Lake Champlain, and he took up the study of the faunas of the Trenton group in the Champlain valley for his doc- torate. In the end he extended these faunal studies all around the Adirondack crystalline area. He also carried on work for the New York State Museum under the direction of Dr. F. J. H. Merrill; and, in association with Professor W. O. Crosby, he described the pet- rographical characters of the Quincy granite. During an excursion to the seashore last sum- mer he became exhausted while bathing in the salt water, and took a cold which developed into pneumonia and caused his death on the SCIENCH. 27 Tth of August, after a brief illness. Dr. White was a man of indefatigable industry and of great perseverance. He has left a large circle of sincere and devoted friends who can with difiiculty reconcile themselves to his loss. The second paper was a memorial of Pro- fessor Joseph Le Conte by Professor John J. Stevenson. A memorial of Professor Le Conte having appeared in the columns of ScmnceE, an abstract of this paper will not be given here. = The next paper was by Dr. Edmund O. Hovey and was entitled ‘Notes on the Triassic and Jurassic beds of the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming.’ In this paper the author described, with the aid of a map and a number of lantern slides, the geological char- acteristics, the stratigraphic relations and the topographic features of the famous Red Valley of the Hills and its inclosing rim of Jurassic shales and sandstones; the observations being, for the most part, a result of a collecting trip made for the American Museum of Natural History during the past summer. The closing paper was by Dr. Alexis A. Julien and was a discussion of ‘Erosion by Flying Sand on the Beaches of Cape Cod.’ The author said in part: The physical char- acters of the beach sand of Cape Cod show, in general, its recent derivation from the ad- - jacent beds of the later Tertiary and especially from sands and gravels of Glacial age. In form the sand grains are mostly angular to subangular with but small admixture of those nearly spherical grains (for which I have proposed the term ‘palzospheres’) the form of which would indicate long erosion and high antiquity. In constitution the sands differ somewhat from those of the Atlantic coast to the southward, e. g., of Long Island and New Jersey, particularly in a smaller con- tent of iron-oxides and garnet. Through the continual movement of the winds over the peninsula, the sand upon the beaches and dunes is in a state of constant motion. Dur- ing the frequent winter storms it is even borne along in vast quantities by aérial trans- port, and commonly with a violence sufficient to produce sharp attrition upon fixed solid objects. 28 SCIENCE. The distribution of the sand is carried on from two directions: from the west along the south shore and from the north along the east and west sides of the ‘forearm’ of the Cape. The result is that the elbow tends to extend farther into the ocean, and Massachusetts Bay is a pocket steadily filling up with sand from the north. With the great fall of the tide on that coast, however, broad shoals are daily offered to sun and wind and the dried sands are constantly blown up on the highest dunes of the Cape, viz., those near Barnstable. There are ancient dunes along the coast, some- times farther inland and even covered by for- ests, whose aggregation may be attributed to special violence of wind action at a remote period. The most prominent results of the erosive action of the wind-driven sand are those per- taining to the general sculpture of headlands and summits of dunes, and the eating away of the softer layers of gravel and sand of which the bluffs along the east coast consist. The fine example of such erosion at Truro was de- scribed in detail and illustrated by means of a photograph. The recession of the face of the bluff here and everywhere from a vertical plane clearly indicates that its principal erosion is being constantly carried on by aérial rather than by marine attack. On the Cape, as elsewhere along our Atlantic coast, it is a common error to attribute the ravages on bluffs and dunes, noticed after a severe storm, too much to the incursions of the sea. A very large part of the damage has been done by the violence of the wind, reinforced by vast quantities of sand and spray lifted up and hurled continuously for hours against all op- posing objects. Other effects of the natural sand blast are shown in the pitted surfaces of small bodies strewn upon the beach, in the projecting hard minerals of the beach pebbles and in the de- polishing of exposed portions of bits of glass and pottery. ‘Faceted pebbles’ are lacking from the beaches, because there is too much motion to permit of grinding anything to a flat surface. The rapidity of the eroding ac- tion under favorable circumstances is surpris- ing. During the great gale of November 25, (N.S. Vou. XV. No. 366. 1899, one night sufficed to convert into ground- glass the window panes in the exposed sides of the life-saving station at Truro. No seratches or grooves appear in these surfaces, such as have been observed in the sand-fretted pebbles of a desert, the conditions of sand erosion on a beach tending to pit the surface rather than to produce striz. The least obvious, but perhaps the most im- portant, effect of this form of erosion is upon the flying sand grains themselves by mutual attrition, minute particles not being protected from wear as they are when suspended in water. By the splitting of particles from the grains and their own final reduction to the most minute size, the production of silt is con- stantly in progress upon these windy beaches, and it is regularly carried away in suspension by every tide. The papers of the evening were discussed by Professors J. J. Stevenson and R. EK. Dodge and Dr. A. W. Grabau. In response to an invitation from the chair Dr. W. 8S. Yeates, State geologist of Georgia, gave some account of the history of the geolog- ical survey of that State and a brief statement about the work being carried on by the present organization. Appreciative comments were made by Professors J. F. Kemp and J. J. Stevenson and Mr. G. F. Kunz. Epmunp O. Hovey, Secretary. RESEARCH CLUB OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. . Av a meeting of the Research Club of the University of Michigan, held November 7, 1901, the evening was taken up with the pres- entation of papers by Professors Rolfe and Novy. Professor Rolfe spoke on ‘The Use of Ellip- sis in the Explanation of Grammatical Phe- nomena.’ Dr. Novy gave an account of the investiga- tions which Dr. Freer and he had carried on during the past year. After reviewing the work hitherto done concerning the action of metals, such as gold and copper, upon bacteria, it was pointed out that the explanation of this JANUARY 3, 1902.] action as offered by Behring was insufficient, and that there was good reason for believing that such metals exerted a surface action re- sulting in the formation of peroxides which clearly possessed a greater germicidal action than hydrogen peroxide. The action of light upon bacteria, especially of sunlight, was dis- cussed, and although the studies of Richard- son, Dieudonné and others rendered it certain that hydrogen peroxide was formed under these conditions, nevertheless it was by no means demonstrated that this substance was the active germicidal agent. These considera- tions led the authors to the belief that the ger- micidal effect of metals and of sunlight was due to higher and more active peroxides. Ac- cordingly a number of organic peroxides were prepared and their action on bacteria was studied. Several of these were found to be wholly inert. This was the case with aceton peroxide and dibenzoyl peroxide. On the other hand, the diacetyl and the benzoyl acetyl per- oxides were found to be extremely germicidal. It was pointed out, however, that these bodies were not germicidal as such, but that in aque- ous solution hydrolysis took place, resulting in the formation of acetyl hydrogen peroxide and benzoyl hydrogen peroxide respectively. The intense germicidal as well as oxidizing power of such solutions was therefore due to the pro- ducts of hydrolysis. It was pointed out that these last mentioned peroxides were capable of destroying the most resistant spores usually inside of a minute. A comparison with hydrogen peroxide showed that this substance was much more feeble in its action. In order to obtain approximately the same germicidal effects it was necessary to prepare solutions of hydrogen peroxide which contained eighty times as much active oxygen as that contained in a solution of benzoyl hy- drogen peroxide. This fact was interpreted as showing that the organic peroxides exerted their germicidal action not through nascent oxygen, as is commonly held in the ease of ozone and hydrogen peroxide, but rather through other means, possibly through ions. In the subsequent discussion it was pointed out that other interpretations were possible; that the oxygen liberated might possess a SCIENCE. 29 higher potential energy than that from hydro- gen peroxide; or that the organic peroxides might be dissociated, as in the case of alcohol, not so much into ions as into one or more ac- tive parts. Dr. Novy also detailed at some length the in- vestigation bearing upon the relation of the surface action of metals to the formation of benzoyl acetyl peroxide. Metals, paper and fabrics, as well as sand, originally employed by Erlenmeyer and by Nef, exert a marked favoring action which may be interpreted as due to occlusion and partial dissociation of oxygen. FREDERICK C. NewcomsBe, Secretary. THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE OF ST. LOUIS. At the meeting of the Academy of Science of St. Louis on the evening of December 2, 1901, the following subjects were presented: Mr. J. Arthur Harris presented in abstract a paper on ‘Normal and Teratological Thorns of Gleditschia triacanthos L.’ Professor A. 8. Chessin, of Washington Uni- versity, delivered an address on ‘The har- mony of Tone and Color.’ The speaker said that although the idea is not new that colors, like tones, are subject to laws of harmony, he did not know that any systematic theory con- cerning this had thus far been presented, and the object of the paper was to establish such a theory. A color-seale was constructed and the properties of the intervals corresponding to those appearing in the musical scale were discussed, and the conclusion was reached that within the limit of an octave the laws of har- mony in tone and color are identical. A paper by Professor A. S. Chessin, on ‘The true Potential of the Force of Gravity,’ was presented and read by title, the author remark- ing that this was the first of a series of de- tailed papers bearing upon the general sub- ject, the broad conclusions concerning which he had presented in synopsis at a recent meet- ing of the Academy. A committee was elected to nominate officers for the year 1902. Wituim TRELEASE, Recording Secretary. 30 SCIENCE. SHORTER ARTICLES. THE SMALLEST KNOWN VERTEBRATE. Tur United States has borne the distinction of haying, in certain cyprinodont fishes of the Southern States, the smallest known fishes and at the same time the smallest known verte- brates. Thus, Heterandria formosa Agassiz, found from South Carolina to Florida, has an average length of 25 mm. for females and 18 to 19 mm. for males. Lucania ommata (Jor- dan), recorded only from Florida, probably never exceeds an inch in length; two males, the only ones thus far found,* measured 19.5 and 20 mm., and two females from the same locality were 20 and 22 mm. long, exclusive of caudal fin. Of this species Dr. O. P. Hayt remarked that ‘it may contend with Heteran- dria formosa for the honor of being the smallest known vertebrate.’ Another diminu- tive member of the cyprinodontids is the well- known viviparous Gambusia affinis, the adult males of which sometimes barely exceed 12.5 mm. in length, although the females reach a length of 50 mm. In this family are several other species that are scarcely larger than those before mentioned. The pigmy per- coidean, Hlassoma evergladei Jordan, of the swamps of Georgia and Florida, ranges from less than 20 mm. to a maximum of about 33 mm. in standard length, and several of the darters are no longer. Among the marine fishes, there are a number of gobies whose length is barely 25 mm. The smallest of the known marine vertebrates, however, is prob- ably the lancelet, Acymmetron luwcayanum Andrews, from the Bahamas; examples taken by the Fish Hawk in Porto Rico are about 19 mm. long, although Dr. Andrews’ types in the National Museum are nearly a third smaller. The United States Fish Commission has re- cently received from the Philippine Islands numerous specimens of a species of fish now to be described which has a maximum size less than the minimum adult size of most of the foregoing species, while the minimum and average sizes for mature individuals are thought to be less than those of any other *Woolman, Bulletin U. S. Fish Comm., 1890. }+ Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1885. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 366: known fish or other vertebrate. The specimens were obtained, through the courtesy of the Surgeon-General of the army, by medical offi- cers connected with the military hospital at Buhi, southern Luzon, in the department of Camarines Sur; and were collected in Lake Buhi, to which the species is said to be pecul- jar. The fish is a member of the great cosmopoli- tan goby family, of which upwards of 600 species are known; and exhibits peculiar char- acters which necessitate the creation of a new genus for its reception. The diagnostic fea- tures of this genus, for which the name Mistichthys (eioT0¢, the smallest) is proposed, are coalescent ventral fins not adnate to the abdomen, two well-separated dorsal fins of which the anterior contains three weak spines, a single series of conical teeth in each jaw, body covered with large ctenoid seales, and an elongated genital papilla by the shape of which the sexes may readily be distinguished. This species, to which the name Mistichthys luzonensis is given, and which will be more fully described in a forthcoming paper in the Fish Commission Bulletin, is apparently nearly transparent in life, with a black chin, a black median line behind the anal fin, and a few black spots on the back. It is probably viviparous or ovo-viviparous; but while many of the specimens contain ripe ovarian eggs (some of which have been discharged in the preserving medium), no eggs exhibiting evi- denees of development have been found. The females are slightly larger than the males and average 13.5 mm. in length; the maximum for egg-bearing fish is 15 mm. and the minimum less than 12 mm. The average length of males is about 12.5 mm., the maximum is 13.5 mm., and the minimum is under 10 mm. The aver- age length of 50 specimens taken at random, both sexes about equally represented, was 12.9 mm. A fact of more than ordinary interest in connection with this diminutive species is that it is a food-fish of considerable importance. Dr. George A. Zeller, acting assistant surgeon U.S. A., writing from the military hospital at Buhi, says: “T enclose herewith samples of a strange JANUARY 3, 1902.] article of diet greatly relished by the Bicols, among whom I have been stationed for the past eighteen months. Rice and fish are the staple articles of diet for most Filipinos and in the provinces of the Camarines there is little variation from these two. Fishes of every size and many varieties are prepared in every conceivable form, but the samples enclosed are unique in that they are found here and no- where else. * * * Many varieties of fish abound in the lake, but by far the most numer- ous are these minute specimens. They are called in the native Bicol tongue sinarapan, and when dried in the sun on a leaf are called badi. They are caught by a large sheet of close web, which is dipped under wherever a school congregates. They are put into tightly woven baskets from which the water soon drains, leaying a compact mass of fish. They are not minnows or immature fish. They are adults and attain no greater size. The natives buy them eagerly; and when the little fleet of fishermen return from their morning’s quest and place their baskets upon the ground on the market place, they are instantly sur- rounded by a crowd of waiting children who, armed with every sort of dish, are anxious to take home the family meal. They bring three or four potato tubers, a handful or two of rice, or a few copper pennies, and in exchange re- ceive about a pint of fish. In the kitchen the fish are made up with peppers or other spiced herbs, and they do not taste bad. The soldiers have become quite fond of this food, and liber: ally patronize the little native restaurants where it is served.” H. M. Smirn. WasuHineton, D. C. DINOSAURS IN THE FT. PIERRE SHALES AND UNDERLYING BEDS IN MONTANA. In the summer of 1900 I made a collection of Dinosaur and Mosasaur remains from the Ft. Pierre beds, near Fish Creek, in Sweet- grass County, in Montana. I have not noticed any account of the collecting of Dinosaurs from this horizon. The beds are composed of dark-colored shales, with occasional very thin lenses or layers of sand. Sometimes the shales have no SCIENCE. 31 grit, sometimes they contain much fine sand. There are many brown or grayish, rounded coneretions or concretionary layers. These concretions are often very hard. In these are many of the fossils, both vertebrate and in- vertebrate. The mollusea are principally the well-known, characteristic Ft. Pierre forms such as Ammonites, Baculites, Scaphites, Nautali and many smaller forms. In this locality the weathered surface of the beds forms a rolling, erass-clad prairie with occasional ravines cutting into the soft shales. The bones are sometimes found in these ravines and ‘cut banks’ and sometimes among the grass roots, some of the bones projecting above the short grass. The harder sandstones in the formation above form a line of bluffs or ‘rim-rock’ which for many miles marks the southern boundary of the Ft. Pierre shales. There are also dark shales interbedded with these sandstones. This formation contains leaf impressions and many fragments of Dinosaur bones, but the fossils have not been studied and no characteristic ones were recognized. ; Below the Ft. Pierre shales are hard, rather thin-bedded sandstones with interbedded shales. Still lower are hard and soft sandstones, the latter predominating. These contain plant impressions, fossil wood, a few apparently fresh-water or brackish-water shells and Turtle and Dinosaur bones. The latter, many of them, were in a beautiful state of preservation, but no nearly complete skeletons were found. In these beds are bands of peculiar black or very dark, hard nodules, that look something like basalt. These sometimes contain bones. The Dinosaur remains are of the Claosaurus type. From the Ft. Pierre beds the greater part of the skeleton of one Dinosaur and a good num- ber of bones of another were obtained, besides he skull and other parts of Mosasaurs. The more complete Dinosaur skeleton is in the museum of the University of Montana. It un- doubtedly is a Claosaurus. The other portion of a skeleton is in my collection. It is much smaller and was undoubtedly quadrupedal in gait. The sacrum is nearly complete and is different from anything else that I have seen. o2 _ SCIENCE. It is composed of three ankylosed vertebre. It is interesting to find Dinosaurs in these marine beds. The marine fossils are found mixed with the bones. While digging out the skeleton of Claosaurus nearly a dozen Nautalr were found among the bones. As a rule, when bones are found a good part of the skeleton is there or there is evidence that it has been. Several skeletons had been found and the bones removed for curiosities before I had visited this region. The first skeleton I saw was shown to me by a young man, Mr. Albert Silberling, who lived on the ranch from which the others were dug. I think that very few fossil-hunters would have looked for Dinosaur bones here. It seems that these deposits were made in a shallow inland sea or an estuary which, at least during a part of the time, was cut off from the ocean, for in places there is considerable gypsum. Perhaps we should hardly expect to find such large marine mollusea in such a place, but they evidently are not far from where they died. There is no evidence of strong tides, and if the shells had been washed up by these or the winds they would be broken, not complete as we find them. As a rule land animals are not very perfectly preserved in marine deposits. In unearthing these animals, therefore, the question is always arising: “How did these bones get here?” Did these Dinosaurs that have been so modi- fied, evidently fitting them for life on land, still retain their swimming habits, but occa- sionally suffer shipwreck and their carcasses sink to the bottom of the sea? By some in- vasion of the sea were they forced to stay and starve or ‘swim for life’ which proved in some eases to be for death? I have seen no indica- tions that they were killed by violence or their eareasses destroyed by large carnivorous ani- mals, though there has been a little disturbance of the bones. Did they die on some mud flat or did their carcasses float down some slug- gish stream and get stranded in shallow water or get ‘water-logged’ and sink in deeper water? These are interesting questions, but more thorough and careful investigation is needed to decide the matter with any degree of certainty. [N. 8. Vou. XV. No. 366. The University of Montana hopes before very long to publish a bulletin describing these beds and whatever is of interest in the collec- tions obtained from them. Eart Dovuetass. PRINCETON, N. J. MAGMATIC DIFFERENTIATION OF ROCKS. Sryce the time when the celebrated chemist Bunsen first elaborated his theory on the na- ture of rock magmas, the subject has been of great importance to the geologist. If one were asked to name three of the grander ideas which mark the progress of geology during the cen- tury just closed, this conception of magmatic differentiation of rocks would certainly be one of them. Of late years contributions to the sub- ject have been numerous and important. Sev- eral of the most recent are especially note- worthy. In the reconsideration, by H. S. Washing- ton (Bulletin Geological Society of America, Volume XI.), of the ‘Igneous Complex of Magnet Cove, Arkansas,’ made exceptionally interesting through the elaborate efforts of J. Francis Williams, are recorded some observa- tions on magmatic differentiation that are of unusual significance at this time. Contrary to previously expressed opinion, the several types of deep-seated rocks represented in the com- plex are regarded as integral parts of one great mass and as contemporaneous in origin, and therefore not due to successive intrusions. Furthermore, the structure of the whole mass is probably laccolithic in character. A remarkable feature connected with the zonal distribution of the various rock-types is the complete reversal of the order almost in- variably found among large masses of cooled magmas. Ordinarily the borders are basic and the central parts more acidic. But in the Magnet Cove mass the heavy constituents are in the center and the lighter silica, alumina and alkali components are on the edges. No- table instances of similar character are re- ported from Norway, Finland and Montana. The exceptional character of the Magnet Cove mass appears to suggest unusual condi- tions. While the general subject of the causes of differentiation is not discussed at length, a possible explanation for the Arkansas complex JANUARY 3, 1902. ] is offered. Briefly stated, the essential idea is that, just as in a highly cooled vessel of salt water the ice crystallizes at the sides, bottom and top, leaving a core of more concentrated liquid at the center, so here the solvent may have frozen out, collecting at the borders of the cavity in a more or less pure condition, as foyaite, and gradually becoming more basic (richer in the solute) as the freezing process erept towards the center. Although the great work of the Russian petrographer, F. Loewinson-Lessing, on the Eruptive Rocks of the Central Caucausus, was issued more than two years ago, the views ad- vaneed are only beginning to get into form accessible to the majority of English students. The general interest lies in the discussions of the subjects of rock-classification and the dif- ferentiation of rock magmas. The classification proposed for the igneous rocks is chemical. It is based primarily upon the degree of acidity of the silicate minerals. Four great groups are thus established: (1) The ultra-basic rocks, derived from a mono- silicate magma, (2) basic rocks, which had a bisilicate magma, (3) neutral rocks, with a magma which was’ bisilicate or normal, and (4) acid rocks, in which the magma was poly- silicate. These groups are subdivided in 14 sub-groups and 34 families. Tn order to find the proper systematic posi- tion of an eruptive rock from the fundamental viewpoint of the proposed classification four factors are considered: (1) The relation of the oxygen in the silica and that in all the other oxides taken together, giving what is termed the coefficient of acidity; (2) the chemical composition, which gives for each type a dis- tinctive formula; (8) the relations between the two groups of oxides according to their molecular proportions; and (4) the relations of the soda and potash in the alkaline rocks. This consideration of the principles of classi- fication leads to the proof of the distinct phases of fundamental magmas. Discussion of the differentiation of rock magmas has an unusual interest. The Russian author calls special attention to the principle of Soret, the action of super-saturated solu- tions, the effect of gravity, the principles of SCIENCE. 33 maximum work as proposed by Berthelot, and the reaction of mixed liquids, as operating in the separation of magmas. Three distinct kinds of magmatic differen- tiation are recognized. They are: Static dif- - ferentiation, taking place in the depths of the earth; differentiation by cooling during ascent to the surface; and crystalline differentiation. Specific gravity, pressure and temperature are the chief factors governing the course of the static kind; while chemical affinities come into play in large measure only in crystalline sepa- ration. ; The réle of inclusions of foreign rocks, which has so long been such an unsatisfactory subject to petrographers, is explained on the idea that it is only that portion of the magma yet undifferentiated which affects the intro- duced rocks. After thorough assimilation of limestone, for example, a separation of the modified magma takes place. One part con- tains very little lime and the other nearly all of it. Rock formed from the first mentioned might be a granite, while from the second would come perhaps-_a gabbro. Cuarues R. Knryns. ON THE REASON FOR THE RETENTION OF SALTS NEAR THE SURFACE OF SOILS. Very recently a light-colored saline incrus- tation was noticed by Professor Milton Whit- ney upon the surface of the soil in the grounds of the Department of Agriculture in Washing- ton. This crust was collected and examined in the laboratory of the Bureau of the Soils under the direction of Dr. Frank K. Cameron. The erust contained about 1 per cent. of soluble matter, principally sulphates and nitrates of sodium and calcium. Samples were then col- lected at different depths and examined to de- termine the vertical distribution of the soluble salts. The results showed that although the soil was examined to a depth of three feet, practically all of the salt was in the surface inch, the larger part of it being in the top eighth-inch. The crust was found at the end of a short, dry season, such as is common in the autumn months along the Atlantic coast region. A number of similar occurrences of ab- normal amounts of soluble matter on the sur- 34 SCIENCE. face of the soils of humid regions have been reported, but very little has been written about them. Cameron has, in Bulletin No. 17, Divi- sion of Soils, described a number of occur- rences of crusts in humid regions, and has called my attention to several others which were not known to him at the time his paper was published. All of these cases were after a short season of dry weather, but it must be admitted that their occurrence seems rather an anomaly when the heavy rainfall is considered. For what is the reason that this salt remains near the surface of the ground when the water from the rains passes down through the soil? Tf the salt which is soluble in water is dis- solved by the downward percolating rains, why is it not continually washed deeper into the subsoil? Why is it that, in spite of the fact that more water passes downward than re- turns to the surface by evaporation and capil- lary movements upward, analyses of soils in the humid regions invariably show more soluble matter in the surface soil than in the subsoil ? There are several reasons which may account for this seemingly anomalous condition of affairs. First, in the soils of the humid region the great bulk of the decomposition of the soil minerals and the consequent liberation of solu- ble matter takes place within the soil proper in which the greatest aeration takes place, where the bacteria are most numerous and where tillage and sunlight and changes of temperature have a maximum influence. A second reason which might be given is that of absorption. Very little definitely is known about the phenomenon called absorption, beyond the fact that it is a property of soil grains or of any surface by virtue of which matters in solution are held so that is difficult to wash them off, so that salts which are liber- ated during the processes of weathering are held near the surface by the absorption. There is a third factor which seems to assist in accounting for the salts at the surface, and that is that there is a difference between the rates of downward and upward movements of salts within the soil. When water falls on the soil both gravity and capillary attraction act in the downward {N.S. Von. XV. No. 266. movement. Capillary attraction is more ef- fective in the smaller spaces between the soil grains, while gravity is more effective in the larger openings. When water leaches through a soil in a field, by far the larger part of it passes through the larger openings—those pro- duced by insects, worm burrows, root holes, cracks, large interstitial spaces formed by coarse grains, ete. That such is the case is very easily proven if the rate of percolation is measured through a block of soil in field con- dition, and the same block is broken up dry, so as to prevent puddling and the rate of per- colation is measured again. A simple exami- nation of any soil in the field will reveal the presence of these larger openings, and as the resistance to flow varies as the fourth power of the diameter of the tube, a much larger amount of water passes downward through the large openings, than passes through the smaller true capillary spaces. These larger openings might well be called the gravitational spaces, and the smaller spaces in the soil grains the capillary spaces. When water moves upward through a soil to replace that lost by evaporation or removed by plants, the movement is entirely capillary and the entire film around the soil grains moves. Now let us consider the action which takes place when rain falls upon a soil covered with a thin soluble crust. First of all the soluble matter is dissolved and carried down into the soil. The downward-moving wave penetrates most rapidly along the gravitational spaces, since here the resistance is least and the front of the wave is drawn laterally into the true capillary spaces by surface tension. These capillary spaces, therefore, largely fill with water from the front of the wave, and since the front of the wave contains the greater part of the salt dissolved, this salt is thus retained in the capillary spaces. As soon as the capil- lary spaces are filled, practically. all movement in them ceases, except the slow downward per- colation caused by gravity, and in a soil of average texture this movement is practically nothing. The movement in the gravitational spaces continues. The salt in the water which was drawn back from the front of the pene- trating wave remains stationary or only “JANUARY 3, 1902. ] escapes out into the gravitational spaces by diffusion. When the rain ceases the gravitational spaces drain of water, carrying off relatively a small part of the soluble matter, and the evaporation from the surface causes the up- ward movement to commence, but this move- ment is entirely capillary and the whole film around the soil grains moves, and as it moves so does all of the salt except possibly that por- tion absorbed, and there is evidence which leads one to believe that the absorbed salt moves also, but rather more slowly than the film; that is, the absorbed salt shows a tendency to lag behind. Therefore, it will be seen that the rains do not move the salt as far down as they pene- trate but leave the most of it near the surface of the soil or at least so close to the surface that capillary movements will again .accumu- late at the surface as soon as the dry season occurs. This explanation of the movement of soluble salts within a soil finds application in a num- ber of ways. In the arid regions, where the soluble salts are more abundant than in the humid climate, and where the movements of these salts, if not understood and controlled, ofttimes result in the accumulation of soluble matter this explanation of the difference in the rate of downward movement, compared with the upward movement, goes far to explain some points which were heretofore but imper- fectly understood. For example, it has always been difficult for the writer to understand why alkali salts should continue to accumulate at the surface of the ground in spite of the re- peated irrigations, and the maxim laid down by agriculturists in that region that ‘alkali goes with the water.’ In one district of es- pecial notoriety in California the water table was thirty years ago about sixty feet below the surface of the ground and there were no indi- cations of alkali. Irrigation was commenced and continued large and excessive quantities were used. All of the time the water table was steadily rising, showing unquestionably that more water went downward through the soil than came up for evaporation, and yet in spite of this accumulative downward movement of SCIENCE. By) the water the alkali salts, which, so far as can be gathered from adjacent unirrigated areas, was within the surface twenty feet of the soil, have been steadily creeping upward and at the present time fully ten per cent. of the area is suffering from an excess of alkali salts. It is plain that if we desire to send the salts downward the easiest way to do it is to make the downward movement, as far as possible, capillary instead of gravitational. One way of doing this is to break up the soil gravitational spaces by deep cultivation and subsequent firming by flooding. Such has been found very effective in certain areas of Arizona. Another way is to flood the soil with frequent shallow irrigations. In this way a slow downward cap- illary current is kept up. Half a dozen flood- ings with one inch of water each will be found to carry downward much more salt than one flooding of six inches. Another lesson taught, one well known for many years, is that if the subsurface water is alkaline it must not be allowed to rise so close to the surface that continuous upward cap- illary movement is possible; else the alkali will accumulate in the soil, to its detriment. Tuos. H. Means. BUREAU OF SOILS, WASHINGTON, D. C. CHEMISTRY IN THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS. Tue chemistry teachers of the Pacifie coast have organized an association to encourage the teaching of chemistry, to harmonize methods, to become acquainted with each other and with the needs of the country and the conditions af- fecting their profession; and, generally, for all those purposes for which association is good. The organization was effected last August, during the Summer School session of the University of California, at which many teachers from California and from the neigh- boring States were present. The headquarters of the organization are at Berkeley, which, as it is the educational center of the western part of the country, is the natural location for such a purpose. Two members of the faculty of the University of California, one in the depart- ment of chemistry and one in the department of physics, were among the organizers. The need for such an organization is shown 36 SCIENCE. by the number of schools in which chemistry is taught. A recently published list shows that there are 116 schools in California whose grad- uates are admitted by the University of Cali- fornia without entrance examination. Twenty- five of these are not accredited in chemistry, but the remaining ninety-one have chemistry courses sufficiently thorough to satisfy all University requirements. And in the twenty- five not accredited in chemistry the subject is taught in most cases, though not with the necessary thoroughness. Moreover, there are many other schools in the State whose gradu- ates are not accorded free entrance to the University, and the names of which do not, in consequence, appear on the published list, in which chemistry is one of the subjects taught. It is probable that in the State of California alone there are at least one hundred and fifty chemistry teachers; and it would be making a very modest estimate and one undoubtedly far below the true numbers to estimate at two hundred the chemistry teachers who look to- ward Berkeley for their inspiration. As yet the new organization is in a forma- tive condition. It has been getting itself to- gether, rather than attempting to accomplish anything. Its first circular of information, just published, contains, however, a number of interesting facts. On data, not as complete as desirable, it was shown that the high-schools of California give their students a year of chemistry, recitations being supplemented with laboratory practice. The majority of the schools report fairly good laboratory facilities, one small school in the southern part of the State claiming to have a better equipment for elementary work than does the University it- self. Of books of reference there is an almost total lack. In many cases there are no refer- ence-books whatever. One of the interesting features of the first circular is a letter from President Ira Remsen of Johns Hopkins on the proper methods of chemistry-teaching. He writes: I thank you for the opportunity you have given me to say a few words to the members of your as- sociation. The formation of such societies as yours will, I am sure, do much to further the study of chemistry and raise the standard of teach- [N. S. Vou. XV. No. 366. ing. As I have watched the work of teachers of our science in schools, in colleges and in univer- sities, it has seemed to me that the chief defect is what in plain English may be called slovenliness. The students get into bad habits of work and have no clear idea in regard to what they are doing. They are often left to themselves too much and work as they ought not to, without knowing that anything is wrong. Then, too, when the students attempt to give an account of what they have done, they use language that would hardly be per- mitted in a recitation room or in writing about a literary or historical subject. The language and the notebooks are apt to be slovenly, especially if the work has been slovenly. Now, we shall never get what we ought to get from laboratory courses in chemistry or any other subject until this slovenliness is eliminated. The ability to state the source of an element, its properties or the law of definite proportions or any other law —this ability is of little value. This kind of knowledge is meaningless unless based upon some actual experience in the laboratory. Jourses in scientific subjects are still on trial, and we teachers of chemistry are to determine by the way we do our work whether these courses are to be recognized as valuable from a purely edu- cational point of view. Too much of the instruc- tion now given seems to be shaped with the idea that the pupils are all to become chemists. As a matter of fact, this is true of very few of them. But I may as well stop here. I have opened up too broad a subject to be dealt with satisfactorily at this sitting. Epwarp Boortu, Secretary. SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. Prorressor Yves Detace has been elected a member of the Paris Academy of Sciences in the section of zoology, in the place of the late Laeaze-Duthiers. Mr. Pump Warts, F.R.S., has been ap- pointed director of naval construction by the British Board of Admiralty, succeeding Sir William H. White, F.R.S., who has re- signed in consequence of ill health. Dr. CHartes Porter, M.D., of Shrewsbury, has been selected for the appointment of med- ical officer of health to the municipality of Johannesburg. The salary is £2,000 per annum. JANUARY 3, 1902.] We learn from the American Geologist that Dr. H. M. Ami, of the Geological Survey of Canada, who sustained a rather severe injury to his left arm and shoulder last September, from a fall down a steep cliff at Cap 4 L’Aigle, below Quebee City, is sufficiently recovered to resume his official duties at Ottawa. Dr. J. W. Spencer is at present engaged in geological explorations in Central America. Unoper the auspices of the astronomical de- partment of Columbia University Sir Robert S. Ball will lecture in Havemeyer Hall, on January 10, at 3:30 P. M. His subject will be ‘The Cause of an Ice Age.’ Dr. Sven Anpers Henin, the Swedish traveler, who recently reached Ladakh, Cash- mere, from exploring the Gobi desert and Thibet, has informed King Oscar that his party was attacked by Thibetans during his journey and that all his collections and almost the whole of his caravan was lost, but that his notes were saved. Dr. Ates Hrpiicka will start about January first on his fourth expedition among the Indians of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. These expeditions are a part of the system of anthropological explo- ration and investigation known as the Hyde Expedition and are carried on under the direc- tion of Professor F. W. Putnam for the Amer- ican Museum of Natural History. The ex- penses of the present undertaking are generously provided for by Mr. F. E. Hyde, Jr., of New York City. Dr. Hrdlicka is in charge of the somatological work of the Hyde Expedition and his plan, now more than half fulfilled, is, in the main, to ascertain the physical charac- teristics of the extinct as well as the living peoples in that area which has once been occu- pied by the Cliff-Dwellers and Pueblos, and by the Toltec, Aztec and Chechemec peoples. It is hoped that on the present journey the somatological part of the research in the field will be completed. The principal tribes that will be studied on the present trip are the Pimas, Papagos, Yaquis, Mayos, Tepehuanes, Coras, Aztecs and Tarascos. Dr. Hrdlicka will be accompanied and assisted by Mr. Gustavus Meyers, of New York City. SCIENCE. 37 Tue editors of the Botanische Centralblatt for Great Britain are: Algx, Miss Barton, British Museum (Natural History); Fungi, Mr. Massee, Royal Gardens, Kew; Arche- goniate, Mr. A. Gepp, British Museum (Nat- ural History); Phanerogams, Mr. Daydon Jackson, 21 Cautley Avenue, Clapham Com- mon, §.W.; Cytology, Professor Farmer, Royal College of Science, S. Kensington; Physiology, Professor Wines, Headington Hill, Oxford; Morphology, Dr. W. H. Lang, University, Glasgow; Paleontology, Professor Scott, Old Palace, Richmond, Surrey. Mr. Crarence Kine, the eminent geologist, died at Phoenix, Arizona, on December 24. Born in Newport, R. I., he graduated from the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University in 1852, and joined the California Geological Survey in 1853. He was instrumental in the organization of the U. S. Geological Survey, of which he was director from 1878 to 1881. We hope to give subsequently some account of Mr. King’s geological work. Sir JosepH Henry Ginpert, the well-known agricultural chemist, died on December 23, aged 83 years. With Sir John Bennet-Lawes, he was over fifty years director of the Rotham- sted Laboratory, and was for some years pro- fessor of rural economy at Oxford University He was a fellow of the Royal Society and a correspondent of the Paris Academy of Sciences. Masor Rospert Tempter, the well-known southern engineer, died at Richmond, Va., on December 22, at the age of seventy years. Nature records the death of the Rev. Hugh Alexander Macpherson, of Glendale, at the early age of forty-three. Mr. Macpherson was an authority on the fauna of the lake country, and had published an elaborate work on the subject, ‘A Vertebrate Fauna of Lakeland, including Cumberland and Westmoreland, with Laneashire North of the Sands. He was also the author of a book entitled ‘British Birds.’ Mr. Anprew Carnecir has offered the city of Akron $70,000 for a free public library, the city to guarantee $7,000 annually to main- tain it. 38 SCIENCE. Tue Misses Olivia and Caroline Phelps Stokes have presented to the Board of Man- agers of the New York Botanical Garden, $3,000, on condition that the interest of this fund should always be used for the in- vestigation and preservation of native plants, or for bringing the need for such preservation before the public. The income this year is offered in three prizes for papers on the sub- ject mentioned. The papers must be presented not later than February 1, 1902. Av a meeting of the trustees of the Connec- ticut Agricultural College, on December 27, a resolution was passed favoring a bill now be- fore Congress providing for the study of for- estry and mining in the agricultural colleges. An Anthropological Club was recently or- ganized at Yale University. Dr. Kellar pre- sided and Professor Sumner outlined the sub- jects to be treated. The attendance was eigh- teen. Tue Society of College Gymnasium Direc- tors met at Columbia University on December 97 and 28. The following officers were elected: President, Professor Paul C. Phillips, Amherst College; First Vice-President, Edward Hitch- cock, Jr., Cornell University; Second Vice- President, Dr. Frederick E. Parker, Brown University; Secretary and Treasurer, Dr. James A. Babbitt, Haverford College; Ha- ecutive Oommittee, Dr. R. Tait McKenzie, McGill University, Montreal; Dr. Dudley A. Sargent, Harvard, and Dr. William G. Ander- son, Yale; Council and Committee on Admis- sions, Dr. Casper W. Miller, University of Pennsylvania; Dr. Watson Lewis Savage, Co- lumbia; Professor A. Alonzo Stagg, University of Chicago, and the officers of the Society, ea- officio. Committee on Strength Tests and In- spection of Instruments, Dr. Sargent, Har- vard; Dr. Savage, Columbia, and Dr. Jay W. Seaver, Yale. Committee on Nomenclature, Dr. Anderson, Yale; Dr. Sargent, Harvard, and Professor George Goldie, Princeton. Tue twelfth annual banquet provided for in the will of the late Henry Shaw, the founder of Shaw’s Botanical Garden, was given on December 7, at the Mercantile Club, St. Louis. Tue Lancet states that the fellows and asso- [N. S. Von. XV. No. 366. ciates of the Institute of Chemistry assembled under Professor J. Millar-Thomson, F.R.S., the president, for their annual dinner on December 4. The president was supported by a distinguished company. The minister of agriculture emphasized the importance of scientific chemistry to agriculture. The presi- dent gave a general report on the condition of the institute, pointing to the advance that that body was steadily making in the high standard of its examinations. Tue Archeological Institute of America held its annual meeting at Columbia University, on December 27 and 28, under the presidency of Professor John W. White, of Harvard Univer- sity. AT a meeting held in London on December 5, under the presideney of Dr. W. R. Smith, a medico-legal society was organized. Tue Lancet states that at the meeting held on November 25, M. Gaule laid before the Paris Academy of Sciences the result of some researches which had been undertaken by him- self with a view to ascertain whether the re- sults of a balloon ascent were comparable with those obtained at a high altitude on land— e. g., at the top of a mountain. The most notable of these is a marked augmentation in the number of red corpuscles. Viaux and sundry observers who followed him have ascer- tained that at a high altitude there is a great increase in the number of red corpuscles. Thus in the Cordilleras at a height of 4,000 meters, Viaux found 8,000,000 red corpuscles per cubic millimeter. M. Gaule wished to see whether in a balloon ascent, where ascension is very rapid and entails no muscular exertion, a similar phenomenon would occur. He made two investigations at heights of 4,200 and 4,700 meters and found in himself 8,000,000 red corpuscles per cubic millimeter. Further, M. Gaule at a height of over 4,000 meters made some blood-films stained after Ehrlich’s method with eosin and hematoxylin. He found numerous red corpuscles which showed a nucleus colored blue by the hematoxylin. This nucleus was in many instances segment- ing, and also groups of three or four corpuscles were seen as if they had undergone subdivi- JANUARY 3, 1902. ] sions. Similar preparations made before the ascent showed no such appearances. M. Gaule therefore considers that at high altitudes there is an actual formation of red corpuscles and that this takes place with great rapidity. At the following meeting M. Tissot and M. Haillon Save an account of researches on a somewhat analogous subject. On November 21 they undertook some researches at various altitudes into the physics and chemistry of the respiration. Experiments were made at the following heights: 1,350 meters, 2,600 meters, and 4,450 meters in the case of M. Tissot, and at 1,700 meters and 3,500 meters in the case of M. Haillon. The chemical phenomena of the respiration did not vary appreciably at these different altitudes. The respiratory rhythm, however, was greatly modified. Although the total quantity of air entering the lungs was less the number of respirations was not sensibly altered. It would thus appear that at high altitudes the air is purer and more completely used. Tue London Times states that Sir Colin Scott Moncrieff, has been appointed by the Secretary of State for India to preside over a commission to consider exhaustively the possi- bilities of further protection against famine by means of irrigation. His colleagues will be Mr. Ibbetson (recently appointed to fill a pros- pective vacancy in the Viceroy’s council), Mr. Higham, of the Irrigation Department, and the Hon. Mr. Rajaratna Mudaliyar, of Madras. The Punjab, Sind and Rajputana are the parts of India to be first visited as being most sus- ceptible to the advantages of irrigation. Other provinces will then be taken one after the other, Burma alone being left unvisited. In order that the commission may be assisted in its inquiries by local knowledge, each provin- cial administration has been asked to nomi- nate an experienced revenue officer to be a member of the commission for the period that it remains in the province. The terms of refer- ence to the commission show that the inquiry will be of a most exhaustive character. The Government resolution points out that the irrigation works hitherto constructed by the State have on the whole proved directly re- munerative, but it is recognized that the pro- SCIENCE. 39 gram of works of this kind may be approach- ing completion. . The great storage works re- quired for any considerable extension of irri- gation in tracts most exposed to famine must necessarily be more costly per acre protected, and therefore less remunerative than com- pleted works, which draw unfailing and per- ennial supplies from the great rivers of North- ern and Southern India. As regards new works, therefore, the Commission is directed to regard as the main question not whether they will be likely to prove directly remunera- tive, but whether the net financial burden which they may impose on the State in the form of charges for interest and maintenance will be too high a price to pay for the protec- tion against famine which they may be re- lied on to afford. One of the most valuable results that may be anticipated from the labors of a Commission taking this as its guiding principle will be to authoritatively set at rest the assumption that in all cases areas liable to famine can be protected by irrigation with comparatively small cost annually to the State. Tue London Times states that the National Association of British and Irish Millers have decided to institute an inquiry into the whole question of the relative strengths of English and American wheats, and have secured the cooperation of the Southeastern Agricultural College at Wye, Kent, in the agricultural side of the work. The question has arisen in con- sequence of complaints by agriculturists that English millers will not purchase English- grown wheats as they did formerly, but give the preference to American wheat, though they have to pay a higher price for it. The millers reply that, however favorably they may be situated for obtaining home-grown corn, they cannot sell for bread-making purposes flour made from English wheats, because they lack the strength of the American kinds. It is hoped that the inquiry will result in an im- provement in the quality and yield of Eng- lish wheat. For this season the Southeastern Agricultural College is sowing the same wheats on different soils; different manures are being tried, and the wheats in each case will be tested by milling and baking. New varie- ties are being obtained from Canada and 40 SCIENCE. America, and selection and cross-breeding will be tried to improve the yield of the old varie- ties, not by increasing the size, but by increas- ing the number of grains in the ear. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. By the will of Mrs. S. C. Warren, about $150,000 is given foreducationaland charitable purposes, including $5,000 to Harvard Univer- sity for the Peabody Museum of Archeology and $5,000 to Williams College. Patmer Coxuece, at Le Grand, Iowa, has re- ceived $30,000 from Mr. F. A. Palmer, of New York, making $50,000 given to the institution in the last six months. A CABLE despatch to the New York Sun an- nounces that the Chinese government has de- cided to present to Columbia University a compilation of Chinese literature, history, maps, illustrations and official papers in ac- knowledgment of the establishment of a chair of Chinese history, language, customs and manners in that institution. The recommen- dation that such action be taken was made by Liu Kun Yi, the Viceroy of Nankin. Tue Philadelphia correspondent of the New York Hvening Post records the buildings to be erected at the University of Pennsylvania, as follows: Engineering building and ma- chinery, $500,000; gymnasium building and ground, $400,000; medical laboratories, $500,- 000; veterinary building, $150,000; and vari- ous sums for additions to the chemistry and physics laboratories. About one-half of this sum has been secured, and the plans for the new engineering building have already been completed. The equipment will cost over $200,000, and the building $300,000. The site for the new medical laboratories has been cleared and work begun on the foundations. The trustees plan to have the laboratories ready for use by the opening of the next col- lege year. Mrs. Grorce Hott and Miss Holt have en- dowed a fellowship in physics in Uni- versity College, Liverpool, to be associ- ated with the name of Dr. Oliver Lodge, formerly professor of physics at the College, and now principal of Birmingham University. [N.S Von. XV. No. 366. Tts annual value will be £100 or more. STATION. “The Classification and Structure of Diatoms’: Mr. Wm. Constantin ADLER- MERESCHKOWSKY. “The Peridinium Visitation that took place on the Southern Coast during the Summer’: Mr. H. B. Torrey. ‘“Speciographic and Heological Studies on the Actinians of the Region’: Mr. H. B. Torrey. “The Systematic Position and Variation of various species of Echinoderms’: Miss G. R. CrocKkrr. “The Variation and Autotomy of the star-fish Phataria wnifascialis’: Mass SaraH P. Monks. JANUARY 10, 1902. ] . ‘The Nemerteans of the Region’: Dr. W. R. Cor. ‘The Opisthobranch Molluses of the Region’: Proressor T. D. A. CocKERELL. ‘Classification and Distribution of the gastropod and bivalve Mollusca’: Pro- Fessor J. W. RAymMonp and Mrs. Ipa O1p- ROYD. A ‘Speciographic and Anatomical Studies on Bryozoa’: Miss Aticzk ROBERTSON. “The decapod and amphipod Crus- tacea’: Dr. 8. J. Hommes. “The Enteropneusta, Studies on Anat- omy and Habits’: Prorsssor Wm. H. RITTER. “The Ascidians of the Region’: FESSOR Wu. H. RITTER. “Experimental Studies on the Fertiliza- tion of Ciona’: Dr. F. W. BANcrorT and Miss Eraeutyn Foote. “Experimental Studies on the Heart Action of Ciona’: Dr. F. W. BANcRoFT and Mr. C. O. HEstErty. ‘Selection in the Mortality of Hippa due to the Peridinium Visitation’: Dr. F. W. BANcROFT. PrRo- SOME OF THE SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OF THE SUMMER’S WORK. Hydrographic.—On this side it is not felt that the data collected are sufficient in quantity to warrant any statement about them in a preliminary report, beyond the mere presentation given above, of what was done. Geological-Biological.—The observations made corroborating the view that Santa Catalina Island has recently been under- going subsidence have already been pub- lished in this journal, October 11, 1901, p. 575, and need not be repeated. Special interest, from the biological side, was attached to the exploration of the peculiar ‘submarine valleys’ that are so characteristic a feature of the coast of Cali- fornia, Lower California and Mexico. As, SCIENCE. 59 however, a complete study. of them will lead into deeper water (at their seaward ends into at least eight hundred fathoms*) than we were this year fitted to penetrate, and will go beyond the limits to which detailed soundings have been carried by the Coast and Geodetic Survey, our obser- vations are yet too few and fragmentary to warrant any general conclusions.. Two points may, however, be mentioned as having been brought out by our work. First, that the bottom deposits of some, at least, of the valleys, for example that at Redondo, even at the distance of several miles from shore, are of a character. to prove that close inshore material is carried into them in large quantities. Shore-worn shells of strictly littoral, and even fresh- water species; fragments of drift-wood; kelp hold-fasts, of which none grow in the immediate vicinity, etce., were taken in abundance by the dredge.+ Second, vari- ous species of deep-water fishes, crustaceans and molluses were taken much nearer shore in these valleys than elsewhere. The first mentioned observation sug- ; gests, though of course does not prove, that the valleys are natural channels through which currents flow, at times at least, from the shore out to deeper water. *The U. 8. 8. Albatross, surveying the Mon- terey submerged valley with a view to its possible termination for a transpacifie cable, found 868 fathoms sixteen and one half miles from shore. {Professor Davidson gives something on the character of the bottom in most of the valleys, as determined, presumably, by the soundings. This method cannot be relied upon for the de- tection of such deposits as are here described. It is a suggestive fact, however, that the author mentions, in connection with the Cape Mendocino submerged valley, that “the valley itself has green mud, and yet in two places at depths of three hun- dred and twenty fathoms broken shells were brought up with gravel.” (‘The Submerged Valleys of the Coast of California, U. S. A., and of Lower California and Mexico, Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 3d ser., Geol., Vol. I., No. 2, 1897.) 60 SCIENCE. It cannot be doubted that future study will prove these valleys to play an interest- ing part in the local distribution of marine life, particularly in the bathymetric dis- tribution. Whether currents ever flow through them from the deeper waters to- ward land or not, certain it is that the temperature and pressure conditions within them are the same as for corresponding depths elsewhere; they must, consequently, form natural roads whereby deeper water species may reach nearer shore than they otherwise would. BIOLOGICAL. Diatomes.—Mr. Adler-Mereschkowsky came to California for the purpose of studying the diatomes of the West Ameri- can coast. He has already published a list of California species. The summer’s work at the San Pedro laboratory resulted,so far as the studies have yet gone, in identifying fifty known species and ten new ones, with one new genus. But the most fruitful part of Mr. Adler- Mereschkowsky’s work was that on the en- dochrome of these organisms. His observa- tions here have led him to conclusions widely different from the prevailing views concerning these bodies. Protozoa.—There occurred during the summer on the coast of southern California what might be called a Peridiniwm epi- demic, for the people even, who resort in large numbers to many sea-shore points during the summer months, did not escape the noxious effects of the visitation. No similar occurrence of this organism on the Pacific coast of North America is recorded so far as J am aware. Indeed, in- quify among many old fishermen, and longshore seamen, who have been familiar with the region for many years, elicited the affirmation, in every instance, that such a thing had never before taken place within the period of their acquaintance with the coast. As full.a study of the phenomenon [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 367. was made as the facilities at our command would permit, and the results as brought together by Mr. H. B. Torrey are now with the American Naturalist for. publication. A summary only of these results is, con- sequently, given here: 1. The duration of the visitation of the organism in sufficient quantity to appreci- ably color the water was from about July 7 to September 1, 1901. 2. The geographical extent of the phe- nomenon was from Santa Barbara at the north to San Diego at the south, at least (it may have extended farther south, but we have no reports from more southerly points) ; and in general from the shore out from four to six miles. 3. Nowhere were the organisms dis- tributed uniformly over considerable areas, but were confined more or less completely to bands or strips varying from a few to many meters in width. They extended to the bottom at a depth of six fathoms at least; but the appliances for determining the bathymetric range were not sufficiently accurate to produce wholly reliable results. 4. The color imparted to the water varied from a light brown, where the or- ganisms were in moderate numbers, to a vermilion, where they were in greatest abundance. The red coloration was due to material of this color contained in the nucleus. At night the phosphores- cent display, at the slightest agitation of the water, was truly wonderful. 5. The presence of the organisms in such enormous numbers disturbed the biological equilibrium to a marked degree through the whole area. Several species of fishes, crustaceans, holothurians, star-fishes, and molluses, in particular, suffered a severe mortality, and showed various unmistak- able evidences of discomfiture. 6. The injurious effects were apparently due entirely to crowding and the contami- nation of the water. The odor at times on JANUARY 10, 1902.) the lee shore, and for a considerable dis- tance inland, was very offensive. This was due to the Peridiniwm itself, and not to animals killed by it. In character it was a modification of the ordinary odorof decom- posing organic matter, and was mostly due to the dead organisms cast up on the shore. 7. A considerable list of other species of chlorophyl-bearing dinoflagellates were present in the water mingled with the Peridimium, and these, particularly several Species of Ceratiwm, largely increased in numbers simultaneously with the increase of Peridinium, though to a comparatively slight extent. 8. The only pelagic organism that seemed to take advantage of the great abundance of Peridinium, as a food supply, was Noctiluca, which towards the end of the visitation became abundant, and fed upon the Peridiniwm in large numbers. 9. But a single species constituted al- most the entire mass, this apparently be- longing to the genus Gonyaulax Diesig. 10. It was impossible to correlate the enormous multiplication of the organism ~ with any physical or chemical condition of the water. The cause of such a phenomenon remains for future investigation. Celenterata.—Siphonophores and cteno- phores were taken in far greater abund- ance, as to both species and individuals, in the plankton this year than we have ever before seen in the waters of our western coast. Worthy of mention, also, is the fact that Valella, which at rare intervals appears in enormous abundance on the coast, was found to be throwing off medusa buds in great numbers during May and June. Whether the richness in pelagic meta- zoan life, seen not only in the groups here mentioned, but also in the Pteropoda, Heteropoda, Sagitta, Salpa, Doliolum, ete., may have been correlated with the condi- tions which resulted in the enormous de- SCIENCE. 61 velopment of Peridiniwm, it is impossible to say owing to the lack of data from pre- vious observations. Perhaps the most interesting observa- tions on the Celenterata were those made by Mr. Torrey on the longitudinal fission, from the base oralward, of a species of Sagartia. Echinodermata.—Of the several interest- ing questions in connection with the speci- ography and ecology of the echinoderms, which received attention, mention may be made of two. The representatives of this branch of the animal kingdom, the most common and generally distributed over the area in which work was carried on, are an Astropecton (A. erimnaceus Gray?) and a Toxopneustes (T. pileolus Ag.?). Few hauls were made anywhere that did not secure specimens of these species, the Toxopneustes being particularly abund- ant. A single haul of the dredge on Sta- tion XIII. off Pomt Vincente in thirty- five fathoms brought up about twelve thou- sand specimens, by a careful estimate, and little else! Now the type of Toxopneustes pileolus is a littoral animal occurring everywhere on rocky shores. The forms dredged are of a different style. They are somewhat flatter, the spines are more slen- der; and the color is lighter; yet the two grade into each other. It is almost certain that we have here the differentiation of two species in progress and nearly com- plete, bathymetric range being the chief differentiating factor. A large quantity of material and consid- erable data for the further study of this point were gathered. In a somewhat sim- ilar way Astropecton is a distinetly bifur- cate species. Indeed, one of the forms has sometimes been considered as a Psilaster. Their intergradation is, however, from our summer’s observations proved to be com- plete. Longer spines with intermarginal plates, purplish and bluish color and 62 SCIENCE. larger-sized individuals, are the characters usually distinctive of A. erinaceus. But these all fail to furnish differential marks for many specimens. With these two forms, contrary to what we find in Toxopneustes, bathymetric range appears to play no part, as they occur to- gether everywhere in from eight to ten fathoms, to the greatest depths reached in our work. We have thus far been un- able to correlate these two varieties with any environmental peculiarities whatever. The general distribution of these two species, as contrasted with the restricted distribution of some other species of both Echinoids and Asteroids in this locality, is noteworthy and is all the more interesting when the variability—as contrasted with the lack of variability in other species localized in their distribution—is regarded. Mediaster cequalis Verrill, for example, may be cited as a species of great rigidity in type. The individuals of this species all have the appearance of having been cut out by the same die, so alike are they in form; and having been dipped in the same paint-box, so similar are they in color. This species was taken at only two or three stations, and in any abundance at only one. Such facts as these strongly impress one who comes face to face with them with the scantiness of our knowledge of the deeper meaning of the relation of organisms to their environment. Miss Monk’s studies on Phataria, a star- fish remarkable even among its close allies within the family Linckiide, for the vari- ability in the number of its rays, and the readiness with which it parts with them and then regenerates them, led to the fol- lowing results: 1. The observations proved conclu- sively that the casting off of the rays is, in most cases at least, not accidental, but a true self-amputation. 2. As the breakage usually occurs at [N.S. Von. XV. No. 367. some distance from the disk, and as the ‘comet’ stars are found abundant in nature, it appears as though the autotomy is for the purpose of asexual reproduction, and hence that the severed arm to which no part of the disk adheres has the power of reproducing the entire animal. But ab- solute certainty on this point is still to be reached. A species of Antedon closely related to, if not identical with, A. rosacea was taken off San Diego in about one hundred fathoms. So far as I am aware, this is the first record of the occurrence of any species of this genus on the Pacifie coast north of Panama. Bryozoa.— Under the name of Ascorhiza Californica, Dr. Walter Fewkes described a new genus and species of Bryozoan dredged by him in Santa Barbara channel in 1886. The colony consisted of a well- defined capitulum, to which the polypides are restricted, and a long, slender, flexible stem. From the general resemblance of the stem to that of Urnatella, the author surmised the species to be related to the Endoprocta. In the capitulum, however, he recognized some resemblance to Alcyo-. nidiwm. He, consequently, suggested that the form might stand intermediate between the Endoprocta and the Eetoprocta. As he did not, however, make out much about the polypides, he was unable to support the suggestion with much evidence. Several specimens of this unique species were dredged during the summer, and from these Miss Alice Robertson has been able to establish definitely that its affinities are undoubtedly with Alcyonidium, and thatits resemblances to Urnatella are wholly superficial. It is, nevertheless, a very in- teresting form, especially in the nature of the stem. Miss Robertson will shortly pub- lish a paper on this and one or two other species of Alcyonidiwm of the Pacific coast. A noteworthy fact in connection with the JANUARY 10, 1902.] Bryozoa of the regions worked in during the summer is the great abundance of the Endoproct Ascopodaria macropes. At no other point on our shores have we found this or any other Endoproct very plentiful. At San Pedro, however, nearly every rock one turns over presents a continuous mov- ing field of this or a closely related species. Mollusca.—No group of marine inverte- brates of the Pacific coast of North Amer- ica has been so extensively studied, syste- matically, as the shell-bearing mollusca. For this reason, then, if for no other, these animals ‘are of special importance for studies on geographic and bathymetric dis- tribution. The expedition was fortunate in having for nearly the entire summer two such en- thusiastic and well-informed conchologists as Professor Raymond and Mrs. Oldroyd in its membership; and a vast amount of material was secured, the detailed examin- ation of which is, of course, still far from complete. Some idea of the wealth of the collections in the group may be gained from the statement that in the San Pedro and Santa Catalina Island areas alone two hundred and thirty species, exclusive of the Polyplacophora and Pteropoda, have been identified, and it is certain that the number will be largely increased by more detailed study. A few species are almost certainly new to science, though just how many it is not yet possible to say. The total number of species of mollusca of the Pacific coast of Canada contained in the list published by Rev. G. W. Taylor in 1897 is two hundred and seventy-nine. The total number in the list of species of Los Angeles County, now in course of preparation and nearly complete, by Mrs. Oldroyd, is something over five hundred. The familiar, though nevertheless strik- ing, general rule of the occurrence in com- paratively deep water off shore of species that are strictly littoral to the northward, SCIENCE. 63 receives many illustrations in this group. A good example is furnished by Priene oregonensis Redfield, which occurs in a few fathoms at Sitka, Alaska,and was taken this summer in about one hundred fathoms off San Diego. Cryptochiton stelleri, also found in this locality for the first time this year, I believe, is another example of the same sort. Professor Raymond has elsewhere* ex- pressed the view that Point Conception marks a dividing line between molluscan faunee to the north and south of it that are quite distinct; and Dall} affirms that Point Conception is the northern limit of the Panamie fauna. The results of the summer’s work, so far as they can yet be seen, confirm these views. To harmonize the apparent fact of this faunal delimitation with the view that the Davidson inshore current flows out of the Santa Barbara channel around Point Conception and then on northward, is only one of the many problems presenting them- . selves for solution on our coast. Worthy of note is the discovery made by Mrs. Burton Williamson during the sum- mer while at work at the laboratory, that at least two species of Pecten occurring on the southern coast, viz., P. equisulcatus and P. diegensis are hermaphroditic. A species of gymnosmatous pteropod related to Pneumodermon pacificum Dall, though probably a different species, was taken with the deep plankton net in San Pedro chan- nel in considerable numbers. No species of this genus, excepting pacificum, has been reported hitherto from the California coast, so far as I have been able to ascer- tain. Many of the specimens of a species of **The California Species of the genus Nut- talina, Nautilus, Vol. VII., 1894, p. 133. +‘Synopsis of the Family Tellinide and of the North American Species, Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus., Vol. XXIII., 1900. 64 SCIENCE. Carinaria, apparently new, taken in con- siderable abundance off San Pedro, were found to be headless, though still alive and well, thus presenting a condition that has been observed bya number of naturalists in Firola. Thisdecapitate state wassocommon, and so uniform in character—1. e., as to the size of the portion lost and the charac- ter of the wound—that it can hardly be supposed to have been due to mere acci- dent. The meaning of this case is as diffi- cult to understand as is that of the self- amputation of the posterior third of Pro- physaon which has been noted by several observers, and which I have myself seen. Of the opisthobranch and nudibranch mollusca, about twenty species were recog- nized in the San Pedro district by Pro- fessor Cockerell. Of these, five at least are almost certainly new. Crustacea.—Of the seventy or more species of decapod crustacea taken at San Pedro during the summer (the San Diego collections have not yet been worked over), five, according to Dr. Holmes’ preliminary examinations, are probably new to science, the presumably new forms all coming from deep waters. Among them may be men- tioned as of special interest a Pagurid in- habiting the tube of the Annelid Pecti- naria. A noteworthy extension of geographic range in this group is that of three species of Pandalus, viz., P. Dane St., P. pubescen- tulus Dana, and P. franciscorum Kingsley. None of these were before known to occur south of San Francisco and pubescentulus was not known farther south than the coast of Oregon. The beautiful Navanax ineremis Cooper, which is not uncommon in San Pedro har- bor, is the residence of an interesting copepod which has the curious habit of using the slime of its host’s external sur- face not merely for clinging so closely as to make its removal quite difficult, but also as (N.S. Vou. XV. No. 367. a medium in which to move about with great freedom and rapidity. Professor Cockerell, in particular, gave considerable attention to this curious case of commen- salism. The summer’s work brought to light one new Enteropneust, making thus three species representing as many genera, from the San Pedro district. Ptychodera occi- dentalis Ritter MS. and Dolichoglossus pusillus Ritter MS. occur together in San Pedro inner harbor, while the one now added belonging, apparently, to the re- stricted genus Balanoglossus, was taken by the dredge in from seventeen to thirty fathoms off Newport, California. The new species is related to Balanoglos- sus canadensis. Unfortunately, we were able to get only three specimens. It is my intention to include the descrip- tion of this species in my forthcoming monograph of the Enteropneusta of the Pacific coast of North America, now nearly ready for publication, and to appear in the scientific results of the Harriman Alaska Expedition. About thirty species of simple aud com- pound Ascidians were collected during the summer, the larger proportion of them being taken by the dredge only. At least four of these have not been taken before on the Pacific coast, and are almost certainly new to science. Even the deepest dredging failed to bring to light much of anything in common between the Ascidian fauna of this region and that of the Pacific coast north of Puget Sound. At the present time I identify two species, viz., Amarouciuwm califormcum and Distaplia occidentalis, and possibly a third, Styela montereyensis, as ranging from western Alaska to south- ern California. The work of Dr. Baneroft and Mr. Esterly on the heart-beat of Ciona, while still incomplete, arrived at the follow defi- nite conclusions: JANUARY 10, 1902.] (1) The results confirm those of Schultze that isolated pieces from the center of the heart can contract in sea water. (2) They have established the new facts, (a) that in the intact animal the heart may some- times beat from the center towards both ends; also, (b) that when the heart is tied near the center, the rsolated pieces may sometimes beat from the center towards the ends; and (c) in such pieces there may even be a regular alteration wn the dwrec- tion of the heart-beat. These last results will probably necessitate a complete change in our conception of the character of the Ascidian heart-beat. This is a proper place to record the oc- currence of Branchiostoma Califormense at San Pedro, hitherto not known farther north than San Diego. About a dozen specimens were dredged during the sum- mer, some in the inner harbor, and others outside but near its mouth. It may also be noted here that the Point Loma blind fish, Typhlogobwus Californien- sis, hitherto not reported north of San Diego, was found at San Pedro. At White’s Point it was found in holes in the soft rock and under stones; while during the Peridinvwm visitation a considerable number of specimens were east ashore, some alive and others dead, along the breakwater at San Pedro. Wm. HE. Rivrrer. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, October 29, 1901. SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. A Treatise on Hydraulics. By Henry T. Bovey, M. Inst. C.E., LL.D., F.R.S.C. Sec- ond edition, rewritten. New York, John - Wiley and Sons. 1901. Pp. xviii + 583. Figs. 330. Price, $5.00. - The second edition of Dr. Bovey’s well- known text-book is practically a new work, having been largely rewritten, rearranged and nearly doubled in extent; forming a very im- portant and valuable addition to the literature SCIENCE, 60 of engineering education. It contains 583 pages and 3380 figures, as against 337 and 196, respectively, in the first edition; embodying also some improvements in mechanical execu- tion, such as the substitution of clear-cut line engravings for the few (but hazy) half-tones illustrating certain water-meters in the first edition, and the use of bold-faced type for im- portant formule. Being printed on thinner paper the present volume possesses no more weight or bulk than the earlier book. As in the earlier edition, the statements of many numerical examples, with their answers, are placed at the end of each chapter, and these have been greatly increased in number (e. g-, at the end of Chapter I. we find 106 ex- amples as against 76 in the first edition) ; but a new and special feature in this respect con- sists in the insertion, in the body of the text in connection with each topic, of numerical examples fully worked out in all their details. This added feature will be heartily welcomed by engineering students possessing only aver- age mathematical ability, and hence needing careful guidance in the principles of correct numerical substitution. Among additions to the subject-matter the following are prominent: A description of the elaborate apparatus in the Hydraulic Laboratory of McGill Univer- sity, for experimentation with jets of water (as to coefficients of efflux, form of jets and impact of jets on vanes and cups of various shapes) ; with methods of use and results ob- tained. An illustrated abstract (ten pages of fine print) of Bazin’s papers in the Annales des Ponts et Chaussées on experiments with weirs; including the phenomena of depressed, drowned and adhering nappes. In connection with flow in pipes, the for- mule of Darey, Hagen, Thrupp, Reynolds, Lévy, Vallot, Manning, Tutton, Flamant, Foss and Lampe. Many of the results obtained by Mr. C. H. Tutton in 1896 in his careful and extended collation, and logarithmic plotting, of the ele- ments of some 1,000 recorded experiments on the flow of water in pipes; with diagrams and formulz. 66 SCIENCE. For uniform flow in open channels, the for- mule of St. Venant, Bazin, Manning, Tutton, Humphreys and Abbot, and Gauckler; and extensive tables of the coefficients to be em- ployed with the formule of Bazin, Ganguillet and Kutter and Manning. A practically new and well-illustrated chap- ter (Chapter IV., of 25 pages and 22 figures), on hydraulic rams, presses, accumulators and water-pressure engines. Some of the results of Freeman’s experi- ments with nozzles, jets and hose for fire- engines. Considerable extra matter in the theoretical treatment of vertical water-wheels and tur- bines. A new chapter (of 30 pages and 22 figures) devoted exclusively to centrifugal pumps; giving much practical detail as well as theo- retical treatment. References (on pp. 168 and 206) to the recent experiments made at Detroit by Prof. G. S. Williams and others on the flow of water in pipes; as regards the loss of head due to curves in pipes from 12 to 80 inches in diameter, and the distribution of velocity in the cross-section. (See Proc. Am. Soc. Civ. Engineers for May, 1901, and later discus- sion.) It is seen that much of the above added matter has to do with the practical and experi- mental side of the subject; and in this con- nection it is perhaps to be regretted, from-a practical standpoint, that the author had not omitted a large part of the theoretical treat- ment of unimportant and nearly obsolete forms of vertical water-wheels, substituting therefor some account of recent modern turbines and their appurtenances such as the wheels at Niagara Falls and the prominent American makes known as ‘ Victor,’ ‘New American,’ “Hercules, ‘ McCormick,’ ete.; with a chapter giving methods and results of tests of effi- ciency. Criticism and comment on a few incidental points may perhaps be permitted. ‘ American’ readers of the book may need to be reminded that the gallon employed in the numerical examples (gallon of water) is the Imperial gallon of 271 cubic inches used in England [N.S. Von. XV. No. 367. and weighing 10 pounds. The weight of the United States gallon (8.32 lbs.) is not men- tioned in the work, although its volume (231. cubic inches) is given in the preliminary table of ‘Useful Constants.’ As to the compressibility of water (see p. 5) and corresponding modulus of elasticity of vol- ume, the author might have mentioned the ex- periments described by Mr. Stillman on p. 236 of Engineering News of October 4, 1900. In these water was subjected to a pressure of 65,000 pounds per square inch, with a resulting reduction of volume of 10 per cent. In the treatment of problems involving the steady flow of water in branching pipes the reader might have been reminded of the great saving in time and trouble that can be accom- plished by the use of diagrams of friction- heads in pipes, such as are given in OCollignon’s “Hydraulique’ and in OCoffin’s ‘ Graphical Solution of Hydraulic Problems,’ and inciden- tally in engineering periodicals. (On p. 415 of the Engineering Record for November 38, 1900, Mr. J. H. Gregory presents such a dia- gram; which, having a logarithmic basis, covers a wide range of values both of diameter of pipe and friction-heads.) Although many results of experiments with pipes are stated in graphic form (Tutton) in the work before us, the diagrams are not arranged with a view to giving aid in the solution of problems. Since only the logarithms, and not the quantities themselves, are figured along the edges of these diagrams, the latter are not available for ready use. There would seem to be some inconsistency in presenting the numerical example of p. 161 as apparently an illustration of the theory given in article 12 (‘ Pressure Due to Shock’) of p. 160. In article 12 the closing of the stop- gate is instantaneous, and the kinetic energy of the moving water is absorbed by the elastic compression of the water itself (the pipe being supposed fixed and its possible distension neg- lected). In the numerical example, however, the stop-gate is gradually closed and is sup- posed to be handled in such a way as to make the retardation of the cylinder of water uni- form; and as the kinetic energy of the great mass of the water is gradually given up a JANUARY 10, 1902. ] nearly equal amount of kinetic energy is gen- erated in the smaller mass passing (with high velocity) through the narrowing sectional area under the edge of the gate. Here the compression of the water is not considered, the pressure being small; as is shown by the fact that neither the modulus of elasticity (of volume) nor the velocity of sound enters the equation employed. It would have been well to remind the student at this point that in the gradual closing of a stop-gate, if the mo- tion of the gate is uniform the rate of retarda- tion of the water can not be uniform, and that the pressure induced just behind the gate is consequently variable and reaches a maximum value which may be many times as great as the average pressure (which average is equal to the pressure produced when the gate is so managed as to make the retardation uniform, the whole time of closing remaining un- changed). As to the discussion of the impact of a jet upon a flat plate or vane (p. 378), one cannot help thinking that it would have been prefer- able to substitute for this rather lengthy and involved treatment (where the reader must be uncertain whether the plate is furnished with borders parallel to the paper or not) the sim- ple and direct analysis given by Rankine in Case V. of § 144 of his ‘Steam Engine and Other Prime Movers’ (also given by Cotterill). On page 500, in the theory of the turbine, the term ‘velocity of flow’ is used in a sense entirely different from that specially defined on page 498; and on the same page (500) ob- security of language results from the apparent statement that impulse equals momentum (in- stead of change of momentum). | The author is evidently (p. 96) of the same opinion as Collignon (see ‘ Hydraulique,’ p. 146) when he designates as ‘gratuitous’ the assumption that in the case of a flat-topped weir the flow adjusts itself to such a depth on the weir as to bring about a maximum dis- charge. Several authors have noted that ex- periment gives results not very wide of this re- lation. Unwin (p. 472, article ‘ Hydromechan- ies, Encyclop. Brit.) is rather non-committal on this point, though giving the same analysis; whereas Mr. J. P. Frizell (see Hngineering SCIENCE. 67 News of September 29, 1892) is plainly of the opinion that the flow should theoretically ad- just itself to a maximum discharge. I, P. Cuurcu. Dragons of the Air, an Account of Extinct Flying Reptiles. By H. G. Srstny, Pro- fessor of Geology in King’s College, Lon- don. London, Methuen & Co. When so accomplished a student of extinct life as is Professor Seeley writes in so pleas- ing a way as he has of a group of animals to which he has devoted many years of study, the results can only be happy. Divested so- far as is possible of technicalities, accurate in statement, lucid in presentation, and en- riched by patiently gathered facts from many sources, his present work upon the ‘Dragons of the Air’ summarizes for the paleontologist, as well as for the general reader, about all that is known of those strange fossil reptiles called pterodactyls or ornithosaurs. The book contains a discus- sion of reptilian characters, the range and distribution of pterodaectyls, a review of the known forms, and a thorough comparison of them with other vertebrated animals, part by part, a history of their development, infer- ences as to their habits, and conclusions as to their place in the animal kingdom. It is illustrated by many figures and plates of the bones or skeletons of ptero- dactyls and allied animals, and by many res- torations of the creatures as the author and others have conceived them. In a few words, the work, while popularized, is a critical re- view of this extinet order of reptiles from many sides, interesting because of the strangeness of the animals and valuable to the student of vertebrate morphology, as well as to the geologist. 4 However, with the fullest respect for the author’s anatomical erudition and admitting the force of his reasoning in many cases, the present writer can not always agree with his conclusions. To review them all would be out of place here; the curious reader may expect a wider discussion elsewhere. Many of the bird-like or mammal-like characters which he sees in the pterodactyl, Professor 68 SCIENCE. Seeley would ascribe to ancestral, funda- mental impressions, and not to adaptation. The present writer believes that the elonga- tion of the wing finger, the progressive weak- ening of the middle fingers and the peculiar shape of the first finger are all purely adap- tive, together with the shape of the humerus, the peculiar form of the sternum, the anchy- losis of bones, the shortening of tail and con- comitant increase in length of the sacrum, the diminution and loss of the fibula, the loss of teeth, retreat of the nostrils, ete. The bone in the lizard commonly called the squamosal extends to, or nearly to, the brain surface in the mosasaurs. If the determina- tion of the bone be right, this character loses its value as an avian index in the ptero- dactyls; if wrong, there is the same possibility in the pterodactyls. Dimorphodon had the fifth toe peculiarly modified for the sustentation of the patagial membrane. What good reason then has Professor Seeley for supposing that this specialization was lost in later forms; that the membrane was restricted to the sides of the body only? The rudimentary fifth toe in Ornithostoma was divergent. What use had it unless that of Dimorphodon? In bats the membrane extends to the ankle and over the tail. It is reasonable to suppose that such were its relations in all the pterodactyls, the later as well as the earlier. Especially does the writer disagree with Professor Seeley in his opinion that the quad- rupedal position of the body in ambulation was a normal one. He doubts very much whether the peculiar articulation of the humerus would permit such a position of the bones in some of the pterodactyls. And what use were the loosely attached middle fingers of some pterodactyls as ambulatory organs? In a specimen of Ornithostoma recently ac- quired by the University of Kansas, the small fingers are in position, from which it is evident that they could not have been brought to the surface of the ground in a state of pronation. Nor does it seem reason- able that the animals walked upon the knuckles of the fifth fingers. In those ani- mals in which the body is carried more or less erect, as in birds and dinosaurs, there [N.S. Von. XV. No. 367. occurs elongation of both sacrum and ilium. In the early pterodactyls there were three or four sacral vertebre; in Nyctodactylus, one of the latest, there were six true sacral vertebre and one coossified lumbar. It thus would. seem that some or all pterodactyls walked erect when upon the ground, with the knees probably much flexed. The pelvis of Nyctodactylus, with an expanse of out- stretched wings of fully eight feet was less. than seven eighths of an inch in diameter at the brim, and not three fourths of an inch at. the outlet. The heads of the femora in the largest species measuring twenty feet in ex- panse were less than two and a half inches. apart. If the legs were knock-kneed, as seems. probable, both of the feet in such animals. would have rested upon a space smaller than. one’s hand. In the posture I have indicated, with the body erect, the wing metacarpal bones would have rested upon the ground at. the sides. The eggs of Nyctodactylus could not have: been three fourths of an inch in diameter, and. of Ornithostoma not over two inches. How big would the young have been recently hatched from such eggs? Were they cared for by their parents after birth? Did the pterodactyls build nests? S. W. WILLIsTon. PAPERS ON ENGINEERING. The Proceedings of the Royal Society, just: issued (Vol. XVI., Part II., Lond. Nov., 1901), contain a number of papers of pecu- liar interest in the field of applied science and engineering. The opening article is by Lord Rayleigh, on: ‘Flight.’ In this paper it is stated that the: main problem in flight is that of the aero- plane, as in the case of the kite. But the kite is anchored and at rest relatively to the earth;. while the aeronaut, the aviator, whether: human or other, is adrift. No bird can main- tain itself in motion in a uniform wind-cur— rent without active exertion, any more than in an atmosphere at rest. Soaring is thus evi-— dently the outcome of utilization of internal! movements of the atmosphere surrounding the: bird. The albatross presumably takes advan- JANUARY 10, 1902.] tage of such movements where strata move in proximity with differing motions. Langley has shown the possibility of taking advantage of the gustiness of the wind when soaring. At- tention is called to the fact that the horizontal motion of an aeroplane greatly increases the pressure beneath it when falling, tending thus to sustain it effectively. On this facet de- pends the possibility of flight. The sustain- ing pressure is also reinforced by an impor- tant complementary suction above, with sim- ilar effect in supporting the falling mass. Artificial flight is a question of speed of hori- zontal motion; no man can raise himself from the ground by any mechanism operated by muscular power except with preliminary accel- eration in the horizontal direction. Lord Rayleigh is inclined to agree with Sir Hiram Maxim that the problem of artificial flight is mainly one of time and money. It would pre- sumably be mainly a military problem. He does not think it will prove a safe method of conveyance; but, as Maxim has remarked,-we have not even yet succeeded in making war quite safe. The Hon. Charles A. Parsons, in the second paper, discusses motive power and the steam turbine. He commences with a paraphrase of a page in the introductory section of Thurs- ton’s ‘History of the Steam Engine,’ in which the account of the steam turbine in Hero’s ‘Spiritalia’ is presented, and goes on to say that an experiment made years ago in the production of a redesigned Hero engine en- abled him to obtain twenty horse-power on a consumption of but forty pounds of steam per horse-power-hour, which is a very fair per- formance for engines of the simpler modern forms and of similar power. A later modei illustrated his system of compounding, but without commensurate advantage. Branea’s turbine of 1629, similar in principle and gen- eral construction to the impact waterwheel, had been reproduced successfully by Dr. La Val and is in extensive use in a form illus- trating modern scientific construction. In 1884, Mr. Parsons began his work on his now familiar form of compound turbine, adopting the type of wheel known in hydraulics as the impact turbine. This proyed practically suc- SCIENCE. 69 cessful, ultimately, and is now made in large numbers for electric ‘plants.’ It has been proyed to be capable of as high economy as the reciprocating engines of the best modern constructors. In 1894, the same plan was adopted for en- gines supplied to the Z’urbinia. The outcome was the redesigning of the serew-propeller and its method of application and the attainment of a higher speed than had ever before been recorded, 322 knots, 38 miles, an hour. The steam consumption was 144 pounds per horse- power-hour, a result better than was usually obtained in similar eraft with even triple- expansion engines and under similar condi- tions of steam supply. About 28 pounds of steam were vaporized per square foot of heat- ing surface of boilers. The Viper and the Cobra have been later built on the same general plan and the former became the record-breaking vessel for the world, attaining above forty miles an hour (37,118 knots, 43 miles) on the dimensions of the regular 30-knot torpedo boat destroyer, a length of 210 feet, a beam of 21 feet and with 350 tons displacement. Water-tube, safety- boilers were fitted and the engines were of the compound turbine type. A design for a war-vessel is hypothetically proposed on this plan and Mr. Parsons con- siders it possible to build a ship of 420 feet length, 42 feet beam and 14 feet draught, hay- ing 2,800 tons displacement, which should de- velop eighty thousand horse-power and a speed of 44 knots (over 51 miles) an hour. This represents a concentration of power never be- fore dreamed of by the engineer, far less at- tempted or approximated, although an Ameri- ean designer, Mr. Mosher, has rivalled the work of Parsons in smaller craft. Papers by Professor Ewing on the ‘Struc- ture of Metals’ and by Sig. Marconi on wire- less telegraphy fall into the same general cate~ gory of work in applied science, and those of Lord Kelvin, Professor Dewar and others are in the field of pure science and have special interest through their promise of later utiliza- tion. Sir Andrew Noble presents a remark- able and illuminating discussion of the mod- ern explosives. R. H. THurston, 70 SCIENCE. SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. The American Naturalist for December completes the thirty-fifth volume of this journal and contains the index for the year. The first article, by T. H. Morgan, is a dis- cussion of ‘Regeneration in the Egg, Em- bryo and Adult,’ including the use of the term ‘polarity’? in organic beings and inorganic substances. The writer considers that the re- organization of living beings is an entirely different phenomenon from that of inorganic substances and one of the peculiar properties of what we call living matter. C. M. Child tells of ‘The Habits and Natural History of Stichostemma,’ a small fresh-water nemertean, and W. M. Wheeler contributes another of his important papers on the history of ants under the title of ‘An Extraordinary Ant- Guest,’ this being a phorid larva which fastens itself to the neck of the larve of a large ponerine ant and feeds with its host on food prepared by the workers. Herbert W. Rand gives an extended abstract of ‘Friedenthal’s Experimental Proof of Blood Relationship ’; this is found in the fact that the blood serum of vertebrates undeniably related to one an- other has no injurious effect on the corpuscles of the different species, while it dissolves those of unrelated species. Similarly the transfusion of blood of species of one family is harmless, while blood transfusion among species of different species is harmful and may cause death. The number contains the “Quarterly Record of Gifts, Appointments, Resignations and Deaths’; Mr. Carnegie still continues prominent in the founding of libra- ries. The Popular Science Monthly for January commences the sixtieth volume, and opens with a description of ‘The Minnesota Sea- side Station’ by Conway MacMillan. The station is on the Straits of Fuca in a favorable locality for varied research. The problems of ‘Antarctic Exploration’ are considered by J. W. Gregory who notes the objects of the four expeditions now on the sea, and Francis Galton discusses ‘The Possible Improvement of the Human Breed under existing Condi- tions of Law and Sentiment,’ concluding that [N. S. Von. XV. No. 367. this is not only desirable but possible. Charles V. Chapin writes of ‘The End of the Filth Theory of Disease,’ but adds that we should not become too closely wedded to the germ theory which has replaced it. ‘ Recent Eclipses of the Sun’ are described by Solon I. Bailey, Edward S. Holden contributes a sketch of ‘Friar Roger Bacon,’ and W. H. Dall briefly reviews ‘ Lamarck, the Founder of Evo- lution,’ a biography by A. 8S. Packard. The final article is on ‘Comet’s Tails, the Corona and Aurora Borealis’ by John Cox, being a detailed review of Arrhenius’ theory concern- ing them. The Plant World for November contains the ‘ Rooting of Oxalis Leaves’ by John L. Shelton, ‘The Blooming of Twining Honey- suckles’ by Byron D. Halsted, ‘ Fairy Rings’ by E. M. Williams, ‘ You Will Have to Hurry’ by Aven Nelson, and ‘ Field Notes of a Mid- summer Tramp’ by Charles C. Pitt. In “The Families of Flowering Plants’ Charles L. Pollard treats of the Order Parietales. Popular Astronomy for January gives an account of observations on the recent Leonids, and an article by William H. Pickering upon the ‘Period of Revolution of the Leonids.’ R. G. Aitken, of the Lick Observatory, con- tributes an article entitled ‘The Sources of Standard Time in the United States.’ Shorter articles are ‘An Asteroid Orbit of Great Eccentricity,’ by E. C. Pickering; ‘Eclipse Aid to Chronology,’ by the Rev. Q. A. Wheat; ‘The Period of Algol,’ ‘Transformation of the Dif- ferentials of Area and Volume, by Asaph Hall; ‘Motion in the Faint Nebula surround- ing Nova Persei,’ by C. D. Perrine, and a continuation of Dr. Wilson’s ‘ Light Curve of the New Star in Perseus.’ Becinnine with the new year The Forester, the official organ of the American Forestry Association and National Irrigation, the organ of the National Irrigation Association, will be combined and published under the name of Forestry and Irrigation. Dr. Grorce B. Suarruck, of the Johns Hop- kins University, has lately been elected on the Board of Collaborators of the Annales de Geo- graphie to take the place of Professor Wm. M. JANUARY 10, 1902.] Davis, of Harvard University, who has re- cently resigned. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, SECTION OF ASTRONOMY, PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY. Tue Section met at the Chemists’ Club on the evening of December 2. The following papers were presented: Professor M. I. Pupin described an experi- mental investigation of ‘Hnergy-Dissipation’ in a weak magnetic field. The substance ex- perimented upon was a toroid of square cross- section made up of iron plates .010 in. thick. The magnetizing force was supplied by a helix uniformly distributed over the core. The force applied was simple harmonic of 1,800 periods per second, and its amplitude could be varied from 0 to .1 C.G.S. unit. The inductance and resistance of the helix was determined in a Wheatstone bridge. The results obtained were compared with theory. According to the theory worked out by the author, inductance (LZ) and Foueault resistance (R) is given by the formule: b = 2 sige L=2s fh log — 4 = = 28 Gaye Q= aa a fel where 8 =number of turns in the helix. #=permeability of the iron. o=specifie resistance of the iron in C.G.S. units. f—frequency of the magnetizing force. h=height of the core in cm. d=thickness of the plates in em. a=internal diameter of the plates. b=external diameter of the plates. Up to about .05 C.G.S. units of the magnet- izing force » is constant and equal to about 80 in the samples of iron employed; there is no hysteresis, and the theory agrees very well with experiment. Beyond that limit both ZL and F& inerease; the increase of R is very rapid on account of hysteresis. When the core is magnetized by a steady force and then after removal of this force L and f are measured it is found that they both SCIENCE. al change on account of the change of ». Their values still agree with the theory within the above limits of magnetization. Hence weak magnetizations are not accompanied by hyster- esis, both when the iron is neutral and also when it is already, even strongly, magnetized. An increase of the permanent magnetization diminishes x, and vice versa. The maximum change in » thus obtained was 22 per cent. Professor J. K. Rees presented some notes and lantern illustrations on observations of Leonids made at Bayport by C. A. Post and himself. The observations were made at Mr. Post’s observatory during the nights from No- vember 13 to 16 (both inclusive). For the purpose of photographing meteor trails four cameras were fastened to the equa- torial. Exposures for known times were made on identified parts of the sky. The results showed meteor trails on the plates taken be- tween midnight and sunrise of November 15. Quite a remarkable meteor was shown on plates taken with the Willard and the Anthony lenses. This meteor appeared at 3.58 a. m. near the radiant point and exhibited a fine head and trail, which remained visible for a minute or more. A lantern slide of this meteor (made by Mr. Post) was thrown on the sereen, and attention was called to the peculiar details of the head and trail. Con- sidering the number and the brillianey of the meteors which fell during the morning of the . 15th, the trails on the plates are unexpectedly few. Only during the night of November 14-15 was a careful attempt made to count the me- teors. Miss Edith Post and Miss Greenough watched the northeastern and the southeastern sky. The observers at the telescope occasion- ally aided in counting. Four hundred and eighteen meteors, of which all but a very few were well-defined Leonids, were counted. Of these the greatest number was seen between 4.30 and 5.55 a. m., November 15, when 273 were counted. During the last hour the shower was evidently increasing. The notes on ‘Individual Meteors’ show that many bright Leonids fell, showing trails which lasted many seconds, and extended 10 to 30 degrees. 72 SCIENCE. Two very brilliant meteors fell at 5.28 a. m., November 15, and their paths crossed each other. One came from the radiant and the other from below Leo and cut the trail of the first under Canes Venatici. The trails were 30 degrees long. The hope was expressed that next year we would be favored with a shower more brilliant and comparable to the showers of 1833 and 1866. H. L. Lurrs; Secretary. TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB. Tur first paper on the scientific program on December 10, 1901, was by Professor L. M. Underwood on ‘The Genus Gleichenia. This was illustrated by specimens and _ sketches, showing the principal natural types. The paper will be published in full in an early number of the Bulletin. Mrs. N. L. Britton presented ‘Notes on Ma- coun’s Recent Collections of Canadian Mosses,’ speaking of collections made by Pro- fessor J. Macoun during the past summer in the lower peninsula of Ontario between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Special mention was made of Seligeria campylopoda Kindb., pre- viously known only from Owen Sound, but now collected at Niagara Falls. This moss ordinarily grows in pockets in limestone rocks and being very small is easily overlooked. Mrs. Britton alluded also to the synonymy of Polytrichum Ohioense Ren. & Card. This species was distributed by Drummond in his Musci Americani as Polytrichum pallidisetum and is apparently the same as what was after- wards recognized in the Manual of Lesquereux and James as Polytrichum formosum, vav. pallidisetwm, but whether the original Poly- trichum pallidisetum of Funk is identical re- mains to be determined. Dr. P. A. Rydberg in ‘A Review of a Re- cent Monograph of the Ranunculacer’ dis- eussed the work recently written by Dr. K..C. Davis. The final paper was by Mr. 8S. H. Burnham and was entitled ‘Notes on the Flora of the Lake George Region.’ Mr. Burnham referred especially to Bidens Beckii, an aquatic plant [N.S. Von. XV. No. 367. growing in five or six feet of water in muddy streams, and to his experiences in collecting it through the ice during the last week of No- vember of the present year. He also alluded to the restriction of Castalia tuberosa to the streams flowing directly into Lake Champlain while Castalia odorata alone is found in the Lake George Basin. Marsnatnt A. Howe, Secretary pro tem. NORTHERN SECTION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. Tue regular monthly meeting of the Sec- tion was held on Tuesday evening, December 17, in the Kidder lecture room of the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology. Professor C. F. Chandler, of Columbia University, ad- dressed the Society on ‘The Electro-chemical Industries at Niagara Falls.’ After tracing the historical development of electro-chem- istry, Professor Chandler proceeded to discuss the development of the Castner process for the manufacture of sodium, sodium hydroxide, peroxide and cyanide, and the utilization of the chlorine from the salt for the manufacture of bleaching powder. The Hall process for the manufacture of aluminium together with the electrolytic purification of bauxite was then discussed and illustrated by a large number of beautiful specimens. The preparation and ap- plications of carborundum, graphite, phos- phorus and calcium carbide were considered in detail and were used to illustrate the rapid development of the electro-chemical industries at Niagara Falls. Henry Fay, Secretary. DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. “HE MEASUREMENT OF WIND AT SEA. To THE Eprror or Scrence: In conducting at sea the meteorological observations with kites that have been described in Science, it was necessary to deduce from the observations on the ship and from the record of velocity at the kite the true direction and velocity of the wind at sea-level and in the upper air, respectively. Knowing the resultant direction JANUARY 10, 1902.] and velocity of the wind on the ship or at the kite, as well as the speed of the ship, the tri- angle of forces gave the true velocity of the wind and its direction relative to the course of the vessel. For example, let AB be the wind due to the motion of the steamer in the oppo- site direction and let AC be the wind observed on board, the direction relative to the vessel being indicated by the drift of the smoke and its velocity measured by an anemometer. Then the third side, BC, of the triangle represents the direction of the natural wind and its velocity on the same scale. The problem is not new, for in Abbe’s ‘Treatise on Meteorological Apparatus and Methods’ (Report of the Chief Signal Officer for 1887, Part 2), several graph- ical and mathematical solutions that have been proposed since 1847 are cited, and in the No- vember Pilot Chart of the United States Hydro- graphie Office, a table shows the true direction of the wind with regard to the ship and its force, when there are known, the speed of the ship, the angle that the apparent wind makes with it (points off the bow) and the force of this wind. . It does not seem to be understood, however, that the same result may be reached without any measurement whatever of wind velocity or estimation of force by merely measuring, in addition, the angle that the true wind makes with the ship, which is easily done by watching from the weather side the wave- erests as they approach the vessel. If, in the figure, AB again represent in direction and speed the ship’s wind, and AC, in direction only, the resultant wind, then by measuring the angle DBA that the true wind makes with the ship we have, as before, the third side, BC, of the triangle. The method fails when the wind is in line with the ship’s course and be- comes inaccurate when the angle between them is small. In other cases, since the speed SCIENCE. i) and course of the ship are always sufficiently known and the two angles BAO and DBA can be measured with precision, the method is bet- ter than the first because of the difficulty in measuring the resultant velocity, arising from the upward deflection of the wind on striking the ship. When steaming through calm air, experiments with Dines’ portable pressure anemometer demonstrated that in few locali- ties on board was the speed of the vessel indi- eated by the horizontal movement of the air, one such place being just aft of the bow. Else- where a less speed was usually recorded, though under the bridge the compressed vein of air flowed astern faster than the boat moved ahead. In view of this difficulty of measuring the apparent wind velocity on a moving ves- sel, any method of ascertaining the true velocity with considerable accuracy, without employing an anemometer, is desirable from a scientific as well as from a practical stand- point, and, therefore, the simple method last described, which may usually replace the other, is now published for the first time, so far as the writer is aware. A. Lawrence Rorcn. Briur Hirt MetTroroLocicaL OBSERVATORY, December 10, 1901. THE ANDREW CARNEGIE RESEARCH SCHOLARSHIP. A resparcH scholarship or scholarships, of such value as many appear expedient to the Council of the Iron and Steel Institute, from time to time founded by Mr. Andrew Car- negie (Vice-President), who has presented to the Iron and Steel Institute sixty-four one- thousand dollar Pittsburg, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Company 5 per cent. Debenture bonds for the purpose, will be awarded an- nually, irrespective of sex or nationality, on the recommendation of the council of the institute. Candidates, who must be under thirty-five years of age, must apply, on a special form before the end of March to the secretary of the institute. The object of this scheme of scholarships is not to facilitate ordinary collegiate studies, but to enable students, who have passed through college curriculum or have been trained in industrial establishments, to con- 74 SCIENCE. duct researches in the metallurgy of iron and steel and allied subjects, with the view of aiding its advance or its application to in- dustry. There is no restriction as to the place of research which may be selected, whether university, technical school, or works, provided it be properly equipped for the prosecution of metallurgical investigations. The appointment to a scholarship shall be for one year, but the council may at their discretion renew the scholarship for a further period instead of proceeding to a new elec- tion. The results of the research shall be com- municated to the Iron and Steel Institute in the form of a paper to be submitted to the annual general meeting of members, and if the council consider the paper to be of sufficient merit, the Andrew Carnegie Gold Medal shall be awarded to its author. Should the paper in any year not be of sufficient merit, the medal will not be awarded in that year. By Order of the Council, Bennett H. Brouen, 28, Victoria STREET, LONDON. Secretary. CURRENT NOTES ON PHYSIOGRAPHY. THE WASHINGTON FOLIO. Tue Washington double-sheet folio, by Dar- ton and Keith, embraces a district in which the Potomac flows from its gorge in the Pied- mont plateau to its estuary in the Coastal plain. Along the junction of the two areas is an ‘inner lowland’ similar to that so well de- veloped in New Jersey, but of less breadth. It is determined on one side by the descending floor of erystallines on which the Coastal plain strata rest, and on the other by a pale and ragged ‘cuesta’ whose sinuous crest appears to be held up by the Matawan formation, over- lapped by abundant later deposits, while the lowland itself is opened out on the clays and sands of the Potomac (Cretaceous) formation. The economic sheets: give the underground contours of water-bearing strata. The struc- tural sections exhibit the wonderfully even truneation of the steep-dipping crystallines in the Piedmont area. A novel feature is pre- sented on the physiographic geology sheet, where the existing planes and slopes are colored - according to the date of their production, and [N.S. Vor. XV. No. 367. not that of the rocks on which they are carved. This brings out clearly the pre-Columbia dis- section of the Lafayette plain, as well as the Columbia and later terraces, the latter having their greatest extension along the inner low- land between the old land and the cuesta. PHYSIOGRAPHIC ECOLOGY. “Tur Physiographic Ecology of Chicago and Vicinity, a study of the origin, development and classification of plant societies,’ by Cowles (Botan. Gazette, XXXI., 1901, 73-108, 145- 182), and ‘The Genetic Development of the Forest of Northern Michigan, a study in > physiographic ecology,’ by Whitford (cbid., 289-325), are essays in which the relation of plant distribution to land forms is carried to much more’ than ordinary detail. Not only is the existing distribution of plants traced out, but the extension of one plant society and the corresponding restriction of another, with the slow advance of physiographic de- velopment, as previously suggested by Wood- worth, are here clearly pointed out, as in the discussion of the flora of ravines, valley sides and flood plains. Studies of this kind are of especial interest to the physiographer from the use that they make of physiographic details; they are en- couraging in the evidence that they give that the real intention of physiography is coming to be recognized. It is not so much an end in itself as a means to a larger end; hence it must concern itself not only with large fea- tures of earth form and climate, but with local details as well. It is particularly in these applications of physiography that an effective terminology will be demanded, for when the distribution of plant societies is followed out on so gently modulated a surface as that of a flood plain, nothing less than a systematic and detailed method of description will sufiice. When not only biologists, but geographers and even travelers come to avail themselves of the results of physiographic study, the need of a eareful terminology will be still more ap- apparent. THE COAST-PLAIN OF NORWAY. Unper the title ‘Sondre Helgelands mor- fologi’ (Norges geol. undersogelse, No. 29, JANUARY 10, 1902. ] 1900, 1-61; German abstract, 160-170), Vogt describes the leading features of a part of mid- western Norway, including a typical portion of the coast plain whose general occurrences and origin by marine abrasion were first an- nounced by Reusch in 1894, and whose forms were further illustrated by Richter (see Scrmnce, June 26, 1896). Between latitudes 634° and 664°, the coast plain, now much dis- sected and mostly submerged, has a breadth of about 45 kil., or a third of that of Nor- way in this district. It bears some large un- consumed eminences here and there. Its inner border lies along a tolerably direct line at an altitude of from 20 to 50 met., and is well defined by the rather abrupt ascent to the highlands whose altitude shows that some 400 met. of rock was worn away in abrading the imner part of the plain. Further inland, the highlands are too uneven to be regarded as an uplifted peneplain; but they have been heavily denuded, their summits are composed of their hardest rocks, and their summit heights show a marked accordance with a plane sloping seaward at an angle of 40’. Belts of limestone have been worn down in Jongitudinal valleys by which inland com- munication is favored. Transverse valleys, now occupied by fiords, lead to the coast. Re- turning to the coast plain, it slopes gently westward, and as it gradually dips under the sea thousands or tens of thousands of sker- ries fringe the shore line. Its outer edge is now at a depth of from 10 to 30 met., beyond which the bottom descends more rapidly. The slope of the plain is ascribed in part to post- glacial tilting (23’), in part to an original declivity due to abrasion as the land slowly The date of abrasion is given as pre- glacial, and the fiords and other channels by which the plain is intersected are ascribed largely to glacial erosion acting on lines of previously established valleys. The fiords reach depths of from 400 to 600 met. beneath the sea, or from 1,250 to 1,500 met. below the adjoining highlands; their depth decreases forward in the coast plains. The shore lines (strandlinjen) that were cut during the post- glacial submergence stand somewhat higher sank. SCIENCE. ; 70 than the inner border of the abraded plain, with which they should not be confused. SWEDISH GLACIAL LAKES. Hansen has shown that the shore lines of extinet lakes occur in deep east-discharging valleys that occupy a belt next east of the gen- eral watershed of the Scandinavian highlands, and that the barriers by which the lake waters were held consisted of residual ice masses; thus confirming the generalization that the iceshed of the glacial period (as determined by striations and boulders) lay somewhat east of the watershed. A special account of some of these lakes is given by Gavelin (‘On the glacial lakes in the upper part of the Ume river valley.’ Bull. Geol. Inst. Univ. Upsala, TV., 1900, 231-242, map). One of these lakes in lat. 66° was over 100 kil. long, with a width up to 9 kil., and a depth of 150 or 200 met. Its outlet was westward across a pass at an elevation of 534 met. Wave-cut terraces in till and stream-built deltas of gravel are trace- able round the shore line, which rises eastward with a gradient of about 1:2,000. A higher water level is found at altitudes varying be- tween 700 and 760 met. Many other shore lines of this kind await the attention of the explorer. W. M. Davis. BOTANICAL NOTES. POPULARIZING FORESTRY INFORMATION. Mr. Appot Kinney, of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia, has rendered forestry a good service by bringing out a pretty book entitled, ‘Forest and Water,’ in which he discusses in a non- technical way many things which bear upon our forests and their management as well as their mismanagement. In a series of short chapters the author discusses enthusiastically and earnestly, if not always learnedly, many things pertaining to trees and their environ- ment. Thus he takes up the origin and con- tinuance of forests, forest fires, pasturage in forests, need of government control, forests in relation to torrents, study of the pines, cedars and other trees, some relations be- tween forests and water supply, forest reser- voirs, ete. In speaking of forest fires the author says, “Fire is more dreaded than any 76 SCIENCE. other destroying agent by those interested in forests.” In regard to the pasturing of sheep in the public forests Mr. Kinney speaks very plainly, denouncing the practice in strong terms, as most destructive to the forests. The book is illustrated with half-tone reproduc- tions of striking photographs, which cannot fail to arrest attention. While the literary side of the book leaves something to be de- sired, there is no question that it will do much good, and the author is to be commended for his effort. TITLES OF RECENT ARTICLES AND PAMPHLETS. Unper the title ‘Beitraege zur Kenntniss der Grasroste* Fritz Mueller discusses in ‘ Beihefte zum Botanischen Centralblatt, Band X., a new species of Puccinia (P. symphyti-bromo- rum) related to Ericksson’s P. dispersa, and in the course of his paper gives the details of many cultural experiments. The latter will be of much interest to students of the Uredineae who are engaged in similar work —Dr. Th. Valeton, in the ‘Bulletin de L’In- stitut Botanique de Buitenzorg’? (VIII.), in an article entitled ‘Die Arten der Gattungen Coffea L., Peristomeris Thw.,und Lachnastoma Korth., gives the results of a critical study of these genera in the form of careful diagnosis, followed by notes on certain species. Coffea is divided into two subgenera, viz., Hucoffea (which includes among others the well-known C. arabica), and Paracoffea, containing six to eight Asiatic and African species.—Robert Heegler’s paper, ‘Untersuchungen ueber die Organization der Phycochromaceenzelle,’ in Pringsheim’s ‘Jahrbuecher’ (Bd. XXXVI.), is Important as a contribution to our knowl- edge of the structure of the cell of Proto- phytes. He distinguishes what he regards as a genuine nucleus in every cell, and is able to separate this from the cytoplasm. In each he makes out a ground-mass in which is a more deeply staining granular part. In divis- ion he describes what appears to be a crude imitation of the karyokinetic stages as seen in higher plants, but his photographs do not certainly sustain this statement.—In the last number of Hedwigia (Bf. XL., Hft. 5) Georg Bitter brings to a close his paper, ‘Zur Mor- [N. S. Vou. XV. No. 367. phologie und Systematic yon Parmelia,’ in which he has discussed in particular the sub- genus Hypogymnia.—A notable paper in the September Annals of Botany is Margaret C. Ferguson’s ‘Development of the Egg, and Fertilization in Pinus strobus, in which she notes the similarity between fertilization in the pines and processes known to take place during fertilization in some animals. Three plates of about ninety figures illustrate the paper.—V. S. White’s paper, ‘The Tylosto- maceae of North America, in the August Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of these curious puff-balls. The paper is illus- trated with ten plates, including seventy-eight figures—Dr. Walter Migula, the well-known German botanist, has undertaken to bring out a new ‘Kryptogamen Flora’ of Germany, which is to constitute the fifth, sixth and seventh volumes of Thome’s ‘Flora yon Deutschland, C#sterreich und der Schweiz.’ The first Lieferung takes up the Bryophyta. A feature of the work is to be the use of colored plates for illustrating the text, and the ex- amples given in the first number indicate that this part of the work is to be well done— Numbers 209 and 210 of Engler and Prantl’s ‘Pflanzenfamilien’ are devoted to the Selagi- nellaceae, and the fossil members of this family and of the Lycopodiaceae, and in addi- tion, the Lepidodendraceae.—The sixth ‘Heft’ of Engler’s ‘Pflanzenreich’ has appeared, and we may now judge of the magnitude and im- portance of the work which Engler has under- taken. These six Heften have treated of the families Musaceae, Typhaceae, Sparganiaceae, Pandanaceae, Monimiaceae, MRatilesiaceae,. Hydnoraceae, and Symplocaceae, and to these about four hundred and fifty pages have been given. The illustrations and text maintain the high standard of the earlier numbers. SUPPLEMENT TO NICHOLSON’S DICTIONARY OF GARDENING. Borantsts and horticulturists will find much of value in the two volumes which constitute the supplement to this well-known work. In 747 pages the editor has succeeded in adding a great amount of new and supplemental mat- JANUARY 10, 1902.] ter, and in fact brings the work fairly up to the present. The volumes have the appear- ance of those which preceded them, and the typography and illustrations are of the high order with which we were familiar in the earlier volumes. The colored plates, which are quite lavishly used, are very fine, indeed; in fact they are not to be excelled anywhere in works of this class. Many of the black illus- trations are from photographs which have been reproduced with unusual fidelity. In the text the topics which attract one on account of full treatment are: Adiantum, where many additions are made; Alsophila, to which two beautiful illustrations are added; Aquatic Plants, covering eight pages, and including five fine photographs; Aspleniwm, with forty figures, and covering thirteen pages; Bedding Plants, nine pages; Cacti, eight pages; Chrys- anthemum, ten pages; Cypripedium, twelve pages; Ferns, six pages; Landscape Garden- ing, eleven pages; Sphingidae, six pages; Tulipa, four pages. Cuaries E. Brssry. UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA. THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION. Mr. Anprew Carnecie’s great gift of $10,- 000,000 for scientific research has beeen trans- ferred to a corporation to be known as ‘The Carnegie Institution. The original incor- porators are Secretary Hay, Dr. D. C. Gilman, lately president of Johns Hopkins Uni- versity and director of the Washington Me- morial Institution; the Hon. Chas. D. Wal- cott, director of the U. S. Geological Survey and president of the Board of Trustees of the Washington Memorial Institution; Dr. John S. Billings, U. S. A. (retired), director of the New York Public Library; the Hon. Edward D. White, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Hon. Carroll D. Wright, U. S. Commissioner of Labor. The original ineorporators will select a board of from 27 to 30 trustees. The preamble of the articles of incorpora- tion is as follows: We, the undersigned, persons of full age and citizens of the United States and a majority of whom are citizens of the District of Columbia, be- SCIENCE. 77 ing desirous to establish and maintain in the City of Washington, in the spirit of Washington, an institution for promoting original research in science, literature and art, do hereby associate ourselves as a body corporate for said purposes under an act to establish a code of law for the District of Columbia, approved March 3, 1901, Sections 599 to 604 inclusive. The objects of the institution, in addition to the promotion of research, are set forth as follows: To acquire, hold and convey real estate and other property necessary for the purpose of the institution and to establish general and specific funds. To conduct, endow and assist investigation in any department of scientific literature or art, and to this end to cooperate with governments, universities, colleges, technical schools, learned societies and individuals. To appoint committees of experts to direct special lines of research. To publish and distribute documents, to con- duct lectures and to hold meetings. To acquire and maintain a library and, in gen. eral, to do and perform all things necessary to promote the objects of the institution. SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. Some account of the recent meeting of the American Society of Naturalists and the affiliated societies will be found at the begin- ning of the present issue of Sctencr. The ad- dress of the president, Professor Sedgwick, is also printed above. It may be added that the society took action commending a national board of health and the preservation of the remains of the cliff-dwellings in Arizona. The sum of $50 was appropriated toward the Uni- versity table at the Naples Zoological Station. A committee was appointed, consisting of Professors Minot (chairman), Sedgwick, Cat- tell, Wilson and McGee, to confer with a sim- ilar committee to be appointed by the natur- alists of the Central and Western States in regard to the relations of the two societies. The officers elected for next year are as fol- lows: President, J. McKeen Cattell, Columbia University; Vice-Presidents, C. D. Wolcott, U. S. Geological Survey, L. O. Howard, De- partment of Agriculture, and D. P. Penhal- low, McGill University; Secretary, R. G. Har- 18 SCIENCE. rison, Johns Hopkins University; Treasurer, ‘M. M. Metcalf, Woman’s College, of Balti- more; Members of Hxecutive Committee, W. ‘T. Sedgwick, Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology, and EK. B. Wilson, Columbia Uni- versity. A MEETING of naturalists of the Central States was held at Chicago, January 2, 1902, nd it was voted to organize a society of naturalists of the Central States. A commit- tee of five was ordered to be appointed by the presiding officer, Professor S. A. Forbes, ‘to confer with a committee to be appointed by the American Society of Naturalists, and also to report a form of organization and to nomi- nate members in accordance with the consti- ‘tution of the American Society of Naturalists. It was voted to meet next year during con- vocation week at Washington. A meretine of zoologists of the Central and “Western States was held at Kent Theater, Chi- cago, January 2, 1902. Professor Davenport ‘was chosen moderator. A committee of three was appointed, consisting of Professors Forbes, Reighard and Davenport, to draw up a constitution. It was voted to meet next convocation week at Washington. Tue American Morphological Society elected the following officers for 1902: President, H. C. Bupmus; Vice-President, G. H. Parker; Secretary and Treasurer, M. M. Metealf; Bx- ecutive Committee, H. S. Jennings and R. G. Harrison. Tue officers elected by the Association of American Anatomists are as follows: Pres- ident, G. S. Huntington, New York; Vice- President, D. S. Lamb, Washington; Secretary and YV’reasurer, G. Carl Huber, Ann Arbor; New Members of Executive Committee, OC. A. Hamann, Cleveland, George A. Piersol, Phila- delphia, and F. H. Gerrish, Portland, Me. Tue American Psychological Association elected officers as follows: President, E. A. Sanford, Clark University; Secretary and Treasurer, Farrand, Columbia University; New Members of the Council, G. -S. Fullerton, University of Pennsylvania, and -G. T. W. Patrick, Iowa State University. Livingston [N. S. Von. XV. No. 367. Av the recent Rochester meeting of the Geological Society of America the following officers were elected: President, N. H. Win- chell, Minneapolis; First Vice-President, S. F. Emmons, Washington; Second Vice-Presi- dent, J. C. Branner, Stanford University; Secretary, H. L. Wairchild, Rochester, N. Y.; Treasurer, I. C. White, Morgantown, W. Va.; Editor, J. Stanley-Brown, Washington; i- brarian, E. P. Cushing, Cleveland, O.; Cown- cillors, C. W. Hayes, Washington, and J. P. Iddings, Chicago. Caprain Atrrep T. Manan, U. S. N. (re- tired), known for his publications on naval and military problems, has been elected pres- ident of the American Historical Association. The Association will meet next year at Phila- delphia. Cou. Jacop L. Greenz, of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Co., has been elected president of the Hartford Scientific Society, in place of Dr. Geo. L. Parmele, who declined reelection. Proressor VircHow, while stepping from a trolley car in Berlin on January 5, fell and was so much injured that it was necessary to earry him to his house. Mayor Low has appointed Mr. Ernst J. Lederle health commissioner of New York City, with Dr. Herman M. Biggs as medical officer, having charge of the medical affairs of the board. J. M. Woodbury, M.D.,has been ap- pointed street cleaning commissioner. Dr. Arraur Sire Woopwarp, F.R.S., has been appointed keeper of geology in the Brit- ish Museum in succession to Dr. Henry Wood- ward, F.R.S., who recently retired. It is rumored that Dr. A. S. Woodward is likely to be succeeded in the assistant keepership by Dr. Francis Arthur Bather, who has been an assistant in the museum since 1887. Dr. Bather is one of the most distinguished mem- bers of the modern school of paleontology in Kurope, and is a frequent contributor to Science. He is personally known and esteemed by a large circle of scientific friends in this country. Dr. Witriam Somervinie, late professor of agriculture at the University of Cambridge, JANUARY 10, 1902. ] has been appointed to be an assistant secre- tary to the board of agriculture on the re- tirement of Sir Jacob Wilson. Mr. Francis J. HE. Sprine, senior inspector of railways in India, has been given the de- eree of Master of Engineering at Dublin University. It is doubtful whether -Mr. Spring’s valuable services for thirty years on the railways and other engineering works in India enabled him to understand the Latin oration given on the occasion by the public orator, Dr. R. Y. Tyrrell. Mr. Wintiam Hunter, assistant to the bac- teriologist to the London hospital, has been appointed government bacteriologist to the Colony of Hong Kong. Dr. Samuen Catvin, state geologist of Lowa, recently delivered a lecture on the ‘Ice Age in Jowa’ before the science teachers at the Towa State Teachers’ Association. Proressor T. D. A. Cockrrett has been elected a correspondent of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Dr. H. M. Savinue. of the American Museum of Natural History, left Mexico City on De- cember 31, to continue explorations of the ruins in the Oaxaca Valley. Proressor Lawrence Brunpr, who has on several former occasions visited the warmer portions of North and South Ameriea for sim- ilar purposes, is contemplating a trip to Costa Rica during the months of February, March and April for the purpose of collecting ma- terial for his and other departments in the University of Nebraska. While primarily thus employed, he would be pleased to under- take the collection of material for other in- stitutions when such collecting would not too greatly interfere with the outlined work of the expedition. Other members of the party have also had experience in field work. This expedition is not undertaken entirely in the interests of the University of Nebraska and the funds to pay the expenses of the same are to be supplied only in part by that institu- tion, and it is expected that the commissions undertaken for others would in a measure meet this deficiency. Any person or institu- tion wishing to learn further particulars con- SCIENCE. 79 cerning this proposed expedition is requested to correspond with Mr. Bruner at the Uni- versity of Nebraska. It is planned to sail from New Orleans on or about February 14, 1902. A CABLEGRAM to the New York Sun from St. Petersburg reports that the expedition under Dr. Herz, which was sent to Kolymsk by the St. Petersburg Academy of Science, has ar- rived at Srednokkolynsk with the remains of a male mammoth. The hide is in an almost complete state of preservation. In the stomach - and teeth the remains of undigested food were discovered. We learn from The British Medical Journal that on December 10 a bronzemedallion portrait of the late Professor Thomas Jones, which has been placed in Owens College Medical School, was unveiled in the presence of a large gath- ering of friends and students. At the same time a brass tablet bearing the names of Pro- fessor Jones and those of Dr. Davies, Mr. Eames and Dr. Aldred, former medical stu- dents of the college, who also lost their lives in the South African war, was unveiled. The total sum contributed by 275 subscribers to the memorial was £978, and Professor Wright, the treasurer, after defraying the cost of the medallion and tablet, was able to hand over £852 to the college authorities for the founda- tion of an exhibition in anatomy. Mr. Epmunp Witniim Smiru, archeological surveyor of the northwestern provinces of India, died of cholera on November 21, at the age of forty-three years. He had an important work in preserving archeological remains and in publishing descriptions and drawings. Mr. Henry Grorcr Manan, senior fellow of (ueen’s College, Oxford, and for twenty years head of the science department at Eton, died at Gloucester on December 21. He was a fellow of the Chemical Society and was joint author with Mr. A. G. V. Harcourt, of Christ Church, of ‘Exercises in Practical’ Chemistry,’ now in its fifth edition, and of other smaller works on chemistry and physics. WE regret also to record the deaths of Pro- fessor J. H. Chievitz, director of the Anatomi- cal Museum at Copenhagen, of Dr. Carl 80 SCIENCE. Cramer, professor of botany in the Technical College at Zurich, and of Professor Henry Settegast, director of the Agricultural Insti- tute at Jena. Sir Ernest Casset has given through King Edward £200,000 for a sanitarium for con- sumptives. The King has appointed an advisory committee, composed of leading physi- cians, including Sir William Henry Broad- bent, Sir Richard Douglas Powell, Sir Francis Henry Lacking, and Sir Felix Semon. Three ‘prizes of £500, £200 and £100, respectively, have been offered in connection with this scheme, for the best essays on, and plans for, the construction of the sanitarium. The com- petition is open to medical men of all nation- alities. By the will of Miss C. B. De Peyster, the New York Historical Society, will, on the death of her sisters, receive an estate of $130,- 000. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. OprRuIN CoLuece has collected the $300,000 necessary to secure the $200,000 offered by Mr. John D. Rockefeller a year ago, and thus in- creases its endowment by $500,000. Barnard College, Columbia University, has not been so fortunate in fulfilling the terms of Mr. Rocke- feller’s offer of $200,000, but Mr. Rockefeller has extended the time to April 1. Four trustees of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Messrs. S. Salisbury, C. H. Whit- comb, C. H. Morgan and C. G. Washburn, have given $30,000 to the institute. Part of the money will be devoted to the erection of a new foundry and forge shop. Sir Wintiam MacDonatp has placed $125,- 000 at the disposal of the Ontario Government to be used in the erection of buildings at the Guelph Agricultural College, for the purpose of giving instruction to school teachers in the elements of nature-study and domestic science. Lorp StratrHcona has given £25,000 to Aberdeen University. Tue sum of about $80,000 has now been econ- tributed toward the endowment of the chair of [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 367. political economy and social science at Wash- ington and Lee University in memory of the late William L. Wilson. $100,000 must be col- lected, and it is hoped that subscriptions will be sent to the treasurer of the fund, Mr. Her- bert Welch, 1305 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pa. It is said that M. Robert Lebaudy has of- fered $25,000 towards the establishment of a French industrial school in connection with the University of Chicago. The new school is to be an integral part of the University and the necessary buildings will be located on the campus. The purpose of the school is the sys- tematic study of American industrial and business methods. The students will consist of 600 graduates of French colleges, who will be selected by the French Government. A DEPUTATION, representing the English university colleges of Bristol, Dundee, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle (Durham College of Science), Nottingham and Sheffield, recently visited the chancellor of the exchequer to urge an increase in the grant of £25,000 distributed among the col- leges. No hope, however, was given that the grant would be increased, except in so far as new colleges may receive small grants. Mr. Watter Paumer, M.P., has given £2,000 to the University of London to provide the apparatus required for the proposed post- graduate courses of lectures in physiology. At the University of London, university scholarships have been awarded as the result of the recent B.A., B.Se., and M.B. examin- ations to the following: Classics, H. G. Wood; mathematics, F. Slator; chemistry, G. Tattersall; zoology, H. M. Woodcock; experi- mental physics, J. Satterly; medicine, O. J. Thomas; obstetric medicine, A. EK. Jones; forensic medicine, EH. M. Sharp. Dr. G. E. Frttowss, assistant professor of history in the University of Chicago, has been elected president of the University of Maine. Dr. D. A. WetsH, senior assistant to the professor of pathology in the University of Edinburgh, has been appointed to the chair of pathology in the University of Sydney. Cle NCE A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, PUBLISHING THE OFFICIAL NOTICES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. EDITORIAL ComMITTEE : S. NEwcoms, Mathematics; R. S. WooDWARD, Mechanics; E. C. PICKERING, Astronomy ; T. C. MENDENHALL, Physics ; R. H. THURSTON, Engineering ; IRA REMSEN, Chemistry ; CHARLES D. WaAtcort, Geology; W. M. Davis, Physiography ; HENRY F. OsBORN, Paleon- tology ; W. K. Brooks, C. HART MERRIAM, Zoology ; S. H. ScuDDER, Entomology ; C. E. Bessgy, N. L. Brirron, Botany ; C. S. Minot, Embryology, Histology ; H. P. Bow- DITCH, Physiology ; J. S. Brutines, Hygiene ; WILLIAM H. WeELcH, Pathol- ogy ; J. MCKEEN CATTELL, Psychology ; J. W. POWELL, Anthropology. FrIpay, JANUARY 17, 1902. CONTENTS: The Geological Society of America: Dr. AMADEUS W. GRABAU.................0-- Forestry in New York State................ Field Work of the Hthnological Division of the American Museum of Natural History in 1901 Scientific Books :— Hicker’s Gesang der Végel: J. A. A. Lepidoptera im the British Museum: Dr. Harrison G. Dyar. Gaupp’s Anatomy of the Frog: Proressor J. S. KINGSLEY. Bailey’s Qualitative Analysis; Thurston’s Inorganic Chemistry; Benedict’s Chemical Lecture Haperiments: PROFESSOR EDWARD RENOUF. General Scientific Journals and Articles............ Societies and Academies :-— The American Mathematical Society: Pro- Fessor F. N. Cote. Lhe Academy of Sci- ence of St. Lowis: PROFESSOR WILLIAM TRELEASE. North Carolina Section of the American Chemical Society: CHARLES BURGESS WILLIAMS. Section of Geology and Mineralogy of the New York Academy of Sciences: Proressor RicHarp E. Dopex. Biological Society of Washington: F. A. ATU CANS repeesiraye 10 cretey cess cts, cuckat ecb or yencte raise caer fats Shorter Articles :— Are Humming-Birds Cypseloid or Caprimul- goid? Hupert Lyman CiarK. Injuries to the Hye caused by Intense Light: FRANK JNTIOR 65 do bUioleS Rca Ha ies Gece toe ero Current Notes on Meteorology :— Rainfall, Commerce and Politics ; Heonomic Effects of Last July’s Heat and Drought ; Snow Crystals; Weather and Tetanus: PROFESSOR R. DeC. WaARD.............. Wireless Telegraphy: Proressor W. S. HHI EVASNTRSATIN yak even tener atraveesiievevecccaveueceeser yin eee CLOT EN COMEANG A Sena o hs, eee estore Map of the Philippines........:........---- The Carnegie Institution................... Scientific Notes and News................5- University and Educational News.......... 81 91 96 -98 103 103 108 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. THe fourteenth annual meeting of the Geological Society of America was held in Rochester, N. Y., from Tuesday, December 31, 1901, to Thursday, January 2, 1902. An informal session of the Council, to can- vass the ballots for officers and fellows, was held on Monday night, December 30, at the Whitcomb House, the headquarters of the Society. A formal session of the Council was held at 9 o’clock Tuesday morning in Sibley Hall, University of Rochester. Owing to the unavoidable absence of President Walcott, the meeting was called to order by: Professor Newton H. Winchell, shortly after 10 o’clock, in the geological lecture room of the University of Roches- ter, and the address of welcome and re- sponse were postponed until the arrival of the president. The report of the Council and officers having been printed and dis- tributed to the members, its consideration was laid over until Thursday. Professor R. E. Dodge and Dr. EH. O. Hovey were then appointed auditing committee. The vote for officers for 1902 was declared as follows: President, N. H. Winchell, Minneapolis, Minn; First Vice-President, 8S. F. Emmons, Washington, D. C.; Second Vice-President, J. C. Branner, Stan- ford University, Cal.; Secretary, H. L. Fairchild, Rochester, N. Y.; Treaswrer, I. C. White, Mor- gantown, W. Va.; JHditor, J. Stanley-Brown, 82 SCIENCE. Washington, D. C.; Librarian, H. P. Cushing, Cleveland, O.; Councillors, C. W. Hayes, Wash- ington, D. C., J. P. Iddings, Chicago, Ill. The following were declared elected fellows of the Society: Ermine Cowles Case, A.B., A.M. (Kansas State University, 1893), M.S. (Cornell Univ., 1895), Ph.D. (Univ. of Chicago, 1896), Instructor in State Normal School, Milwaukee, Wis.; Arthur Gray Leonard, A.B., A.M. (Oberlin), Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins Univ.), Des Moines, Iowa, As- sistant State Geologist, Iowa Geological Survey; Charles Hyde Warren, Ph.B. (Yale, 1896), Ph.D. (Yale, 1899), Boston, Mass., Instructor in Geol- ogy, Mass. Inst. Technology. The following memorials were read: George M. Dawson, by Frank D. Adams; Ralph D. Lacoe, prepared by David White, read by the secretary; Theodore G. White, prepared by J. F. Kemp, read by R. HE. Dodge. The following memorials were not read, owing to the absence of the authors: Edward W. Claypole, by Theo. B. Com- stock; Joseph Le Conte, by W J McGee. President Walcott, having meanwhile ar- rived, took the chair, and the address of welcome was delivered by Dr. Rush Rhees, president of the University of Rochester. He complimented the Society on its work, and the city and University of Rochester on the honor conferred by the meeting of the Society within their confines. He saw no special reason why Rochester should be so favored, but hoped that this meeting would stimulate its citizens to take a deeper interest -in higher education. Finally he weleomed the Society most cordially to the University and the city. President Walcott, in responding, offered many reasons why the Society should meet in Rochester, for that city was intimately connected with the early study of geology in this country, and from it have proceeded many eminent members of the Society. The following scientific papers were then read : [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 368. The Ordovician Succession in Eastern On- tario: H. M. Ami, Ottawa, Canada. This paper dealt with the succession of paleozoic sediments in that portion of the provinee of Ontario, Canada, which is tray- ersed by the Frontenac axis or ridge of Archean rocks which crosses the St. Law- rence river between the city of Kingston and Brockville and connects with the great Adirondack massif to the south. The Frontenac axis divides the Ordo- vician strata, to the east as well as to the west, into two series, which, though not very distant, geographically speaking, are nevertheless marked by important features. On the east side of the axis the normal succession of strata from the Potsdam to the Medina is found, but on the west side of the axis the pre-Cambrian rocks are over- lain by the Rideau sandstone, succeeded without stratigraphic break by the Birds- eye, Black River and Trenton strata. Fossils, except Scolithus, are absent in the Rideau sandstone and the problem of the equivalency of this sandstone was stated. In the discussion Mr. Bailey Willis con- sidered that the Rideau sandstone is the formational equivalent of the Potsdam, but not its equivalent in age. Professor W. M. Davis considered it pre-Black-river in time, but of unsettled age. Mr. Walcott, emphasizing the shifting character of the deposits around the Adirondacks, sug- gested that the Rideau was the shore equivalent of the Calciferous (Beekman- town) and Chazy. Stratigraphic and Fauwnal Succession in the Hamilton Group of Thedford, On- tario: Hervey W. Suimer and A. W. GraBau, New York, N. Y. Read by Mr. Shimer. The Thedford Hamilton admits of a three-fold division, closely corresponding to that of the Hamilton of western New York. The limitations of the characteristic JANUARY 17, 1902. | species correspond in a remarkable degree to those observed in western New York. The encrinal limestone is the central mem- ber in both localities, and the chief coral zone lies just above this stratum in both. A striking dissimilarity exists between the Hamilton of Thedford and the correspond- ine horizon (Traverse group) of Alpena, Michigan, the next important outcrop of this formation to the northwest. The dif- ference is shown chiefly in the faunas. The paper was discussed by J. M. Clarke, H. S. Williams and A. W. Grabau. The Traverse Group of Michigan: AMADEUS W. Grapau, New York, N. Y. Two sections, one on Thunder Bay and the other on Little Traverse Bay, show the strongly calcareous facies of the strata, which is most marked in the western sec- tion. In both sections the upper limit of the Traverse groups is marked by the St. Clair Black shale, and the lowest portion of the group is a bed of blue clay 80 feet thick. The fauna varies with the rock. The reef character of the limestone strata was discussed. The faunal character of the strata was discussed by Professor H. S. Williams, and the reef structure by Mr. Chas. D. Walcott. The Society then ad- - journed for lunch, many members availing themselves of the opportunity offered to in- spect Ward’s Natural History establish- ment, where a lunch was provided. The afternoon session was called to order at 2 o’clock. The following papers were read: The Lower Carbonferous Area in Indiana: T. C. Hopxins, Syracuse, N. Y. The Lower Carboniferous strata in west central Indiana undergo quite marked changes along the strike. The outcrops have been traced in detail and represented on the State map. The heavy calcareous deposits of the southern part of the area thin out to the northward and give way to SCIENCE. 83 argillaceous and sandy deposits. This transition has an important bearing on the geological history of this region. The following subdivisions, based on lithologie but not paleontologic features, were discussed. Kaskaskia, Mitchell, Bed- ford; Harroddsburg and Knobstone. The paper was briefly discussed by W. B. Scott, J..B. Wolf and W. M. Davis. Dr. A. C. Lane discussed the relations of sim- ilar beds in Michigan, and raised the ques- tion as to the origin of the silica in the beds under consideration, and its value as a horizon marker. He suggested that it might be supplied by volcanic eruptions, even from a distance. Mr. Walcott briefly discussed the economic importance of the limestones of these formations. . Brief re- marks were also made by Dr. A. F. Foerste, and responded to by Dr. Hopkins. Geological Horzon of the Kanawha Black Flint: I. C. Wurtn, Morgantown, W. Va. The first comprehensive description of the Kanawha Black Flint was given by W. B. Rogers, and besides this, the works of Stevenson, the Platt Brothers and H. M. Chance were considered as having added most to our knowledge of the details of the Appalachian ecarboniferous stratigraphy. The name Conemaugh, proposed by Frank- lin Platt, has, according to W. B. Clark, priority over Elk River series applied to the ‘Barren measures’ of Rogers, by White. Platt’s name was accepted for the beds lying between the Pittsburg coal and the Upper Freeport coal. The position of the Kanawha. Black Flint is at the base of the Conemaugh series, though David White places it some 200 feet down in the Alle- ghany series from paleobotanic evidence. The work of Messrs. Campbell and Men- denhall was reviewed, the speaker disagree- ing with their interpretations. The prob- lem was attacked anew by the speaker and from a new standpoint, by tracing the 84 SCIENCE. basal coalbed, and the accompanying Ma- honing sandstone, as well as the Red bed Series with its included erinoidal limestone, from the Pennsylvania line to West Vir- ginia. The results of this new work were in close agreement with those arrived at by the speaker in previous studies. The Speaker concluded with the following corollaries : A. Some coal beds, limestones and sand- stones may be followed for hundreds of miles. B. Stratigraphy is superior to paleo- botany in correlations. C. Paleobotany should be used merely as an aid to stratigraphy. The paper brought out a warm discus- sion, in which Professor Stevenson, Bailey Willis, I. C. White and others participated. President Walcott read a telegram of greeting from the Cordilleran section of the Society, in session in San Francisco, Cal. On motion of Professor Stevenson a similar greeting was returned. _ The next paper read was: Correlation of the Coal Measures of Mary- land: Wu. B. CuarK and G. @. Martin, Baltimore, Md. Read by Professor Clark. The object of this paper was to show the equivalency of the coal seams of Maryland with those of adjacent regions in Penn- sylvania and West Virginia. The determin- ation of this equivalency is based not only on the parallelism of lithologie sequence over wide areas, as shown both by the strue- ture of the seams themselves and of the intervening beds, but also on the fossilifer- ous zones which have been found at numer- ous points throughout this district. The similarity of the chemical composition in each vein over wide areas is also strikingly shown. Local names, heretofore used by the Maryland survey, were abandoned, and (N.S. Von. XV. No. 368. those used in Pennsylvania and West Vir- ginia were adopted. The paper was dis- cussed by I. C. White, J. J. Stevenson and Bailey Willis. Areal Distribution of the Potomac Group m Maryland: W. B. CuarK and A. Bresins, Baltimore, Md. Read by W. B. Clark. The lowest member of the Atlantic coastal plain series is the Potomac group, so named by W J McGee, who considered it a single unit. The age of this group was _ considered to be Cretaceous by paleo- botanists, and Jurassic by Marsh and other vertebrate paleontologists. The authors have described a fourfold division of the Potomae into Patuxent, Arundel, Patapsco and Raritan beds, and indicated the distinctive characters of each. The areal distribution, which varies for the different members, was briefly discussed by the speaker. Marsh found Dinosaur remains’ in the Arundel, which, with the underlying Patuxent beds, is Jurassic. The plant re- mains were found in the upper or Raritan beds, and these are cretaceous. The lower members gradually die out northward, the Patuxent and Arundel not occurring in New Jersey, though some of the lower members appear to be present in Pennsyl- vania. The disappearance is due to a northward transgression of the sea and a consequent overlap of the newer upon the older beds. The paper was briefly dis- cussed by Professors Hopkins and Holmes, and questions answered by Professor Clark. On some Joint Veins: G. K. GILBERT, Washington, D. C. A limestone stratum between beds of Cambrian shale from western Utah shows innumerable veinlets of the segregation type. In a small hand specimen passed around, 180 veins were counted. These be- long to 22 systems, which are grouped in two groups, the minor of which is aligned JANUARY 17, 1902.] with the dip of the strata (which is from 10 to 15 degrees) and the major group with the strike. They are believed to be formed along joints. The dip joint-veins are normal to the plane of stratification, the strike veins vary from normal to the stratification, to verticality, and appear to have been formed at different periods. The grouping of the joint-veins in two direc- tions appears in all the beds examined. The seale of the jointing is related to that of the bed, which is a thin one. Professor J. E. Wolf discussed the origin of the jointing by contraction of the rock on loss of water. _ Professor B. K. Emerson considered that they had all the aspect of torsion joints as produced in glass artificially. He referred to Crosby’s theory, according to which an earthquake shock, passing throughastratum in which a slight torsion was induced, would produce the joints of the type described. Gilbert considered Crosby’s theory the most plausible, and that the shrinkage theory was not applicable here. Bailey Willis thought that expansion of the rocks may have been a cause in the fracturing. Gilbert emphasized the fact that no appar- ent eracks existed. N. H. Winchell men- tioned similar phenomena in the Minnesota mica schists, which apparently were basic sediments. A. C. Lane recalled joints of similar type but larger scale in the diabase sheet of Nahant, Mass. Regeneration of Clastic Feldspar: N. H. WincHeiu, Minneapolis, Minn. The literature was reviewed and the speaker’s own observations given. Three phases of alterations of clastic feldspars oceur: (1) Decay, (2) secondary enlarge- ment, (3) secondary enlargement but the newly added material extended so as to grow into crevices between the other grains of the rock. . The Society then adjourned. SCIENCE. 85 The evening session of the Society was opened at 8:40 o’clock in the college chapel, Anderson Hall. President Charles D. Waleott delivered the annual address, his subject being: ‘The Outlook of the Geologist in America.’ He reviewed the work now in progress in this country, and sketched a bright future for American veology. Second day, Wednesday, January 1, 1902. The Council of the Society met in session at Sibley Hall at 9 o’clock. The meeting of the Society was called to. order at 9:50 by President Walcott. The motion was made that the previously dis- tributed report of the Council be accepted. Carried. The report of the photograph committee, prepared by N. H. Darton, was read by the secretary. The report was accepted, and the usual appropriation voted. Professor Dodge presented the report of the auditing committee, stating that the committee had examined the treasurer’s accounts and found them correct. The re- port was accepted. The Council recom- mended that the name of the western section of the Society be pronounced Cor- dil-ya’ran, which is the Spanish pronun- ciation, used in California. The recom-. mendation was adopted. The Society then proceeded .to the read- ing of papers: Geology of the Snake River Plains, Idaho: IsragL C. Russetu, Ann Arbor, Mich. In the Snake river basin are many old rhyolitie cones covered by lava flows of later origin. The extent and thickness of the Snake river lava and its relation to the Columbia river lava were discussed.’ There is a decided lack of evidence of’ fissure eruption in the Snake river area. The distinction between the cinder and lava cones was illustrated, and various - types of lava from the flows were shown. 86 The characteristic ridges on the older lava streams are due to basal compression of folds on the surface of the stream, these folds sometimes being hollow at the top, though compressed below. Lantern views and specimens illustrated these features. Along cracks in the Java streams, parasitic cones are built up and these and numerous other characters of the lava stream were illustrated by lantern views. Where the lava stream has come in contact with a body of water, the base of the sheet ex- pands and becomes cellular, although the character of the lava is glassy from rapid cooling. The sand of the lake or river bot- toms into which the lava stream entered is often cemented into the base of the sheet, and gives it a white color. The canyon of Snake river owes its peculiarities to many of the features dis- eussed. Shoshone falls are due to a cone or mass of hard rhyolite beneath the basalt, discovered by the river. Heavy lava sheets overlie the finely stratified, un- consolidated lake beds exposed in the canyon, which are scarcely altered by the lava. The base of the latter is glassy, with a few steam holes, but at a short distance above, the sheet has its normal granular character. Hrom beneath the lava stream or from a porous layer, numerous powerful springs issue along the side of the canyon below Shoshone falls. These may be called “canyon springs,’ a new term introduced in the classification of springs. In the northern wall of the canyon occur remark- able spring-formed alcoves or side canyons, which widen out amphitheater-like, and have no stream at their head. Powerful springs, issuing from the fine lacustrine beds underlying the lava, undermine the latter and cause recession of the walls. Numerous lantern views were used in illus- tration of the paper. Professor Emerson discussed the origin of these lava beds and their surface char- SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 368. acters. He pointed out the similarity of many features of these lavas to those of the Hawaiian voleanoes. He compared the base of the Snake river lava, resting on fine lake beds, with that of the Triassic trap of the Connecticut Valley, resting on the Triassic sands. Professor Wolff discussed the age of the lava flows and cones. Structure of the Front Range, Northern Rocky Mountains, Montana: BatiEy Wiuuis, Washington, D. C. The Front Range of the northern Rockies consists of a series of limestones, quartzites and silicious argillites somewhat exceeding 9,000 feet in thickness, and gently flexed in a synelinal form. The width of the range is approximately twenty miles from foothill to foothill, and the synelinal structure has practically a cor- responding extent. The trend of the range is from northwest to southeast, and the strike of the rocks is essentially parallel to it. The mass is, however, not exactly symmetrical in cross section, the rocks out- cropping on the northeastern side compris- ing probably 3,000 feet of strata lower in the series than the lowest on the western side. Approached from the east, the margin of this synelinal mass is found to rest dis- cordantly upon black clays and sand- stones. These strata appear at some little distance from the range in the Great Plains, dipping deeply southwestward, but where they pass beneath the great lime- stone and quartzite series they correspond very nearly in attitude with the overlying rocks. The relation of the overlying to the underlying series is, however, that of an overthrust mass. In many places the black shales and sandstones were found to con- tain Inoceramus and Ostrea characteristic of the Cretaceous. In the overlying rocks Mr. Weller fortunately found fragments of JANUARY 17, 1902. fossils which have been determined by Mr. Walcott as identical with those discovered by him in the pre-Cambrian Belt forma- tion. Thus the discordance corresponds to an hiatus of all of the Paleozoic and part of the Mesozoic. The plane of overthrust dips gently to the southwest, and is ex- posed at right angles to its strike through- out a section seven miles in length, which is equivalent to a displacement of that amount. There are interesting details of structure in the overthrust and under- thrust masses. On the western side of the range parallel to the valley of the North Fork of the Flat Head the ancient limestones and quartzites present a bold face, and the stratigraphic relations of rocks found west of the Flat Head valley indicate that this face is a deeply eroded fault scarp of the normal type. The valley of the North Fork of the Flat Head contains lake beds, which are by analogy with similar formations in Mon- tana tentatively referred to the Miocene or Pliocene. From these data it is inferred that the structural history of the range comprises: First. Deposition of Cretaceous sedi- ments of very considerable thickness ad- jacent to a shore not far from the present site of the range and upon a land whose surface consisted of the pre-Cambrian limestones and quartzites. Second. That in some post-Cretaceous epoch compressive strains resulted in a fold overturned toward the northeast, and ultimately in the development of a corre- sponding overthrust fault. Third. That at some later date, probably Miocene, normal faulting resulted in rel- ative uplift of the mass of the front range and downthrow of the mass of the Flat Head valley. The next paper was a continuation and illustration of the preceding one, numerous lantern views being shown: SCIENCE. 87 Physiography of the Northern Rocky Mountains: BatEy Wiis, Washing- ton, D. C. Professor Coleman discussed the physi- ography and origin of the structure of the region to the north of that described by Bailey Willis. Professor Davis discussed the structure and physiography of the region described. Mr. Walcott compared the section of pre-Cambrian rocks of the Belt Mountain terrane with that given by Willis in the Northern Rockies, and con- sidered the probability that the entire series involved in the front range is Algonkian. The Walls of the Colorado Canyon: W. M. Davis, Cambridge, Mass. The general profile of the canyon walls depends on rock structure, and not on a pause in the elevation of the plateaus. The variation of profile from the narrow canyon in the Uinkaret plateau to the wide canyon in the eastern Kaibab is due to variation in the character of the strata. The pattern of spurs and recesses varies with the stage of dissection. The pattern commonly seen in the Red-wall cliffs is re- peated in the Tonto cliffs where the latter are much worn. The pattern usually seen in the Tonto is repeated in the Red-wall where it is less worn. Brief mention was made of details connected with the uncon- formities seen in the canyon walls. The paper was illustrated by lantern views, and was briefly discussed by Mr. Walcott and others. The Society then adjourned for the noon recess. The papers of the afternoon session were: Rock Basins at the Helen Mine, Michipi- coton: A. P. CotEMAN, Toronto, Canada. Two small lakes or ponds, each a quar- ter of a mile long and two-thirds as wide, just west of the Helen iron mine near 88 SCIENCE. Michipicoton on the north shore of Lake Superior, present very interesting ex- amples of rock basins. Unlike most of the smaller rock basin lakes of Canada, they are not of glacial origin and probably were not even scoured out by the ice, since they are narrowly enclosed by steep, rocky ridges rising about 150 feet to the north and south and 450 feet toward the east. The shape of the valley is somewhat lke that of an armchair with its back to the east, the two ponds, called Boyer and Sayers lakes, occupying the narrow seat. They had a depth of from 125 to 150 feet in the beginning, but Boyer lake, the higher one, is now partially pumped out to facilitate mining operations. From Boyer to Sayers lake the fall is 25 feet; and from. Sayers to Talbot lake, which is be- yond the high rock walls of the valley, there is a drop of 75 feet. The valley of the two ponds is cut from rocks belonging to the iron range, chiefly siderite and granular silica banded with magnetite or heavily charged with pyrite, and the lowest point of the rim of each con- sists of silicious siderite containing much pyrite. The side walls of the valley are of greenish schists. The hollowing of the basins must have been due to solution, per- haps of parts of the iron range rocks which had been shattered; and the deposit of the large ore body at the eastern end of Boyer lake, where a high hill, consisting largely of impure siderite, drops steeply down to the basin, probably has a bearing on their for- mation, the decomposition of pyrite per- haps furnishing the solvent. The next paper was: The Effect of the Shore Line on Waves: W. M. Davis, Cambridge, Mass. The paper was a statement of the trans- formations of waves as they run in upon shore lines of different forms, with special reference to the refraction of waves on [N.S. Von. XV. No. 368. headlands and in bays, and to the forma- tion of surf. The breaking of waves is not so much due to a retardation by friction of the base of the wave in shallow water, as gen- erally assumed, as to the absence of water in front of the wave near the shore. The next paper was: Variation of Geothermal Gradient in. Michigan: Aturrep C. Lanes, Lansing, Mich, The geothermal gradient in Michigan ap- pears to vary from 1° F. in 107 feet to 1° in 54 feet. Among the different causes of variation, the varying diffusivity of the rocks appears to be important. Diffusivity varies with the density; the more porous the rock, the smaller the diffusivity. The limestones of Cheboygan have a diffusivity paralleling that of the. copper-bearing rocks of Kewenaw Point. The diffusivity of the shales of Michigan is widely at variance with that of the lime- stones. The next two papers were presented to- gether and illustrated by lantern views: Origin and Distribution of the Loess im Northern’ China and Central Asia: GrorGE FREDERICK WRIGHT, Oberlin, O. Detailed observations in China, Mon-. golia, and Turkestan were presented which bear upon the fluvio-glacial theory of the origin of the loess of these regions, and of its distribution by wind or water. No evidence of glaciation is found where’ Geikie and Krapotkin assumed it. The Age of Lake Baikal: Grorce FREpD- ERICK WRIGHT, Oberlin, Ohio. The region about Lake Baikal is covered with strata of Tertiary (and possibly Trias- sic) age, containing coal. These beds are de- rived from the sediments which were carried by now existing streams into the basin from the surrounding mountains, before the present lake came into existence. At the JANUARY 17, 1902. ] estimated rate of erosion the entire lake would be filled in 400,000 years, whereas it is not a quarter full, and probably not one tenth full. The age of Lake Baikal is perhaps 100,000 years or less. That this region was formerly connected with the sea is shown by the species of seal found in Lake Baikal, which are also found in the Caspian sea. Other evidence of recent submergence followed by reelevation exists. A period of increased precipitation caused the freshening of all the waters of the inland lakes of this region. Professor Scott discussed the importance of zolean action in the formation of strati- fied beds, referring to those of Santa Cruz in Patagonia, in which vertebrate remains have been found finely preserved. On Some Anticlinal Folds: T. C. HorKins and Martin SMALLWoop, Syracuse, N. Y. Read by Professor Hopkins. A number of unique folds occur in sev- eral small and rather deep ravines in the vicinity of Meadville, Pa. They are of limited extent both vertical and linear, and so far as known oceur only in the bottom of the ravines. The relation of the folds to certain land-slip terraces, suggests acause for these folds which are often asymmet- rical. Professor I. C. White referred to similar folds in other portions of Pennsylvania. ‘He considered that gas formed below found an opportunity to escape in the rel- atively weak bottoms of canyons, causing an upward pushing of the strata. Professor Brigham mentioned the occurrence of sim- ilar folds in western New York. Professor Russell recalled folds, in the bottoms of canyons in western Idaho, where the strata are sharply arched. lJand-slip terraces oc- eur on both sides, there being thus no un- equal pressure. He considered that the downward pressure of the wall rocks of the canyons, and the relief of pressure in the SCIENCE. 89 bottom, caused the arching. Professor Stevenson discussed other folds in Pennsyl- vania. Mr. C. J. Sarle mentioned folds in the Clinton beds at Rochester and other localities. The following papers were then read by the author: Distribution of the Internal Heat of the Earth: T. C. CHAMBERLIN, Chicago, Ill. Has the Rate of Rotation of the Earth Changed Appreciably During Geological History? T. C. CHAMBERLIN, Chicago, Til. The papers were a discussion of the mathematical and physical principles in- volved, and the available experimental data. The geological application to the phenomena of volcanoes, mountain fold- ings, ete., and to the great questions of physical geology was discussed. In discussion some remarks were made by Professor Coleman. The Society then adjourned until the next day. The annual dinner was served at eight o’clock at the Whitcomb House. President Walcott occupied the head of the table, which was graced by the presence of a number of ladies. The after-dinner speeches touched upon the future policy of the Society and other topics, and con- tributed largely to the enjoyment of the dinner, which was voted one of the best ever attended by those present. Third day, Thursday, January 2, 1902. The Council met at 9 o’clock in Sibley Hall. The meeting of the Society was ealled to order at 10 o’clock, Vice-Presi- dent Winchell in the chair. Professor Clarke asked for a statement from the secretary concerning the relation of the Society to Section E of the American Asso- ciation, especially in regard to next win- ter’s meeting in Washington. The following papers were read: 90 SCIENCE. Use of the terms Linden and Clifton Lime- stones in Tennessee Geology: Aua. F. Forrsts, Dayton, Ohio. The Lower Helderberg was named in Tennessee from its exposure at Linden, where it is but 12 feet thick, while the maximum thickness is between 75 and 100 feet. Foerste questioned the advisability of naming a formation from the place of its minimum exposure. Faunal and strati- graphic characteristics were given. Bearing of the Clinton and Osgood Forma- tions on the Age of the Cincinnati Anti- cline: A. F. Forrsts, Dayton, Ohio. In continuation of former studies the author developed his interpretation of the Cincinnati anticline. The Devonian axis of the anticline was northeast and south- west, while the present axis is north and south. The Clinton strata over the central portion of the anticline are coarse lime- sands with wave marks and crossbedding, and beds of conglomerates. North and south of this area, the material is a fine lime-mud. The relation of these features to those formerly described was discussed. J. M. Clarke discussed the subdivision of the Lower Helderberg of Tennessee. The fauna has a Silurian facies. I. C. White ealled attention to the importance of the Clinton Iron Ore bed, and its extension in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Brief re- marks were also made by H. M. Ami and B. K. Emerson. Notes on the Catalogue of Types in the Geological Department of the American Museum of Natural History: HE. O. Hovey, New York. The paper was an exposition of the great work recently completed at the Museum in the cataloguing of the large number of types and figured specimens in the Museum, and of looking up references for each specimen. Complimentary remarks [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 368. were made by J. M. Clarke, H. M. Ami, and others. : The New Carbomferous Age of the Unon and Rwerdale formations in Nova Scotia: H. M. Ami, Ottawa, Ont. In Colchester county lower Carbonifer- ous beds are thrust over the newer Union and Riverdale beds, which by their fossils are known to be middle Carboniferous. In Pictou county the Lower Carboniferous rest unconformably upon the upturned Eo- Devonian, with which the Union and Riverdale beds were formerly correlated by stratigraphers. The evidence of the overthrust is, however, complete. The Union and Riverdale beds of Nova Scotia are equivalent respectively to the Mispeck and Lancaster formations of New Bruns- wick. Origin of the Faunas of the Marcellus LIimestones of New York: JouHn M. CuarKke, Albany, N. Y. The Marcellus fauna is characteristically a bituminous mud fauna. Two prominent limestone beds, the Goniatite and Stafford limestones, carry, the one an upper Onon- daga fauna, and the other a lower Hamil- ton fauna. The former makes its appear- ance near the meridian of Rochester, and extends eastward, rising relatively higher and higher in the bituminous shales. The other ends at the same meridian and thickens westward. The fauna of the Goniatite limestone (fauna of Agoniatites expansus) represents an eastward migra- tion of the upper Onondaga fauna, which had persisted in the west, while the bitu- minous mud fauna had already become established in the east. The Stafford lime- stone fauna is a prenuncial Hamilton fauna, which persisted for a time and then was overwhelmed again. The Onondaga and Hamilton faunas appear to have come from the northwest, while the bituminous mud fauna of the typical Marcellus shales came from the southwest. JANUARY 17, 1902.] In discussion, brief remarks were made by I. C. White, A. P. Brigham and A. W. Grabau. In the absence of the authors the fol- lowing papers were read by title: Notes on Mts. Hood and Adams and their Glaciers: H. F. Rem. Keewatin and Laurentide Ice Sheets in Minnesota: A. H. EurrmMan. Devonian Interval in the Ozarks: C. R. Kayss. Devonian Fish-Fauna of Iowa: C. R. HASTMAN. Geological Section in Northern Alaska, along the 152d Meridian: Frank C. SCHRADER. Notes on the Geology of Southeastern Alaska: Aurrep H. Brooks. Geology of the Virgilina Copper District in Virgima and North Carolina: THomas L. Watson. Cuttyhunk Island: EF. P. GULLIVER. The Mohokea caldera on Hawa: HiTcHcocx. A resolution of thanks to the president and trustees of the University of Roches- ter and to the professor of geology, the secretary of the Society, was offered by Professor Emerson, and after some re- marks by Professor Coleman was unani- mously adopted. After some closing re- marks by the vice-president, the Society ad- journed until December, 1902. A large proportion of the fellows re- mained in Rochester to attend the evening reception given by President and Mrs. Rush Rhees, of the University of Roches- ter. The afternoon was devoted to short excursions to the Genesee gorge and other localities about Rochester, and to an inspec- tion of the establishments of Ward’s Nat- ural Science Bureau, the Bausch and Lomb Optical Company, ete. AMADEUS W. GRABAU. CoLtumMBIA UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY. C. H. SCIENCE. 9t FORESTRY IN NEW YORK STATE. Tur New York State School of Forestry, located at the New York Land Grant Col- lege, with its laboratories in the form of trained man in this department in the Adirondacks, is discovering that the diffi- culties which have attended so generally the promotion of pure science in our col- leges and schools, during the past gener- ation and earlier, are not necessarily evaded or lessened when the question becomes one of promotion of applied science and the utilization of scientific method directly in the promotion of the highest interests of the State and of its people. New York was the first of the States of the Union to provide, on a suitable work- ’ ing scale, for the introduction of the art of forestry into this country by systematic and scientific instruction in a technical col- lege, purely and professionally devoted to that work. It established the ‘ College of Forestry’ as a department of the State college, Cornell University, authorized the purchase of a large tract of forested land, gave directions that the work should be done under the supervision of an expert, scientific and practically trained forester, and conferred ample authority upon the College of Forestry, its director and the university board of trustees, to establish and permanently sustain the college and its work. The primary purpose of the col- lege was the education of professionally trained foresters. This provision was made in 1898 and was at once put into opera- tion. Land was purechased—outside the State Reservation and thus not subject to the constitutional limitations affecting that reservation—and work promptly begun. Hardly had this long-needed and im- mensely important enterprise been inaugu- rated by the appointment of Director Fer- now, the most experienced, professionally trained man in this department in the country, and the schedule of work and 92 study and laboratory practice determined upon than an opposition arose, on the part of interested and ignorant persons, that was as well organized and as savage as any attack upon Cornell University in its earlier days of Sturm und Drang. The management was accused of seeking to make the Adirondack tracts ‘as barren as the top of Mount March,’ of * methods under which everything in the shape of wood, right down to shrubs, is being sold and eut,’ of infringing upon the State pre- serve and the State Constitution. It was asserted that ‘the land is being stripped as clean as ever it would be stripped by wood- pulp men, * * * cleared of everything but brush,’ that one company is taking all the ? = - soft wood and another is ‘taking the rest of the growth, right down to saplings’; and numberless other equally false and foolish tales reinforced the bill of com- plaint. To this curious and unintelligent as- sault it became necessary to reply, as the newspapers had taken it seriously in many instances and a hue and ery was being raised which might very probably do much injury to the new enterprise, to the best interests of the State and to the reputation of the university and the college. Direct- or Fernow has prepared an open letter regarding the matter from which we ab- stract the following: The introduction in the United States of forestry methods in managing forest prop- erties has been delayed by just such mis- conceptions, misstatements and misdirected attacks as characterize the lucubrations lately published in various newspapers re- garding the doings of the College of For- estry in the Adirondacks. THE SITUATION. Cornell University was, by the State, in- vited to establish a College of Forestry, in which professional foresters were to be SCIENCE. (N.S. Vor. XV. No. 368. educated, and at the same time there was given to it, as an experiment station in charge of the College of Forestry, a tract of land in the Adirondacks, from which the lumbermen had culled the pine and spruce. On this tract it was to show how such a culled hardwood forest might be managed under forestry principles. The College of Forestry does not con- trol. the. State forest reserve, has not even a voice in its management, nor is it operat- ing on any State lands, the tract at its dis- posal having been deeded directly from the owners to Cornell University. While it would have a perfect right to cut the timber down to saplings, it does not do so, for good reasons. WHAT IS FORESTRY ? Forestry, in simplest terms, means no more nor less with reference to wood crops than agriculture means with reference to food erops. It is a business which is con- cerned in the production of useful ma- terial, the most important and most widely used material, next to food materials. It is, then, entirely utilitarian. It is not con- cerned, at least directly, with the beauty of trees or with the shelter for game, al- though these aspects may be incidentally looked after. Also incidentally and more prominently must the influence of a forest cover on soil and water conditions be kept in view. This latter interest is directly important to the forester himself, since he must keep his ground in satisfactory pro- ductive condition, if he expects to be suc- _ cessful with his crop. The forester, then, looks on the forest as a crop and that in- volves reaping as well as planting. THE FORESTER A HARVESTER. He is a logger as well as a sower; he uses the axe as well as the spade and dibble. He uses the axe even more than the plant- ing tools, for under certain conditions he JANUARY 17, 1902. ] may, by judicious management in the cut- ting of the old crop, secure the new crop by the seeds falling from the old trees before he removes them. This is the difference between the lum- berman and the forester. The lumberman simply reaps nature’s product, takes the best trees, the best cuts, and leaves the rest in possession of the soil for nature to do with it as it pleases, either to let it grow up to weeds and brush or to recover the soil, in due time reproducing another erop. The forester has the obligation, when he reaps, to provide systematically for a new crop; not the chance volunteer erop of nature, but one of economic value, of species that are most useful, in larger quantity and better form and in shorter time than nature, unaided, could or would produce. If the College of Forestry were only logging its tract as the lumberman does, it would, indeed, be remiss in doing its duty. If the college were only doing what is proposed to be done on certain parts of the State Forest Reserve, namely, to cull out the valuable spruce and leave the hard- woods altogether, it would still be remiss in its duty, for while, to be sure, the charge of denuding the land could not be brought, there would not be any good forestry prac- tice in merely reducing the most valuable part of the crop and its chances of repro- duction. REPRODUCTION THE KEY-NOTE OF FORESTRY. The forester may not harvest his crop without systematically providing for repro- duction, replacing the harvested crop by a erop, if possible, superior in composition. This ean be accomplished in more than one way, and the choice of method depends on many considerations which have reference not only to the condition in which the forest manager finds the forest property that he is to manage, but also to the con- SCIENCE. 93 dition of the finances which are to back him in this business of forest cropping. Where the lumberman has culled the desirable kinds and left the inferior, or comparatively less valuable ones, in posses- sion of the soil, as is the case in most parts of the college tract, it stands to reason that, if the former are to be reestablished, it can only be done by reducing the latter and replanting artificially those we would wish to be most prominent in our new crop. Where the desirable kinds are still present, a new crop may be reproduced from the seeds of these, gradually removing the old trees as the young erop needs light. The College of Forestry proposes to use both methods, separately and in combination, taking advantage of any volunteer growth present, and leaving the volunteer growth of young saplings of hardwoods, conifers and older seed trees where desirable, and planting in pines and spruees to fill up the natural reproduction. FOREST PRESERVATION BY REPRODUCTION. The operations of the college last year extended over an area of less than 500 acres, of which it is estimated about 300 need planting. Owing to the unfavorable winter, operations were delayed, so that planting ground could be made ready only to the extent of 105 acres, which were planted. The nurseries established con- tain now material sufficient to plant 500 acres next spring, if the means for doing this planting can be had. Burnt and waste lands have also been planted, so that some 225 acres are now planted. In fact, count- ing by numbers, the college has, so far, planted 100 trees for every four trees cut. These are as many as its scanty resources permitted. It is, therefore, following the main precept of forestry to reproduce the erop. The charge that it is cutting down to mere saplings is truly puerile, for, while there would be no impropriety in doing 94 SCIENCE. this, provided the crop were properly re- placed, there is no market for such sap- lings. The story comes probably from the observation that small brushwood of the felled trees has been eut and bundled as an experiment, to see whether it could not be made useful. THOROUGH UTILIZATION. The lumberman, it is well known, cuts and utilizes only the logs, and those of the best trees and kinds, leaving a large part of the trees he has felled on the ground as debris, to feed the fires and prevent young growth. The forester is forced, by the mandates of his business, to utilize as much as possible not only the poor trees, but all that is in a tree; not only the logs of the best, but of the weed trees as well, and the cordwood and the brush, if he can; or else he may have to burn the brush later. Thorough utilization, instead of the wasteful one which the mere logger prac- tices, distinguishes the forester’s work. Unfortunately, there is no market for this inferior material, which a satisfactory silvi- culture requires to have removed. The College of Forestry is at least trying to satisfy, as far as possible, this requirement. WHERE THE PROFITS GO. The charge that the logging operations are carried on for the financial benefit of Cornell University is even more puerile, for, if there were any profits to be derived from the sale of the crop, the State has carefully guarded against having them ap- plied for any other purpose than the one in hand, namely, the running of this demon- stration or experiment station and the re- placement of the crop. It is absolutely im- possible for Cornell University to make any profits from the College Forest, since all returns are at once turned over to the State Treasurer for the purpose aforesaid. As a matter of fact, the finances of the college experiment station are not such as [N. S. VoL. XV. No. 368. to make anyone who knows them envious. Much more work in planting and improve- ment generally would have been done if finances permitted; that is, if the State had appropriated a more liberal working fund, such as had been asked for. Any business man knows that a certain work- ing capital is required to carry on a given business; if this is below a certain figure, the business can only be carried on in a lame way and at a disadvantage. INSUFFICIENT FUNDS. This is the condition of the College Forest management; it is trying with an insufficient capital to earn what is neces- sary to pay for the administration and the improvements, including planting. A lum- berman, logging these hardwoods, would find it difficult to make a satisfactory mar- gin; a forester, who is obliged to log with more care and to replace the crop he has eut, necessarily works under greater finan- cial disadvantages, and, so far, it has only been possible with great economy and eare of the finances to secure any margin which can be applied to the forestry work. The wise policy for the State, if it wished this experiment in forest management properly carried on, would have been either to make provision for annual appropria- tions for its conduct or to provide a suffi- cient working fund on which to run the experiment as a business. In my last - annual report I stated that the modest fund of $50,000 was asked, but only $30,- 000 was allowed, which would hardly suffice to carry on a logging operation. To place the experiment on a proper basis, to per- mit the development of means of transpor- tation from all parts of the property, which alone would make possible the method of gradual removal and reproduc- tion by natural means, a working capital of not less than $150,000 should be placed at the disposal of the management. JANUARY 17, 1902.] WHO ARE THE OBJECTORS? It remains, then, to state that the Col- lege of Forestry is doing what it is set to do. It is harvesting from an area from which the valuable part has been already removed, the old, decrepit hardwood crop which is rotting and becoming less and less valuable, and is replacing it by a young, vigorous crop of better composition. It is doing this by trying to make the old erop pay for the new; that is, carrying on the experiment like a business venture. It may be of interest to inquire whence the opposition to its procedure comes. There are those who have used this prop- erty as a hunting ground, and naturally desire to preserve it as such for their own personal benefit. They are opposed to the change from old timber to young planta- tion, which only in years will again give them a hunting ground. Again, there are those sentimentalists who consider it a sin to cut a tree, over- looking that their houses could not be built and their homes furnished without the utilization of the forest. There are those who mistake the situa- tion and think it is the State’s Forest Re- serve that is being cut over. Moreover, as they have made up their minds that forest preservation is only to be had from non- use, the forest preservation practiced by the college, which les in the philosophy . that all life is efficiently preserved only by reproduction, does not appeal to them. There may also be those who know only one way of treating a forest, and hence, differing as doctors do, criticise the method of artificial reproduction by planting, which the college is in part forced, in part has chosen, to follow. These recognize only the culling process, which the lumberman has practiced with the softwoods, as leviti- mate; and advocate even that the State practice it in the Forest Reserve on its virgin lands, and cull out the valuable SCIENCE. | 95 spruce in order to make the reserve of financial use. While, no doubt, the gradual removal system has some advantages, if properly applied, it means, when applied to hard- woods, which cannot be transported by water, the development of an extensive sys- tem of railroad transportation, which re- quires funds such as the college has not had at its disposal. NO FEAR FOR THE PRESERVE. The college is doing what it can do, under the circumstances surrounding the prob- lem, on practical business lines. It was set to doing a definite, limited task. It has no control of, no voice in, no relation to, the management of the State Forest Pre- serve, and would not, if it had, advocate the application of its methods to the State Preserve. For the objects of the State Preserve are entirely different from those which the college tract is to serve, and hence what is proper to do on an area set aside for demonstration is by no means proper to do or directly applicable on an area set aside primarily for soil protection and recreation. Hence no fear need be entertained that the State Preserve is in danger of being denuded through the ageney of the college. On the contrary, the college hopes to in- fluence the management of the Adirondack Preserve in the very opposite direction. It hopes that its success in reforesting burnt and waste areas will stimulate the State authorities to do likewise. This fall the college presented to the Forest, Fish and Game Commission several thousand pine and spruce seedlings, which were planted by an agent of the Commission and by interested landholders in the Catskill Reserve. As a result of this first beginning the Forest Commission has just contracted with the College of Forestry for 420,000 96 “SCIENCE. conifer seedlings to be furnished from the nurseries of the College Forest and to be planted on waste areas in the Adirondack Preserve. Dr. Fernow’s explanation should suffice not only to convinee the intelligent but misled reader of the shameful attack against which he protests—and which, we observe, was telegraphed from Watertown —pbut even to instruct the most ignorant and thoughtless, if not to silence the selfish, obstructors of a policy which has com- menced none too soon its endeavor to remedy the apparently irretrievable and fatal mischief which has done so much to bring upon the State and the nation all the -grievous results of deforestation. This is one of those matters of applied science which is of such overwhelming importance as to justify the nation in making any sacrifice of time and money, the State in meeting every minutest requirement of its Forester and the people in silencing promptly and effectively every unpatriotic citizen who seeks to make the highest in- ‘terests of the State subservient to his own individual petty desires. FIELD WORK OF THE ETHNOLOGICAL DI- VISION OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY IN 1901. In the past year the principal part of the field work of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, which was organized in 1897, has been brought to a close. Parties were in the field in the interior of British Co- lumbia, on Vancouver Island, on Queen Charlotte Islands, and in northeastern Siberia. Mr. James Teit continued his studies and collections among the Thomp- son Indians and their neighbors. Mr. George Hunt was at work in northern Vancouver Island. The principal undertaking of the expedi- [N.$. Vou. XV. No. 368. tion on the Pacific coast of America was a thorough investigation of the Haida In- dians of Queen Charlotte Islands, which was intrusted to Dr. John R. Swanton. Dr. Swanton went to Queen Charlotte Islands in September, 1900, and stayed among the Haida for more than a year. His work was eminently successful. He succeeded in un- ravelling the intricate social organization of the tribe, and in giving, for the first time, thoroughly satisfactory explanations of the significance of totem poles. He also collected much information on the customs and beliefs of the people, and brought back an immense mass of mythology, recorded in both dialects of the native language, as well as grammatical notes sufficient to give a clear insight into its structure. Unfortunately the interesting art of the Indians of Queen Charlotte Islands has practically disappeared. The raids of col- lectors such as Swan, Jacobsen, not to men- tion the later inroads of traders and other collectors, have been such that hardly an article of the old objects of this tribe is left. This condition hampered Dr. Swan- ton very considerably, in so far as it made his work of obtaining interpretations and explanations of objects impossible. Al- though he took with him a large number of sketches and photographs of masks, rattles and other objects of Haida provenience, it was found almost impossible to obtain ex- planations for any of these, because the owners and users of these objects either were dead or could not be found. The Siberian department of the expedi- tion was in charge of Mr. Waldemar Jochelson. The party consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Jochelson, Mr. and Mrs. Bogoras, and Mr. Alexander Axelrod. The party was ac- companied by Mr. Buxton, who was in charge of the zoological work. The ex- pedition took the field in the spring of 1900. Mr. and Mrs. Bogoras, Mr. Axelrod and Mr. Buxton returned a few weeks ago, JANUARY 17, 1902.] while Mr. and Mrs. Jochelson will continue their researches until the summer of 1902. Mr. Jochelson investigated the Koryak and Lamut. In the fall of 1901 he crossed the Stanovoi Mountains, and is at present engaged in researches among the Yukaghir, among whom he is continuing work pre- viously undertaken by him among the west- ern branch of this tribe. From here he is going to proceed westward, and will spend a considerable time among the Yakut. Mr. Jochelson reports that the cul- ture of the Koryak has many features in common with the culture of the Indians of the north Pacific coast. Particularly is the mythology and folk-lore of these Siberian tribes and of the northwestern American Indians very much alike. Their arts are in some respects related to the arts of the tribes of southeastern and central Siberia, while in other respects there are strong resemblances to the Hskimo of Alaska. At the present time the natives of northeastern Siberia do not make any pottery; but Mr. Jochelson reports that remains of pottery were found in prehistoric sites. He col- lected very thorough information on the ethnology and physical characteristics of the tribe among whom he was working. The collection made by Mr. Jochelson among the Koryak has reached the Mu- ‘seum, and will be exhibited at an early date. Mr. Waldemar Bogoras studied the Chukehee, Eskimo and Kamtchadal tribes. His previous studies among the Chukchee enabled him to make a thorough investi- gation of the languages of this district. He finds the Kamtchadal and Chukchee to be closely related languages. He has eol- lected a large number of mythological and shamanistiec texts, and much information of ethnological value. He reports that his collections are very extensive. The various field parties of the Jesup North Pacifie Expedition that have been at SCIENCE. 97 work during the last four years have ac- cumulated information on all the impor- tant tribes between Columbia River in America and the Amur River in Asia. The work of the expedition has been planned in such a way as to cover the whole area as thoroughly as possible. Since Nelson made a thorough study of the Alaska Eskimo, and Lieutenant Emmons had accumulated a wealth of material on the Tlingit of Alaska, no work was undertaken among those two tribes. Ethnological investiga- tions were made in the State of Washington by Livingston Farrand; in British Colum- bia by Franz Boas, Livingston Farrand, Roland B. Dixon, John R. Swanton, George Hunt and James Teit. This work covered the whole province, with the exception of the Athapasecan tribes north and east of Chileotin River. Archeological work in British Columbia and Washington was ecar- ried on by Harlan I. Smith. The work in Arctie Asia was described before; but, be- sides, investigations were made on the Amur River, where Berthold Laufer studied the Gold and the Gilyak, and where Gerard Fowke carried on archeological researches. It would be premature to express an opinion, at the present time, in regard to the final results of a comparison of the material accumulated by the Jesup Hx- pedition. It is, however, evident that the material collected proves early cultural re- lations between the tribes of northeastern Asia and northwestern America. The results of the expedition are being published as rapidly as possible, in the form of monographie descriptions. Up to the present time the following have been published : “Facial Paintings of the Indians of Northern British Columbia’: Franz Boas. “The Mythology of the Bella Coola In- dians’: FRANz Boas. “The Archeology of Lytton, British Co- lumbia’: Haruan I. Smirny. 98 | SCIENCE. ‘The Thompson Indians of British Co- lumbia’: James Terr. Edited by Franz Boas. ‘Basketry Designs of the Salish In- dians’: Livinaston FARRAND. ‘Archeology of the Thompson River Region’: Harnan I. Smiru. “Traditions of the Chilcotin Indians’: Livineston F'ARRAND. ‘Cairns of British Columbia and Wash- ington’: Harnuan I. Smira and GERARD FOwkKE. ‘Traditions of the Quinault Indians’: Livineston F'ARRAND. “Kwakiutl Texts’: Grorce Hunt. “The Decorative Art of the Amur Tribes’: BrrRTHOLD LAUFER. The manuscript for a number of addi- tional monographs is completed, and others are in preparation. It is estimated, at the present time, that the results of the expedition will fill eight volumes of the Museum Memoirs. The Museum is also carrying on work in China, which has been provided for by the generosity of a friend of the institution who desires his name to be withheld. This work has been placed in charge of Dr. Berthold Laufer, who went to China in July, 1901, and is carrying on work at the present time in the southern part of that country. The first part of the collection of Dr. Laufer has arrived at the Museum, and will soon be exhibited. The studies of an expert collector and investigator in that country cannot fail to give important scien- tific as well as practical results. Dr. Laufer’s collections from China will be supplemented by collections made by Dr. C. C. Vinton in Korea. Work has also been carried on in North America. In the beginning of the year Dr. A. L. Kroeber collected among the western Algonquin tribes. This work was In continuation of his work among the FraNzZ Boas and (N.S. Von. XV. No. 368. Arapaho, and has yielded much valuable material. Dr. Kroeber’s investigations were directed principally to the study of the conventionalism of the western Algon- quin tribes, and to their religious cere- monies. In both these lines he collected in- formation of great scientific interest. This investigation was provided for by the liber- ality of Mrs. Morris K. Jesup. In 1901 Dr. Roland B. Dixon returned from his investigations in northern Cali- fornia, which were supported by the late Mr. C. P. Huntington. Later in the year Dr. Dixon was engaged in the preparation of the scientific results of his inquiry, the publication of which has been provided for by Mr. Archer M. Huntington. During the summer two investigators were sent out to carry on work among Indian tribes. Mr. William Jones spent four months among the Sac and Fox, and brought back with him much lineuistie and ethnological information. Mr. H. H. St. Clair, 2d, studied the northwestern Shoshone. His investigations were partly of a linguistic character, partly ethnolog- ical. He directed his attention to the study of the conventionalism of this tribe. The results of the studies of North American Indians, carried on by the Museum, are in progress of publication. The first volume of these researches is de- voted to the Eskimo of Hudson Bay and Baffin Bay, and is in press. ‘The first part of the descriptions of Dr. Dixon is also nearly completed. It is expected that in the coming year the results of Dr. Dixon’s and Dr. Kroeber’s work may be published. SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. Der Gesang der Vogel, seine anatomischen und biologischen Grundlagen. Von Dr. Vatentin HAckrr. Jena, Gustay Fischer. 1900. Gr. 8vo. Pp. vilit102. Mit 13 Abbild. im Text. In the first chapter of this interesting brochure Dr. Hicker describes in detail the JANUARY 17, 1902.] anatomical structure of the vocal apparatus in birds, which, with the accompanying illus- trations, gives a fair idea of the parts con- eerned and their functions. Chapter II. treats of the differences in the development of the vocal muscles in different groups of birds, and especially among different groups of song birds (Oscines), as well as of the differences in the vocal apparatus in the two sexes of the same species. In the female the parts are similar to those in the male, but much more feebly developed. Chapter III. deals with the development of the song instinct, and discusses at some length the theories of Darwin, Wallace, Groos and others, and finally presents his own views on the subject, based in part on new material. The original call-notes, from which song has been developed, he believes were originally signal or recognition sounds, and that these have become specialized according to sex and as an aid to the male in attracting the female. He recognizes four stages or phases in the development of birds’ calls and songs, namely: () A simple, uniform call, serving as a signal and recognition note for the species, developed by natural selection; (2) varied sexual calls or pairing calls, and (8) singing and warbling, or pairing songs, serving for the mutual attraction of the sexes, and developed through natural unconscious sexual selection; (4) sum- mer, autumn and winter songs of Palearctic birds, expressive of the ordinary emotions of the species (‘allgemeine Wirkung auf die Psyche’), and due, at least in part, to natural selection. Chapter IV. treats of other love-making demonstrations, asthe ‘clapping’ of the stork, the ‘drumming’ of woodpeckers (forms of ‘instrumental music’), the ‘bleating’ of snipe, song-flights, dances, display of color-marking and other ornamentation, ete., and of their relation to voice and song. In this connec- tion the evolution of courtship or love-making is also considered. Finally there is a convenient summary of the author’s evidence and conclusions, the whole forming a highly original and suggest- ive treatment of a very interesting subject. J. A. A. SCIENCE. 99 Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalene in the British Museum. By Str Grorcr F. Hamp- son, Bart. Vol. III., Arctiade (Arctianz) and Agaristide. London. 1901. This volume of 690 pages is published in the same style as Volume II. of this series, already noted in these pages. The Arctiadz subfamily Arctianz comprises 946 species from the entire world, of which 83 are here first described. Fifty new generic names are proposed. The small family Agaristide, which are, as the author rightly observes, an outgrowth of the Noctuidz, comprises 225 species, of which eight are here first described. Eleven new generic names are proposed in this group. The author has made some orthographical changes. West- woodi, whiteleyt, kinkelint, blaket, etc., appear in a scarcely recognizable guise as vestvoodt, vhiteleyi, cincelini, blacet, ete. But loewi on page 226 escaped, doubtless by inadvertence. We think these changes scarcely advisable. The woodeuts in the text and the volume of 19 colored plates accompanying the book are up to the author’s usual standard, if not slightly su- perior to it, and add greatly to the usefulness of the work. Owing to the author’s method of selecting the types of the older genera, his re- fusal to recognize some of the names proposed by Jacob Hiibner, and to his ideas of the ex- tent of genera, we find the familiar names of the North American species sadly changed. We hope to become accustomed to these changes; but it emphasizes the fact that the concept of the genus is very largely a personal one. With this in view J have catalogued the specimens in the National Museum by specific names, as being the more stable. We miss the genera Cydosia, Doa, Cerathosia, Psychomorpha, Eu- pseudomorpha (Hdwardsia Neum.), Hudryas and Curis; but these the author doubtless re- gards as Noctuids. We hope they will not fail to find place in the succeeding volumes, as seems to have happened to the genus Pygoct- nucha with the species harrisit Bd., funerea Grt. and robinsonii Bd., and to Ptychoglene coccinea Hy. Edw., which do not appear in either Vol. IJ. or III., and certainly cannot come in the Noctuidz which will follow. Our large and handsome Arctain, Platyprepia vir- ginalis Bd., has been quite omitted. Equally 100 surprising is the absence of the familiar genus Callimorpha with its European and Asiatic species. If this genus belongs to the Noctuide by the author’s classification, we think the scheme is some way at fault, for the insects are certainly Arctains in their broad char- acters. Holomelina (Hubaphe) immaculata Reak. has escaped notice, doubtless owing to Kirby’s erroneous reference of it to the genus EHudule (Geometride). The species Huhalesi- dota otho Barnes, Dodia alberta Dyar and Pseudalypia geronimo Barnes, appeared too late in description to be included. Most of these omissions are, we presume, intentional, but some seem due rather to the method by which the work has progressed, by which one family is completed before the critical study of the next one has been begun. Thus species which have been wrongly referred by cata- loguers are liable to be overlooked. On page 79 Bertholdia braziliensis is described as new. The name must fall before B. soror Dyar (Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., IV., 391, May 3, 1901), which seems unquestionably the same species. On page 267 our author places Spilosoma con- grua Walk. as a synonym of Diacrisia virgin- ica Fab. We cannot agree to this, since it has been shown that a part of Walker’s types were a distinct species, antigone Streck., and to this his description applies. Arctia complicata Walk. is made a synonym of A. quenseli Payk. We had always supposed it to be a form of ornata, which occurs in the same region (Brit- ish Columbia), whereas quenseli is an Alpine form from the Alps, Labrador, White Mts., ete. But the author has Walker’s type and should know. We shall be interested to see if quenselt can be found again in Vancouver Island. Condensed descriptions of the larvee of sev- eral species are given, but in a sporadic manner. Most of the life histories published within the last few years are included, but practically all the older ones published more than ten years ago are omitted. Doubtless it would have added greatly to the author’s labors to have made a thorough search for all larval descriptions, but surely the North American species might have been included as they have been very completely catalogued in a bulletin issued by the U. S. National Museum in 1889. SCIENCE. [N. S. VoL. XV. No. 368. We do not, of course, desire to depreciate the value of this work, which, as we have before re- marked, is a great boon to working entomolo- gists, enabling us to identify our species far more readily than ever before. For, unlike many published synopses, Hampson’s tables are practicable, not containing contradictions nor hair-splitting differences. Variation within specific limits may invalidate some of the char- acters which he uses, but we find this a very minor objection. Harrison G. Dyar. GAUPP’S ANATOMY OF THE FROG.* Tuts is not the first time that the present work has been noticed in. this journal. The other parts as they have appeared have been reviewed as follows: Parts J. and II., Scr- ENCE, Vol. VIL. p. 463; Part IIJ., Scimncz, Vol., X., p. 491. The present part deals with the viscera, the next and concluding ‘ Heft’ is to take up the integument and sense organs. The organs are discussed in the following order: Diges- tive tract, respiratory organs, thyroid gland, derivations of the pharyngeal region, urogen- ital organs, cloaca, and the celomic cavities. As with the portions of the work already pub- lished it is impossible with this to analyze the facts presented and to point out the features which are novel. Attention, however, must be called to the broadly morphological aspects of the work. Dr. Gaupp has given us not only the anatomy of the adult frog but has empha- sized the bearings of the various structures. Thus at the beginning we have an account of the developmental history of the head-gut re- gion without which the account of the deriva- tives of the branchial region would lose much of its interest. In the same way the urogenital structures are introduced by a longer account of their history. Then there is a valuable summary of what is known concerning her- maphroditism in the frogs. The illustrations throughout illustrate the frequent use of the *A. Eeker’s und R. Weidersheim’s ‘ Anatomie des Frosches auf Grund eigener Untersuchungen durchaus neu bearbeitet, von Dr. Ernst Gaupp. Dritte Abtheilung, erstes Hilfte. Lehre von den Braunschweig, Fr. Vieweg und 95 figures. Mk. 15. Hingeweiden. Sohn. Pp. 438. JANUARY 17, 1902.] color making them more readily intelligible, and the German is everywhere easy of com- prehension. : In general terms we can say of this part, as of those which have previously appeared, that it maintains the highest standard of deserip- tive anatomical work, and when the treatise is completed we shall have in accessible form de- tails of the structure of the frog only exceeded in anatomical literature by those relating to man. One can only wonder how a man, turn- ing out so much research in other lines, can find time to produce such a monumental work as this. Not only has practically all of the ex- isting literature been analyzed (the list of papers relating to the viscera includes 877 ti- tles, some of course duplicate), but every point has been, as the title page says, ‘neu bearbitet.? It is not possible to hope for a translation of such an extensive work, but the original must have a place in every biological laboratory in the country. J. S. Kinesey. A Laboratory Guide to the Study of Qualita- tive Analysis. By EK. H. S. Battey, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry, and Haminton P. Capy, A.B., Assistant Professor of Chem- istry in the University of Kansas. Fourth edition. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston’s Son & Co. 1901. In the preface to this edition the authors say, “At the present time there seems to be an opportunity to broaden the methods of instruction in qualitative analytical chem- istry, and to teach not only the facts and the mechanical methods of carrying out the vari- ous operations of analysis, but also to render them more intelligible and interesting to the student by a proper application of the theory of electrolytic dissociation and of the mass law. * * * The aim of the authors has been to produce a book which would enable the careful student to successfully carry on the work without the constant assistance of the instructor.” Several of the current manuals in their latest editions open with an introduction pointing out the significance of these theories for analysis, and in some the dissociation of SCIENCE. 101 the text has begun, as evinced by the furtive appearance of ions here and there throughout their pages. The present authors are thorough; their in- troduction of twenty pages explains the theory of dissociation and the mass law, and the en- tire book is written in terms of ions; for ex- ample, “Antimony forms the positive antimo- nous Sb’** ion, and the negative antimonite SbO, ~~, this antimonite, SbS, ~~, ortho- antimonate, SbhO, _, this antimonate SbS, —, and antimonyl tartrate, SbOC,H,O, ions.” Instead of acid or metal groups, we find groups of anions and cations. The serious question is—are the operations of qualitative analysis rendered more intelli- gible to the student by this method? It seems to the reviewer that they are made more in- telligible to an advanced student, but less in- telligible to a beginner; but the authors intend this book for beginners. For example the application of the phe- nomena of hydrolysis of salts of weak acids to the reactions occurring in the precipitation of basie salts is doubtless a help to a riper stu- dent. Again, while the following explanation of another reaction might be clear to an older student, might it not confuse a beginner? “If to a solution containing magnesium as ion, a solution containing hydroxyl ions in consider- able concentration be added, a precipitate of magnesium hydroxid Mg(OH),, is produced. Ammonium hydroxid is a much weaker base than magnesium hydroxid, and consequently if an ammonium salt, such as ammonium ehlo- rid, be added. to a solution containing magne- sium hydroxid, the hydroxyl ions from the latter will combine with the ammonium ions to form the slightly dissociated ammonium hy- droxid, thereby decreasing the amount of the magnesium hydroxid in solution. Therefore the precipitate of magnesium hydroxid is readily dissolved on the addition of ammonium salts.” In connection with the clause quoted, it may be noted that in the separation of the groups Al, Cr, Fe—Co, Ni, Mn, Zn—Ba, Sr, Ca—Me, the authors give directions with each group to add ammonium chloride if it is not already present, but give no reason for 102 the use of this reagent, excepting the one statement in separating Ba, Sr, Ca—from Me, that ‘advantage is taken of the fact that magnesium carbonate is not precipitated in the presence of ammonium salts and ammon- ium hydroxid. Surely the common explana- tion of these group separations—the success- ive breaking down ammonium double-salts in order of their instability by the reagents ammonia, ammonium sulphide, ammonium carbonate and disodium phosphate—is better than no explanation. It may be objected that recent research has disproved, or at least rendered improbable, the existence in solutions of ions indicating ammonium double-salts. At all events, an explanation on the lines of the above quotation regarding magnesium ion might be given. In brief, this book can be cordially recom- mended to those students who are trained, from the start by lectures based on Ostwald’s ‘Grundlinien der anorganischen Chemie,’ and are taught to look at chemical phenomena chiefly in the light afforded by the dissocia- tion theory. E. RENowr. Laboratory Companion for Use with Thurs- ton’s Inorganic Chemistry. By W. A. Tuurston, F.R.S., Lecturer on Chemistry in Clifton College, London, Edward Arnold. 1901. Pp. 110. The author says in his preface that this little book is a reprint of most of the experi- ments in Part 1 of his ‘Inorganic Chemistry’ and is to be used only as a laboratory com- panion. It is intended to be used before the study of qualitative analysis is commenced, ‘and may replace such work altogether in the Evidently it is impossible to criticise this case of those who leave school at an early age.’ book without a knowledge of the text-book which it accompanies. It is very different from American laboratory manuals. The author holds it ‘most important that the con- nection between physics and chemistry should be insisted on from the earliest stages.’ The first thirty-nine experiments are purely phys- ical with exception of one on the hardness of water, which explains permanent and tem- porary hardness, and gives methods for deter- SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 368. — mining the hardness of water; and this before a single experiment on chemical change has been made. _ The experiments given in the remainder of the book are of more chemical nature, and are interesting, but seem to laek logical sequence; it is to be supposed, however, that this seeming fault would disappear if the book was used in connection with the author’s lectures, and that we have in the book those experiments which he considers to be of particular theoretic or practical interest to young students. However, the book cannot be recommended as a manual in connection with the text-books in actual use in this country. E. Renovur. Chemical Lecture Hxperiments. By FRANcIs Gano Benepiot, Ph.D., Instructor in Chem- istry in Wesleyan University. New York, The Macmillan Company. 1901. This book of 435 pages contains brief, clear instructions for performing a great number of lecture experiments. The instructor who has little apparatus at his disposal and turns to Newth or Heumann for help in illustrating his lecture often finds it impossible to show the experiments described, for lack of appa- ratus. The author has rigorously excluded all costly apparatus, and has yet succeeded in giving so many brilliant and instructive ex- periments as practically to cover the whole course. This renders his book invaluable to instructors in schools and in the smaller col- leges. But this is not all; any lecturer who glances through the book will find much that is new and striking. Especially is this true of the experiments on metals, which have received such scant attention in the earlier books. The reviewer has Dr. Benedict’s book in use and finds it a valuable supplement to Newth and Heumann. Epwarp REnour. GENERAL. ‘Tue Fauna and Geography of the Maldive and Laceadive Archipelagoes, being the ac- count of the work carried on and of the col- lections made by the expedition during the years 1899 and 1900, is now in course of pub- lication in ‘Cambridge at the University Press.’ Part I. of the first volume appeared JANUARY 17, 1902. ] several months ago, and Part IL, it is an- nounced, ‘will be published on April 15, 1902. The work is edited by ‘J. Stanley Gardiner, M.A., fellow of Gonville and Caius College and Balfour student of the University of Cambridge.’ The part issued contains, besides the introduction, excellent reports on the physiography of the archipelagoes in question and on the Hymenoptera, Land Crustaceans and Nemerteans. The work will be more fully noticed when completed. SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. Tue Journal of Comparative Neurology for December. 1. Shinkishi Hatai, ‘ On the Mitosis in the Nerve Cells of the Cerebellar Cortex of Fetal Cats,’ shows: (1) The germ- inal cells of the nervous system of the fcetal eat present a modified form of the hetero- typical mitosis of Flemming, (2) the number of the chromosomes represented by internodes of segmental filaments is 16, (3) all of the “Halospindel’ and a part of the central spindle are derived from the nucleolar substance, the central spindle containing the linin in great abundance. 2. Alice Hamilton, M.D., ‘ The Division of Differentiated Cells in the Central Nervous system of the White Rat.’ The num- ber and position of the dividing cells in later developmental stages (at and near birth) are described and compared with the results of other workers. Regarding the nature of the dividing cells, the author concludes: (1) There are at least two kinds of dividing cells in the central nervous system of the white rat, one small the other large, (2) neuroglia cells are de- rived from the small cells; nerve cells from the large ones, (3) dividing cells found in the gray matter and fiber tracts of the brain and cord are not indifferent cells, but are partly differ- entiated and it is possible to tell which are to become neuroglia cells and which nerve cells, (4) mitotic figures are occasionally found in multipolar nerve cells and in spongioblasts. 3. C. H. Turner, ‘The Mushroom Bodies of the Crayfish and their Histological Environ- ment.’ A description of the supra-cesophageal ganglion of the crayfish, in the course of which it is shown that the mushroom bodies and the central bodies of the brains of crayfish and in- SCIENCE. 103 sects are homologous structures and that both of these organs are also present in worms. The first article is illustrated by one plate, the second by two, and the third by four. Prawns have been made for a new engineer- ing quarterly, which is to be known as the Harvard Engineering Journal. The first number, which will appear on March 1, will consist largely of a description of Pierce Hall, the new enginering building, and of the en- gineering department. Tue two journals devoted to geographical education that have hitherto existed in this country have been merged, and will appear, beginning with January, as the Journal of Geography, devoted to the advancement of geographical education. The new journal will be edited by Richard EK. Dodge, professor of geography, Teachers College, Columbia Uni- versity, and hitherto editor of the Journal of School Geography; Edward M. Lehnerts, professor of geography, State Normal School, Winona, Minn., and formerly editor of the Bulletin of the American Bureau of Geog- raphy, and Dr. J. Paul Goode, instructor in geography, University of Pennsylvania, Phil- adelphia, Pa. The Journal of Geography will appear ten times a year, with 480 pages to the It will be 7x10 inches in size, and extensively illustrated. The editors will be aided by a large number of associate editors, - representing different phases of geography. The journal will be published by the J. L. Hammett Co., Boston and New York, and will be printed at Lancaster, Pa. volume. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY. Tue eighth annual meeting of the American Mathematical Society was held at Columbia University on Friday and Saturday, December 27-28, 1901. A single day’s sessions no longer suffice for the extensive programs of the Society’s more prominent meetings. In pro- viding for a two-day meeting it was hoped to gain ample time for the presentation of papers, but the long program completely filled the four sessions. Fifty-nine members were in attendance, a number exceeding all 104 previous records. An enjoyable social feature of the meeting was the dinner at the Hotel Marlborough on Friday evening attended by fifty persons, including representatives of the American Physical Society, which was in ses- sion on Friday. At the annual election, on Saturday morn- ing, the following officers and members of the Council were chosen: Vice-Presidents, Maxime Boécher, Frank Morley; Secretary, F. N. Cole; Treasurer, W. S. Dennett; Librarian, D. E. Smith; Committee of Publication, F. N. Cole, Alexander Ziwet, Frank Morley; Mem- bers of the Council to serve until December, 1904, Pomeroy Ladue, G. A. Miller, P. F. Smith, E. B. Van Vleck. The President of the Society, Professor E. H. Moore, holds office for a term of two years expiring at the annual meeting of 1902. Resolutions were adopted by the Council expressing appre- ciation of the services of the retiring Librari- an, Professor Pomeroy Ladue, who has held that office since 1895. The following persons were elected to mem- bership in the Society: R. E. Allardice, Stan- ford University; Miss Grace Andrews, Col- umbia University; S. E. Brasefield, Michigan Agricultural College; W. E. Brooke, Univer- sity of Minnesota; T. C. Esty, University of Rochester; L. L. Jackson, State Normal School, Brockport, N. Y. Seven applications for membership were received and laid over, under the by-laws, for action at the February meeting. Reports were received from the secretary, treasurer and librarian. These reports will appear in the Society’s Annual Register now in preparation. The Society has now 378 members, a net gain of 21 over last year. There are 17 life members. The total at- tendance of members at the meetings of 1901 was 230, the number of papers read 140, in both cases a large increase over previous years. The Treasurer’s report shows a balance of over two thousand dollars. The Transactions has just initiated its third annual volume; the Bulletin has been issued since 1891. An especially important event of the past year was the deposit of the library of the Society in the charge of Columbia University, through SCIENCE. [N. S. Vou. XV. No. 368. whose generous action the books will now be- come available for the use of the members. A catalogue will soon be issued and steps will be taken to extend and complete the collection. Following is a list of the papers read at the annual meeting. It may be added that the Chicago Section of the Society issued a pre- liminary program of nineteen papers for its meeting at Evanston, Ill., on January 2-3, 1902. (1) ‘Further types of unicursal sextic scrolls,’ by Virgil Snyder. (2) ‘On the nature and use of the functions employed in the recognition of quadratic residues,’ by Emory McClintock. (3) ‘A theorem concerning the method of least squares,’ by Harold Jacoby. (4) ‘The theory of maxima and minima in n variables,’ by Harold Jacoby. (5) “Recent researches in the theory of screws,’ by Sir R. S. Ball. (6) ‘On surfaces whose geodetic lines are represented by curves of the second degree when represented conformably upon the plane, by H. F. Stecker. (7) *A recent method for treating the intersec- tion of plane curves,’ by C. A. Scott. (8) ‘Two principles in the theory of multiple forms,’ by Edward Kasner. (9) ‘On the invariants of a homogeneous quadratic differential equation of the second or- der,’ by D. R. Curtiss. (10) ‘Some applications of the theory of as- semblages,’ by Arnold Emch. (11) ‘On a method for constructing all the groups of order p”,’ by G. A. Miller. (12) ‘Note on the transformation of a group into its canonical form,’ by S. E. Slocum. (13) ‘On the characteristics of differential equations,’ by E. R. Hedrick. (14) ‘On the circuits of plane curves,’ by C. A. Scott. (15) ‘On the plane quartic curve,’ by F. Morley and A. B. Coble. (16) * On the real solutions of systems of two homogeneous linear differential equations of the first order,’ by Maxime Bocher. (17) ‘The projective axioms of by E. H. Moore. (18) ‘Remarks on the sufficient conditions in the calculus of variations,’ by E. R. Hedrick. (19) ‘Note on isotropic congruences,’ by L. P. Hisenhart. 7 my? geometry, JANUARY 17, 1902 ) (20) ‘Lines of length zero on surfaces,’ by L. P. Hisenhart. (21) ‘Concerning the class of a group of order p™ that contains an operator of order p”™—? or p™—, p being a prime,’ by W. B. Fite. (22) ‘A characteristic property of the parabolic curve of nth order,’ by Edward Kasner. (23) ‘On the content or measure of assemblages of points,’ by Carl Gunderson. (24) ‘On the holomorphisms of a group,’ by J. W. Young. (25) ‘On the resolution of orthogonal transfor- mations, by P. F. Smith. (26) ‘Proof that the group of an irreducible linear differential equation is transitive, by Saul Epsteen. (27) ‘On the uniform convergence of Fourier’s series,’ by W. B. Ford. The next meeting of the Society will be held in New York City on February 22. The Chicago Section will meet at the University of Chicago in April. F. N. Cots, Secretary. CoLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE OF ST. LOUIS. At the meeting of the Academy of Science of St. Louis on the evening of December 16, the Nominating Committee reported a list of candidates for the offices of the Academy for the year 1902. A paper by K. K. MacKenzie and B. F. Bush, entitled, ‘The Lespedezas of Missouri,’ was presented by title. Professor F. L. Solden delivered an address on the advance made in education during the nineteenth century, stating that the most characteristic feature of the century’s pro- gress lay in the epoch of expansion and organ- ization which it marked. The influence of Pestalozzi, Froebel, Horace Mann, William T. Harris and other distinguished educators was traced, the marked change in opinion con- cerning the commercial value of education brought out by the Centennial exposition of 1876 was indicated, and the establishment of a true university grade in this country with the opening of the Johns Hopkins University, the year following, was commented on. Professor F. E. Nipher stated that he had continued his experiments on the production SCIENCE. 105 of ether disturbances by explosions, and by the motion of masses of matter. He had ap- parently succeeded in eliminating the effects of the shock of the air-wave upon the magnet needle. ‘The needle is adjusted to a condition approaching maximum sensitiveness. There is no iron about the apparatus, except what is contained in the needle and in the compen- sating magnets. The latter are clamped in place so that the structure on which they are mounted may be pounded by a mallet without disturbing the needle. Rowland effects due to eonvection of electrified particles have also been eliminated. There remains a marked de- flection of the needle, seeming to indicate that an ether distortion or wave originates in a sharp or violent explosion. This result is so amazing that it is announced with the state- ment that the whole subject is yet under the most searching examination. The coherer and the receiver of the telephone are to be used in two wholly different plans of experiment, in one of which the effects along the entire track of a leaden bullet are to be summed up in an alternating current. The results which seem to have been reached are in entire harmony with the well-known experiment of Michelson and Morley, who found that the ether within the building in which they worked was being earried along with the building and with the earth in its orbital motion. Wituiam TRELEASE, Recording Secretary. NORTH CAROLINA SECTION OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. Tue fall meeting of the North Carolina Sec- tion was held on Saturday, November 23, 1901, at 11 a. m., in the office of the State Chemist, Agricultural Building, Raleigh, with presid- ing officer, W. A. Withers, in the chair. Eighteen (18) members and visitors partici- pated in the meeting. After the reading and adoption of the min- utes of the previous meeting and the transac- tion of some minor miscellaneous business, the following program was presented and dis- cussed : “Notes on Instruction in Dyeing’: G. S. Fraps. 106 The author gave a brief account of methods used and results obtained, in teaching dyeing at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. Scrap books, which had been prepared by students, containing dyed samples and tests made on them were ex- hibited, to show the methods pursued. ‘Systematic Acid Analysis’: A. S. Wheeler. The plan suggested by Abegg and Herz (Zeit. fiir Anorg. Chem., 23, 236) is being tried with certain modifications with his classes in qualitative analysis in the Univer- sity of North Carolina with considerable suc- cess. He finds it to be the nearest approach to a separation similar to that used with bases that he has cognizance of. ‘Recent Work on the Phthaleins’: EK. Brewer. This was a review of the several articles that have recently ‘appeared. The first of these was by Orndorff and Brewer on the constitu- tion of gallein. The other three articles, in the current volume of the Berichte contributed by Liebermann, Thiele and Jaeger and Feuer- stein and Dutoit, were on dioxyfluorescein or oxyhydroquinone phthalein. In every case the view that the phthaleins react as tautomeric compounds was sustained. All the contribu- tors agree that those derivatives which have eolor should have given the quinoid structure, while those which are colorless are properly represented by the lactoid structure. A num- ber of new compounds belonging to each of these two classes were reported. ‘A Constant High-Temperature Charles Baskerville. An ordinary enameled iron water-bath is made use of, surrounded by asbestos with a copper cover and a second asbestos top project- ing in the bath and a wrought-iron float con- structed to hold crucibles of various sizes. The liquid of the bath is composed of a mixture of the more fusible alloys. A specially con- structed thermostat, made of very infusible glass, controls the flame of a large lamp. A glass tube, open at the bottom, penetrates the dual cover and is placed within one of the erucible receptacles. A mercury thermometer under 20 degrees atmospheric pressure is used. ‘New Apparatus: (1) Soil Digestion Bath Charles Bath’: SCIENCE. [N.S. VoL. XV. No. 368. and (2) A Modified Condensing Bulb Tube for Nitrogen Determinations’: C. B. Williams. Drawings of these two pieces of apparatus, designed for use in the Chemical Laboratory of the North Carolina Department of Agri- culture, were submitted; also, a description was read. Mr. Williams stated that these two pieces of apparatus had proved very helpful, both in point of economy of time and re- liability. ‘Nitrification of Ammonium Sulphate and Cotton-Seed Meal’: W. A. Withers and G. S. Fraps. The conclusions drawn by the authors from their pot experiments on nitrification are: (a) Ammonium sulphate in some eases hin- ders nitrification. - (6) In nitrification of ammonium sulphate, sulphurie acid is produced and hinders the process unless neutralized. (c) Soils differ in their action, depending upon the kinds of bacteria present. (d) The relative number of organisms in the soil capable of nitrifying ammonium sulphate may be increased by continued addition of the substance and lime if such germs were origi- nally present. (eg) Calcium carbonate is very helpful in nitrification. Cuartes BurcEess WILLIAMS, Secretary. THE SECTION OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. Tue Section met December 16, at 8:15 Pp. mM. Mr. D. W. Johnson gave a paper on ‘ Notes on the Geology of the Saline Basins of Central New Mexico.’ He said that in the Antonio Sandoval Grant, near the center of the Terri- tory of New Mexico, are noted saline deposits which have served as important sources of a very pure salt in past years. The character of these basins was discussed in some detail, and points concerning their historical interest briefly touched upon. The general geology of the central portion of the Territory was then briefly reviewed, while the local geology of the Antonio Sandoval Grant was presented more in detail. It was shown that the saline lakes occur in the Red Beds of Jura-triassic or Per- JANUARY 17, 1902. ] mian age. These beds are separable, on litho- logical grounds, into three divisions, desig- nated as the Red Series, the Chocolate Series, and the Vermillion Series. Lenticular de- posits of salt and gypsum are frequently found at the top of the lower or Red Series, and evi- dence was produced to show that the Saline Basins under consideration occur at this horizon. The facts were noted that Triassic types have been described from some part of the Red Beds (presumably the upper), while a characteristic Permian fauna has been re- cently found near the base of the Red Series. In view of these facts, and since no horizon of marked transition other than the salt and gypsum deposits occurs, it was suggested that these deposits might possibly mark the bound- ary line between the Jura-triassic and Per- mian in central New Mexico. Dr. D. S. Martin presented a paper entitled ‘Some Geological Notes on the Neighborhood of Buffalo, N. Y., made in the Summer of 1901.’ Dr. Martin did not claim any special novelty for the data presented, but judged that they might be of interest to any members not acquainted with that region. Dr. Martin first outlined roughly the distribution of the series from the Medina to the Corniferous Lime- stone, and then mentioned in detail certain special features. He particularly noted cer- tain joint seams in the Niagara Limestone near Lockport, N. Y., which have been much eroded and decomposed, and which are now filled with a dark brown claylike material, con- taining numbers of half decayed modern land shells, such as Helix albolabris. He then de- scribed the series of rocks exposed in the quarries found on North Main street, Buffalo, which are the source of the famous Huryp- terus specimens. This series extends from the Corniferous Limestone to the Saline series and is divisible into five members, known as the Corniferous Limestone, the Blue Lime- stone, the Bulkhead Rock, the Water Lime- stone, and the Salina. Dr. Martin particu- larly emphasized the contact between the Bullhead Rock and the overlying Blue Lime- stone, and noted the occurrence of a sandstone dike extending to the top of the Bullhead series. SCIENCE. 107 Mr. A. J. Queneau, in a paper entitled ‘The Grain of Igneous Rocks,’ said that a general observation might be made in regard to intrusive dikes. Near the margin the rock is dense, often glassy without any appreciable grain, whereas the grain begins to grow coarse according to some definite law, progressively as the distance from the wall increases. The present paper is based on the study of the laws governixg such increase. It appears that the loss of heat is of paramount importance.* The problem taken up is very analogous to the one presented by the cooling of a slab of finite thickness and of great length and depth with respect to the first dimension, viz., the thick- ness. The method followed rests on the Théo- rie de la Chaleur of Fourier, and on the gen- eral theory of cooling by Professor R. S. Woodward.t The following laws have been deducted: (1) The zone of varying grain will vary indirectly as the initial temperature. From this follows that (a) Platonic rocks very deeply seated will not present a zone of varying grain to any extent. (b) Rocks which come to rest at a temperature nearing their consolidation point will present a wide zone of varying grain. (2) The time of cooling, other conditions being the same, varies as the square of the thickness of the dike.t From this last law it is assumed that the size of the crys- tals vary as the square of their distances from the nearest margin; then the square root of their area, which can be measured, varies directly as the distances from the margin. Thus we have a simple law of easy application. RicHarp HE. Doncx, Secretary pro tem. BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. Tur 345th meeting was held on Saturday evening, December 14. Mr. W. H. Holmes spoke on ‘Finds of Fossil Remains and Indian Implements in a Spring at Afton, Indian Territory.’ The spring was situated in a level country and the superficial strata consisted of four feet of sand overlying * Alfred C. Lane, Geol. Sury. of Michigan, Vol. VI. { Annals of Mathematics, Vol. III. £ Riemann, ‘ Partielle Differential Gleichungen.” 108 a gravel bed about sixteen feet in thickness. In _the gravel at the bottom of the spring were found several hundred finely made flint arrow- heads and spear-points, such as were used by the buffalo-hunting tribes, flakers of deer antlers, bones of recent wolf, horse, bison and elk, and teeth and fragments of bone of fossil bison, horse, mammoth and mastodon, teeth of these latter being present in considerable num- bers and in an excellent state of preservation. In the gravel all about were similar fossil re- mains, but somewhat widely scattered. It had been learned from an old Indian chief that the arrow heads and other implements were east into the spring as offerings, but it was difficult to account for such large numbers of fossil teeth and broken bones and their mixture with those of recent animals. It was suggested by Mr. Gilbert in the discussion which followed Mr. Holmes’ paper, that possibly these teeth were offerings also, having been gathered from time to time, as they might have been washed out, and cast into the spring. W. A. Orton deseribed ‘The Wilt Disease of the Cow Pea and its Control,’ stating that the disease was caused by the clogging of the water tubes by bacteria, and that it was very preva- lent among all save one of the varieties of the cow pea. This variety, known as the Iron, was resistant to the wilt bacillus as well as to the nematode, causing root-knot; that it was thus doubly resistant was an additional reason for hoping that similar cases might be found among other plants. Theo. Gill presented a paper, in conjunction with C. H. Townsend, on ‘The Largest Deep- Sea Fish, this being the species described in Science for December 18, under the name of Macrias amissus. William Palmer gave ‘A Study of Two Ghosts,’ explaining the manner in which spec- tral appearances had been caused on two occa- sions. In one instance the shadow of a person had been thrown on a cloud of mist by a light shining through a window of an adjacent house, and in the other a similar shadow had been cast on a passing dust cloud by an electric light. The disappearance of the mist and of the dust gave the impression of a vanishing figure. ¥. A. Lucas. SCIENCE. (N.S. VoL. XV. No. 368. SHORTER ARTICLES. CYPSELOID OR CAPRIMUL- GoID ? Tn the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, for April 2, 1901, there is a most interesting paper by Professor D’Arcy Thomp- son ‘On the Pterylosis of the Giant Hum- ming-bird (Patagona gigas).’ It is illustrated by some excellent figures and the description is detailed and accurate. In his concluding paragraph the writer says: “On the balance of evidence, I am:inclined to think that the facts of pterylosis, so far as they go, tend to justify the association of the humming-birds with the goat-suckers and swifts, and, if any- thing, to bring them somewhat nearer the for- mer than the latter of the last two.” But he adds that ‘the evidence is confused and the judgement far from clear.’ In the Journal of the Linnean Society, 1888, Dr. R. W. Shufeldt published his well- known ‘Studies of the Macrochires.’ He, too, had investigated the pterylography of hum- ming-birds, goat-suckers and swifts, and he reached these conclusions: The Caprimulgi “have their nearest kin in the owls, and they have no special affinity with the Cypseli, much less with the Trochili. * * * The true swifts must have a group or an order created for them, as the order Cypseli, * * * just outside the enormous Passerine circle, but tangent to a point in its periphery opposite the swal- lows. * * * For the Trochili, I have already proposed a separate order * * * and am to- day more convinced than ever of the correct- ness of that proposal.” On page 369 Dr. Shufeldt says further regarding humming- birds and swifts: “They differ essentially in their pteryloses and in the number of their secondaries.” T have just completed a careful examination of 23 humming-birds, representing 11 species, ranging in size from WMellisuga humilis to Coeligena clemencie, and 15 swifts, represent- ing 10 different species, including Collocalia, Hemiprogne, and Macropteryx. I have also studied carefully the pterylography of 17 goat-suckers, representing 8 species. JI have, therefore, had a considerably larger number of species at my disposal than even Dr. Shufeldt ARE HUMMING-BIRDS JANUARY 17, 1902.] had, and it seems to me worth while to state what conclusions my studies have led me to. No group of birds with which I am ac- ‘quainted shows such remarkable uniformity in their pterylography as do the humming- birds. So far as I can see Professor Thomp- son’s figures of Patagona would answer, al- most without change, for any of the 11 species I have examined. The only important differ- ence is the absence of anything like what he ealls the ‘lateral’ tract; I have found this in none of the specimens before me. In the feathering of the occipital region, moreover, my specimens do not agree with his figure, though they answer well to his description. Even nestlings and embryos (removed from the ege before hatching) of Mellisuga have precisely the same pattern of pterylosis, as in all adults. The swifts are not so constant to a single pattern as the hummers, and show some considerable generic diversity, but they nevertheless possess a very characteristic type of pterylosis. I am utterly unable to agree (however much we may allow for individual diversity in the birds and the personal equa- tion of the observer) to either Dr. Shufeldt’s account, or Professor Thompson’s figure, of the cypseline pterylosis. This is not the place to enter into details, but one point at least must be mentioned. The posterior cervical apterium, so conspicuous in the humming- birds, is present in every swift I have ex- amined, and I have not seen it in any other birds. Professor Thompson failed to find it in Collocalia and Dr. Shufeldt says it is never present in the swifts! In the feathering of the head, the humming- birds do show a slight resemblance to the goat- suckers, but this is really not so close as ap- pears at first sight. The swifts differ from both, but some species have the feathers on the occiput few and far between, as in the hummers. It must be borne in mind, however, that the pterylosis of the head is quite vari- able, perhaps more so than that of any other part of the body. In the pterylosis of the neck, the swifts and humming-birds are very similar, especially on the upper side, while the goat-suckers are strikingly different. The feathering of the back shows considerable re- SCIENCE. 109 semblance between swifts and humming~birds, for while some swifts have the femoral tracts separate, others have them more or less united with the dorsal, as they are in the humming- birds. The dorsal tract of the Caprimulgi is obviously different, and the femorals are al- ways well defined and free from the dorsal. The humeral tracts in both swifts and hum- mers are near the dorsal, and their posterior ends tend to run into either the dorsal or the anterior end of the femorals. In the goat- suckers, the humerals are narrow and some distance from the dorsals. On the ventral side, we find the sternal tracts in the goat- suckers are more or less abruptly narrowed to form the rather long ventrals, while in the swifts and the humming-birds, the sternals pass imperceptibly into the short ventrals. As far as the number of secondaries is concerned, that is chiefly a matter of size; humming-birds have 5-7, swifts 8-11, and goat-suckers 12-14. For these, and. very similar reasons, I am led to disagree with Professor Thompson that the humming-birds are nearer to the goat- suckers than to the swifts, and I must dissent quite as strongly from Dr. Shufeldt’s opinion that the pteryloses of swifts and humming- birds are ‘essentially different.’ To my mind, the swifts and humming-birds are pterylo- graphically nearer each other than are grouse and guans, and almost as nearly allied as grouse and quail. I cannot see that the Caprimulgi have any close relationship to either. Hupert Lyman Crarg. Ouivet, Micu., October 30, 1901. INJURIES TO THE EYE CAUSED BY INTENSE LIGHT. THERE may be some general interest in the following cases of optical phenomena brought about by exposure of the eye to intense light. Professor M., while working in a rather dark corner of his laboratory, accidentally broke a low-resistance circuit in which an electric cur- rent at a pressure of five hundred volts was flowing. The are formed was about a foot from his eyes and appeared like a ball of fire rather more than six inches in diameter. Im- mediately there was a feeling that something had ‘given way’ in his right eye, though no 110 pain was experienced. Shortly afterwards he noticed that a part of the retina was perma- nently affected,the injured portion being inthe form of a square, with the center of vision in one corner. The sharp outlines of this field could be easily distinguished, and upon closing the eye, fan-shaped flashes of a violet color spread out from one corner over the injured area at equal intervals of several seconds, their recurrence being entirely involuntary. After being some time in the dark the flashes of color ceased. There was in general an apparent lack of il- lumination over this part of the retina, accom- panied by a loss of power to properly distin- guish colors, more especially green. The outlines of objects were blurred, their dimen- sions also appearing to be reduced by about one quarter. Printed letters could not be rec- ognized at more than half the distance at which they were easily read by the uninjured eye. Parallel lines seemed to converge over the injured portion. In walking and riding he noticed at a short distance ahead what seemed to be a spot a few inches in diameter and about two inches high, which he often turned his wheel aside to avoid. The injured eye was also very defective in estimating distances. The effect lasted several weeks with almost un- diminished intensity, but has since been grad- ually disappearing. The second case is that of Mr. R., who in May, 1900, imprudently observed for some time the partial eclipse of the sun with his eyes un- protected in any way. No effect was noticed until late in the day, when in looking over the hillside he saw apparently a flock of eight or ten red birds whose movements were very erratic. Since the birds appeared wherever he looked, he carefully examined the field of vision, and discovered that the sun had formed a crescent image on the center of the retina of the left eye. The color of the image was green with a narrow red border. The injured area seemed to be quite blind, and parallel lines diverged around it, this effect being just the opposite of the previous case. The injury is always noticeable and very annoying, espe- cially in reading. In making observations in the physical laboratory he had to discontinue SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 368. the use of his left eye, which he had been ac- customed to use constantly. The effect is still noticeable after a year, though it causes much less annoyance. A case exactly similar to this has been de- scribed, in which the injury had lasted ten years. FRANK ALLEN. CoRNELL UNIVERSITY. CURRENT NOTES ON METEOROLOGY. RAINFALL, COMMERCE AND POLITICS. A suGGESTIVE paper by H. H. Clayton in the Popular Science Monthly for December, on ‘The Influence of Rainfall on Commerce and Politics,’ forcibly emphasizes the interest and value of the studies that may be made along the lines of human, or economic, meteor- ology. In pointing out that ‘every severe financial panic (in the United States) has been closely associated with a protracted period of deficient rainfall, and that ‘there has been no period of protracted drought with- out a severe financial panic except a period, the effects of which were masked by the large disturbances attending our Civil War,’ the author has clearly indicated how closely national erises are related to the changing meteorological conditions of successive years. The sequence of deficient rainfall—deficient food supply—financial panics—changes in the dominance of political parties,—is also con- sidered. There is much in this discussion that might well occupy the attention of those who take pleasure, not only in studying the corre- lations of meteorological conditions and poli- tics in the past, but who also wish to try their luck at forecasting the political changes of the future. Mr. Clayton rightly calls attention to the value of such investigations on the economic side of meteorology, and to the need of more opportunity in our universities for the study of the influences of the atmosphere upon health, upon commerce and upon poli- tics. This interesting paper suggests a number of other, somewhat similar, examples of the influence of weather upon political movements of greater or less importance. Among the’ causes of the ‘Boxer’ outbreak in China, which JANUARY 17, 1902.] involved several nations in war, was the scarcity of rain during the preceding autumn, and the consequent impoverishment and dis- content of the people. In this very Chinese war, the allies at Tientsin (July 3, 4) are re- ported to have been saved from total defeat by a torrential rainfall which obliged the Chinese to retire. A severe winter precipi- tated the outbreak of the French Revolution. The Russian saying that the Russian Gen- erals January and February are invincible dates from the time of Napoleon’s terrible re- treat from Moscow, and again suggests the historical importance of a severe winter. Going back much farther, into more ancient history, we find that in the year 54 B. c., Cesar’s legions in Gaul had been scattered about in separate winter quarters, because of the scanty harvest following a drought. Un- der these circumstances a defeat at the hands of the enemy was natural, and actually took place. The number of such cases might be ex- tended almost indefinitely, but anyone who reads history with his eyes open to the con- trols which lie behind the military and poli- tical movements of the past will be able to collect an abundance of illustrations for him- self. ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF LAST JULY’S HEAT AND DROUGHT. AwotHeER recent paper, by the compiler of these Notes, published in the Bulletin of the American Geographical Society for October, under the title, ‘Some Economic Aspects of the Heat and Drought of July, 1901, in the United States,’ brings out certain additional features in connection with the economic side of meteorology. Trade in the United States throughout the greater part of July showed some very marked effects of the high tem- peratures and of the drought. ‘There was, on the one hand, a stimulation of retail trade in all kinds of light-weight summer clothing, and the continuance of the heat carried this sale beyond the usual time. On the other hand, there was commonly noted a depression of re- tail trade other than that in summer goods. The heat of the first week of July caused a practical suspension of industrial activity in SCIENCE. 111 many cities, thus interfering with the output along the several lines affected by the shut- downs. The drought caused a lack of pastur- age in the Southwest, and this led to record- breaking shipments of cattle and hogs to mar- ket at Kansas City. Thus the market became overstocked; buyers dictated prices; the situa- tion in hides was much complicated. Prices of cereals and of railroad stocks showed marked fluctuations throughout the hot spell, the damage to corn being the chief control in the case. Reports of rain in the corn belt sent up the prices of corn, and of the stocks of the corn-carrying railroads. Under the in- fluence of the July drought, the number of failures in August was larger than usual. Building was interfered with, and trade in building materials was checked. Meat was in less, and fruit and vegetables were in greater, demand than usual. The demand for ice was so great that there was difficulty in chartering vessels enough in which to ship the ice from Maine. SNOW CRYSTALS. Mr. Wuson A. Bentury, of Nashville, Vt., who has spent some twenty years in the critical study of snow crystals by means of micro-photography, contributes a paper under the title, ‘The Story of the Snow Crystals,’ to Harper's Monthly Magazine for December. This article does not differ essentially from one by the same writer in the Monthly Weather Review for May last. Since January, 1885, 800 photographs of snow crystals have been taken, and no two of them are alike. Ihe conditions under which the different forms of erystals fall have been carefully studied, and it is stated to be possible to read the character of a storm directly from its crystals. Mr. Bentley’s micro-photographs rank with any that have been obtained in Europe. Several of the most beautiful types are reproduced with the article. WEATHER AND TETANUS. Numpers of cases of tetanus have recently followed vaccination in different sections of the eastern States where there have been out- breaks of smallpox, and the blame has usually been laid upon the impurity of the vaccine matter. In at least one case, however, a study 112 of the conditions seems to lead to another con- clusion. The recent epidemic of tetanus in Camden, N. J., prompted the local Board of Health to send out a circular giving the facts collected by the Board. From this circular it appears that a bacteriological examination of the vaccine matter used in Camden showed it to be free from tetanus germs. ‘The reason for the epidemic is found in the prevailing weather conditions, combined with careless- ness on the part of persons recently vacci- nated. There had been a long spell of dry weather, accompanied by high winds, which raised the dust, so that there were tetanus germs constantly present in the atmosphere. Infection resulted when the scabs had been removed, and the germs gained access to the wound. R. DeC. Warp. WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. Tue readers of ScIENCE may be interested in the following editorial taken from the Lon- don Electrician of December 20. It seems to us also that the Marconi system cannot be ex- pected to replace submarine cables, which form at present a network which appears al- most as complicated on a small map of the world as the network of railways on an ordi- nary map of the State of Illinois. An attempt to substitute the Marconi system for existing eables would lead to a state of affairs closely analogous to the confused din in a stock exchange where each person makes more noise than all the rest. This analogy enables one to appreciate the limitations of wireless telegraphy. In the one case we have electrical waves and in the other case sound waves spreading in all directions from each sending station; and we must remember that Mar- coni’s receiver is far inferior to the human ear in its ability to analyze a complicated system of waves falling upon it, or, in other words, to respond selectively to certain types of wayes. W. S. FRANKLIN. “The current week opened with the startling announcement throughout the world that Mr, Marconi had succeeded in transmitting wireless signals across the Atlantic. By means of a SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 368. kite he had contrived, at St. John’s, Newfound- land, to intercept waves transmitted from Corn- wall, the actual receiver being a telephone and the actual ‘message’ the Morse letter ‘S’ at in- tervals of five minutes, as prearranged. The sounds were very faint, though they are declared by Mr. Marconi himself to have been unmistak- able. Thursday, December 12, 1901, may prove, therefore, to be a date to be remembered in the history of wireless telegraphy. Within this ap- parently feeble result—three very faint clicks repeated at intervals of five minutes—there is to be seen the germ of ocean wireless telegraphy, and, perhaps, telephony. It is a germ that promises to develop into abundantly fruitful ma- turity. It is not in the interlinking of continents divided by an ocean, but rather in the overspread- ing of the ocean itself with telegraphic facilities that the power and fruitfulness of this latest achievement of Mr. Marconi is to be perceived. Submarine cables already link ocean-divided con- tinents far better than wireless telegraphy can ever do. Long ago we pointed out that the true field of wireless telegraphy is across compara- tively short distances of water—that, in fact, it is really a disadvantage to wireless telegraphy to be able to take in such a wide compass as an entire ocean. Indeed, when such immense areas are covered the probabilities of confusion and clashing of signals is a thousandfold increased. Lest any section of the public should be dis- posed to regard Mr. Marconi’s latest experiment as foreshadowing the replacement of submarine telegraph cables by wireless apparatus, we hasten to bid them dismiss the idea. No serious competi- tion with submarine telesraphy can ever take place on a commercial basis, at any rate until the Marconi system is evolved into something very different from what it now is. This raises the interesting but thorny question of patent rights. Others besides Mr. Marconi will have something to say on this head. We do not say that Mr. Marconi will not succeed in sending messages between this country and America; but, having regard to the uncommercial condi- tions under which they must be sent, it is clear that the wireless channel of transmission will be rigorously avoided by business men, to whom a guarantee of secrecy and the certainty of a re- corded message are absolutely indispensable. Wireless signals in the ether can never be secret; it must always be possible to intercept them. And messages received in no more permanent form than by sounds in a telephone are too evanescent and uncertain to commend themselves ‘ JANUARY 17, 1902.] to the purposes of commerce. Nor must it be overlooked that the speed of transmission by Marconi telegraphy must be extremely limited compared with the possibilities of the cable. It is, therefore, not the térritory of the telegraph and cable companies that Mr. Marconi can suc- cessfully invade with his wireless telegraphy.” CLARENCE KING. ; A meretine of all the scientific men engaged in the work of the U. S. Geological Survey was held in Washington on Saturday, Decem- ber 28, to express their profound sorrow at the death of Mr. Clarence King, first Director of the Survey. Short but appreciative addresses, eulogistic of the life and work of Mr. King were made by Major J. W. Powell, the suc- cessor of Mr. King as director of the survey; Hon. Charles D. Walcott, the present director, and Mr. S. F. Emmons. At the request of the director Mr. Arnold Hague read the fol- lowing tribute to the character and achieve- ments of Mr. King, which was unanimously adopted by those present as an expression of their admiration of his life and their bereave- ment in his death: “Tt is with profound sorrow that we learn of the death of Clarence King, the first direc- tor and, in a sense, the founder of the Geo- logical Survey. In him we have lost not only a great scientific leader, but a genial and ac- complished gentleman, whose personal quali- ties endear him to all who knew him, and whose many acts of loving kindness have left a wide circle of friends in all walks of life to mourn his untimely death. “As organizer and, during ten years, Chief of the United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parattel, he set higher standards for geological work in the United States and laid the foundations of a systematic survey of the country. He gave practical recognition to the fact that a good topographical map is the | essential basis for accurate geological work. “As first director of the present Geological Survey, he laid down the broad general lines upon which its work should be conducted and which, as followed by his able successors, have led to its present development. He estab- lished the principle that a geological survey of SCIENCE. 113 the United States should be distinguished among similar organizations by the promi- nence given to the direct application of scien- tific results to the development of its mineral wealth. “Tn that essential quality of an investigator —scientifie imagination—no one surpassed King, and his colleagues have all profited by his suggestiveness. He was never content with the study of science as he found it but always sought to raise the standard of geology as well as to apply known principles to the survey of the country. “King first introduced microscopical petrog- raphy into American geology and, as early as his Fortieth Parallel work, he foreshadowed the application of exact physics to questions of geological dynamics. Early in the history of the present survey he established a physical laboratory. One result of this step was a paper on the ‘Age of the Earth’ which takes very high rank among modern scientific memoirs. Although in his last years circum- stances rendered it necessary for him to devote most of his time to other occupations, he had by no means abandoned plans for geological investigation on a scale worthy of his reputa- tion. “In Clarence King geological science in America will miss a pioneer and a leader; the Geological Survey loses its broad-minded founder and adviser, and its older members a beloved friend.” MAP OF THE PHILIPPINES. Tue National Geographic Magazine pub- lishes as a supplement to its January num- ber a map of the Philippines—5 feet 2 inches by 3 feet. The map is on the scale of 15 miles to an inch and was prepared by the U. S. Signal Office. Every town or hamlet known by the Jesuits or reported to the War Depart- ment by its many officers throughout the islands is indicated on the map. It is a com- pilation of everything now known about the Philippine Archipelago. Sheet I. gives the Northern Philippines and Sheet IT. the South- ern Philippines, as officially divided by the United States Government. A glance at the map shows how much exploration is needed 114 in large sections. For instance, on the Island of Mindoro only a few names along the coast are given. The interior of the island is a blank. The progress made by the American Government in the islands is graphically illus- trated by the red lines, indicating cables, tele- graphs, and telephones, which penetrate to nearly all corners of the archipelago. Nearly seven thousand miles of wire are now strung, whereas three years ago there was not one mile in service. All the telegraph lines are owned by the government and operated by a government department—the United States Signal Corps. The stations noted as commer- cial stations are open to messages of a private and commercial character, while from the sta- tions noted as military only messages of a military nature can be sent. This map is the first map of the Philippines that has been pre- pared by American officers. The spelling of the names is that adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names. The War Department printed an edition of only 400. The demands of the army posts in the Philippines and in the United States ex- hausted nearly the entire edition, so that only a few remain for public distribution. The National Geographic Society was, however, granted the use of the plate and has printed a large edition, so that each of its members may receive a copy of what is the only up-to- date presentation of all that is now known of the geography of these islands. THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION. The trustees of the institution elected by the incorporators are as follows: The president of the United States. The president of the United States Senate. The speaker of the House of Representatives. The secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The president of the National Academy of Sciences. Grover Cleveland, New Jersey. John S. Billings, New York. William N. Frew, Pennsylvania. Lyman J. Gage, Illinois. Daniel C. Gilman, Maryland. John Hay, District of Columbia. Abram §. Hewitt, New Jersey. Henry L. Higginson, Massachusetts. SCIENCE. [N.S. VoL. XV. No. 368. Henry Hitchcock, Missouri. Charles L. Hutchinson, Illinois. William Lindsay, Kentucky. Seth Low, New York. - Wayne MacVeagh, Pennsylvania. D. O. Mills, California. S. Weir Mitchell, Pennsylvania. W. W. Morrow, California. Elihu Root, New York. John G. Spooner, Wisconsin. Andrew D. White, New York. Edward D. White, Louisiana. Charles D. Walcott, District of Columbia. Carroll D. Wright, District of Columbia. The official statement of the plans of the institution is as follows: “Tt is proposed to found in the city of Wash- ington, in the spirit of Washington, an insti- tution which, with the cooperation of insti- tutions now or hereafter established, there or elsewhere, shall, in the broadest and most liberal manner, encourage investigation, re- search and discovery, encourage the applica- tion of knowledge to the improvement of mankind; provide such buildings, laboratories, books and apparatus as may be needed, and afford instruction of an advanced character to students whenever and wherever found, in- side or outside of schools, properly qualified to profit thereby. Among its aims are these: “1. To increase the efficiency of the uni- versities and other institutions of learning throughout the country, by utilizing and add- ing to their existing facilities, and by aiding teachers in the various institutions for ex- perimental and other work, in these institu- tions as far as may be advisable. “9. To discover the exceptional man in every department of study, whenever and wherever found, and enable him by financial aid to make the work for which he seems specially designed, his life work. “3. To promote original research, paying great attention thereto, as being one of the chief purposes of this institution. “4. To increase facilities for higher educa- tion. “5. To enable such students as may find Washington the best point for their special studies to avail themselves of such advantages as may be open to them in the museums, JANUARY 17, 1902.] libraries, laboratories, observatory, meteoro- logical, piscicultural and forestry schools and kindred institutions of the several depart- ments of the government. “6. To insure the prompt publication and distribution of the results of scientific in- vestigation, a field considered to be highly im- portant. “These and kindred objects may be at- tained by providing the necessary apparatus, by employing able teachers from various insti- tutions in Washington and elsewhere, and by enabling men fitted for special work to devote themselves to it, through salaried fellowships or scholarships, or through salaries, with or without pensions in old age, or through aid in other forms to such men as continue their special work at seats of learning throughout the world.” The meeting for organization of the board of trustees and the election of officers has been called for January 29, at the office of the Sec- retary of State in Washington. SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. PreswentT Ira RemSEN, of the Johns Hop- kins University, has been elected president of the American Chemical Society. Proressor H. W. Conn, of Wesleyan Uni- versity, has been elected president of the American Society of Bacteriologists. THE Society for Plant Morphology and Physiology held a successful meeting at Columbia University on December 31, 1901, and January 1, 1902, of which a full account will soon appear in Science. Officers for the » ensuing year were elected as follows: Presi- dent, V. M. Spalding, University of Michigan; Vice-President, Byron D. Halsted, Rutgers College; Secretary-Treasurer, W. F. Ganong, Smith College. The Society will meet next year at Washington with the other scientific societies. At the annual election of officers of the California Academy of Sciences, held Jan- ‘uary 6, 1902, the following were elected to serve in the various offices of the So- ciety during the ensuing year: Presi- SCIENCE. 115 dent, David Starr Jordan; First Vice-Pres- dent, M. W. Haskell; Second Vice-Presi- dent, H. H. Behr; Corresponding Secretary, J. O'B. Gunn; Recording Secretary, J. W. Hobson; Treasurer, L. H. Foote; Librarian, Louis Falkenau; Director of Museum, Lev- erett M. Loomis; TZrustees, William M. Pierson, James F. Houghton, William H. Crocker, OC. E. Grunsky, E. J. Molera, George ©. Perkins, George W. Dickie. Caswett Grave, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins), now instructor in zoology at the Johns Hop- kins University, has been appointed director of the United States Fish Commission Station at Beaufort, N. C. Dr. J. KriecHBAUMER, senior curator of the zoological collections at Munich, has retired. A ROYAL commission has been appointed to inquire into the question of the coal supplies of the United Kingdom. It includes among jts members H. B. Dixon, M.A., professor of chemistry and metallurgy in the Owens Col- lege, Manchester; J. S. Dixon, mining engineer and coalmaster, president of the Mining In- stitution of Scotland, and president of the Institution of Mining Engineers of Great Britain; C. Le Neve Foster, D.Se., B.A., F.R.S., professor of mining in the Royal Col- lege of Science, South Kensington, and lately one of his majesty’s inspectors of Mines; Edward Hull, M.A., LL.D., F-.R.S., lately director of the Geological Survey of Ireland; Charles Lapworth, LL.D., F.R.S., professor of geology and physiography in the Birmingham University, and J. J. H. Teall, M.A., F.R.S., president of the Geological Society of London and director of the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom. A FUND is being raised to perpetuate the memory of the.late Professor Tate, for twenty- Six years professor of natural science in the Adelaide University. It is proposed to erect a memorial tablet and to establish a Tate medal for geology. Mr. C. L. A. bE NickviteE died at Calcutta on December 3, of malarial fever contracted in the Terai in pursuit of his investigations as state entomologist of India, an appointment which had been created for him. He was the 116 author of ‘The Butterflies of India, Burmah, and. Ceylon,’ and other contributions to en- tomology. Tur death is announced of M. Charles Maunoir, for thirty-seven years secretary of the Paris Geographical Society, and the author of annual reports on geographical discoveries. Mr. and Mrs. Haroup S. McCormick, of Chi- cago, -have founded a memorial institute for infectious diseases to commemorate their son who died recently from scarlet fever. The endowment of the institute is said in the daily papers to be $1,000,000. Dr. Frank Billings is president of the board of trustees and Dr. Ludvig Hektoen has been appointed director of the institute. Iv is reported that Secretary Long will re- new his request to Congress for an appropria- tion of $230,000 for the purchase of Jand and the erection of a building for the use of the nayal hydrographic service. Mr. Anprew Carnecie has offered $25,000 for a public library building at Melrose, Mass.; $20,000 for a library building at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., and the same sum for a similar building at St. Catherine’s, Ont. SUBSCRIPTIONS amounting to over $105,000 were announced at the annual meeting of the New York Historical Society toward the new building, which is to be erected at Central Park West, between Seventy-sixth and Sey- enty-seventh Streets. Tue library of the late Baron von Norden- skjold has been purchased by the University of Hellingsfors for about $50,000. A Reurer’s telegram states that Mr. Wil- liam Bruce, the leader of the Scottish Antarctic expedition, has purchased the Norwegian steam whaler Hecla for his forthcoming ex- pedition. The vessel will shortly be brought over to be refitted onthe Clyde, where Mr. Bruce is availing himself of the guidance of Mr. G. L. Watson, the yacht builder. The Antarctic, with Professor Nordenskjéld’s South Polar expedition on board, left Buenos Ayres on December 20 for the Falkland Islands. The Discovery left Lyttleton on De- SCIENCE. [N. S. Vou. XV. No. 368. cember 21. The leakage has been stopped, ex- cept in the fore-peak, where eight minutes’ pumping daily is sufficient. Tue Arctic Club held its eighth annual din- ner at Hotel Marlborough, New York City, December 28, Professor William H. Brewer presiding. Av the recent Columbia meeting of the So- ciety. for Plant Morphology and Physiology, it was pointed out that the American mem- bers of the Association Internationale des Botanistes will soon be called upon to vote. by ballot for two members of the general com- mittee. It was felt that in the absence of nominations the votes would be scattering and perhaps in many eases not cast at all. No body of botanists appears to have authority to make such nominations, but it was sug- gested that as this Society had managed the correspondence with the former owners of the Botanisches Centralblatt, and later with the officers of the Association Internationale, it might not seem inappropriate for this Society: to suggest such nominations. Accordingly, on this basis, the Society nominated Professors C. E. Bessey and W. F. Ganong. THE Archeological Institute of America has: this year established a traveling fellowship for. researches in Central America, and Mr. Al- fred M. Tozzer, who was last year a graduate student at Harvard, taking Professor Put- nam’s research course in American Archeology and Hthnology, has been appointed to the fel- lowship. During the past summer Mr. Tozzer accompanied Professor Putnam to New Mexico where he was successful in a study of the language and ceremonies of the Navajo Indians. During the summer of the previous. - year he was engaged. in similar research among the Indians of California. He is thus. in many -ways especially qualified for this research in Central America. Mr. Tozzer is now on his way to: Yucatan for the purpose~ of studying the language and customs of the: Mayas, preliminary to a study of the Maya hieroglyphs, and with the hope that there may possibly be some tradition which would give a clue to some of the glyphs. The Institute Committee on this fellowship consists of, JANUARY 17, 1902.] Messrs OC. P. Bowditch, F. W. Putnam and Franz Boas. Dr. J. B. Mattison, of Brooklyn, has offered a prize of $400 for the best paper on the sub- ject: ‘Does the Habitual Subdermic Use of Morphine cause Organic Disease? Tf so, What”? The contest will be open for two years from December 1, 1901, to any physician in any language. Tue Senate Committee on Commerce has reported a bill creating a department of com- merce. It makes the secretary of commerce a member of the Cabinet and transfers to the new department the following bureaus: Life Saying Service, Lighthouse Board, light- house Service, Marine Hospital Service, Steamboat Inspection Service, Bureau of Nayigation and United States Shipping Com- missioners, Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Statistics, the United States Coast and ‘Geodetic Survey, the Commission of Rail- roads, the Census Office, the Patent Office, the Department of Labor, Commission of Fish and Fisheries and the Bureau of Foreign Com- merce of the State Department. A Bureau of Manufactures and a Bureau of Mines and Mining are to be established in the new de- partment. Tuer Association for Promotion of Scientific Research by Women announces that applica- tions should be received before March 1 for the American Woman’s Table at the Zoological Station at Naples and for the Investigators’ Table at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood’s Holl. Further information may be obtained from the secretary, Miss Cornelia M. Clapp, Mount Hadley College, Mass. THe thirty-sixth annual winter course of Sheffield Lectures in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University has been announced. The following are the subjects and lec- turers: January 17—‘The Future of South Africa’: Mr. Jonn Hays Hammonp. January 24—‘ The Mosquito Story’: Dr. L. O. Hlowarb. January 31— Animal Intelligence’: PRrormssor L. B. Menvet. Hebruary 7—~ Engineering Feats in Bridge Con- struction’: FRANK W. Sinner, C.B. SCIENCE. 117 February 14—‘ Through the First Antarctic Night’: Dr. F. A. Coox. February 21—‘ The Life History of a Lake’: Proressor H. E. Grecory. February 28—‘The Water Resources of the Country, and their Importance to the Commu- nity’: Mr. F. H. NEWELL. March 7— The Wild Bird at Arm’s Length; new methods in the Study and Photography of Birds’: Prorressor F. H. Herrick. March 14—‘Some Recent Doings in Astron- omy’: Dr. FI’. L. CHase. March 21— Niagara Falls, in Relation to So- cial and Economic Problems’: Proressor W. H. BREWER. ; THE Harben Lectures of the Royal Institute of Public Health were given in King’s College, London, on January 13, 14 and 15, by Dr. Max Gruber, professor of hygiene, and director of the hygienic institute in the University of Vienna. The subject of the lectures was the ‘Anti-bodies of the Blood.’ In the new Budget for the German Im- perial Home Office, a sum of 12,000 Marks is allocated for the institution of researches on protozoa and one of 150,000 Marks for the prosecution of researches on tuberculosis and the means of preventing its spread. A comMitTEE has been appointed to con- sider the question of making the museum at Cardiff a national museum for Wales. Av a recent meeting of the Archeological Section of the Wisconsin Natural History So- ciety, a committee was appointed to investi- gate the feasibility of preserving a small group of three dome-shaped mounds located in the city of Wankesha. THE British Medical Journal states that according to a custom, which is doubtless less out of place in Spain than it would be else- where, the Royal Academy of Medicine of Madrid recently attended in a body a solemn mass for the repose of the souls of deceased members, of Spanish physicians and surgeons whose work had reflected luster on their coun- try, and of benefactors of the Academy. Over 200 persons have already enrolled for membership in the proposed American Elec- tro-Chemical Society. The first meeting for definite organization and reading of papers 118 and discussion will probably be held in Phila- delphia about Easter. A gathering of electro- chemists from all parts of the United States is assured. Ar the annual meeting of the Montana State Teachers’ Association, held at Missoula, Mont., during the holidays, a Montana Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters was organized. The following officers were elected: President, Morton J. Elrod, Professor of Biology, University of Montana; Vice- President, Department of Science, B. KE. Toll- man, Professor of Mathematics, Montana College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts; Vice-President, Department of Arts, L. S. Footh, State School of Mines; Vice-President, Department of Letters, H. H. Swain, presi- dent of State Normal; Secretary-Treasurer, W. D. Harkins, Professor of Chemistry, Uni- versity of Montana; Librarian and Custodian, B. E. Toan, Butte High School. The location of the academy is at Missoula. Tur Des Moines Geographical Exposition, held under the auspices of the Science Teach- ers of Iowa in connection with the meeting of the State Teachers’ Association, was very successful. Its scope comprised the appa- ratus and appliances needful to the teaching . of physical geography. Some forty models were on exhibition by Howell, Ward, Ginn and Andrews, including a series from the laboratory of Cornell College, showing methods of building models in various ma- terials. About 1,000 lantern slides were shown from selected lists of American and British dealers, with several of the best lanterns for high schools. Besides physical wall maps of all the leading series, a large exhibit was made in this section of topographic maps from the United States Geological Survey, the Missis- sippi river commission, the coast survey and the surveys of several European countries. Sets of rocks and minerals suitable for high schools were shown. In the section devoted to literature the publications of the Iowa Geographic Survey were placed, together with the books and periodicals, American and for- elgn, most needful for the school library, or for that of the teacher. In photographs the SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 368. exposition was especially rich. Hoelzel, of Vienna, sent the well-known ‘Charakterbilder’ and the Detroit Photographic Co., the series of typical color photographs in physiography selected by Professor Norton, of Cornell Col- lege. Other exhibitors in this section were Haynes, the U. S. Geological Survey, Stoddard and Notman and James. In meteorology an exhibit was made by the U. S. Hydrographic office and by Queen & Co. The exposition was directed by Professor W. H. Norton, of Cor- nell College, and Mr. A. W. Brett, of the West Des Moines High School. Tue public health bulletin for last week contains reports to Surgeon General Wyman from officers of the Marine Hospital Service on the theory that the germs of malarial and yellow fevers are transmitted by the bite of the mosquito. Dr. Gorgas, chief sanitary off- cer at Havana, reports no cases of yellow fever deaths from that disease in the Cuban capital during the month of November, a condition not obtaining for years. This result Dr. Gor- gas attributes to the system introduced last February of killing mosquitoes in the neigh- borhood of each point of infection, with the result that the mosquitoes in Havana this year are only about one tenth as numerous as last year. A pint has been introduced into Congress by Mr. Hepburn calling for many changes in the Marine Hospital Service. It is proposed, says the New York Medical Record, to alter the name to the United States Health Service, in order to bring the title more into harmony with the work which the evoluted service is now doing. The officers of the new service will be the same as of the old, except that those in charge of the administrative depart- ments in Washington will be called assistant surgeons-general, and the pay of the surgeon- general will be increased to equal that of the surgeon-general of the army. A consulting board is to be created to advise the surgeon- general of the new service in matters relating to public health, and this officer will also con- sult with delegates from the health depart- ments of the various States and territories of the Union. Uniformity in the registration of vital statistics is provided for by the bill. It JANUARY 17, 1902. ] will be the duty of the surgeon-general of the new service to prepare proper forms for col- lecting the data, in conjunction with the State boards of health, and to compile and publish them as a part of the reports of the service. The consulting board above mentioned will consist of the surgeons-general of the army and navy, the Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry in the Agricultural Department, and the director of the laboratory in that bureau, and five other members not regularly in goy- ernment employ. The service will remain a bureau of the Treasury Department. THE new Health Board of New York City, at its first meeting, made an important de- parture from precedent by creating a medical advisory board of twelve prominent physicians with Professor Charles F. Chandler, of Co- lumbia University, at the head, with the title of consulting sanitarian. The Board is to serve without pay. Its other members are: Dr. Edward G. Janeway, Dean of the Faculty of the University of Medicine and Bellevue Hos- pital Medical College, and former Commissioner of Health. Dr. Joseph D. Bryant, Professor of Surgery, University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College, and former Commissioner of Health. Dr. T. Mitchell Prudden, Director of the De- partment of Pathology, College of Physicians and Surgeons; Vice-President of the Rockefeller In- stitute for Medical Research. Dr. William M. Folk, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Cornell Medical College. Dr. A. Jacobi, former President of the Acad- emy of Medicine; Professor of the diseases of children, College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. John Wintres Brannan, President Board of Governors of the Minturn Hospital; President Medical Board of the hospitals of the Department of Health. Dr. Richard H. Derby, surgeon, New York Eye and Har Infirmary. ; Dr. I. Emmet Holt, President of the Medical Board, Babies’ Hospital; Secretary Board of Trustees, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Re- search. Dr. Alexander Smith, Professor of the Prin- ciples and Practice of Medicine, University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College. Dr. Francis P. Kinnicutt, Clinical Professor of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons. SCIENCE. 119 Dr. Henry R. Loomis, Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics, Cornell University Medical College. As its medical adviser the Board selected Dr. Herman M. Biggs. Tue Lancet states that Professor Vir- chow’s eightieth birthday was celebrated with much enthusiasm in Bahia, Brazil. In honor of the occasion a very numerously attended public meeting was held on October 13, the company present including the Governor of the State, the President of the Municipal Council, the German Consul and the Director of the Schools of Medicine, Jurisprudence and Engineering. The arrangements were made by the Gremio dos Internos dos Hos- pitaes da Bahia, an association of the internes of the hospitals, and the meeting took place in the handsomely decorated hall of the Gre- mio Literario. M. Pontes, the president of the association, opened the proceedings with an address, after which the Governor of the State took the chair. Professor Juliano Moreira, speaking in the double capacity of a member of the medical profession and one of the editorial staff of the Gazeta Medica of Bahia, gave a comprehensive review of Pro- fessor Virchow’s achievements, not only asa physician and a pathologist, but also as a biologist and as a savant whose methods of research had influenced every branch of hu- man knowledge. He concluded by reading aloud a Latin address to Professor Virchow written on parchment for the purpose of be- ing sent to him. M. Paranhos, speaking in the name of the Revista do Gremio, gave a sketch of the vast amount of work which Pro- fessor Virchow had contrived to crowd into the space of 60 years. Addresses were also de- livered by M. Oscar Freire, representing the Gremio dos Internos, and by Dr. Egas Moniz, speaking in the name of the Gremio Literario and of a number of German journals of Parané and Rio Grande do Sul. Poems in honor of Germany and Professor Virchow were recited by the last-named gentleman and by M. Damasceno Vietra, after which the national airs of Germany and Brazil were played by the band. The October issue of the Gazeta Medica of Bahia, the doyen of the 120 medical press of North Brazil, is entirely a “Virchow number,” in which the life and work of the venerable savant are treated in six elaborate articles by Professor Juliano Moreira, Dr. Alfredo de Andrade, Professor Pacifico Pereira, Dr. Americo Frées, Professor Matheus dos Santos and Dr. Afranio Peixoto. The Revista do Gremio dos Internos dos Hospitaes has also published a special Vir- chow number. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. Dr. NicHotas Murray Butter, professor of philosophy and education, and since the resignation of Dr. Seth Low acting-president of Columbia University, was elected president of the University on January 6 by unanimous vote of the trustees. Tue University of Wooster, at Wooster, O., will replace the building recently destroyed by fire. Dr. D. K. Pearsons of Chicago has given $100,000 to the institution for this purpose on condition that Wooster and Wayne Coun- ties raise $40,000 and the Synod of Ohio $100,- 000 by February. CouumpBra Untversiry has received an anonymous gift of $100,000, and a gift of $3,000 from Mr. Adolph Lewissohn for the purchase of a complete set of German disser- ~ tations for the doctorate. Wiuuram H. Cuaprman, president of the Sa- vings Bank of New London, has presented to the city, through the board of school visitors, $100,000 for the building and equipment of a manual training school for use in connection with the public school system. Mr. Joun D. RockErenter has offered to give Brown University $75,000 for the erec- tion and furnishing of a building to be used for social and religious purposes, on condition that $25,000 be secured as an endowment fund for the building before the next commence- ment. By subscriptions from the alumni, $50,000 haye been collected for the new Hall of Com- mons at Hamilton College. It will be built during the summer. SCIENCE. (N.S. Vou. XV. No. 368. Wasuineton University, St. Louis, receives, by the will of Colonel George E. Leighton, $25,000, and by that of Mr. William E. Huse, $20,000. Both these gentlemen were members of the board of directors of that institution. Tur ‘New England Building, at Vassar College, containing laboratories for the de- partments of biology, physiology and geology, was formally opened on January 8, when a re- ception was given there by the board of trus- tees. The name commemorates the fact that the building fund of $50,000 was the gift of alumne residing in New England. Dr. Cartes W. Dasney, president of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has re- ceived a proposition from eastern philanthro- pists to establish a summer school at the Uni- versity, the school to be free for teachers from all over the South. Dr. Hersert A. Gites, professsor of Chinese at Cambridge University, will give the first course of lectures for the new Chinese depart- ment of Columbia University. Tue following appointments have been made at the University of Toronto: Dr. W. H. Piersol, instructor in biology and histology; C. M. Fraser, assistant in zoology; R. B. Thomp- son, class assistant in botany; Dr. S. H. West- man, laboratory assistant in histology; Dr. R. E. Hooper, Dr: J. A. Roberts, Dr. W. J. Me- Callum, and Dr. A. F. Adams to be class assistants in histology; M. H. Embree and E. A. McCallum, class assistants in biology. Mr. Henry Stewart Macran, fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, has been elected pro- fessor of mental and moral philosophy in the University of Dublin in the room of Mr. Swift Paine Johnston, who has been appointed one of the assistant commissioners of the board of intermediate education. THE general board of studies of Cambridge University will during the Lent term proceed to the appointment of a Sidgwick University lecturer in moral science. It is desired that psychology should be one of the subjects on which the lecturer is prepared to lecture. The appointment will be for five years. SCIENCE A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, PUBLISHING THE OFFICIAL NOTICES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: 8. NEwcoms, Mathematics; R. S. WooDWARD, Mechanics; E. C. PICKERING, Astronomy ; T. C. MENDENHALL, Physics ; R. H. THURSTON, Engineering ; IRA REMSEN, Chemistry ; CHARLES D. WALCcort, Geology ; W. M. DAvis, Physiography ; HENRY F. OSBORN, Paleon- tology ; W. K. Brooks, C. HART MERRIAM, Zoology ; S. H. SCUDDER, Entomology ; C. E. BresszEY, N. L. Brirron, Botany ; C. 8. Minor, Embryology, Histology ; H. P. Bow- DITCH, Physiology ; J. S. Brntinas, Hygiene ; WILLIAM H. WeEtcH, Pathol- ogy ; J. MCKEEN CATTELL, Psychology ; J. W. POWELL, Anthropology. Fripay, JANUARY 24, 1902. CONTENTS: The American Association for the Advance- ment of Science: Section H, Anthropol- ogy: DR. GEORGE GRANT MACCuURDY ...... 121 The American Chemical Society: J. L. H... 126 The Association of American Anatomists.... 130 A Plea for Greater Simplicity in the Lan- guage of Science: T. A. RickarD...,.... 132 Scientific Books :— Réssing’s Geschichte der Metalle: Dr, Henry CARRINGTON Botton. Durand on Practical Marine Engineering: R. H. T. Studies in Physiological Chemistry: Dr, JouHn A. MANDEL. Hoernes on Primitive Man: O. T. Mason. Schimper’s Nahrungs- und Genussmittel: Dr. ERwin F. SMITH. Kidd's Use-Inheritance: A. 8. P. Vaughan on Fossil Corals: J. F. DurRDON. General. 139 Scientific Journals and Articles............ 145 Societies and Academies :— Chemical Society of Washington: L. S. Munson. Anthropological Society of Washington: Dr. WatteR HouGH........ 145 Discussion and Correspondence :— Notes on Cuban Fossil Mammals: Dr. T. WAYLAND VAUGHAN. The English Spar- row in New Mexico: Proressor T. D. A. COCKER ET iereusin ewer rensioie boreal tae fecones ita ena 148 Shorter Articles :— Nejed, an Arabian Meteorite: Henry A. Warp. Precaution in the Use of Gaso- line: A. P. SAUNDERS. On the Siphon: PROFESSOR WILLIAM Duane. Fossil Shells of the John Day Region: Dr. Rost. E. C. DOPBARNSY Ge cles lataeunieieve eescdtuateesnantievesastesnisltes 149 Ourrent Notes on Physiography :— The Isthmus of Panama; The Grecian Archipelago; The Southern Urals: Pro- DOSSOS Wo Wil IDAVAIS. 55650c¢o350e440s00e 154 _ The Strecker Collection of Lepidoptera and the American Museum of Natural History. 156 The Missouri Botanical Garden............ 157 The National Geographic Society............ 157 Scientific Notes and News .............-. . 157 University and Educational News.......... THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. SECTION H, ANTHROPOLOGY. THE winter meeting of Section H was held in the lecture hall of Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, on December 31, 1901, and January 1-2, 1902; Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, of the U. S. National Museum, presiding. At the opening session, Dr. Geo. A. Dor- sey was chosen press secretary. Professor Franz Boas was appointed to represent the Section on a committee to revise the sched- ule for measurements used: in gymnasia. This committee, made up of members of various societies interested in physical education, is to report at the next meeting of the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Physical Education. A committee to confer with delegates from the Anthropological Society of Wash- ington, D. C., and the American Ethnolog- ical Society, with special reference to in- creasing the usefulness of the American Anthropologist, as well as facilities for anthropological publication in general, was chosen as follows: Dorsey (chairman), Starr, Culin, Dixon, MacCurdy, Russell. At the winter meeting in Baltimore one year ago a committee, consisting of F. W. Putnam (chairman), J. W. Powell and Geo. A. Dorsey, was appointed to ‘take preliminary steps for the reception of the 122 International Congress of Americanists’ on the oceasion of its first meeting in the United States. The committee reported that it had performed the duty assigned, and respectfully requested to be dis- charged. The Section voted to discharge the Committee and to extend grateful ap- preciation for its labors. According to the circular accompanying Chairman Putnam’s report, the thirteenth session of the In- ternational Congress of Americanists will be held in the halls of the American Mu- seum of Natural History, in the City of New York, beginning at noon on Monday the 20th, and continuing until Saturday, the 25th of October, 1902. The titles of papers presented before the Section are accompanied by brief abstracts in so far as these have been secured from the authors. The Beginnngs of Anthropology: W J McGee. Discussion: Boas, Russell, Fewkes. Twenty Years of Section H, Anthropology: GrorcE Grant MacCurpy. An analysis of the work done by the Sec- tion since its organization, and a com- parison of the same with that done by Eu- ropean societies of a similar nature. The conclusion reached is that, while American anthropologists have been working in rel- atively greater isolation than have Euro- pean anthropologists, they are now at the threshold of a new epoch destined to be marked by vast progress in correlative and synthetic anthropology. This paper will be printed in ScIENncer. Discussion: Newell, McGee, Starr, Peet, MacCurdy, Russell, Dorsey, Hartzell, Thompson, Boas. The Bxhibit of Hopi Ceremonies in the Meld Columbian Museum: Gro. A. Dor- SEY. Dr. Dorsey kindly consented to supple- ment his paper by an explanatory talk in SCIENCE. {N.S. VoL. XV. No. 369. the exhibition rooms on the closing day of the session. The following Hopi cere- monies as they occur at Oraibi have been reproduced on a magnificent scale for the Museum by Mr. Voth: Oodqol, Marau and Soyal Altars; Powalawu Sand Mosaic; Powamu Altar and Sand Mosaic; Katcina Initiation and Sand Mosaic; Masililantu Altar; Cho Altar and Sand Mosaic; Teob Altar and Sand Mosaic; Balulukon Screen ; Hemis Katcina Dancers; Ana Katcina Dancers. The Museum also possesses a large collection of Hopi dolls, masks and head dresses. Discussion: Fewkes, McGee. Some Painted Stone Slabs from the Graves of the Ruins of Walpi: Cras. L. OWEN. Mr. Owen’s paper was descriptive, his hearers having also the satisfaction of see- ing the objects described. The stone slabs were only recently installed. Basketry Designs in Northern Califorma: Rouanp B. Drxon. The California Indians were confined al- most exclusively to: basketry for the ex- pression of their artistic sense, and to this concentration of effort is due, in part at least, the perfection to which the art of basket-making was carried. There are sev- eral more or less clearly marked areas, each of which has its own type of basketry and basketry designs. In northern California alone there are three such type areas: (1) Northwestern (Hupa, Karok, Yurok, of Powers with perhaps the Shasta). (2) Northeastern (Klamath, Modoe, Pit River, Yana, Wintu and Maidu). (3) Pomo and perhaps neighboring stocks. In his paper the author refers only to the second and third areas. Often two or more stocks show the same designs but slightly differ- ing one from another. As a whole, how- ever, it appears that each stock is in posses- sion of a body of designs peculiar to itself. The author also had something to say on JANUARY 24, 1902. ] the questions of origin of designs and their transmission from tribe to tribe. Discussion: Peet, McGee, Dixon, Boas, Dorsey and Hudson who gave reasons for favoring Poma as against Pomo for the name of one of the stocks in question. Pueblo Indian Settlements near El Paso, Texas: J. WALTER EEWKES. A study of the social organization, offi- cers, dances, social and other customs, and linguistics of the Tiwan Indians of Ysleta; the Piros Indians of Senecu and Socorro; the Mansos and Sumas. Discussion: Dorsey, Starr, Kinner, Fewkes. Variability of Anthropometric Types: FRANZ Boas. The variability of organisms depends upon the correlation of their elements. The variability of the whole organism may, therefore, be considered largely an expres- sion of correlation of its constituent parts. The greater the correlation of the parts constituting an organ, or included in a measurement, the greater will be its varia- bility. Generally it is assumed that in- dices are expressions of correlation. The author demonstrated that they are not necessarily so, but that regression is the only sure test of correlation. The impor- tance of the pathological method of study- ing correlation is emphasized. Professor Boas made free use of the blackboard as a means of illustration. The Somatological Investigations of the Hyde Expedition: Ams HRpicKa. The Hyde Expedition comprises a va- riety of anthropological investigations on the peoples of the southwest, the whole be- ing carried on under the direction of Pro- fessor Frederick W. Putnam for the Amer- ican Museum of Natural History, New York City. The object of the somatological work of the Hyde Expedition, of which Dr. Hrdlicka is in charge, is to carry out a sys- SCIENCE. 123 tematic investigation, mainly of a physical nature, on the extinet and living peoples of that part of the United States and Mexico which had once been occupied by the Pueblos with Cliff-Dwellers,and the Tol- tees, Chichimecs and Aztecs. It is hoped that these studies will establish the phys- ical types of these peoples and show their racial relations or diversities. ‘The region over which this research extends is bounded approximately by the 38th paral- lel in the north, by the Rio Grande and the foothills of the Sierra Madre in the east, the Colorado River and Pacific Ocean in the west, and the States of Mexico and Michoacan in the south. It imterlaces in the south with the region, the tribes of which were examined by Professor Starr and, in the north and northwest, connects with the field of work of the Jesup Expedi- tion under Professor Boas. Dr. Hrdlicka began the outlined investigations in 1896, on the osteological material, principally Tarasco, collected by Dr. Lumholtz. In 1898 the field work was begun by the study of the tribes of Tarahumaras, Huichols and Tepecanos in Mexico. On the second ex- pedition, in 1899, the research was carried on among the Utes and the Navahos, and on the third trip, in 1900, the investigation comprised the Mokis, Zunis, Rio Grande Pueblos, all the divisions of the Apaches, Mohaves and a branch of the Piutes. At this moment Dr. Hrdlicka is starting on the fourth expedition, on which probably the field work will be completed. There will be visited the Suppais and Hualapais, Yumas, Pimas, Papagos, Yaquis, Tepe- huanas, Coras, Aztecs, Tarascos and sey- eral smaller tribes. The work of the ex- pedition will probably occupy the larger part of the coming year. The expenses of this as well as those of the 1900 and 1899 expeditions are generously provided for by Mr. Frederick E. Hyde, Jr., of New York city. 124 Some Observations concerning the Navaho Blanket Industry: FRANK RUSSELL. The lantern slides not arriving in time, Dr. Russell did not read his paper. He, however, very kindly authorizes the secre- tary to make use of the abstract. Some tendencies in the progress of the Navaho blanket industry are described. The most noticeable changes are in the kind of yarn, the quality of the work and in the designs. Styles vary in different localities so that a little experience will enable one to name the district from which a given specimen comes. Methods of cheating the trader are deseribed and an account given of the imi- tation Navaho blankets now offered for sale. The author tells how to identify imi- tations. The Beginnings of Iithoculture: W J Mc- GEE. Discussion: Fewkes, Thompson, Grimes, MeGee, Hudson. Certain Forms of ‘ Winged-perforated’ Slate Objects: WARREN K. MoorgeHEAD. Mr. Moorehead’s paper was fully illus- trated by means of numerous originals and drawings. He ealled attention to the necessity of an archeological nomenclature for the various ‘unknown forms’ in slate and granite which have hitherto been ealled ‘ceremonials’—a meaningless term in the opinion of the author. The paper is purely descriptive, dealing with form, type, distribution, ete. Diseussion: Culin, Moorehead. A Voice Tonometer: Carn EK. SEASHORE. An exact and ready method of determin- ing the pitch of tones in singing is de- scribed. The apparatus is a modified form of that deseribed by Scripture, Yale Studies in Psychology, 1V., 135. It works on the principle of the stroboscope and fur- nishes a direct reading of the vibration SCIENCE. (N.S. Vou. XV. No. 369. frequency of any tone sung within the range of two octaves. The reading is ac- curate to the twenty-fifth of a tone. Illus- trations of results are given from measure- ments on the manner and the accuracy of striking a tone, singing the scale, singing the chromatic scale, singing an air, the sing- ing of two notes in unison or in parts, and the singing of the least producible differ- ence in pitch. The last named measure- ment is the most important because it fur- nishes a unit for the study of motor pro- cesses In singing and speaking. The Psychological Elements of Visual Space Orientation about a Horizontal Axis: Ropert MacDoucGauu. The paper is a summary statement of the results of experimental work carried on in the Harvard Psychological Laboratory during 1900-1901. Its problem is the de- termination of factors—and their values —of resident and transient sensation which enters into the location, by the human sub- ject, of points in the horizontal plane of the eyes. The experimental variations in- volved comprise the characteristics of visual determination inanordinary illumin- ated field, of the location of a luminous point in an otherwise dark field, and of orientation in complete darkness, in the case of both binocular and monocular vi- sion. The pomts of greater importance here are the characteristic positive or nega- tive errors of displacement in the subjec- tive plane of the horizon, and the range of the normal mean variation; the influence of the cooperation and disjunction of the two eyes in the act of vision; and the gen- eral function of eye strain in such forms of space orientation. Special conditions of body strain are taken up, and an analysis made of the typical errors introduced into the process of space orientation by inter- ferences with the normal body-relations. Of these artificially induced conditions the JANUARY 24, 1902:] chief are the rotation of the eyes about their horizontal axis, the rotation of the head about its lateral horizontal axis, and the rotation of the whole body about a similar axis. A consideration of the in- fiuence exerted by the general distribution of intensities in the visual field, and of ob- ject planes and lines of perspective upon the subjective location of points in the horizontal plane of the eyes. The paper concludes with an examination of the phe- nomena of coordination between eye and hand in determining the plane of the eye’s horizon by the index finger, the significance of this series of determinations lying in the characteristic displacement of the located point due to changes in the fundamental axes of the head and eyes. Dr. Mac- Dougall’s paper will be printed in the Publications of Harvard Psychological Laboratory, Vol. I. The Sherman Anthropological Collection of Holyoke, Massachusetts: GEORGE GRANT MacCourpy. Mr. Gardner M. Sherman, of Spring- field, Mass., an indefatigable collector for twenty-five years, has supplemented his own finds by exchanges and judicious pur- chases until the collection which bears his name now numbers from 12,000 to 16,000 specimens. The material is confined al- most wholly to American archeology, rep- resenting geographically twenty-one States and Territories. Massachusetts, Georgia, Illinois and Tennessee are the largest con- tributors. The Connecticut River valley is particularly well represented. The col- lection was purchased last July by the Holyoke Scientific Society, and is to-be in- stalled in the new Public Library building. It is at present in the care of Mr. J. T. Draper, head of the science department of the Holyoke High School. This paper will be published in the American Anthropolo- gist. SCIENCE. 125 Filial Piety mm China: Pauw Carus. A study of a pair of wall pendants, orna- mental mottoes designed as decorations for the sitting-rooms of the Celestials. The: paper and art work are crude enough to allow the assumption that the prints must be very cheap in China, and are designed not for the rich, but for the common people. They may cost in Peking or Hong Kong not more than one or two cents apiece. Evidently they serve two purposes: First, of ornament, and, secondly, of instruction. The Chinese are a moralizing people, even more so than we: while we dislike abstract. moralizing, they delight in it and do not tire of impressing upon their children the praiseworthiness of filial devotion. Filial: devotion is in Chinese hsiao; the character consists of two symbols showing a child supporting an old man, and filial piety is supposed to be the basis of all virtue. The moral relations are regarded as mere varie- ties of hsiao; and the original significance of the word, which means chiefly the devo- tional attitude of a child toward his par- ents, includes such relations as the obedi- ence of the subject to his ruler, of the wife to her husband, of the younger brother to his elder brother, and of any one’s rela- tions to his superiors, including especially: man’s relation to God. The Chinese orna- ment their rooms, not as we do with pic- tures of beauty, but with moral sayings; and the two pendants described, which un- fortunately cannot be reproduced here for lack of space, are typical of the national character of the Chinese. The Significance PavuL Carus. Symbols pass through three stages, the magic, the emblematic and the ornamental. The Christian cross is unique in its concep- tion. Prehistoric. crosses are. the same in form, but different in interpretation. The difference in. meaning is important. For : of the Cross: 126 the sake of distinguishing between the two, let us call the figure of intersecting lines a thwart, and reserve the word cross for its original significance, viz., a martyr instru- ment. The old cross, the Roman martyr in- strument for capital punishment by ex- posure to the inclemency of the weather, Latin crux, Greek staurus, had sometimes the form of an irregular thwart, but not necessarily so. Whether or not Christ’s eross was a thwart is doubtful; it is pos- sible, however, since he is reported to have borne his cross, which obviously means the patibulum. Christianity adopted the thwart as the form of Christ’s cross be- eause the thwart was an old religious sym- bol of deep significance. Thwarts were used in all countries—Egypt, Assyria, In- dia, among the Teutons, the Indians, ete. Their significance varies, and is frequently obliterated. By promiscuously calling all thwarts crosses, we are surprised at find- ing the Christian symbol universally adopted by pre-Christian religions. The fact is the reverse. Thwarts were used in different meanings by almost all the na- tions of the world, and then the thwart was identified with the cross to such an extent that, at present, cross has come to mean any figure of intersecting lines. How mis- leading this identification may be we can see in the Dakota story of the Susbeca, which is a thwart and like the Latin cross in shape, but which means dragon-fly. A missionary mistook the word in the Chris- tian sense, so he gloried in his sermons with St. Paul in the susbeca of Christ. Translations of the New Testament and the Creed in the Dakota language, accord- ing to which Christ was crucified on a dragon-fly, are still extant. To the Dakotas the susbeca is a sacred religious symbol, and the missionary’s mistake may have helped to recommend to them the Christian faith; but undoubtedly the confusion served to render more mysterious to them SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 369. the mystery of the cross. The two papers. by Dr. Carus were both fully illustrated, and will be published in The Open Court. On Wednesday and Thursday mornings, the Section met with the American Folk- Lore Society, which, like Section H, is one of the Societies affiliated with the Ameri- ean Society of Naturalists. Grorce Grant MacCurpy, Secretary. THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. THE annual winter meeting of the Amer- ican Chemical Society, the twenty-fifth gen- eral meeting of the Society, was held in Philadelphia on the thirtieth and thirty- first of December, the assembly place being the University of Pennsylvania. The open- ing session was in Houston Hall at half past nine on Monday morning, when the © usual felicitous words of welcome on behalf of the city, the university and the Philadel- phia Section of the Society were spoken and duly responded to. The reports of the offi- cers of the Society were read, those of the secretary and treasurer being particularly gratifying, showing large increase in mem- bership and a considerable balance in the treasury. Including the members elected at the present meeting, the membership of the Society has passed the two thousand mark; with a very few exceptions, all the prominent chemists of the country are en- rolled, and no inconsiderable number of foreigners as well, The value of the Journal of the Society is being more and more appreciated. Thirteen Sections of the Society are already established, and a fourteenth is now being formed on the Pa- cific slope. Owing to the fact that most of the busi- ness is transacted through the Council, lit- tle came before the general meeting, but a resolution was passed memorializing the United States Government to pass a law making compulsory the use of the metric JANUARY 24, 1902. ] system of weights and measures in all the ’ departments except the Land Office. As is well known, its use is now optional, but outside of the scientific departments it is _ little used. In the Post Office and Treas- ury Departments its use is particularly de- sirable. The remainder of the forenoon and the next morning were devoted to the reading of papers. The time for this was unfortu- nately so limited that hardly more than half of those on the program could find a place, and many of these were given only in abstract. The most interesting paper was of the nature of a lecture by Dr. Charles F. Chandler, of New York, on the ‘ Electro- chemical Industries at Niagara Falls.’ This was illustrated by a copious supply of specimens of the products of these indus- tries, a very considerable portion of which was afterward presented to the museum of the chemical department of the University of Pennsylvania. Another paper which at- tracted much attention was by Professor Louis Kahlenberg, of the University of Wisconsin, on ‘ Instantaneous Chemical Re- actions, and the Theory of Hlectrolytic Dissociation,’ with experiments. The ex- periments illustrated facts brought to light by Dr. Kahlenberg which seem to contro- vert the ordinarily accepted theory of elec- trolytic dissociation, and no little interest was aroused by them. A list of the papers read is appended to this report. At the close of each morning session a bountiful lunch was provided by the uni- versity authorities, after which the time till dark was occupied by excursions to various places of interest to chemists. There is no city in the country where there are so many industries in which chemistry plays an im- portant part, and the time was well used by the visiting chemists. Indeed there was such a superfluity of trips that the mem- bers had to be grouped in six or seven sec- tions each afternoon. The following list SCIENCE. 127 of places visited gives an idea of the wealth of opportunities for the study of industrial chemistry : Baldwin Locomotive Works. United States Mint. City Filtration Experiment Station. Bergner & Engel’s Brewery. Midvale Steel Company’s Works. Barrett Manufacturing Co., Working up of Coal-tar Oils. United States Arsenal, Special Laboratory Equipment and Testing House. John B. Stetson Company, Manufacturers of Hats. Dungan & Hood, Glazed Kid and Morocco Works. C. H. Masland & Sons, Carpet Mills. Cramp’s Shipyard. Harrison Bros. & Company, Inc., Manufacturers of Chemicals and Paints, Electroiytic Method for the Production of Sodium. Philadelphia Navy Yard. United Gas Improvement Co., Works, Point Breeze. Gillinder & Sons, Glass Works. Quaker City Dye Works. Wetherill & Bro., White Lead. J. Eavenson & Son, Soap Works. Girard College. On Monday evening the address of the retiring president, Dr. F. W. Clarke, of Washington, was delivered at the rooms of the Acorn Club. His subject was ‘ The De- velopment of Chemistry.’ A rapid and graphie review of the past of chemistry gave indications of the lines along which chemistry may be expected to progress in the immediate future. The speaker dwelt particularly upon the desirability of co- operation in chemical research, rather than the present plan where every chemist works in his own field independent of the work of all others. Especially in inorganic chemistry are there many problems, too large for solution by single workers, which might be successfully attacked by the co- operative efforts of a number of chemists. Dr. Clarke also called attention to the mu- tual benefits accruing between technical 128 chemistry and pure chemistry, research work in each helping the other. ‘Immediately after the address, a recep- tion was tendered by the Club to the mem- bers of the Society and their wives. A little later in the evening a smoker was held at the University Club where memories of German student life were renewed. On Tuesday evening the annual banquet was held at the Bingham House, the decorations and the ménu haying a decided flavor of the laboratory. Dr. H. W. Wiley, of Wash- ington, acted as Master of the Feast, and toasts were responded to by the mayor of the city, Theodore C. Search of the School of Industrial Art, and by several members of the Society. According to one of his colleagues, Professor Chandler had the honor of making the longest speech on record. He began in 1901 and did not close till the next year! Dr. Ira Remsen, president of Johns Hop- kins University, was elected president of the Society for the ensuing year. A meeting of the Council of the Society was held on Tuesday afternoon, at which the resignation of Dr. Edward Hart as editor of the Society’s Journal was regret- fully accepted, and Dr. W. A. Noyes, of Rose Polytechnic Institute, was elected to succeed him. - Nearly two hundred were enrolled at the meeting, and probably not less than two hundred and fifty were present, making this the largest general meeting the Society has ever held. It was in every respect one of the most successful. The following is a list of the papers read at the meeting: Review of Metallography: Henry Fay. A résumé of the recent work which has been done on alloys, especially of those using the methods of physical chemistry and the microscope. SCIENCE. [N. 8. Vou. XV. No. 369, Naturally Occurring Tellurid of Gold: Vic- TOR LEHNER. The only oceurrence of gold in nature combined with another element is the tel- lurid. A erystallographical and chemical study of these tellurids throws much doubt upon their being anything other than a mixture of the elements. Action of Selemc Acid on Gold: Victor LEHNER. Doubt has been cast upon the oft re- peated text-book statement that gold dis- solves in seleniec acid. It was found that gold does dissolve with considerable readi- ness in concentrated selenic acid at 230°— 800°, forming an auric selenate. This is the only single acid, as far as known, in, which gold is soluble. The Quantitative Blowpipe Assay of Tellurd Gold Ores: JosmPH W. RicH- ARDS. Contrary to the general opinion, this assay presents no difficulty. In the muffle assay, however, if much tellurium is pres- ent, the gold ‘spits’ and often sinks com- pletely into the cupel. This may be ob- viated by adding antimony. A New Blowpipe Reaction for Germanium: JosEPH W. RICHARDS. Argyrodite gives a white sublimate like molybdenum, which becomes an intense blue when heated with cobalt nitrate. Contributions to the Chemistry of the Rare Earths of the Yttrium Group: L. M. DENNIS and BEnTON DALEs. A review of the various methods of sepa- ration of the rare earths, and the announce- ment of several new ones, which promise well. Preliminary Note on a New Separation of Thorwm: EF. J. Merzenr. Thorium may be separated from the other rare earths almost quantitatively by JI ANUARY 24, 1902.] fumarie acid. This reaction seems to be connected in some way with the molecular asymmetry of the acid molecule. Sodiwm: J. D. Daruine. Description of the electrolytic method in use at the works of Harrison Bros. & Co., for the production of sodium. This method was introduced primarily for the manufac- ture of nitric acid. A diaphragm four inches thick, made of magnesite and Port- land cement, separates the two electrolytes. On the outside of this, fused sodium nitrate is at the anode, while the inner electrolyte surrounding the kathode is sodium hy- droxid. As the current passes, this soon becomes sodium oxid, and then metallic sodium is formed. A current of about six hundred amperes at seven volts is used. The supply of metallic sodium on hand in storage is now so great that the city au- thorities have had the operation of the pro- cess stopped, fearing accident. The Determination of Silica: W. ¥. Hmuuz- BRAND. The results of the analyses of a set of cement samples by a large number of chem- ists revealed great discrepancies in the amount of silica. This is chiefly due to the fact that one evaporation is not sufficient to render the silica insoluble. Further, the silica must be heated by a blast lamp be- fore weighing. Electro-Chemical Industries at Niagara Falls: C. EF. CHANDLER. , A review of the history and a description of the processes used, illustrated by a large number of specimens. The manufacture of sodium, aluminum and carborundum was most fully considered. Instantaneous Chemical Reactions, and the Theory of Electrolytic Dissociation (with experiments) : Louis KAHLENBERG. The oleates of the metals are soluble in perfectly dry benzene, and from these solu- SCIENCE. 129 tions the anhydrous chlorids are instantly precipitated by a dry benzene solution of hydrochloric acid. These solutions in ben- zene are practically non-conductors of electricity, consequently electrolytic dis- sociation cannot be supposed to have taken place; yet the reactions appear to be ex- actly parallel to those in aqueous solutions, to account for which the electrolytic dis- sociation theory is invoked. What are the Requirements of a Course to Train Men for Work in Industrial Chemistry? W. A. Noyes. It cannot be generally told what line of industrial chemistry a student will follow after graduation, and there are so many different fields that it would be impossible to train a man in the special technical re- quirements of every industry, and there should be no attempt to do this. Students should be thoroughly grounded in the gen- eral fundamental principles and have ex- tended practice along several different lines of practical work. The special minu- tie of any branch the student may enter will then be readily learned after gradua- tion. The Volumetric Estimation of Alumina, and Free and Combined Sulfuric Acid in Alums: AuFRED H. WHITE. A method depending upon the proper choice of indicators. Aqua Ammonia: Its Impurities and Methods of Analysis: J. D. PENNIcK and D. A. Morton. A Method of Analyzing Oil Varnishes: Parker C. McILHINEY. The Oxygen Bases: A Review: Jas. LEWIS Howe. An outline of the recent work of Collie, Baeyer, Kehrmann, Werner and others, on compounds in which oxygen appears to be quadrivalent, forming salts with acids, as do ammonia and its derivatives. 130 Electrolytic Deposition of Lead from P.O; Solution: A. F. Linn. Lead can be deposited electrolytically in a form suitable for weighing from a solu- tion containing free phosphoric acid. Latest Types of Formaldehyde Kegen- erators (with demonstration): Wm. DREYFUS. An exhibition of the various types of apparatus with a discussion of their rel- ative merits. Some Pyridin Derwatwes: J. ARTHUR HAYES. Report of Committee on Atomic Weights: F. W. CuarKke, Chairman. Attention was called to the atomic weight determinations which have been made during 1901. Sixteen other papers on the program were omitted from lack of time for pres- entation; most of these will be later pub- lished. J. L. H. THE ASSOCIATION OF ANATOMISTS. AMERICAN Tue fifteenth session of the Association, meeting with the American Society of Naturalists and affiliated societies, was held at Chicago, Il]l., December 31, 1901, to January 2, 1902. The Association met in the Hull Laboratory of Anatomy, Chicago University. The following extracts are made from the report of the secretary for 1900-01: There are copies of the printed proceed- ings on hand from the 6th to the 14th volumes, inclusive, which are available to those who request them, and are especially so for presentation to libraries. A republi- cation of the first five proceedings under one cover is being made. At the last report there were 125 mem- SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 369. bers, 116 of whom were active and nine honorary. During the year twelve active members were elected, two died, one re- signed, and three have been dropped for non-payment of dues. The present num- ber is 131 total members, 122 active, 9 hon- orary. Dr. Frederick John Brockway, assistant demonstrator of anatomy, Columbia Uni- versity, New York, died April 21, and Dr. Geo. Wm. West, late professor of anatomy and physiology, medical department, Na- tional University, Washington, D. C., died July 24. The elected: following new members were Dr. R. R. Bensley, Asst. Prof. Anat., Univer- sity of Chicago. Dr. John L. Bremer, Harvard University. Benson A. Cohoe, A.B., M.D., Asst. in Anat., Cornell University. Henry H. Donaldson, Prof. Neurology, Univer- sity of Chicago. Dr. W. T. Eckley, Prof. Anatomy, College Physi- cians and Surgeons, Chicago, and Dr. Corinne B. Eckley, Demonstrator of Anatomy, same college. Albert ©. Eycleshymer, Instructor in Anat., University of Chicago. Irving Hardesty, Ph.D., Instructor in Anat., University of California. J. Ralph Harris, M.D., Asst. in Anat., Cornell University. : Basil C. Harvey, Asst. in Anat., University of Chicago. Dr. Arthur E. Hertzler, Halstead, Kansas. Dr. C. M. Jackson, Prof. Anat., University of Missouri. Dean D. Lewis, Asst. in Anat., Univ. Chicago. Dr. Warren H. Lewis, Instructor in Anat., Johns Hopkins. Andrew H. Montgomery, A.B., M.B., Associate in Anat., Cornell. Charles Aubery Parker, Instructor in Anat., Rush Med. College. Daniel G. Revell, Associate in Anat., Univer- sity of Chicago. Dr. Fredrick C. Waite, Prof. Histology, West- ern Reserve University. Dr. J. Clarence Webster, Prof. Obstetrics, Rush Med. College. Dr. F. A. Woods, Harvard University. JANUARY 24, 1902.] The following were reelected: Dr. T. S. Lee, University of Minnesota. Dr. S. W. Williston, Prof. Vertebrate Anatomy and Paleontology, Kansas University, Lawrence, Kansas. The total new members was 22, making a total membership of 153, of whom 9 are honorary. The following recommendations of the executive committee were adopted by the Association : 1. That Section V. of the constitution be amended to read that the management of the affairs of the Association shall be dele- gated to an executive committee consisting of seven members, including the president and secretary, ex officio. 2. That three new members of the execu- tive committee be elected at this meeting, one for three years, one for four years, and one for five years. 3. That the Association accept the offer of the editorial committee of the American Journal of Anatomy to furnish each mem- ber of the Association with the Journal at $4.50 per year; the Journal to publish the proceedings of the meetings of the Asso- ciation, including an abstract of the papers read. re) 4, That the committee on circular on anatomical peculiarities of the negro be discharged. 5. That after this meeting the maximum limit of time of reading a paper shall be twenty minutes, and two papers shall not be read consecutively by the same writer. The following officers were elected: Pres- ident, Dr. Huntington, New York; First Vice-President, Dr. Lamb, Washington; Second Vice-President, Dr. Piersol, Phila- delphia; Secretary and Treasurer, Dr. Huber, Ann Arbor; Executive Committee, Dr. Hamann (three years), Cleveland, Ohio; Dr. Barker (four years), Chicago; Dr. Gerrish (five years), Portland, Me. The following was adopted, on motion of SCIENCE. 135k Dr. Gerrish: ‘‘ The thanks of the Associa- tion are hereby given to the retiring secre- tary and treasurer, Dr. Lamb (who has positively declined a reelection), for his long, faithful and eminently satisfactory service.’’? Dr. Lamb has been secretary- treasurer since 1890. The following papers were read: 1. ‘Models illustrating the Development of the Arm in Man’: Dr. W. H. Lewis, Baltimore. Discussed by Drs. MeMurrich, Huntington, Terry, Chas. Hill and Harrison. 2.*‘A One Year Anatomical Course; its Ar- rangement, Merits and Disadvantages’: Dr. Trrry, St. Louis. Discussed by Drs. Barker and Huntington. 3. ‘Factors and Stages in the Evolution of the Stomach’: Dr. BENSLEY, Chicago. Discussed by Dr. Huntington. 4. ‘Sections of the Decalcified Body,’ illustrated by specimens: Dr. Terry. Discussed by Drs. Jackson, Huber and Huntington. 5. ‘A Case of Breech Presentation in a Monkey,’ with specimen: Dr. TERRY. 6. ‘Note on the Structure of the Motor End- ings in Striated Muscles’: Dr. Huser, Univ. Mich. Discussed by Drs. Huntington and Bensley. 7. ‘Neuro-muscular Spindles in the Intercostal Muscles’: Dr. Huser. Discussed by Drs. Ingbert and Terry. 8. ‘A Note on the Supracondylar Process,’ illus- trated by specimens: Dr. Terry. Discussed by Drs. Bensley and Huntington. 9. ‘ The Development of the Pulmonary Artery’: Dr. J. L. Bremer, Boston. Discussed by Drs. Huber and Huntington. 10. ‘Skeleton with Rudimentary Clavicles, Di- vided Parietal Bones and other Anomalous Condi- tions’: Dr. Terry. Discussed by Drs. Hunting- ton, W. H. Lewis and Barker. 11. ‘Skull Showing Many Wormian Bones’: Dr. Parker, Chicago. Discussed by Drs. Hunt- ington and Terry. 12. ‘The Neuroglia of the Optic Nerve and Retina of Certain Vertebrates’: Dr. Huser. Dis- cussed by Drs. Minot and Barker. 13. ‘Present Problems of Myological Research and the Significance and Classification of Mus- cular Variations’: Dr. Huntineton, New York City. Discussed by Drs. McMurrich and Huber. 14. ‘The Phylogeny of the Long Flexor Mus- cles’: Dr. McMurricu, Ann Arbor. Discussed by Dr. Huntington. 132 15 ‘Note on the Occurrence and Significance of the Musculus Tibio-astragalus’: Dr. McMur- RIcH. Discussed by Dr. Huntington. 16. ‘Nuclear Changes in the Muscle Cell’: Dr. EycLesHyMnmrR, Chicago. Discussed by Dr. Barker. 17. ‘The Plesiosaurian Skull’: Dr. WILLISTON, Lawrence, Kansas. Discussed by Dr. Huntington. 18. ‘The Shape of the Pyloric Glands of the Cat’: Dr. DeWitt. Presented by Dr. Huber, Ann Arbor. 19. ‘ An Illustration of the Value of the Func- tional System of Neurones as a Morphological Unit in the Nervous System’: Dr. HERRICK, Denison University, Ohio. 20. Dr. Terry showed his specimen of Situs inversus. 21. ‘The Sphincter superior’: Dr. R. C. BourLanpD, University of Michigan. Read by Dr. MecMurrich. Discussed by Dr. Huntington. 22. ‘Development and Variation in Distribution of the Thoracico-abdominal Nerves ’: DR BARDEEN, Baltimore. Discussed by Dr. Huntington. _ 23. ‘The Ducts of the Pancreas’: Dr. D. G. REVELL, Chicago. Discussed by Dr. Hunting- ton. ; 24. ‘Variations in the Distribution of the Bile Ducts of the Liver of the Cat’: Dr. Horace Jonn- son, Madison, Wis. Discussed by Dr. Huntington. 25. ‘Contribution to the Morphology of the Cerebellum’: Dr. Stroup, Cornell University. Read by the Secretary. 26. ‘Histogenesis of the Sensory Nerves of Amphibia’: Dr. Harrison, Baltimore. Discussed by Drs. Huber and Herrick. 27. ‘The Growth of the Mammalian Spinal Ganglion’: Dr. DonaLpson, Chicago. Discussed by Drs. Huber and Huntington. 28. ‘The Frontal Fissures in the Brains of Two Natives of British New Guinea’: Dr. HUNTINGTON. The following papers were read by title: 1. ‘On the Development of Connective Tissue Fibrils’: Dr. Matz, Baltimore. 2. ‘Unusual Forms of Placentation’: Dr. WEBSTER. 3. ‘Contribution to the Anatomy of the Scap- ula’: Dr. Hrpricka, New York City. 4. ‘Certain Racial Characteristics of the Base of the Skull’: Dr. Hrpricka. 5. ‘On Certain Anomalies of Bones’: Dr. Dorsry, Chicago. 6. ‘Some Anomalies of Blood-vessels’: Dr. Buarr, St. Louis. 7. ‘Two Specimens of Anomalous Viscera with Left-sided Appendix’: Dr. Hotmes, Philadelphia. SCIENCE. [N. S.. Von. XV. No. 369. 8. ‘Models of Human Pharynx of First Six Weeks’ Development’: Dr. SupLEeR, Baltimore. _ 9. ‘The Ducts of the Submaxillary Glands’: Dr. Frint, San Francisco. 10. ‘ Contribution to the Encephalic Anatomy of the Races’: EH. A. Spirzka, New York City. 11. ‘Description of the Brain of a Regenticide’: Mr. SPITZKA. A PLEA FOR GREATER SIMPLICITY IN THD LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE.* : ScIENTIFIC ideas are with difficulty solu- ble in human speech. Man,inhiscontempla- tion of the flux of phenomena at work all about him, is embarrassed by the want of a vehicle of thought adequate for expres- sion, as a child whose stammering accents do not permit him to tell his mother the new ideas which suddenly crowd upon him when he meets with something alien to his experience. Our knowledge of the mechanism of nature has been undergoing a process of . growth, much of which has been sudden. It is not surprising, therefore, that the in- completely formed ideas of science. should become translated into clumsy language and that inexact thinking should be eyvi- denced by vagueness of expression. This inexactness is often veiled by the liberal use of sonorous Greek-Latin words. The growth of knowledge has required an increase in the medium of intellectual exchange. New conceptions have called for new terms. Sir Courtenay Boyle has pointed out that the purity of a nation’s coinage is properly safeguarded, while the verbal coinage of its national language is subject to no ‘control. Specially quali- fied persons prepare the standards of gold and silver. This insures the absolute purity of the measures of commercial ex- change and gives the English sovereign and the American gold piece, for example, an assured circulation along all the ave- *A paper read before Section E of the Ameri- can Association for the Advancement of Science, August 28, 1901. JANUARY 24, 1902.] nues of commerce. It is not so with the standards of speech. The nation debases its language with slang, with hybrid and foreign words, the impure alloys and the cheap imports of its verbal coinage, mere tokens which should not be legal tender on the intellectual exchanges. France has an academy which in these matters has much of the authority given to the Mint, whose assayers test our metal coins; but in our country the mintage of words is wholly unrestricted, and, as a consequence, the Enelish language, circulating as it does to all the four corners of the globe, has re- ceived an admixture of fragments of speech taken from various languages, just as the curreney with which one is paid at the frontier, where empires meet, includes the coinage of several governments, each of which passes with an equally liberal care- lessness. Science ignores geographical lines and bemoans the babel of tongues which hin- ders the free interchange of ideas between all the peoples of the earth. Nevertheless, the international character of technical literature is suggested by the fact that three languages, French, German and English, are practically recognized as the standard mediumsof intellectual exchange. One of these affords the most lucid solvent of thought, another is the speech of the most philosophical of Huropean people and the third goes with world-wide dominion, so that each has a claim to become the recognized language of science. The brotherhood of thinking men will have been fully recognized when all agree to employ the same tongue in their inter- course, but such a ‘far-off divine event’ is not within the probabilities of the pres- ent, consequently there remains only for us to make the best of our own particular language and to safeguard its purity, so that when it goes abroad the people of other countries may at least be assured SCIENCE. 133 that they are not dealing with the debased currency of speech. ; Barrie has remarked that in this age the man of science appears to be the only one who has anything to say—and the only one who does not know how to say it. It is far otherwise in politics, an occupation which numbers among its followers a great many persons who have the ability for speaking far beyond anything worth the saying that they have to say. Nor is it so in the arts, the high priests of which, ac- cording to Huxley, have ‘the power of ex- pression so cultivated that their sensual caterwauling may be almost mistaken for the music of the spheres.’ In science there is a language as of coded telegrams, by the use of which a limited amount of informa- tion is conveyed through the medium of six-syllabled words. Even when not thus overburdened with technical terms it is too often the case that scientific concep- tions are conveyed in a raw and unpala- table form, mere indigestible chunks of knowledge, as it were, which are apt to provoke mental dyspepsia. Why, I ask, should the standard English prose of the day be a chastened art and the writing of science, in a great scientific era, merely an unkempt dressing of splendid ideas? The luminous expositions of Huxley, the ocea- sional irradiating imagery of Tyndall, the manly speech of Le Conte, and of a very few others, all serve simply to emphasize the fact that the literature of scientific re- search as a whole is characterized by a flat and ungainly style, which renders it dis- tasteful to all but those who have a great hunger for learning. To eriticism of this sort the profession- al scientist can reply that he addresses himself not to the public at large, but to those who are themselves engaged in simi- lar research, and he may be prompted to add to this the further statement that he cannot pitch the tone of his teaching so as 134 to reach the unsensitive intelligence of per- sons who lack a technical education. Fur- thermore, he will claim that he cannot do without the use of the terms to which objection is made. However, in condemn- ing the needless employment of bombastic words of classical origin, in place of plain English, I do not wish to be understood as attacking all technical terms. They are a necessary evil. Some of them are instru- ments of precision invented to cover par- ticular scientific ideas. Old words have associations which sometimes unfit them to -express new conceptions and : therefore fresh words are coined. The complaint lodged against the pompous, ungainly wordiness of a large part of the scientific writing of the day is that it is an obstacle to the spread of knowledge. Let us consider the subject as it is thus presented. In the first place, dces the ex- cessive use of technical terms impede the advancement of science? I think it does. It kalls the grace and purity of the litera- ture by means of which the discoveries of science are made known. Ruskin, himself a most accurate observer of nature, and also a geologist, said that he was stopped from pursuing his studies ‘by the quite frightful inaccuracy of the scientific peo- ple’s terms, which is the consequence of their always trying to write mixed Latin and English, so losing the grace of the one and the sense of the other.’ But grace of diction is not needed, it may well be said; that is true, and it is also true that a clear, forceful, unadorned mode of expression is more difficult of attainment and more de- sirable in the teaching of science than either grace or flueney of diction. One must not, as Huxley himself remarks, ‘varnish the fair face of Truth with that pestilent cosmetic, rhetoric,’ and Huxley most assuredly solved the problem of how to avoid rhetorical cosmetics and yet con- vey deep reasoning on the most complex of SCIENCE. [N.8. VoL. XV. No. 369. subjects in addresses which are not only as clear as a trout stream, but are also bright- ened by warm touches of humanity, keen wit and the glow of his own courageous manhood. Nevertheless, though clearness of expression be the first desired, yet grace is not to be scorned. When you have a teaching to convey, it is well to employ all the aids which will enable you to get a sympathetic hearing. Man lives not by bread alone, much less by stones. He likes his mental food garnished with a sauce. Let the cooking be good, of course, but a chef knows the value of a well-seasoned adjunet to the best dish. Our language is capable of a grace and a finish greater than we give it credit. That it is possible to write on geology, for in- stance, in the most exquisite simple Hng- lish has been proved by Ruskin, whose “Deucalion’ and ‘Modern Painters’ con- tain many pages describing accurately the details of the structure of rocks and mountains, and dealing with their geologic- al features in language which is marked by the most sparing use of words which have not an Anglo-Saxon origin. The next aspect of the enquiry is whether the language of science, apart from the view of mere grace of style in literature, is not likely, in its present everyday form, to delay the advance of Inowledge by its very obscurity. Leaving the reader’s feelings out of the argument, for the present, it seems obvious that the whole purpose of science, namely, the search after truth, which is best advanced by accuracy of observation and exactness of statement, is hindered by a phraseology which sometimes means very much but oftener means very little, and, on the whole, is most serviceable when required as a cloak for ignorance. To distinguish between what we know and what we think we know, to comprehend accurately the little that we do know, surely these are JANUARY 24, 1902.] the foundations of scientific progress. If a man knows what a thing really is, he can say so, describing it, for example, as being black or white; if he does not know, he masks his ignorance by stating in a few Greek or Latin terms that it partakes of the general quality of grayness. Writers get into the habit of using words that they do not clearly understand themselves and which, as a consequence, must fail in con- veying an exact meaning to their readers. Many persons who possess only the smat- tering of a subject are apt to splash all over it with words of learned sound which are more quickly acquired, of course, than the reality of knowledge. Huxley said that if a man does really know his subject ““he will be able to speak of it in an easy language and-with the completeness of con- viction, with which he talks of an ordinary everyday matter. If he does not, he will be afraid to wander beyond the limits of the technical phraseology which he has got up.’’ If any scientific writer should complain that simplicity of speech is im- practicable in dealing with essentially technical subjects, I refer him to the course of lectures delivered by Huxley to working- men, lectures which conveyed original in- vestigations of the greatest importance in language which was as easily understood by his audience as it was accurate when regarded from a purely professional stand- point. Science has been well defined as ‘ organ- ized common sense’; let us then express its findings in something better than a mere jargon of speech and avoid that stupidity which Samuel Johnson, himself an arch- sinner in this respect, has fitly described as “the immense pomposity of sesquipeda- lian verbiage.’ George Meredith, a great mint-master of words, has recorded his objection to ‘conversing in tokens not standard coin.’ Indeed the clumsy latinity of much of our scientific talk is an inherit- SCIENCE. 135 ance from the schoolmen of the past; it is the degraded currency of a period when the vagaries of astrology and alchemy found favor among intelligent men. Vagueness of language produces loose- ness of knowledge in the teacher as well as the pupil. Huxley, in referring to the use of such comprehensive terms as ‘ develop- ment’ and ‘evolution,’ remarked that words lke these were mere ‘noise and smoke,’ the important thing being to have a clear conception of the idea signified by the name. Examples of this form of error are easy to find. The word ‘dynamic’ has a distinct meaning in physics, but it is ordinarily employed in the loosest possible manner in geological literature. Thus, the origin of a perplexing ore deposit was re- cently imputed to the effects produced by the ‘dynamic power’ which had shattered a certain mountain. ‘Dynamic’ is of Greek derivation and means powerful, therefore a ‘powerful power’ had done this thing; but in physics the word is used in the sense of active, as opposed to ‘static’ or stationary, and it implies motion result- ing from the application of force. In the ease quoted, and in many similar instances, the word ‘ageney’ or ‘activity’ would serve to interpret the hazy idea of the writer, and there is every reason to infer, from the context, that he substituted the term “dynamic power merely as afrippery of speech. It is much easier to talk grand- iloquently about a ‘dynamic power’ which perpetrates unutterable things and recon- structs creation in the twinkling of an eye than it is to make a careful study of a region, trace its structural lines and de- cipher the relations of a complicated series of faults. When this has been done and a writer uses comprehensive words to sum- marize activities which he has expressly defined and described, then indeed he has given a meaning to such words which war- rants him in the use of them. 156 In this connection it is amusing to re- member how Ruskin attacked Tyndall for a similar indiscretion. The latter had re- ferred to a certain theory which was in debate, and had said that it, and the like of it, was ‘a dynamic power which operates against intellectual stagnation.’ Ruskin commented thus: ‘‘ How a dynamic power differs from an undynamic one, and, pre- sumably, also, a potestatic dynamis from an unpotestatic one—and how much more scientific it is to say, instead of—that our spoon stirs our porridge—that it ‘ operates against the stagnation of our porridge,’ Professor Tyndall trusts the reader to recognize with admiration.”’ Among geological names there is that comfortable word ‘metasomatosis’ and its offspring of ‘metasomatic interchange’ ‘metasomatie action,’ ‘metasomatic origin,’ ete., ete. Toa few who employ the term to express a particular manner in which rocks undergo change, it is a convenient word for a definite idea, but for the greater number of writers on geological subjects it is a wordy cloud, a nebular phrase, which politely covers the haziness of their knowledge concerning a certain phenom- enon. When you don’t know what a thing is, call it a ‘phenomenon’! Instances of mere vulgarity of scientific language are too numerous to mention. ‘ Auriferous’ and ‘argentiferous’ are ugly words. They are unnecessary ones also. The other day a metallurgical specialist spoke of ‘ aurifer- ous amalgamation’ as though any process in which mereury is used could be gold- bearing unless it was part of the program that somebody should add particles of gold to the ore under treatment. A mining engineer, of the kind known to the press as an expert, described a famous lode as traversing ‘on the one hand a feldspathic tufaceous rock’ and ‘on the other hand a metamorphic matrix of a somewhat argillo- arenaceous composition.’ This is scientific SCIENCE. (N.S. Vou. XV. No. 369. nonsense, the mere travesty of speech. To those who care to dissect the terms used it is easily seen that the writer of them could make nothing out of the rocks he had ex- amined, save the fact that they were de- composed and that the rock which he de- seribed last might have been almost any- thing, for all he said of it; for his de- seription, when translated, means literally a changed matter of a somewhat clayey- sandy composition, which, in Anglo-Saxon, is m-u-d! The ‘somewhat’ is the one use- ful word in the sentence. Such language may be described in the terms of miner- alogy as metamorphosed English pseudo- morphic after blatherskite. Some years ago, when I was at a small mine near Georgetown, in Colorado, a professor visited the underground workings and was taken through them. He immediately be- gan to make a display of verbal fireworks which bewildered the foreman and the other miners whom he met in the mine, all save one, a little Cornishman, who, bring- ing him a bit of the clay which accom- panied one of the walls of the lode, said to him, ‘What do ’ee call un, you?’ The professor replied, ‘It is the argillaceous remnant of an antediluvian world.’ Quick as a flash came the comment, ‘That’s just what I told me pardner.’ He was not de- ceived by the vapor of words. Next consider the position of the reader. It is scarcely necessaryat this date to plead for the cause of technical education and the generous bestowal of the very best that there is of scientific knowledge. The great philosophers of that New Reformation which marked the era of the publication of ‘The Origin of Species’ have given most freely to all men of their wealth of learn- ing and research. When these have given so much we might well be less niggardly with our small change and cease the prac- tice of distributing, not good wholesome intellectual bread, but the mere stones of JANUARY 21, 1902.] knowledge, the hard fossils of what were once stimulating thoughts. In the ancient world the Hleusinian mysteries were with- held from the crowd and knowledge was the possession of a few. Do the latter day priests of science desire to imitate the at- tendants of the old Greek temples and con- fine their secrets to a few of the elect by the use of a formalism which is the mere abracadabra of speech? Among certain scientific men there is a feeling that scien- tists should address themselves only to fellow scientists, and that to become an expositor to the unlearned is to lose caste among the learned. It is the survival of the narrow spirit of the dark ages, before modern science was born. There are not many, however, who dare confess to such a ereed, although their actions may occa- sionally endorse it. On the whole, modern science is nothing if not catholic in its generosity. ‘To promote the increase of natural knowledge and to forward the ap- plication of scientific methods of investiga- tion to all the problems of life’ was the avowed purpose of the greatest of the phi- losophers of the Victorian era. There are those who are full of a similar good will, but they fail in giving effect to it because they are unable to use language which can be widely understood. In its very infaney geology was nearly choked with big words, for Lyell, the father of modern geology, said, seventy years ago, that the study of it was ‘very easy, when put into plainer language than scientific writers choose often unnecessarily to em- ploy.’ At this day even the publications of the Geological Surveys of the United States and the Australian colonies, for ex- ample, are occasionally restricted in use- fulness by erring in this respect, and as I yield to none in my appreciation of the splendid service done to geology and to mining by these surveys, I trust my eriti- cism will be accepted in the thoroughly SCIENCE. 137 friendly spirit with which it is offered. It seems to me that one might almost say that certain of these extremely valuable publications are ‘badly’ prepared be- cause they seem to overlook the fact that they are, of course, intended to aid the mining community in the first place and the public, whether lay or scientific, only secondarily. From a wide experience among those engaged in mining I can testify that a large part of the literature thus prepared is useless to them and that no one regrets it more deeply than they, because there is a marked tendency among this class of workers to appreciate the assistance which science can give. Take, for example, a sentence like the following, extracted from one of the recent reports of the U. S. Geological Survey. ‘‘ The ore forms a series of imbricating lenses, or a stringer lead, in the slates, the quartz con- forming as a rule to the carunculated schistose structures, though occasionally breaking across lamine, and sometimes the slate is so broken as to form a reticulated deposit.’’ This was written by one of our foremost geologists and, when translated, the sentence is found to convey a useful fact, but is it likely to be clear to anyone but a traveling dictionary? A thoroughly literary man might know the exact mean- ing of the two or three very unusual words which are employed in this state- ment, but the question is, will it be of any use whatever even to a fairly educated miner, or be understood by those who pay for the preparation of such literature, namely, the taxpayers? An example of another kind is afforded by a Tasmanian geologist who recently described certain ores as due to ‘the effects of a reduction in temperature of the hitherto liquefied hy- droplutonic solutions, and their conse- quent regular precipitation.’ These solu- tions, it is further stated, presumably for the guidance of those who wield the pick, 138 “ascended in the form of metallic super- heated vapors which combined eventually with ebullient steam to form other aque- ous solutions, causing geyser-like discharges at the surface, aided by subterranean and irrepressible pressure.’ At the same time certain ‘dynamical forces’ were very busy indeed and ‘eventuated in the opening of fissures’—of which one can only regret that they did not swallow up the author as Nathan and Abiram were once engulfed in the sight of all Israel. It will be well to contrast these two ex- amples of exuberant verbosity because the first befogs the statement of a scientific observation of value, made by an able man, while the second cloaks the ignorance of a charlatan, who masquerades his nonsense in the trappings of wisdom. Here you have an illustration of the harmfulness of this kind of language, which obscures truth and falseness alike, to the degrada- tion of science and the total confusion of those of the unlearned who are searching after information. Let the writer on scientific matters learn the derivation of the words he uses and then translate them literally into English before he uses them, and thereby avoid the unconscious talking of nonsense. If he knows not the exact meaning of the terms which offer themselves to his pen, let him avoid them and trust to the honest aid of his own language. ‘Great part of the sup- posed scientific knowledge of the day is simply bad English, and vanishes the moment you translate it,’ says Ruskin. The examples already given illustrate this. ‘Every Englishman has, in his native tongue, an almost perfect instrument of literary expression,’ so says Huxley, and he illustrated his own saying. Huxley and Ruskin were wide apart in many things and yet they agreed in this. Ruskin proved abundantly that the language of Shakespeare and the Bible can be used as SCIENCE. - [N. S. Von. XV. No. 369. a weapon of expression keen as a Damascus saber when it is freed from the rust of classic importations, which make it clumsy as a crowbar. There is yet another reason against the excessive use of Greek-Eneglish words, in particular. Greece is not a remnant of ex- tinct geography, but an existing land with a very active people and a living language. The terms which paleontology has bor- rowed from the Greek may be returned by the Greeks to us. And, as Ruskin points out, ‘“ What you, in compliment to Greece eall a ‘Dinotherium,’ Greece, in compli- ment to you, must call a ‘ Nasty-beastium,’ and you know the interchange of compli- ments can’t last long.’’ In all seriousness, however, is it too much to ask that such technical terms as are considered essential shall not be used carelessly, and that in publications in- tended for an untechnical public, as are most government reports, an effort be made to avoid them and, where unavoid- able, those which are least likely to be un- derstood shall be translated in footnotes. Even as regards the transactions of scien- tifie societies, I believe that those of us who are active members have little to lose and much to gain by confining the use of our clumsy terminology to cover ideas which we cannot otherwise express. By doing so we shall contribute, I earnestly believe, to that advancement of science which we all have at heart. The words which, at first, are the ex- elusive privilege of the specialist, gradually extend into wider use, following in the wake of that diffusion of scientific knowl- edge which is one of the objects of this Association. We believe that to get along- side facts, to apply the best knowledge available, to seek truth for its own sake, is as essential to the well-being of the in- dividual life as it is to the success of a JANUARY 24, 1902.] machine shop, and as beneficial to the com- munity as it is to a smelting works. In furtherance of this principle we must remember that language in relation to ideas is a solvent, the purity and clearness of which affect that which it bears in solu- tion. Whewell, in ‘The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences,’has expressed this view of the matter with noble eloquence. ‘ Lan- euage,’ he said, ‘is often called an instru- ment of thought, but it is also the nutri- ment of thought; or rather, it is the atmosphere in which thought lives; a medium essential to the activity of our speculative powers, although invisible and imperceptible in its operation, and an ele- ment modifying, by its qualities and changes, the growth and complexion of the faculties which it feeds.’ In considering the subject from this standpoint, there is borne in upon the mind a suggestion which carries our thought far beyond the confines of the mat- ter under discussion. Such power of speech as man possesses is a faculty which appears to divide him from all other liv- ing things, while at the same time the im- perfection of it weighs him down con- tinually with the sense of an essential frailty. To be able to express oneself per- fectly would be divine, to be unable to make oneself understood is human. In “Man’s Place in Nature,’ Huxley points cut that the endowment of intelligible speech separates man from the brutes which are most like him, namely, the an- thropoid apes, whom he otherwise resem- bles closely in substance and in structure. This endowment enables him to transmit the experience which in other animals is lest with each individual life; it has en- abled him to organize his knowledge and to hand it down to his descendants, first by word of mouth and then by written words. If the experience thus recorded were prop- erly utilized, instead of being largely disre- SCIENCE. 139 garded, then man’s advancement in knowl- edge and conduct would enable him to emphasize, much more than it is permitted him at present, his superiority over the dumb brutes. Considered from this stand- point language is a factor in the evolution of the race and an instrument which works for ethical progress. It is a gift most truly divine which should be cherished as the ladder which has permitted of an ascent from the most humble beginnings and leads to the heights of a loftier destiny, when man, ceasing to stammer forth in accents which are but the halting expression of swift thought, shall photograph his mind in the fulness of speech, and, neither with- holding what he wants to say nor saying what he wants to withhold, shall be linked to his fellow by the completeness of a per- fect communion of ideas. T. A. Rickarp. DENVER. SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. Geschichte der Metalle. Vom Verein zur Be- forderung des Gewerbfleisses mit dem ersten Tornow-Preise gekronte Preisschrift. Von Apetpert Rossing. Berlin, Verlag von Leonhard Simon. 1901. 8vo. Pp. vit O74. This ‘History of Metals’ forms a great con- trast to the ‘History of the Precious Metals’ by Alex. Del Mar, reviewed in Science for December 6, 1901. The latter, as we have shown, is a philosophic study of the sources and history of the two metals, silver and gold, the work under review deals with the occurrence (in nature), the history of discovery the chemical, metallurgical and electrical prepara- tion, the statistics of production and the cost price of all the known metals, fifty-five in number. Dr. Roéssing’s treatise forms, conse- quently, a most timely and valuable comple- ment to that by Del Mar. The arrangement of matter is very con- venient for reference; after an introduction occupying twenty-one pages, the metals are discussed in alphabetic order, the treatment 140 being as indicated above, but limited by cir- cumstances in many instances. The metals that have been in use from earliest times, either in native state or in ores, naturally occupy more space than those of comparatively recent origin; especially since in the former class is included the development of metallur- gical operations used at different periods to make the metals available. The occurrence in nature of many of the metals is very fully shown by lists of localities and of ores, or minerals, the latter accom- panied in many cases by formule giving their chemical composition. References to authori- ties cited occupy footnotes on nearly every page, and as an example of their thoroughness may be mentioned a note calling attention toa “peculiarly American and wonderful’ company for extracting gold from sea-water, formed in Connecticut. The history and exposure of this fraud is well known to the readers of ScieNor. In sketching the history of processes for ex- tracting metals from their ores, the modern extensive application of electricity has not been neglected, especially with reference to aluminium, antimony, gold, copper, silver and zine. In this connection German, British and American patents are occasionally cited. Unusual forms or conditions of some metals are named, and their chemical preparation de- scribed—colloidal mereury discovered by Lot- termoser, and Leo’s colloidal silver, but the researches of Carey-Lea seem to be unknown to the author. Among the most valuable features of this work should be mentioned the statistics of production and the prices; when possible the figures are given for the entire nineteenth cen- tury in five-year averages; and a study of them brings out some striking features. The contrasts in production and price of alumin- ium are especially notable; from 1858 (three years after the labors of St. Clair Deville had made it an article of commerce) to 1884 a kilogram of aluminium was quoted at 100 marks, during the year 1890 the price per kilo fell from 27.6 to 15.2 mks., and in the fol- lowing year it fell to 5 mks.; the price in 1897 was 2.5 mks., and the output amounted to three and four tenths millions of kilos, of SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 369. which nearly two millions were produced in the United States. Sodium was quoted at 82.5 mks. per kilo in 1866, and at 5 mks. in 1897. Manganese has suffered an extraordi- nary fall in price, showing that as soon as an article is positively demanded by commerce, means for securing it cheaply are devised; in 1886 manganese was quoted at 550 mks. per kilo, and four years later at 40 mks.; it fell in 1896 to 16 mks. per kilo. The price of metallic sodium in 1879 was 20. mks. per kilo, and it had fallen to 5 mks. in 1897. Some metals of minor importance maintain a relatively uniform price, as anti- mony and palladium; while that of platinum has risen from 500 mks. per kilo in 1870 to 1297 mks. in 1895, and largely owing to the demand made for it by electrical apparatus. In pleasing contrast to these rapid fluctua- tions in price is the steady behavior of the king of metals—gold; the figures (in part) are as follows: 1801-05, 2736.8 mks. per kilo. 1846-50, 2736.3 oS s oi 1876-80, 2730.7 “ corre 1891, 2736.3 we ia Si 1892, 2743.2 os sf sf The important bearing of this to students of monetary science. The author is to be commended for the pains he has taken to prepare a valuable work of reference; the reviewer regrets that he feels obliged to point out a blemish in the manufac- ture of the volume, for which the publisher is primarily responsible. The running-head lines, particularly important in a dictionary or a book on the alphabetic plan, have been omitted and their place is inadequately filled by the page numbers; this makes it difficult to find a given metal readily, although in alpha- betie order, except by scanning the text closely on a given page, or by examining the table of contents. This economy by publishers is to be deprecated. Henry Carrineron Bourton. is obvious Practical Marine Engineering, for Marine Engineers and Students, and with Aids for the Applicants for Marine Engineers’ Licenses. By Wma. F. Durann, Professor of Marine Engineering, Cornell University. New York, Marine Engineering Co. 8vo. JANUARY 24, 1902. ] It too seldom occurs that men of high at- tainments and experts in their professions, possessed of both technical and scientific, prac- tical and ‘theoretical,’ knowledge, are either able or willing to give time and thought to the production of works of this sort, and the task of provision of much-needed text-books and hand-books is too generally left either to the man of science without expert knowledge in the practical field or to the practitioner lacking sound and extensive scientific culture and training. This, which is a text-book for those desiring to secure practical knowledge of marine engineering with, at the same time, accurate understanding of its scientific foundations, is a model which it is to be hoped will furnish stimulus to many other able men in as many other departments. Its field is well laid out, its scheme and details well planned and handled and it is concise, simple, elear and satisfactorily full. Dr. Durand is an authority in his department, expert in its practice and familiar with its scientific basis, accustomed to combine science with practice, an experienced engineer, a trained and suc- cessful educator. The book is authoritative and cyclopedic and in it practical marine engineering is reduced to its simplest and most exact terms. Its chapters discuss the materials of engi- neering, including the fuels, their methods of preparation and production, and their charac- teristics and qualities; boilers and their con- struction; marine engines, auxiliaries and accessories, their operation, management and repair. Special topics and problems illumi- nate and render usefully applicable the prin- ciples enunciated; and the second part of the work is devoted particularly to ‘Computa- tions for Engineers,’ carefully selected and skilfully solved problems. The introduction on board the modern steamship of refrigerating and other special machinery leads to the study, in appropriate ‘chapters, of the apparatus of electric light and power distribution and of refrigeration, their care and management. These chapters are admirably concise and yet complete for their purpose. The book is well made, the type excellent SCIENCE. 141 and the illustrations clear and freely supplied, especially as illustrating the details of con- struction of marine machinery. So far as can be seen at a first review of its contents, the book is thoroughly up to date and very accu- rate, a credit alike to author, publisher and printer. It has its origin, apparently, in the public spirit and enterprise of the publishers of the technical journal, Marine Engineering, under whose imprint it appears. Te, JeL, At Studies in Physiological Chemistry. Edited by R. H. Cuirrenpen, Ph.D. New York, Seribner’s Sons. 1901. This volume of 424 pages, one of the Yale Bicentennial publications, contains reprints of the more important studies issued from the laboratory of physiological chemistry of Shef- field Scientific School of Yale University, during the years 1897-1900. The twenty-six papers, representing the work of Professor Chittenden and his pupils during this time, are simply reprints from the American Journal of Physiology, the Journal of Haxperimental Medicine and Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chemie, Bd. XXIX., and form a valuable sequel to the three volumes of studies previously issued from this labora- tory in 1885, 1887 and 1889. A complete bibli- ography of the Sheffield Laboratory of Physio- logical Chemistry from its commencement in 1875 until the end of the year 1900 is also given. As these studies are more or less familiar and as they have been reviewed in the original, it is hardly necessary to enter into any de- tailed criticism of them. In viewing the work coming recently from this laboratory, one is struck with the radical change in direc- tion in the line of research from the earlier investigations. It would be most interesting to have researches from the Sheffield labor- atory on the products of proteolysis, in view of the recent researches of Kutscher, Sieg- fried, Balke, Lawrow, Pick and others. This line of work, so ably carried out by Kiihne and Chittenden in 1883-4, has undergone such radical modifications in latter years that the views and investigations of one of the 142 pioneers would be most valuable to science. Although Professor Chittenden attempts to reconcile his views in regard to antipeptone with modern investigations, in an addendum to ‘a chemico-physiological study of certain derivatives of the proteids,’ page 321, still we think he fails to make his point very clear. JoHN A. MANDEL. Primitive Man. By Doctor Moriz Horrnes. Translated into English by James H. Lorwe, London, 1900. Dent and Co. Pp. 136, Figs. 48. This handy little 16mo volume forms the twenty-third number in the series of Temple Primers designed by the publishers to furnish, for a shilling a copy, the best and latest results of scholarship to the average reader who can- not afford the costly encyclopedias. Begin- ning with the subject of man’s place in nature the author sums up the characteristics of cul- ture, the earliest traces of man, the ages of stone, bronze and iron; and the primitive his- tory of the Aryans and Semites. Small space is given to the Western Hemisphere, but that is fortunate in two ways, for some wild guess- ing has been done on that topic, and, secondly, American readers will be glad to have a handy little guide book to European archeology. Not one American authority is mentioned in the bibliography and no European work later than 1894. O. T. Mason. Anleitung zur mikroskopischen Untersuch- ‘ung der vegetabilischen Nahrungs- und Genussmittel. By Dr. A. F. W. Scuimpmr, 6. Professor der Botanik an der Uni- versitat Basel. Second revised edition. Jena, Verlag von Gustav Fisher. 1900. A melancholy interest attaches to the con- sideration of this book owing to the recent death of Dr. Schimper in the prime of life. Here in a space of 150 pages we have a very attractive and useful introduction to the mi- eroscopic appearance of flours, starches and their adulterants; of coffee and its adulterants; cocoa, chocolate, tea, tobacco, pepper, cloves, allspice, red pepper, mustard, saffron, cinna- mon, vanilla, cardamon, nutmeg, mace, ginger and turmeric. There is also a chapter on the SCIENCE. [N. &. Vou. XV. No. 369. adulterants of fruit jellies, and one on honey. The book contains a good index and 134 fig- ures, which are well drawn and very attrac- tive. Among the substances used for adulter- ating coffee Schimper mentions the following: Chickory, beets, carrots, figs, various cereals, lupin seeds, acorns, carobs, dates, vegetable ivory, potatoes. These are described in a space of twenty pages with seventeen illus- trations. Under fruit jellies, we learn that agar-agar is frequently employed for their adulteration and that this substance may be detected readily by means of the microscope, owing to the fact that these seaweeds always have numerous diatoms clinging to their sur- face, as any one may determine readily by burning a small quantity of agar-agar in a platinum dish, adding to the ashes a few drops of water rendered acid by HCl and then ex- amining under high powers of the microscope. When jellies are suspected of adulteration with agar-agar, the author recommends that the mass of jelly be boiled with about five per cent. dilute sulphuric acid, and then that a few crystals of permanganate of -potash be carefully added. The previously suspended diatom shells now fall to the bottom and form a more or less rich sediment, which may be examined without any further preparation. In this age of haste to be rich at any cost, the extension of the adulteration of food prod- ucts has become very great, and the knowl- edge contained in books of this kind increases yearly in importance, not only to the special worker, but to the general public. The mod- erate price of four Marks in paper covers, or five Marks, bound, puts the book within the reach of every one. Erwin F. Situ. Use-Inheritance illustrated by the Direction of Hair on the Bodies of Animals. By Water Kipp, M.D., F.Z.S. London, Adam and Charles Black. 1901. This is an interesting contribution to the dynamic or Lamarckian principles of evolu- tion. Dr. Kidd has first treated of the forma- tion of whorls in the hairy coats of mammals; and second, the slope of hair in certain selected regions of the bodies of animals and JANUARY 24, 1902.] man. In the domestic horse there are five regions where whorls occur—. e., the frontal, inguinal, pectoral, post-humeral or axillary, and cervical. These are due, the author shows, to the traction of the underlying muscles. It is interesting to observe that they are absent in the zebra, and are apparently the result of the movements and work done by the horse in a state of domestication. ‘It is difficult,’ the author concludes, ‘to see any explanation of the formation of whorls, featherings and erests in the hairy coats of mammals other than a dynamical one.’ His reasons for the dynamical view are as follows: 1. They all occur, except that on the vertex, in regions where opposing traction of under- lying muscles is found. 2. They never occur over the middle of a large muscle, and seldom in any place where there is not a hollow or groove in the superfi- cial anatomy. 3. They are most uniform and most marked in animals with very strong muscles, and those that are actively locomotive. 4. Their constancy appears to depend upon range of action and activity of function of the muscles in the part and individual animal affected. This is especially shown in the three regions of the domestic horse—pectoral, post- humeral and inguinal. As regards the hair slope, the author arrives at the following conclusions: 1. To understand the disposition of hair on living animals, it is necessary to look upon it as a stream, and this is very plastic. 2. In man, and various groups of animals, the great majority of the peculiarities here noted are congenital. ; 3. Certain peculiarities of hair-slope are at present in process of development. 4. The hair streams are disposed in the lines of least resistance. 5. The mechanical conditions required for the production of both the general and the special hair-slopes are in present operation. 6. The hair-slope can be modified during the life of an individual. 7. Selection (whether natural,sexual or ger- minal) is incompetent to produce these pecul- larities of hair-slope. SCIENCE. 143 8. If these are not originally created with the forms of life which present them, they must have been produced in ancestors by use or habit. The author seems to have made out a good ease and to have been led by the legitimate use of the inductive method to what seem to be valid and natural conclusions. A SIP, Some Fossil Corals from the Elevated Reefs of Curagao, Arube and Bonaire. By T. WayLanp VauGHan. Sammlungen des Geo- logischen Reichs-Museums in Leyden, Ser. 11, Bd. 11, Heft. 1901. Mr. Vaughan makes his report upon the fos- sil corals from the Dutch West Indies, col- jected by Professor K. Martin, director of the Leyden Geological Museum, part of an elabo- rate study of the history and synonymy of the West Indian corals. The paper is companion to another by the same writer, shortly to ap- pear, upon the stony corals of Porto Rico col- lected by the recent survey of the U. S. Fish Commission. The latter will contain photo- graphic reproductions of most of the living species of West Indian corals. Both papers are subsidiary to a larger work upon the post- Eocene Corals of the United States, now in the course of preparation. The author is preeminently qualified for the task he has undertaken. In addition to hay- ing access to the large accumulations of corals at the U. S. National Museum and Geological Survey, including the type speci- mens of Dana, he has visited the collections in London, Paris, Berlin, Turin and other eenters, where are contained the types of Milne-Edwards and Haime, Ehrenberg, Klun- zinger, Dunean, Duchassaing and Michelotti, and other workers on the corals. In some way the present revision is a continuation of the work of Professor J. W. Gregory on the fossil corals of Barbados. The result is what might have been ex- pected. With the further accumulation of material for study, enabling the possible variations within the limits of a species to be estimated, and the comparison of the type specimens of different investigators, either side by side, or by the aid of photographs, it 144 has been possible to bridge over a large num- ber of the gaps which separate certain so- ealled species, and to demonstrate that many of the latter are but varieties of growth in a somewhat protean group. Thus, to take a couple of instances: Orbicella acropora (Linnzus) now embraces ten species, and has been known under the same number of genera; Meandrina meandrites (Linneus) has a synonymy in which are represented seven genera and thirteen species. Unfortunately the revision of the synonymy reveals the necessity for several important changes in long-established names if the rules of nomenclature are to be strictly fol- lowed. Vaughan now shows that the true Meandrina is not the brain coral which stu- dents, from the time of Milne-Edwards, have been accustomed to associate with the name, but is the Pectinia of Milne-Edwards, while the Meandrina of the ‘Coralliaires’ has for the future to be known as Platygyra. It is with a sigh that one relinquishes Madrepora for the corals so long associated with this name. As was first pointed out by Geo. Brook, in the British Museum Catalogue of the Madreporaria, none of the species at present included under Madrepora were embraced by Linneus when he instituted the term in 1758. Vaughan now suggests its replacement by Isopora, a name first used in the subgeneric sense by Studer in 1870. The writer follows Brook in regarding all the forms of the West Indian Madrepora as but one species, the three Lamarckian species —palmata, cervicornis and prolifera—being reduced to forme or varieties. Gregory in 1895 had come to the same conclusion as Brook, but in 1900, following upon a visit to the West Indies, and the opportunity of seeing the different representatives in situ, he reverts to the Lamarckian arrangement, and en- deavors to dispose of the specimens which Brook regarded as intermediate in form. In the immense coral flats around the vari- ous Antillean islands the three types of Madrepora growth usually retain a remarkable distinctness of form, though often growing side by side; and from a study of these alone one would be far from induced to admit their SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 369. specific unity. The polyps, however, are prac- tically alike in form and color, and anatomi- eally and histologically they reveal no im- portant differences. Vaughan also believes that he possesses colonies which should be re- garded as intermediate in habit between the three recognized types. In his forthcoming Porto Rican paper the author proposes in like manner to unite under two groups the many and varied West Indian representatives of the allied genus Porites. ~- It might have been supposed that the study of the polyps themselves, both in their living condition and anatomically and histologically, would have revealed distinctions tending to strengthen the specific separations founded upon the skeletal form. But such is not the ease. A comparative study of the polyps of many so-called species of Madrepora, Porites, Orbicella, ete., now in progress reveals very few differences within each genus. Compared with those of Madrepora the polyps of Porites vary greatly in color, often on the same colony, but except for slight variations in size no other differentiations of importance can be established in any part of their structure. Extensive studies like those now being un- dertaken by Vaughan indicate that the greater the number of specimens of Madreporarian corals which are studied, with regard both to the skeleton and soft parts, the greater will be the tendency to lessen the number of species. As it has been expressed by the au- thor: “The number of species is very often a function of the amount of the material studied.” The same tendency has already reached its climax in the case of the Hydro- zoan coral, Millepora. In the course of a study of both polyps and skeleton of this genus, extending over many years, and em- bracing specimens from all parts of the world, Professor Sidney Hickson has recently come to the conclusion that it is impossible to main- tain any specific distinction. All the numer- ous skeletal forms, hitherto included under about thirty-nine names, are, from Hickson’s researches, to be regarded as but so many varieties of growth, which presumably may be assumed by any one individual under like conditions. JANUARY 24, 1902. ] Zoologically the tendency is healthy. For the student’s time will be set free to investi- gate collections of specimens from other standpoints than that of assigning each its name, animated by the desire to produce the longest possible list. Variations in a form will be studied as modifications adapted to par- ticular environments. In museums the speci- mens can then be arranged, not as objects with so many long names as appendages, but as illustrating vital principles of natural his- tory. : J. E. DuERbeEN. Jouns Hopkins UNIVERSITY, BALTIMORE, Mp. GENERAL. A NEW edition of Stieler’s Handatlas to contain 100 copper-plate maps is now in course of publication by Perthes of Gotha, in fifty parts; the price of the complete work being 30 Marks. Half the maps are newly projected and engraved. All of them have relief in brown, in order to make the names in black more legible. In preparation for binding, each sheet has its title printed on the right corner of the back, with on outline map that indicates the location of the sheet and of the neigh- boring sheets with their numbers. The pres- ent edition is the ninth of this valuable work; the first having been completed by Stieler in 1831. later editions were by Stiilpnagel. Petermann, Berghaus and Vogel. SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. Tue January (opening) number of Vol. III. of the Transactions of the American Mathe- matical Society contains the following papers: “On a Class of Automorphie Functions,’ by J. I. Hutchinson; ‘Concerning the Existence of Surfaces Capable of Conformal Representa- tion upon the Plane in such a Manner that Geodetic Lines are Represented by a Pre- scribed System of Curves,’ by H. F. Stecker; ‘Zur Erklarung du Bogenlinge und des Inhaltes einer krummen Flache,’ by O. Stolz; “The Groups of Steiner in Problems of Con- tact, by L. E. Dickson; ‘Quaternion Space,’ by A. S. Hathaway; ‘Reciprocal Systems of Linear Differential Equations, by E. J. SCIENCE. 145 Wilczynski; ‘On the Invariants of Quadratic Differential Forms,’ by C. N. Haskins; ‘The Second Variation of a Definite Integral when One End-point is Variable, by G. A. Bliss; ‘On the Nature and Use of the Functions Employed in the Recognition of Quadratic Residues,’ by E. McClintock; ‘A Determin- ation of the Number of Real and Imaginary Roots of the Hypergeometric Series,’ by E. B. Van Vieck; ‘On the Projective Axioms of Geometry,’ by E. H. Moore. THE December number (Vol. VIII., No. 3) of the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society contains the following articles: ‘The October Meeting of the American Mathe- matical Society,’ by Edward Kasner; ‘Modern Methods of Treating Dynamical Problems and in Particular the Problem of Three Bodies,’ by E. W. Brown; ‘The Hamburg Meeting of the Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung,’ by C. M. Mason; ‘Some Curious Properties of Conics Touching the Line Infinity at One of the Circular Points,’ by E. V. Huntington and J. K. Whittemore; ‘Picard’s Traité d’Analyse,’ by Professor Maxime Bécher; ‘ Errata,’ ‘ Notes’ and ‘New Publications. The January num- ber of the Bulletin contains: ‘Note on Mr. George Peirce’s Approximate Construction for «,’ by Emile Lemoine; ‘Concerning the Ellip- tic 9 (g., g,, 2)-Functions as Coordinates in a Line Complex, and Certain Related Theorems,’ by H. F. Stecker; ‘On the Abelian Groups, which are Conformal with Non- Abelian Groups,’ by G. A. Miller; ‘The Infini- tesimal Generators of Certain Parameter Groups,’ by S. E. Slocum; ‘Shorter Notices’; ‘Notes’ and ‘New Publications.’ SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. THE 130th regular meeting was held Decem- ber 12. The following program was presented: ‘The Solubility of Mixtures of Sodium Chloride and Sodium Sulphate’: A. SEmDELL. The author first gave a brief summary of the status of solubility work in solutions other than very dilute ones, and described in detail the experimental difficulties which have to be met in this kind of work. He then presented 116 a diagram illustrating the solubility curves for the system NaCl—Na,SO,—H,O at 10°, PB, D5, Do, O°, SB° amel Bs, 1h wes shown that at temperatures above 33° the curves represented equilibrium conditions be- tween sodium chloride and anhydrous sodium sulphate, and no abnormalities presented themselves. Between 83° and 17°, however, it was found that in solutions containing but small amounts of sodium chloride and in con- tact with solid sodium sulphate, the equilib- rium conditions were determined by the solid salt being in the form of the decahy- drate, and the solubility curves for this dec- ahydrate are very much flatter than the cor- responding curves for the anhydrous salt. But as the amount of sodium chloride in the solution increased, at temperatures between 83° and 17°, there was always a sudden change in the direction of the solubility curve for sodium sulphate, which was found to be eaused by the sodium sulphate present as solid phase, having gone over to the anhy- drous form. In order to check this view, the experiment was made of placing large well- formed erystals of sodium sulphate decahy- drate in two test-tubes, one containing a saturated solution of sodium sulphate alone, and the other a solution nearly saturated with sodium chloride, as well as sodium sulphate. Both test-tubes were fitted with cork stoppers carrying thermometers. They were then im- mersed in a water-bath and the temperature gradually raised. At 28° the erystals in the so- dium chloride solution gradually became opal- escent around the edges, then rather rapidly be- came entirely opaque and showed a tendency to fall apart in a loose powder. The material had undoubtedly gone over to the anhydrous salt, although the erystals which were in the tube containing only water and sodium sul- phate showed no change until the tempera- ture reached 33°. It thus appeared that the transition temperature for the change of sodium sulphate decahydrate to anhydrous salt had been displaced by the presence of sodium chloride. This was regarded as of considerable significance, and is important in connection with the suggestions on this sub- ject in the study of the change of gypsuin to SCIENCE. [N.S. Vor. XV. No. 369. calcium sulphate hemihydrate, made by Van’t Hoff and Armstrong, Vater and Cameron. The solubility curves for sodium sulphate heptahydrate in solutions of sodium chloride were shown to be very similar to those for the decahydrate. In the case of the decahydrate at lower temperatures and the heptahydrate, the curves were shown to have minimum points, the significance of which is not apparent at the present time. ‘The Evolution of Metallic Retorts’ (with samples): W. H. Seaman. Before commencing the paper the speaker showed a very perfect copy, just received from England, of Boerhaaye’s ‘New Method of Chemistry,’ in two volumes, second edition, 1741. Boerhaave was born in 1668, died in 1738, was famous as a physician, botanist and chemist, and was one of the first to recognize the independence of the latter science. The first metallic retorts were copper flasks just like the olive-oil flasks of the early chem- ists with a gallows screw added. In a lot of scrap of Professor Henry’s apparatus about to be sold thirty years ago, the author found two wrought-iron retorts with walls a centimeter thick, and shaped just like a glass tubular re- tort that are types of this class. The next retort exhibited was a pear-shaped vessel. It had a feed wheel on top, and was set in an egg stove, the bottom made red hot and KCI1O, fed in by the wheel. The O was taken off by the side pipe. Next was a kettle-shaped retort patented by the author. Its peculiarity is that all parts draw together by the gallows screw, while the top is durable with ground joint, and the bot- tom, being thin, heats quickly and can be cheaply renewed. Next we have the cylindrical sheet metal re- tort which admits of moving the bunsen burner along its length so as to decompose the charge in successive portions. The latest development is the little frus- trum of a cone, with gallows screw top and two pipes, one for delivery and one for the introduction of an inert gas or other purpose that may be desired. In this oxygen may be made, coal distilled, ete. They are sold by the Chicago Laboratory Supply Co., price one JANUARY 24, 1902. ] dollar, and are one of the most useful acquisi- tions we have lately had made to laboratory apparatus. ‘Starch as an Adulterant or Drier in But- ter, and a Study of Glucose in Butters’: G. E. Parrick and D. Stuart. 1. The paper describes first a canned butter which was found to contain, besides about 15 per cent. of glucose, 3.15 per cent. of starch, either potato starch or a variety closely re- sembling it. The starch was probably added as a drier; it is said to be sometimes used for this purpose in remanufactured butter. The complete analysis of this butter was: water, 27.19; fat, 40.36; ash, 12.65 (all NaCl except .65 impurities) ; casein (N x 6.25), 0.86; starch, 3.15; other organic matter, 15.8. Assuming .3 per cent. of lactose, there remains 15.5 per cent. of organic matter which was set down as glucose, since no other organic substance was identified. The aqueous ex- tracts, of 100 cc. volume, from 26.05 grams of the butter, that is, a ‘normal sugar solution,’ polarized 26.2 degrees on the cane sugar scale (Soleil-Ventzke). 2. With four glucosed butters studied, whole ‘normal sugar solutions’ polarized re- spectively 7.0, 11.0, 18.5 and 26.2 degrees, and whose percentages of organic matter desig- nated glucose (as in the case above) were re- spectively 7.0, 7.9, 10.6 and 15.5 per cent., the rotary and copper reducing powers of the aqueous extracts being referred to these amounts of dry matter, the copper reducing power was in every case (possibly excepting one) too low to correspond to the rotary power, according to Rolfe and Defren, if the entire matter were pure glucose. Sucrose was suspected and inversion was tried by means of saccharine, following the method of Tol- man. In only two of the four cases was the rotation appreciably lowered. In these two— and these two butters were canned by the same firm—there was a marked reduction of rotation, indicating (of course not proving) the presence of cane sugar to the amount of about 1.3 per cent. on the butters. The in- crease of copper’ reduction, by inversion, was not determined at the time; but several weeks later, the small residual samples having been SCIENCE. 147 meantime at laboratory temperature, one was tested, and the increased copper reduction after inversion was found to correspond to .83 per cent. sucrose in the butter, while the decrease of rotation by inversion at this time corresponded to only 1.0 per cent. sucrose. As glucose is added to butters in the form of a sirup, and as there are upon the market glu- cose sirups containing admixture of cane sugar, the presence of the latter in a glucosed butter need not be so very surprising. Aqueous extracts, ‘normal sugar solutions’ of 49 non-glucosed butters polarized from 0 to .5 degree, averaging .22 degree. Five ladled butters out of 15 examined polarized from 3.4 to 5.7 degrees, showing admixture of glucose. Glucose is frequently used by ladlers to improve the appearance of their product. L. S. Munson, Secretary. ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. Tue 324th meeting was held December 7. Mr. Paul Beckwith presented a type series of Philippine swords, from the National Mu- seum, with description of their use, and stated the rank and people to which each sword be- longs. President W. H. Holmes presented some rare examples of ancient Mexican art, lately ac- quired by the National Museum. These con- sisted of pottery and stone carvings, showing exceptional artistic feeling in their treatment. The paper of the evening was on ‘Le Culte des Pierres en France, by M. Paul Sebillot, translated and read by Mr. Jos. D. McGuire. Some months ago an arrangement was made between the Société d’ Anthropologie de Paris and the Anthropological Society of Washing- ton to exchange communications for one meet- ing during the winter. M. Sebillot’s paper is the result of this imtersociety comity. M. Sebillot has made extensive historical and observational researches on the great body of folk-lore and customs connected with the megalithic monuments of France, which really constituted a cult of stones coming down from ancient times. In general the customs are divinitory and may be grouped under the head of lithomancy, the idea being to look into the 148 future, for instance, the maids as to marriage and the matrons as to fecundity. On the whole the Cult des Pierres seems to be feminine. The strange customs long inhibited are still secretly practiced in France and M. Sebillot has handled this delicate subject with great detail and frankness. The paper was illustrated by a large series of photographs of the megalithic monuments, lent by Dr. Thomas Wilson. Dr. J. Walter Fewkes in discussing the paper said that he appreciated this great con- tribution to knowledge, and further that a number of customs among the Zuni and Moki are similar to those mentioned by M. Sebillot. Mr. W J McGee and Dr. Thomas Wilson also discussed the question of the worship of stones in America. The Society passed a vote of thanks to M. Sebillot and requested the publication of the paper in the Anthropologist. Watter Houcu. DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. NOTES ON CUBAN FOSSIL MAMMALS. To tHe Epiror or Science: The reported occurrence in Cuba of certain fossil mammals has been used by several geologists, the first of whom was Manuel Fernandez de Castro, as evidence of former land connection between Cuba and the continent of North America in Pleistocene time. The fossilmammals reported fromthis island belong to the genera Hippopotamus, Equus, Mastodon and Megalocnus, a subgenus of Megalonix. Leidy* examined specimens sent him by Poey, and published the opinion that the remains of the horse appear not to differ from the corresponding parts of the recent ani- mal, and it is even doubtful if they are to be considered indigenous fossils. Concerning the hippopotamus remains, which consisted of iso- lated canines, he says that ‘they probably also belong to the recent animal.’ The same opin- ion was expressed by Pomel.t+ Vertebrate pa- * Proc. of the Acad. of Nat. Sci. Phila., Vol. XX., 1868, pp. 179. t Comptes Rendus, Paris, Vol. LXVII., 1868, p- 850. SCIENCE. N.S. Vor. XV. No. 369. leontologists do not consider isolated horse teeth sufficient data for the determination of species. So far as I have been able to glean from the literature, the remains of the so- ealled fossil horses from Cuba, reputed to be of Pleistocene age, are fragmentary, and there- fore cannot be considered as possessing any paleontologic value. It has been shown that the Mastodon* remains were not indigenous to Cuba, but were contained in a box of fossils from Honduras sent by del Monte to the Royal Academy of Sciences of Havana. These notes seem to show conclusively that the three mammals considered above were not indigenous to the island of Cuba. The fourth genus, Megalocnus, remains to be considered. According to de Castro’s first notice,+ this specimen was collected at Ciego Montero, a place noted for warm baths, in the jurisdiction of Cienfuegos, by José Figueroa, a young student of the Royal University. This reference is given as a quotation from a note read by Poey to the Havana Academy in 1861. I have not seen this note by Poey in print. The subsequent publications until 1892 are simply quotations of the above given locality. In the Anales de la Real Academia de la Habana, Vol. I11., page 656, April, 1871, a note is inserted by Poey asking for information con- cerning the locality of certain large fossils which were sent to de Castro. On page 698 of the same volume it is stated that this box of fossils was sent by Leonardo del Monte to the Havana Academy of Sciences and con- tained three fossils from Honduras. Accord- ing to the note of Poeyt this box contained specimens of Mastodon humboldti, but Poey himself does not verify the locality whence the Megalocnus came. As there have been so many extraneous fos- sils confused in the so-called Cuban fossil mammalian fauna, it has occurred to me that *For note by Poey regarding the original locality of the Mastodon, M. humboldti, see Anal. Real. Acad. Cien. Habana, Vol. VIII., pp. 124— 126, August, 1871. t Anal. Real. Acad. Cien Habana, Vol. I., p. 58, Sept., 1864. 5 £ Anal. Real. Acad. Cien. Habana, Vol. VIIL., pp: 124-126. JANUARY 24, 1902. ] the specimens of Megalocnus might have been contained in this box of fossils from Honduras, or they may have come from some locality not in Cuba. The only evidence which seems to contradict this expression of doubt is that given by de la Torre* in his ‘Observaciones Geolégicas y Paleontolégicas en la regién central de la Isla (Cuba).’ In this article additional localities, the vicinity of CArdenas and between Santo Domingo and Sagua, are recorded. I am not able to express an opinion as to the correct- ness of these localities or on Torre’s ability to determine fossil vertebrates. I am inclined to doubt because there has been so much error regarding those fossils concerning which we have subsequently been able to procure definite data. The question which I wish here to bring to the attention of vertebrate paleontologists is: Are vertebrate fossils of the genus Megalocnus found in Central America, especially in Hon- duras ? A note may be added upon the question of the priority of the name Megalocnus Leidy, and Myomorphus Pomel. The note by Leidy was published in the Proceedings of the Acad- emy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Vol- ume XX., pages 179-180. The date given at the bottom of the page is June-July, 1868. The article by Pomel was published in the Comptes Rendus de Academie des Sciences, Paris, Vol. LXVII., for the second half, July to December, 1868, pp, 665-668. This is the account of the proceedings of the session of Monday, September 28, 1868. Apparently Leidy’s name antedates that of Pomel by sev- eral months. The recent mammalian fauna of Cuba con- sists of only two genera, a rodent, Capromys, which possesses species in several other West Indian Islands. It is a peculiar genus, having its nearest relatives in the Octodont rodents of South America. There are no relatives at all on the North American continent. The other genus is a peculiar large insectivore, Soleno- don. This animal is entirely different from anything found in any other part of America. *Anal. Real. Acad. Habana, Vol. XXIX., pp. 121-124, August, 1892. SCIENCE. 149 It is most closely related to a genus, which is very different, found in Madagascar. If there had been any Pleistocene connection between North America and Cuba it would have inevi- tably caused a considerable similarity between the mammalian faunas of the two regions. However, none of the common mammalian types of the continent, such as cats, raccoons, hares, etc., are found in that island. T. WAYLAND VAUGHAN. SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, December 18, 1901. THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN NEW MEXICO. For some time we have known of the pres- ence of this bird at Raton and Las Vegas. I have now for the first time observed it at Albuquerque, the birds being fairly numerous in the immediate vicinity of the railway sta- tion. T. D. A. CocKERELL. SHORTER ARTICLES. NEJED: AN ARABIAN METEORITE. AMONG a considerable number of important specimens lately added to the Ward-Coonley Collection of Meteorites, now on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, is a mass or single bolide of iron from Western Australia called the Youndegin or Penkaring Rock Meteorite. It is one and one half feet in greatest diameter, and weighs between 300 and 400 pounds. Its companion piece, which is in the Royal Museum of Vienna, weighs 910 kilogrammes (half a ton) and is with Cranbourne, also from Australia, one of the largest two meteorites from the en- tire Eastern Hemisphere. But of even more interest is the subject of the present notice: the Nejed Meteorite from Central Arabia. It is a siderite or iron meteorite, whose form is rudely tri- angular, flattened in its longest diame- ter, which is about fourteen inches, while its thickness below is eleven inches, and its breadth, or height, about nine inches. Its surface is completely and very handsomely covered with the pittings so frequent in meteorites, whether of iron or of stone. The sharpness of these depressions and the bright- 150 ness of the iron—with entire absence of weathering—are noticeable features, as strong- ly indicating the recentness of the fall. Nejed was a meteorite which fell in two masses, one of 131 pounds, the other of 1363 pounds. The former was brought to Europe in 1885, and was sold to the British Museum, where it has since been on display. Mr. Fletcher has given (Mineralogical Magazine, 1887) some interesting points as to its finding. It was brought to London by a Persian agent who delivered it at the Museum, at the same time submitting a letter from his Excellency Hajee Ahmed Khanee Sarteep, Ex-Governor General of Bunder Abbas, Persian Gulf, and Grand Vizier of Muscat. The letter sent from Bunshire, and with the Persian date 14th Di Koodah, 1301, A. H., says: “Tn the year 1282, after the death of Mahomed, when Maime Faisole Ben Saoode was Governor and General-Commander-in- Chief of the Pilgrims, residing in a valley called Yakki, which is situated in Nagede (Nejed) in Central Arabia, Schiek Kolaph Ben Essah, who then resided in the above- named valley, came to Bushire, Persian Gulf, and brought a large thunderbolt with him for me, and gave me the undermentioned par- ticulars concerning it. “In the spring of the year 1280, in the valley called Wadee Banee Kholed in Nagede, there occurred a great storm, with thunder and lightning; and during the storm an enormous thunderbolt fell from the heavens accom- panied by a dazzling light, similar to a large shooting star, and it sank deep into the earth. During its fall the noise of its descent was terrific. I, Schiek Kolaph Ben Essah, pro- cured possession of it and brought it to you, it being the largest that ever fell in the dis- trict of Nagede. These thunderbolts, as a rule, only weigh two or three pounds, and fall from time to time during tropieal storms.’ “The above concludes the narrative of Schiek Kolaph Ben Essah. The said Schiek, who brought me this thunderbolt, is still alive and under Turkish Government control at Hoodydah near Jeddah. I myself saw in Africa, four years after the above date, a sim- ilar one, weighing about 135 pounds, to that SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 369. which Schiek Kolaph Ben Essah brought to me. “The Sultan of Zanzibar, Sayde Mazede, obtained possession of it and sent it to Europe, for the purpose of having it converted into weapons, aS when melted and made into weapons they were of the most superior kind and temper. For this reason I have forwarded my thunderbolt to London, considering it one of the wonders of the world, and may be a benefit to science.” (Signed) ~ Hasre AHMED KHANEE SARTEEP, Ha-Governor of Bunder Abbas, and Grand .- Vizier of Muscat. Any reader of the above letter will be im- pressed with its straightforward narrative, even though the writer gives credence to the popular idea—not at all confined to Arabia— that meteorites fall during thunder storms. His remark that thunderbolts in his country usually weigh only two or three pounds is also of an ingenuous naiveté not incompatible with truthful sincerity. There is a similarity like to that of general human nature—which marks tales of meteorites in every part of the world, the phenomena accompanying their fall, which are also strikingly similar, helping toward this. In this present case the meteor- ite itself was forthcoming to justify the nar- rative, and its fellow followed closely after: the piece which the Grand Vizier mentions having seen in Zanzibar and which the Sultan of Zanzibar, at that time also Sultan of Mus- eat (which district borders close upon that of Nejed), sent also to Europe to have converted into weapons. It reached London, and also went to the British Museum, where, they hbe- ing already provided, Director Fletcher sent them with this second piece to Mr. James R. Gregory—a celebrated collector of meteor- ites, who promptly added it by purchase to his collection. From the heirs of Mr. Gregory I a few months ago obtained it, and gave it a place of honor, becoming its uniqueness, in the Ward-Coonley Collection. ‘In view of the fact that Sayde Mazede, the Sultan of Zanzi- bar, duly received his weapons, and that they were not made from his meteorite, the story JANUARY 24, 1902. ] that ‘they were of the most superior kind and temper’ has a rather amusing sound. It is well known to scientists that meteoric iron quite refuses to yield to successful forging— its grain being too ‘short’ for a durable cut- ting edge. The excellency of the weapons re- turned to the Sultan confirms the suspicion that his messenger pocketed the proceeds of the sale, yet had the grace to visit Sheffield for the swords and simitars./ The two masses of Nejed were identical in composition, as they were closely similar in size, weight and general external appearance. When a polished section of this iron is etched with acid or with bromide-water its surface dis- plays excellently the Widmanstitten figures, the straight long beams of Kamacite forming the approximately equilateral triangle pattern according with the octahedral crystallization of the mass. Mr. Fletcher has analyzed the iron, and has shown its near similarity in composition to the iron of Trenton (Wisconsin), Toluca (Mexico) and Verechne Udinsk (Siberia). The relation of the four irons is as follows: Nejed. Trenton. Toluca. V.Udinsk Tron 91.04 91.03 90.74 91.05 Nickel 7.49 7.20 7.78 8.52 Cobalt 0.66 0.53 0.72 i Copper trace trace 0.03 Phosphorus 0.10 0.14 0.24 trace Sulphur trace 0.03 trace Insol. Residue 0.59 0.45 0.34 0.58 99.79 99.35 99.88 100.15 This close similarity of composition in masses fallen in widely separated parts of our earth, at different dates, and coming per- haps from heavenly bodies infinitely distant from each other in space, is one of the many wonders revealed by these cosmic messengers. Lockyer has also shown that the spectra of the two meteorites, Nejed and Obernkirchen, closely agree as to both the number and the intensity of the lines. The specific gravity of the Nejed was determined by Fletcher at 7.863. Cohen and Brezina both speak of its very slight veranderungszone. This surface decomposi- tion being less than 1 mm. in thickness, to- gether with the general sharpness and bright- SCIENCE. 151 ness of the iron, lends probability to the story of the Arabian that Nejed was seen to fall. Indeed Fletcher says of it in his earliest description, “The mass is thus one of the small group of meteoric irons, numbering at most nine or ten, of which the fall has been actually observed; and of these it is the larg- est.” But in a later paper he expresses doubt as to the fall having been seen. We at least know that it fell in some quite recent period, and at the point where it was found. And Nejed, attractive in its peculiar history, is also interesting as being like Veramin of Persia (described by the writer in the Decem- ber number of the American Journal of Science), one of the isolated, outlying meteor- ites. The great countries of Arabia and of Persia have each received, so far as recorded, but one of these celestial gifts. India, of al- most exactly the area of these two countries combined, has the full number of fifty. The density of population in the Indian peninsula has doubtless something to do with the ob- serving of these falls and the preserving of the stones. But this cannot account for the enormous disparity of the meteoric distribu- tion. Nejed remains a grand and unique rep- resentative of isolated individuality. Henry A. Warp. RocHester, N. Y. PRECAUTION IN THE USE OF GASOLINE. In those laboratories where gasoline is in use, it is necessary to observe a certain pre- caution with regard to the employment of rubber tubing, to which so far as I know, attention has never been directed. This pre- caution is that tubing which has been in use on burners should not be used afterwards for conducting gases, unless it has been very thor- oughly washed out, or left to stand for some time. Serious accidents may result if, for ex- ample, a piece of tubing which has been used for some time on a burner, is immediately connected to a gasometer containing oxygen, for transferring that gas to cylinders or flasks for experiments. It would be natural to sup- pose that in such a case the washing out of the gasoline would be complete enough after one had passed through the tubing a volume of 152 oxygen say two or three times as large as the capacity of the tubing itself. But under cer- tain circumstances this is found to be by no means sufficient, as the following experiment illustrates. Ten feet of thin-walled gray tubing having an internal diameter of one fourth of an inch, was used on a burner for half an hour, and was from there transferred immediately to a gasometer of oxygen; the gas was then al- lowed to pass through the tubing and fill over water a cylinder the capacity of which was 560 ce. : As might have been expected the gas so ob- tained in the cylinder exploded violently. The volume of such a piece of tubing is about 95 ec., and hence the gas drawn off would con- tain something less than one sixth of the mixed hydrocarbons. A second cylinder was then drawn off, and when a taper was thrust into it an explosion was produced which was as violent as the first. The third cylinder. also exploded, though less violently; the fourth flashed back slowly to the bottom, and the fifth behaved like pure oxygen. Thus in this case 2,240 ec. were used to wash out a tube whose volume was less than 100 ec. That is, the contents of the tubing were dis- placed more than twenty times before the gas was removed. The experiment obviously points to a solu- bility of the gas in rubber, and this is not surprising in view of the ready absorption by rubber of the low-boiling paraffin hydrocar- bons in the liquid state. That a certain amount of gasoline is ab- sorbed in rubber may also be shown by pass- ing a piece of rubber tubing up into a tube filled with the gas and inverted over mercury. It is of course to be remembered that the gas supplied by such machines as that in use here (Springfield Gas Machine) consists of a mix- ture of the vapors of the hydrocarbons with a very considerable proportion of air, so that such absorption experiments as these can only be relative. An evident absorption takes place even with gasoline which does not show any abnormal behavior when conducted through the tubing; but when such behavior was mani- SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 369. fested, the absorption was more than doubled. The danger arising from this source lasts for only a short time after the gasoline tank has been filled; and indeed the results re- corded above were obtained only twice, al- though four attempts were made immediately after the filling of the tank; this irregularity is probably due to the varying demands made upon the gasoline machine at different times. The rubber tubing employed in the experi- ments was such as is furnished under the catalogue number 8012 by Messrs. Kimer and Amend. The gasoline was that supplied by the Gilbert and Barker Manufacturing Com- pany; hence it is of normal quality; the phe- nomenon in question was observed both with the 86° and 90° products (degrees Baumé, equivalent to the specific gravities 0.66 and 0.65). On the whole these observations point to the conclusion that gasoline of the kind de- scribed contains a small amount of more volatile components, which are given off mainly at first, and being perhaps more soluble in rubber than those which come over later, cause the abnormal behavior above de- seribed. , It would be interesting to know whether others who use gasoline have had occasion to notice this peculiarity. A. P. Saunpers. Hamixton CoLiecr, CLinton, N. Y. ON THE SIPHON. THE writer wishes to call attention to an error that has crept into the text-books on gen- eral physics, written for high school and uni- versity classes. Most of the books either state explicitly that a siphon will not work if the shorter of its two legs is longer than the column of liquid that would be supported by the air pressure, or else give explanations of the siphon, from which this follows as a legiti- mate conclusion. As a matter of fact, a siphon can be made to work and draw the liquid to a height considerably greater than that representing atmospheric pressure. The writer usually illustrates this fact in his lectures by means of the following simple experiment: Let ABO in the figure be a glass JANUARY 24, 1902.] siphon tube, both legs of which are 10 cm. or 15 em. longer than the barometric column. The bore of the tube should be small (about 7; sq.mm.) to work well. Let one of the legs, BG, dip down into a larger tube CD, partly filled to D with mereury. Fill ABC with mercury, and start the siphon drawing mer- cury from CO over to A in the usual way. In order to start the siphon the vertical height of B above the surface D of the mercury should be less than the length of a mercury barometer column, but as the flow continues, the mercury surface descends and keeps on descending until its vertical distance below C is consider- ably greater than this length. To make this experiment work sufficiently well for demonstration purposes, excessive care in purifying the mercury and cleaning the glass is not necessary. Boiling the mercury in the actual tubes used, for instance, is super- fluous. With ordinary redistilled. commercial mereury and tubes cleaned with alcohol the writer has made the siphon work to a height of 70 em. As the altitude of the University laboratory, where the experiment was per- formed, is a little over one mile, and the ba- rometer pressure, therefore, only about 61 cm., this means that the siphon worked 9 em. above the barometric height. The most plausible explanation of the above fact is that the atmospheric pressure is not the only foree pushing the mercury up the shorter leg. It is drawn up partly by the cohesive attraction of parts of the mercury, for each other, and the column is kept from SCIENCE. 153 dwindling by the adhesive force exerted by the sides of the tube on the mercury. It follows from the above that if a mercury siphon is placed under the receiver of an air pump, it can be made to work over a height of several centimeters, even though the air pressure is reduced to only a few millimeters. This experiment also has been shown to the writer’s students. The apparatus was similar to that described above, except that the tubes were much shorter. WituaMm Duane. HALE PHySsIcAL LABORATORY, UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO. FOSSIL SHELLS OF THE JOHN DAY REGION. Since the publication about a year ago*™ of my paper on the ‘Fossil Land Shells of the John Day Region,’ ete., I have received from Professor John C. Merriam, of the University of California, a small collection of molluscan remains obtained by him in the same general locality. Professor Merriam’s collection in- cludes examples of the several species of land shells heretofore described,t namely, E'piphrag- mophora fidelis anticedens, Polygyra Dalli, Ammonitella Yatesi precursor and Pyra- midula perspectiva simillima. Of these four species there are numerous specimens and fragments. Dr. White’s Unio Condoni appar- ently escaped detection. The foregoing repre- sent all of the molluscan forms thus far re- ported from the John Day beds. Dr. White received his material from the late Professor KE. D. Cope and Professor Thomas Condon, of the University of Oregon. Cope’s specimens were obtained by Mr. Jacob L. Wortman, of the Army Medical Museum. These two col- lections included the same species. Professor Merriam has made some interest- ing additions to the above brief list which are deseribed below. HELIX (EPIPHRAGMOPHORA?) DUBIOSA NOM. PROV. Shell orbicular, flattened, discoidal, peri- phery angulated or obtusely carinated; whorls * Proc. Washington Acad. Science, Vol. II., Dec. 28, 1900, pp. 651-658, pl. XXXV. ¢ Vide Dr. Charles A. White’s paper ‘On Marine Eocene, Fresh Water Miocene and other Fossil Mollusca of Western North America’; Bulletin No. 18, U. S. Geol. Survey, Washington, 1885, with two plates. 154 six or more, deeply sutured and exhibiting strong growth strie. Apex whorls closely and slightly pitted. Aperture and umbilical region covered by a portion of the matrix in which the shell was imbedded. Diameter (maximum), 24 mm., probably 26 to 264 mm. when perfect. Elevation, about 10mm. A sufficient portion of the shelly sub- stance intact admits of the above description. Number of specimens, six; of these the indi- vidual described is the largest and most per- fect. The smaller examples consist mainly of the upper whorls. With more and better material it is quite probable the foregoing might prove to be an angulated, dwarfed, depressed aspect of the living fidelis, or mormonum; it also suggests the form known as Hillebrandi. Nearly all of the material is in a very unsatisfactory con- dition, with no color indications to assist in determination. While for these reasons the conclusions may be regarded as more or less arbitrary, the general character and relation- ship is believed to be fairly well pointed out. PYRAMIDULA LECONTEI N. S. Shell small, orbicularly depressed, widely and deeply umbilicated; whorls four and a half to five, rounded, closely and conspicuously ribbed except on the apex, which is nearly smooth; the ribbing extending into the umbil- ical cavity; the grooves between the ribs nearly as wide as the ribs are thick; the suture deep; aperture nearly circular or rounded lunate; edge of lip simple. Diameter (maximum), 8} mm. Elevation, nearly 5 mm. A single ex- ample; the last whorl has been broken back somewhat; the maximum diameter was prob- ably 9 to 94 mm. The specimen appears to be scarcely mature. The number, prominence and regularity of the ribs make this a very pretty shell. The general facies suggests rela- tionship with the extraordinary group of helicoid forms that are so widely distributed throughout the vast area denominated by Mr. W. G. Binney* the ‘Central Province,’ and listed by Dr. Pilsbry in his recent catalogue, as number 340+ (P. strigosa and numerous **Manual of American Land Shells,’ Bull. 18, U. S. National Museum. ¢ ‘ Classified Catalogue of Land Shells of North America,’ ete., Philadelphia, April, 1898. SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 369. races or varieties). A comparison of P. Le- Contet kindly made for me by Professor Dall, with the large series of the strigosa group in the National Museum, determines it, as he _ says, to be ‘different from anything we have in the collection.’ In memory of the late Professor Joseph Le Conte, I have attached his name to the above form. In addition to the species herein described, the material submitted to me by Professor Merriam included a small globose form about the size of a small pea; there are several ex- amples, so disguised by adherent particles of matrix as to make it doubtful whether they belong to terrestrial or aquatic groups, with a presumption in favor of the first. - Partially exposed in portions of a fine com- pressed sediment of lacustrine origin are sey- eral casts of a very large Limnea, suggestive in a general way of the circumboreal L. stag- nalis, but so much distorted as to preclude a more definite description. For convenience this may be known provisionally as L. maxima. Professor Merriam has now in preparation a paper on the paleontology of the John Day region, which will contain in detail the special data relating to the occurrence of the various forms above referred to as well as figures of the species I have described. Rost. E. C. Stearns. CURRENT NOTES ON PHYSIOGRAPHY. THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. Aw essay on the ‘Geology of the Central Por- tion of the Isthmus of Panama,’ by Hershey (Bull. Dept. Geol. Univ. Cal., I1., 1901, 231- 267), includes an account of the surface fea- tures in terms of the two chief cycles of de- nudation that have had effect there. The axial Cordillera de Veraguas, trending east and west, is described as a dissected plateau whose general surface, once a lowland of deg- radation, consisting in part of syenite and intrusive voleanic rocks, is now raised to an altitude of 3,000 feet. The valleys in it are deep, narrow, and steep-sided. Eliminating them, the district would be a high plateau with a width of 20 or 25 miles, arched a little along an east-west medial line, but otherwise JANUARY 24, 1902. ] remarkably even. The ridges often have nearly level crest-lines for several miles, and rise to similar altitudes; and there are some extended flats at the height of the ridge tops. Southward from the mountains there is a lower and younger and much better preserved peneplain, uplifted a few hundred feet, slop- ing gently toward the sea and sharply trenched by young valleys ‘the most beautiful and per- fectly base-leveled land’ that the writer has seen. The interfluves are very slightly arched and are remarkable for their long gentle slopes. Many low monadnocks rise above the plain, and these, together with a 10- or 20-mile belt of irregular ridges and peaks bordering the mountains, are taken to be the remnants of the older peneplain, here less preserved than in the harder rocks of the Cordillera. The border of the younger peneplain, determined by the ending of its gently undulating strata, is followed by a young coastal plain, trenched like the peneplain by narrow valleys and cliffed along the shore; here the interfluves are flat, instead of being gently arched as fur- ther inland. The coastal plain, as an area of marine deposition, is the equivalent of the younger peneplain as an area of subaerial deg- radation. On the northern side of the isth- mus, a narrow, dissected peneplain slopes gently from the Cordillera to the seacoast. This plain bears auriferous gravels near the mountain base. The slopes of the two younger peneplains, north and south of the Cordillera, and the greater height that is believed to have been gained by the older peneplain along the mountain axis, suggest a repeated up-arching of the isthmus along an east-west line. A recent depression has occurred, especially noticeable along the southern coast, where there are several good examples of partly drowned valleys. THE GRECIAN ARCHIPELAGO. Puivippson’s latest studies in classic lands concern the Cyclades or southern island group of the Grecian archipelago (‘Beitr. zur Kenntniss der griech. Inselwelt,’ Pet. Mitt. Ergdnzungsheft, 134, 1901, 172 pp., 4 maps). The islands are, in the most general state- ment, the remains of an old-mountain region SCIENCE. 155 (Rumpfgebirge) reduced to moderate but not faint relief, then elevated and much dissected by streams and waves during slow depression, finally more rapidly submerged and again vigorously attacked by the sea. The geo- logical structure is irregular and not clearly related to the distribution of the individual islands. The old-mountain uplands are best preserved where the rocks are somewhat uni- formly resistant, as on Andros; elsewhere, variety of structure leads to variety of form, Naxos being of most rugged relief. The val- leys are rather sharply incised beneath the uplands; the author parenthetically notes that they would be called ‘young’ by American morphologists. They represent the headwater parts of what was once a much more extensive drainage system, developed while the land stood higher than at present. During that time the sea is believed to have actively abraded the coast, producing a platform of tolerably even surface from three to fifteen miles wide, with greater breadth on the ex- posed than on the protected sides of the islands. The depth of the platform decreases from about 200 met. at its outer border to about 80 or 50 met. near the islands; and hence a slow depression is inferred during abrasion. Then came the more rapid submer- gence, bringing the sea about to its present level on the steep coast that had previously been cut around the remnant islands, and transforming the valleys into bays whose depth corresponds to that of the inner border of the submerged platform. The exposed parts of the present shore line are usually bold and ragged. Few of the islands have lowland plains, those on the western side of Naxos being the largest. : In not making explicit mention of the work of subaerial erosion during the inferred abrasion of the now submerged platform, Philippson’s summary may give the impres- sion that the greater part of the old-mountain uplands were consumed by the sea. It is prob- able, however, that many deep and broad val- leys were eroded in the original uplands by streams, while the outer border of the platform was cut away by the waves; and that the fur- ther abrasion by the sea was aided not only 156 by slow depression but also by the work already then accomplished by subaerial erosion. Only by supposing an extensive system of open valleys to ‘have been developed during the earlier advance of wave work on the retreating coast can satisfactory explanation be given for the scattered arrangement of the remnant islands on the abraded platform. THE SOUTHERN URALS. THE excursion of the Russian geological eongress turned attention to the Urals as an example of an uplifted and dissected pene- plain. Further information on this subject is found in some ‘Topographic notes on the Ural Mountains,’ by Purington (Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc., XXXIII., 1901, 108-111). The southern extension of this old: chain, where the structure is as greatly disordered as else- where, is for the most part a gently undulating plain, the Orenburg steppe, hundreds of miles in extent. Its surface is compared to that of a calm sea, swept by huge, flat, crossing swells, 100 or 200 feet high and from two to four miles from crest to crest. The general turf cover of the nearly treeless plain is fre- quently broken by low reefs of quartzitic schists, traceable for long distances, and thus revealing something of the underground struc- ture. Some of the more decomposable schists are weathered so deeply that mine shafts have been dug 100 feet deep before blasting was necessary. Water-worn gold-bearing gravels are abundant on the undulating plain, but are frequently too far from the streams for profit- able washing. Low monadnocks of the more resistant rocks occur in the region of the steppe; further north in the forested Urals the higher extension of the same peneplain is dominated by dome-shaped monadnocks, rising 3,000 and 4,000 feet over the uplands. The rivers of the steppe have now eroded broad and shallow valleys from 50 to 200 feet deep; the sides of the valleys are well defined where they rise to the upland, whose borders are dissected by ravines for a few hundred feet. The valley floors are sheeted with gravels in which the rivers meander freely. W. M. Davis. SCIENCE. -Mr. James Angus. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 369. THE STRECKER OOLLECTION OF LEPI- DOPTERA AND THE AMERICAN MU- SHUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. Since the death of Dr. Herman Strecker, many representatives of large museums have visited his former home in Reading, Pennsyl- vania, and commendable zeal has been dis- played in their efforts to secure the Strecker collection of lepidoptera for their respective institutions. The heirs, however, have insisted that no deviation would be made from the original valuation placed upon the collection by Dr. Strecker, namely $20,000. The Right. Reverend Dean Hoffman has authorized the American Museum to purchase the collection. This is not the first time that Dean Hoffman has benefited the people of New York by gifts of like character, and the silent appreciation of the thousands that visit the superb exhibi- tion of butterflies and moths which his gen- erosity has made possible is itself a testimonial of public gratitude. The growth of the Department of Ento- mology within the last few years has been phenomenal. In 1890 Mrs. M. S. Elliot do- nated the ‘Elliot Collection,’ consisting of six thousand local specimens, all reared from caterpillars, and consequently as nearly abso- lutely perfect as specimens can be—butter- flies that are captured in the field are almost invariably injured. In 1892 friends of the Museum contributed some $15,000 toward the purchase of the ‘Harry Edwards Collection.’ This was a general collection of insects, but contained some forty to fifty thousand butter- flies and moths from various parts of the world; among these were some three hundred which were absolutely new to science. For a long time this has remained the principal part of the Museum collection. In 1891 a ecol- lection of insects numbering some ten thou- sand, and containing at least three thousand North American Lepidoptera, was donated. by Mr. Angus had made a specialty of one genus of moths, the Catocala, ’ and in this one genus alone he had upwards of fifteen hundred specimens. In 1897 Mr. Wil- liam Schaus, then of New York, but now of England, donated a remarkably complete col- lection of Old World Lepidoptera, numbering: JANUARY 24, 1902.] some five thousand specimens, all authorita- tively named, and many representing most re- mote localities. The arrival of the Strecker material will in- crease the Museum collections by fully one hundred thousand specimens, among which are several hundred ‘types.’ Mr. William Beuten- miiller, the curator of entomology, will per- sonally attend to the details of transportation. The Museum will also receive the ‘Strecker Library.’ THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. From advance sheets of the administrative report of the Garden for 1901, it appears that during the past year $44,409 was spent on the maintenance and improvement of the estab- lishment, $5,287.60 less than the net income for the year after providing for publications and certain fixed events designated in Henry Shaw’s will, the total gross receipts being $125,690.73. 91,262 persons visited the Garden, about 45 per cent. of this number on the first Sunday afternoon each in June and September, the only two holidays on which the Garden can be opened to the public. The collection of living plants, which in 1900 contained 9,194 species or varieties, has been increased to 9,967. Nearly 3,000 surplus plants were distributed to hospitals and schools. Exchange relations were maintained with other botanical establishments, and in addition to what was derived from these sources the living collections were increased by an expenditure of $2,829.61. 16,256 sheets of specimens were incorpo- rated in the herbarium ,on which $1,175.39 was spent, and the herbarium is stated to consist now of about 365,000 specimens, valued at $54,743.00. $2,688.71 was spent on the library, to which 929 books and 254 pamphlets were added, and the library now contains about 36,000 books and pamphlets, valued at $60,305.00, in ad- dition to which there are about 275,500 index cards. The extent of the exchange relations of the Garden is shown by the Director’s statement that 1,184 serial publications are received at SCIENCE. 157 the library, of which 1,083 are received in ex- change for the Reports of the Garden. THE NATIONAL GHOGRAPHIO SOCIETY. SEVERAL announcements of plans and prog- ress are made by the National Geographic So- ciety. A handsome building, costing $50,000, is being erected for the Society and as a me- morial to its first President, Hon. Gardiner Greene Hubbard. The building is located on the corner of M and 16th Streets, in the cen- tral part of the city. The annual meeting of the Society was held on the 10th of January, Alexander Graham Bell in the chair. The membership of the Society is now about 2,700, representing every State in the Union. The following directors were elected for three years: Alexander Graham Bell, General A. W. Greely, chief signal officer of the War Depart- ment; Henry Gannett, chief geographer of the U. S. Geological Survey; Angelo Heilprin, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia; Gifford Pinchot, forester of the U. S. Govern- ment; O. H. Tittmann, director of the Coast and Geodetic Survey; W J McGee, ethnologist in charge of the Bureau of American Eth- nology, and Russell Hinman, New York City. The National Geographic Society is already forming plans for the great International Con- gress of Geographers which will be held under its auspices In Washington in 1904. It is the first time the Congress has met in the West- ern Hemisphere. These geographic Con- gresses are of international importance and it is expected that representatives from all parts of the world will attend. SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. At the meeting of the Paris Academy of Sciences on January 6, M. Bouquet de la Grye, the engineer, succeeded to the presidency. M. Albert Gaudry, the paleontologist, was elected vice-president, and will be elected president next year. Tur Lavoisier medal of the Paris Academy of Sciences has been awarded to Dr. Emil Fischer, professor of chemistry in the Univer- sity of Berlin. 158 Dr. Joun C. Smoox, for many years state geologist of New Jersey, has been given the degree of LL.D. by Rutgers College. Mr. Witttam Marcont was entertained by the American Institute of Electrical Engi- neers on January 15. Dr. T. C. CuampBertiy, professor of geology at the University of Chicago, has been re- elected president of the Chicago Academy of Sciences. Lorp Ketvin expects to visit the United States at the end of next month. Dr. B. O. Peirce, Hollis professor of mathe- matics and natural philosophy at Harvard University, has returned from Europe. He expects to resume the duties of his professor- ship at the beginning of next year. Proressor OC. H. Ercenmann has leave of absence during March, and will visit some of the eaves of western Cuba to secure a series of the eave fauna and especially specimens of _ the cave fishes Stygicola and Lucifuga. Proressor Mortimer E. Cooney, head of the department of mechanical engineering im the University of Michigan, was nominated for the presidency of the Michigan Engineering Society, at the session of January 8, held at Grand Rapids. Proressor Winttiam Haniock, of Columbia University, has been elected president of the New York State Teachers’ Science Associa- tion. Proressor Kossen, who holds the chair of physiology at Heidelberg, has been elected a member of the Stockholm Academy of Sciences. Proressor SADEBECK, director of the Botan- ical Museum at Hamburg, has retired. Tue Colonial Museum at Harlem has ar- ranged to commemorate, on June 15, the two- hundredth anniversary of the death of the naturalist, Rumphius, who for forty years car- ried on work in botany and other branches of natural history on the Island Amboina, one of the Molucca Islands. A medal will be struck which can be obtained, silver. or bronze, and a memorial book will be issued. SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 369. A coMMITTEE has been formed at Cromarty, the birthplace of Hugh Miller, the purposes of which are to erect a museum and library to celebrate the centenary of Hugh Miller’s birth. Dr. AnpHEeus Hyatt, curator of the Boston Society of Natural History, assistant in in- vertebrate paleontology in the Harvard Mu- seum of Comparative Zoology and professor! of biology and zoology in Boston University, one of the most eminent of American natural- ists, died suddenly from apoplexy at Cam- bridge on January 15, aged sixty-three years. Mr. J. F. Warp, a well-known engineer, died on January 16, aged seventy-one years. T. T. T. Tuoretz, a distinguished arach- nologist, died at Helsingborg, Sweden, on De- cember 23, in his seventy-second year. Dr. C. P. Tire, professor of comparative religions at the University at Leyden, died on January 13 at the age of seventy-one years. Dr. Huco von Percer, professor of applied chemistry in the Technological Institute in Vienna, has died at the age of fifty-nine years. Mr. James P. Surpman, who published a number of papers on the geology and paleon- tology of the region about Nottingham, re- cently died at the age of fifty-three years. Tur position of chief mechanician in the National Bureau of Standards at a salary of $1,400 will be filled by civil service examin- ation on February. 26. We learn from Nature that Dr. W. A. Herd- man, F.R.S., professor of zoology at Univer- sity College, Liverpool, sailed for Ceylon on December 26, 1901, to undertake for the goy- ernment an investigation of the pearl oyster fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar. He is accom- panied by an assistant, and in Ceylon the in- spector of the fisheries and his staff will co- operate and provide boats and divers. A suitable steamer for dredging and trawling will be placed at Professor Herdman’s disposal by the Government of Ceylon; and the neces- sary gear and apparatus for collecting and observational work, and for biological experi- ments, have been sent out in advance. Pro- fessor Herdman has arranged to take samples JANUARY 24, 1902. ] ot the plankton throughout the voyage to Cey- lon, and to launch current-floats at particular parts of the course. ReEvutER’s representative has had an inter- view with Captain J. E. Bernier, the Canadian explorer, who is organizing an arctic expedi- tion. Since his last visit to England, when he lectured before the Colonial Institute, he has been in Canada, where he has secured the active support and cooperation of the Domin- ion Government for his scheme. Captain Ber- nier, who is devoting his services gratuitously, estimates the cost of his expedition at £30,000. Of this he has already secured £20,000, includ- ing a contribution of £1,250 from the Domin- ion Government, and £1,000 from Lord Strath- eona, besides large donations from Canadian ministers, members of Parliament, merchants and others. Captain Bernier is now in Lon- don with the object of procuring from Eng- lish subscribers the balance of £10,000 neces- sary for his scheme. THrRoucH the kindness of Mr. B. Talbot B. Hyde, there was an exhibition of the weaving of Navajo blankets and of beaten silver orna- ments by Navajo Indians from New Mexico in the Educational Museum of Teachers Col- lege, Columbia University, on January 13. THE Montreal correspondent of the New York Hvening Post reports that the Hon. E. H. Monson, of Ottawa, has given a sum of money to the medical faculty for researches into possible cures for tuberculosis. They are to be carried on by Dr. A. G. Nicholls, lec- turer in pathology, under the direction of Dr. J. G. Adami, professor of pathology. A BACTERIOLOGICAL institute has been estab- lished at Davos, Switzerland. Tue trustees of the estate of the late Na- than Haskell Dole have given $100,000 for the Boston Publie Library. THE membership of the New York Zoolog- ical Society, according to the report of the executive committee, submitted at the sixth annual meeting on Jan. 14, is now 1,063, and is steadily increasing. The total attendance at the park in the past year was 527,145, the greatest attendance on one day being 20,206, SCIENCE. 159 on Sunday, August 24. The important work done included the erection of the Primates’ House, at a cost of $64,160; the beginning of the Lion House, to cost, when complete, about $150,000; the extension of the sewer and water systems of the park, at a cost of $10,406, and the development of Mountain Sheep Hill and enclosures, at a cost of $2,500. Director Horn- aday reported that the Zoological Park now contains 1,674 live exhibits, of which 416 are mammals, 659 birds and 599 reptiles. A prrition has been presented to King Ed- ward for the incorporation of the British Acad- emy for the Promotion of Historical, Philo- sophical and Philological Studies, and has been referred to a committee of Lords in Council. Representative Sournarp, of Ohio, chair- man of the House Committee on Coinage, has sent invitations to a number of the chief man- ufacturers, merchants and others engaged in mereantile pursuits, to appear before the Coin- age Committee on February 6 at a hearing on the bill for the adoption of the metric system of weights and measures. Tue Treasury agents state that during the past season an epidemic has prevailed among the murres, of the Pribilof Islands, and that the birds, which are found there in vast num- bers, have perished by thousands. ‘The first intimation of disease was the presence of birds ‘about the village of St. Paul, close in shore, so weak that they were readily taken by the chil- dren. Later dead birds washed ashore in such numbers that 212 were counted in 150 yards, while steamers from St. Michaels reported passing through large quantities of dead birds. This recalls the epidemic which has twice pre- vailed among the cormorants of the Com- mander Islands, greatly reducing their num- bers. Tue following lectures before the Franklin Institute, of Philadelphia, are announced: January 17—The Austrian and Italian Tyrol’: Dr. Cuartes L. MircHern, Philadelphia. January 24—*The Aborigines of the Arid Re- gion’: Proressor W J McGer, Bureau of Ameri- can Ethnology, Washington, D. C. January 31—‘Porto Rico’: Mazgor Gro. G. Grorr, late Superintendent of Public Instruction in Porto Rico, Lewisburgh, Pa. 160 February 7—*The Gases of the Atmosphere’: Dr. H. F. Ketier, Central High School, Phila- delphia. February 14—‘The Canyons and Sierras of the Great Southwest’: Mr. Ropert T. Hivr, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. We have already noted the bequest to the Natural History Museum, London, by Mr. Philip Crowley, of the valuable collection of birds’ eggs. In accordance with the terms of the will the trustees were permitted to take four clutches of eggs of each species, or more, should any species be useful or interesting by reason of variety or locality. The selection, the London Times states, has recently been completed, with the result that 15,200 eggs of birds have been added to the series of eggs preserved in the zoological department of the museum. The Crowley bequest falls. only a few specimens short of the series of Indian birds’ eggs presented to the nation by Mr, Allan Hume in 1885. Mr. Crowley began to form his collection more than forty years ago, one of his great acquisitions being Canon Tristram’s fine collection, which contained an ege of the great auk and one of the Labrador duck. These two rare eggs now pass into the possession of the national museum—a matter of some satisfaction, as hitherto the great auk has been represented in Cromwell Road by two very poor and broken specimens. The Crowley great auk’s egg was bought in 1853 for £35. A very fine specimen which came into the market last year realized 315 guineas. One of the most interesting features of the Crowley collection is the remarkable series of euckoo’s eggs with those of the foster-parents. Of these there are as many as 87 different clutches, while 87 species are represented. As regards Australian birds the museum series has hitherto been markedly deficient, and as the Crowley collection was particularly rich in the eggs of that continent the increase in this respect is very appreciable. From a rough estimate it appears that the series of eggs in the Natural History Museum has been in- creased by nearly a third in respect of num- bers, and as regards the species represented, by at least 15 per cent. Mr. Crowley also left the museum the pick of his valuable collection SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 369, of exotic butterflies. The number of speci- mens retained for the museum was nearly 27,000, representing about 9,900 species. The selection made will enable the museum authorities to fill important gaps in the col- lection, which was most deficient in examples from the localities in which the Crowley col- lection was especially rich—namely, West Africa, the Moluccas, and Central and South- ern America. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. Among the gifts recently received by the University of Pennsylvania are: Mr. William Ivins, $2,500 for the new Medical Laboratories; Mr. James Hay, $2,500 for the Engineering De- partments; Mr. Ralph C. Stewart, 799 C. and 02 L., $5,000 towards the new building of the Department of Law. GENERAL Isaac J. Wistar has paid $12,000 for a triangular lot of groundat Thirty-seventh Street and Woodland Avenue, on which a city police station now stands. The land will be presented to the University of Pennsylvania, so that the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology, which adjoins on the east, and which is also a gift of General Wistar to the Uni- versity, may be enlarged. Mr. Joun D. RockEreLier has promised to double all sums of money given to Vassar Col- lege up to $200,000, between this time and June, 1902. ; Dr. Henry Hopkins, a _ congregational clergyman, has been elected president of Wil- liams College. He is the son of Mark Hop- kins, who was president of the college from 1836 to 1872. Dr. Samuet Weir, formerly of New York University, has accepted a lectureship in pedagogy at the University of Cincinnati, for the remainder of this year. Dr. Hansporrr, docent in astronomy and mathematics in the University at Leipzig, has been appointed to an assistant professorship. Dr. K. Zeissig has been appointed assistant professor of physics at the Technical Institute at Darmstadt, and Dr. Parmentier assistant professor of botany at the University of Besane¢on. SCIENCE A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, PUBLISHING THE OFFICIAL NOTICES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, EDITORIAL ComMiTTEE: S. NEwcoms, Mathematics; R. S. WooDwarRpD, Mechanics; E. C. PICKERING, Astronomy; T. C. MENDENHALL, Physics ; R. H. THURSTON, Engineering ; IRA REMSEN, Chemistry ; CHARLES D. WALcort, Geology ; W. M. Davis, Physiography ; HENRY F. OSBORN, Paleon- tology ; W. K. Brooks, C. HART MERRIAM, Zoology ; S. H. ScuppDER, Entomology ; C. E. BessEy, N. L. Britton, Botany ; C. S. Minot, Embryology, Histology ; H. P. Bow- DITCH, Physiology; J. S. Brntinas, Hygiene ; WILLIAM H. WELCH, Pathol- ogy ; J. McKEEN CATTELL, Psychology ; J. W. POWELL, Anthropology. % Fripay, JANUARY 31, 1902. CONTENTS: The Development of Chemistry: PROFESSOR 18s i/o, OIGNEISHE one apne noo oOOOS GOAT Oso bo 161 Graded Condensation in Benzine Vapor: PROFESSOR CARL BARUS...:............. 175 Data on Song in Birds: Wii11AmM E. D. SS COME ctory ae era arse) Salationey abe eres Khctecevsvaiielclens 178 Museum Study by Chicago Public Schools: QOLivER C. FARRINGTON..............---- 181 The Boundary Line between Texas and New WIGEIED soovoonavscoogovocnncdusenoaoDUS 184 Scientific Books :-— Biologia Centrali-Americana: Dr. W. J. HOLLAND. Gorham’s Bacteriology: HAVEN INTRON go oogooon0ccabnoccdo os asobOOaS 186 Societies and Academies :— The Geological Society of Washington: ALFRED H. Brooks. Biological Society of Washington: F. A. Lucas. The Philo- sophical Society of Washington: CHARLES K. Wrap. The New York Academy of Sci- ences, Section of Biology: Dr. H. E. Crampton. The Boston Society of Natural History: GLOVER M. ALLEN. The Kansas Academy of Science: D. E. Lantz. Thé Academy of Science of St. Louis: Pro- FESSOR WILLIAM TRELEASE.............. 189 Discussion and Correspondence :— An American Geographical Society: Pro- FESSOR ISRAEL C. RUSSELL.............. 195 The International Centralblatt for Botany.. 196 Scientific Notes and News................ 197 University and Educational News.......... 199 MSS. intended for publication and books, etc., intended for review should be sent to the responsible editor, Pro- fessor J..McKeen Cattell, Garrison-on-Hudson, N. Y. THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHEMISTRY.* THe American Chemical Society exists for the advancement of chemical science, and the betterment of the chemical pro- fession. Hvery member of it is supposed to contribute his share of thought and energy to the accomplishment of these ends; and so its work is prosecuted along many lines of activity. During the past ten years the growth of the Society has been most remarkable, and the diversity of its interests is well shown in the pages of its Journal. The once doubtful experi- ment of organization has justified itself by success, and there are no longer any appre- hensions as to the future. The Society now stands before the world well estab- lished, well recognized, active and vigor- ous; its days of weakness and danger are over; we can look forward with confidence to greater prosperity, to larger growth, to steadily increasing usefulness. All chem- istry 1s our province, whether it be organic, inorganic, theoretical, physical or applied; and the narrowness of specialism finds its best antidote in the varied interests of our meetings. To promote science and to up- hold the dignity of our common profession are the objects which bind us together. Optimism is a good thing, but it needs to * Presidential address delivered at the Philadel- phia meeting of the American Chemical Society, December 30, 1901. 162 be tempered by reason. Hopefulness and enthusiasm are fine qualities, but the re- straint of common sense should keep them within bounds. Too much complacency is dangerous, and on oceasions like this we may well pause in our gratulations over past achievements, to ask ourselves whither we are tending. As chemists, we owe some- thing to the science which we represent, and the debt is one which can never be dis- charged absolutely. That we have done much is evidence that we can and should do more; as a society and as individuals we may well look about us and strive to see which way the path of duty lies. We cannot appraise the future, but we must help to make it. Only by acting with in- telliigent forethought can we hope to ad- vance creditably. Retrospection is the one safe basis for prophecy. The history of science is full of suggestions for the days to come, and even if we do no more than to avoid the repetition of mistakes, we shall gain much from the study. Great as the past has been, we can make sure of something better still, looking confidently forward to more perfect knowledge, to larger opportunities for research and to wider recognition in the republic of learning. Let us see how chemistry has developed hitherto, and how we can improve her present condition. A little over a century ago chemistry was hardly more than an empirical art—a minor department in the broad field of natural philosophy. There were no chem- _dsts in the professional sense of the term, and no laboratories worthy of the name; that is, no buildings were planned and erected for chemical purposes alone; but chemical investigations were conducted in any room which happened to be available, with a disregard for convenience which would be intolerable to-day. Even at a later period the marvelous researches of Berzelius were performed in a laboratory SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 370. which was essentially a kitchen. If we use the word in its true sense, the earlier chem- ists were amateurs; that is to say, men who labored for the love of truth and without ulterior professional motives. Priestley was a clergyman, who regarded his volu- minous theological writings as more im- portant than his contributions to science. Scheele was an apothecary ; Lavoisier was a public official with multifarious duties; Dalton was a schoolmaster and arithmeti- cian. Before these men and their contem- poraries, a vast unexplored territory was outspread; and no one could suspect what hidden riches might lie beneath its surface. Lavoisier, with his emphasis upon quanti- tative methods; Dalton, with the atomic. theory; Davy, the discoverer and definer of elements; and Berzelius, with his genius for system and his untiring industry in the accumulation of details, opened the main roads into the new empire. Special- ism in chemistry was practically unknown; all portions of its domain seemed to be equally inviting; but inorganic problems were perhaps the most obvious, and, being easiest to grasp, received the greater share of attention. There were, from the beginning, two ereat stimuli to chemical research; the in- tellectual interest of the problems to be solved, and the practical utility of many discoveries. Both forces were essential to the rapid development of our science; neither one alone would have been ade- quately effective. Heonomic considera- tions, taken by themselves, help but. little towards the symmetrical organization of scientific knowledge, for the practical man has usually a limited, although very direct, purpose in view, and may not wander far from his main issue. On the other hand, the purely scientific investigator can rarely exercise his full powers without a certain measure of popular support and encourage- ment, to which the expectation of useful- JANUARY 31, 1902.] ness contributes. That discovery must pre- cede application is obvious; that systematic knowledge outranks empiricism is also clearly true; but theory and practice react upon each other, and it is only when they work harmoniously side by side that the best results are attainable. The purist in science too often overlooks this fact, and fails to recognize his enormous debt to in- dustry. The commercial demand for chemical data was an important factor in the establishment of our profession, and from it we derive a large part of. our re- sources. At bottom, however, the demand is essentially selfish; and the manufacturer who seeks chemical aid, nay, even the tech- nical chemist himself, is not uncommonly forgetful of his obligations to pure re- search. Every chemical occupation is based upon discoveries which were made without thought of material profit, and which sprang from investigations under- taken in the interests of truth alone. Even theory, which the ignorant worker affects to despise, has its place in the economic world, and the indebtedness of the coal-tar industry to Kekulé can hardly be over- estimated. Without theory science is im- possible; we should have, instead, only a chaotic anarchy of disconnected facts, a body without a soul. Theory is to science what discipline is to an army; it implies system, method and the intelligent direc- tion of affairs; it is the coordination of knowledge, through which the experience of others becomes best available to us. The victories of research are rarely accidental ; if they were, then the untrained tyro would have an equal chance of success with the greatest masters. Among ourselves, these considerations may be commonplace, but they are opposed by certain popular mis- conceptions which hinder our advancement and work mischief to our cause. Cwi bono is the one question which science cannot ask. ; SCIENCE. 163 Four agencies have been chiefly instru- mental in building up the chemical struc- ture of to-day, namely, private enterprise, the commercial demand, governmental re- quirements, and the extension of scientific teaching in the universities. Under the first of these headings the foundations of chemistry were laid, and the researches of Cavendish upon the composition of the at- mosphere, may be taken as types of the elass. Unfortunately, however, the men who combine the requisites of wealth, leis- ure, the inclination and the ability for scientific investigation are few in number, and the output of their labors is relatively small. Still, we must admit that the work so accomplished is often far above the aver- age in quality, and that if it were to cease, our science would be much the poorer. Its motive is always high, and unaffected by any annoying pressure from necessity; its objects are purely scientific. Seen from the commercial side, chem- istry presents quite another aspect. Ques- tions of utility are now paramount, and the advancement of science as such has become a secondary affair. The manufacturer seeks to improve his products or to cheapen his processes, and calls for infor- mation which shall enable him to do so; specific industrial problems require imme- diate attention, and each one is taken by itself, regardless of its broader philosophie- al bearings. From these conditions a cer- tain narrowness must follow; no time can be wasted over considerations not directly related to the matters in hand, for the suc- cess or failure of a great enterprise may depend upon the quickness with which the obviously essential work is done. As against this urgency of demand, no just criticism can be offered; we may only ask that it shall be reasonable, and that science shall be treated less as a servant, and more as a faithful ally. The commercial chemist owes something to his profession, 164 as well as to his employer; and his indus- trial duties ought not to be incompatible with his responsibilities as a scientific man. The education of the manufacturer is one of the functions which he has to perform, and it is one which is not always easy of accomplishment. Two points of view have to be reconciled; self-interest is on the one side, the benefit of science on the other. Several difficulties beset the pathway of applied science, and interfere with the ‘work of its practitioners. The limitations of the field have already been suggested ; but a more serious obstacle to progress is found in the secretiveness of the employer. The industrial chemist can not publish his researches, or at best can publish little; he. therefore fails to receive before the world the credit which is his due, and science as a whole is the loser. A secret process, an unpublished investigation, adds nothing to the sum of human knowledge, and it rep- resents a policy which is both short-sighted and unwise. It often covers ground which has been well covered before, and in that ease it stands for misdirected effort, for wasted energy. I have seen, under the seal of confidence, a ‘secret process’ which had been in print for twenty years; its too prac- tical inventor, ignorant of the literature of his subject, had worked out his methods independently ; had he consulted others, he might have saved both expense and time. On still broader grounds I believe we may claim that the publicity of science is more economical than the current exclusiveness. Where several competing establishments produce the same class of goods, each one tries to hide its workings from the others. Each, therefore, gains only that new knowl- edge which it can develop by itself, whereas with greater wisdom it: might profit by the experience of all. Secrets will leak out, in spite of precautions; a full interchange of thought merely anticipates the danger, and at last the manufacturer may find that in- SCIENCE. [N.S. VoL. XV. No. 370. stead of suffering loss, he has really re- ceived much for little. Possibly the com- bination of industries under the so-called ‘trusts’ may act favorably upon scientific research, for when rivalry ceases, the in- centive to secrecy disappears also. If we study the reaction between science and industry at all closely, I think we shall find that an economic revolution of remark- able importance is well under way. Like all the greater social movements, it is go- ing on quietly, without noise or bluster, but it is nevertheless far-reaching in its effects. Manufacturing, once a matter of empirical judgment and individual skill, is more and more becoming an aggregation of scientific processes, a system in which accurate quantitative methods are replac- ing the old rules of thumb. Exact weight and measure are taking the place of guess- work, and by their means waste is dimin- ished and economy of production is in- sured. I can remember the day when few establishments in America gave regular employment to chemists; now laboratories are maintained in connection with nearly all productive enterprises, and the demand for scientific service, which was formerly sporadic, has become well-nigh universal. A railway system, making contracts for supplies, does so upon the basis of chemi- eal reports; and the work is performed in its own offices by experts who are perma- nently retained. In the management of an iron furnace, ore, flux, fuel and product are analyzed from day to day, by methods of amazing rapidity and considerable ex- actness. Fertilizers are sold upon chemical certificate after preparation under chem- ical rules; sugar is refined by chemic- al processes, and taxed according to chemic- al standards; medicine is enriched by new remedies of chemical origin; in short, our science touches every productive industry at many points, and aids in its transforma- tion. Metallurgy is becoming more and JANUARY 31, 1902.] more a chemical art; photography, a mod- ern science, rests upon chemical foun- dations ; with the aid of the electric furnace new chemical industries are springing into existence; and every one of these agencies reacts upon the chemist, by increasing the demand for his services and his wares. In Germany this development of applied science has gone the farthest; and in that country a single establishment may employ from fifty to more than a hundred chemists in its regular work. Some of these men are analysts merely, but others are engaged in systematic research, which has both science and industry in view. This appre- ciation of research as such is something to which few of our American manufacturers have attained; and it marks the highest step yet taken in the line of industrial progress. The modern era began when hand labor, which means individualism, gave way to machinery; but the machine is a symbol of organized intellectual power, and science is the bed-rock of its founda- tion. Chance and supposition are out of place in the industrial world of to-day. Turning now to the governmental side of science, we find that the services of the chemist are everywhere in demand. Every civilized governmentnow maintains chemic- al laboratories, and for purposes of the most varied kind. The accuracy of the eoinage is determined by the assayer; sup- plies for public use are tested by analytical methods; taxes are assessed in terms which ~ need chemical interpretation; the armor of the battleship and the explosive of the tor- pedo depend for their efficiency upon the skill with which our work is done. The sanitation of cities; their water supply; the disposal of sewage; the effectiveness of antiseptics; the quality of gas for lighting or of asphalt for paving; the warfare against the adulteration of food—all of these questions are essentially chemical in character, and are, or should be, settled in SCIENCE. 165 the official laboratory. The aggregate of this work is something enormous; and yet, like commercial chemistry, it has utility, not science, in view. Science may advance because of it, but that is not the main pur- pose; the application of existing knowledge to public uses, and the creation of new Imowledge are two distinct things. Here again chemistry is a servant, nothing more. Throughout the scientific bureaus of the government this secondary character of chemistry appears. In the Geological Sur- vey it is an aid to geology; in the Depart- ment of Agriculture, agriculture is to be advanced; in the medical service of the army or the navy, the interests of medicine come first.. Chemistry for its own sake has as yet little or no governmental support, astronomy is encouraged, geology receives assistance, the biological sciences are given opportunities for growth; but our profes- sion is merely utilized, without thought of its significance, its laborers being too often overworked and underpaid. In an incidental way, however, the goy- ernmental laboratories accomplish some- thing for pure science, albeit with little direct encouragement and in spite of diffi- culties. The official chemist, unlike his commercial brother, is not always crowded for time; his work can be done in a some- what more leisurely manner, for it is un- affected by any demand for immediate financial returns; and so abstract re- searches, if they bear in any way upon the problems which are assigned him, are some- times within his reach. Chemistry owes much to investigations of this class; and the papers which issue from official labo- ratories are by no means to be despised. Good work is done, but there ought to be more of it; research should become a recog- nized duty, rather than an employment for spare time. It would be well if every gov- ernment could be made to see that the use of science implies the encouragement of 166 science; for then we might hope for the establishment of laboratories for purposes of investigation alone. To this proposition I shall recur later. We now come to the fourth of the agen- cies by which chemistry has been devel- oped, the educational, and this is the most important of all. Scientific research has become a definite function of the modern university, wherein the creation of knowl- edge is given equal rank with the distribu- tion thereof. Education to-day differs from the education of former times, in that a lower place is given to mere authority ; it goes more to the foundation of things, and so secures a foothold from which it can build much higher. Research, both for its own sake and as an example to the student, is now expected of the teacher; his pupils, coming face to face with the limitations of Imowledge, are shown the problems which demand solution, and are taught some- thing, by practice and by precept, of the manner in which they can be solved. The student learns that science is a living growth, and that every earnest, sincere, well-trained scholar can do something to- wards its development. If we examine the chemical journals of the nineteenth cen- tury, we shall find that by far the larger part of the discoveries therein recorded were made in the laboratories of universi- ties or schools. Even in our own journal, with all its contributions from technical and official sources, over sixty per cent. of the communications published are of this elass. The significance of this fact, how- ever, must not be overestimated; we should remember the restrictions under which the technical chemist labors, whereas to the university professor publication is almost as the breath of life. His professional standing, his chances of promotion, are pro- foundly affected by the amount and char- acter of the work which he puts forth; silence, to him, means the possible reproach SCIENCE. (N.S. Von. XV. No. 370. of inactivity; he must publish or remain obscure. Furthermore, we must not for- get that the teacher owes a debt to tech- nology which ean never be repaid. The commercial demand for applications of science has enlarged the field of education, by compelling the establishment of poly- technic schools. These institutions, all of them of recent date, give employment to thousands of instructors; they supplement the universities, they multiply the facili- ties for scientific work, and from them, too, there flows a steady stream of contributions to knowledge, to which the chemist is add- ing his full share. Apart from the freedom to publish, the university teacher has one great advantage over the technical man. He is not confined to any limited field of operations, such as the chemistry of soap, or iron, or coal-tar; the whole domain of the science lies open before him to explore where he will. The possible utility of the work need not occupy his mind; he can attack any problem he chooses, and from any point of view. And yet, with all incentives to breadth, his re- searches may still be tainted with narrow- ness, for the inevitable tendency to special- ize puts its restrictions upon him. It is much easier to be a physical chemist, an organie chemist, an agricultural chem- ist or an analyst, than it is to be a chem- ist; and chemists, in the larger sense, are few. It was Berzelius, I think, who said that he was the last man who could ever know all chemistry, and the say- ing was both wise and true. Sixty years ago our science could be mastered in its en- tirety by one industrious student; to-day it is so vast that subdivision is necessary. Still, special research is not incompatible with breadth of view; every chemist should understand the nature of the great central problems; he should stand high enough to overlook the field, no matter how small a corner of it he may prefer to cultivate per- JANUARY 31, 1902.] sonally. Broadness of mind does not im- ply a scattering of resources, a futile waste of opportunity; it means an intelligent appreciation of all good scientific work, whether it be within our own bailiwick or elsewhere. To exalt one specialty at the expense of others, to claim supremacy for our own small interests, indicates a self- conceit which is both mischievous and ab- surd. With so many opportunities for research, and with numberless problems in sight, chemistry should have grown according to some law of symmetry, giving us to-day a well-balanced and harmonious whole. His- tory, however, tells a different tale. The science has expanded enormously in some directions, and advanced slowly in others; a glaring disproportion is the result. For this condition of affairs there are two rea- sons: lack of coordinated labor and the in- fluence of fashion; for there are fashions in thinking, just as there are in dress, and only the most original minds can escape from their domination. Theoretically, every investigator is free to follow his own bent; practically, his course is shaped by a complexity of circumstances. The line of least resistance is the easiest line to take, and in science that is determined by tem- porary conditions. Certain researches have been fruitful; and so, like miners flocking to a new camp, we are tempted to enter the same field, rather than to play the pioneer elsewhere. The greatest prospect of im- mediate success is the power which attracts us. Through influences of this kind chem- istry has developed unevenly, with one side over-cultivated and another suffering from neglect. To illustrate my meaning. I do not wish to underrate the importance of organic chemistry, nor to question, in the smallest degree, the value of its achievements. Its interest, its attractiveness, the beauty of its methods, its profound influence upon SCIENCE. 167 chemical theory, are all admitted; and yet it has received, it seems to me, an undue share of attention. During fifty years a large majority of all chemical investigators devoted themselves to this one branch of chemistry, leaving only a few workers to occupy other fields. Organic chemistry was the fashion; in it reputations were easiest made; the great professional prizes, the best positions, went to its devotees. Now, in spite of all that organic chemis- try has accomplished, we may fairly admit that chemical research should have a broader scope. Carbon is but one element among many; and all must be considered before we can be sure that our interpreta- tions of chemical phenomena are sound. Special cases are easily mistaken for gen- eral laws; and to such errors we become liable when we confine our studies within too narrow bounds. Fortunately for chem- istry, a broadening process has begun; and the prospects for the future are most en- couraging. During the past ten or fifteen years two movements have gained headway in the chemical world. One is marked by the re- vival of interest in inorganic problems, the other by the development of physico-chem- ical research. To a certain extent the two have much in common; each one is aided, I might say fertilized, by conceptions bor- ‘rowed from the organic field; both are al- ready fruitful to a remarkable degree. In- dependent journals devoted entirely to inorganic or physical chemistry, have come into existence, and investigators of thehigh- est rank fill them with contributions. It is not my purpose to discuss either movement in detail; I mention them as symptoms of a more liberal spirit in research, as indicating the commencement of a new era. Physical chemistry in particular is becoming the center of interest; laboratories are built and equipped for its benefit alone; it bids fair to surpass even organic chemistry in 168 its dominion over chemical thought. One danger, however, confronts it—the danger of self-exaggeration, stimulated by over- popularity. Physical chemistry, to achieve the best results, has need of data drawn from other lines of chemical research; if they are neglected, it in turn will suffer. Even now too large a proportion of its votaries are working in one field; that is, on questions growing out of the current theory of solutions, and other subjects fail to re- ceive the attention which they deserve. This state of affairs, this lack of proportion, is doubtless only temporary, for towards physical chemistry all chemical theories converge, and no phase of it, therefore, can long escape consideration. The very nature of physical chemistry implies the prohibi- tion of narrowness; broad conceptions and deep insight are essential to its being. When we consider the complex influences, the varied demands, through which chemis- try has developed hitherto, we can only wonder at the outcome. Under the cireum- stances, a symmetrical growth was impos- sible; the marvel is that so much could have been accomplished. Out of unorgan- ized, uncoordinated, individual efforts a true science has come into existence, equal in dignity to any other within the domain of learning. All science is defective, but in its very imperfections we find its greatest charm. Through them alone effort be- comes possible; a wise discontent on our part is the first condition for progress. If all were known, research would come to an end; nothing could arouse our curiosity; the human mind would atrophy for want of exercise. The search for truth is better than the truth itself—if I may be allowed thus to paraphrase the well-known words of Lessing. In what direction, then, shall we pursue our search, and with what promise for the future? What are the needs of chemistry ? Pardon me, now, if I apparently indulge SCIENCE. LN. S. Von. XV. No: 370. in commonplace; if I cite some considera- tions of almost alphabetic simplicity. Fun- damental principles lie so close to our eyes that they are easily overlooked; and from negligence of that kind, misdirected effort may follow. We must review our lessons sometimes in order to make sure of what we really know. In the first place it is well to bear in mind that chemistry and physics are not sharply distinct; that they are two parts of the same great body of truth; and that neither can be studied to the best ad- vantage without aid from the other. Both rest upon the same two basic doctrines—the conservation of energy and the persistence of matter—conceptions which supplement each other and which give our work its philosophical validity. If we try to consider chemistry by itself, to conceive of it as an independent branch of learning, we shall find that it has but one fundamental problem, namely, the study of chemical reactions. From certain kinds of matter certain other kinds are pro- duced; and we merely investigate the laws which govern the transformations. If we prepare new compounds, we discover that such and such reactions are possible, and we describe their products. If we are in- terested in chemical equilibrium, we seek to determine the limits between which a given change can occur. Even our notions of chemical structure and atomic linking are but devices through which reactionsand their products may be coordinated. In every case the reaction is the ultimate ob- ject of purely chemical research, and we try to ascertain its laws. Beyond this we enter the realm of physics; we describe each kind of matter in thermal, optical, electrical, mechanical and gravitational terms, and we discuss the phenomena of chemical change in similar phraseology. Let us take, for example, any reaction whatever, and see what its complete investi- gation signifies. At once the problem will JANUARY 31, 1902.] resolve itself into four parts, two statical and two dynamical, not one of which can logically be neglected. First, there are the substances which enter into the reaction; secondly, the physieal stimulus, thermal, electrical or actinic, which starts the re- action; thirdly, the phenomena which occur during the reaction; and finally, the sub- stances produced by the reaction. An ini- tial state of equilibrium is disturbed by some application of energy; transforma- tions of energy take place, and in a final state of equilibrium the process comes to an end. Through a mixture of gases hav- ing certain physical properties we pass an electric spark; they unite to form a liquid with different physical properties, the pro- cess being attended by a change of volume and great evolution of heat. The fact of union is chemical; the other phenomena are physical ; and the two sets of considerations are so interlaced that we are compelled to take them together. Intellectually we can discriminate between them, but the line of demarcation is essentially ideal. The chemical composition of matter cannot be studied apart from its physical relations, nor discussed without the aid of physical terminology. It is easier to preach than to practice; to say what should be done than to do it. Between the theoretical statement of a problem and the practical method by which it may be solved there is a profound gulf, over which a direct passage is perhaps im- possible. No reaction has yet been ex- haustively studied on the lines which I have laid down, and possibly none ever will be, for the difficulties in the way of such a re- search are almost insuperable. Of all the snares which nature sets before our unwary feet, that of apparent simplicity is the most ‘deceptive. Honest complexity, evident at sight, we may hope to overcome; it is the unseen obstacle which baffles us. In the present instance a prime difficulty is the SCIENCE. 169 definition, the isolation of a reaction by itself, apart from other chemical changes. Nearly every reaction which we can ob- serve is, in reality, a complex of several re- actions—a series of steps, some of which may easily escape our notice. We measure certain phenomena, only to find at last that our result is an algebraic sum, and that we have more unknown quantities than equa- tions. We cannot solve our problem until these factors have been recognized and separated. To study individual reactions, then, ex- cept for the determination of definite, spe- cial phases, is not the best mode of proced- ure; chemistry would advance but slowly were we restricted to such a method. In ‘ordinary chemical research, in the work of the compound-maker, for example, the initial and final stages of a series of reac- tions are investigated, and in that way valuable data are obtained. But the aim of science is not so much to amass facts as to connect them by laws and principles; and the more general the latter become, the ereater is their intellectual value. We can not build, of course, until we have the ma- terials, but between brick-making and architecture the difference is great indeed. Leaving now the apparently simple, and turning to the visibly complex, let us see whether we cannot attack all reactions col- lectively, and in that way reach a more general statement of our real experimental problems. All reactions display the same fundamental phenomena, namely, ehanges of composition, changes of properties and transformations of energy; classify our data under these categories, we shall begin to see more clearly the road we are to follow. Now, recurring for a moment to the analysis of a single reaction, we may con- sider its two statical terms, the nature of the substances with which we begin and end. In any particular instance these ques- if we can — 170 tions are special and limited; but through them we discover facts which may be grouped with others of like kind. Presently we shall reach the discrimination between elements and compounds; and sooner, or later we shall find ourselves face to face with one of the ultimate problems of all science—the nature of matter itself. In this problem all questions of chemical com- position come to a focus; it goes back of the reaction to the substances which react; but it belongs equally to physics, and its essen- tial details admit of description only in physical terms. Chemistry, however, is doing the most towards its solution, for it is through chemical researches that varia- tions in the composition of matter are best explained. The indebtedness of chemistry. to physics is thus fully repaid. What is matter? Is it continuous or dis- erete, atomic or made up of vortex rings in the ether? These questions admit of only partial answers, and doubtless their final so- lution is unattainable by man. They are, nevertheless, perfectly legitimate questions for science to ask; and a tentative reply, of great practical value, is given by the atomic theory. Whether it be true or false, whether the chemical atoms are ultimate or divisible, this doctrine is the connecting thread upon which our profoundest gener- alizations are strung, and it is hard to see how we could do without it. Once a mere speculation of philosophy, Dalton gave it quantitative meaning; and from his day to the present every great advance in chemical theory has found its clearest statement in atomic terms. Chemical equations and formule; the laws which correlate the density of a gas with its composition; the law of Dulong and Petit; our ideas of valency and molecular structure; the periodic law; and the relations of stereo- chemistry, are all connected by the atomic theory, whose retention in science is there- fore fully justified. It may not be beyond SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 370. eriticism ;indeed, it should be criticized ; but it would be the utmost folly to abandon the theory before something better has been framed to take its place. Wague and un- satisfactory are the attempts which have so far been made to supplant it. Physics, un- aided by chemistry, may reach the concep- tion of molecules; but the subdivision of the latter, the identification of their parts, is the function of the chemist alone. If the nature of matter is the first ele- ment in the study of chemical reactions, the nature of chemical union is the second. If combination consists in a juxtaposition of atoms, what is the foree which draws and holds them together? Whether we can answer this question or not, we may investi- gate the laws under which chemical action is operative, and so develop an important portion of physical chemistry. Problems of chemical equilibrium, of limiting condi- tions, of affinity and the speed of reactions, all come under this heading, and these are fit subjects for investigation in the labo- ratory. For instance, chemical action is im- possible at very low temperatures, and at sufficiently high temperatures all com- pounds dissociate; each reaction, therefore, is confined to a certain part of the ther- mometric scale, which in many eases is measurable. In other words, chemical change is a function of temperature, no matter what additional factors its complete study may involve. It may also be eftected through the agency of electrical or actinic impulses; and here again experimental re- search has a wide field. Were physical chemistry restricted, as it is not, to this class of investigations alone, it would still have abundant occupation. These illustra- tions are enough for my immediate pur- pose, but they could be multiplied indefi- nitely. % Directly growing out of these two funda- mental questions, and partly identifiable with them, are two other problems of great JANUARY 31, 1902.] generality and importance. First, what laws connect the properties of compounds with their composition? Secondly, what laws govern the transformations of energy during chemical change? Along each of these lines a large amount of work has been done, mostly empirical; and some regulari- ties, some minor laws, are already recog- nized. Systematically, however, neither field is well known, and both offer rich prizes to the investigator. Great masses of more or less available data now exist; but rarely do we find any group adequately de- veloped. The determination of constants or the measurement of thermochemical rela- tions is tedious in the extreme; but a vast amount of such work needs to be done under some definite system or plan. At present we have a datum here and a datum there; some one in Germany makes a few measurements, some one in France, or Eng- land, or America makes a few more; but seldom is there any attempt at cooperation, and the isolated facts do not always fit to- gether. The thermochemical data are espe- cially difficult to determine accurately, and still more difficult to discuss in such a way as to develop any clearly defined law. In- deed, thermochemistry, of late years, has fallen out of favor; for to many chemists, despite its promise, it seems to lead no- where. But laws must exist under all these troubling questions, and we cannot despair of their discovery. We can accomplish little, however, unless we consider each of the four great fundamental problems with reference to the others, for they are sepa- rable only in theory. Scientific research is not linear, step following step in reeular succession; it is a network, rather, whose interlacing threads are woven into patterns of infinite variety. We trace individual fibers, we see, more or less clearly, a part of the design; and this is the most that any one of us can ever hope to do. Now, whether we regard the fundamental SCLENCE. eral questions of chemistry as four in number, or condense them into two, we can use our classification as an aid to research. Success in the latter means a wise selection of prob- lems, a choice which is conditioned by our strength and our resources; but the first step is to understand the bearings of what we are trying to do. Whether our purposes are modest or ambitious, our work must have an influence upon that of others, and the broader the plan upon which it is con- ceived, the better the outcome will be. One bullet well aimed is worth more than a volley at random. One fact with a purpose outweighs a hundred scattering observa- tions. We may well ask, therefore, what investigations are most needed by chemis- try to-day? First, as to the nature of matter, with all that that question implies. Taking all kinds of matter into consideration, and starting with the established distinction be- tween elements and compounds, it would seem to be obvious that work is most im- peratively needed where our information is least complete. Some elements, some classes of compounds, have been much more ex- haustively studied than others; they, there- fore, can best bear a temporary neglect, our attention, in the meanwhile, being concen- trated elsewhere. I do not mean by this that any kind of research should cease, only that each department should assume some- thing like reasonable proportions. To or- ganic chemistry, for example, we are in- debted for many methods of research, and for theoretical conceptions of great fer- tility; but it is now time to apply them to inorganic substances, and to see whether they are generally valid. Whatever result is reached, organic chemistry itself will be the gainer; enriched by new suggestions and resting upon firmer foundations, its future advancement can be made all the more certain. Meanwhile, carbon com- pounds, by virtue of their serial relations, 172 are of peculiar value in certain lines of physico-chemical investigations; and they may also be profitably studied along the vague boundary which separates organic from inorganic chemistry. What we may eall the contact phenomena between any two departments of knowledge are always interesting. In the present revival of inorganic chem- istry, a limited number of subjects have re- ceived the most attention. Among them I may name the study of double salts, of the rare earths and of complex acids and bases. All this work is of value; some of it is fundamental; but more urgent, prob- ably, is a revision of the older data con- cerning much simpler bodies. This task is not attractive; it is far from brilliant in character and promises no startling dis- coveries; but it is none the less essential if we wish to establish the foundations of chemistry more securely. Consider any group of inorganic compounds, as, for ex- ample, the anhydrous metallic halides, and we soon find that our knowledge of them is full of gaps, and that the descriptions of many presumably well-known substances are wretchedly incomplete and defective. To remedy this condition of affairs is no small matter; there are errors to eliminate and careless work to be done over; but with modern resources a great improve- ment.is possible. Now, thanks to physical chemistry, we can determine molecular weights, either by ecryoscopie or ebullio- scopic methods; and in the periodic law we have a basis for scientific classification. With these aids to research the new data should assume a theoretical value which formerly was lacking. For instance, the structural side of inorganic chemistry has been wofully defective; but now, knowing the molecular weights of substances, prob- lems of structure may be attacked to ad- vantage. The conception of valency can thus be tested to the uttermost degree. SCIENCE. {[N.S. Von. XV. No. 370. Underlying all work upon compounds, however, is the study of the elements them- selves. We may speculate as to their ulti- mate nature, or we may condemn specula- tion as useless; but we must agree that accurate knowledge of their relations and properties is most desirable, and especially so with respect to physico-chemical re- searches. In order to correlate the proper- ties of compounds with those of their components, we must first determine the latter, and our present knowledge in this direction is exceedingly imcom- plete. Not one element is thoroughly known on the physical side, and some, in- deed, have not as yet been definitely iso- lated. What we require is the exact meas- urement of all the physical properties of all the chemical elements at all available temperatures; from such data laws are sure to follow. Here again the periodic law can guide us; for in its curves the measured constants are easiest compared. In this scheme, evidently, the accurate determin- ation of atomic weights is an important feature, for with them all else is coordi- nated. We also need to know, more com- pletely than we do at present, the molec- ular weights of the free elements, because the reactions which we really observe are between molecules and not between atoms. Thus, when monatomic mercury unites with octatomic sulphur, the phenomena which oceur involve the breaking down of the sulphur molecule. If, instead of mer- eury, we have diatomic oxygen or tetra- tomie arsenic, the reaction with sulphur becomes still more complex, for in each ease, before combination, two molecules must be dissociated. The dissociation, of course, implies a loss of energy, of un- known amount; and in thermochemical dis- cussions this undetermined factor is the chief obstacle to progress. If we could study reactions between monatomic mole- cules alone, we should have ideally the JANUARY 31, 1902. ] simplest conditions for thermochemical measurement. But such reactions might be difficult to identify, if indeed, they are possible at all. These considerations are obvious enough, but, unfortunately, they are sometimes overlooked. Of the second great problem of chem- istry, the nature of chemical combination, I need say little more. Some of the sub- ordinate questions which grow out of it have been already mentioned, and each of them is a center of activity in the chemical research of the day. The entire field, however, is not covered, and here and there we can see evidences of neglect. First, we need to know under what conditions chem- ical change is possible. Then, if we would truly understand what chemical attraction means, we must study much more fully than hitherto its relations to other forces. How do heat, or light, or electricity in- augurate a reaction, and how are they pro- duced by it? Questions of equilibrium are important, but they are subordinate to these. Furthermore, is chemical union of one kind only, or do we confuse different phenomena under the single name? Some authors write of atomic and molecular com- binations as if they were distinct; are they really so, or is the separation nothing more than a confession of ignorance? For ex- ample, what is water of crystallization? Here is one of the commonest phenomena of chemistry entirely unexplained. Up to this point I have considered the needs of chemistry from the theoretical side alone, as if we had only a matter. of pure science to deal with. But the question has other aspects, of equal importance to us, and these now claim our attention. In order to enlarge the possibilities of re- search, what more do we need in the way of opportunities and resources? To the sporadic, the piecemeal, the al- most accidental character of scientific in- vestigation I have already referred. Rarely SCIENCE. 173 do we find a man who ean take up a large problem in a large way, with all its rami- fications and details; even the most favored investigator must confine his personal work within narrow bounds, and do the best he can in his own corner. The greater part of chemical discovery has been the result of individual effort—the work of men who labored independently of one another, with rare cooperation, and often under condi- tions of the least favorable kind. By an army of volunteers, undisciplined and un- officered, the victories of science have been won. The time is now ripe for something better—how to organize research is the problem to be solved. I do not mean to imply, by this sug- gestion, that any existing agency for re- search should be destroyed, or even sup- planted; for such a proposition would be foolish in the extreme. Individual initi- ative, personal enthusiasm, are too precious to be lost; they have their part to play in the development of science; and the small- est fact, discovered by the humblest worker, will always be welcome. I do believe, how- ever, that present conditions may be im- proved; that the efficiency of the indi- vidual can be increased; and to this end I urge upon your consideration the possi- bility of cooperation between those investi- gators who happen to be laboring in the same field. Ten men, pulling together, can do more than twenty who are apart. Duplication of effort, the useless repetition of work, can at least be avoided. On several former occasions I have ad- voeated, as the most urgent need of science, the regular endowment of research. By this I do not mean the payment of salaries to men working at random, who shall each choose his own small problem and attack it in his own way. Such a procedure would increase facilities, no doubt, but it might prove to be wasteful in the end. I look rather to the establishment of institutions, 174 wherein bodies of trained men should take up, systematically and thoroughly, the problems which are too large for individ- uals to handle. Suppose that some of the wealth which chemistry has created should return to it in the form of a well-built, well-equipped, and well-endowed labora- tory, devoted to research alone—what might we not expect from such a foun- dation! Libraries, museums, schools and universities receive endowments by the score; observatories are equipped for astronomical research; why should not chemistry come in for her share of the benefactions? Are our achievements so great that we seem to need no aid? In this hint there is a modicum of truth; the users of chemistry, the great industrial leaders, see the wonderful resources of our science, and do not realize that she can require more. That the giver of help should her- self demand assistance is a hard thing to explain. This, then, is our greatest need; the en- dowment of laboratories for systematic re- search, wherein chemistry and physics shall find joint provision. I say ‘sys- tematic research,’ in order to distinguish it from the uncorrelated work of separate in- dividuals. In physics, or for physics primarily, a beginning has already been made; the Reichsanstalt, at Berlin, the new physical laboratory in London, and the Bureau of Standards, at Washington, can cover a part of the ground. But it is only a part; for in each case, and in other like institutions, the researches are undertaken mainly in response to industrial demands; to furnish methods and standards rather than to develop principles and laws. The advancement of science as science is quite another affair. Neither does the Davy- Faraday Laboratory in London exactly meet our requirements. It is organized to help individuals, by giving facilities for work; but it doesnot provide for the system- SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 370. atic investigation of large problems, through the combined efforts of a body of chemists operating under a common plan. These institutions are all steps in the evo- lution of the research laboratory; but the development, as yet, is incomplete. abo- ratories for instruction have been lavishly provided, but in them research is subordi- nate to teaching. The thesis of the stu- dent may represent good work; the leisure of the instructor may be fruitful also; but organized research is a different thing, and must have its own independent resources. Hither at public expense or by private enterprise, laboratories for research should be established in all of the larger civilized countries. By conference between them their work could be so adjusted as to avoid repetition, each one reinforcing the others. Their primary function should be to per- form the drudgery of science; to undertake the tedious, laborious, elaborate investiga- tions from which the solitary worker shrinks, but which are nevertheless essen- tial to the healthy development of chem- istry. Brilliant discoveries might be made in them, but incidentally, and not as their main purpose. Such discoveries would surely follow if the fundamental work was well done; but the latter should come first as being the most essential. Whether we serve pure science or applied science, we all feel the need of data which are as yet undetermined, and whose ascertainment we cannot undertake ourselves. How often are we baffled in our own researches for want of just such material! In the verifica- tion of methods and the determination of constants, the research laboratory would have plenty to do, even were nothing more attempted. By the creation of laboratories such as I have suggested, the independent scholar might be aided in many ways. The antece- dent data, without which his researches are erippled, could often be furnished, thus JANUARY 31, 1902.] opening pathways where obstacles now exist. Furthermore, the desirable cooper- ation between investigators would become a much simpler matter to arrange than it is now. Every laboratory for research would become a nucleus around which individual enterprises might cluster, each giving and receiving help. A great work, wisely planned, always attracts colaborers; its mere suggestiveness is enough to provoke widespread intellectual activity. Here there is no monopoly, no limit to competi- tion, no harmful rivalry; every research is the seed of other researches, and every ad- vance made by one scholar implies the ad- vance of all. In the realm-of thought we gain by giving; and the more lavish our offerings, the richer we become. We glory in the achievements of chem- istry, and we find merit also in its imper- fections, for they give us something more to do. Never can the work be finished, never can all its possibilities be known. Hitherto the science has grown slowly and irregularly, testing its strength from step to step, and securing a sure foothold in the world. Now comes the time for better things; for system, for organization, for transforming the art of investigation itself into something like a science. The endow- ment of research is near at hand, and the results of it will exceed our most sanguine anticipations. F. W. Cuarke. U. S. GrotocicaL SURVEY. GRADED CONDENSATION IN BENZINE VA- POR, AS EVIDENCED BY THE DISTORTED CORONAS AND MARKED AXIAL COLOR EFFECTS ATTENDING CLOUDY CONDENSATION. 1. It would be difficult to read the ad- mirable work on the relation of rain and atmospheric electricity which has issued from the Cavendish Laboratory, without being convinced of the strength of the argu- ments put forth. That in a repetition of SCIENCE. ; 175 these researches, in particular of the ex- periments of C. T. R. Wilson* on the com- parative efficiency as condensation nuclei of positively and negatively charged ions, one would but reproduce his results ad- mits of no doubt. In so important a question, however, it is none the less desirable to reach identical conclusions from entirely different methods of approach. It has been part of my pur- pose to be driven to like inferences; in other words, to reach a point in my work where I should have to abandon the nucleus as an agency which for purely mechanical or thermodynamic reasons facilitates con- densation, and be compelled to recognize the special activity due to its charge. I had hoped to accomplish this in the following experiments with benzine when contrasted with the corresponding be- havior of water; but the results, contrary to my expectation, are so curious and pro- nounced an accentuation of the nuclear theory that it seems worth while to spe- cially describe them. 2. The work originated in the following point of view: if the action promoting con- densation is in any degree of a chemical nature (such suppositions have been made; the production of hydrogen superoxide, for instance, has been suggested), then there should be a marked difference in the efti- cacy of the same nucleus when the satu- rated water vapor is replaced by the vapor of some electrolytically neutral liquid, like a hydrocarbon. I accordingly made a series of experiments with benzine, en- deavoring at first to utilize benzine jet and color tube in the usual way. In this I failed for reasons without much relevant interest here. J then adopted the method of adiabatic cooling, partially exhausting a spherical receiver (Coulier, Kiessling) about 23 em. in diameter, illuminated by *C. T. R. Wilson, Phil. Trans., London, Vol. CXCIII., pp. 289-308, 1899. 176 white light diverging from an external point. In this way not only were copious fogs obtained, but the coronas* produced were additionally available as evidence. Tn the benzine jet, particles are probably cooled too suddenly, and at once attain a size incompatible with axial color effects. Using the exhaustion method, however, these axial colors appearing in benzine are not only of pronounced depth, but they run into higher orders than in the ease of moist air subjected to like exhaustions. Sequences passing through blue, green, yellow, brown, purple, ete., green, brown, etc., may be seen in the axis of a column only 23 em. long. The reason, no doubt, is the lower latent heat of benzine, insuring the formation of drops not less uniform, but of a size, cet. par., regularly larger than for water vapor. The fact that axial colors are producible both with water and with a pronounced insulator like benzine, is a result of fundamental importance in its bearing on any theory adduced to account for the axial absorption in question. 3. The exhaustion experiments were thus at once successful. Cloudy condensation was as densely produced in benzine vapor as in water vapor, with phosphorus, flame and other nuclei. Care was taken to in- sure dryness of vessel by test experiments both before the benzine was introduced and after it had been quite removed by evapo- ration. The exhaustion of about one sixth, say 13 em., seemed best adapted to bring “For some time I have been making experi- ments with the coronas of cloudy condensation on a large scale, with the purpose of comparing the diffraction colors so produced with the axial colors of the steam jet. The latter are almost complementary to the colors of the central patches of the corresponding coronas, betraying a difference of origin in the two cases of great theoretical interest. One is tempted to infer that the light axially absorbed illuminates the colored inner circle of the corona, but the proof of such an assertion is a long stride. SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 370, out the following phenomena. When the receiver was left standing overnight no marked condensation occurred in the ab- sence of nucleation, or else the condensa- tion was rain, like a fine mist, falling about 2 or 3 em. per second. The introductory experiments were made with light nearly in parallel, the sun’s image being used as a coronal center. The even dense tawny benzine fog after the first nucleation was expected to develop on subsequent exhaustions (each followed by an influx of filtered air) into the magnifi- cent coronas which characterize this ex- periment in the case of water vapor. On the contrary, however, the fogs were more fleeting, showed a more rapid descent than aqueous fogs, and the color fields obtained -were not ring-shaped as expected, but sharply stratified horizontally, roughly speaking, in alternations of green and red. Moreover, if the exhaustions were made successive without influx of air between each, the colors rose in strata from below, as they fell in strata when left to them- selves. On mounting, the strata grew suc- cessively wider and thinner till they van- ished from sight, brown, yellow-white being the last colors observed. Uniform color fields (strata of limiting width) were eventually producible in this way. Yellow, brown, crimson, arose from a whitish blue base, then descended again on completed exhaustion, reminding one of the extension of an accordion. The speed of apparent viscous subsidence of the top bands has no direct meaning, since fall (or rise) is here complicated by evaporation. On entrance of air, vortices were evi- denced by ring-shaped threads of color so that mixture was at first inevitable. One must wait till this ceases before again ex- hausting. Convection currents due to local reheating of the adiabatically cooled gas by the walls of the receiver, were equally apparent, stringy colors rising on the out- JANUARY 31, 1902.] side and descending into the middle of the receiver. It is the phenomenon which in- terferes with the usefulness of narrow tubular apparatus. 4. As this subsidence of color bands in benzine vapor is an observation of impor- tance, I resolved to repeat the work under more normal conditions. Accordingly I used as my source of light the bright area of the mantle of a Welsbach burner, seen through a small hole in the metallic sereen by an eye, looking centrally through the receiver containing saturated benzine vapor and nucleated air. Punk nuclei replaced the phosphorus nuclei. On exhaustion (without nucleation) after standing over- night, the coronas were white centered fringed with brown, about as large as ordi- nary lycopodium coronas seen under like conditions.. These large drops are a proof of the relative absence of nuclei initially. After nucleation the first dense fogs were vaguely annular during the first five successive exhaustions, filtered air being supplied between each. The next five ex- haustions produced more nearly, finally very fully stratified colors, in spite of the point source of light. Shaking the receiver violently at any time, so as to scatter the liquid benzine within, always reproduced a nearly perfect corona, which on standing became distorted again, in color at least. I now made special experiments, shaking the receiver before each observation, bringing out successive coronal effects* never as per- fect as with water, however, always show- ing the tendency to stratification. The characteristic coronas succeeded each other so rapidly that it would be difficult to make them out. Nuclei, however, were still pres- ent after over two hours, the eventually white centered coronas showing a continued shrinkage to smaller diameters in accord- ance with the diminishing number of nuclei “These will be described for water vapor in a subsequent paper. SCIENCE. WaT present. Twenty exhaustions did not re- move them. Here, as above, therefore, the fleeting character of the coronas, their tendency to depart from the normal annular charac- ter into stratification, the speed of descent of the color bands, their rise upward on exhaustion like a fog from a lake, are the special characteristics of the colored cloudy condensation occurring in benzine. To these are to be added the striking axial colors mentioned above. 5. To explain the above phenomena in their variation from the normal aqueous corona, it is first necessary to account for the more rapid subsidence of nuclei. I am not aware of appreciable differences of vis- cosity in the two vapors; but benzine has the smaller latent heat of evaporation by over seven times. Hence under identical conditions of nucleation and for like ex- haustions or like adiabatie cooling of a given mass of saturated air, the drops would be larger, the colors more advanced in benzine than in water; and since the square of radius is in question, this would point to subsidence of the loaded nuclei in benzine nearly four times more rapid. It would also account for more rapid evapor- ation or more fleeting colors, which is the case. Again, if the loaded nuclei be regarded as mechanical particles, the largest will eventually be found in the lower strata, the smallest in the upper strata, as in a ease of ordinary subsidence of suspended matter in water. It is well known, more- over, that smaller droplets wane, larger droplets grow. Hence on increasing ex- haustion condensation takes place first at the bottom and last at the top, since the smallest nuclei correspond to greatest vapor pressure or difficulty in condensa- tion, and since the largest nuclei have been loaded with condensed liquid first, have parted with it last, have had greater time 178 in falling and have therefore sunk deep- est before losing their liquid load. The strata mount upward as fresh exhaustion proceeds. The last colors to appear are the browns and yellows of the first order, also seen in the steam tube for vanishing con- densations. The whole phenomenon is thus the result of strata of invisible nuclei, graded in virtue of the loading mechanism, and partakes throughout of a mechanical character to the extent that the nuclei are not even a uniform product. The forced distribution is sufficiently powerful to en- tirely mask the elementary optical phe- nomenon.* On shaking the liquid benzine in the receiver uniform distribution is again pro- moted, with the result that annular coronas reappear. It is particularly to be noticed that subsidence is due to loaded nuclei. The free nucleus does not appreciably de- scend. Hven with water vapor, loading does not produce stratification. Water fogs when exceptionally dense may sometimes * Since writing the above I have made similar experiments with benzol, reaching the additional result that nuclei are produced by the liquid it- self, spontaneously, in the dark. They ascend against gravity in horizontal strata, at the rate of 2 or 3 em. per sec. in the lower hemisphere. They may be completely precipitated by partial exhaustion, leaving the air in the vessel free from nuclei (but the above flask will be refilled to sat- uration in 10 or 20 minutes). The experiment may be repeated any number of times. The sharp demarcation of the pure air above from the rising surface of nuclei is beautifully evidenced by the coronas, which are annularly perfect for axial beams below the surface, asymptotically bovl- shaped at the surface, and absent for axial beams above the surface. Shaking produces the coronas from pure air instantly, but these are usually smaller. In so far as the spontaneous coronas have fixed diameters for fixed exhaustions (supersatur- ation), the number of nuclei eventually reaches a maximum or saturation. Among many interest- ing problems growing out of the present observa- tions, the corresponding behavior of water is most important. SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 370. be seen to rise, but the diffraction pat- tern is always annular and usually with- out color distortion. Cart Barus. Brown UNIVERSITY, PROVIDENCE, R. I. DATA ON SONG IN BIRDS: THE AOCQUISI- TION OF NEW SONGS. THE purpose of this paper is to set forth the evidence that has come under the writer’s personal observation regarding the propensity of birds to acquire new methods of expression in song. This faculty may be properly divided into three categories: First, the disposi- tion of wild birds to interpolate new phra- sing into what may be called their normal song, or to acquire new songs. Second, education of expression, by direct teaching from man to birds in confinement. Third, the propensity of caged birds to imitate, voluntarily, sounds that attract their attention. The evidence under the first division of this thesis is absolute and also well known. However, a few special cases may serve to emphasize the matter. Every trained field ornithologist dis- eriminates individuality in song, and some have been so fortunate as to have noted wide and radical departures from what I have distinguished as the normal song. The slight variation from the normal is of too common occurrence to be dwelt on here. Suffice to say that as set forth in a previous paper in this journal,* most observers recognize degrees of excellence in the songs of wild birds of the same kind. Again, a few observers have heard wild birds imitate or produce not only the songs of other birds, but also the barking of dogs, human speech and mechanically produced sounds such as the creaking of a wheel, the filing of a saw and the like. The facility *See Scrence, October 4, 1901, p. 522. JANUARY 31, 1902. ] of the mocking-bird in this particular is traditional. A few other instances seem worthy of record. A eatbird (G. carolinensis) that nested in the immediate vicinity of my house in the season of 1900 reproduced the call of the whip-poor-will (A. vociferus) so perfectly that it was difficult to induce members of my family and visitors who heard the reproduction to credit the fact that it was not the whip-poor-will singing. A friend who knew nothing about the cat- bird as an agent in the performance and who had not had her attention called to the matter in any way told me that she had heard a whip-poor-will singing near my house repeatedly in the day time, and wished to know if this was the ordinary habit of the bird. In a residence of some twenty years in this locality I have never ‘heard whip-poor-wills nearer to the point in question than three miles. The following case of a wild rose- breasted grosbeak (Z. ludoviciana) talk- img is well attested. I quote from Emily B. Pellet, Worcester, Mass., in Bird-Lore, Vol. III, No. 5, p. 174, October, 1901, as follows: ‘‘ Harly last summer, while stand- ing on my back steps, I heard a cheerful voice say, ‘ You’re a pretty bird. Where are you?’ I supposed it to be the voice of a parrot, but wondered how any parrot could talk loud enough to be heard at that distance, for the houses on the street back of us are quite a way off. ““ Almost before I had done laughing, the voice came again, clear, musical and strong—‘ You’re a pretty bird. Where are you?’ ““For several days I endured the sus- pense of waiting for time to investigate. Then I chased him up. There he: was in the top of a walnut tree, his gorgeous attire telling me immediately that he was a rose- breasted grosbeak. ““At the end of a week he varied his SCIENCE. 179 compliment to ‘ Pretty, pretty bird, where are you? Where are you?’ With a kind of impatient jerk on the last you. ““He and his mate stayed near us all last summer, and though I heard him talk a hundred times, yet he always brought a feeling of gladness and a laugh. “Our friend has come back again this spring. About May 1 I heard the same endearing compliment as before. ““Several of my friends whom I have told about him have asked, ‘Does he say the words plainly? Do you mean that he really talks?’ My reply is, ‘He says them just as plainly as a bird ever says any- thing, so plainly, that even now I laugh whenever I hear him.’”’ Space will not allow the further elabo- ration of this part of the subject. The second division, that of education of birds in song and speech by man, is also well known. The bullfinch’s (Pyrrhula europea) ability to learn to whistle airs with great accuracy and precision, as well as the peculiar quality and charm of its voice, has arrested the attention of all ob- servers and has been cultivated for more than a century. Few of us, however, real- ize that only wild birds hand-reared from a very early age are educated in this ac- complishment, and it is worthy of special notice that wild bullfinches have little or no song, and may be compared with the Eu- ropean sparrow (P. domesticus) as a song- ster. Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are well known as birds susceptible not only of learning to whistle simple melodies, but as rivals of parrots in reproducing with great distinctness short sentences. Parrots are proverbial as talkers, singers and whistlers. Canary birds have frequently been recorded as learning to whistle simple tunes, and there are a number of well- attested accounts of their reproducing with precision short sentences. Jays, crows and magpies also talk and whistle with 180 great facility. The voices of jays in repro- ducing speech are particularly melodious and lack the peculiar phonographie timbre characteristic of most parrots and of star- lings. Mention must be made here of the minos (genus Mainatus) of India as on the whole the most receptive among birds in learning to talk,sing and imitate all sounds of a mechanical kind. All these results have been achieved by education, that is, direct teaching with intent on the part of the human instructor. The third part of this discussion, that which deals with the propensity of caged birds to imitate or reproduce, voluntarily, sounds that attract their attention, needs a few words of explanation. No direct effort or intention on the part of a human agent is a factor in this cate- gory. All but one instance that I shall adduce of this kind of ability have oc- curred in an experience covering some six or seven years with birds obtained in ways, and kept under conditions, that require brief consideration. These birds are all hand-reared wild species; birds taken from the nest when very young and raised by hand. As soon as such birds were able to feed and care for themselves they were liberated in large rooms having as near freedom as confinement would allow. No instruction was given to them. In a word, it was an effort to observe what birds would do if left to themselves and supplied with food and water. No effort was made to keep these birds from hearing the song of wild birds out of doors. The species dealt with in this way are comprised in the following list: 12 bluebirds (Sialia sialis). 14 robins (Merula migratoria). 6 wood thrushes (Hylocichla lina). 7 eatbirds (Galeoscoptes carolinensis). 2 thrashers (Harporhynchus rufus). muste- SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 370. 2 yellow-breasted chats (Icteria virens). 2 rose-breasted grosbeaks (Zamelodia ludoviciana). 1 cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). 6 Baltimore orioles (Jcterus galbula). 7 orchard orioles (Icterus spwrius). 1 bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus). 2 cowbirds (Molothrus ater). 4 crow-blackbirds (Quiscalus qwiscula). 5 red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phe- mceus). 1 meadow-lark (Sturnella magna). 6 blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata). It will be sufficient for us to consider only the very marked acquirement shown by individuals among these birds, none of whose songs are quite normal. A number of the robins have peculiar songs that in no way resemble wild robins’ songs. I should call them invented songs, for lack of a better name. The wood thrushes’ song varies much from the normal, but can hardly be re- garded as invented or original. ; Catbirds did much mimicry of the songs of other birds. A yellow-breasted chat is worthy of par- ticular mention. This was a bird taken with another from a nest in May. In Sep- tember of the same year I was busy in cor- recting proof for a forthcoming book of some size, so that for at least three months a part of each day was devoted to this work. The manuscript and proof were de- livered by a postman. There were three deliveries each day. Ordinarily the post- man dropped the mail into a slot in the door, but when he had a package of proof this was not feasible and he sounded a call or postman’s whistle for some one to come to relieve him. One afternoon in September, about the time I was expecting proof the whistle sounded and I went to the door. No one was there. My first im- pression was that some boy in the neigh- borhood was up to mischief. The experi- JANUARY 31, 1902.] ence occurred four or five times in the next day or two and I began to regard it as mysterious, never thinking of the birds in such a connection. Some four days later whilewatching the birds—I was inthe room with them—a chat came and alighted on my shoulder and shrill in my ear sounded the exact reproduction of the postman’s eall. The very direction and distance from which the call came and its exact tone were reproduced. I heard it many times afterward, friends and other mem- bers of the family became familiar with the call, and even after I was aware of it, when I was expectant, I have heard the postman, gone to the door and finding no one, knew how realistic was the reproduc- tion of the postman’s call by a yellow- breasted chat. One of a brood of red-winged black- birds (A. pheniceus), a male, crows con- stantly for all but two months in the year. The crow is an imitation of the crow of the common bantam rooster. Distance and direction are clearly indicated. The sound always appears to come from the rear of the house, at some little distance, and is a very clever imitation of the crow of a bantam rooster. This is the only song this bird has. A blue jay (C. cristata) reproduces the song of the cardinal (C. cardinalis) so per- fectly as to deceive any one. It is copied from a cardinal in the room, and distance and direction are not indicated. A European jay (Garrulus glandarius) has learned from a cockatoo to say ‘ How do you do,’ ‘ How do, pretty polly,’ ‘ Pretty polly’ and some whistles and calls. “Last summer on a Wisconsin farm there was a duck hatched out with thirteen tur- keys by a hen as a foster-mother. Thisduck followed the turkeys around and wavered a very long time before it went into the water, and it still imitates the turkey’s note with its duck voice. It sleeps under the SCIENCE. 181 turkeys’ roost at night now, although it is quite an old duck, and scorns the company of the other ducks on the plantation. This interesting family is on the farm of Mr. Clinton D. Stewart, whose post-office ad- dress is Dousman, Wisconsin. Mrs. Mer- rick first called my attention to the duck’s turkey call; but I was not entirely satisfied until I heard it myself.’’ (Extract from letter of Edwin T. Merrick, 836 Gravier street, New Orleans, La., October 19, 1901, to W. H. D. Scott.) This call of the turkey given by a duck is of special interest as precocial birds appear to have much less receptivity than altricial birds. The reason seems obvious. In concluding a word is necessary as to the probable reason why birds in confine- ment diverge from the normal in the habits of song. Presuming that wild birds are pretty constantly employed in obtaining a food supply, it would seem that they do not have much leisure. On the contrary, birds in captivity with all their physical wants carefully looked after, have leisure and employ it in giving their attention to occurrences about them, particularly such as are accompanied by any noise. Of this factor of leisure among animals in confinement little is known, and a broad field is presented for those investigators who have opportunities in zoological gar- dens or, better still, in special laboratories equipped for this and kindred studies. Wim FE. D. Scorrt. PRINCETON UNIVERSITY. MUSEUM STUDY BY CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Tue Field Columbian Museum is often visited by classes from the Chicago pub- lic schools for purposes of instruction obtained by studying the illustrations there afforded of different subjects taught in the schools. The character and yalue of such 182 work vary of course with the age and standing of the pupils, and doubtless as well with the individuality of the teacher. The teachers with whom I have talked are unanimous in saying that the pupils enjoy study at the Museum, not having to be urged to it as to book study, partly, of course, because of the change it affords from the routine of school work, but largely because the objects of study are so tangible and interesting of themselves. Many of the scholars spend considerable time in voluntary study at the Museum outside of school hours. The teachers also say, how- ever, that as might be expected, no im- mediate results are realized from such work unless the pupils know that some re- port of their studies will be ealled for. Such report may be made orally or as a written report on some department of study, or on topics previously assigned. I have sometimes examined such written re- ports and have found their perusal of con- siderable interest and value. They furnish as accurate a test as could be devised, prob- ably, of the amount and kind of instruction which pupils are likely to obtain from study of objects in a museum and as well also of that likely to be obtained by those “children of a larger growth’ who visit the Museum with a less definite desire for in- struction, but who imbibe it nevertheless. The particular lot of reports now lying on my desk is one of about twenty made by pupils in a class in physiography in the first year in high school, ages say 13 to 15 years. The reports or essays as they might also be called, are descriptive of a visit to the geological department of the Museum for the purpose of finding and noting illus- trations of the text-book study of physiog- raphy. The pupils were expected to make drawings as well as notes of the objects which they deemed important and such drawings accompany the essays. Some suggestions had previously been given the SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 370. pupils by the teacher as to topics for study, such as the description of fossils from each of the great geological periods; the study of crystals, meteorites, some special relief maps, ete. Some points noted in the perusal of the essays may be worthy of com- ment. The ideas gained by the pupils from the study of the collection of fossils were isolated and fragmentary. Single forms were drawn and described with con- siderable accuracy, but there seemed to be little conception gained of the march and development of life as a whole, although the collection is sufficiently large and com- plete to make this manifest. Still, several noted the introduction of fishes in the Devonian age and the excess of vegetation in the Carboniferous. None of the pupils mentioned the animals of larger size, al- though many skeletons and restorations of these are exhibited. It is curious that while the average visitor of maturer age devotes his attention almost exclusively to these, I have never noticed young people take much interest in them. They take more interest in small objects, such as shells, impressions of ferns, ete. The color of the fossils or matrix was often noted and throughout the essays observa- tion of color is the one thing prominent. The remarks on crystals contained few observations calculated to encourage the modern erystallographer. Almost any- thing in the mineral collection was re- garded as a erystal and the observations made were chiefly on differences of color. From a collection of crystals arranged ac- cording to the six systems, one scholar drew the sweeping conclusion that ‘isometric erystals are green, yellow-green or cream color; those of the tetragonal system gen- erally red, those of the hexagonal system vermilion,’ ete. This was a conclusion from scanty data, but the scoffer may be reminded that the whole world did not do JANUARY 31, 1902.] much better in its study of erystals up to the beginning of the seventeenth century, as witness its reasoning that because quartz was found on the high Alps and sometimes contained water that ergo it must be ice frozen so hard it could not melt. A few of the pupils, however, distinguished crystal forms quite accurately and drew excellent representations of them. I believe distine- tions of form might be easily taught to pupils of this age and even younger if more attention was paid to it. In nearly all lines of scientific study form is far more important than color. In their study of meteorites nearly all noticed the ‘thumb marks’ and gave a reasonable explanation for them. They also noticed the composition of meteorites as made up of iron and stone in different amounts. The finer details of structure were entirely overlooked, however. Only one noticed the Widmanstattian figures, de- seribing them as ‘scratches,’ and the chondritic structure was not noted at all. The observations drawn from a study of the relief maps excelled all others in accu- racy and fullness. The region of the Grand Cafion of the Colorado, for instance, was correctly de- seribed as a valley worn to a profile of equilibrium into which a subsequent canon had been eut by the rise of the land. This had doubtless been stated in the text-book, but the relief map evidently gave the sub- ject a vividness and reality. So also from a map showing the extent of the conti- nental glacier, the southern limit of the glacier was correctly traced and a perma- nent impression, doubtless, of an important fact gained. On other relief maps the posi- tions and relations of plateaus, divides and slopes were correctly noted and single geologic features accurately described. One could not read over the portions of the essays devoted to this subject without being convinced that relief maps are most SCIENCE. 183 desirable adjuncts for the teaching of geography. Some glaciated surfaces were noted by all, but few gave a correct explanation for the markings on them although the origin of the markings was stated in an accom- panying label. One thought they were due to running water, another to ‘ undulations in the ground moraine.’ I doubt if the young mind is able to conceive fully of the physical effects of a continental glacier. Graphite was studied by many of the pupils, their interest in it presumably be- ing aroused by their familiarity with it in lead-pencils. The fact that it was black was the principal point noted, although some listed the localities whence it is ob- tained. From some inconceivable source one lad drew the information that “ sraphite is used for egg coal, because it contains a great deal of oil, so that it is used where a fire is needed. Coal dust moulded by pressure forms graphite.’’ The accounts of petroleum and its uses were generally full and accurate and must have been drawn almost entirely from ob- servations on the collection. Such a knowl- edge of petroleum could not have been gained by reading a dozen books. Asbes- tos, salt, gypsum, mica and sulphur were among other substances noted, some ac- count being given of the appearance and uses of each. The statements were partly second-hand and partly original, with no evidence of any particular skill in observa- tion. One girl, for imstance, stated she could see no difference in appearance be- tween gypsum and asbestos, though the dis- tinction should have been plain. It was evident that the pupils had not as a whole been trained to careful observation, for many obvious distinctions were overlooked. On the whole the essays showed the need of museum study rather than important results from it. They painfully evineed the fact that copied labels and statements 184 _ of text-books furnished the material out of which they were chiefly made. Doubtless many of the labels were copied without a glance at the specimen which it accom- panied. There was far too little evidence of individual, independent observation. Let it be noted, however, that the essays which contained the most personal ob- servations were the most accurate. It was in the essays most largely made up of copied labels that such strangely conglom- erated statements as those I have quoted were to be found. This ineulcated slavery to print is to my mind one great weakness of modern instruction in the elementary schools, so far as any hope of the promotion of science is concerned, and it is in museum study that one of the best remedies for it is to be found. In order that independent study may be encouraged it may be ques- tioned whether the museum label should aim to give very extended information. To be sure, the mere copying or reading of the label serves to some extent to fix the in- formation it contains upon the mind, but the knowledge would take firmer hold if this information could be gained by a study of the specimen. I have often noticed visit- ors of all ages studying an unlabeled col- lection with the greatest persistency and interest, and then have seen them finish it in a glance after it was labeled. They seemed to feel that they were relieved of any further responsibility in regard to it as soon as they saw the labels. Hence, Goode’s well-known aphorism that ‘a museum should consist of a collection of instructive labels illustrated by specimens’ has its limitations. Uttered to call atten- tion to the need for system and as a protest against the lumber room, it had a pro- found value, but modern experience will hardly consider it a final ideal. It is pos- sible to so prepare and arrange collections that they will tell their own story without more labels than are needed to Serve as SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 370. hints or indexes. Such collections or ex- hibits will promote the spirit of observa- tion, study and inquiry, and the more they do this the more will they contribute to the advancement of science. Otiver C. FARRINGTON. FIELD CoLUMBIAN MUSEUM. THE BOUNDARY LINE BETWEEN TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO. Tue boundary line between Texas and New Mexico along the 103d meridian was the chief theme of a talk before the Na- tional Geographic Society on November 15 by Dr. Mareus Baker. This boundary, created in 1850, was surveyed and monu- mented, in part, in 1859 by John H. Clark, and his survey was confirmed by Congress in 1891. Recent official maps place this boundary two or threemiles west of the 103d meridian, where the law declares it to be. The paper read before the Society was a summary of the results of an enquiry un- dertaken to discover and weigh the reasons for this discrepancy. The original monuments set by a sur- vey to mark a boundary in accordance with law, become, when confirmed, the boundary, even when followed by more accurate surveys which show the original monuments not to be where they were de- signed to be. The more accurate survey does not alter the boundary. It merely shows how well or ill the original survey was done. Of this line, 310 miles long, 180 miles were traced out and marked by mounds of earth or stone in 1859; the re- maining 130 miles have not been surveyed. Of the 180 miles surveyed and marked, 24 are at the south end marked by 3 mounds and 156 at the north end marked by 23 mounds. The longitude of the south end of the line was determined by chaining eastward from El Paso along the 32d parallel 211 miles, the initial station being JANUARY 31, 1902.] Frontera of the Mexican boundary survey. Obviously this is a very weak longitude determination. It was not checked by astronomical observations originally, nor has it been since. Nor has it been checked in any other way. According to present knowledge the three monuments at the south end are on the 103d meridian and should be so shown on our maps until sub- sequent and better surveys shall find these monuments and show that they are not on the 103d meridian. As to the 130 miles of unsurveyed line north of the short piece, at the south end of the boundary, this part is obviously coincident with the meridian. The longitude of the 23 mounds on the northern part of the line depends upon the one at the N.W. corner of Texas. That corner monument was set in August, 1859. Its longitude was obtained by transfer from some point on the 37th parallel, 85 miles to the northward. In 1857 a surveying party under Lieutenant- Colonel Johnston measured westward along the 37th parallel from the west boundary of Missouri 471 miles to the 103d meridian. Clark was the astronomer in Johnston’s party and determined by moon culmina- tions the longitude of the monument set by Johnston to mark the intersection of the 103d meridian and 37th parallel. The longitude of the mound at the N.W. corner of Texas, set by Clark in 1859, therefore depends upon the longitude of a point de- termined by himself, astronomically, two years previously on the 37th parallel. How accurate was Clark’s determination? No- body knows. Various surveys under the direction of the Land Office have been made in this vicinity since Clark’s original one, but his monument has not been found. Two monuments have since been estab- lished to mark the point which Clark in- tended to mark and which he supposed he did mark. One of these was set by John J. Major, in 1874, and another by Rich- SCIENCE. 185 ard O. Chaney, in 1881. Major searched for Clark’s monument, failed to find it and ‘reestablished’ it, 7. ¢., set a new one. The evidence is conclusive that Major’s monument was set more than twomiles west of Clark’s. Chaney’smonument issome four or five miles east of Major’s. Chaney did not find either Clark’s or Major’s. Thus three monuments or mounds have been built to mark the N.W. corner of Texas, one by Clark in 1859, another by Major in 1874, and a third by Chaney in 1881. Clark’s alone marks the boundary and that one is lost. Of the 22 remaining mounds marking the northern part of the boundary two, and only two, are known to still exist. These two are in sight of one another and on op- posite banks of the Canadian River. They were found and reported to the General Land Office by the land surveyors Taylor and Fuss in 1883. We have no information as to their longitude other than that fur- nished by Clark himself, who reported them on the 103d meridian. In the present state of our knowledge it seems highly desirable that the boundary should appear on our maps on the 103d meridian. At the same time it 1s even more important that topographic surveys be made along this line and as many as pos- sible of the original Clark monuments identified and accurately placed on the map. This done the whole line should be run out, old monuments restored and new monuments built. If this is done before the discovery of oil, mineral or things coveted, a costly and bitter boundary dis- pute can be avoided. Since the above was written I have learned of a recent survey which has ma- terially added to our knowledge of the present state of this boundary. Mr. H. D. Preston, U. S. Deputy Surveyor, retraced the Clark line on the 103d meridian from 186 the Canadian river northward to the cor- ner, a distance of about 75 miles, in the summer of 1900. This was done by direc- tion of the General Land Office and his MS. report is now on file in that office. Of the 12 monuments set by Clark in 1859 on this part of the line Preston identified 3 certainly and, doubtfully, 4 in all. Clark’s line, according to Preston, bears N. 0° 08’ W. In 1882 W. 8. Mabry, county surveyor of Dallam county, the northwesternmost county of Texas, retraced a part of the Clark line and assisted in building a pas- ture fence for the XIT or Capital Land and Cattle Company. The corner of that pasture was established at the point sup- posed by Mabry to be Clark’s corner. This XIT corner is now locally recognized as the N. W. corner of Texas. According to Preston’s survey it is ‘ within 150 links of the proper position east of the Johnston monument.’ It is about 24 miles east of the lost Major monument of 1874 and is 2 miles 14.05 chains west of the Chaney monument of 1881. Clark’s monument, according to Clark, is in longitude 103°. Chaney’s monument, according to Chaney, is in longitude 103°. These monuments differ in longitude by more than 2 miles. Which one is the better determination is unknown. Both longitudes are weak— Clark’s is a fair determination by a weak method, Chaney’s a weak determination by a strong method. A new and strong de- termination by a strong method is much to be desired. SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. Biologia Centrali-Americana, Insecta, Lepi- doptera-Rhopalocera. By Freprerick Dvu- cANE Gopman, D.C.L., F.R.S., and Osspert Sanvin, M.A., F.R.S., ete. Vol. I., Text, pp. i-xlvi+ 1-487; Vol. IT., Text, pp. 1-782; Vol. TII., Plates, I-CXII. and XXIVa. Pub- lished by the authors. Royal 4to. 1879- 1901. SCIENCE. {[N. 8. VoL. XV. No. 370. In the present age it is recognized as one of the functions and duties of wealth to minister at the altar of learning. The upbuilding of great institutions, the object of which is the ascertainment of truth and the diffusion of knowledge, is regarded as one of the high pre- rogatives of those who have command of mate- rial resources. Splendid have been the achieve- ments in recent years of those who have conse- erated their wealth to founding or aiding in the endowment of colleges, universities, libra- ries and museums; but perhaps no enterprise undertaken by wealth is likely in coming years to be regarded as more important and monu- mental in its character than the great work to which Messrs. Frederick Ducane Godman and Osbert Salvin addressed themselves when they conceived the idea of preparing and giy- ing to the world the encyclopedic work known as the Biologia Centrali-Americana. Of this work it may be said that it constitutes monu- mentum aere perennius. It is with profound satisfaction that we wel- come the appearance in final form of the three volumes devoted to the Rhopalocera of Mexico and the Central American republics. For twenty-two years these volumes have been slow- ly appearing in parts. The delay is most rea- sonably explained by the surviving editor and author, Mr. Godman, as due ‘to the constant pressure of other work, the ever-increasing amount of material, the gradually failing health and subsequent death of Mr. Salvin, and the great difficulty of dealing with the Hesperiidx.’ The work, however, has not lost, but has rather profited by delay. The exceed- ingly satisfactory treatment of the Hesperi- ide, which a few years ago would have been impossible, and the supplementary pages and plates cause the student, now that the work is completed, to feel thankful that the editors followed the good maxim, festina lente. Had they completed the work before the region had been traversed by the various collectors whom their munificence placed in the field, and had they not been able to profit by the researches in the family of the Hesperiidee made by Cap- tain E. Y. Watson, the work would not have been the eminently satisfactory work which it now proves to be. There is yet much to be JANUARY 31, 1902.] learned in reference to the lepidopterous fauna of Central America, and the last word has not been spoken even by the learned authors . in the three stately volumes before us, but a foundation has been laid so broad and solid and enduring that all who come hereafter will be compelled to build upon it. These three volumes in a peculiar sense reflect the intelli- gence as well as the generosity of the two lifelong collaborators, Messrs. Godman and Salvin. With the exception of the volume upon the avifauna of the region, written by the same two gentlemen, they most strongly illustrate their learning. Other volumes in the great work reflect the excellence of their editorial supervision, as well as their munifi- cence, but the parts of the ‘Biologia’ which have issued from their own hands and most strikingly display their scientific accuracy and the vastness of their learning are the volumes dealing with the birds and these three volumes treating of the butterflies. Highteen hundred and five species of butter- flies are enumerated in the work as occurring within the region, three hundred and sixty of them being described as new to science. Of these species about twelve hundred and fifty are figured in the one hundred and thirteen hand-colored plates drawn by Rippon and by Purkiss. It will be seen from the foregoing statement that the region chosen is far richer in the number of the species of Rhopalocera than the continent of North America north of Mexico or the Palearctic region, the latter covering Europe and northern Asia. The last published list of the diurnal lepidoptera north of Mexico cites but six hundred and forty-five species, a few of which, however, are doubtful, to which must be added a few others recently described. There are probably not more than seven hundred valid species of butterflies to be found on the entire continent of North Ameri- ea from Florida and the Rio Grande of Texas to the Arctic Ocean. Staudinger & Rebel’s Catalogue, which has just appeared, enumer- ates seven hundred and sixteen species as found in the Palearctic region, covering the Barbary States, Europe, Asia Minor and tem- perate Asia north of the Himalayan ranges. Within the comparatively small area of Mexi- SCIENCE. 187 co and Central America more species of but- terflies occur than are found in all temperate North America, Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia put together. Compared with the fauna of the West In- dian Islands so far as known, the latter are exceedingly poor in the number of genera as well as species of butterflies. While strictly correct lists of the species of Rhopalocera found on the various West Indian Islands are not available for purposes of comparison, enough is positively known to make it certain that all of these islands together do not con- tain more than one third of the number of species which are accredited to the region coy- ered by the ‘Biologia.’ In fact, it is doubtful whether these islands have more than one fourth as many species as are found in the territory of which we are speaking, provided the Leeward Islands and Trinidad be excluded, as appears to the writer proper, in view of their close contiguity to the South American main- land. An examination of the exceedingly interest- ing table given in the introduction to the work, which is devoted to the display of the geographical distribution of the various spe- cies, shows that the region in and about Pana- ma is probably the most prolific, Costa Rica and Guatemala following closely. It is here, in the humid tropical forests, that we have the fullest development of the Rhopalocerous fauna of the territory. The table of distribu- tion is summarized as follows: Nymphalid, ... 588 species ItiloyANeNCES, cooonconsc0s Il f Erycinide, 240 Bs Lyeaenidee, Ei reer eisyiaw a Ae iPapilronidse: 5.....2.... 186 re Hesperiide, ............ 556 se Making a total of..... 1805 “ Comparing this list with the great list of the ‘Rhopalocera Ethiopica,’ recently pub- lished by Professor Aurivillius, and adding the Hesperiide from the Ethiopian subregion, which number about three hundred and seventy-five species, we find that the continent of Africa and the adjacent islands have up 188 to the present time only yielded us about two thousand species of Rhopalocera. It is evi- dent, therefore, that the Neotropical region, which includes tropical South America as well as Mexico and Central America, is likely to prove to possess, when a final and exhaustive catalogue of the species is made, the richest Rhopalocerous fauna in the world. The family of the Hesperiide is far richer in species in this region than anywhere else. More species of these interesting and often puzzling insects occur in Mexico and Central America than are found either in the tropics of the Indo-Malayan region or in the tropics of Africa. The Erycinide are also character- istic of the region, and the number of species of this family in the total vastly exceeds the number of species found in all other regions of the globe combined. The Nymphalide lead all other families in the number of species, but the number of species, while great, is not equal to the number that is found in the Ethiopian subregion, nor is the number of species as great as that known to occur in the Indo- Malayan subregion. The general conclusions reached by Mr. Godman as to the distribution of species within the territory are best expressed in his own language. He says: “Our study of the Central American butterflies proves con- clusively (1) that the fauna is mainly a north- ern extension of that of tropical South Amer- ica, extending on the Pacific side to Mazatlan and on the Atlantic to a little beyond Ciudad Victoria in Tamaulipas, some few species on each coast reaching the southern United States, with, of course, many peculiarly modi- fied forms in the region; (2) that there are a considerable number of Nearctic genera and species coming down the central plateau a certain distance into Mexico, and some even into Guatemala, as Argynnis, Vanessa, Lime- nitis, Grapta, various Colias, ete.; (3) that there are no strictly alpine forms, the insects met with above the tree-line being mostly stragglers from below, such species as occur at the highest limits of the forest being very like those of similar Andean localities, these mostly belonging to the genera Huptychia, Archonias, Catasticta, Pereute, Enantia, ete.; SCIENCE. [N. S. Vor. XV. No. 370. (4) that the fauna of the Atlantic slope to per- haps as far south as Costa Rica is incom- parably richer than that of the Pacific, this being particularly noticeable’in the Ithomiina, , the Erycinide, the genera Thecla and Papilio, ete.; and (5) that some of the purely tropical genera do not reach north of Nicaragua, Costa Rica or Panama, as Hutresis, Scada, Cerois, Callitera, Hetera, Oressinoma, Narope, Pana- cea, Megistanis, Hypna, Zeonia, Ithomeis, ete.” Within the limits of a brief review such as this it is impossible to take up and consider many of the interesting details in reference to distribution which present themselves to view upon a careful study of the work. The writer commends to the careful attention of all stu- dents of entomology the introductory chapter of Volume I., which epitomizes in a masterly manner the results of the years of study which have been devoted by the learned authors to the subject in hand. To the comparatively few who are devoting themselves to a critic- al study of the Hesperiide that portion of the work devoted to this family is of extreme value. It is no exaggeration to say that it is one of the most perfect examples of careful monographie work which has ever appeared in the English language. The amount of pains- taking and microscopic research which has been performed in order to attain the results which are given has been prodigious. It is certainly to be hoped that the work will find a place in all the great libraries of the New World, for without access to it the stu- dent of entomology in America is certain to find his labors greatly retarded. W. J. Houuanp. CaRNEGIE MusrEuM, PITTSBURGH. A Laboratory Course in Bacteriology, for the use of Medical, Agricultural and Industrial Students. By Freprertc P. Gornam, A.M. Philadelphia and London, W. B. Saunders & Co. 1901. 8vo. Pp. 192. In this unpretentious laboratory guide the author has succeeded in combining technical accuracy with sound pedagogy in a manner which will commend the book to teaching bac- teriologists. The directions for even the com- monest processes have very obviously stood the JANUARY 31, 1902.] test of actual use with classes before being erystallized into their present form. The par- ticular merit of the book lies in the fact that the author has carefully described small points of technique which too many others writers have left for the student to learn for himself through experience more or less bitter. The contents of the book are as follows: Chapter I., Microscopical Examination of Bac- teria, with a description of the ordinary pro- eesses of staining; IJ. and IIJ., Morphology and Reproduction, with methods of straining flagella and capsules; IV., Classification of Bacteria—a synopsis of Migula’s genera; V. and VI., Sterilization, and Preparation of Cul- ture media; VII., Cultures of Bacteria—a de- scription of the ordinary culture methods, with full tables of descriptive terms; VIII., Deter- mination of Species, contains a list of diagnos- tic characters, a standard chart for full de- scription of a species, a key for tracing the more common forms, and a synopsis of Ches- ter’s scheme of classification by groups; IX., Bacterial Analysis of Water, Milk, Air and Soil; X., Pathogenic Bacteria—directions for the study of eleven typical pathogenic organ- isms. The appendix contains an account of Wilson and Randolph’s method of measure- ment by photography, a description of the com- mon contaminating moulds and yeasts, and a very useful list of synonyms. Not a few points and methods are described which have hitherto appeared only in mono- graphs; some are here published for the first time. The text is fully illustrated, and many of the cuts are new. On account of its thoroughly modern and in many respects original treatment of the ordi- nary technique of bacteriology this book will proye useful not only to the bacteriologist, but to the botanist who employs bacteriological methods in pathological or systematic work. Haven Mertcatr. THE UNIVERSITY oF NEBRASKA. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. THE 122d meeting of the Society was held on Jan. 8. The first paper was by Mr. Charles D. Walcott on ‘The Outlook of the Geologist SCIENCE. 189 in America.’ This was the substance of the presidential address, before the Geological So- ciety of America, at Rochester. Mr. M. R. Campbell then presented a paper on ‘Recent Geological Work in Pennsylvania.’ The author summarized briefly the character and scope of the mapping of the Pennsylva- nia coal fields which is now being carried on by the United States Geological Survey in co- operation with the State. Up to the present time seven quadrangles, embracing an area of 1,600 square miles in the bituminous coal fields, have been geologically surveyed. It is generally admitted that the weakest point of the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania was its lack of adequate base maps on which to portray the geological data gathered in the field. It was impossible to lo- cate geological boundaries correctly upon the erude county maps, which were the only ones available. With the aid of the recent detailed topographic maps, it is believed that the geo- logical boundaries have been determined with- in an error of a few feet. The importance of such close mapping is self-evident from the fact that land underlain by the Pittsburg coal is valued at from $300 to $1,100 per acre. The investigations have also brought out many details of structure not previously known, which are of the utmost importance to mine and oil and gas well operators. In closing Mr. Campbell expressed a high appreciation of the labors of the geologists who had preceded him in this field, and stated that their results ean only be superseded by the most careful detailed work and by the use of a topographic base map producing a high degree of ac- curacy. Atrrep H. Brooks, Secretary. BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. Tue 347th meeting was held on Saturday evening, January 11. F. A. Lucas exhibited a malformed tooth of Mastodon, of an irregular shape, and with about twice the normal number of cusps, the extra cusps haying been mostly added on one side of the tooth. M. B. Waite presented ‘A Problem in Plant 190 Pathology and Physiology,’ stating that last fall he had been called upon to examine a large pear orchard belonging to Mr. A. S. New- son of Algoa, Texas, that was said to be suf- fering from the effects of blight. On exam- ination it was found, in addition, to be suffer- ing from leaf blight, from lack of cross fertili- zation and from unfavorable environment, having been planted on prairie soil without any proper natural drainage. Steps had been tak- en to combat the pear blight, but the result was very doubtful, as the disease could be readily brought in from surrounding orchards. The leaf blight could be remedied by spraying and the eross fertilization supplied by planting other varieties of pear, but it remained to be seen whether or not the locality was too far south for the successful cultivation of pears. These trees, like the peach, needed the rest gained by lying dormant during cold weath- er. Wilfred H. Osgood spoke of ‘The Supposed Occurrence of Caribou on the Queen Charlotte Islands,’ saying that a new species, Rangifer dawsont, had been described on the strength of a single imperfect skull, said to have been brought from Graham Island. Mr. Osgood re- viewed the evidence relating to this skull and read extracts from a number of letters con- cerning it, concluding that in all probability caribou had never been seen in that locality. Jacob Kotinsky read a paper on ‘Present Opinion concerning the Home of the San José Seale,’ briefly reviewing the history of the pest from the time of its appearance in California and the attempts to find its original habitat. It was supposed quite recently that Japan was the native place of the scale, but investigation showed that it did not occur in elevated por- tions of Japan, nor on native trees, while Mr. Marlatt had subsequently located it in China, south of the Great Wall. F. A. Lucas. PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. THE 31st annual meeting was held Dec. 21, 1901, President Walcott in the chair. The report of the secretaries was presented by Mr. J. F. Hayford. During the year the principal event has been the incorporation of SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 370. the Society ; 16 meetings have been held for the presentation of papers; Vol. XIII. of the Bul- letin has been completed and distributed, and 78 pages of Vol. XIV. At present the Bulle- tins are sent regularly as issued to about 300 societies, libraries, ete. A tabulation of the membership for about 20 years, during which time several other scientific societies have been formed at Washington, showed that the loss. in membership due to these had now ceased and the Society has reached a steady regime. The present membership is 107. The treasur- er’s report presented by Mr. B. R. Green show- ed a healthy financial condition. Mr. Richard Rathbun, Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, was elected President for 1902, and the other officers were reelected. The 544th meeting was held Jan. 4, 1902. Mr. D. B. Wainwright, of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, described the experiments made in October last between Nantucket Light ship and the shore, a distance of 48 miles, by the aid of the Marconi apparatus in regular use there, to determine ‘Longitude by Wire- less Telegraphy.’ It was found possible to secure chronograph records of the chronometer beats and the signals from the ship, and then to eliminate the lag of the instruments by causing the chronometer-break to excite the coherer and obtain new chronograph records. Time observations were made and the data were obtained for what is probably the first de- termination of longitude by wireless telegraph. In the discussion that followed, participated in by several geodesists, the opinion was express- ed that even for the short distances through which the new method could now be used, the precision of observation was greater than that of any other method except the telegraphic; its special value would probably be found in work among islands and in unsettled countries like Alaska. Professor Updegraff then discussed the ‘Stability of Astronomical Piers.’ The first astronomical instrument was only a pier, the Gromon; and by its aid the ancients deter- mined a surprisingly large number of con- stants. A pier should be built on soil rather than on rock; brick was now in favor rather JANUARY 31, 1902. ] than stone: at the Cape of Good Hope the piers of the meridian circle were iron cylinders filled with water. At the Naval -Observatory the marble piers of the six-inch meridian cir- ele had shown a change in azimuth of 0”.3 for 10° Fahr., and had recently been replaced by brick. CHARLES K. Weap, Secretary. NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. SECTION OF BIOLOGY. A REGULAR meeting of the Section of Biol- ogy swas held on Dec. 9, Professor Bashford Dean presiding. The following papers were presented : ‘The Action of Alcohol on Muscle’: F. S. Lrr and W. SALANT. ; “Instincts of Lepidoptera’: A. G. MAYER. “The Natural History of some Tube-forming Annelids’: H. R. LiInvrmte. The first paper, presented by Professor Lee, consisted of an account of an investigation earried out by the two authors jointly, by very exact methods, pure ethyl alcohol being used, and isolated muscles of the frog in the normal “and in the alcoholized condition being com- pared. It is found that the muscle which has absorbed a moderate quantity of pure alcohol will contract more quickly, relax more slowly, perform a greater number of contractions in a given time, and become fatigued more slowly than a muscle without alcohol. The effect is most pronounced in from one half to three quarters of an hour after the liquid has begun to be absorbed, and later diminishes. Wheth- er the alcohol exerts this beneficial action upon the muscle substance itself or on the nerves within the muscle is not yet certain. The results allow no conclusion regarding the ques- tion whether the alcohol acts as a food or in some other manner. In larger quantities its presence is detrimental, diminishing the whole number of contractions, inducing early fa- tigue, and diminishing the total amount of work that the muscle is capable of perform- ing, even to the extent of abolishing the con- tractile power entirely. In such quantities the action is distinctly poisonous. The after- effects of either small or large doses have not yet been studied. SCIENCE. Wil Dr. Mayer reported upon a number of ex- periments designed to determine the nature and duration of associative memory in lepidop- terous larve. In one series the larvz were placed in a wooden box divided into two com- partments by a central partition, which was pierced by a small opening. On one side of the partition was placed moist earth contain- ing growing food-plants, while the other cham- ber was barren. The larvee were placed in the latter and found their way through the open- ing to the food. Apparently they never learn- ed the path to the food, but always wandered aimlessly about, never shortening their paths. When the food was removed, however, they rarely entered this side of the box, showing that it was the presence of the food that at- tracted them. Individual temperament is very well shown by the larve, for some quickly find the food, while others are much slower. This quickness is not due to superior intelligence, however, but is owing to the fact that these larvee remain quiet for shorter periods of time than the slower ones. A number of experi- ments were made upon larve which devour only special kinds of leaves. These can be induced to eat sparingly of previously uneat- able food if the sap of their proper food- plant be rubbed into the previously distaste- ful leaves. Similarly, they can be prevented from devouring their proper food-plant if the juices of uneatable plants be rubbed into the substance of the leaves. However, they can always be induced to bite at or devour any foreign substance if one allows the larva to commence eating its proper food, and then slides up in front of it a distasteful leaf, sheet of paper, tinfoil, etc. The larva will take a few bites of the foreign substance, but will soon draw back its head, snapping its man- dibles with apparent disgust or aversion. Very soon, however, it recommences to eat in a normal manner. If, now, the foreign sub- stance be presented to the larva at intervals of one and one half minutes or more, about the same number of bites is taken at each pres- entation, thus showing that the larva does not remember its disagreeable experience for this interval. If, however, the interval be about thirty seconds the larva will take fewer and 192 fewer bites of the disagreeable leaf, soon re- fusing it altogether. Here again individual temperament is shown in the reaction of lar- vee in this respect. When spinning their co- coons the larvee of Samia cynthia and C. pro- methea are geotropic, for if the cocoon be in- verted soon after the completion of the outer envelope, the pupz are sometimes found re- versed also, and may thus be imprisoned in the cocoon; for the densely-woven (normally lower) end of the cocoon is probably impene- trable to the issuing moth. A series of ex- periments are now being tried to determine whether the peculiar coloration of male moths in dimorphic species is due to sexual selection on the part of the female. In the case of Callosamia promethea there appears to be none, for males are accepted even when female wings are pasted upon them, or when their wings or scales are entirely removed. In the case of O. dispar, however, there is a decided selec- tion against males whose wings have been cut off; 57 per cent. of the perfect males succeed in mating with the females, while only 19 per cent. of the wingless males are successful. The peculiar coloration of the males in these eases has probably not been brought about through the agency of sexual selection on the part of the female, but may be due to race- tendeney toward variation in a definite direc- tion unchecked by natural selection. Dr. Linville, in his paper, showed that the investigation of the habits of Amphitrite or- nata and Diopatra cuprea brings to light many interesting adaptations. The first named lives in U-shaped tubes in sand and mud, access to food and water being possible at either end. Additions to the tube are made at the ends by the tentacles, which are continually draw- ing in small masses of sand. However, there is every indication that in this animal, where no occasion exists for a protecting tube, con- tinued tube-building is merely incidental to food-getting. Food is brought to the mouth, which is always concealed, in the masses of sand and in water currents created by the in- ward-lashing cilia which thickly cover the tentacles. Diopatra lives in a tough, mucus- lined tube, with its deeper end bare and serv- ing as an anchor, while its outer free end is SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 370. studded with bits of shell and gravel. The animal may expose its anterior portion while searching for food and for suitable material to add to its tube. Observations made in the laboratory indicate that the animal chooses these materials by tactile sense-organs in the cephalic cirri. The particle is grasped be- tween the palps or by the mandibles, or by both, and is then conveyed with a fair degree of precision to a place at the edge of the tube. During the construction, Diopatra periodical- ly ceases to build in order to ‘glue’ the gravel and shell together. The mucous-secreting or- gans are pads upon the ventral surface near the head. These organs are brought in con- tact with the inner surface of the tube by long and vigorous contractions and expansions of the trunk segments. All or nearly all of the newly constructed portions are gone over in this way before the animal renews its search for new bits of gravel and shell. Henry E. Crampton, Secretary. THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. Aw interesting exhibition of lantern slides of New England Birds was given by Mr. Reginald Heber Howe, Junior, at the meeting of December 4, 1901. Among the more in- teresting views shown was one of a phcbe’s nest built inside a barrel, and a series taken on Seal Island, Maine, illustrating the breed- ing-grounds and nesting-tunnels of the Leach’s petrel. A unique photograph was that of a male chestnut-sided warbler standing on the edge of its nest, in the act of removing excre- ment of the young. A number of views were shown of ospreys’ nests, some built, as along the Maine coast, in trees by the shore, others, as commonly in Rhode-Island, on cartwheels, elevated on the ends of poles for the use of the birds. At the meeting of December 18, Mr. John G. Jack gave an account of forestry and gra- zing in the Bighorn Reserve, Wyoming. The great value of the forest for holding water, and thus insuring a permanent water supply, was pointed out, and the disastrous effects of forest fires were illustrated by a series of lan- JANUARY 31, 1902. ] tern slides. Englemann’s spruce and lodge- pole pine were the chief timber trees noted on the reserve. An interesting view was shown of a valley, running east and west, on whose sunny southern slope grew the Pinus flexilis, while the cooler slope with the northerly ex- posure supported a growth of Englemann’s spruce. A view of especial interest was shown, of a group of trees on whose sides were long and deep-worn scars, made years before and partially healed over, where elk had persistent- ly rubbed their antlers while in the velvet. Mr. Henry L. Clapp gave an account of school gardens in Europe and in this coun- try. There are in Europe over 80 such gar- dens, from Sweden to Switzerland. The meth- ods of laying out the gardens, preparing the soil, and planting of the flowers and vegetables by the children were explained by the speaker and illustrated by a fine series of lantern slides. Only recently has this practical and interest- ing method of teaching botany to children been introduced into this country, but the re- sults have already been noteworthy, and more such gardens should be established for our own schools. Guover M. ALLEN, Secretary. THE KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. Tun Kansas Academy of Science held its thirty-fourth annual meeting at Iola, Kansas, on December 30 and 31, 1901, Professor E. Miller, of the Kansas State University, in the chair. While the meeting did not have an attendance equal to that of some former years, there was much interest manifested in its work and an unusually full program presented. Fourteen new active members were elected, and seven active members advanced to life membership. About forty papers, mainly on biological, geological and chemical topics, were presented, many of the more technical ones being read by title only. A paper by Professor J. T. Lovewell, for- merly chemist in Washburn College, Topeka, on ‘Gold in Kansas Shales,’ provoked con- siderable discussion. The author announced as the result of a very large number of assays, that gold in paying quantities exists in the SCIENCE. 193 vast beds of shales which cover such a large section of western Kansas. The chemists and geologists of the State University and many others have positively denied that gold exists in these shales. A warm discussion followed the reading of the paper, with the result that the Academy appointed a commission of three of its members to investigate the matter fur- ther, and to report at the next meeting of the Academy. On Tuesday evening, December 31, Presi- dent Miller gave the retiring president’s an- nual address, choosing for his topic, ‘The Growth of Science during the Nineteenth Century.’ “A New Plesiosaur’ was described by Dr. S. W. Williston, of the State University. The remains of this animal, as well as those of many others, were discovered during the past season by Mr. Charles H. Sternberg, of Law- rence. Mr. Sternberg spent several months in the field, part of the time in the employ of a noted foreign museum, which thus obtained many of his most valuable discoveries. He read before the Academy an interesting paper on ‘The Permian Beds of the Big Wichita Valley of Texas.’ At the conclusion of his paper much interest was manifested in de- ploring the loss of these rapidly disappearing paleontological specimens to American insti- tutions, and especially to those of Kansas. A lack of funds for employing explorers or buy- ing the specimens is responsible for this con- dition. The members of the Academy were shown every courtesy by the people of Iola, who interested themselves in showing their visitors through the vast industrial plants located there. These include several large zinc smelt- ers, an acid manufactory, cement works, etc., all made possible by the vast field of natural gas which underlies this beautiful part of Kansas. The following is a list of the officers for the ensuing year: President, J. T. Willard, of the State Agricultural College, Manhattan; First Vice-President, Edward Bartow, of the State University, Lawrence; Second Vice-President, J. A. Yates, of Ottawa University, Ottawa; Secretary, G. P. Grimsley, of Washburn Col- 194 lege, Topeka; Treasurer, E. C. Franklin, of the State University. The next annual meeting will be held in Topeka. D. E. Lantz, Secretary. THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE OF ST. LOUIS. Ar the meeting of the Academy of Science of St. Louis on the evening of January 6, 1902, about forty persons present, the following of- ficers for 1902 were installed: President, Henry W. Eliot; Vice-Presidents, D. S. H. Smith, William E. Guy; Recording Secretary, Wil- liam Trelease; Corresponding Secretary, Er- nest P. Olshausen; Treasurer, Enno Sander; Librarian, G. Hambach; Curators, G. Ham- bach, Julius Hurter, Hermann yon Schrenk; Directors, Amand Ravold, Adolf Alt. On behalf of herself and a considerable number of other persons, Mrs. William Bouton presented to the Academy a collection of 633 butterflies mounted on Denton tablets, on con- dition that the collection should be made ac- cessible to the public. The following papers were presented by title: ‘New Species of Plants from Missouri’: K. K. Mackenzir and B. F. Busu. ‘Revision of the North American Species of Triodia’: B. F. Busu. Professor A. S. Chessin exhibited a gyro- scope and explained how an accurately con- structed and rapidly rotated gyroscope might be made to indicate the position of the meridi- an plane, the direction of the polar axis of the earth and the latitude of the place of observa- tion, thus serving the purpose of the mariner’s compass, but more accurately, because of the fact that the compass indicates the magnetic pole and not the true pole. The following for- mule pertaining to the subject were fur- nished : ese HE + 6,+ A, Ase GEA T/—=nxr 1 2 CoQ eos A where 7’ and J” are the durations of a com- plete oscillation of the gyroscope when its axis is made to remain in the horizontal and the meridian planes, respectively; w .and 2 the angular velocities of rotation of the earth and SCIENCE. (N.S. Vou. XV. No. 370. the gyroscope, respectively; A, A,, A, and C, C,, C, the equatorial and the axial moments of inertia of the gyroscope and the two rings on which it is mounted. From these formu- le the latitude (2) of the place of obser- vation is derived, namely: 7 cos 2 = T2 O Professor F. E. Nipher made a further state- ment concerning his results in the attempt to produce ether waves by the explosion of dyna- mite. He had obtained some results which seemed to show that magnetic effects could be thus produced. “There is apparently no doubt that great solar outbursts like the one which Professor C. A. Young saw at Sherman in 1872* produce enormous distortions of the ether. Why should it not be possible to re- produce this result? It goes without saying that large sun-spots may be slowly formed, without such ether disturbance; and certainly we can hardly expect to reproduce solar veloci- ties. But terrestrial explosions do yield trem- ors and sound vibrations, and these lead to ex- perimental difficulties. The nickel-silver co- herer can be operated by the sound-waves from a tuning-fork. The coherer can be either open- ed or closed, by sound-waves, when the co- herer is properly placed in a magnetic field. The same result may be produced by changes in the magnetic field, due to the slow approach of a horseshoe magnet. After the coherer cir- cuit has been closed by a spark, the slow ap- proach of a horseshoe magnet will often open the circuit, precisely as it does when the co- herer has been closed by the magnet held in a position of reversed polarity. When the mag- net fails to open the coherer circuit, the cause is either a too rapid approach, which causes the coherer to close by reversal of magnetic polar- ity, or a wrong presentation of the mag- net, which confirms the condition produced by the spark discharge. The conditions under which experiments are made as yet, with the jarring due to the street traffic and the ex- plosions, and the changing magnetic field due to the electric cars, have proven to be a source of some perplexity. It throws some doubt **The Sun,’ p. 156. JANUARY 31, 1902. ] upon the results reached. However, there seems to be a residual effect which cannot thus be accounted for, and it may be due to an ether displacement. This matter is being earefully studied, and it is intended to use more violent explosives.” WituiAm TRELEASE, _ Recording Secretary. DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. AN AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. As has been announced, the next meeting of the International Geographical Congress is to be held in Washington, D. C.,"in 1904. It must be apparent, I think, to every one fa- miliar with the status of geography in Ameri- ca, that we are not prepared for such an inva- sion, and that a better organization of our geographical ranks is highly desirable. There are now at least ten geographical so- cieties in the United States. How many more there are in other parts of the two Americas I am not informed. Each of these societies is a local organization and there is no tangible bond of union between them. It needs no ar- gument to show that some form of coopera- tion or of union between these various socie- ties is much to be wished, not only that we may make a creditable showing at the com- ing meeting of the International Congress, but what is much more important, in order that mutual assistance may be had, and the science of geography advanced in a more effi- cient way than is practicable at present. This matter is not new, and at the risk of seeming to assume undue responsibility, I venture to state a plan of reorganization which em- bodies ideas gathered from various sources. My thesis is: There should be an American Geographical Society having for its territorial limits the New World. The aims of this so- ciety should be in the main threefold: 1st. The holding of a general meeting each year, preferably during convocation week. %d. The publication of an illustrated month- ly magazine, devoted to geography in its wid- est aspects. 3d. The promotion of geographical explora- tion and research. In reference to the first of these aims, I SCIENCE. 195 need not enlarge on the desirability of an an- nual meeting at which the’results reached by various students of geography may be present- ed and discussed, and acquaintances made or renewed, since abundant justification for such a course is known to every one, from the suc- cess that has attended the annual meetings of several national and international scientific organizations during the past decade. Geog- raphers certainly need to know their fellow workers as much as geologists, chemists, etc., need to know each other. This would be one of the chief results of an annual meeting of geographers, held perhaps at the same time and place as the annual winter meeting of the Geological Society of America. The greatest gain to be expected from the proposed reorganization lies in the second of the aims to be fostered by the new society, namely, the publication of a strong, attractive, well-illustrated monthly magazine,in the place of the several publications now issued by ex- isting societies. Some of the reasons for this are: The saving of expense in editing, and in duplication, especially of news items, reviews, ete.; concentration and ready ref- erence. The concentration of American geo- graphical literature would be a blessing to future generations, in view of the fact that complete files of the present publi- cations are not readily accessible, and to find all of them in one library is seldom possible. With a central bureau of publica- tion, also, it is to be hoped that the standard of the articles published would be higher. - While the expense of a monthly magazine rep- resenting the interests of all classes of geog- raphers, and well edited and well printed, would perhaps be greater than that of any one of the single publications referred to, it would be much less than all of them combined. It would also, I venture to assert, reach a wider audience than all of the publications com- bined which it would replace. Such a maga- zine would place American geography in a far more favorable light than it now enjoys, in the eyes of the geographers of other conti- nents. While a few of the existing societies have assisted in geographical research, their efforts 196 have been local and the results attained, while creditable, have not been such as could be legitimately expected from a stronger and more widely extended organization. With all geographers in America united, influence in favor of exploration could be brought to bear upon legislative bodies which would command ~ attention. PLAN OF REORGANIZATION. To attain the desirable ends referred to above, the following plan for uniting the ex- isting geographical societies into one organiza- tion, with power to increase its membership and broaden its efficiency, is proposed for dis- cussion : Let each of the existing societies become a section of the new organization to be known as the American Geographical Society. Each section to manage its own affairs, independent- ly, have its own officers, its own property, etc., but pay a sum, in proportion to its member- ship, in support of the magazine to be pub- lished by the united sections. All members of the various sections to be fellows of the larger organization, and at their annual meeting to elect a president, secretaries, treasurer and editor. The president of each of the various sections to be ex officio vice-presi- dent of the main society. The various sections to choose their own names, but it is to be hoped these names would be geographical, as for example, Boston Section, New York Section, Washington Sec- tion, San Francisco Section, etc., of the Amer- ican Geographical Society. Such a broadening and enlargement of aims would be a compli- ment to the Society now bearing the name which it is desirable should be given to the representative Society of the two Americas. The arguments for a truly American geo- graphical society are far greater than I have attempted to show. The objections to the plan outlined seem to refer entirely to local pride or, more accurately, local self-interest. That the existing societies should be proud of the results they have attained and love’ their present methods is not only natural, but commendable. A broader view, however, must convince one that each local society by union with all other similar societies in America, SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 370. without losing its own individuality, would bring to itself renewed strength and vigor. My aim in presenting this outline of a method by which all students of geography in America may be induced to cooperate and mu- tually assist in enlarging the boundaries of geographical knowledge, is to invite discus- sion. I am sure that the editor of ScimENcE will give space for the expression of the opinion of any one in this connection. I wish espe- cially to invite the Council of each existing society to discuss this matter and express its views. If we can arrange for a meeting of delegates from each society, a mutual agree- ment beneficial to all can no doubt be reached. This should be done in time to effect a reor- ganization before the convening of the Inter- national Geographical Congress. IsrarL C. Russe. Ann Arzor, MIcH., Jan. 13, 1902. THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRALBLATT FOR BOTANY. As we have already noted the president of the Association Internationale des Botanistes has appointed the following American editors. for the Botanisches Centralblatt: D. H. Campbell, Stanford University, Califor- nia, ‘Morphology.’ C. J. Chamberlain, ‘Cytology.’ D. T. MacDougal, New York Botanical Garden, ‘Physiology.’ G. T. Moore, Department of Agriculture, Wash- ington, D. C., ‘Algae, Lichens, Archegoniates’ (systematic) . D. P. Penhallow, McGill University, Montreal, ‘Paleobotany.’ H. von Schrenk, Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., ‘Fungi (systematic) and Vegetable Pathology.’ Wm. Trelease, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Mo., ‘Phanerogams’ (systematic). University of Chicago, For the coordination of the editorial work,. the two editors last named have been asked to serve respectively as secretary and chairman of the American Board. Professor William Trelease, chairman of the Board has sent out the following direc- tions, which we quote as of interest to all work- ers in science. JANUARY 31, 1902. ] In order that the Centralblatt may be given the greatest possible value for American botan- ists and that the least possible delay may be experienced in securing the publication of abstracts of American papers, the authors of such papers are requested to promptly send copies of the same (marked ‘for review,’ if convenient) to the editor in charge of the sub- ject dealt with in each paper, or, if authors’ separates are not available, to call the appro- priate editor’s attention to the paper. Each editor is requested to make a regular examination of current journals, proceedings of societies, etc., for papers dealing with his subject, so that occasional failure to receive an author’s separate may not deprive the users of the Centralblatt of prompt reviews of all papers published in this country. Im case an editor has not regular access to any specified serial publication, the chairman will keep him informed as to its contents, if asked to do so. Each editor is requested to consider the sub- ject assigned to him in the broadest possible sense, and, in case of a paper doubtfully lying in his field, to err on the side of noticing it rather than in the other direction, or to specif- ically refer it to the editor to whom, in his judgment, it should go, or to the chairman of the board. The management of the Centralblatt asks that abstracts (which may be in English), rather than commendatory reviews, be pre- pared; that the more important publications be first noticed, title and place of publication of current papers not reviewed being likewise sent in; and that attention be given to quality, promptness and brevity, in the sequence indi- eated, in the preparation of abstracts. The chairman of the American Board sug- gests, with endorsement of the preceding para- graph, that his colleagues adopt the general form and marking for printers of the accom- panying model,* in the heading of abstracts, following the Madison rules for abbreviations when such are considered necessary; that names of all new genera, species and varieties (which, like latinized names in general, should * CAMPBELL, D. H. ‘On the affinities of certain anomalous dicotyledons.’ (American Naturalist, 36: 7-12. f. 1-2. Jan., 1902.) SCIENCE. 197 be italicized) be included in abstracts of sys- tematic papers; that especial care be given to legibility, punctuation and the spelling of geographic and scientific names and technical words, and that ‘copy’ and entries for papers not reviewed be sent to the chairman regu- larly at the end of each week, a memorandum of postage and other necessary expense being kept and sent in at the end of each quarter year. The editor of the Centralblatt desires to have each abstract signed by the person who prepares it, and, subject to approval and cor- rection of reviews before transmittal to the chairman, each editor has the privilege of assigning any papers in his department to suit- able persons, in case he does not wish to ab- stract them himself. SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. Av a recent meeting of the American Acad- emy of Arts and Sciences of Boston, the fol- lowing were elected: E. B. Wilson of New York, as associate fellow; Julius Hann of Vienna, E. R. Lankester of London, V. A. H. Horsley of London, F. Delitzsch of Berlin, and §. R. Gardiner of Sevenoaks as foreign honorary members. Jouns Horxins University will celebrate on February 21 and 22 its twenty-fifth anni- yersary, when President Remsen will be for- mally inaugurated. Dr. D. C. Gilman, presi- dent emeritus, will deliver the commemorative address in the afternoon of Feb. 21. This will be followed by an official reception to the | delegates, and at eight o’clock in the evening there will be a general reception. President Remsen will make his inaugural address on Feb. 22, in the afternoon. In the evening the annual banquet of the Alumni Association will be held. Tue medals and funds of the Geological Society of London will this year be awarded as follows: The Wollaston medal to M. Fried- rich Schmidt of St. Petersburg, the Murchison medal to Mr. F. W. Harmer, and the Lyell medals to Mr. R. Lydekker and Professor An- ton Fritsch, of Prague; the Wollaston fund to Mr. L. J. Spencer, the Murchison fund to Mr. T. H. Holland, the Lyell fund to Jr. 198 Wheelton Hind, and the Barlow-Jameson fund to Mr. W. M. Hutchings. Dr. Kucen Warmine has been appointed director of the Geological Survey of Denmark. Prorrssor J. H. Marsuatt, who has re- cently been engaged in archeological re- searches at Athens, has been appointed di- rector-general of the Archeological Survey of India. - We learn from the American Anthropolo- gist that a committee has been appointed at the instance of the Société d’Excursions Scientifiques, to solicit funds for the erection in Paris of a monument in honor of the late Gabriel de Mortillet. Favorable response is being made, and the names of a number of American subscribers appear in the printed list distributed by the committee. M. Louis Giraux, 22 rue Saint Blaise, Paris, is the treasurer. We learn from Nature that a medallion bust of Sir George Airy is to be placed in the northeast wall of St. Alphage Parish Church, Greenwich, by his daughters. The bust has been copied from the one in the Royal Obsery- atory, Greenwich. Dr. Witi1am LeRoy Broun, president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Auburn, Ala., died on January 23. Proressor Emi Scunrrer, a chemist, died at Louisville, Ky., on J anuary 22, at the age of ninety years. Dr. Huco von Zimmssen, the eminent Ger- man pathologist, professor in the University at Munich, died on January 20, at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. Cartes Roperts, a British surgeon and the author of contributions to anthro- pometry and natural history, died on Janu- ary 8. THE annual meeting of the board of regents of the Smithsonian Institution was held on January 22. There were present Chief J ustice Fuller, chancellor, in the chair ; William P. Frye, president pro tempore of the United States Senate; Senator S. M. Cullom, Senator O. H. Platt, Senator F. M. Cockrell, Repre- sentative Robert Adams, Jr., Representative SCIENCE. [N. S. VoL. XV. No. 370. Hugh A. Dinsmore, Dr. J. B. Angell, Rich- ard Olney, George Gray, J. B. Henderson, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell and Secretary Langley. Dr. Andrew D. White, ambassador at Berlin, and Representative R. R. Hitt were unable to be present. The secretary presented his annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901, of which we hope to give some account when it has been published. The needs of the United States National Museum were considered and a resolution was adopted providing for a committee, consisting of six members of the board, whose duty it shall be to represent to Congress the pressing necessity of additional room for the proper exhibition of specimens belonging to the National Mu- seum, and of additional appropriations to carry on the work of the museum. The chan- cellor appointed as members of the committee Senators Platt, Cullom and Cockrell and Rep- resentatives Hitt, Adams and Dinsmore. Iv is said that M. de Witte, the Russian minister of finance, has drawn up a decree making the metric system obligatory in Rus- sia. The decree is now under the considera- tion of the Imperial Council. Masor Ronatp Ross announces that Dr. Dutton has found a new kind of parasite, which causes fever in human beings. The parasite is said to be like the one which causes the fly*disease among horses in South Africa. Tur Department of Superintendence will hold its annual meeting at Chicago on Feb- ruary 26 and 27 under the presidency of Mr. G. R. Glenn, state school commissioner of Georgia. Among the papers to be read and discussed are: ‘Obstacles to Educational Progress,’ Paul H. Hanus, professor of theory and practice of education, Harvard Univer- sity; ‘The Danger of using Biological Anal- ogies in Reasoning on Educational Subjects,’ Dr. W. T. Harris, U. S. Commissioner of Edu- cation, Washington, D. C.; ‘The High School as the People’s College versus Fitting Schools,’ Dr. G. Stanley Hall, president of Clark Uni- versity, Worcester, Mass. Evening addresses will be made by Dr. F. W. Gunsaulus, presi- dent of the Armour Institute, Chicago, Ill, and Dr. Charles W. Dabney, president of the JANUARY 31, 1902.] University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn. The National Society for the Study of Edu- cation, of which President Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia University is president, will meet in conjunction with the Department of Superintendence on February 27 and 28. THE ninety-sixth annual meeting of the Medical Society of the State of New York was held at Albany on January 28, 29 and 30, 1902, under the presidency of Dr. Henry L. Elsner of Syracuse. TuE conference of science teachers, which has been arranged in recent years by the Technical Education Board of the London County Council, was held on January 9 and 10, with about 400 teachers in attendance. THE twenty-third annual meeting of the German Balneological Congress will be held this year at Stuttgart from March 7 to 11, under the presidency of Professor Oscar Lieb- reich, r Tuer eleventh Congress of Russian Natural- ists and Physicians was opened at St. Peters- burg on January 2. We learn from Nature that the number of people taking part in the Congress was very large, more than 3,250 mem- bers’ tickets having been taken on the day of opening. The Minister of Public Instruction has given a sum of 500/. to defray the expenses of the Congress, and both the municipality of St. Petersburg and the university have con- tributed large sums for the same purpose. At the first general meeting of the Congress, the president (Professor Menschutkin) spoke about the foundation of a Russian Association for the Advancement of Science, which would hold regular congresses every year. posal was accepted by a congress held eleven years ago; but the Ministry of Public Instruc- tion was hostile to the idea, and only now the new Minister, General Vannovsky, has agreed not to oppose it. At the same general meeting Professor S. M. Lukianoff delivered an ad- dress on the limits of cytological research un- der normal and pathological conditions, in whieh he endeavored to establish the limits of psycho-physiology; and Professor N. A. Umoft delivered a brilliant address on a physico- mechanical model of living matter. SCIENCE. This pro- 199 PLANs are being made for the establishment of a national institute of hygiene in Spain. The State has offered a site for the building, and it is hoped that sufficient funds will be raised by public subscription. Tue British Medical Journal states that an institute for the application of the light treat- ment has been established in Vienna. At a recent meeting of the Medical Society of that city Professor Lang announced that, in con- junction with a number of medical practition- ers and philanthropists, he had founded an institute on the model of that of Professor Finsen at Copenhagen. The institute would be to a certain extent under the control of the municipality. Among the founders is the Emperor, who has contributed 10,000 crowns. Mr. Cuartes T. Ham has presented $5,000 to the Rochester Academy of Medicine, to be used to further medical research. Proressor J. B. Smirn, New Jersey state entomologist, expects to ask the legislature next week to appropriate $10,000 for the in- vestigation and extermination of the New Jersey mosquito. WE called attention recently to the Woman’s Table at the Naples Zoological Station, main- tained by a number of women’s colleges and individuals. Those desiring further informa- tion in regard to the conditions under which the table may be occupied should address the secretary, Miss Cornelia M. Clapp, Mt. Holy- -oke College, South Hadley, Mass. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL NEWS. Mr. AnprEw Carnecin and the descendants of Peter Cooper have respectively given $300,- 000 to Cooper Union, New York City, doub- ling the gifts made by them to the Union three years ago. The total income will now be about $90,000, which will not enable the trustees to greatly enlarge the work of the Union, but there will no longer be a deficit, and the efficiency of the work will be increased. It is said that the entire building will now be used for the work of the Cooper Union, that the salaries of the teachers will be somewhat in- ereased, and that the work in physics and elec- trical engineering will be enlarged. Z00 CHANCELLOR JAMES R. Day, of Syracuse University, has announced that Mr. John D. Rockefeller has given $100,000 to the univer- sity endowment fund. This insures the rais- ing of $400,000 to meet the offer of Mr. John D. Archbald, of New York, to double that amount. Among the new buildings that will be erected will be a biological laboratory. TuroucH the death of Mrs. Charlotte L. Sibley Phillips Exeter Academy will receive $50,000 and the Massachusetts Historical So- ciety $100,000. Tue University of Aberdeen has received £25,000 from Lord Strathcona and £30,000 in smaller subscriptions. Srr W. O. DaucieisH has given £10,000 to St. Andrew’s University, half of which is for the new building of the Medical School. Tue Drapers Company has voted a donation of £30,000 to the new University of London. At a meeting of the executive committee of the Carnegie Trust held in Edinburgh, the secretary and treasurer submitted their re- ports for the period ended December 31, 1901, showing that fees have been paid by the Trust to 2,441 students, amounting to the sum of £22,941. It was arranged to hold the annual meeting of the trustees in London, at which the first report of the executive will be sub- mitted. THE second annual court of governors of Birmingham University was held on January 8. Mr. Chamberlain, the chancellor, made an address describing the progress of the Univer- sity. Plans have been drawn up for buildings to cost about $5,000,000, and three groups, to cost about $1,500,000, will be erected with the money that has been subscribed. As has been already reported, the Birmingham City Coun- cil had made a grant equal to a halfpenny in the pound on the borough rate, producing £5,- 750 in the financial year, and directed that a similar grant should be provided for in its annual estimates until it should otherwise or- der. The Staffordshire County Council had similarly identified itself with the aims of the University by making a grant of £500 a year for five years, in aid of the School of Mining and Metallurgy. SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 370. Apout a year ago Mr. H. Melville Hanna founded in the medical department of West- ern Reserve University a research fellowship for the promotion of original work in medi- cine, especially in physiology and pathology. Applications for the fellowship are now in- vited. The income of the fellowship is about $600 a year. It is tenable, in the first instance, for one year, but a fellow who has done ex- ceptionally good work may be reappointed for a second term. All communications should be addressed to Dr. G. N. Stewart, professor of physiology, or Dr. B. L. Milliken, dean, medi- cal department of Western Reserve University. Proressor EpmMuND J. JAMES, professor of public administration in the University of Chicago, has been elected president of North- western University. Dr. R. E. Jones has resigned from the pres- ideney of Hobart College. Dr. Junius Sacus, head of a well-known preparatory school in New York City, has been elected professor of secondary education in ‘Teachers’ College, Columbia University. At the January meeting of the board of trustees of Syracuse University, the following changes in the faculty of science were an- nounced: Associate Professor H. Monmouth Smith was made full professor of chemistry. Instructor Edward H. Kraus was made associ- ate professor of mineralogy; W. M. Smallwood, professor of biology in Allegheny College, was elected associate professor of zoology. Pro- fessor Smallwood is now on leave of absence, doing graduate work in Harvard University. He will assume the duties of his new position in September next. At Columbia University Mr. John Cabor, Jr., M.E., has been appointed assistant in the department of physics, to succeed George B. Pegram, promoted, and Mr. Wilson E. Davis, A. B., assistant in the department of mining. Dr. W. H. THompson, Dunville professor of physiology, Queen’s College, Belfast, has been elected to the chair of institutes of medicine (physiology and histology) in the Royal Col- lege of Physicians of Ireland, rendered vacant by the resignation of Professor J. M. Purser. SIE NCE A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, PUBLISHING THE OFFICIAL NOTICES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: 8S. NEwcoms, Mathematics; R. S. WoopWARD, Mechanics; E. C. PICKERING, Astronomy ; T. C. MENDENHALL, Physics ; R. H. THuRsSTON, Engineering ; IRA REMSEN, Chemistry ; CHARLES D. WALCOTT, Geology ; W. M. DAvis, Physiography ; HENRY F. OSBORN, *Paleon- tology ; W. K. Brooks, ©. HART MERRIAM, Zoology ; S. H. ScupDER, Entomology ; C. E. Bessey, N. I.. DITCH, Physiology ; BRITTON, Botany ; C. 8. Minot, Embryology, Histology ; H. P. Bow- J. S. Brutines, Hygiene ; Wit~tiam H. Wetcu, Pathol- ogy ; J. MCKEEN CATTELL, Psychology ; J. W. POWELL, Anthropology. Fripay, Fesruary 7, 1902. CONTENTS: The Oarnegie Institution: D. C.G.......... 201 The Wreck of Mt. Mazama: J. 8S. DitiER.... 203 The Teaching of Anthropology in the United States: Dr. GEorcE GRANT MacCurpy.... 211 On the Measurement of Time: Miuton UPpE- GRAFF Scientific Books :— Newcomb’s The Stars: PROFESSOR GEORGE C. Comstock. Harth Current Observa- tions: W. G. Cavy. Ridgway on Birds of North and Middle America: J. A. A...... 220 Scientific Journals and Articles............ 226 Societies and Academies :— The American Physical Society: Pro- Fessor Ernest Merritt. Ohio State Academy of Science: E. L. Mosetry. New York Academy of Sciences, Section of Biol- ogy: Dr. Henry E. Crampron. Section of Astronomy, Physics and Chemistry: Dr. F. L. Turts. The Philosophical Society of Washington: Dr. CHARLES K. Wrap. The Hlisha Mitchell Scientific Society: Pro- TPESSOR CHAS. BASKERVILLE.............. 2217 Discussion and Correspondence :— The Daily Barometric Wave: H. H. Cray- TON oodd noctaunasodbkian ona nose orreD AG 232 Notes on Inorganic Chemistry :— New Borids; Ethylene from Inorganic Sources; Organic Aragonite and Calcite ; Utilization of Fluorin from Fertilizer Plants; A Gypsum Weather-scale: J.L. H. 233 Ourrent Notes on Physiography :— Physiography of Wisconsin ; Glacial Hrosion im Skye; The Severn Bore: PRoFESSoR W. MIP IDVA WTS Yossi) tiie ois ciate es sco ieusus-ascelerarsitereus titre 234 Retirement of M. Hatton: Proressor R. H. BREN TERS TON Men ie perssetern inicteremecaisie te ects Sheceenes 235 Scientific Notes and News.................- 236 University and Educational News.......... 239 MSS. intended for publication and books, etc., intended for review should be sent to the responsible editor, Pro- fessor 1. MekKeen Cattell, Garrison-on-Hndson. N. Y. THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION. Tue first meeting of the trustees of the Carnegie Institution was held in Washing- ton on the 29th and 30th of January. Nearly all the members of the board were present and two sessions were devoted to a consideration of the important business en- The Hon. John Hay, Secretary of State, presided trusted to them by Mr. Carnegie. on the first day and, at the second session, the Hon. Abram S. Hewitt, who had in the meantime been made permanent chairman of the board. The most interesting inci- dent of the meeting was the appearance of the founder who in a very clear and modest way read the deed of trust by which he conveyed to the Carnegie Institution ten millions of dollars in five per cent. bonds of the United States Steel Corporation. After reading this deed, he proceeded to unfold in more familiar language the pur- poses that he had in view, which are not different from those already indicated, al- though he amplified certain points which had only been briefly mentioned before. Amone other things he said in substance that he had been tempted to associate the name of George Washington with this gift 202 of his, but on reflection he had reached the conclusion that it would be unwise to do so. He also stated that the Carnegie Institution would not be such a national university as Washington thought possible in his day. Mr. Carnegie also gave emphasis to his re- peated desire that the income of the fund should be largely devoted to extending human knowledge by original investigation and research. This would involve the selec- tion of individual co-workers of excep- It would also lead to the publication of important memoirs. Beyond tional powers. these fundamental restrictions the trustees are left free to proceed as they may think best from time to time. Accordingly, an executive committee of seven persons was authorized to formulate plans and to take such preliminary steps as might be impor- tant before the annual meeting of the trus- tees in November next. This committee consists of the president of the Carnegie Institution, Daniel C. Gilman, the four gen- tlemen with whom Mr. Carnegie has been advising during the last few weeks, namely : Hon. Abram 8. Hewitt, Dr. John 8. Bill- ings, Hon. Carroll D. Wright and Hon. Charles D. Woleott, and, in addition, Hon. Elihu Root and Dr. 8. Weir Mitchell. The executive committee immediately after their appointment proceeded to discuss the next step to be taken and determined to begin by opening, temporarily, rooms in Washington at No. 1439 K Street, where conferences may be held. Next they pro- pose to correspond with men in all parts of the country who are acknowledged lead- ers In science (using the word science in a very broad sense), and after their answers SCIENCE. (N.S. Von. XV. No. 371. are received to consider the suggestions they may make, preliminary to future action. They also propose to make a dili- gent inquiry respecting all the kindred agencies that are now promoting research under the auspices of the government or under the direction of universities and technical schools. The experience of for- eign countries will also be carefully studied. From this statement it will be obvious that the further development of this new It is not expected that scholarships will be estab- institution will be slow and gradual. lished at present, and all requests for as- sistance will be laid before the executive committee. These points should be borne in mind. The great object of the foundation is the The methods are left to the free action of the trustees, advancement of knowledge. who will await the carefully matured sug- Noth- ing has been done in founding the new in- gestions of the executive committee. stitution to further or to hinder the estab- lishment of a national university which has been so many times proposed to Con- gress. Nothing is projected which will in any way interfere with the purpose of the George Washington Memorial Association to secure the funds requisite for the erec- tion of a memorial building. Nor has there been any step taken which will prevent the Washington Memorial Institution, initiated early in the last summer, from developing plans for the introduction of students to the various scientific bureaus of Washing- ton. The Carnegie Institution is simply a new FEBRUARY 7, 1902. ] force for the promotion of science, ready to cooperate with other institutions which are now or may be established in Washington or elsewhere. By its very foundation it is precluded from any thought of rivalry. Tf the founder’s hopes are realized his wise and munificent bounty will benefit not only our own country but the interests of man- kind. D. C. G. THE WRECK OF MT. MAZAMA* INTRODUCTION. Tue geological record of this country from the earliest epochs to the present time is replete in volcanic phenomena, but the climax in such matters appears to have been reached in the earlier portion of the Neocene, when one of the largest known voleanic fields of the world was vigorously active in our Northwestern States. It stretches from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, embracing a large part of Wyo- ming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California, and presents a great variety of volcanic phenomena concerning which, notwithstanding a copious literature, there has been as yet but a small amount of de- tailed investigation. The work of the Geo- logical Survey has taken me across this field in various directions and afforded an extended opportunity at intervals during nearly a score of summers upon the Pacific coast to study the western portion of the field. Instead of attempting a summary of what has been done in this large field, as perhaps might be expected upon this oceasion, I beg to call your attention more particularly to a special feature in the voleanology of the Cascade Range, which, * Abstract of Presidential address delivered be- fore the Geological Society of Washington, Dec. 18, 1901. The full address with geological map and illustrations will probably appear as a bul- letin of the U. S. Geological Survey. SCIENCE. 203 so far as I am aware, is not well represented in any other portion of the field nor in fact anywhere else within the United States. To set forth more clearly the wreck of Mt. Mazama, which is the central theme, it is necessary to consider briefly the general relations of the whole range. LIMITS OF THE CASCADE RANGE. The western limit of the great volcanic field is marked by the corresponding border of the Cascade Range, which is made up at least largely, if not wholly, of voleanie ma- terial erupted from a belt of vents extend- ing from northern California to central Washington. Lassen Peak marks the southern end of the Cascade Range and Rainier is near the northern end. Beyond these peaks the older rocks rise from be- neath the Cascade Range and form promi- nent mountains, the range itself occupying a depression in these older terranes. FOUNDATION OF CASCADE RANGE. A clearer conception of the development of the Cascade Range may be gained by considering the geography of the region during the later portion of the Cretaceous. At that time the coast of northern Califor- nia, Oregon and Washington subsided, causing the sea to advance upon the land. In California it reached the western base of the Sierra Nevada and covered a large part, if not the whole, of the Klamath Moun- tains. In Washington it beat upon the western base of the range near the coast north of Mt. Rainier, but in Oregon it ex- tended far into the interior. Marine de- posits of this period occur along*the base of the Blue Mountains in eastern Oregon. The Cascade Range of Oregon did not then exist to shut out the open sea from that region. East of the Klamath Mountains, as shown by the position and distribution of the Cretaceous strata and their fossils of marine origin, the open sea connected directly with that of the Sacramento Val- “204 ley. The Cascade Range throughout a large part of its extent rests upon Ore- taceous rocks and is associated in Oregon and California with a depression in the older rocks between the Klamath Mountains on the one hand and the Blue Mountains and Sierra Nevada upon the other. This depressed area beneath the lavas of the Cascade Range must not be regarded primarily as a region of subsidence. Its chief movement since the Cretaceous has been upward. It has been raised above the sea. The Klamath and Blue Mountains, as well as the Sierra Nevada, however, have been elevated so much more that the region in question would appear on the surface as a depression were it not filled with lava. The depression is so deep where the Cas- eade Range is cut across by the Klamath and Columbia rivers that the bottom of the lavas forming the bulk of the range is not reached. However, at the ends of the range the older rocks rise to form a more or less elevated base for those parts of the range, and at Mt. Shasta as well as on the divide between the Rogue and Umpqua rivers, where an arch of the older rocks ex- tends northeasterly from the Klamath Mountains towards the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon, the Cascade Range gets so close to the western side of the depression that the lavas lap up over the arch of older rocks rising to the westward. At various points of the range granolitie rocks, such as gabbro and diorite, occur, but the deep erosion at these points may have reached the granolites corresponding to the lavas of the upper portion of the range. CASCADE RANGE DURING THE EOCENE. There can be no reasonable doubt that fossiliferous Cretaceous rocks of marine origin are widely distributed beneath the Cascade Range from Lassen Peak to the Columbia, and that during the Chico epoch the whole area was beneath the sea. SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. KV. No. 371. At the close of the Chico important changes occurred in the distribution of land and sea. Northern California, as well as southern Oregon, was raised above the sea and subjected to extensive erosion be- fore the subsidence which admitted the sea during the early part of the Tertiary as far southeast as Roseburg, Oregon. The marine deposits of the Hocene epoch in the vicinity of Roseburg run under the Cascade Range, but have not yet been found upon the eastern side. The conglomerates of the Hocene, like those of the Cretaceous, contain many pebbles of igneous rocks, but they are of types com- mon to the Klamath Mountains and rare or unknown among the lavas exposed in the Cascade Range. During the Hocene in the Coast Range of Oregon there was vigorous voleanic activity,* but the record of such activity, if such existed, has not yet been found in the Cascade Range. That voleanoes were active along the range dur- ing the Hocene is rendered more probable although not yet conclusive by Dr. J. C. Merriam’s discovery of Eocene voleaniec de- posits in the John Day region.t+ CASCADE RANGE DURING THE MIOCENE. There can be no doubt, however, that during the Miocene{ the voleanoes of the Cascade Range were most active and the greater portion of the range built up, al- though it is equally certain that volcanic activity continued in the same region at a number of points almost to the present time. While it may be presumed that the voleanoes of the Cascade Range are extinct, there are many solfataras, hot springs and fumeroles, showing that the voleanic energy of the range is not yet wholly dissipated. *U. S. Geol. Survey, Seventeenth Annual Re- port, Part I., p. 456. } Bulletin Geol. Dept. of Univ. of Cal., Vol. 2, No. 9, p. 285. £U. S. Geol. Survey, 1898-9, Part III., p. 32. 20th Annual Report, FEBRUARY 7, 1902.] All the peaks of the Cascade Range were once active volcanoes, and from them came most of the lava of the range. Hach great voleano was surrounded within its prov- ince, at least during the later stages, by numerous smaller vents from which issued the lava that filled up the intervening spaces and built up the platform of the range. All of the great voleanoes of the range probably had their beginning in the Mio- cene. Many of them, like Lassen Peak and Mount Shasta, continued their activity into the Glacial Period and have suffered much erosion since they became extinct. In this manner important structural differences have been brought to light among the peaks about the headwaters of the Umpqua, Rogue river and the Klamath, and these may be noted as throwing some light upon the history of Mt. Mazama, whose wreck we are to consider. UNION PEAK. d Union Peak (7,881 feet) is on the sum- mit of the Cascade Range in Oregon about 50 miles north of the California line, and 8 miles southwest of Mt. Mazama. It is a sharp conical peak rising about 1,400 feet above the general summit of the range. About the base upon the east and west sides, as well as upon its very summit, are remnants of the original tuff cone, but the mass of the peak exposed upon all sides is solid lava. The molten material did not sink away after the final eruption. The voleanie neck resulted from the cooling of lava within the cinder cone in the very top of the voleanic chimney, and Union Peak to-day shows us the neck stripped of its cinder cone. MT, THIELSEN. Mt. Thielsen (9,250 feet), the Matter- horn of the Cascade Range, is 12 miles north of Mt. Mazama and rises about 2,000 feet above the general summit of the range. SCIENCE. 205 It is built up of brightly colored red, yel- low and brown layers of tuff interbedded with thin sheets of lava, and the whole is cut by a most interesting network of dikes radiating from the center of the old vol- eano. No trace of a voleanic neck is pres- ent; the peak is but a remnant carved out of the lava and tuff cone surrounding the vent. After the final eruption the molten material withdrew from the cone before consolidation so as to leave no voleanic neck corresponding to that of Union Peak. The subsidence after eruption within the chim- ney of Mt. Thielsen must have been over 1,000 feet, for the sheets of lava effused from that vent reach more than 1,000 feet above the central portion of the peak. MOVEMENT IN MT. MAZAMA. To simplify matters it seems best at this point to anticipate some of the conclusions to be reached and state that upon what is known as the rim of Crater Lake there once stood a prominent peak to which the name Mt. Mazama has been given. The crowning event in the voleanic history of the Cascade Range was the wrecking of Mt. Mazama, which resulted from a movement similar to that just noted in Mt. Thielsen but vastly greater in its size and consequences. It culminated in the development of a great pit or caldera, which for grandeur and beauty rivals anything of its kind in the world. Mt. Mazama is practically unknown to the people of Oregon, but they are familiar with Crater Lake, which occupies the de- pression within the wreck of the great peak. The destruction of the mountain re- ‘sulted in the formation of the lake, and the remnant of Mt. Mazama is most readily identified when referred to as the ‘rim of Crater Lake.’ CASCADE RANGE SUMMIT. The Cascade Range in southern Oregon is a broad irregular platform, terminating 206 rather abruptly in places upon its borders, especially to the westward, where the un- derlying Cretaceous and Tertiary sedi- ments come to the surface. It is sur- mounted by voleanic cones and coulees, which are generally smooth but sometimes rough and rugged. The cones vary greatly in size and are distributed without reeu- larity. Each has been an active voleano. The fragments blown out by violent erup- tion have fallen about the voleanie orifice from which they issued, and built up cinder cones. From their bases have spread streams of lava, raising the general level of the country between the cones. From some vents by many eruptions, both ex- plosive and effusive, large cones, lke Pitt, Shasta and Hood, have been built up. Were we to examine their internal struc- ture, exposed in the walls of the canyons earved in their slopes, we should find them composed of overlapping layers of lava and voleanic conglomerate, a structure which is well illustrated in the base of Mt. Mazama. VIEW OF MT. MAZAMA FROM A DISTANCE. Approaching Crater Lake from any side the rim by which it is encircled, Mt. Ma- zama, when seen at a distance, appears as a broad cluster of gentle peaks rising about a thousand feet above the general crest of the range on which it stands. The topo- graphie prominence of Mt. Mazama can be more fully realized when it is considered as the head of Rogue River and sends large contributions to the Klamath River, besides being close to the head of the Umpqua. These are the only large streams breaking through the mountains to the sea between the Columbia and the Sacramento, and their watershed might be expected to be the principal peak of the Cascade Range. GENERAL VIEW OF MT. MAZAMA AND ITS LAVAS. Arriving by the road at the crest of Mt. Mazama, the lake in all its majestic beauty SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 371. appears suddenly in view and is pro- foundly impressive. The long gentle slope upon the outside at the crest is changed to a precipice. Nearly 20 miles of irregular cliffs ranging from 500 to nearly 2,000 feet in height encircle the deep blue lake and expose in sections many streams and sheets of lava and voleanic conglomerate which radiate from the lake as a center. Along the southern border the rim above the lake level has many superimposed flows, but upon the northeast where it is not so high it is composed largely of one great flow which coursed down a ravine of the ancient Mt. Mazama. The rim is cut by a series of eleven dikes, one of which is prominent and reaches from below the lake level to the rim erest. Others rise only part way and spread into flows for which they afforded an outlet. Near the west border of the lake is Wizard Island with its lava field and cinder cone surmounted by a perfect crater. Three kinds of lava oceur in Mt. Mazama, andesite, dacite* and. basalt. The andesites form nearly nine-tenths of the mass of the rim. Dacites, generally accompanied by pumice, form the surface flows upon the north and east crest of the rim and are everywhere underlain by andesites. Both came from the central vent of Mt. Mazama, which, however, furnished no basalt. It all eame from a number of small volcanic cones upon the outer base of the mountain. The dacites are younger than the basalts, for showers of dacite pumice fell in the extinct craters of the basalt cones. As the oldest lavas of Mt. Mazama are andesites, so are the latest, for the lava of Wizard Island is andesite which was poured out upon the floor of the caldera after the de- struction of Mt. Mazama. It marks the beginning of a second petrographic eycle from the same vent. * My collections were studied by Dr. H. B. Pat- ton, who now regards as dacites what I have here- tofore called rhyolites. FEBRUARY 7, 1902. ] ORIGINAL CONDITION OF MT. MAZAMA. Thus far the existence of an original Mt. Mazama has been assumed. The evidence on which this assumption is based may be briefly stated as follows: The inner slope of the rim presents sections of the broken lava flows which radiate from the lake and were evidently effused from a source higher in each case than the respective flow in the rim. If the flows of the rim were to be restored to their original size by extending them inwards from the rim, as they once certainly did, they would converge to a common source and make a voleano which would occupy the place of the caldera and make a prominent peak, Mt. Mazama. The peak must have had a crater similar in character to that of Wizard Island, for it was the source of much fragmental ma- terial spread in all directions upon the mountain slope. The former existence of Mazama Peak is indicated also by the radial series of dikes which cut the rim. They evidently originated in the pressure of the column of molten material in the chimney of a voleanic peak rising some distance at least above the rim. The most convineing evidence of the ex- istence of Mt. Mazama on the site of Crater Lake is to be found in the glaciation and drainage of the rim. ‘The radiating glaciers, which in their descent scored the crest of the rim, could have come only from a central peak. The records of the ice and water drainage from the peak in the topog- raphy of the rim are unmistakable. There can be no reasonable doubt as to the former existence of Mt. Mazama, but its shape and size are more difficult to de- termine. Mt. Mazama is composed largely of lavas similar to those of Mt. Shasta, and from the slopes of that famous peak we may draw an inference as to those of Mt. Mazama. Mt. Shasta, unlike Mt. Mazama, does not stand on an eleyated platform. It SCIENCE. 207 rises with a majestic sweep of 11,000 feet from gentle slopes about its base, gradually growing steeper upwards to the bold peak. At the height of 8,000 feet it has about the same diameter as Mt. Mazama at an equal elevation in the rim of Crater Lake. Above this Mt. Shasta rises over 6,300 feet. The prominence of Mt. Mazama as a drain- age center is quite equal to that of Mt. ‘Shasta, but its slopes on the rim of Crater Lake, ranging from 10 to 15 degrees, are searcely as great as those of Mt. Shasta at a corresponding elevation. On the other hand, the canyons of Sun and Sand ereeks on Mt. Mazama are more profound and have been much more deeply glaciated than any of those on Mt. Shasta. It there- fore appears reasonable to suppose that Mt. Mazama had an altitude at least as great and possibly greater than that of Mt. Shasta (14,380). DEVELOPMENT OF MT. MAZAMA. - Mt. Scott is only a large adnate cone to Mt. Mazama. It belongs to the same cen- ter and holds essentially the same relation to it as Shastina does to Shasta. The slopes of Mt. Mazama reach to the plains at its eastern base, and it is one of the largest members in the composition of that range. The beginnings of Mt. Mazama are now deeply buried beneath the lavas of the range, including those displayed on the lower slopes of the great caldera beneath the water of Crater Lake. The earliest lavas now visible are those of the southern and western lake border, and when they were erupted the voleano was normally active, sending out with its streams of lava large contributions of fragmental material to make the heavy conglomerates of the older portion of the rim. The many suc- eeeding flows of andesite and layers of conglomerate built up the mountain slope to the crest of the rim upon the southern 208 and western side, and Mt. Scott, too, had attained its full development when the principal vents of basalt opened and by a series of eruptions built up the surround- ing country with adnate cones upon the outer slope of the rim of the lake. Then followed the large eruptions of dacite forming Llao Rock and the northern crest of the rim to Cloud Cap. These flows oc- curred during the period of glaciation of Mt. Mazama, and streams of lava alter- nated with streams of ice, a combination which doubtless gave rise to extensive floods upon the slopes filling the ‘valleys be- low with voleanie débris from the moun- tain. In connection with the eruption of these viscous lavas (dacites) there were great explosive eruptions of pumice, spreading it for 20 miles or more across the adjacent country. The explosive ac- tivity of Mt. Mazama culminated in the eruption of the peculiar dark pumice rich in hornblende which followed the outflow of the tuffaceous dacite. DESTRUCTION OF MT. MAZAMA—ORIGIN OF THE CALDERA. Then came the revolution which re- moved the upper 6,000 feet of Mt. Mazama, as well as a large core from its base, and gave rise to the caldera. How was this change produced ? There are only two ways in which it could have been effected: either by an ex- plosion which blew it away, or a subsidence which engulfed it. The occurrence of vast quantities of pumice spread for a distance of 20 miles in all directions about the base of Mt. Mazama is evidence of a most tremendous explosive eruption at that point, an erup- tion the equal of which, so far as known, has not yet been found anywhere else in the Cascade Range. Vast quantities of fine material were blown out at the same time and by drainage gathered into the sur- SCIENCE. (N.S. Von. XV. No. 371. rounding valleys, which it fills to an ex- tent unknown, as far as I have observed, upon the slopes of any of the other great volcanoes of the range.* This impressive evidence shows conclusively that a late, if not the final, eruption of Mt. Mazama was explosive, and of such magnitude as to suggest that the removal of the mountain and the origin of the caldera may be counted among its effects. This sugges- tion, however, is not supported by the evi- dence resulting from a study of the ejected material and its relation to the lava flows of the rim. The fine material filling the valleys and the pumice throughout its great area is hornblendic in character and belongs to the dacites of the rim. Andesitic material may be present locally, but its oe- currence is exceptional. Practically the whole of the material ejected by the final explosion is dacite. The eruption there- fore was of the usual type and not of the kind which removes mountains. As far as may be judged from the pumice deposits in the rim, the greatest eruption of that sort of material from Mt. Mazama oc- curred before the extrusion of the dacite of Llao Rock, and furnishes evidence that the greatest explosion occurred long before the destruction of Mt. Mazama. There is another matter of importance bearing directly upon the explosive theory of the caldera which renders that theory wholly untenable and fully corroborates the conclusion derived from a study of the character and distribution of the pumice. The lava exposed upon the inner slope of the rim is chiefly andesite, and its relation is such as to indicate that solid sheets of andesitic lava formed by far the larger part of Mt. Mazama. If the ealdera re- sulted from an explosion this mass of andesitie flows would be broken to frag- * As far as my own observation goes, the above remarks apply to Lassen Peak, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Pit, Mt. Thielsen, Diamond Peak and Mt. Hood. FEBRUARY 7, 1902.] ments and blown out to fall around the caldera and form a rim of fragmental ma- terial. From the size of the lake and the remaining portion of Mt. Mazama it is pos- sible to compute approximately what the size of the rim formed in this way would be. But before we can do this it is neces- sary to consider the size and shape of the ealdera, especially that part which lies be- neath the lake. THE BOTTOM OF CRATER LAKE. To determine the configuration of the bottom of Crater Lake a large number (168) of soundings were made under the direction of Major Dutton. His results were published by the U. S. Geological Survey upon a special map of the lake, scale 1: 62,500 with a contour interval of 100 feet. The principal lines of soundings are noted, including 96 of the 168 meas- ured depths. From these data, together with information from Mr. W. G. Steel, who was present when the soundings were made, the bottom has been roughly con- toured upon the large scale map with a vertical interval of 500 feet. The positions of the two sublacustrine cones were indi- eated, and it is clear from the soundings that a large mass of lava spread from the Wizard Island vent over the lake floor. The great deep toward the eastern margin of the lake may not have been filled up any after the caldera was formed, but it is evi- dent that the depth of the western portion has been greatly reduced by the material erupted from the three small vents upon its floor. It appears well within the bound of reason to assume that 1,500 feet is not greater than the average depth of the original caldera below the present level of the lake. ESTIMATED SIZE OF FRAGMENTAL RIM. The area of the caldera, as marked out by the crest of the rim, is over 27 square miles, and its original volume, making SCIENCE. 209 some allowance for the subsequent refilling from the craters on its floor, is about 12 eubie miles. If to this we add 5 cubic miles for the part of the mountain above the caldera, and this is a conservative esti- mate, we get 17 cubic miles of material for whose disappearance we have to account. If this material were blown out by a great explosion and fell equally distributed upon the outer slope of the rim, within three miles of the crest it would make a layer over 1,000 feet in thickness. This mass would be so conspicuous and composed of such fragmental material that its presence could not be a matter of doubt. There can be no question concerning its complete absence, for the surface of the outer slope of the rim exposes everywhere either glaciated rock, glacial moraine or pumice, all of which are features which belonged to Mt. Mazama before its destruction, and no trace of a fragmental rim, such as is referred to above, was found anywhere. The evidence of the outer slope of the rim lends no support to the view that Mt. Mazama was blown away and the caldera produced by a great volcanic explosion. In fact, it completely negatives such a view, and we are practically driven to the opinion that Mt. Mazama has been en- gulfed. Major Dutton, who studied the rim of Crater Lake with a training gained from among the active voleanoes of the Hawaiian Islands, recognized the wide dis- tribution of the pumice, but the absence of a well-defined fragmental rim kept him from attributing the origin of the caldera to an explosion. On the other hand, he fully appreciated the difficulty of proving that it originated in a subsidence.* The present inner slope of the rim may not in all cases, or even generally, be the one formed at the time of the collapse. In some cases, however, the inner slope was *U. 8S. Geological Survey, 8th Ann. Rept., Part I., p. 157. 210 formed at that time. Of this we have evi- dence in the behavior of the flow at Rugged Crest. It was one of the final flows from the slope of Mt. Mazama. Be- fore the central portion of the flow where thickest had congealed within the solid erust, Mt. Mazama sank away and the yet viscous lava of the middle portion of the stream flowed down over the inner slope of the andesitic rim into the caldera. The liquid interior of the flow having with- drawn, the crust caved in and formed Rugged Crest with its peculiar chaotic valley of tumbled fragments, columns and bluffs. Other explanations of the peculiar reversed flow of Rugged Crest have been sought, but without avail. The facts are so simple and so direct that they appear to preclude any other hypothesis. It would be apparent from the facts also that the collapse of the mountain was at least moderately sudden, for it is not at all probable that the Rugged Crest flow was long exposed before reaching the pres- ent level of the lake and beyond into the caldera. We may be aided in understanding the origin of the caldera by picturing the con- dition that must have obtained during the eruption of the Rugged Crest dacite from the upper slope of Mt. Mazama. At that time a column of molten material rose in the interior of the mountain until it over- flowed at the summit or burst open the sides of the mountain and escaped through the fissure. The rent of the mountain side is formed in such cases by the pressure of the column of molten material it encloses. The molten lavas being heavy, the pres- sure of the column within the mountain. is very great, and increases rapidly with the height of the voleano. During the final activity of Mt. Mazama there must have been within it a column of lava over 8,000 feet in height above the base of the Cas- eade Range. It is possible that on ac- SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 371. count of this great pressure, aided pos- sibly by some other forces, an opening was formed low down upon the mountain slope, allowing the lava to escape. The sub- sidence of the lava within the mountain left it unsupported and caused its col- lapse. Phenomena of this sort are well known in connection with the Hawaiian voleanoes. In 1840, according to Professor J. D. Dana, there was an eruption from the slopes of Kilauea, 27 miles distant and over 3,000 feet below the level of its sum- mit. At Kilauea the summit of the lava column is well exposed in a lava lake. In connection with the eruption of 1840 the lava of the lake subsided to a depth of 885 feet, and the irregular walls surround- ing it left without support broke off and fell into the molten material below. Dur- ing the intervals between the eruptions of Kilauea the molten column rises towards the surface only to be lowered by subse- quent eruptions. The subsidences, how- ever, are not always accompanied by an outflow of lava upon the surface. At other times it may gush forth as a great fountain hundreds of feet or more in height, as if due directly to hydrostatié pressure. That Mt. Mazama disappeared and the ealdera originated through subsidence seems evident, but the corresponding effu- sion upon the surface, if such ever occurred, has not yet been found. It is hardly con- ceivable that 17 cubic miles of material, much of it solid lava, could collapse, be re- fused and sink away into the earth with- out a correlative effusion at some other point. The bottom of the caldera is over 200 feet below the level of Klamath Marsh, which lies at the eastern base of the Cas- eade Range, and it is not to be expected that the poimt of escape would occur at any level above (4,200). This considera- tion would indicate that the effused mass should be sought on the western slope of FEBRUARY 7, 1902.] the range. The 4,200-foot contour, the level of the lowest portion of the lake bot- tom, occurs along Rogue River at a dis- tance of less than 12 miles from the rim of the lake. The correlative lavas might perhaps be expected to be dacites closely related to the final flow of Mt. Mazama, but on Rogue River no such lavas were seen,—they are generally basalt; nor is there any suggestion of the escape of such an enormous mass of lava as recently as the time of the great collapse. Whether or not we are able to discover the corre- sponding effusion, there seems no reason- able doubt that Mt. Mazama was once a reality and that it was wrecked by engulf- ment. J. S. Diuuer. U. §. GroLocicaL SuRVEY. THE THACHING OF ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES.* THERE is a feeling among students of anthropology that official instruction in that field has not kept pace with the growth of societies and museums of anthropology, as well as with the ever-increasing volume of literature pertaining to the subject. A science which is rapidly filling our mu- seums and now occupies so much space in current publications should have an exponent at every important seat of learn- ing. The past decade has, however, witnessed such rapid strides in the progress of an- thropological teaching that fears for the future of this particular field of activity may, after all, prove groundless. Nearly three years ago I began to collect information on the extent of instruction in anthropology in Europe and the United States. The results were embodied in a paper} that was read before Section H at *Read at Denver before Section H of the Amer- ican Association for the Advancement of Science, August 29, 1901. { Sctence, December 22, 1899, pp. 910-917. SCIENCE. 21) the Columbus meeting, August, 1899, and which led to the appointing of a commit- tee to consider ways and means of further- ing instruction in anthropology in our own institutions of learning. The members of the original committee appointed by Vice- President Wilson were W J McGee, of Washington, chairman; Frank Russell, of Cambridge; and George Grant MacCurdy, of New Haven. ‘Two additional members, Franz Boas, of New York, and W.. H. Holmes, of Washington, were appointed later and, at the New York meeting in 1900, the committee of five was made a special committee of the Association, “Committee on the teaching of anthropol- ogy in America.’ This committee is at present preparing a circular, the object of which is to set forth the aims, scope and importance of anthropology, as well as its place in higher education. At a recent committee meet- ing held in Washington it was decided that such a circular note, to be of the high- est value, should be based on the latest and fullest information relative to the extent and trend of instruction in anthropology. Having already published one paper on the subject, I was appointed to bring that paper up to date so far as it related to the United States. A circular note of inquiry was addressed to one hundred and twenty-one of our most important universities, colleges and medic- al schools. The number and character of the responses have been very gratifying. Of the one hundred and twenty-one institu- tions 31* offer instruction in anthropology, 36 do not, and 54 have not yet been heard from. This is a vast improvement over the con- ditions which prevailed in 1899, so far as we had knowledge of them, as may be seen by comparison with the following table pre- pared two years ago: * Including Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. 212 SCIENCE. [N. 8. Von. XV. No. 371. | # a || oe a 33 ees 8 as | $e Countries. | = 3 a 33 ae Faculties. | 3 rs) ERS) 5 Bw ne = | =s | & ea iBIIvIShwlslesam are cet ie rier | A 1 0 8 9 | Natural Science. , Genmiamypsr sparen ce lies sieterwaciortoy> 14 1 9 15 18 | Philosophical. IMM s dois dao eu toos oad bemeraa | Al 11 0 1 12 | Philosophical or Faculté des Lettres. LG alivssyetaven Sate ec cus na veiey nase tench weeps 6 3 0 5 8 |Philosophical; Nat. Sci.; Med. SjMiNe senadoospdegsocauesoon 1 1 0 0 1 | Science. Portupalerer enw rsrcrne ie 1 1 0 0 1 | Philosophical. SywaizedemnCls>5onceoqcsuc00000c Ll 0 ft iL 1 |Natural Science. Austria-Hungary............. 3 D} 1 1 4 | Philosophical. IRUISSI ae ce pis Ren EL eons 3 1 0 3 3 | Natural Science. Voll amd ilasetois 2e Se aa eae 3 0 (1) 3 3 | Various. Belgium werckecrs aces eres tts 2 1 0 1 2 | Medical. Scandinavians see cee 1 0 0 2 2 | Philosophical. United States................ 11 1 1 15 17 | Various. 55 23 5 55 81 The details furnished by officers of their respective institutions are as follows: BELOIT COLLEGE, BELOIT, WISCONSIN. “A slight reference is made to anthro- pology in a one-hour course in American archeology throughout the sophomore year.’’ This is elective and is offered by Dr. G. L. Collie, Professor of Biology and Curator of the Rust Museum. BELLEVUE COLLEGE, BELLEVUE, NEBRASKA. Anthropology is grouped with the his- tory of civilization and sociology. Pro- fessor C. A. Mitchell gives a general sketch of anthropology in a three-hour course for one semester. BOSTON UNIVERSITY, BOSTON, MASSACHU- SETTS. According to President Warren, while anthropology, in its newest developments and literature, receives incidental attention in a number of courses, no distinct course or courses are devoted to the subject ex- clusively. BROWN UNIVERSITY, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND. Anthropology is classed with zoology and geology and is taken as a senior elect- ive. Professor A. S. Packard’s general course includes the principles of ethnology, ethnography and prehistoric archeology. The Museum of Anthropology in Rhode Island Hall contains a collection of ‘arti- eles of dress and rare implements from foreign countries, and valuable stone im- plements of the aboriginal races of Amer- ica.’ CLARK UNIVERSITY, WORCESTER, MASSACHU- SETTS. Anthropology is grouped with psychol- ogy and may be taken as major or minor for the Ph.D. degree. Alexander F’. Chamberlain, Ph.D., Act- ing Assistant Professor of Anthropology, offers two courses, twice a week through- out the year, besides theses, conferences and laboratory work. The general course embraces history, scope and relations of the science of anthropology, physical anthropology, ethnography, linguistics, criminal and pathological anthropology, historical and archeological. The spe- cial course is upon anthropological topics most akin to psychology and pedagogy. During the month of July, Professor Chamberlain gave a course of twelve lec- tures on ‘Education among Primitive Peoples’ at the Summer School of Clark University. FEBRUARY 7, 1902. ] COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, BOS- TON, MASS. Dr. John S. Flagg, Professor of Biology and Embryology and Lecturer on Anthro- pology, gives a series of ‘optionally at- tended lectures, both general and special, on anthropology.’ Besides, ‘all matters of biology and embryology are treated from a more or less anthropological standpoint.’ COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK CITY. Anthropology is included in the Division of Philosophy and Psychology. Franz Boas, Ph.D., Professor of An- thropology. 1. Ethnography. Lectures, essays and discus- sions. 2. Statistical study of variation, introductory course. 3. Physical anthropology. Lectures and labora- tory work. 4. American languages. 5. Physical anthropology, ethnology, North American languages. Research work in conjunc- tion with Professor Farrand. Livingston Farrand, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor of Psychology. 1. Anthropology, general introductory course. Lectures, essays and discussions. 2. Ethnology—primitive culture. COLUMBIAN UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, D. C. There is a department of anthropology in the Corcoran Scientific School where students may choose the subject either as major or as minor for the degree of Ph.D. Professor Otis T. Mason, LL.D., of the U.S. National Museum, is the Director and offers the following courses: 1. Study of the races of man. 2. History of culture as embodied in the lan- guages, industries, art, social life, philosophy and mythology of the various peoples of the earth. 3. Archeology and folk-lore. Other professors whose courses bear more or less directly on anthropology are Daniel K. Shute, M.D., Anatomy; William P. Carr, M.D., Physiology; Mitchell Car- roll, Ph.D., Classical Archeology; Andrew SCIENCE. 213: F. Craven, Ph.D., Sociology; Theodore N. Gill, LL.D., Zoology; Edward B. Pollard, Ph.D., Semitie studies; J. McBride Ster- ritt, D.D., Political Heonomy. CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY, OMAHA, NEBRASKA. Anthropology is studied as a division of mental philosophy and ‘considered as a branch of primary importance.’ Seniors devote one hour a week to the subject, which is in charge of C: Coppens, S. J., Professor of Philosophy. DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, HANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE. David Collin Wells, Professor of Soci- ology. 1. Anthropology and ethnology, introductory course, 54 exercises. 2. Anthropological geography. Man in relation to his physical environment, as determining his dispersal over the face of the earth, his mode of life, and the density of population. Fifty-four exercises. 3. Social statistics and applied sociology. The biological side of social life. Fifty-four exercises. GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, WASHING- TON, D. C. Authropology is officially classed with psychology and is treated in the senior year and in the Graduate School. The Rev. Edward I. Devitt, S.J., Professor of Psychology,and the Rev. Timothy O’Leary, S.J., Professor of Philosophy, have charge of the work. HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MASS. Division of American Archeology and Ethnology, Courses in Anthropology. Frederick W. Putnam, A.M., 8.D., Pro- fessor and Curator of the Peabody Museum of American Archeology and Ethnology. 1. Special course in American archeology and ethnology. Museum, laboratory and field work. Theses, Frank Russell, Ph.D., Instructor in An- thropology. 1. General anthropology. Lectures and theses. 214 2. Somatology. Lectures and laboratory work. 3. American archeology and ethnology. 4. Advanced somatology. Laboratory work and theses. James H. Woods, Ph.D., Instructor in Anthropology. 1. Primitive religions. Lectures, reading and reports. NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, D. C. Thomas Wilson, LL.D., of the U. S. Na- tional Museum. Professor of Prehistoric Anthropology. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK CITY. J. J. Stevenson, Professor of Geology, offers a course in anthropology, one hour a week throughout the year. The course “covers the natural history of man, deals very little with ethnology and not at all with sociology.’ NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NIAGARA COUNTY, N. Y. Anthropology is treated as a branch of philosophy. The philosophy course ex- tends over two years, of which time anthro- pology oceupies about one sixth, or sixty hours. The Rev. P. J. Conroy is the in- structor. PHILLIPS ACADEMY, ANDOVER, MASS. A Department of Archeology was re- cently established with a fund of $150,000 A museum is to be erected immediately. Dr. Charles Peabody, of Harvard, is hon- orary director and Mr. Warren K. Moore- head is curator. There are about 40,000 specimens with which to begin study. Dr. Peabody and Mr. Moorehead will give in- struction after September, 1901. OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, COLUMBUS. Mr. W. C. Mills, Curator, Ohio State Archeological and Historical Society, gives ul approved course in anthropology which is open to all members of the University. More than 100 students have taken the course within the past two years. SCIENCE. (N.S. Von. XV. No. 371. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY. Professor W. EH. Ritter, of the Depart- ment of Zoology, is preparing to give in- struction in anthropology. UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, CHICAGO, ILL. Department of Sociology and Anthro- pology. Frederick Starr, Ph.D., Associate Pro- fessor of Anthropology and Curator of the Anthropological Section of Walker Museum. (a) Six courses for seniors, covering gen- eral anthropology, ethnology, prehistoric arch- eology and physical anthropology. (6) Courses for graduates. 1. Mexico. Archeology, ethnology, physical anthropology. 2. New Mexico. Pueblo Indians. 3. Japan. 4. Laboratory courses in anthropology. During summer quarters, two of the above courses are offered; in others, two courses in class work and laboratory work besides. Merton L. Miller, Ph.D., Associate in An- thropology. 1. The races of Europe. Seniors. William I. Thomas, Ph.D., Associate Pro- fessor of Sociology, gives a number of courses related to anthropology. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA. Dr. A. H. Daniels, Professor of Phi- losophy, gives a course in general anthro- pology, three hours per week for one sem- ester. Physical and psychical elements of eth- nography. Origin of man. Races of man- kind. Historical and comparative study of customs, ceremonies, rights beliefs and folk-lore of primitive peoples. UNIVERSITY OF INDIANA, BLOOMINGTON. Anthropology is officially classed with the Department of Economies and Social Science. Ulysses Grant Weatherly, Professor of Economies and Social Science, offers two FEBRUARY 7, 1902.] terms’ work, two hours per week. Physical anthropology, anthropometric work, race classification, ete. The origins of civiliza- tion and of society, with some study of American antiquities. UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS, LAWRENCE. Frank W. Blackmar, Professor of Soci- ology. 1. General anthropology, twenty weeks, five hours a week. 2. General ethnology, twenty weeks, five hours a week. UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS. Samuel G. Smith, Lecturer in Sociology, treats incidentally of anthropology in his courses. UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI, COLUMBIA. Charles A. Ellwood, Professor of Soci- ology. One course in ethnology, three hours a week, throughout the year. There is no course given in anthropology in the narrow sense of the term. The work in ethnology ‘necessarily covers the subject matter of anthropology in a general way.’ The work now offered is only elementary. Professor Ellwood will offer advanced work as soon as an assistant in anthropology and ethnology is appointed. UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA, LINCOLN. The reply of Professor Charles EH. Bessey, Dean of the University, is quoted in full: ““ As a separate subject it has no place as yet in the departments of instruction. In- deed, the word, ‘ Anthropology’ does not occur in our Annual Calendar. Yet we have for years offered instruction in some of the topics which enter into scientific an- thropology. Thus we have several courses covering the greater part of the field of somatology (in the department of zoology), and psychology (in the department of philosophy), as well as something of an- SCIENCE. 215 thropology proper (in the departments of sociology and history). If these were to be brought together in one greater depart- ment the amount of anthropological work offered and actually taken by students each year would be found to be quite con- siderable. I estimate that during the year just closed fully 1,200 of the 2,200 stu- dents in the University pursued anthropo- logical studies. If we were to bring these together they would make a department second only to that of English, which has about 1,800 students.’’ The instructors are Drs. H. B. Ward (Zoology); R. H. Wolcott (Physiology) ; Dr. A. B. Hill (Psychology, Logic, Ethies) ; Dr. H. A. Ross (Sociology) ; and Dr. F. M. Fling and Professor H. W. Caldwell (His- tory). i UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, PHILA- DELPHIA. Faculty of Philosophy. Courses in eth- nology and American archeology. Stewart Culin, Lecturer and Curator of the Section of Asia and General Ethnology. 1. Outlines of North American archeology. 2. Comparative ethnology. : In order to systematize the work offered in archeology, Dr. Hilprecht, Professor of Semitic Philology and Archeology ; Dr.Clay, Lecturer in Assyrian, Hebrew, and Semitic Archeology; and Dr. Bates, Lecturer in Greek and Classical Archeology have been associated with Mr. Culin in the adminis- trative group entitled Archxology and Hthnology. The work is to be developed in connection with the Free Museum of Seience and Art. Progress is reported in the movement to found a ‘Brinton Memorial Chair’ of An- thropology at the University of Pennsyl- vania. UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT, BURLINGTON. Anthropology is grouped with natural and social science. 216 G. H. Perkins, Professor of Geology. 1. General course. Senior elective. A survey of the ethnological, social, moral and intellectual characteristics of the principal races of the world, followed by a discussion of the origin and develop- ment of laws, government, arts, industries, lan- guage, literature and religious systems. Professor Emerson. 1. Social institutions. UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, MADISON. Joseph Jastrow, Ph.D., Professor of Psy- chology, offers one course bearing on an- thropology. It is entitled, ‘Mental Evolu- tion ’ and is based on Tylor’s Anthropology. WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, CLEVELAND, OHIO. M. M. Curtis, Professor of Philosophy, gives a course of lectures on the history of anthropology, its main problems and bear- ings. WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY, SALEM, OREGON. President Willis C. Hawley, Professor of Sociology, offers a course in anthropology for juniors and seniors consisting of text, lectures and assigned readings. Two hours a week for the year. YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN, CONN. William G. Sumner, LL.D., Professor of Political and Social Science. What Professor Sumner offers is de- scribed by himself as follows: ‘‘Somatic -anthropology has no independent place in the undergraduate curriculum. It is taught as an adjunct to the social sciences by text-books and lectures. Two hours per week. Special students in the Graduate School have lessons in the subject as pre- sented in Ranke’s ‘Der Mensch,’ with lec- tures, other literature and museum illus- trations.’’ The last named course has hitherto been given on alternate years. E. Hershey Sneath, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy. 1. Philosophical anthropology. An _ outline study of man, his body and mind in their rela- SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 371. tions, his relations to nature, to his fellows, and to God. Of the thirty-one universities and col- leges offering anthropology, it is found to be an adjunct of sociology in nine, of phi- losophy in five, of psychology in three, of geology and zoology in five, and of medi- cine in one; while in five instances it stands practically alone and in three it is un- classified. The process of differentiation has al- ready taken place in the larger institutions and is destined to reach all at an early date. If about four fifths of those who are teach- ing the subject are impelled to do so be- cause of its important bearing on their chosen field of work and because there is, at present, no one else to do it, they have a right to depend on being relieved of this additional burden by their own students, some of whom will specialize in anthro- pology and hold professorships where none now exists. This seems to be the normal line of de- velopment and would of itself, in time, suffice to carry instruction in anthropology to every growing college and university in America. But there is evidence of forces at work which will serve to accelerate the general forward movement. An instance of this is the founding of a ‘ Department of Archeology’ at Phillips Academy, An- ~ dover, Massachusetts, with two instructors, a collection of 40,000 specimens and funds to carry on the work. No institution of higher learning, worthy of the name, can long afford to be without advantages which can be had at a first class preparatory school. GrorGE Grant MacCurpy. New Haven, Conn. ON THE MEASUREMENT OF TIME. In the period of the earth’s rotation on its axis, called the sidereal day, Nature has provided a convenient, easily determined FEBRUARY 7, 1902.] and, for present purposes, practically in- variable unit of time. For the subdivision of the day into the arbitrary units of time called hours, minutes and seconds, re- course is had to artificial mechanical de- vices known as clocks. It may perhaps be stated in general, without serious danger of dispute, that the pendulum clock is the most accurate and reliable of all types of timekeeping mechan- ism. Chronometers have the advantage of portability and often run remarkably well for considerable periods of time, but they cannot compete with the pendulum clock in carrying an even rate during a series of months or years. Yet a still higher degree of accuracy than that now prevalent in the performance of astronomical clocks is attainable, and is necessary in the present state of astronomy. There seems to be no reason why improve- ments in timekeeping should not take place along with the general progress in other directions, where scientific results depend on the perfection of mechanical appliances. The sidereal clock is one of the main fea- tures of an astronomical observatory, and if it is to continue to be used to measure the angular distance in right ascension between the fixed stars, greater uniformity in its rate than is now usual must be secured. It is also important in time service work to have clocks which will carry time with greater accuracy during long intervals of cloudy weather when observations of the stars cannot be made. The develop- ment of the pendulum clock dates from the time of Huyghens, the celebrated Dutch astronomer, who, in 1656, pub- lished his theory of the pendulum. From that time until the present the per- fecting of the pendulum clock has received the attention of the best mechanical artists in Europe and America. Important im- provements in clock-making were. made early in the eighteenth century, when the SCIENCE. 217 mercurial compensation and dead-beat es- capement were invented by Graham, of England. The gridiron pendulum, pre- viously suggested by Graham, was soon after constructed by an Englishman named Harrison. Excellent practical work was done a cen- tury later by a German named Kessels, of Altona, who improved the dead-beat es- capement by modifying the form of the ‘anchor.’ The mechanical work of Kessels is remarkably fine. He made a clock for the observatory at Pulecowa in Russia, and another for the celebrated astron- omer, Bessel at Konigsberg. Bessel in- vestigated the running of the clock with his usual thoroughness and was much pleased with it. He writes of Kessels as “der kenntnissreiche und vorsichtige Kunst- ler.” Kessels also made a clock for the Naval Observatory in Washington, which, after running for half a century, is in per- fect condition and is still giving good ser- vice. Later Tiede, of Berlin, and Hohwii, of Amsterdam, attained great success in mak- ing astronomical clocks, and there are now two or three English and American makers who are doing work of great merit. The Dennison gravity escapement, which has recently come into use, is supposed to be an improvement on the dead-beat es- capement, because any small irregularity in the action of the train of wheels should theoretically have little or no effect on the pendulum. It should, for this reason, be better adapted for use in clocks provided with an electric contact, worked, as is usu- ally the case, by a toothed wheel on the seconds arbor for transmitting signals for record on the chronograph. This is an im- portant practical advantage, and to more certainly secure it, American clocks are usually made strong and heavy and are run with heavy weights. The relative merits as timekeepers of the best American and 218 German clocks is an interesting subject for investigation. Within the last ten years a clock by Riefler, of Munich, having certain novel features, has come into notice. In the Riefler clock the pendulum rod is a tube filled with mercury by which the compen- sation is effected. The pendulum is per- fectly free, except that it receives its im- pulse from the spring by which it is suspended. The Riefler clocks have given good results, and one of them has been adopted as the standard clock of the Pul- cowa Observatory at Odessa in Russia. Various devices have been used with suc- cess at Greenwich, Puleowa and elsewhere for compensating clocks for variations of barometric pressure. A newly discovered alloy of 36 per cent. nickel with 64 per cent. steel, which has a remarkably small coeffi- cient of expansion, makes it possible to com- pensate clocks more perfectly for changes of temperature. The astronomical clock is a simple piece of mechanism and the perfection of design, excellence of workmanship and the effici- ency of the various contrivances for com- pensating for variations of temperature and barometric pressure seem to have been developed to a point beyond which no great advance is to be expected along present lines. Even if the effects of change of tem- perature and air pressure on the pendulum could be perfectly eliminated by compensa- tion, we should still have their effects on the clock train as well as the harmful in- fiuence of dust and moisture, unless the clock-ease affords protection from the latter. The most obvious chance for future pro- gress seems to lie in securing the greatest possible uniformity of conditions. With a clock securely mounted, enclosed in an air- tight case and kept at an invariable tem- perature and barometric pressure, the only conceivable cause for variations in its rate SCIENCE. [N. 8. Vou. XV. No. 371. would be perhaps the imperfections in the mechanism of the clock itself. It is neces- sary for obvious reasons that the sides of the air-tight case should be rigid. A con- stant pressure cannot be maintained with- out constant temperature, as may be seen from the well-known formula connecting the pressure, volume and temperature of a body of gas, pv=kt, in which, for our present purpose, v may be regarded as constant. We may therefore write, p=k't. In an air-tight case filled with air the change of pressure due to a change of tem- perature of 1° Centigrade is between 2 and 3 millimeters for pressures of 650 to 750 millimeters. The first successful attempt to mount a clock in an air-tight case seems to have been made by Tiede, of Berlin, who in 1865 installed for Professor Foerster in the base- ment of the Berlin Observatory an electric elock in an air-tight glass cylinder. This clock, the escapement of which is a very simple piece of mechanism, is described by Professor Foerster in the ‘ Astronomische Nachrichten,’ Nr. 1636. The impulses given to the pendulum are independent of the strength of the current, since they are pro- duced by the falling of weights which are lifted each second by an electromagnet. The reason for adopting the electric clock was that the winding of a clock run by weights is attended by difficulties when the clock is enclosed in an air-tight case. While this clock does not run under ideal condi- tions, being subject to a gradual change of temperature and a consequent slight varia- tion of barometric pressure during the year, it is probably the best time-keeper in the world. It has frequently run for periods of two or three months with such accuracy FEBRUARY 7, 1902. ] that the average deviationof themeandaily rates for the whole period is only 08.015 and with a maximum deviation of 05.03. The clock was dismounted for cleaning in 1894 after running continuously for eight years. The pressure of the air in the case has been kept below the normal atmospheric pressure, and mention is made of the pres- sure having been made at one time as low as 180 mm., about 7 inches. Little difficulty seems to have been found in keeping the _ eylinder air-tight. Indeed a slight progres- sive diminution of the pressure in the cylinder has been observed, and is at- tributed by Professor Foerster to oxidation of the metal parts of the clock and to absorption by the glass walls of the cylin- der of particles of moisture from the air within. This clock has been for thirty-six years the normal clock of the Berlin Ob- servatory. Soon after, Tiede succeeded in mounting a clock run by weights in an air-tight glass eylinder, and it was exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1867. In his report of the Puleowa Observatory for 1867 Otto Struve, the director, announced, with enthusiasm, Tiede’s success, and stated that a clock run by weights and enclosed in an air-tight ease had been ordered for that observatory. It appears subsequently that much diffi- culty was experienced from various causes in getting the clock into working order. But it was finally set up, about the year 1880, in the basement of the Puleowa Ob- servatory, where the temperature changes only four or five degrees a year, and was found to run with a satisfactory rate. This was formany years,and presumably is still, used as the principal clock of that observa- tory, which is an institution widely known for the high quality of its work. The pendulums of these clocks at Berlin and Pulcowa were compensated, of course, for change of temperature. The Riefler clocks mentioned above are SCIENCE. 219 constructed so as to be easily mounted in air-tight cylinders, which together with the clock itself rest on a shelf bolted to the clock pier. There is one of these clocks mounted in the usual way at the George- town University Observatory at Washing- ton. It is run by a weight which is wound up every few minutes by electricity. But it is not found practicable, under the con- ditions there, to keep the temperature strictly constant. The standard clock of the Greenwich Observatory by Dent, of London, is mounted in the basement of the observa- tory, where the temperature changes are small and very gradual, and is fitted with an electrical device for barometric com- pensation. The standard clock of the Paris Observa- tory, by Winnerl, enjoys the unique distine- tion of being mounted in a vault at a depth of 27 meters underground. The tempera- ture changes at that depth are of course very small, being, according to Tisserand, not more than one or two hundredths of a degree during the year, but the effect of barometric changes on the rate of the clock has been found to be serious. There seems to be no case where an at- tempt has been made to keep both tempera- ture and barometric pressure strictly con- stant. There is, I think, no doubt that it is entirely feasible to maintain a suitably constructed vault at a practically constant temperature throughout the year by arti- ficial means. Then, with an air-tight case, the barometric pressure could be kept practically uniform and the clock would be completely protected from dust and moist- ure. Even if it were not practicable to get the case perfectly air-tight, a prac- tically uniform pressure could be main- tained by exhausting the air from time to time, provided that the leakage is very small. Accurate comparisons of clocks running 220 under such uniform conditions would be exceedingly valuable, not only in giving the highest order of results in timekeeping, but also in developing the peculiarities and eomparative meritsof the clocks themselves. The extreme accuracy with which two elocks, one keeping sidereal and the other mean time, can be compared by coinci- ences of the beats, which take place every ix minutes,is familiar to every astronomer. Again, the more rapid minor variations in the rates of clocks could perhaps be de- tected and their periodicity determined by comparison with the vibrations of a pendu- lum swinging in vacuo. Improvement in performance of astro- nomical clocks is of special importance in fundamental astronomy. An independent redetermination of the positions of the fundamental stars is necessary, and for this the most accurate possible timekeeping is needed because, in order to be of value in the present state of astronomy, such work must be of the highest degree of accuracy. All this has long been recognized by astron- omers, and during the past forty years efforts in the direction of improved time- keeping have been made in all the principal observatories of Hurope where fundamental work is attempted. Commenting on the bad effect of varia- tions in the rates of astronomical clocks due to the diurnal changes of temperature, Professor Foerster, ‘the distinguished astronomer, who has been for 38 years director of the Royal Observatory at Berlin, wrote in 1867: ‘How detrimental to accuracy such a large and changeable irregularity is, is evi- dent since it operates like-a variable divi- gion error. ““Tt is therefore necessary, in order that a clock may be of service in absolute deter- minationsof star places, to have it protected from the daily temperature change, and also from all sudden changes of tempera- SCIENCE. {N.S. Von. XV. No. 371. ture. That is, it should be mounted in a place of nearly constant daily temperature so that it will remain for the compensation of the pendulum to effect only the last re- maining fine adjustment. ““The air-tight confinement is safe in un- derground rooms or in heavy masonry against injury to the clock-work, because in the hermetically enclosed space any moisture present can be done away with by known means and the coming in of new moisture is impossible.’’ Minton UPpEGRAFF. U. S. Navat OBSERVATORY, WASHINGTON, D. C. SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. The Stars, A Study of the Universe. By Simon Newcoms. Pp. v+333. New York, G. P. Putnam’s Sons; London, John Mur- ray. This is professedly a book written to order, as a part of the science series now appearing under the editorial supervision of Professor Cattell, and its author states plainly in his preface that he has found the task, ‘to sketch in simple language for the lay as well as the scientific reader the wonderful advances of our generation in the knowledge of the fixed stars,’ much more onerous than he had antici- pated, on account of ‘the extent and com- plexity of the subject and the impossibility of entering far into technical details in a work designed mainly for the general use.’ If one may judge the extent of systematized knowledge concerning the fixed stars by the space allotted to its presentation in the most approved text-books of general astronomy, from that of Arago to the present time, it ap- pears that this branch of astronomy has grown during the century from about one eighth to one sixth part of the entire science. But the indexes to recent volumes of the principal astronomical periodicals show that about one- third of the articles there appearing relate to problems of stellar astronomy and thus mark an accelerated growth of interest in and knowledge of the remoter parts of the visible universe. The author who attempts to digest FEBRUARY 7, 1902. ]} this rapidly accumulating material and to. present its substance in untechnical form merits the thanks of both professional and lay readers, even though occasional inaccuracies or omissions affect the text or the rapid ad- vance of knowledge renders obsolete some pas- sages before the ink is dry upon the pages. A double acknowledgment is due when, as in the present case, that author is the one astron- omer marked out by long and distinguished service in important parts of this field as pecul- iarly adapted to the task. The title, Retired Professor U. 8S. Navy, that follows the author’s name upon the title page, suggests thoughts far from complimentary to that fatuous govern- mental policy in accordance with which as- tronomers are retired from the public service upon reaching an age limit not far removed from the maximum of intellectual power. In substance, though not in formal arrange- ment, the present work falls naturally into two parts; first, a description of methods of research and such elementary classification of stars as are the familiar province of the better text-books, e. g., the grouping of stars into constellations, the explanation of stellar mag- nitudes, proper motions, parallaxes, stellar spectroscopy, the description of the phenomena presented by variable and double stars, nebule, ete.; and second, a more original part devoted to the larger problems of stellar dis- tribution, the significance of the milky way, the sun’s motion, stellar evolution and sim- ilar matters which may be grouped, fairly enough, under the title, the structure of the heavens. We welcome here a presentation of some of Kapteyn’s results not hitherto acces- sible, of Huggins’s views of stellar evolution, and the author’s own methods, inferences and conclusions from the new material collected and sifted in the preparation of this work. As types of these last-named categories it is in- teresting to note the simple statistical method (p. 800) by which certain results first obtained by. _Kapteyn through an elaborate and tedious mathematical process are independently de- rived. Of a very different order is the sug- gestion made with reference to Bailey’s dis- covery of variable stars in clusters, that there is ‘a strong presumption that the variations SCIENCE. 221 in the light of these stars are in some way connected with the revolution of bodies round them, or of one star round another.’ The dis- tribution of the stars in space is treated with a fullness of detail that occasions some sur- prise at the almost complete neglect of a pos- sible absorption of starlight in the interstellar spaces; a possible defect of transparency in the celestial void, that has been rendered a classic theme by Struve’s speculations and more recently has been elaborated by Schiapa- relli. Taken as a whole the work contains in ex- cellent form a large amount of material inter- esting to the professional astronomer and in even larger measure valuable to the popular expositor of astronomy, teacher, lecturer or writer. As it is sure to be largely drawn upon by this class it seems important to eliminate as rapidly as possible those errors and inac- curacies inseparable from a first edition, among which we note the following: P. 158, line 10, for eleven read five and one-half. P. 182, line 3, for Triphid read Trifid. P. 194, insert a* in the numerator of the fraction. P. 198, line 1, for 2m read 2”, The statement made on p. 179 with regard to the Orion nebula, ‘This is plainly visible to the naked eye and can be seen without diffi- culty whenever the constellation is visible,’ does not at all correspond to the experience of the present writer who has great difficulty in seeing the nebula with unaided vision, even under favorable circumstances, and whose ex- perience is shared by a dozen young people, of both sexes, who at his request have looked for the nebula. In the matter of nomenclature some objec- tion may fairly be raised to the apparently needless introduction of new terms in place of the familiar old ones, such as the logically inappropriate, apocenter, pericenter, for apas- tron, periastron, in connection with double star orbits, and the rechristening of the Fraun- hofer lines of the solar spectrum as Wollaston ‘lines. But with all due allowance for such minor blemishes the book remains in its en- tirety a notable contribution to the literature 222 of astronomy. Its style is clear and attractive and the illustrations, some excellent, are in the main adequate although many of the dia- grams are disagreeably crude. A familiar liter- ary device, that of prefixing a brief metrical introduction to each chapter, has here been so felicitously applied as to deserve especial men- tion. An excellent table of contents and index greatly facilitate the use of the work as a book of reference. Grorce C. Comstock. EARTH-CURRENT OBSERVATIONS IN THE GERMAN TELEGRAPH SYSTEM.* The origin of these important observations dates back to 1881, when a committee was called together by Werner Siemens, to study the phenomena of earth-currents. Through their efforts, two underground cables were provided by the Imperial Telegraph System, one running in an easterly direction from Berlin to Thorn, 262 km., the other nearly due south from Berlin to Dresden, 120 kn. The present work deals chiefly with the con- tinuous observations of earth-currents from these two lines, from 1884 to 1888. The Prussian Academy of Sciences assisted, in part, in the maintenance of the observations. The assumption is made at the start that the observed currents are due to potential differences between the ends of the lines; that is, they are derived from currents that flow in closed circuits within the earth, parallel to its surface. Of course vertical differences of potential have to be left out of consideration. The attempt to express the intensities in the two lines by trigonometrical formule ac- cording to Gauss, using the latitude and longitude as variables, leads to equations whose constants are too difficult to be deter- mined. Assuming the validity of Ohm’s law, however, the intensity of the earth-current components in the two directions may be given by the equations iA us as ee a Wy * Die Erdstréme im deutschen Reichstelegraph- engebiet und ihr Zusammenhang mit den erdmag- netischen Erscheinungen, bearbeitet und heraus- gegeben von Dr. B. Weinstein. Braunschweig, Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn, 1900. SCIENCE. [N. 8S. Vout. XV. No. 371. where A is a constant and W, W’ are the resistances, L, L’ the lengths and i, 7 the observed current strengths in the two lines re- spectively. We thus obtain for the total earth-current, 72 V— Nel ee Tp? . The value of the constants was computed for each of the two lines. The results are only relative, however, as no reductions to absolute units were made. The most characteristic feature of earth- current variations is their dependence upon the position and condition of the Sun. The diurnal and annual variations are especially marked. In view of this, the attempt is made to modify the trigonometrical representation in such a way as to use, instead of the latitude, the angle with the Sun’s declination, and for the longitude, the local time or the right ascension of the Sun. The results indicate, however, as was to be expected, that this is not sufficient, but that other factors have to be considered. In general there can be distin- guished a constant component of the current, due to terrestrial and local conditions, and a variable component, depending chiefly upon the Sun. The four years of observations were not enough to make the derivation of accurate formule possible. ‘As approximations, how- ever, expressions for the components in the two directions were derived, as functions of the local time and its multiples, from which the diurnal variation is made evident. The self-recording instruments were of two different types. In the Berlin-Dresden line a Siemens ‘Russschreiber’ was used, in the other line a mirror-galvanometer reflected a beam of light on to photographic paper. The sensitiveness of both instruments was fre- quently determined, and though the results were not reduced to absolute measure, still it is always possible to get accurate relative values between the two lines. The magnetic records, which, as the title in- dicates, formed an essential part of the work, were obtained chiefly from the observatories at Wilhelmshaven and Vienna, but to a lesser extent also from the observations during the FEBRUARY 7, 1902. ] international polar year 1882-3 made at Kingua-Fjord, South Georgia and Fort Rae. The discussion of the earth-currents is based upon the tabulated hourly ordinates from the eurves. Instead of measuring a single ordi- nate for each hour, a planimeter was em- ployed, covering a region on each side of the ordinate sought. A further reduction, by means of trigonometric series, was carried out, in order to get a still closer approximation to the true hourly values. The diurnal variation of the earth-currents was well marked, showing two principal maxima, and two secondary. An examination of the equations for the mean diurnal varia- tion for the different years shows a slight sys- tematie change from year to year. The mean variation for each year is prettily shown in the excellent vector diagrams, which are a feature of the work. All of the curves show a motion in the direction of the hands of a watch, and in the details of configuration the agreement is also good. A number of inter- esting deductions are drawn, indicating the dependence of the phenomena upon the Sun’s position. ° This dependence is no less clearly shown by the annual change in the diurnal variation. A principal maximum of current intensity occurs at the time of the vernal equinox, a secondary one at the summer solstice. The principal minimum is at the winter solstice. The east-west and south-north components for the diurnal variation are very similar through- out the year. As the Sun moves north, the principal waves in the diurnal variation be- come more pronounced, the secondary waves less so. In winter the reverse is the case, making the winter curves the more compli- eated. Similar fluctuations are shown in the coefiicients of the trigonometrical representa- tion, as well as by a series of vector diagrams. for the months and the seasons. The latter are particularly interesting, showing that the mean current in winter is only about half as strong as in summer. Changes of a few days’ duration in the character of the curves also occur frequently, which the author attributes to the varying relative position of nonhomo- SCIENCE. © 223 geneous portions of the Sun, with reference to the earth. A patient study was made of the diurnal variation, bringing to light the existence of 36 secondary waves in the course of a day. These occurred about 11 minutes later in the north and south than in the east and west line. The exact number of wavelets may be open to doubt, for the personal equation car- ries great weight in such investigations; but at least the existence of a system of regularly occurring secondary waves seems established. The second part of the work is devoted to a discussion of the magnetic records from the stations already mentioned, and the con- nection between them and the earth-currents. The method of treatment is essentially the same as with the earth-currents, the three rectilinear components of the total intensity being considered. A study of the diurnal variation by means of vector diagrams reveals a more or less definite connection with the Sun’s motion. In discussing the direction of the variation, two systems of coordinates are used: First, the ‘geopolar,’ given by the hour- angle and latitude of the point where the direction at any hour cuts the Karth’s surface; and second, the ‘heliopolar,’ in terms of the angle with the Sun’s direction (heliopolar dis- tance), and the angle which the plane through the direction at any hour and the Sun makes with the equator. The track of the diurnal variation upon the Earth’s surface is de- seribed in detail, and shows interesting sim- ilarities between the different stations. The vector diagram of the total variation is also resolved into components in the directions of the planes of the equator, the meridian, and a plane perpendicular to both; in each case the dependence upon the Sun’s position is well marked. The vector diagram in heliopolar coordinates takes the form of a conical sur- face around the Sun. The variation vector sometimes makes an angle as great as 90° with the direction of the Sun, but never points directly toward it, from which the conclusion is drawn, that if the Sun is the cause of the variation, the influence can not be exerted along a straight line from the Sun to the Earth. We must pass over the many interest- 224 ing details in the results from the different stations, merely noting that the vectors for the diurnal variation at Fort Rae move in a direction opposite to that at all other stations. The study of the course of the magnetic variation throughout the year makes it appear that all phenomena occurring in any one sea- son in the southern hemisphere do not, as was formerly supposed, correspond to those of the opposite season in the northern; on the con- trary, certain features in the yearly variation seem to indicate the presence of influences outside the Earth, affecting the Earth as a whole. The dependence of the variation upon the latitude of the station is brought out with great clearness. The above results have an important bear- ing upon Schuster’s theory of the diurnal variation. This theory, as von Bezold has pointed out, requires an invariable system of forces, in whose field the Earth rotates. Wein- stein’s deductions show that excessive de- formations of the system would be needed to account for some of his observed phenomena, 80 excessive, in fact, as to lend strong evi- dence in favor of local influences. We must therefore assume at least two systems of forces, one external, possibly subject to varia- tions, the other of local character. This part of the work concludes with a dis- cussion of secondary magnetic waves, of which, for Wilhelmshafen in 1884, a mean of 36 were detected in the course of a day, in the ease both of declination and of horizontal intensity. The connection between waves in the two elements could not however be estab- lished with certainty. It is at least significant that the number of secondary waves here is the same as in the ease of the earth-currents. The work reaches its culmination in Part III., where the relation between terrestrial magnetismand earth-currents isdiscussed. We regret that space does not permit a more ex- tended review of this interesting chapter. To test first the hypothesis that the earth-currents are simply inductive currents caused by changes in the Earth’s magnetism, the author compares the mean diurnal variation in ver- tical intensity for Vienna in 1884, with that of the earth-currents for the same year. Instead SCIENCE. (N.S. Von. XV. No. 371. of maxima in increase of vertical intensity corresponding to maximal current, etc.,we find almost the reverse to be the case. The author therefore confines himself to the question whether variations in magnetism are partly due to the earth-currents. If the vertical component of the current changes were known, the problem would be much simplified; in lieu of this, ingenious methods have to be resorted to in order to gain such circumstantial evi- dence as is possible. Even in a horizontal direction only the mean components for cer- tain distances in two directions are known, while the true path of the current lies wholly in the dark. An increase in one or both of these components would not of necessity cause an increase in any one of the magnetic ele- ments, since any such effect might be more than counterbalanced by changes in the direc- tion of the earth-current. A comparison of the mean absolute values of vertical magnetic intensity and earth-cur- rent intensity for the 24 hours tends to strengthen the theory. To explain certain peculiarities in the former, assumptions are made concerning the variation in direction of flow of the earth-currents, which in turn would require an increase in the magnetic horizontal intensity; and this increase is in fact found to take place. When the changes in azimuth of the horizontal components of earth-current and magnetic intensity are com- pared, the evidence is weaker, though still in the same direction. The comparison of changes from season to season is also favor- able, certain minor variations agreeing re- markably well. As concluding evidence, reference is made to the parallelism in the occurrence of sud- den disturbances. By picking these out on the declination traces in Vienna and com- paring them with corresponding disturbances on the Berlin earth-current records, the dif- ference in longitude between the two cities could be quite accurately determined. A rigid comparison would of course be possible only if both direction and amount of the re- sultant disturbances were known, which is far from being the case in the present state of the science. FEBRUARY 7, 1902. ] The author states his conviction that almost the whole of the variations observed by mag- netometers are due to earth-currents which act upon the instruments as upon galvanom- eters. An immense amount of patience and skill has been devoted to the compilation of results, and it must be admitted that the evi- dence is favorable to this theory. As a work- ing hypothesis it may be found of great value; but our knowledge of the phenomena, and par- ticularly the mass of actual observations, must be vastly extended before we ean finally aecept the solution as a physical fact. W. G. Capy. U. S. Coast AND GEODETIC SURVEY, MAGweEtTIC OBSERVATORY, CHELTENHAM, MD., December 21, 1901. The Birds of North and Middle America: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Higher Groups, Genera, Species and Subspecies of Birds known to occur in North America, from the Arctic Lands to the Isthmus of Panama, the West Indies and other Islands of the Carib- bean Sea, and the Galapagos Archipelago. By Rosert Rmweway, Curator, Division of Birds, U. S. National Museum. Part I. Family Fringillide—The Finches. Wash- ington, Government Printing Office. 1901. Bulletin of the United States National Museum, No. 50. 8vo. Pp. xxxii +715, pls. 20. The geographical scope and general charac- ter of this important work is well indicated by the above transcript of the title-page, which- does not, however, give an adequate idea of the amount of labor involved in its preparation, which has largely engaged the author’s atten- tion for the last twenty years, and for the last six years has occupied the greater part of his time. The present volume is the first of the series of eight required to complete the work, averaging about 800 pages and some twenty plates to each volume. As much of the drudg- ery of collating references, and taking meas- urements, for the 3,000 species and subspecies comprised in the work, has been mostly com- pleted, it is expected that the publication of the remaining volumes will proceed with little further delay. SCIENCE. 225 The present volume treats only of the single family Fringillide, or Finches, which number 389 species and subspecies, of which about one- half oceur in North America, the rest being exclusively birds of ‘Middle? America. The introductory matter comprises an appropriate dedication to the late Professor Baird, followed by a preface of seven pages, stating the prin- ciples that have guided the author in his work, with other explanatory matter. The author has to regret the necessity of beginning his work with the highest instead of the lowest forms, owing to the lack of adequate facilities for arranging the collection of birds in the National Museum, the larger birds being inac- cessible for study. This state of affairs has ex- isted for some ten to fifteen years, greatly to the regret and inconvenience of many orni- thologists besides the curator, and affords a striking commentary on the neglect by the government of our great but inadequately housed National Museum. The first twenty-five pages of the main text are devoted to a critical consideration of the classification of the class Aves, with diagnoses and keys for all the higher groups, and for the families of the Oscines. His system is ad- mittedly eclectic, but is on the whole a quite satisfactory compromise. The Fringillide, as defined by Mr. Ridgway, embrace several finch- like genera usually referred to the Tanagride, but which seem to fit better as members of the Fringillide; yet, with these transfers, there is still no hard and fast line of division between the two groups. Mr. Ridgway’s work is strictly systematic and technical. Aside from the descriptions of the forms, the elaborate keys, and the state- ments of range, a special feature is the very full bibliographical citations, which constitute a large part of the text, and include all refer- ences of any value, thus forming an index to the literature of each species. The locality to which a citation relates is stated whenever pos- sible, thus greatly facilitating the labors of future workers. In compiling the refer- ences extreme exactness has been attempted in all matters of orthography and nomenclatural combinations—a feature often neglected, but of the highest importance. As Mr. Ridgway 226 observes: “Anyone who has had occasion to verify citations must know that the amount of inaccuracy and misrepresentation in current synonymies, even the most authoritative and elaborate, is simply astounding. They abound with names which do not even exist in the works cited, with those which do not corre- spond with the originals in orthography, with others that have no use or meaning whatever, being evidently culled from, indices without reference to what their status may be on the pages indicated.” In matters of nomenclature the author has followed the American Ornithologists’ Union “Code of Nomenclature, which has ‘been strictly adhered to in all respects.’ He has, however, reached different conclusions, in a few cases, regarding the status of certain forms, from those of the A. O. U. Committee. Considering the large amount of time he has been able to give to such points, aided by access to all of the available material, the benefit of the doubt may be safely permitted to rest with Mr. Ridgway, till some equally competent expert, with superior resources, re- verses his conclusions. The 20 plates give outline figures of the bill, feet, tail and wings of each genus treated, and are thus a valuable aid ito the student. The work in all its details shows the author’s characteristic and well-known thoroughness of treatment, and ornithologists the world over will wish him health and strength to complete the enormous undertaking involved in the prep- aration of the ‘Birds of North and Middle America.’ J. A.A. SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. The American Naturalist for January be- gins with an article on ‘Prehistoric Hafted Flint Knives,’ by Charles C. Willoughby, de- scribing various forms of these implements; Douglas H. Campbell ‘discusses ‘The Affini- ties of Certain Anomalous Dicotyledons’ and J. H. Comstock and Chujiro Kochi present a long and eareful study of ‘The Skeleton of the Head of Insects,’ using the known facts of embryology to give a clearer idea of the struc- ture of the head, attention being mainly given SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 371. to representatives of the more generalized or- ders of insects. The article is well illustrated and a long list of references is appended. R. W. Shufeldt contributes a paper ‘On the Hab- its of the Kangaroo Rats in Captivity,’ and under the title ‘A Contribution to Museum Technique’ 8. E. Meek describes the method of mounting fishes for exhibition in flat jars, the specimens being hardened in alcohol, then painted with water-colors and then replaced in alcohol. The Plant World for December, 1901, con- tains ‘Farther Notes on Trees of Cuba,’ by Valery Havard, with a fine plate of the silk cotton tree; ‘Notes on the Pan-American, Exposition, by Pauline Kaufman, in which we are sorry to see an account of a ‘petrified body’; ‘The Flora of Snow Cafion, Cali- fornia,’ by 8. B. Parish, besides the customary Briefer Articles, Notes and Reviews. In the Supplement Charles L. Pollard continues the description of the families of the order Parie- tales. The Museums Journal, of Great Britain, contains a brief biographical sketch of Dr. Henry Woodward, who has just retired from the keepership of the department of geology in the British Museum. J. G. Goodchild de- seribes, under ‘Astronomical Models in Mu- seums,’ a practical orrery on a rather large scale devised by him for the Edinburgh Mu- seum of Science and Art, and D. P. H. dis- eusses ‘Hygiene as a Subject for Museum Illustration,’ giving an outline of the method and objects of such an exhibit. There are a few short articles and numerous notes on Mu- seums in various parts of the world. The American Museum Journal for Novem- ber—December continues L. P. Gratacap’s paper on ‘The Development of the American Mu- seum of Natural History,’ and deals with the department of vertebrate paleontology. Other articles deal with recent work of the Museum, and the number has a well-illustrated supple- ment on ‘The Saginaw Valley Collection,’ by Harlan J. Smith, which is to serve as a visitors’ handbook. Fottowine the death of Dr. Charles Henry Brown, the former proprietor of the Journal FEBRUARY 7, 1902. ] of Nervous and Mental Diseases, Dr. Smith Ely: Jelliffe of New York has become the re- sponsible editor. Dr. William Osler, Dr. Frederick Peterson and Dr. Wharton Sinkler have joined the advisory board. Dr. William G. Spiller of Philadelphia will continue to be acting editor. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY. Tue Annual Meeting of the Physical So- ciety was held at Columbia University on Dec. 97, 1901. From some points of view the date was an unfortunate one, coming as it did so soon after Christmas day. But in spite of this fact the attendance was unusually good, while the program included a larger list of papers than that of any previous meeting ex- cept the one held in connection with the New York meeting of the American Association in 1900. Officers were elected for the year 1902 as follows: President, Albert A. Michelson; Vice-President, Arthur G. Webster; Secretary, Ernest Merritt; Treaswrer, William Hallock. Messrs. Carl Barus, D. B. Brace and A. L. Kimball were elected members of the Council of the Society. The following papers were read: “A Suspected Case of the Production of Color by the Selective Electrical Resonance for Light Waves of Very Minute Metallic Spheres’: R. W. Woop. ‘Report on Electrostriction’: Louris T. Morr. “Further Experiments on Electrostriction’: J. S. SHEARER. “The Transmission of Excited Radioactivity ’: _ HE. RUTHERFORD. “Excited Radioactivity and Ionization of At- mospherie Air’: EH. RUTHERFORD and §. J. ALLEN. ‘Note on Drude’s Elektronentheorie’: E. H. HALL, ‘The Disturbances of a Plumb-bob suspended on a Steel Wire’: Wm. Hatiock. ‘A Thermograph for Harth Temperatures’: Wm. HALiock. ‘The Viscosity of Water determined by the Aid of Capillary Ripples’: F. R. Warson. ‘ Magnetization of Steel at Liquid Air Tempera- tures’: C. C. TROWBRIDGE. “The Pfanndler Calorimeter’: W. F. Macim. SCLENCE. . disposal. 220 ‘Standards of High Electrical Resistance’: H. C. PARKER. ‘Variation of Contact Resistances with Change of E. M. F.’: H. C. PARKER. ‘On a Ruling Engine for Diffraction Gratings’: A. A. MICHELSON. (Read in abstract by the Secretary.) The next meeting of the Society will be on Feb. 22, at 10:30 o’clock a. M., in Fayerweather Hall, Columbia University. Ernest Merritt, Secretary. OHIO STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. Tue eleventh annual meeting was held at Columbus, November 29 and 30. This was a month earlier than the usual time but the at- tendance was as good as usual, about thirty- five. The policy of holding a summer field meeting every year the Academy decided to abandon. Some of these meetings have proved very successful, but of late the attendance of members living at a distance has been small, except when held in connection with the meet- ing of some other organization. Hereafter the executive committee each year may or may not call a summer meeting. The following resolution was passed: “That the Academy, through its secretary, respect- fully represent to the postal authorities that the present provisions and rulings of the postal department regarding transmission of natural history specimens are inconsistent and a seri- ous hindrance to exchange of scientific ma- terial and urge that better provisions be af- forded.” The secretary read obituary notices of Edward W. Claypole, first president of the Academy, and of Mrs. Claypole, and a com- mittee was appointed to draft a suitable me- morial. A letter was read from Emerson E. Mc- Millin, again placing $250 at the Academy’s Eighteen persons were elected to membership. The topographic survey of Ohio by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the State was begun in 1901 as a result of deter- mined efforts put forth by the Academy of Science beginning in 1896, when Albert A. 228 Wright made the matter the subject of his presidential address. The progress of the topographic survey during the past season was described by O. N. Brown. The report of the Committee on Topographic Survey, prepared by Albert A. Wright, the chairman, was read by Lynds Jones. In conclusion it says: “It is very desirable that the members of the Academy and all other supporters of the sur- vey, should make known, to their representa- tives in the legislature and to the governor and other officers of the State, their desire that this work, so well inaugurated, should be followed out to its completion, in the mapping of the entire area of every county of the State.” The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President, W. R. Lazenby; Vice-Presidents, C. J. Herrick and C. S. Prosser; Secretary, E. L. Moseley; Treasurer, Herbert Osborn; Elective Members of Execu- tive Committee, Wm. Werthner and John Uri Lloyd. The program was as follows: ‘New Fossils, including Sea-weeds, two new genera, Carboniferous, Marietta; Land Plants, two species, Carboniferous, one species, Cornifer- ous; Corals, fifteen Cyathophylloids, Corniferous; Brachiopods, one, Corniferous; Cephalopods, six, Corniferous’: H. HERZER. ‘Notes on the timber of trees of Ohio’: WIL- LIAM R. LAZENBY. ‘The self-pruning of woody plants’: JoHn H. ScHAFFNER. ‘The Ohio species of Phyllachora’: W. A. KELLERMAN and J. G. SANDERS. President’s Address—‘The Future of Vegetable Pathology’: A. D. Sexpy (will be published in SCIENCE). ; ‘A striking case of mimicry, with exhibition of specimens’: HERBERT OSBORN. ‘Smut infection experiments’: MAN and O. E. JENNINGS. ‘Further observations on the preglacial drain- age of Wayne and adjacent counties’: J. H. Topp. ‘The weight, waste and composition of ap- ples’: Wirt1AmM R. LAZENBY. ‘Plant ecology of Ohio; a general outline’: JouN H. ScHAFFNER and FrRep. J. TYLER. “Observations on the flora of the Gauley Moun- tains, West Virginia’: W. A. KeLLERMAN. W. A. KELLER- SCIENCE. (N.&. Vou. XV. No 371. ‘Preliminary list of tamarack bogs in Ohio’: A. D. SELBY. ‘Report for 1901 on the State Herbarium with additions to the Ohio Plant List’: W. A. KeEt- LERMAN. Joint Meeting of the Academy of Science and the Modern Language Association of Ohio. (Three titles.) ‘Modern Languages and Science in High School Course’: WILLIAM WERTHNER. ‘Botanizing in the Colorado Mountains’—Illus- trated: A. D. SELBY. “Some notes on a trip to southeastern Siberia’: GERARD FOWKE. ‘Notes on Hemiptera with some records of species new to the Ohio list’: HrrBerT OSBORN. ‘Observations on some South American Hemip- tera, with exhibition of specimens’: HERBERT OSBORN. ‘A species of Diptera mining the leaves of wild rice at Sandusky’: Jas. S. HINE. ‘Experiments with chemicals to improve seed germination’: W. A. KELLERMAN and F. M. Sur- FACE. ‘A possible cause of Osars’: Read by the secretary. ‘The introduced species of Lactuca in Ohio’: A. D. SELBY. “Gradations between Verbena stricta and Ver- bena angustifolia’: THos. A. BoNsER. “New plants for the Ohio Catalogue’: || ye Force, Ets | Mt+i| To Force, Ett | EW are Momentum, 2 | Mtz, 7° Momentum, Bie | po Mts Energy, Et! | T° Energy, | ig | I | M° Power, Et | me T-1 Power, | te | D-! | u-3 964 ards’ of length and mass which are now universally adopted in science are the me- ter and the’ kilogram respectively, care- fully intereompared copies, or ‘ proto- types,’ of which have been distributed by the’ international bureau of standards to the nations contributing to the cost thereof. The United States possesses two copies of each of these prototypes, and they are, as a matterof fact, our effective working stand- ards, even for the production of standard yards and pounds. It is to be hoped, there- fore, that the end of the barbaric system of ‘weights and: measures’ we have inher- ited from an unscientific ancestry is near at hand, and this not so much in the inter- est of men of science asin the interests of those less well fitted to struggle with thé’ ingenious intricacies'of the British system. These ' prototype meters and kilograms are known in'terms of the adopted: stand- ards, and hence in terms of one another, with a degree of precision which verges close to the limits of the’ constancy of matter itself. Thus the lengths of the meters are known with an uncertainty ex- pressed by a probable error of only one part in five millions. This degree of refine- ment corresponds to about one hundredth of an inch in a mile, or to about nineteen miles in the mean distance of the earth from the sun. But this admirable pre- cision is greatly surpassed by that of the lilograms, whose uncertainty falls to one part in five hundred millions. It is well known, of course, that the operation of weighing by means of the balance secures a precision superior to that of every other species of physical measurement; but it is not easy to visualize directly the five- hundred-millionth part of a kilogram. One may get a tolerably definite idea of this magnitude, however, by observing that with the degree of precision in question it would be essential in comparing two kilo- gram masses to keep the pans of the bal- SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 390. ance closely’ at the same level, for a centi- meter difference in their altitudes would be appreciable by reason of the variation of the attraction of the earth with distance from its center.* For present purposes, therefore, our standards of length and mass leave little, if anything, to be desired. But it is a mat- ter of great importance to the future pro- gress of science that these standards be preserved for an indefinitely long period; and although such a contingency seems remote enough now, one ean hardly sup- press the query as to what would happen to us if our standards should be lost, or if they should unexpectedly prove unstable with the lapse of time. It is quite certain that our standard of length could be re- covered with a high degree of precision if such a calamity should befall us during the next ten thousand, or possibly during the next hundred thousand years. Numer- cus bars of other metals than the alloy used in the construction of the prototype meters are known in terms of the latter. Many base lines scattered at widely sepa- rated points of the earth’s surface are also known in terms of the meter with a precision of about one part in a million; and although the foundations of the earth are far from stable, we can hardly expect such lines to become systematically shorter * Denoting the mass of a kilogram by m, and the mass of the earth by m., the weight of m, by w, and the distance from the balance to the earth’s center by s (since the earth is nearly centrobaric), the Newtonian law gives whence the relation of a small change Aw in w to the corresponding change As in s is expressed by Since Aw/w is here 1/500,000,000, and since s is about 630,000,000 centimeters, As=== 0.63 centi- meter. JUNE 20, 1902. ] or longer in so brief a terrestrial interval as a million years. Better still, probably, is the check on the invariability of the meter afiorded by Professor Michelson’s measurement of it in terms of the wave lengths of particular rays emitted by the metal cadmium.* In this, apparently, we have a cosmic standard, although it re- mains to be proved that the wave lengths used will remain invariable in the unex- plored parts of the universe into which we are journeying along with the solar sys- tem at the rate of some kilometers per second. Our standard of mass is likewise con- nected directly with various masses which may serve as checks on its stability, and indirectly with the masses of definite vol- umes of many substances. It is especially well known in terms of the mass of a ecubie decimeter of water at a standard temperature. It is less definitely known in terms of the atomic masses of the so- called elements, and it is roughly known in terms of the enormous though slowly varying mass of the earth.{ But on the *See Tome XI., Travaux et Mémoires du Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, Paris, 1895. It is remarkable that the ratios of the three wave lengths used to the meter were measured with a precision requiring seven significant figures, the uncertainty amounting to a few units only in the last figure. Thus the values of the wave-lengths used (designated as red, green and blue respec- tively) are as follows, in microns, or millionths of a meter: 0.643,847,2, 0.508,582,4, 0.479,991,1. 7 If we could measure the gravitation constant with a precision extending to five significant fig- ures, the mass of the earth would at once become known to the same degree of precision, provided only that the law of gravitation is exact to the same number of figures. For I have shown that the product of that constant and the mean den- sity of the earth is known with a precision ex- pressed by five significant figures. Thus, calling _ SCIENCE. 965 whole, our standard of mass must be re- garded as less secure than our standard of length, although the prototype kilograms are less likely to change in mass with the lapse of time than the prototype meters are to change in length; for while such a general variation in volume as is known to occur in metals, especially alloys, need not affect the former, it would almost certainly affect the latter. Our unit of time is also known with a definiteness that meets in most cases the highest demands of science at the present epoch. The period of rotation of the earth, or the sidereal day, is the standard interval of time, though it has been found convenient for many purposes to use the shorter interval of a mean solar second, of which there are 86,164.1 in a sidereal day. That the earth rotates with wonderful regularity is a fact of the highest impor- tance to science. Without that recularity the development of sidereal and planetary astronomy, with all they have entailed, would have been impossible except by the discovery of some other equally trust- worthy timekeeper. But the laws of me- chanies, which show us plainly why the earth rotates with such remarkable regu- larity, also show us that its period of rota- tion is subject to sources of disturbance, some tending to increase and some tending to decrease that period, whose effects, the gravitation constant & and the mean density of the earth p, kp = 36797 X 10’ /(second)” This relation may be otherwise expressed by the following theorem: Let 7 be the periodic time of an infinitesimal satellite which would revolve about the earth close to the equator (assuming no atmospheric resistance). Then the theorem asserts that where z is the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle. The value of 7 is 1 hour, 24 minutes, and 20.9 seconds. See Astronomical Journal, Vol. XVIII., No. 16. 966 though too minute to be appreciable in such intervals as are known to human his- tory, must certainly become considerable in the course of terrestrial history. Thus, the contraction of the earth due to secular loss of heat tends to shorten the day, while accumulations of meteoric dust and tidal friction tend to lengthen it.* There ex- ists also a graver source of disturbance in the slow rising and sinking of the crust of the earth in different latitudes so often pointed out by geologists. Such move- ments are only partly compensating in their effects on the day, and it seems highly probable that they may cause irreg- ularities amounting to a few seconds in a century without entailing any noteworthy fluctuations of the relative positions of the jand and sea.+ It appears, then, that our time unit is the least stable of the three fundamental units and hence the most in need of checks on its stability. Various other standards of time have been proposed, but none of them meets the requisites of permanency and *I have discussed the effects of secular cool- ing and meteoric dust on the length of the day in a paper published in the Astronomical Journal, Vol. XXI., No. 22, July, 1901. From this paper it appears that the change in length of the day from secular cooling cannot be perceptible during any such brief interval as that of human his- tory (twenty centuries, say); but that in the course of complete cooling, or in a million million years, say, the change in length of the day may amount to as much as six per cent. of its original length. From the same paper it appears that accumu- lations of meteoric dust will only begin to be perceptible in their effects on the length of the day when the process of secular cooling has been substantially completed. In a subsequent num- ber of the Astronomical Journal (Vol. XXIL., No. 11), Dr. G. Johnstone Stoney has shown that if the compression produced by a layer of meteoric dust is taken into account the effect will be still less than that just indicated. +See ‘Mathematical and Physical Papers of Lord Kelvin,’ Vol. III., pp. 333-335, Cambridge University Press, London, 1890. SCIENCE. [N.S Vou. XV. No. 390. availability. The interests of astronom- ical science especially demand that efforts be made to find in the solar system some better timekeeper than the earth. Possi- bly the fifth satellite of Jupiter may serve as a control on the constancy of rotation of the earth. Turning now to a consideration of the more complex quantities which are ex- pressed in terms of length, mass and time, we enter the boundless fields of physical science in which measurement and caleula- tion have revealed to us all ranges of mag- nitudes from the vanishingly small to the indefinitely large. It is in these fields that we learn something definite concerning the limitations of our senses; for while meas- urements alone carry us but a little way along lines of research, calculation dis- closes not only the unseen, but also, in many cases, phenomena which are quite beyond the reach of any direct sense per- ception.* To begin with quantities near the lower limit of determination, think, for a mo- ment, what is going on in the air which for the present is the main medium of commu- nication between us. No one has ever seen the particles of the atmosphere in the sense that we have all seen the particles, or cor- puseles, of the blood. But we probably know more about the molecules of gases than we do about blood corpuscles. By actual count it is known that there are four to six millions of the latter in a cubic millimeter; and with equal definiteness calculation shows us that there are about a million million million molecules in a cubic * The reader may be referred to a very instruc- tive paper by Dr. G. Johnstone Stoney entitled “Survey of that Part of the Range of Nature’s Operations which Man is Competent to Study.’ Scientific Proceedings of the Royal Dublin So- ciety, Vol. IX., No. 13; Philosophical Magazine, Fifth Series, No. 294, November, 1899; published also in Report of Smithsonian Institution for 1899. JuNE 20, 1902.] millimeter of the air around us. Notwith- standing this apparently crowded assem- blage, the individual molecules move about in the liveliest manner, their average speed being about five hundred meters per second, and this in spite of the fact that the average length of an unimpeded jour- ney is barely visible by the aid of the best microscopes. Each molecule must there- fore collide with its neighbors astonish- ingly often, the encounters occurring, in fact, about five thousand million times per second.* More surprising still than the proper- ties of assemblages of molecules forming gases are the properties of the individual molecules, especially when they are made up of two or more atoms. Such miniature systems, comparable, probably, in com- plexity with the Martian and Jovian sub- systems of the solar system, exhibit de- grees of constancy which rival the invaria- bleness of the fixed stars themselves. This is particularly the case with their rates of vibration as disclosed by the spectroscope. These rates afford one of the most delicate tests of the properties of matter, whether it is found on the earth or on the most distant star; and yet the vibrations, which recur with a regularity equal to, if not sur- passing, the regularity of the rotation of the earth, are executed at the rate of some hundreds of millions of millions per second.| Herein, perhaps, we may find a * See, for example, ‘The Kinetic Theory of Gases, by Dr. Oskar Emil Meyer, translated by Robert E. Baynes, Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 1899. + The number of vibrations per second corre- sponding to any given wave-length of light may be easily computed. For the velocity of light is about 300,000 kilometers, or 3 X 10% microns per second, and this divided by the wave-length in question gives the number of vibrations per second. Thus the average wave-length of the cadmium rays used by Professor Michelson (cited above) is about half a micron. The material SCIENCE. 967 cosmie unit of time as well as a cosmic unit of distance, though both appear to be inconveniently small for terrestrial pur- poses. But the smaller bodies of the universe do not end with molecules and atoms of gases. Recent investigations point to the conclusion that there is another order of bodies of much smaller dimensions and possessing still more wonderful properties. These have been called corpuscles.* Their density is only about one thousandth as great as that of the lightest gas, hydrogen; they are freely given off by several of the so-called radio-active substances; and they move about with speeds of the same order as the velocity of ight. It appears not im- probable that they play a most important role in cosmic as well as in terrestrial physics, and the amount of attention being given to them justifies the hope that their study may iuluminate many obscure cor- ners in the realm of molecular science. Passing per saltum from the smallest measureable and calculable quantities to those with which we have an every-day familiarity, I would direct your attention to the great number of articles of commerce sources of these rays must vibrate, therefore, about six hundred million million times per sec- ond. * See a paper by Professor J. J. Thomson, ‘On Bodies Smaller than Atoms,’ Popular Science Monthly, August, 1901. See also a paper by Professor John Cox on “Comets’ Tails, the Corona and the Aurora Borealis,’ Popular Science Monthly, January, 1902. A fact of great interest in connection with the ‘corpuscles’ considered in these two papers is the repulsion of light impinging on bodies, the amount of which has been actually measured re- cently by several observers. This repulsion be- tween the sun and the earth is very great, amounting to about a hundred million million dynes; but the gravitational attraction between these bodies is about forty million million times as great as that repulsion. 968 which are now weighed, measured and rated with precision and sold at a cost which, a half century ago, would have been thought quite impossible. Standard yards, meters, pounds and _ kilograms, and pocket time-pieces that will run within a few seconds per day, are available at prices within the reach of all who need them. Serews and screw gauges which will easily measure a hundredth of a millimeter (or four ten thousandths of an inch) are arti- eles of trade; beautifully true spheres of steel or bronze may be had for a few cents each; helical springs of the finest steel and of remarkable uniformity are sold for a dollar a dozen; while articles like wire, tubing, sheet metal; and an indefinite variety of tools and machinery are made with a degree of perfection and at a cheap- ness of cost which would have been re- garded as quite unattainable by the found- ers, for example, of the New York Academy of Sciences. The ready availability of, and the constant demand for, all these products to meet the daily needs of the complex civilization of our time affords a sufficient answer to him who would ques- tion the efforts spent in attaining those products or the efforts applied in subject- ing new objects of study to the rigorous tests of measurement and calculation. But the principles of measurement and ealeulation are not limited in their appli- eation to external objects, or to the prop- erties of what we are sometimes pleased to eall ‘gross matter.’ They apply equally aptly in many ways to man himself, and it is clear that with advancing civilization we may confidently expect such application to be greatly extended. While we have not yet attained formulas which will compre- hend the vagaries of the individual, we have many formulas which will accurately express the resultant of those vagaries as manifested in racial types. A life insur- ance company, for example, may not assert SCIENCE. [N. 8. Von. XV. No. 390. at the beginning of a year that any indi- vidual of ten thousand men of the same elass will die within the year, but it may assert with practical certainty that a definite number of this class will die within the year. Such ‘facts and figures’ are trite enough, of course, but what we commonly fail to see and appreciate is the solid basis on which they rest, and how greatly it would be to our advantage to extend the ‘same sort of reasoning that has built up great systems of fire and life insurance into other departments of human affairs. Most people, I fear we must infer, are, like Thomas Carlyle, still scoffers at statis- ties, and few, even of the educated, have any adequate conception of the order which the principles of probability will bring out of the apparent disorder of statistical data. Of the larger objects of the universe to which measurement and calculation have been applied with success, the earth easily surpasses all others in interest and impor- tance. So great has been this success that one may assert that we know more of the earth than we do of any other body to which science has given attention. Its size, its shape, the amount and arrangement of its mass, its magnetic properties, its speeds of rotation and translation, its precession and nutation, and the lately dis- covered wabbling of its axis of rotation are all known with a definiteness which is truly surprising when one considers its magni- tude and the degree of complexity of those properties. That the eight thousand miles in its diameter should be known within a few hundred feet, that the two hundred millions of square miles in its surface should be known within a few hundred square miles, or that the acceleration of gravity at any point on its surface should be known within a few millimeters per second per second, are results little short of marvelous when one reflects that they have JUNE 20, 1902. ] all beenattained within the briefinterval of two hundred and fifty years. It would be quite wrong, however, to consider these achievements of geodesy as marvelous from the point of view of science. They are, rather, just such results as persistent sci- entific investigation has always produced, and such as we may safely predict will be uniformly produced by persistent scientific investigation in the future. The element of the marvelous comes in only when one takes account of the fact that these grand results were attained by a very small num- ber of men, mostly members of academies, struggling, like our own, to maintain an existence, in whose work the general pub- lic took little interest, and whose names, even now, are much less known than the names of the obscure philosophers and the obseene poets of antiquity. Geodesy is undoubtedly the most ad- vanced of the sciences in which measure- ment and calculation have attaimed a high order of certainty. It has made modern commerce possible, and it seems destined to play a still more important réle than it has hitherto in the advancement of terres- trial affairs. It has also made modern astronomy possible, for the certainty of its data enables us to measure not only the dimensions of the solar system, but also the approximate dimensions of the visible universe. Not less important to the progress of science and to the general advance in human enlightenment are the achievements of the allied science of geology. It cannot boast, as yet, like geodesy, of a high degree of precision in measurement and calcula- tion, for it deals, in general, with phenom- ena which have not yet been reduced to . simple laws. But, on the other hand, its subject-matter is more obvious and tangi- ble, and it appeals therefore more forcibly and continuously to the average mind. No science seems comparable with geology in SCIENCE. 969 the completeness with which its history and its main processes are contained in the subjects and objects of investigation. Whoso would read the story of the earth’s erust will find it written and illustrated in infinite detail in the rocks themselves. No vivid or perfervid imagination of the his- torian has concealed the facts or misinter- preted their sequence; they are all recorded with a truthfulness that shames the straightest human testimony and with a permanency which permits comparison and verification in endless repetition. Geology illustrates more clearly, perhaps, than any other science the value of meas- urement and calculation when the order only of the quantity sought can be attained. The determination of the fact, for example, that nothing short of a million years is a suitable time unit for measuring the age of the earth, was an achievement whose im- portance can hardly be overestimated; indeed, our race may yet require decades, if not centuries, to appreciate its full sig- nificance, for in spite of the great advances in our times it appears probable that not one in a thousand of the good people with whom we live realizes how profoundly definite acceptance of such a fact must modify thought. A criticism which the devotees of the so-called humanistic learning often apply to such matters of fact, and which is still occasionally accepted by men of science, helps us to see the absolute need of count- less recurrences to the evidence so well ex- hibited in the crust of the earth. ‘‘Ah!”’ says the humanist, ‘‘I observe that the physicists and the geologists do not agree on the age of the earth. Some say it is ten million years, others that it cannot be more than two hundred million years, and others that it cannot be less than a thou- sand million years. I conclude, therefore, that so long as your doctors disagree in this manner, we may continue to accept the age 970 recorded in our sacred books.’’ Thus easy is it to mistake the order of a quan- tity for the quantity itself. When we pass from terrestrial limita- tions to celestial phenomena the field for measurement and calculation is immensely enlarged, though the results attainable are less easy of ready appreciation. The Jovian, the Saturnian and the Martian subsystems, which have been pretty thor- cughly explored by the observer and the computer, present to us the type, appar- ently, not only of the solar system, but of the galaxy of systems within telescopic view. And the surveys of the heavens now in progress indicate likewise that isolated stars are the exception rather than the rule, and that the visible stars are gener- ally attended by one or more satellites, which are probably oftener dark than bright bodies. Visual and photographic measurements have, in fact, united in re- eent years in the demonstration that the number of material bodies in the universe is enormously greater than we have hith- erto imagined. Here again, however, as in the case of the geological phenomena just referred to, we must be content to a great extent for the present with a knowl- edge of the order of the quantities meas- ured and calculated. But to be able to state what is the order of the distances which separate the fixed stars from one another, the order of the volume of the visible universe, the order of the quantity of mass in that volume, and the order of the time unit requisite for the expression of the historical succession of celestial - events, seems little short of a stupen- dous contribution to knowledge when one reflects on the obstacles, material and intel- lectual, that have stood in the way of its attainment. The distances asunder of the stars are so great that the hundred and ninety odd millions of miles in the diameter of the SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 390. earth’s orbit about the sun make an in- conveniently small base line for the meas- urement of the least of those distances and a hopelessly inadequate one for the meas- urement of the greatest of them. It would appear more fitting, in fact, to express such distances indirectly in the number of years it takes ight moving at the rate of 300,- 000 kilometers per second to traverse them. Assuming with Lord Kelvin that the visi- ble universe is comprised within a sphere whose radius is equal to the distance of a star whose parallax is one thousandth of a second, this distance would require light about three thousand years to pass over it, while the average distance asunder of the visible stars is considerably less, but still of the same order. Lord Kelvin has shown also in a profound mathematico-physical investigation recently published* how we may assign limits to the amount of mass in the visible universe. It appears from this investigation that there are something like a thousand million masses of the mag- nitude of our sun within that universe. The figures for this amount of mass have little meaning to most of us when expressed in ordinary units. The mass of the earth, for example, with its 6,000 1018 metric tons,} is a mere trifle, for the sun has about 327,000 times as much mass as the earth. The mass of the sun therefore is the obviously convenient unit in this case; and we have only to imagine our solar system surrounded by a thousand million such suns, each in all probability attended by a group of planets, to get a sufficiently clear idea of the quantity of mass within visual range of our relatively insignificant **On Hther and Gravitational Matter through Infinite Space, Philosophical Magazine, August, 1901. ‘On the Clustering of Gravitational Mat- ter in any Part of the Universe, Natwre, Vol. 64, No. 1669. { The metric ton of 1,000 kilograms, or 2,205 pounds, is about the same as our ‘long ton’ of 2,240 pounds. JUNE 20, 1902.] terrestrial abode. And the time scale for the varied events which take place in the interaction of these millions of suns is not less imposing when expressed in familiar terms. A million years is the smallest unit suitable for estimating the history of a star, although the record of that history is trans- mitted to us through the interstellar medi- um by vibrations whose period is so brief as to almost escape detection. Measurements and calculations have thus made known to us a range of phenomena which is limited only by our sense percep- tions, sharpened and supplemented by the refinements of mathematical analysis. In space and mass relations these phenomena exhibit all gradations from the indefinitely small to the indefinitely large; and in time they point backward to no epoch which may be called a beginning and for- ward to no epoch which may be ealled an end. Dealing chiefly with those aspects of phenomena which possess permanence and continuity, or at least a permanence and a continuity compared with which all human affairs appear ephemeral and fleeting, measurement and calculation tend to raise man above the level of his environ- ment. They bid him look forward as well as backward, and they assure him that in a larger study of the universe lies bound- less opportunity for his improvement. But while that sort of knowledge which has been reduced to quantitative expression has done more, probably, than all else to disclose man’s place in and his relations to the rest of the universe, it would ap- pear that mankind makes relatively little use of this knowledge and that we are not yet ready, as a race, to replace the indefi- nite by the definite even wherein such sub- stitution is clearly practicable. It is a curious and a puzzling, though perfectly obvious, fact that mankind as a whole lives less in the thought of the present than in the thought of the past, and that as a SCIENCE. 971 race we have far more respect for the myths of antiquity than we have for the certainties of exact science. Our ships, for example, are navigated with great success by aid of the sextant, the chronometer, and the nautical almanac; but what com- pany would dare set Friday as the day for beginning the transatlantic voyage of a passenger steamer? From time imme- morial tradition has dominated reason in the masses of men. Each age has lived, not in the full possession of the best thought available to it, but, rather, under the sway of the thought of some preceding age. We are assured even now, by some eminent minds, that the highest sources of light for us are nearly all found in the dis- tant past; and a few go so far as to assert that modern science is merely fur- bishing up the half-lost learning of ages long gone by. The work of academies and other scien- lifie organizations is therefore nowhere near completion. Great strides toward in- tellectual emancipation have been made during recent times, but they have served only to enlarge the field for, and to increase the need of, that sort of knowledge which is permanent and verifiable. Measurement and calculation have furnished an inyal- uable fund of such knowledge during the two centuries just past, and we have every reason to anticipate that they will furnish a still more valuable contribution to such knowledge in the centuries to come. R. S. Woopwarp. CoLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. “NATURAL HISTORY, ‘ @COLOGY’ OR ‘“ETHOLOGY’ ? A gstupy of recent literature reveals the ‘fact that zoologists are much in need of a satisfactory technical term for animal be- havior and the related subjects which go to make up what is variously known as ‘natural history,’ ‘ecology’ and ‘biology’ 972 in the restricted German sense. The need is also apparent in recent discussions in Scipncy. As the number of workers in the field above indicated is rapidly inereas- ing, any attempt to fix the terminology, if at all feasible, is certainly timely. In the opinion of the writer all the terms above mentioned are open to serious objection and should be avoided at least by zoologists who use the English language. Most objectionable is the term ‘natural history’ on account of the number of its connotations. Not only may it be under- stood to include everything from miner- alogy to anthropology and ethnology,* but even its more special meanings are most confusing. To convince ourselves of the truth of this statement we need go no further than the writings of Huxley. In his well-known essay ‘On the Educational Value of the Natural History Sciences’ (1854) and the ‘Study of Biology’ (1876) he uses the term as synonymous with ‘biol- ogy.’ After tracing the introduction of the word ‘biology’ to Lamarek and Tre- viranus} he says (p. 268): ‘‘That is the origin of the term ‘biology’ and that is how it has come about that all clear think- ers and lovers of consistent nomenclature have substituted for the old confusing name of ‘natural history’ which has con- veyed so many meanings, the term ‘biol- *Conf., e. g., Leunis’ ‘Naturgeschichte’ and Woods’ ‘Natural History of Man.’ { Incidentally it may be remarked that the use of this term to cover both botany and zoology appears to be older than Huxley and other recent writers have supposed. According to Father E. Wasmann §.J. (‘Biologie oder Ethologie?’ Biol. Centralbl., Bd. 21, No. 12, 1901, p. 392) who can write with authority on this question, the word was used by the schoolmen: “ Aristotelian scholastics designated the study of living beings as ‘biology.’ The ‘Biologia inferior’ treated of organic human, animal and plant life; the ‘Biologia superior’ of the psychic life of man and animals,” ete. SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 390. ogy.’’’ Nevertheless, in the introduction to his little classic on the crayfish (p. 4) he speaks of “‘that accurate, but neces- sarily incomplete and unmethodized knowl- edge which is understood by ‘natural history.’’’ To this subject he devotes the opening chapter of the work above mentioned, and it is clear that he uses the term in one or both of two senses: first, to designate an historical or phyletic stage in the development of biological science, and second, as the name of a special discipline, which, though the oldest of all the biological disciplines, still survives and deserves to be cultivated. In view of this multiplicity of meanings, it would certainly be most expedient if we could restrict the term ‘natural history’ so that it would apply only to certain histor- ical aspects of zoology and botany. The origin and use of the term ‘cecology’ are well known. It was first introduced by Haeckel in his ‘Generelle Morphologie’ (1866, Vol]. IL, pp. 235, 236) as Professor Bessey has stated* and not as Dr. Bather supposes} in the ‘ Natitirliche Schopfungs- geschichte,’ although a more expanded definition of the term occurs in the various editions of this work and in the ‘Anthro- pogenie.’ It should be noted that in the work just mentioned Haeckel distinguished accurately between ‘cecology’ and ‘chorol- ogy,’ including both, evidently as coordi- nate subjects under his third (‘relational’) subdivision of physiology.{[ The term ‘ceecology,’ thus originally proposed by an eminent zoologist, has been adopted by the * Science, Vol. XV., No. 380, p. 593. { Scrence, Vol. XV., No. 384, p. 748. ¢Dr. Bather stigmatizes those who use the term ‘chorology’ as ‘pedants,’ overlooking the fact that we are not in the habit of applying this name to Haeckel and Huxley, both of whom must have found the word decidedly more con- cise and euphonious, and therefore better, than “zoogeography,’ ‘phytogeography’ or even ‘ geo- graphical distribution.’ JUNE 20, 1902.] botanists, its spelling has been altered, ap- parently with no other gain than that of saving a letter, or rather part of a letter, and the meaning has often been modified till it is almost equivalent to ‘ chorology,’ or at any rate ‘ chorological ecology.’ And now the zoologists are reappropriating this term, modified spelling, meaning and all, in a manner which reminds one of the case of the good old German word ‘Faltstuhl’ (Eng. faldstool) which was boggled by the French to ‘fauteuil’ only to be again re- appropriated, with much unection, in its unrecognized form by both English and Germans. It seems to the writer that it would certainly be expedient, not to say generous, for the zoologists to leave the botanists In undisputed possession of the term ‘cecology,’ especially as they seem to set some store by it. For, in the first place, the term was not a very happy one to begin with, no matter how we interpret the oizos part of the word. Haeckel in- tended it to mean something like the econ- omy of nature (‘die Lehre vom Natur- haushalte’), but one is at first inclined to understand it as referring merely to the habitat, or even to the dwelling or nest of an organism. This sense, in which it has been understood by Wasmann (loc. cit., p. 392) and many other zoologists, not to mention botanists, is too narrow for the purpose we have in view, as will appear from the sequel. Ever since the botanists adopted the word ‘cecology’ and applied it to the im- portant subject which they are exploiting with such zeal and profit, there has been comment to the effect that the zoologists have been unduly neglecting a very prom- ising province of their science. This cer- tainly involves some misconceptions. The zoologists have perhaps distinguished some- what more rigidly than their botanical brethren between ‘chorology’ and the SCIENCE. 973 proper province of ‘ ecology,’ and in both of these subjects work worthy of the great- est admiration has been accomplished. If we confine our attention to zoolog- ical ‘ccology’ we find that it begins with Aristotle and Pliny, and a rapid sur- vey of recent centuries shows that inves- tigators like the following have devoted whole years of their lives to work in this field: Redi, Swammerdam, Roesel von Rosenhof, Réaumur, Bonnet, Buffon, Trembly, White of Selbourne, Hrasmus and Charles Darwin, Wallace, Bates, Belt, Hudson, Romanes, Audubon, Wilson, Coues, Brehm, Houzeau, Leuckart, von Siebold, Semper, Steenstrup, Fritz Miller, Fabre, Francois and Pierre Huber, Giard, Plateau, Adler, Forel, Lord Avebury, Was- mann, Moggridge, McCook, Adlerz, Janet, Marchal, von Buttel-Reepen, Maeterlinck, Riley, Grassi, Lang, Dr. and Mrs. Peckham, Poulton, Silvestri, Erich Haase, Dahl, Hs- cherich, ete. These are but few of the many whose works are scattered through the whole wide range of zoological literature. And thereare undoubtedly many others who have investigated subjects like animal migration and the myriad problems suggested by whole groups of animals with which the writer has only a superficial acquaintance. That some botanists, and some zoologists, too, for that matter, have failed to appre- ciate the importance of the work accom- plished by the above-mentioned ‘ecologists’ is easily explained. One observes that only a small minority of these investigators worked under university auspices. It is only too evident—and only too humiliat- ing—that Schopenhauer’s diatribes apply to the zoologists as well as to the metaphy- sicians, for the investigators above men- tioned were ‘amatewrs’ in the true sense of the word, 2. e., lovers of animal life, and most of them therefore lived and worked untrammeled by the interminable ‘ Riick- 974 sichten’ and ‘Nachsichten’ of university life. Here one is inclined, with Schop- enhauer, to put a higher estimate on their investigations than on many of the publi- eations of academie ‘ professionals,’ es- pecially as the work of the latter is com- ing to be more and more the expression of ephemeral laboratory fads, inflated with the intellectual infection so inseparable from ‘schools’ and ‘tendencies’ of all kinds. The failure of zoologists to cultivate the province of their science corresponding to the ‘cecology’ of the botanists is more ap- parent than real for a second reason; viz., the great complexity of the zoological as compared with the botanical phenomena to be organized and methodized. And this leads us to a further reason for abandoning the term ‘ cecology’ in zoology, and for sug- gesting the adoption of one essentially dif- ferent. While botanists and zoologists alike are deeply interested in the same funda- mental problem of adaptivity, they differ considerably in their attitude, owing to a difference in the scope of their respect- ive subjects. The botanist is interested in the effects of the living and inorganic environment on organisms which are rel- atively simple in their responses. The zoologist, however, is more interested in the expressions of a centralized principle represented by the activity of the nervous system or some more general and obscure ‘archeus’ which regulates growth, regen- eration and adaptation, carrying the type onward to a harmonious development of its parts and functions, often in apparent op- position to or violation of the environ- mental conditions. This finds its vaguest and most general expression in what we call ‘character’ or in what systematists feel, but are often unable to describe, the ‘ habi- tus.’ Its deeper manifestations, however, are of the nature of instinct and intelli- SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 390. gence. This language may be tinged with metaphysics, not to say mysticism, but those who have finally learned to find animals most interesting when not ‘ fixed ” in some fiuid recommended ina German laboratory, or converted into skins, skele- tons, shells, cadavers or fossils, will com- prehend at least the intention of the writer.* The only term hitherto suggested which will adequately express the study of ani- mals, with a view to elucidating their true character as expressed in their physical and psychical behavior towards their liy- ing and inorganic environment, is ethology. This term has been employed to some ex-— tent by French zoologists and, as the writer infers from Dr. Bather’s article, attempts have already been made to establish its English usage. Dahl} has advocated its introduction into Germany in the place of ‘Biologie’ (in the German sense) a term which in that country has been very gener- ally preferred to Haeckel’s ‘ cekologie.’ On the other hand, the retention of ‘Biol- ogie’ has been ably defended by Wasmann (loc. cit.), and it is probable that it will remain in general favor, notwithstanding the ambiguity of the word. This danger is perhaps not so great in Germany, where every zoologist or botanist does not style himself a ‘biologist’ or at least give a course of lectures in ‘general biology.’ Be this as it may, however, the question is one to be settled by the Germans themselves, and we are at perfect liberty to use ‘eth- *The difference between the interests of the botanists and zoologists is most clearly seen in the difference of the problems suggested by ‘plant societies’ and by social animals. t+ 1. ‘Vergleichende Untersuchungen iiber die Lebensweise der Aasfresser,’ Sitz. Ber. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, I1., III., 16. Jan., 1896; 2. Experi- mentelle statistische Hthologie,’ Verhand. Deutsch. Zool. Gesel., 1898, pp. 121-131; 3. ‘ Was ist ein Experiment, was Statistik in der Hthologie? Biol. Centralbl., 21. Bd., 1901, p. 675. JUNE 20, 1902.] ology,’ especially as the German usage of ‘biology’ among English or American zool- ogists is almost without precedent. The word ‘ethology’ is singularly happy in its derivation from 740s, which embraces in the wealth of its connotations, all the aspects of the zoological discipline for which a concise and appropriate name is so much needed. The origin of the word 740s from 260s, custom, usage, is clearly given in Aristotle.* The general Greek usage of 700s, especially in the plural 747, as the accustomed seat, haunt, habitat or dwelling of men or animals, admirably ex- presses the chorological aspect of ‘ethol- ogy’; its usage in the sense of habit, manners, ete. (Lat. consuetudo, mores) ex- presses what we mean by animal behavior, while the signification of 700s as character, disposition, nature, ete. (Lat. «indoles, ingenum, affectus) is well suited to ex- press the psychological aspects of ‘ethol- ogy.’ Certainly no term could be more applicable to a study which must deal very largely with instincts, and intelli- gence as well as with the ‘ habits’ and ‘habitus’ of animals. It is apparent from a moment’s reflection that the term may be readily made to inelude all and more than is meant by ‘ Biologie ’ in the German sense, or ‘cecology’ in the Haeckelian sense. There may be a possible objection to the use of ‘ethology’ on the ground that it has been employed in English in two senses besides the one here advocated, viz., as the name of the science of ethics and as mim- iery, or pantomime.t But the latter usage appears to be quite obsolete, and an author- ity on moral philosophy informs the writer that he has never encountered the * (16 yap 7006 aro Tow EBoug ExeL THY Exwvopiav, 7HOiKy yap kaAcirar dia Tov é0icecbar.’? ‘ Ethica Magna,’ II., 6.2; ‘Ethica Eudemia,’ II.,2.1. Ed. Bekker. 7 Century Dictionary. SCIENCE. 975 word ‘ ethology ’ in the sense of ‘ ethics.’ Hence this usage must be too uncommon to prevent the zoologist from appropriating the term for technical purposes. fi Father Wasmann (loc. cit., pp. 398, 399) defines ‘ethology’ (or rather its equivalent, ‘Biologie’) as ‘the science of the external conditions of existence which pertain to organisms as individuals and at the same time regulate their relations to other or- ganisms and to the inorganic environment.’ It therefore embraces in its restricted sense: “first, a knowledge of the mode of life of animals and plants, their nourishment, dwelling, mode of propagation, the care of offspring and their development, in so far as these present external manifestations; hence also, second, a knowledge of the life- relations thas obtain between individuals of the same and different species (includ- ing all the phenomena of parasitism, sym- biosis, ete.), and henee also, third, a knowl- edge of the conditions of existence which are essential to the life and maintenance of animals and plants.’’ It occurs to the writer that it would be better to substitute ‘oeneral’ for ‘external’ in this definition. Of course, ‘general and special’ are open to the same objections as ‘external and inter- nal’ on account of the impossibility of drawing a hard and fast line between the two alternatives. But it seems better, on the whole to emphasize the former alterna- tives on account of the large element of general comparative psychology, physiol- ogy, morphology and embryology, which must enter into ethological investigation. “Generality’ also expresses in a more satis- factory manner the central position of ‘ethology’ among the remaining zoological disciplines. Whenever we undertake the detailed or exhaustive study of an etho- logical problem we are led imperceptibly into the details of physiology, psychol- ogy, morphology, embryology, taxonomy or 976 chorology, according to the particular as- pect of the subject under consideration. On the other hand, the interests of all these various sciences are slowly but surely con- verging to a point which is not far from the center of gravity of ‘ethology.’ This is apparent in the ‘types’ and ‘habitus’ of the systematist and morphologist, in the conceptions of the ‘ individual,’ in experi- mental embryology and the study of growth and regeneration, in the concep- tions of ‘adaptivity’ among the ‘neovital- ists,” in the mystic zoology of a Maeter- linck, in the theories of ‘determinate variations’ and ‘orthogenesis,’ in recent experimental work on the origin of muta- tions, ete. In all this work there is appar- ent a turning away from the ‘mechanical’ and ‘environmental,’ a realization of the prematureness and inadequacy of all biological ‘ explanations ’ couched in terms of existent chemistry and physics, and an appreciation of greater depth and mystery in the life activities than had been pre- viously conceded. So numerous are the signs of the time that it requires little prophetic insight to discern that we are on the eve of a renascence in zoology. There have been voices erying in the wilderness for many years, and it may be well to hark back to some of these and catch the full force of their intention. First there was Goethe, who glowed with the magnificence of the problem: “Was ist doch ein Lebendiges fiir ein késthehes, herrliches Ding! wie abge- messen zu seinem Zustande, wie wahr, wie | seiend !”’ Then there was the father of develop- mental science, Karl Ernst von Baer, who began to doubt whether the field he had himself cultivated with such success would yield more than a small portion of the de- sired harvest: SCIENCE. [N. S. Vou. XV. No. 390. “Wissen méchten wir ob das 20. Jahr- hundert nicht, wenn man die Kunst das Leben im Leben zu beobachten, wieder gelernt hat, tiber die Selbstzufriedenheit des 19. lacheln wird, mit der es glaubt, aus dem Leichnam das Leben in seiner ganzen Fiille erkennen zu konnen, fast vergessend, dass mit dem bildenden Leben ein handelndes innig verbunden ist, das dem Messer und dem Mikroskop sich entzieht.’’ And among the latest there is Jules Fabre, indefatigable observer and incom- parable writer, who points to the old, sure method of all science as the method of ‘ethology’: “Large part faite 4 l’anatomie, précieuse auxiliaire, que savons-nous de la béte? A peu prés rein. Au lieu de gonfler avee ce rien d’abracadabrantes vessies, glanons des faits bien observés, si humbles soient.’’ WituiAM Morton WHEELER. AUSTIN, TEXAS, May 17, 1902. THE LAW OF VON BABR. BASED ON- SCHOLION v. THE writings of von Baer have been sub- ject to much interpretation, and have yielded under the nursing hand of ‘pro- ductive’ scholarship, meanings which in reality they do not contain. It seems there- fore worth while to reconsider what is the great generalization at which he arrived; and to those interested in the historical side of embryology, this attempt to follow the reasoning of a masterly investigator may be not unwelcome. I. THE PREVAILING VIEW THAT THE EMBRYO PASSES THROUGH THE ADULT STAGES OF LOWER ANIMALS. At the time when the first volume of the ‘Observations and Reflections on the De- velopment of Animals’ was published (1828), no propositions in embryology en- JUNE 20, 1902.] joyed wider acceptance than these: That higher animals in their development from the first beginnings correspond, stage for stage, with the adult condition of lower; that the development of the individual takes place according to the same laws as that of the series; that the more highly organized ones pass in general through the adult stages of those less highly organized, so that the differences between the stages in individual .develop- ment, may be referred back to the differ- ences between persisting adult forms. These opinions, born of the time when, excepting Malpighi and Wolff, no one had studied connectedly the earlier periods in the. history of the development of any animal, could not fail to excite interest; particularly since by their aid certain mal- formations could readily be explained as eases arrested in development. The rampant speculations of the Lamareckians derived support from them, but the teachings of this school were as repugnant to von Baer as to many other thoughtful students. Suppose, he says, that a fish stranded on a sandy beach were seized with the desire to wall, then, according to this school, the fins, unsuited for the perambulatory move- ments, would promptly shrink in breadth from disuse and in turn grow in length. These modified appendages, transferred to children and grandchildren for several thousand generations, are naturally in the end transformed into feet. Naturally, too, the fish in the meadow gasp for air, and their struggles in the end produce lungs, the only requirement being that a few generations should be exposed to the slight inconvenience of not breathing at all. The long neck of the heron is due to the fact that his ancestors often stretched that organ in order to catch fish. Their chil- dren came into the world with elongated necks and the same evil habit, and thus gave to their offspring necks still longer, SCIENCE. 977 from which it follows that if our planet only reaches a ripe old age, the heron’s neck will extend beyond the bounds of cer- tain knowledge. IOI, DOUBTS AND OBJECTIONS. (a) At an early time von Baer saw that the relationships between different animals could not be looked upon as representing a steady advance, which is a necessary corollary of the propositions he has set out to criticise. Above all, suspicions were generated from the fact that until that time only the development of the higher forms was known, and this incompletely. What differences their embryonic history exhibited must, if they were to find analo- gies anywhere, find them among the lower animals. Indeed, resemblances between the embryonic condition of certain animals, and the adult stages of others, seemed to von Baer quite necessary and without sig- nificance, since they all fall within the realm of the animal kingdom, and the variations of which the animal body is capable are determined in each ease by the interrelations of the separate organs, and in these interrelations, repetitions neces- sarily oceur. If birds had studied their own embryonic history, and were now engaged in unravel- ing the structure of adult mammals and man, would not their text-books read as follows: Those four- and two-leeged animals have similar embryos, for the bones of their skulls are separate and they have no bills, as we have after five or six days of incuba- tion. Their extremities are all pretty much alike, about the same in length as our own; not a single true feather adorns their bodies, but only a thin down, in which respect our very nestlings surpass them. Their bones are not very brittle and con- tain (as ours do in youth) no air; indeed, 978 they have no air sacs at all and their lungs are free in the pleural sacs; they are utterly devoid of a crop, and gizzard and stomach are but indistinctly delimited from one another, a condition ephemeral with us. ‘The nails of most of them are clumsy and broad, as with us before hatch- ing. Of all of them only the bats, which seem to be the most highly developed, possess the ability to fly. And these mam- mals, who for so long a time after birth are utterly helpless, and whv during their whole lives can never raise themselves off the ground, claim to be more highly organ- ized than we. (b) If it were a law of nature that the development of an individual consists in passing through the adult stages of ani- mals less highly developed, it would follow: 1. That no embryo could pass through stages which do not characterize the adult condition of some animal. There are no animals, however, which carry their food around in a yolk sac, and yet from the de- velopment of birds and certain mammals, such animals ought, according to the law, to exist. 2. Just as the environment of an embryo is related to the presence of organs which occur in no higher forms, so it makes im- possible the passage through certain lower stages. Thus since all the higher embryos are bathed in water, that distinctive char- acteristic of insects, the trachesx, can never develop. 3. An embryo, according to the prevail- ing theory, should resemble in its various stages a lower form, not merely in one particular, but in all. If at the time when the chambers of the heart are not yet separate, and the digits have not yet be- come distinct, the embryo is said to be in the fish stage, where is the flattened tail and all that makes up a fish and appears so early in its development ? 4. There should be no ephemeral organs SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 390. in lower animals which are permanent in higher ones, but there are many such, to some of which the bird embryologist has already called attention. 5. The organs in the different classes of animals should appear in the same condi- tion in which we find them during the em- bryonic life of higher ones, but this is searcely ever so. 6. Those structures found only in higher animals should appear late in their de- velopment. This, however, is by no means true. Parts of the vertebral column and the arches of the vertebre appear in the chick earlier than any other organs. How ean the chick ever resemble an inverte- brate? Il. THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DIFFERENT ADULT ANIMALS. (a) The degree of development of the animal body, and the type of organization, must be clearly distinguished. The degree of development of the animal body con- sists in a certain amount of heterogeneity im its component parts; in diversity of tis- sues and of form. The more homogeneous the mass of the body, the lower the degree of development. The fishes, for example, because they have a brain, a cord and a skeleton, and present clearly the vertebrate type, are held to be superior to all inverte- brates, and the advocates of the supposed law of development wonder that the bee and -most insects with metamorphosis give evidence of greater skill and a more com- plicated life. In the bee, however, nerves and muscles are developed to such a de- gree that they differ from each other much more than do the same organs in fishes. Indeed the nerves and muscles of the latter seem to be soggy with the water in which they live. (b) By type of organization is meant the relations existing between the organic JUNE 20, 1902. ] elements and organs on account of their positions in space, and these spacial rela- tions are connected with certain fundamen- tal processes of life, viz., the position of the receptive and excretory poles. Type is thus entirely different and distinct from degrees of development. The same type may be exhibited in several different de- srees: of development, and conversely the same degree of development may be reached in several different types. The re- sult of a degree of development and the type gives the distinguishing character- istics of a class. THE DOCTRINE OF TYPES. According to this doctrine, the aniaal world presents four fundamental types of organization, the peripheral or radiating type, found in infusorians, meduse, and asteroids; the segmented or length type, found in worms; the massive type, found in molluses, and in some radiolarians and infusorians; and finally the vertebrate type, a composite, in which all types are united. Thus the vertebrate brain is built probably after the asteroid type; the vis- cera are certainly mollusean, and the verte- bral column, without doubt, worm-hke, though according to the argument in other places, distinctively vertebrate at the same time. These four fundamental types are capable, by suppression and expansion, of many combinations, and the amount of suppression or preponderance of the dif- ferent types determines classes, genera, and species. ‘If it be true,’ von Baer says, ‘that the larger and smaller groups of animals depend on this twofold relation, between the degrees of development and the types of organization, then the opinion that there exists an uninterrupted advance from the lower to the higher is based on misconception. ’ SCIENCE. 979 IV. APPLICATION OF THE ABOVE DOCTRINE TO THE HISTORY OF INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT. (a) It is clear that a higher or a lower degree of development is the same thing as a greater or less degree of diversity in tis- sues and in form. The mass out of which an embryo is molded, and the body mass of the simplest animal, are very much alike, for in both there is little distinctness of form, and slight contrast of parts. If therefore we discover in the tissues of some lower animals a greater degree of diversity than in others, and place them in series according to the differences presented, we find many coincidences between the ob- served facts and the requirements of the genetic law implied by this series. (b) Vhese coincidences between the facts and the theoretical requirements, however, do not show that the embryo of a higher form passes gradually through the adult stages of lower ones. It seems, in fact, as though the type of each animal were immediately impressed upon its em- bryo, and that this governs its whole de- velopment. The history of the chick is a commentary to this statement. The first organs to be distinguished in the germ are those of the vertebrate type, and it is clear that after their appearance resemblance to an invertebrate can no longer be held. In the beginning of their development, all classes of vertebrates are very similar, and so we can say that the embryo of a vertebrate is from the begin- ning a vertebrate and has at no time any resemblance to an invertebrate. An adult animal, having the vertebrate type and such shght diversity of tissues and dis- tinctness of form as the vertebrate embryo, is unknown, and so the embryos of verte- brates in their development do not pass through the adult stages of any known animals. 980 (c) ‘Is there then no law of individual development?’ asks von Baer. He believes there is and bases it on the following con- siderations : The embryos of mammals, birds, lizards and snakes present such similarities in their entirety as well as in the development of corresponding parts that except for differ- ences in size it would be difficult to dis- tinguish them. The further we go back in the history of development, the greater do we find those similarities, and only gradually do those special characters emerge from the general type which distinguishes the smaller groups of animals. To this the history of the chick in every stage of its development bears witness. In the beginning, when the back closes, it is a vertebrate and nothing more. When the embryo becomes more and more separated from the yolk; when the gill clefts close and when the urinary sac erows out, it becomes a vertebrate unsuited for free life in the water. Only later, a difference in the extremities is recognizable and the bill appears; the lungs move up- wards and the air saes are established as rudiments. Now there is no longer any doubt that the form is a bird. While the avian characteristics become augmented by development of the wings and air sacs, and by the fusion of the carpel cartilages, the webs of the feet disappear and we have a terrestrial bird. Later when the crop is developed and the nasal scale appears, the terrestrial bird takes on the characters of the Galline and finally those of the domes- tie fowl. (d) Briefly, we may say that the point of greatest resemblance in the development of two animals is remote in proportion to the amount of difference they exhibit in their adult condition. The differences be- tween the long-tailed and the short-tailed erabs are not very great. The crayfish has SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 390. in the middle of its embryonic life a tail short in proportion to the broad sternum, and it is difficult to distinguish at this stage from the short-tailed crabs, which, accord- ing to Cavolini’s figures, are in their em- bryonie condition comparatively long- tailed. The further we go back in the history of development, the greater do we find the similarity between the feet and the organs of mastication. We haye thus not only an approach to the fundamental type, but a resemblance to the Stomato- poda, the Amphipoda and the Isopoda, which in their fully developed state differ more from the Decapoda than these do among themselves. To this may be added that in the Decapoda according to Rathke, the heart appears spindle-shaped, and many other points of similarity, so far un- recognized, must exist. Still earlier, when the feet are present as small laterally bud- ding knobs, and the gills are not yet visible, a resemblance with true insects in their embryonic condition is not to be denied. These considerations bring us to the question whether there is not, early in the history of development, a stage in which the embryos of vertebrates resemble those of invertebrates. In another place, von Baer shows that even the series of seg- mented animals begins development with a primitive streak, and that therefore dur- ing this brief period there is a resemblance between them and the early stages of ver- tebrates. In the germ, all embryos devel- oped from a true egg probably resemble each other and in this lies a strong reason for considering the germ as the animal itself. (e) The further back we go in deyvel- opment, the more points in common do we find in very different animals, and so the question arises whether in the beginning all are not fundamentally alike and whether there does not exist a common an- eestor. All true eggs appear to have a JUNE 20, 1902.] distinct sheet-like germ, which seems to be lacking to the germ grains so far as their development is known. These latter are in the beginning solid, but their first act of independent life seems to be a hollowing- out by which they become converted into thick-walled vesicles, observed in the case of Cercaria and Bucephalus.. The germ of a true egg is also to be looked upon as a vesicle, which in the case of birds only eradually grows around the yolk, being supplemented in the beginning by the vitellme membrane. Since, however, the germ is the undeveloped animal itself, we cannot assert, without good reason, that the simple vesicular form is the common ances- tor from which all animals are descended. The germ grain goes over into this prim- itive condition on account of its own in- herent power; the egg, only after its fe- male nature has been neutralized by fer- tilization. Not until this has occurred does the separation into germ and yolk, or body and nutrient stuff, take place. (7) IJ£ in order to find resemblance be- tween two animals, we must 20 back in the history of development a distance propor- tional to the amount of difference they display in their adult condition, we must recognize as laws of individual de- velopment: 1. That those characteristics common to a large group of animals appear earlier in their development than those which char- acterize the members of the group individ- ually. 2. That from the general, the less gen- eral is formed, until what is most special appears. 3. That the embryo of every animal, instead of passing through the adult stages of others lower in the scale, in reality grows increasingly different from these. 4. That the embryo of a higher animal never does resemble the adult of a lower one, but only its embryo. SCIENCE. 981 It is only because the less highly devel- oped animals go little beyond their embry- onie condition, that they present certain points of similarity with the embryos of higher forms. These resemblances there- fore do not indicate the existence of a limiting condition determining the course of the development of the higher forms, but find their explanation in the organiza- tion of the lower ones. (g) These facts are illustrated graphic- ally in a table showing the advance from the lowest grade of development to the highest. From this schema it is clear that an embryo cannot be maintained to pass in its development through the whole series of animals, because it cannot pass from one fundamental type over into another. Then again an embryo in its development does not pass through another form but only through the region of indifference be- tween that form and its own adult condi- tion. Thus the further the development proceeds, the narrower does the region of indifference become. The schema also dem- onstrates that an embryo in the beginning is an indifferent vertebrate, then an indif- ferent bird, and so on. Since in its pro- gression from one region of indifference to the next it is becoming internally more and more perfect, it is at the same time also becoming a more and more highly developed animal. The view here advocated differs from the one generally held, in that this is based > on an unproved assumption and derives support from the neglect of the important distinction between type of organization and degree of development. The embryo is gradually formed by pro- gressive diversification of tissues and of form, and for this reason the younger it is, the more nearly does it resemble shghtly developed animals. Different animals vary more or less from the basal type which is nowhere pure but occurs 982 only in definite modifications. Fishes are nearer the type than mammals and especially man. Naturally therefore the embryos of mammals resemble fishes. If we recognize in the fish merely the slightly developed vertebrate (which is the un- founded assumption) we must interpret the mammal as a highly developed fish, and then of course it is consistent to say that the embryo of a vertebrate is at first a fish. For this reason the prevailing view of the law of individual development nec- essarily implies a progressive series in the animal kingdom. But the fish is more than an imperfect vertebrate. It has undoubted piscan characters as its development abundantly shows, and this development, as in all animals, is governed by two con- ditions: 1. By progressive diversification of tis- sues and of form, accompanied, 2. By the passage from a general, in- different and indefinite state into a defi- nite and particular one. Otto C. GLASER. JOHNS HopKINS UNIVERSITY. MEMBERSHIP OF THE AMERICAN ASSO- CIATION. Tue following have completed their mem- bership in the American Association for the Advancement of Science during the month of May: Herman R. Ainsworth, M.D., Addison, N. Y. Chas. E. Allison, M.D., Elysburg, Pa. Howard §. Anders, M.D., 1836 Wallace St., Philadelphia, Pa. Winslow Anderson, M.D., 1025 Sutter St., San Francisco, Cal. Wm. J. Asdale, M.D., Pittsburg, Pa. Adolph Barkan, M.D., 14 Grant Avenue, San Francisco, Cal. Guido Bell, M.D., 431 E. Ohio St., Indianapolis, Ind. J. Mortimer Bessey, M.D., 1814 Adams St., Toledo, Ohio. Julius C. Bierwirth, M.D., 137 Montague St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 5523 Ellsworth Ave., SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 390. Joseph W. Blankinship, Ph.D., State College, Bozeman, Montana. Anthony J. Boucek, M.D., 624 Chestnut St., Allegheny, Pa. Norman Bridge, M.D., 100 Grand Ave., Pasa- dena, Cal. Wallace A. Briggs, M.D., 1300 I St., Sacramento, Cal. i George M. Brill, 1134 Marquette Bldg., Chicago, Til. Philip K. Brown, M.D., 1303 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, Cal. Charles C. Browning, M.D., Highland, Cal. James IJ. Buchanan, 6108 Walnut St., Pitts- burg, Pa. W. J. Burdell, M.D., Lugoff, S. C. Leroy S. Chadwick, M.D., 1824 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. Stanford E. Chaillé, M.D., P. O. Drawer 261, New Orleans, La. William Cleburne, 1219 South 6th St., Omaha, Nebr. Thomas U. Coe, M.D., Bangor, Maine. Wm. H. Coster, Shady Ave., above 5th Ave.. Pittsburg, Pa. H. Holbrook Curtis, M.D., Madison Ave., New York, N. Y. J. Y. Dale, M.D., P. O. Box 14, Lemont, Pa. Nathan 8. Davis, M.D., 65 Randolph St., Chi- cago, Ill. Gordon K. Dickinson, M.D., 278 Montgomery St., Jersey City, N. J. Wm. S. Disbrow, M.D., 151 Orchard St., New- ark, N. J. George Dock, M.D., 1014 Cornwell Place, Ann Arbor, Mich. Charles W. Dulles, Philadelphia, Pa. Henry B. Dunham, M.D., State Sanatorium, Rutland, Mass. ; Lehman H. Dunning, M.D., 224 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, Ind. Lewis L. Dyche, Kansas. M.D., 4101 Walnut S&t., 1611 Mass. St., Lawrence, James B. Eagleson, M.D., 512 Burke Bldg., Seattle, Wash. Adalbert Fenyes, M.D., P. 0. Box W, Pasadena, Cal. George EH. Fisher, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa. Robert Fletcher, Thayer School of Civil En- gineering, Hanover, N. H. “JUNE 20, 1902.] Mary Gage-Day, M.D., 207 Wall St., Kingston- on-Hudson, N. Y. Ramon D. Garcin, M.D., 2618 E. Broad St., Richmond, Va. Geo. W. Cargill, Attorney-at-Law, Charleston, W. Va. Joseph E. Garland, M.D., Gloucester, Mass. Harold Gifford, M.D., Omaha, Neb. Charles C. Godfry, M.D., 753 Lafayette St., Bridgeport, Conn. Douglas Graham, M.D., 74 Boylston St., Boston, Mass. Chas. L. Greene, M.D., 150 Lowry Arcade, St. Paul, Minn. Ernest C. Grosskopf, M.D., Wauwatosa, Wis. J. Underwood Hall, M.D., 216 San Jose, Cal. H. Tuthill Hallack, M.D., Alcott, Colo. James C. Hancock, M.D., 43 Cambridge Place, Brooklyn, N. Y._ Charles P. Hartley, Dept. of Agriculture, Wash- ington, D. C. Chas. L. Heisler, 909 West 8th St., Erie, Pa. Jane Lord Hersom, M.D., 106 Pine St., Port- land, Maine. Gershom H. Hill, M.D., Independence, Iowa. C. M. Hobby, M.D., Iowa City, Iowa. Charles Holt, 255 West 45th St., New York, N. Y. H. Hopeman, M.D., Minden, Nebr. Wm. Lee Howard, M.D., 1126 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, Md. Chas. H. Hunter, M.D., 13 Syndicate Block, Minneapolis, Minn. Ellsworth Huntington, Highland St., Milton, Mass. John H. Jackson, M.D., 155 Franklin St., Fall River, Mass. Victor H. Jackson, M.D., 240 Lenox Ave., New York, N. Y. William Jefson, M.D., Sioux City, Iowa. George F. Jewett, M.D., Forman, N. Dak. George B. Johnston, M.D., 407 E. Grace St., Richmond, Va. George F. Keene, M.D., State Hospital for In- sane, Howard, R. I. Francis D. Kendall, Columbia, S. C. F. P. Keppel, Columbia University, New York City. Julius EH. Kinney, M.D., 1427 Stout St., Denver, Colo. 17 Pleasant St., 405 Kasbach Block, Autumn St., M.D., 1309 Plain St., SCIENCE. 983 Samuel Kirkpatrick, M.D., Selma, Ala. Wm. H. Knight, 2 Bryson Block, Los Angeles, Cal. Frederick Kolbenheyer, M.D., 2006 Lafayette Ave., St. Louis, Mo. Burton S. Lanphear, Iowa State Coll., Ames, Iowa. Charles L. Leonard, M.D., 1930 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. John E. Luckey, M.D., Vinton, Iowa. James H. McBride, M.D., Pasadena, Cal. M. Virginia McCune, M.D., 506 West John St., Martinsburg, W. Va. Charles F. McGahan, M.D., Aiken, S. C. Archibald MacLaren, M.D., 350 St. Peter St., St. Paul, Minn. Egbert W. Magruder, Dept. of Agriculture, Richmond, Va. Stephen A. Mahoney, M.D., 206 Maple St., Holyoke, Mass. Thomas H. Manley, M.D., 115 West 49th St., New York, N. Y. James P. Marsh, M.D., 1828 Fifth Ave., Troy, ING Wo Clara Marshall, M.D., 1712 Locust St., Phil- adelphia, Pa. Lewis D. Mason, Brooklyn, N. Y. John F. Meyer, Ardmore, Pa. Wm. F. Mitcheil, M.D., Lancaster, Mo. Max W. Morse, Ohio State Univ., Columbus, Ohio. : Murray G. Motter, M.D., 30th and U Sts., Washington, D. C. Harold N. Moyer, M.D., 103 State St., Chicago, Tl. Walter H. Neilson, M.D., Milwaukee, Wis. Spencer Otis, 1502 Fisher Bldg., Chicago, Ill. Frederick A. Packard, M.D., 258 S. 18th St., Philadelphia, Pa. Arnold Peskind, M.D., 1354 Willson Ave., Cleve- land, Ohio. Marcel Pietrzycki, M.D., Starbuch, Wash. Miles F. Porter, M.D., 207 W. Wayne St., Ft. Wayne, Ind. Richard B. Potter, M.D., West Palm Beach, Fla. Samuel C. Prescott, Mass. Inst. Tech., Boston, Mass. John B. Probasco, M.D., 175 East Front St., Plainfield, N. J. Charles Puryear, College Station, Texas. Burton A. Randall, M.D., 1717 Locust St., Phil- adelphia, Pa. M.D., 171 Joralemon St., 984 Joseph Rauschoff, M.D., Cincinnati, Ohio. Chas. H. Reckefus, Jr., M.D., 506 N. 6th St., Philadelphia, Pa. Mark W. Richardson, M.D., 90 Equitable Build- ing, Boston, Mass. David Riesman, M.D., 326 South 16th St., Phil- adelphia, Pa. Arthur Curtis Rogers, M.D., Fairbault, Minn. John T. Rogers, M.D., Lowry Arcade, St. Paul, Minn. Milton J. Rosenau, M.D., Marine-Hospital Ser- vice, Washington, D. C. Wm. H. Ruddick, M.D., South Boston, Mass. Frederick D. Ruland, M.D., Westport, Conn. Frank Schlesinger, Ukiah, Cal. Carl Schwalbe, M.D., 1002 South Olive St., Los Angeles, Cal. Henry L. Shaw, M.D., 19 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, Mass. John C. Simpson, M.D., Govt. Hospital for In- sane, Washington, D. C. Wm. T. Smith, M.D., Dartmouth Medical Coll., Hanover, N. H. Haldor Sneve, M.D., Lowry Arcade, St. Paul, Minn. Albert EH. Sterne, apolis, Ind. J. Clark Stewart, M.D., 1628 Fifth Ave. South, Minneapolis, Minn. : Charles G. Stockton, M.D., 4386 Franklin St., Buffalo, N. Y. J. Edward Stubbert, M.D., 25 E. 45th St., New York, N. Y. H. Longstreet Taylor, M.D., 75 Lowry Arcade, St. Paul, Minn. Lewis H. Taylor, M.D., 83 8. Franklin St., Wilkesbarre, Pa. Hugh L. Thompson, Waterbury, Conn. Wm. J. Todd, M.D., Mt. Washington, Balti- more, Md. Fenton B. Turek, M.D., 362 Dearborn Ave., Chicago, Il. James Tyson, M.D., 1506 Spruce St., Phil- adelphia, Pa. M.D., ‘Norways,’ Indian- M. C. Van Gundy, Herron Hill Laboratory, Center Ave. and Craig St., Pittsburg, Pa. Hiram N. Vineberg, M.D., 751 Madison Ave., New York City. ; John H. Voje, M.D., Oconomowoc, Wis. John W. Wade, M.D., 318 N. Second St., Mill- ville, N. J. Edwin O. Weaver, Wittenberg Col., Springfield, Ohio. SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 390. Frank G. Wheatley, M.D., 47 Adams St., North Abington, Mass. Frederick M. Wilson, M.D., 834 Myrtle Ave., Bridgeport, Conn. Gustave Windesheim, Kenosha, Wis. Max E. Witte, M.D., Clarinda, Iowa. Thomas D. Wood, M.D., Columbia University, New York, N. Y. M.D., 255 Main S&t., SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. La géométrie Non-Euclidienne. Par P. Bar- BARIN. Paris, C. Naud. Scientia, Février. 1902. Phys. Mathématique, No. 15. Pp. 79. It is peculiarly appropriate that from Bor- deaux, made sacred for non-Euclidean geom- etry by Hoiiel, should emanate this beautiful little treatise, decorated with a ‘gravure’ re- producing part of a manuscript of Euclid, also with the official portrait of Lobachevski, but best of all, with a portrait of Riemann. It begins from the hackneyed position: ‘Experience therefore it is which has fur- nished to the ancient geometers a certain number of primitive notions, of axioms, or fundamental postulates put by them at the basis of the science.’ But now we know there never was any pure receptivity. In all think- ing enters a creative element. Every bit of experience is in part created by the subject said to receive it, but really in great part making it. Professor Barbarin continues: ‘From the epoch of Euclid, this number has been re- duced to the strict minimum necessary, and all the others not comprised in this list, being capable of demonstration, are put in the class of theorems. Now we know that Euclid omits to notice many of the assump- tions he unconsciously employs, for example all the ‘betweenness assumptions,’ while Hil- bert has at last rigorously demonstrated Euclid’s assumption ‘All right angles are equal,’ and in turn one of Hilbert’s assump- tions has just been proved (see Amer. Math. Monthly, April, 1902, pp. 98-101). The ‘Elements’ of Euclid, says Professor Barbarin, enjoyed throughout all the middle ages and still enjoy a celebrity that no other work of science has attained; this celebrity JUNE 20, 1902.] is due to their logical perfection, to the ad- mirable concatenation of the propositions, and to the rigor of the demonstrations. ‘Il mit dans son livre,’ says Montucla, ‘cet enchaine- ment si admiré par les amateurs de la rigueur géométrique. “In vain,” he adds, “divers geometers whom this arrangement has dis- pleased, have attempted to better it. “Their vain efforts have made clear how difficult it is to substitute for the chain made by the Greek geometer another as firm and as solid.” ‘This opinion of the historian of mathemat- ies, says our author, ‘retains all its value even after the researches which geometers have undertaken for about a century to sub- mit the fundamenal principles of the science to an acute and profound examination. I add that the remarkable discoveries of Dehn (see Science, N. S., Vol. XIV., pp. 711-712) prove an unexpected superiority for Euclid over all successors down to our very day, and suggest the latest advance, which, though as yet unpublished, exists, for under date of April 2, 1902, Hilbert writes me: ‘In einer andern Arbeit will ich die Lobatschefski’sche Geometrie in der ebene unabhangig von Archimedes begrunden.’ That is, Hilbert will found Bolyai’s geometry as he has Eu- celid’s, without any continuity assumption. To get the benefit of this brilliant achieve- ment, I am holding back my own book on this fascinating subject. Says Hilbert in his unpublished Vorlesung ueber Euklidische Geometrie, “The order of propositions is important. Mine differs strongly from that usual in text-books of ele- mentary geometry; on the other hand, it greatly agrees with Euclid’s order. “So fuehren uns diese ganz modernen Un- tersuchungen dazu, den Scharfsinn dieses alten Mathematikers recht zu wuerdigen und aufs hoechst zu bewundern.” Again, & propos of Euclid’s renowned paral- lel postulate, Hilbert says: “What sagacity, what penetration the setting up of this axiom required we best recognize if we look at the history of the axiom of parallels. As to Eu- clid hmself (circa 300 B. C.) he, e. g., proves the theorem of the exterior angle before in- SCIENCE. 985 troducing the parallel axiom, a sign how deeply he had penetrated in den Zusammen- hang der geometrischen .Saetze.” Professor Barbarin repeats the exploded error of attributing to Gauss the discovery of the non-Euclidean geometry in 1792. In the introduction to my translation of Bolyai’s ‘Science Absolute of Space,’ pp. vili-ix, is a letter from Gauss, on which I there remark: “From this letter we clearly see that in 1799 Gauss was still trying to prove that Euclid’s is the only non-contradictory system of geometry, and that it is the system regnant in the external space of our physical experi- ence. The first is false; the second can never be proven.” In 1804 Gauss writes that in vain he still seeks the unloosing of this Gordian knot. Again, with the date April 27, 1813, we read: “In the theory of parallels we are even now not farther than Euclid was. This is the ‘partie honteuse’ (shameful part) of mathematics, which soon or late must receive a wholly different form.” Thus in 1813 there is in Gottingen still no light. But in 1812 in Charkow, the non-Kuclidean geometry already had been for the first time consciously created by Schweikart, whose summary characterization of it is given in Science, N. 8., Vol. XII., pp, 842-846. This he communicated to Bessel and sent to Gerl- ing and afterward to Gauss in 1818, so that it may claim to be the first published (not printed) treatise on non-Euclidean geometry. By this time Gauss had progressed far enough to be willing to signify privately his acceptance of Schweikart’s doctrines. On p. 15, Barbarin makes a brief argument for Euclid’s axiom, ‘All right angles are equal.’ This argument was good before Hilbert and Veronese, since this axiom can neyer be proved by superposition. It is already a consequence of the assumptions preliminary to motion. This profounder analysis Bar- barin has not attained to. He still uses as a postulate and supposes indispensable ‘l’inde- formabilité des figures en déplacement.’ What Jules Andrade calls ‘cette malheureuse et illogique définition’? of Legendre, ‘the shortest path between two points is a straight 986 line,’ Barbarin puts as an elementary proposi- tion! Manning also, p. 2, assumes it, thus in- validating and making ephemeral his pretty little ‘Non-Euclidean Geometry’ (Ginn & Co., 1901). Barbarin then proceeds to classify geometries by Saccheri’s three hypotheses, the hypothesis of obtuse angle, the hypothesis of right angle, the hypothesis of acute angle, or that the angle sum of a rectilinear tri- angle is greater than, equal to, less than two right angles. But the remarkable discoveries of Dehn have now shown that this classification is invalid. Barbarin says, p. 16, ‘Saccheri proves that the hypothesis of the obtuse angle is incom- patible with postulate 6’ of Euclid. Dehn dissipates this supposed incompati- bility by actually exhibiting a new geometry in which they amicably blend, which he calls the non-Legendrean geometry. In the same way, the hypothesis of right angle amalgamates with the contradiction of Euclid’s parallel-postulate in a geometry which Dehn calls semi-Euclidean. As Dehn states this result: There are non-Archimedian geometries in which the parallel-axiom is not valid and yet the angle-sum in every triangle is equal to two right angles. Thus the theorem (Legendre, 12th Ed. I., 23; Bar- barin, p. 25): ‘If the sum of the angles of every triangle is equal to two right angles the fifth postulate is true,’ is seen to break down. Manning’s ‘Non-Euclidean Geometry,’ though it says (p. 93), ‘The elliptic geometry was left to be discovered by Riemann,’ gives only the single elliptic. It never even mentions the double elliptic, or spherical or Riemannian geometry, which Killing maintains was the only form which ever came before Riemann’s mind. If so, then Barbarin’s book is like Riemann’s mind. The Riemannian, as distinguished from the single elliptic, is the only form which ap- pears in it. Killing was the first who (1879, Crelle’s Journal, Bd. 83) made clear the dif- ference between the Riemannian and the single elliptic space (or as he ealls it, the polar form of the Riemannian). SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 390. Klein championed the single elliptic. Manning knows no other. Professor Simon Newcomb, like Manning, deals only with the single elliptic in his treatise: ‘Klementary theorems, relating to the geometry of a space of three dimensions and of uniform positive curvature im the jourth dimension.’ The last four words F. S. Woods replaces by seven dots in his article ‘Space of constant curvature’ (Annals of Math., Vol. 3, p. 72), though blaming Professor EK. S. Crawley for the error they contain. Neweomb’s also was the unfortunate con- ceit which dubbed this ‘A Fairy-tale of Geom- etry, a point of view from which he is still suffering in his latest little unburdening in Harper's Magazine. Just so Lobachevski had the misfortune te call his creation ‘Imaginary Geometry.’ Contrast John Bolyai’s ‘The Science Abso- lute of Space.’ In single elliptic space every complete straight line is of finite constant length xk. Every pair of straight lines intersect and return again to their point of intersection, but have no other point in common. In the so-called spherical space, that is the Riemannian space, two straight lines always meet in two points (opposites, or antipodal points) which are rk from each other. The single elliptic makes the plane a uni- lateral or double surface, so that two antip- odal points would correspond to one point, but to opposite sides of this one-sided plane with reference to surrounding three-dimen- sional elliptic space. The geometry for two-dimensional Rie- mannian space coincides completely with pure spherics, that is with spherics established from postulates which make no reference to anything off of the sphere, inside or outside the sphere. Hence the great desirability of a treatise on pure spherics. It would at the same time be true and available for Euclidean and for Riemannian geometry. Yet its relations to three-dimensional EKu- elidean and three-dimensional Riemannian space would differ radically. Through every Riemannian straight line JUNE 20, 1902.] passes an infinity of planes also Riemannian, and in each of these this straight has a deter- mined and distinct center; but the straight is independent of the planes, and is defined by the postulates. Now in the sphere the great circle and the one pseudo-plane which contains and fixes it, namely the sphere, are inseparable, since any portion, however minute, of either determines all the other as well as its center and radius. In the single elliptic geometry the elliptic straight line does not divide the elliptic plane into two separated regions. We can pass from any one point of the plane to any other point without crossing a given straight in it. Starting from the point or intersec- tion of two straights and passing along one of them a certain finite length, we come to the intersection point again without having erossed the other straight. Hence we can pass from what seems one side of the straight line to what seems the other without crossing it, that is, it is uni-lateral or double. This single elliptic geometry is never men- tioned in Barbarin’s book; just as the Rie- mannian is never mentioned in Manning’s book. First take your choice, then buy your non-Euclidean geometry. On p. 36, Barbarin gives to Gauss the honor which belongs to Wallis of being the first to remark that the existence of unequal similar figures is equivalent, in continuous space, to the parallel postulate. In Chapter VII., ‘Les Contradicteurs de la géométrie mnon-euclidienne, Professor Bar- barin makes with unanswerable vigor the argument which I gave in my ‘Report on Progress in Non-Kuclidean Geometry’ (Scr- ENCE, N. S., Vol. X., pp. 545-557). There I quoted Whitehead who was the first to publish (March 10, 1898) “the extension of Bolyai’s theorem by investigating the prop- erties of the general class of surfaces in any non-Euclidean space, elliptic or hyperbolic, which are such that their geodesic geometry is that of straight lines in a Euclidean plane. “Such surfaces are proved to be real in elliptic as well as in hyperbolic space, and their general equations are found for the case when they are surfaces of revolution. SCIENCE. 987 “In hyperbolic space, Bolyai’s limit-sur- faces are shown to be a particular case of such surfaces of revolution. ; “The same principles would enable the problem to be solved of the discovery in any kind of space of surfaces with their ‘geodesic’ geometry identical with that of planes in any other kind of space.” Now not only the strikingly important problem solved by Whitehead, but also the analogous problem indicated had both been solved by Barbarin and presented three months before to the Académie Royale de Belgique; but these investigations were only published after the appearance of my Re- port (October 20, 1899). They, as Barbarin says, p. 63, ‘bring out in a striking manner the absolute independence of the three sys- tems of geometry, which are able each to get eyerything from its own resources without need of borrowing anything from the others.’ In each of the three spaces, Euclidean, Kolyaian, Riemannian, there exist surfaces whose geodesics have the metric properties of the straights of the two other spaces. But the book in which these beautiful re- searches are published: ‘Etudes de géométrie analytique non euclidienne par P. Barbarin, Bruxelles,’ 1900, Hayez, pp. 168, has other titles to universal recognition. Notwithstanding the ever-present example of Euclid, who never uses a construction or a figure which he has not shown to follow deductively from his two postulated figures, the straight and the circle, an insidious error crept into geometry, taught by Beman and Smith, who should know better, in the follow- ing words: (See their ‘Geometry,’ 1899, p. 70, § 112) “Note on Assumed Constructions.— It has been assumed that all constructions were made as required for the theorems. “Thus an equilateral triangle has been fre- quently mentioned, although the method of constructing one has not yet been indicated, a regular heptagon has been mentioned, and reference might be made to certain results following from the trisection of an angle, although the solutions of the problems, to construct a regular heptagon, and to trisect any angle, are impossible by elementary geom- 988 etry. But the possibility of solving such problems has nothing to do with the logical sequence of the theorems.” This is a funda- mental blunder. The construction so glibly assumed, to pass a circle through any three non-co-straight points, is equivalent to the assumption of the world-renowned parallel postulate, and thus has everything in the world to do with the sequence of the theorems. The assumed construction of a triangular from three sects which are to be its sides, by the method of Beman and Smith, p. 76, is equivalent to the assumption of the Archimedes postulate, which again has everything to do with the logical sequence of the theorems. In fact just this assumption makes ephemeral the beauti- ful method of Saccheri used in the book we are reviewing. Hence we can appreciate that astounding achievement of Bolyai’s young genius, his § 34, where he solves for his universe, Eu., I., 31. To draw a straight line through a given point parallel to a given straight line. His brilliant lead was followed more than half a century later by Gerard, but it is Bar- barin who has ended the matter by deducing from certain very simple constructions of the trirectangular quadrilateral all the fundamen- tal plane constructions. In Chapter VIII. (La géométrie physique,’ § 30 ‘La forme géométrique de notre univers’) our author stresses the idea, that even if our universe were exactly Euclidean, it would be forever impossible for us to demonstrate this. As I said in my ‘ Non-Euclidean Geometry for Teachers,’ p. 14, “If in the mechanics of the world independent of man we were abso- lutely certain that all therein is Euclidean and only Euclidean, then Darwinism would be disproved by the reductio ad absurdum. All our measurements are finite and approxi- mate only. The mechanics of actual bodies in what Cayley called the external space of our experience, might conceivably be shown by merely approximate measurements to be non-Euclidean, just as a body might be shown to weigh more than two grams or less than two grams, though it never could be shown to weigh precisely, absolutely two grams.” SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 390. Our author suggests the following experi- ment for proving our space non-Euclidean: From a point trace six rays sixty degrees apart. On them successively mark off the sects OA,, OA,, OA,, :--, OA, of which each is the projection of the following. If we finish by finding between OA, and 270A, a difference of constant sense and greater than imputable to error of procedure, our universe is non-Huclidean. In conelusion this beautiful little book has the advantage of being the production of an active and fertile original worker in the domain of which it treats. His ‘Géométrie général des espaces’ (1898), his ‘Sur le para- métre de univers’ and ‘Sur la géométrie des étres plans’ (1901), ‘Le cinquiéme livre de la métagéometrie, (1901), ‘Les cosegments et les volumes en géométrie non euclidienne’ (1902), and his ‘Poligones réguliers spher- iques et non-euclidiens,’ shortly to appear in that virile young monthly Le Matematiche, and which JI had the advantage of reading in manuscript, show that Bordeaux is honored by a worthy successor of Hoiiel, so universally beloved. Grorce Bruce Hatstep. AUSTIN, Texas. Lamarck, The Founder of Evolution, His Life and Work, with Translations of His Writ- ings on Organic Hvolution. By AtpHrus S. Packarp, M.D., LL.D. New York, Lon- don and Bombay, Longmans, Green & Co. 1901. Pp. xii+451. This appears to the reviewer to be a note- worthy book; he has read it from cover to cover with so much pleasure that he ventures to predict that it will prove a source of satis- faction to that large body of readers who are interested in the rise of evolutionary thought. Larmarck lived in advance of his age and died comparatively unappreciated. Although quiet and uneventful, his life was a busy one, and, as sketched by Dr. Packard, his noble character, his generous disposition and his deep intellectuality are well brought out. His devoted and loyal daughter, Cornelie, without whose assistance his later works could JUNE 20, 1902.] not have been prepared, encouraged her father in the days of his blindness and neglect, by saying ‘La postérité vous honorera.”’ And this has come true. Lamarck, who strug- gled with poverty and other depressing condi- tions, whose views were laughed to scorn by Cuvier, and neglected by the intellectual leaders of his time, is now receiving honor and recognition. His original and philosophical mind dealt with some of the burning ques- tions of our day, and he is now placed above Cuvier as a thinker, and heralded, by many, as the most colossal figure in the history of the philosophy of organic nature, between Aris- totle and Darwin. This fresh interest in Lamarck’s views makes Dr. Packard’s book especially timely. A number of new biographical facts are added to the few that have been generally known, and the book is illustrated with four portraits of Lamarck, pictures of his birth- place, the house in which he lived in Paris, ete. In reference to the analysis of his writ- ings the author says: ‘As regards the account of Lamarck’s speculative and _ theoretical views, I have, so far as possible, preferred, by abstracts and translations, to let him tell his own story, rather than to comment at much length myself on points about which the ablest thinkers and students differ so much.” This part of the author’s task has been especially well done. Nowhere else can one find in a single volume such a comprehensive survey of Lamarck’s theoretical writings. The growth and essential features of his theory of organic evolution are shown by ample quotations. This theory was un- folded in 1800 and fully expounded in 1809 in the well-known ‘Philosophie Zoologique.’ The various expressions of his views in 1800, 1802, 1803 and 1806, as leading up to the latter work, are well illustrated, and seventy- six pages are devoted to quotations from the ‘Philosophie Zoologique.’ Several current misconceptions are cor- rected, as for example—the earliest expression of Lamarck’s views, as far as his published writings show, was in 1800, in the introductory lecture to his course on the invertebrates, not, as commonly believed, in his ‘Recherches sux SCIENCE. 989 VOrganisation des Corps, Vivans,’ published in 1802. Incidentally, also, in reference to Buffon, it is shown that his opinions on the variability of species were not separated into three periods, but that from the time he be- gan to express his views on that matter, to the end of his life, he was an advocate of the mutability of species. Lamarck’s work is treated from all sides; in addition to the exposition of his views on organic evolution, there are chapters on his work in botany, geology, invertebrate paleon- tology, general physiology and biology, zool- ogy, his thoughts on morals and on the rela- tion of science and religion, and on the rela- tion of his evolutionary views to those of Buffon, St. Hilaire and Erasmus Darwin. There is also a fine chapter on Neolamarck- ism. Thoroughness and breadth are notable fea- tures in this account of Lamarck and his life work. Wittram A. Locy. SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. EIGHTH REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. TueE eighth regular meeting of the Botanical Society of Washington was held at the Port- ner Hotel, May 24, 1902, with President A. F. Woods in the chair. At the conclusion of the business meeting, Dr. B. M. Duggar, chair- man of program for the evening, was called upon to preside. Mr. E. L. Morris called attention to speci- mens of Trilliwm found near Great Falls of the Potomac River which produced long- petioled simple leaves from the rootstock. While recent manuals state that this is occa- sionally true for the genus, the speaker had failed to find specimens in any herbaria exam- ined which exhibited this character. Mr. M. B. Waite stated that the ordinary two weeks’ interval had proved too long in spraying apple trees for bitter rot. In experi- ments the present season in Virginia, the third treatment was made just after the petals had fallen and while the trees were moder- ately covered with foliage. Two weeks from this time the trees were found to have made 990 a very rapid growth of six to ten inches, and three or four new full-grown leaves had devel- oped on each twig, which were, of course, un- protected by the spray. In a few cases these leaves had become infected with fungi, prob- ably the bitter rot fungus. At the time of the fourth treatment, these leaves were, of course, thoroughly covered with the mixture and pro- tected from further infection, but it is inter- esting to know that the two weeks’ interval at this period of rapid leaf formation was long enough for leaves to form and become infected with the fungus before they could be pro- tected by the spray. The inference is that the interval between the third and the fourth spraying should in this case be shortened. Mr. Wm. A. Taylor called attention to some field experiments recently made, to ascertain in a practical way to what extent bees are responsible for the spread of pear blight. In these experiments, which were conducted by Mr. Charles Downing in Kings County, Cal., where blossom blight was very destructive last year, the members of the association of bee keepers agreed to remove their bees to a minimum distance of two miles from the pear orchards for the blooming season. It was found during the blooming season that a con- siderable number of swarms were left in the area in question, including one lot of thirty or forty swarms that had been overlooked. Certain trees of P. Barry, Olairgeau, and Bartlett pears were covered with mosquito netting before the blossoms opened, to exclude all the larger insects, including bees. When the trees blossomed it was found that the trees of P. Barry and Clairgeau, which blossomed early, when nearby orchards of apricots and peaches were in bloom, were little visited by bees. Both covered and uncovered trees of these varieties, to the number of 3,000, set a full crop of fruit, with no blight infection except on a few late blossoms. The un- eovered Bartletts, which blossomed later, beginning just before the peaches and apri- eots were through blooming, were well cov- ered with bees almost from the start. The blossoms on the uncovered Bartlett trees were badly blighted, and very little fruit set on them except from the first blossoms, which SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 390. opened before the bees began their visits. On the covered Bartlett trees more fruit set than on any other Barlett trees in the orchard. Some blossom blight appeared on the covered trees, but upon examination some dead bees were found inside the netting, which had been slightly torn by storms. Mr. Downing estimates the financial loss on lis Bartlett pears last season due to blossom blight at $10,000, and his loss on the same variety this year from the same cause at 1,000 tons of fruit on 9,000 trees. He concludes that so long as there are blight-infected pear trees in his locality the crop of Bartletts will - be destroyed if the bees have access to them. The fact that the covered trees set fair crops of fruit appears to indicate that cross-polli- nation .of Bartletts was not necessary in that locality this season. In the discussion of pear blight in Califor- nia, Mr. Waite stated that the blight bacteria were usually carried from the gummy exuda- tion of hold-over cases by flies and wasps, flies being the principal agents in the transporta- tion of the virus. After the first blossoms have been infected in this manner, the regu- lar flower-visiting insects, of which the com- mon honey bee and the sweat bees, belonging to the genera Halictus and Andrena are exam- ples, carry the disease from one blossom to another. These flower-visiting imsects are very efficient in transporting the disease, and ’ cther things being equal, the later a pear blooms the more complete its infection. If our pomaceous fruit blossoms continued to open during the summer, the destruction by pear blight would doubtless be almost com- plete. Ordinarily the closing of the bloom- ing period terminates the multiplication and distribution of the disease. Mr. M. A. Carleton discussed ‘The Spread of Smut and Bunt in Wheat as affected by Dry Seasons and the Earliness of Varieties.’ It has been pretty well known for some time that smut and bunt in cereals are much more prevalent in dry seasons and in dry regions. Experiments and observations made by the U. S. Department of Agriculture have also shown that these fungi, when attacking wheat par- ticularly, are more likely to appear in early JUNE 20, 1902. ] varieties than in those that mature later. Thus it is very common for Japanese wheats to be infested with smut when introduced into this -country, and Japanese varieties are always quite early in ripening. Now, as the tendency of dryness and heat is to produce early ripen- ing of plants, it appears that there may be some relation between these parallel facts, and the question is a very interesting one as to why these conditions exist. As a rule the smut is propagated by germinating in the ground with the grain itself, infecting the young plant at that time and growing up through the plant as the plant grows, finally breaking out at the surface in the wheat head. One of two things therefore it seems may be true, either that the abnormal condition of the plant pro- duced by its infection with the smut causes the plant to ripen earlier, or,on the other hand, that the early maturity of the plant allows the smut to work its way to the surface before the plant has grown entirely beyond it. Many cbservations seem to show that the latter is true, although it is by no means established. The tendency in dry seasons and in early ri- pening is always to produce more fruit or grain and less of the vegetative portion of the plant. As the smut finally produces its spores at the surface in the head, this condition would naturally favor the maturity of the smut. On the other hand, in later ripening sorts and in moister regions or seasons of greater moisture, the growth of the plant being more rapid and the maturity of the fruit occurring later, the plant is enabled in a sense to outgrow the development of the smut. A portion of the evening was devoted to a symposium on ‘Environment as a Factor in Natural Selection,’ the discussion being led by Messrs. W. J. Spillman and H. J. Webber. In the discussion Professor Spillman stated that environment is not only a factor in nat- ural selection; it is the whole of it. It is more than this, for it is a factor in variation. As stated, therefore, the subject covers the whole field of natural selection. It is probable that natural selection has been overworked, and par- ticular attention is called to the fact that much, perhaps most, variation is neither useful SCIENCE. 991 nor harmful, and therefore not amenable to the influence of natural selection. If this is true a great deal of what we see in living organisms is not due to natural selection, but merely to fortuitous variation, perhaps to mutations, as De Vries would have us believe. It is really change of environment that is important in natural selection. These changes are frequently favorable in that they remove a condition which made selection more strict. Examples of these are common in the case of organisms transplanted to a new habi- tat, where their natural enemies are absent. Under such conditions variations become per- missible that were not possible under the old conditions, and what was before an unimpor- tant species may assume a very important place in the economy of nature. Mr. Webber stated that while the majority of variations induced directly by the influence of environment are not inherited; nevertheless, the influence of environment serves to destroy — those individuals which do not vary in the direction of adapting themselves to the envi- ronment. It is only those individuals, therefore, which possess desirable variations that are able to produce seed for the next genera- tion. The action of the environment in the next generation would be exactly the same, those plants only which vary in the direction of fitting themselves to the environment being able to survive and produce seed. In this way natural selection would eliminate such variations as were unfitted to the environment, so that only those plants best fitted would propagate. This action continued through several years would eventually result in ren- dering hereditary the characters fitted to the environment. Herpert J. WEBBER, Corresponding Secretary. DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE. WHAT IS NATURE STUDY ? THERE seem to be many conflicting defini- tions in attempts to answer the above question. Here are two examples: “Nature study, as used in this paper, is understood to be the work in elementary science taught below the high school—in botany, zoology, physics, chemis- try and geology. We should aim to define re- 992 sults. Gushing sentimentalism or mere rambling talks will be as barren in results as undigested statistics. To avoid this, the teacher should always have a definite plan before her when the lesson begins.”—D. Lange, Supervisor of Nature Study, St. Paul, Minn. “Nature Study is seeing the things which one looks at, and the drawing of proper con- clusions from what one sees. Nature study is not the study of a science, as of botany, en- -tomology, geology and the like. It is wholly informal and unsystematic, the same as the objects are which one sees. It is entirely di- voreed from definitions, or from explanations in books. * * * To-day it is a stone; to-mor- row it is a twig, a bird, an insect, a leaf, a flower. * * * The problems of chemistry and of physics are for the most part unsuited to early lessons in nature study. “Tf nature study were made a stated part of a curriculum, its purpose would be defeat- ed.”—L. H. Bailey, Cornell University, N. Y. I have observed the different methods of teaching botany and zoology for many years past. So far as this country is concerned, I think what is now correctly termed nature study started with Louis Agassiz at Harvard, where he invariably set his special students in zoology to work on a starfish, a lobster, a clam or some other animal; not one specimen of one of these, but many of them, not alone those that were full grown, but those of all ages; not only dead specimens, but those that were alive, always with numerous compari- sons. For months, the use of books was posi- tively forbidden; and all that was told the student, excepting a few names of parts, was, ‘You are right,’ or ‘You are wrong,’ and if wrong, the student was kept at the work until he saw the thing right. Agassiz was overflowing with enthusiasm. He would throw up both arms with exclama- tions of delight on seeing a specimen of a com- mon shell-fish that was overgrown. This earnestness and enthusiasm helped secure faithful work from his students. Since work- ing under Agassiz I have not had the slight- est doubt that his method of studying nature or nature study was unsurpassed for advanced SCIENCE. [N.S. VoL. XV. No. 390. students. This method made a lasting im- pression on Harvard, on her presidents, her professors, and all the students who took his kind of work. Through these students of Agassiz and their students down to the third generation, this spirit of independent work has come filtering along for fifty years or more, till it has finally become widespread and deeply seated, and has recently burst forth into a great flame. > After the manner of Agassiz with his post- graduates, so the teacher of the grades below the high school will treat her young students, of course giving easier problems requiring but a little time each day. The teacher will show her interest, tact and enthusiasm to draw out the best work from her pupils. By all de- vices, she will seek to get the results of the combined observations of all members of the class before she lets them know her own views on the subject, and even then parts of the work may be left with pupils for further investigation. With much that is good in nature study comes much that is positively injurious, and unfortunately large numbers are unable to dis- tinguish between the true and the false. One writes a little book giving it some fancy title, distorts the drawings of some seeds and seed- lings, inserting outlines of children’s faces thereon; she writes some marvelous stories, and all these to help arouse and retain the interest of the child. I have in my possession a neat drawing made by a student. He made two drawings to represent two honey bees just about te visit apple blossoms. The bees are not alike; each has two wings only; the heads and legs are unlike anything ever attached to bees. The apple blossoms are five-lobed (gamopet- alous), with three stamens growing from the base of each lobe of the corolla. He has made drawings of imaginary insects seeking imagin- ary nectar from imaginary flowers. This stu- dent was trained in a state normal school. Such caricatures are absolutely worthless, in fact injurious, to any young person who makes them or even looks at them. W. J. Brau. AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE, MIcH. JUNE 20, 1902. ] @COLOGY. To tum Eprror or Science: I share Pro- fessor Ganong’s surprise that, after the word ‘ecology’ had been fully discussed in your columns by many leading naturalists (of whom Mr. Ganong was one), you should have admit- ted my belated remarks. I can only suppose that you recognized, what Mr. Ganong seems to have forgotten, that I am not responsible for the intervention of the Atlantic Ocean. Still I confess that I should not for the mo- ment have forgotten the difference between the American and English languages. I can only say that if the spelling ‘ecology’ be not a yagary, the fact is to be regretted, since such contractions undoubtedly mislead those who wish to follow the excellent example of one of your correspondents and to use the Greek lexicon. I do not recognize the parallel with ‘economy,’ a word which came to us through the French, and which is a familiar everyday word, whereas ‘cecology’ is, and no doubt will long remain a purely technical term. I infer that here I have the support of Mr. Lester F. Ward. As to the meaning of ‘ecology,’ I am glad to find myself in entire agreement with Mr. Ganong and Dr. Theodore Gill. But when the former belabors me for bringing a false accusation against botanists, in saying that they have restricted the meaning of the term, _I must defend myself. I do not profess to speak with the authority of Mr. Ganong, whose studies in this branch of natural his- tory we all admire; I speak merely as a casual skimmer of such publications as Science. It certainly appeared to me that the two authors whose papers suggested the recent discussion, namely Mr. H. 8. Reed and Mr. H. C. Cowles, used the term as meaning ‘ecological plant- geography.’ The former entitles his paper ‘The Ecology of a Glacial Lake’; does Mr. Ganong seriously maintain that this means ‘The science of the adaptation of a glacial lake to its surroundings? The latter (what- ever he may have said ‘in his elaborate paper’ here distinctly asserted that the ‘phy- togeographice’ was one of the two aspects pre- sented by ‘all ecological problems,’ and his SCIENCE. 993 paper dealt solely with this aspect. Your own editorial explanation of the term laid even more stress on geographic distribution. Sur- prised at this, I consulted one or two botanical friends, who assured me that by ‘ecology’ they really did understand the study of plant- associations. I therefore turned to Mr. Rob- ert Smith’s paper in Natwral Science and found that he did not use the term ‘cecology” in the same sense as the botanists just alluded to, but used instead the phrase ‘ecological plant geography,’ which I quoted in my previ- ous letter. Mr. Ganong need not have hunted up all the instances of the words ‘cecological’ and ‘cecology’ in Mr. Smith’s paper. I admit that the latter does occur once (Mr. Ganong says ‘four times’). But my whole point was that Mr. Smith used it with its full and cor- rect meaning, and that he did not mention it as an equivalent for the subject of his paper. I trust Mr. Ganong will-now see that, though my ignorance of botanical literature may have led me to give too extended a form to my statement, still the use of the term in a restricted sense does actually obtain among botanists. Indeed I am assured by a botanical colleague that such use is increasing. I hope therefore that some of Mr. Ganong’s hearty blows will have glanced off me on to the shoul- ders of the real offenders. The whole object of a technical terminology is precision and unambiguity of language. The moment a term ceases to be used in the strict sense of its original proposer, this object is defeated.* The fact that there are signs of such a change in the case of the word ‘eecology’ justifies a protest before it is too late. F. A. Baruer. MASS AND WEIGHT. To rHe Eprror or Science: I notice in your issue of June 13, a communication from Dr. Goodspeed, on the subject of ‘Mass and Weight.” I am glad that attention is called * Professor W. M. Wheeler uses ‘Ethology’ “in the place of the less satisfactory ‘ecology’” (Scmmnce XY., p. 774, May 16, 1902). Why is ‘ecology’ less satisfactory, if not for this very reason ? 994 to this subject, as I think that some reform is greatly needed. I agree with him in all that he says except that I do not think the term ‘measurement’ is the proper one to take the place of the common title ‘weights and measures.’ Under the latter title is always understood a list of the units and their equiva- lents, and therefore the term ‘measurement’ does not apply. In view of the fact that the units of weight are measures quite as well as the units of length are, it seems to me a much better title would be simply ‘measures,’ and I would urge the adoption of that title in place of the word ‘measurement,’ suggested by Dr. Goodspeed. Cart Herine. PHILADELPHIA. SHORTER ARTICLES. DIVERGENCE OF LONG PLUMB-LINES AT THE TAMARACK MINE. In September last two very long plumb-lines were hung in No. 5 shaft of the Tamarack Mine at Calumet, Michigan. They were 4,250 ft. in length, being longer than in any pre- viously recorded instance. They were of No. 24 piano wire and the bobs were of cast iron, weighing fifty pounds each. Great care was taken that there should be no interference from projecting objects nor from dropping water, of which indeed there is not a great deal in the shaft. Measurements between the lines taken at surface and at their lower extremities showed a divergence to the amount of 0.11 ft. A divergence of 0.07 ft. remained after the western wire had been moved about 1.25 ft. further west to ensure its freedom from obstacles. Thinking that the air pipes which run down the western end of the shaft might, through magnetic action on the bob nearest them, be causing this divergence, I advised the use of lead bobs in a plumbing of No. 2 shaft, which took place a little later. Al- though the length of the lines in No. 2 was about 120 ft. less than when they hung in No. 5, and although the lead bobs were used, there was yet a divergence of 0.10 ft. The publication about this time in the Houghton Daily Mining Gazette of the fact that a divergence had been observed at- SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 390. tracted wide attention, and brought forth many attempts to explain its existence. Those immediately cognizant of the condi- tions had no satisfactory theory to offer. One of the explanations was that the divergence was due to the greater attraction of the ma- terial at the end of the shaft for the bob hang- ing nearest it. It is remarkable how many engineers and other trained persons held to this theory. There seems to exist a general lack of appreciation of the forces of gravita- tion, except in the single instance of the force between the earth and objects upon it. It is of course true that the attractions on either bob toward the ends of the shaft are different, the stronger being toward the end nearest to which it hangs. Furthermore, these dif- ferences of attraction tend to diverge the lines. Their amounts, however, are in this case so insignificant as to put them quite out of consideration in attempting to explain the divergence. Their sum is only a few hun- dredths of a grain, and the consequent diver- gence only about 0.001 ft. Professor Hallock, of Columbia University, suggested the theory of repulsion between like poles at the lower extremities of the wire, but afterwards modified this to include repulsion between like consequent poles distributed along the wires. Permission having been granted me to carry on further experiments in No. 4 shaft of the Tamarack Mine, there were hung in this shaft bronze wires No. 20 B. & S. gauge, carrying 60-pound lead bobs. These lines were ap- proximately 15 ft. apart and 4,440 ft. in length. By a simple system of triangulation the distance between the mean positions of their lower extremities was determined, while the distance between them at surface was directly measured. It is thought that these distances were compared with an error not greater than 0.003 ft. A small convergence of 0.028 ft. was observed. The steel wires were then hung in the same position at the top, and the positions at the bottom observed, both with lead and with iron bobs. The bronze wires were hung a second time, but somewhat nearer together, and were found practically parallel. The steel lines showed a sight con- JUNE 20, 1902.] vergence. Subsequently the bronze wires with lead bobs were hung in No. 5 shaft in the same position, as nearly as might be, as was occupied by the steel wires in September. The divergence was greater, amounting this time to 0.141 ft. The results are exhibited in the following table: Distances in | + feet. 28 Pate, | shaft.| Wires. | Bobs. sur poet 38 e face. | trem- o> ities. a Jan. 3| No. 4| Bronze. | Lead. | 15 089} 15.061/—0.028 “* 6] ‘* 41 Steel. Lead. | 15.089} 15.074/—0.015 6) ‘* 4) Steel. Tron. | 15.089) 15.062/—0.027 “ 9} ‘* 4] Bronze. | Lead. | 14.607) 14.611|/+0.004 6° 16) ‘* 5] Bronze. | Lead. | 16.709) 16.850|+0.141 The data shown in the table seemed to af- ford ample experimental proof that neither gravitation nor magnetism could account for the divergence originally observed. Further, it seemed that the results pointed clearly to the currents of air in the shafts as the dis- turbing cause. Until No. 5 shaft is connected with other portions of the mine its ventilation is ac- complished by dividing it into two parts by means of a tight casing which sets off one compartment and the ladder-way, at the west- ern end of the shaft, to serve as an air chim- ney for the up-cast draft. At the time of the September and January plumbings there ex- isted at different levels a number of open- ings in this casing. The west wire hung in the air chimney, and these openings permitted a rush of air from the down-cast side into the up-cast portion, the effect of which would be to move the west wire toward the west and thus produce a divergence. To make the proof as complete as possible it was decided to hang the bronze wires once more in this shaft, but to hang the west one in the com- partment next the air chimney, rather than init. Jt seemed that if both wires were hung in the down-cast portion the divergence ought to disappear. Moreover, communication be- tween the air chimney and the down-cast portion was carefully stopped off as far down as the extent of the wires, and, to further pre- SCIENCE. 995 vent circulation, the shaft was covered at the top as soon as the wires were in position. Since a considerable difference in temperature exists between the bottom of the shaft and the surface, it was not possible to stop all cir- culation. There remained a _ considerable convection circulation whose down-cast por- tion was concentrated along the casing above referred to. The measurements between the wires were, at surface 11.944 ft. at bottom 11.962 ft., showing a divergence of 0.018 ft. This divergence was easily accounted for by the convection current just described. The difference between the divergence of the steel wires hung in this shaft in September, and of the bronze ones in January is explained by the fact that the circulation in the warmer weather of September was much less vigorous than in January and, further, that the steel wires afforded the smaller surface to be acted upon. The question of air currents had been con- sidered early in the experiments. That they could account for the divergence was very slowly admitted by the observers, inasmuch as it was diflicult to believe that currents of air could be of the steadiness, in both volume and direction, which would be necessary to permit the constancy which was observed in the mean positions of the lines. The mean positions were observed on seales, placed close to the wire. Most of the time scales divided into sixteenth inches were used. For hours at a time the variations of the mean posi- tion of a wire would not exceed three or four tenths of a scale division. The mean posi- tion was determined by drawing the wire aside and allowing it to vibrate, as in deter- mining the resting point of a balance by the method of vibrations. The responsibility of the air currents once admitted, it was found by studying the con- ditions in No. 2 shaft that the divergence there observed could be satisfactorily ex- plained. The shaft is down-cast and the air leaves it at the west end to reach the mine: The small convergence observed in No. 4 shaft can likewise be accounted for by the swirl of the currents as they enter this shaft, which is up-cast. The contour of the walls 996 of the plats is such that the currents of air hugging the outside of the curve as they enter the shaft will have a tendency from the west wall toward the center. Moreover, it appears that this tendency will be stronger close to the wall than a little distance away. When therefore on the 9th of January, the west wire was moved eastward, lessening the dis- tance between the lines, the wires hung more nearly parallel than when this wire was close to the wall of the shaft. It seems therefore that a very simple cause was at the bottom of the divergence. The remarkable fact is that the currents of air should be so constant in their action. When, however, the great depth of the shafts is con- sidered, also the constaney for considerable periods of time of the temperatures which may influence these currents, it seems reasonable that this steadiness should exist. i F. W. McNair. MicHIGAN COLLEGE OF MINES, Hovueuton, Micu. SEX IN SEED PLANTS. PROBABLY everyone who has tried it will say that it is not easy to teach students the rela- tion between pteridophytes and seed plants. Yet by following closely the origin of the spo- rophyte and its gradual evolution the subject can be made clear if all conditions are favor- able. One important condition is that the text-books consulted by the student shall be perfectly clear, that there shall be no confu- sion of terms. In popular accounts of plants, as in popular works on science generally, one must expect to find technical subjects treated in rather off- hand fashion. But in works planned for col- lege students it does not seem unreasonable to ask for simple accuracy. Now it has long been known that, among the seed plants, ‘the plant’ is the sporophyte, a non-sexual organism. The SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 390. stamens therefore cannot be male organs nor the carpels female organs. Placing the pol- len upon the stigma is not fertilization and every botanist knows it. There are no such things as male and female flowers, nor flowers which are unisexual or hermaphrodite. Notwithstanding these well known facts, many botanists continue to use these inaccu- rate expressions. Practically all of the Euro- pean botanical journals are serious offenders. In our own country the first class journals use the modern terminology but many of the most widely used text-books do not. The most re- cently issued American text-book, a work intended for university students, contains the misleading and irrational terms mentioned above. Methods of teaching botany are frequently discussed at educational conventions. To the writer it seems that what we need is not some new and fancy method of teaching but a knowledge of facts by the teacher and an ability to select a text-book which is clear and accurate in its terminology—not muddled and confused. Francis RAMALEY. UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO. HARVARD COLLEGE OBSERVATORY ASTRONOMICAL BULLETIN. THE determination of the law governing the variation in light of the planet Eros (433) is one of the most interesting problems in Astronomical Photometry. A similar yaria- tion in light of the planets Sirona (116) and Tercidina (845) has been announced by Dr. M. Wolf, of Heidelberg. Both objects are favorably situated for observation this sum- mer. The opposition of Sirona occurs on June 15, 1902, Magn. 10.9. Accordingly the following ephemeris for Greenwich Midnight has been computed by Mr. F. E. Seagrave, of Providence, R. I., from the elements given in the Berlin Jahrbuch for 1904. EPHEMERIS. 1902. J. D. R. A. Dee Log r Log A h m. s. Cy gaa May 26.5 241 5896 17 53 45.8 — 24 54 30 0.45135 0.27197 June 5.5 5906 17 45 10.2 —25 5 25 0.45349 0.26518 June 15.5 5916 17 35) «36.5 — 25. 112) 39 0.45560 0.26468 June 25.5 5926 17 26 7.8 —25 15 52 0.45767 0.27063 July 5.5 5936 17 17 «43.2 — 25 15 49 0.45969 0.28260 JUNE 20, 1902.] Photographs taken at Cambridge on June 5 and June 8, 1902, with the 8” Draper Tele- scope, indicate a correction to this ephemeris in R. A. of +0.1m, and in Dee. of —1’. Photographie enlargements of this region will be furnished to observers who will under- take the required observations. The opposition of Tercidina oceurs on Au- gust 3, 1902, magn. 11.5, in R. A. 20h 50.4m, Dee. —0° 40’. Daily motion in R. A. —0.9m, in Dee. —4’. Epwarp C. PIckERING. A GRADUATE SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE. Tue first session of a graduate school of agriculture held under the auspices of the Ohio State University, and with the coopera- tion of the United States Department of Agri- culture and the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Sta- tions, will open at Columbus on July 7 and will continue for four weeks. The purpose of the school is to give advanced instruction in the science of agriculture, and particularly in the methods of investigating agricultural problems and teaching agricultural subjects. Only persons who have completed a college course and taken a bachelor’s degree, or who are recommended by the faculties of the col- leges with which they are associated, will be admitted to the privileges of the school. In- struction will be given in four courses— agronomy, zootechny, dairying, and animal and plant breeding. The courses in these subjects will run parallel; except that the course in breeding will be so arranged that ii can be taken by students in any of the other courses. The Saturday morning periods will be devoted to lectures and conferences on agricultural pedagogy and special topics of general interest. The equipment of modern dairy apparatus and machinery and apparatus for instruction in soil physics is especially complete. Some of the apparatus used in the investigations of the Bureau of Soils of the U. S. Department of Agriculture will be transferred to Columbus for the use of the school. This bureau is now conducting a soil survey of the region in the immediate vicinity of Columbus, and the students of the school SCIENCE. 997 will have an opportunity to observe the field methods of this survey. The breeders of Ohio will contribute live stock for judging and demonstration purposes in connection with the courses in zootechny and animal breeding. An especially selected library of works on agriculture and agricul- tural science will be provided. Dr. A. C. True, chief of the Division of Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Sta- tions of the Department of Agriculture, is dean of the school. The faculty will consist of about thirty instructors, including the heads of the agricultural departments of state universities and agricultural colleges and the directors and other officers of experiment sta- tions in different parts of the country, as well as chiefs of bureaus and other officers of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. APPOINTMENTS UNDER THE GOVERNMENT. SEVERAL positions in the scientific depart- ments of the government will be filled as the result of civil service examinations in July. On July 10 an examination will be held to fill three vacancies in the position of labora- tory assistant in the National Bureauof Stand- ards, at a salary of $900, $1,000 and $1,400 per annum, and to other similar vacancies as they may oceur. The examination will consist of the subjects mentioned below, which will be weighted as follows: SCIENTIFIC Education and training, including training in mathematics and mathematical physics. (State all courses in these subjects taken ia, olllkeee: Ge ENGR) cooosccancceooasnces 20 Experience, including (a) laboratory work in electricity and general physics done in col- lege or later; (b) any other experimental work or original research; (¢c) other ex- perience likely to be helpful in the position of laboratory assistant.................. 30 One or more of the following optional sub- jects: (a) Theoretical and applied elec- tricity and electrical testing; (6) Theo- retical and experimental optics; (c) Mechanics of solids and fluids with appli- cations to the testing of weights and measures 998 Competitors will be assembled only for the tests under the third subject. Three hours will be allowed for subject a, and two hours each for subjects b and c. Applicants must show that they have been graduated from col- leges or technical schools, or show that they have obtained an equivalent scientifie train- ing. The Department desires that the ap- pointee be not less than 20 nor more than 40 years of age and be in good physical con- dition. A preliminary rating will be made on the first two subjects as shown by the appli- cation and accompanying vouchers, and those applicants who fail to attain at least 70 per cent. on this portion of the examination will not be given the tests under the third subject. On July 8 and 9 examinations will be held to fill at least four vacancies as computers in the Coast and Geodetic Survey at a salary of $1,000 a year. The subjects and weights are: INIEIME, scoccovedon0000cboo000uoDDDOeEOCG 10 Plane and solid geometry..:............... 10 IEIGOMONTNRTA?, concaccop0000a00cc0CGDGGDNCD 15 Elements of calculus....................-. 15 Practical computations...................- 50 On July 11 and 12 an examination will be held to fill twelve vacancies in the position of aid in the Coast and Geodetic Survey, at a salary of $720. The age limit is eighteen to twenty-five years and the subjects and weights are: Mathematics, including the elements of cal- GUIS, coocagoacecoouccc0c0cDccusDD eg I00 10 Practical computations.................... 10 ANG HTOMOMAMN YS? bobo gooqneoooCDC DH HOCOdDGOdOON 10 IDM “So accgscqs0000000000000n00b0G0000 10 SPinyeyauaie* sinabidas dobocantab caaorucdseeso 10 Modern languages, translation from one Eu- ON MANES, cooceocoos50uncc00ce00s 10 Drawing and descriptive geometry........ . 10 Training and experience.................. 10 Pin sicalwexamaim alone sitet: 20 On July 15 there will be an examination to fill the position of assistant in the Road-mater- ial Laboratory, Division of Chemistry, De- partment of Agriculture, with a salary of $600 with prospects of promotion; and on July 15 and 16 there will be an examination for as- sistant (piece-work computer) in the Naval Observatory and the Nautical Almanac Office. SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 390. THE PITTSBURGH MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. ARRANGEMENTS have now been made so that certificates will be honored from points in the territory of the Western Passenger Associa- tion which show the purchase of tickets for the Pittsburgh meeting of the American Asso- ciation on June 26-80 inclusive in addition to June 19-25 inclusive. Grorce A. WARDLAW. SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. Sir JosepH Datton Hooker has been ap- pointed a. foreign knight of the Prussian Ordre Pour Je Merite for Science and Arts. Sir. Joseph Hooker, who was director of the Kew Botanical Gardens from 1865-1885 and president of the Royal Society from 1872= 1877, will celebrate his eighty-fiftth birthday on June 30. Tue Huxley Lecture at Charing Cross Hos- pital will be delivered this year by Dr. William H. Welch, of the Johns Hopkins University. Lorp RaynricH has been elected a corre- sponding member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences. Dr. S. Atrrep MitTcHELL, tutor in astron- omy at Columbia University, has been elected a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society of England. THE officers of the American Medical Asso- ciation elected at- the Saratoga meeting are: President, Frank Billings, of Chicago; Vice- Presidents, W. A. Witherspoon, of Tennessee, G. F. Comstock, of New York, C. R. Holmes, of Ohio, James H. Dunn, of Minnesota; Sec- retary, G. H. Simmons, of Illinois; Treasurer, H. P. Newman, of Illinois; Orators: Medicine, J. M. Anders, of Philadelphia; Surgery, A. F. Jones, of Omaha; State Medicine, W. H. Welch, of Baltimore. Little Rock, Arkansas, was recommended for the next place of meet- ing. Tur North Carolina Academy of Science was foundedat Raleigh,on March?21,1902. The following officers were elected for the current year: President, W. L. Poteat, Wake Forest College; Vice-President, T. Gilbert Pearson, State Normal College; Secretary and Treas- JUNE 20, 1902.] urer, Franklin Sherman, Jr., State Entomolo- gist; Haecutive Committee, W. L. Poteat, Franklin Sherman, W. W. Ashe, H. H. Brim- ley, Tait Butler, J. L. Kesler, B. W. Kilgore, F. L. Stevens and H. V. Wilson. The first meeting for the presentation of papers will be held during the first week in October. Oxrorp University will on June 24 confer its honorary degree of D.C.L. on William H. M. Christie, C.B., F.R.S., Astronomer Royal, and on Arthur W. Riicker, F.R.S., principal of the University of London. The degree will also be conferred on Mr. Choate, Ambassador of the United States. Princeton Universiry has conferred the degree of LL.D. on Mr. Morris K. Jesup, president of the American Museum of Nat- ural History. Preswpent Nicnonas Murray Burusr, of Columbia University, has received the degree of doctor of laws from Princeton University. It is understood that he will receive the same degree from Yale University and from the University of Pennsylvania. He will make the commencement address at the latter uni- versity. Coxumpia University has conferred the de- gree of D.Sc. on Professor S. B. Christie, who has held the chair of mining and metallurgy in the University of California since 1885. M. Fant Laurent, professor of agriculture in the Belgian national school at Gembloux, has been elected a correspondent of the Paris Academy of Sciences. Duruam University has conferred the de- gree of D.C.L. on Sir W. 8S. Church, president of the Royal College of Physicians, London, and on Dr. Thomas Annandale, professor of clinical surgery at Edinburgh. Proressor Cu. Ricuer, the eminent French physiologist, has resigned the editorship of the Revue Scientifique, which he has held for twenty-five years. He is succeeded by M. Héricourt. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCA1LONAL NEWS. Dr. Francis L. Parton resigned the presi- deney of Princeton University on June 9, SCIENCE. 999 but retains the Stuart professorship of ethics and the philosophy of religion. Dr. Woodrow Wilson, McCormick professor of jurisprudence and politics, was elected as his successor. Ar the commencement exercises at the Johns Hopkins University last week, President Rem- sen announced that over $900,000 had been subscribed toward the million dollar endow- ment fund, Tue University of Pensylvania has received a gift of $100,000 for the construction of the new medical buildings, the name of the donor being withheld for the present. Mr. A. A. Porn, of Cleveland, has given the Western Reserve University $100,000 for buildings. PresipeNT JosepH Swain, of Indiana Uni- versity, accepted the presidency of Swarthmore College, on condition that the endowment be increased by $400,000. been subscribed. This sum has now We.ts Conuece has received $50,000 from Mr. Henry A. Morgan and $25,000 from Mr. N. L. Zabriskie for buildings and equipment. Ir is announced that the donors of the new physical laboratory for Wesleyan University, which is to cost $75,000, are Mr. Charles Scott, Sr., Philadelphia, a trustee of the uni- versity, and Mr. Charles Scott, Jr., New York, a graduate of the class of ’86. The building is to be a memorial of John Bell Scott of the class of 781. Tue appeal by the governors of University College, Dundee, has brought in over £24,000. Dr. E. H. Grirrirus, principal of University College, Cardiff, and formerly lecturer on physics at Cambridge, has offered to give his collection of apparatus to the college, if a building for a laboratory is provided at a cost of £2,000. He suggests that the laboratory be named in honor of the late Viriamu Jones. If Cardiff does not accept the offer, the collec- tion will be presented to the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington. Tue Sir John Cass Technical Institute, London, erected at a cost of over $150,000, was formally opened on May 5 by Lord Avebury. 1000 Tue draft charter of the proposed Univer- sity for Liverpool, settled by the council of University College, gives powers as to the con- ferment of degrees in all the recognized facul- ties, as well as in the faculty of commerce, which embraces the sciences of economics, ge- ography, banking and commercial law. It also gives powers to admit new constituent col- leges; to recognize halls of residence for students; to establish new professorships and lectureships; and provides for the establish- ment of external examiners. Tue following promotions have been made at the Johns Hopkins University:—George B. Shattuck, Ph.D., now associate, to be associate professor of physiographic geology; Caswell Grave, Ph.D., now assistant, to be associate in zoology; Louis A. Parsons, Ph.D., to be assistant in physics; William G. MacCal- lum, M.D., now associate, to be associate pro- fessor of pathology; Guy L. Hunner, M.D., now instructor, to be associate in gynecology ; Walter Baumgarten, M.D., to be assistant in medicine; Florence R. Sabin, M.D., to be as- sistant in anatomy; Benjamin R. Schenck, M.D., to be instructor in gynecology. Dr. H. C. Warren has been promoted to a full professorship of experimental psychology at Princeton University. Mr. Grorce F. Gesuarpt, instructor in the Armour Institute of Technology, at Chicago, has been elected to the chair of mechanical engineering. ‘ Tue following appointments and changes in the scientific faculty of the University of North Carolina were announced at the recent commencement of that institution: W. C. Coker, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins), now at Bonn, associate professor of botany; J. EH. Duer- den, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins), acting-professor of biology during the leave of Dr. H. V. Wil- son, head of the department; Ivey F. Lewis, A.B. (U.N.C., 1902), assistant in biology; M. H. Stacy, Ph.B. (U.N.C., 1902), instructor in mathematics; Archibald Henderson, Ph.D. (U.N.C.), associate professor of mathematics, was given a year’s leave of absence, during which period he will fill an instructorship at the University of Chicago; George P. Stevens, SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 390. A.B. (U.N.C., 1902), assistant in mathemat- ics; J. HK. Latta, A.M. (U.N.C.), instructor in physics, was given a year’s leave of absence. He has accepted a scholarship at Harvard; H. R. McFadyen was appointed assistant in physics; Hazel Holland, assistant in chemis- try, and W. M. Perry, assistant in pharmacy. Dr. Capy Sranny, since 1886 president of the Case School of Applied Science, has xe- signed. Mr. Joun W. Apercrompie has been elected president of the University of Alabama. The Rev. Dr. Guy P. Benton, president of the Upper University of Iowa, has been elected president of Miami University. Dr. James H. Caruiste has resigned the presidency of Wofford College, at Spartan- burg, S. C., and Professor Henry Nelson Sny- der, professor of Hnglish, succeeds him. Dr. Carlisle, who is seventy-seven years old, has been elected president emeritus and professor of astronomy and ethics. Dr. THomas RuceLtes PyNcHoN, since 1877 professor of moral philosophy at Trinity Col- lege, has resigned and has been made professor emeritus. Dr. Pynchon was president of Trinity College from 1874 to 1877 and was from 1854 to 1877 professor of chemistry and natural sciences. Mr. Grauam Batrour, M.A., assistant sec- retary of the Oxford Examinations Delegacy, has been appointed director of technical in- struction under the Staffordshire County Council, in succession to Professor Thomas Turner, recently elected to the chair of metal- lurgy at Birmingham. Mr. Doveras A. Gincurist, B.Se., professor of agriculture and director of the agricultural department at the college, Reading, has been appointed professor of agriculture at the Dur- ham College of Science, Neweastle, in succes- sion to Professor T. H. Middleton, M.Se., who was recently elected to the chair of agricul- ture in the University of Cambridge. Mr. Herspert StanteEy JEVONS, son of the late Professor Stanley Jevons, has been ap- pointed to a lectureship in mineralogy at the University of Sydney, New South Wales. SCIENCE A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, PUBLISHING THE OFFICIAL NOTICES AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. EDITORIAL CommMItTrEE : S. NEwcoms, Mathematics; R. S. WooDWARD, Mechanics; E. C. PICKERING, Astronomy; T. C. MENDENHALL, Physics ; R. H. THURSTON, Engineering.; IRA REMSEN, Chemistry ; CHARLES D. Watcott, Geology; W. M. DAvis, Physiography ; HENRY F. OSBORN, Paleon- tology ; W. K. Brooxs, C. Hart Merriam, Zoology ; S. H. ScuppER, Entomology ; C. E. BrssEy, N. L. Brirron, Botany ; C. S. Minot, Embryology, Histology ; H. P. Bow- DITCH, Physiology; J. S. Binnines, Hygiene; WiLLIAM H. WELcH, Pathol- ogy ; J. McKEEN CATTELL, Psychology ; J. W. POWELL, Anthropology. Fray, JUNE 27, 1902. CONTENTS: The Royal Society of Canada :— The Universities in Relation to Research: PRESIDENT JAMES LOUDON............. 1001 Section of the Geological and Biological Sciences.) DR. G. Ws HAY. eee 1009 Section of the Mathematical, Physical and Chemical Sciences: PRoressor W. Las MILLER Problems in the Chemistry and Toxicology of Plant Substances: Dr. V. K. Cuesnur....1016 Scientific Books :— Reports on Plans for the Eutermination of Mosquitoes on the North Shore of Long Island: Proressor Joun B. SmitH. Cross and Bevan's Researches on Cellulose: DRA Ee VVOOD Siermtae castes Manet a ened ene oss 1028 Scientific Journals and Articles............ 1030 Societies and Academies :-— The American Association for the Advance- ment of Science. Biological Society of Washington: F. A. Lucas. The Academy of Science of St. Lowis: PRroressor W1L- TAR CRG MASE dys criaehotsae seis telson ates sue 1030 Discussion and Correspondence :-— The Huplosive Force of Volcanoes: Rost LE aG ORDON I oer ericne ie ete cha neesstde ale 10383 Shorter Articles :— Black Rain in North Carolina: PRorpssor CHaAs. BASKERVILLE and H. R. WELLER. The Range of the Fox Snake: Max Morse. 1034 A Proposed American Anthropologie Asso- CUO LLONI 4\Wis Sie Me Aas e\ebae edd aes raelseeiere 1035 The American Association for the Adwvance- EOE Of INCYUGDo ba cea boowocddadodonaceceo 1036 Seventific Notes and News......-....-..... 1036 University and Hducational News.......... 1040 MSS. intended for publication and books, etc., intended for review should be sent to the responsible editor, Pro- fessor J. McKeen Cattell, Garrison-on-Hudson, N. Y. THE UNIVERSITIES IN RELATION TO RESEARCH.* Ir is now many years since I came to the conelusion that the provision of adequate facilities for research is one of the prime necessities of university education in Can- ada; and it is with the object of accelerat- ing the movement which has already begun in this direction that I have selected the relation of the universities to research as the topic of my remarks on this occasion. It will perhaps be expedient for me at the outset to say that I propose to use the word research in its widest meaning, 7. ¢., as indicating those efforts of the human mind which result in the extension of knowledge, whether such efforts are exerted in the field of literature, of science or of art. It is a common mistake to apply the term research to what we somewhat erro- neously denominate as ‘science,’ meaning thereby the physical and natural sciences. This limitation is comparatively modern, and. science so defined is after all only a part of human knowledge. The limits of research in its wider sense are coterminous with the knowable, and re- search itself is of very ancient date. The fund of knowledge accumulated even be- fore the Christian era was enormous. This great fund, however, remained stationary, * Address of the President of the Royal Society of Canada at the Toronto Meeting, May 27, 1902. 1002 or nearly so, throughout the Dark and and Middle Ages. During this period of mental stagnation, authority was the watchword of the learned. All knowledge was supposed to have been already dis- covered, and the efforts of the schoolmen were devoted to the application of this body of truth to life and conduct. This medieval point of view has been quaintly and aptly put by Chaucer: Out of olde feldies, as man saieth, Comith all this newe corne from yere to yearn; And out of olde bokis, in good faithe, Comith all this newe science that menne learn. With the Renaissance began a new epoch, an epoch in the midst of which we are still living. It marked, as has been well said, ‘the liberation of the reason from a dungeon, the double discovery of the outer and inner world.’ The study of the humanities, which was an incident of the Renaissance, rendered available to modern men the wisdom of the ancients. But much of the old knowledge was found to be spuri- ous when examined with the new light, and even the authority of Aristotle, the demi- god of the scholastics, was discredited. Nothing henceforth was to be accepted on trust, and the injunction to ‘prove all things’ became the watchword of the learned. Although the Renaissance marked the regeneration of philosophy, of criticism, and in general of the whole process of thought, it especially denoted the birth of the physical and natural sciences, and hence their rise and progress may be taken as best illustrating the working of the new spirit of research. Roger Bacon in the thirteenth century protested vainly against the despotism of Aristotle, and advocated a new and fruitful learning which should be based upon experience. In the two cen- turies which followed, those scholars de- seribed by Whewell as the ‘Practical Re- formers,’ working in their primitive SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 391. laboratories, established a sound basis for a future natural philosophy. One of these, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), both a practical and a theoretical philosopher, an- ticipated modern science in his remark: ‘“The interpreter of the artifices of nature is experience, who is never deceived. We must begin from experiment and try to discover the reason.’’ Telesio (1508- 1588). called by Francis Bacon ‘primus hominum novorum,’ said: ‘‘The construc- tion of the world and the magnitude and nature of the bodies in it are not to be investigated by reasoning, as was done by the ancients; but they are to be appre- hended by the sense and collected from the things themselves.’? These were some, but not nearly all, of the forerunners of Francis Bacon (1561-1626) who by his writings, and especially by his ‘Novum Organum,’ elaborated in detail a method of research, the principles of which had been laid down by his predecessors. From the overturning of the authority of Aristotle and the laying down of a se- cure basis for the advancement of knowl- edge, it was but a step to the inauguration of organized research, the aspect of the question to which I wish to invite your attention somewhat more in detail. The chief agencies of modern organized research are (1) the learned societies and (2) the universities. The former receive and publish research papers; the latter superintend and direct investigators and publish results. ‘T'o these should properly be added the various journals which have been established and carried on by private effort. It is a significant fact that the establishment of modern learned societies coincides closely in time with the Renais- sance movement. Telesio, mentioned above, established one of the earliest mathematico- physical! societies—the Academy of Cos- enza. Other Italian societies of similar scope were founded in Rome in 1603, in JuNE 27, 1902.] Florence in 1657, and the Royal Society of London dates from 1660 or earlier. Organized research in universities was of slower growth. In them the medieval spirit was tenacious of life, and it was only in the nineteenth century, in Ger- many, at the close of the Napoleonic wars, that research, not only in natural philos- ophy, but in the whole field of knowledge, became the basis of the German educational system, and I might remark, without going into details, that the university systems of France and the other principal countries of Europe, with the exception of Great Britain, are in the main parallel with that of Germany, although not so consistently elaborated. To understand then what or- ganized university research means in the fullest development which it has hitherto attained, let us turn our attention a little to Germany, of the educational system of which it forms an essential part. We are so subject to the authority of words that it is difficult for us to realize that the organization called a university in Germany is almost entirely different in scope and object from the institution which we so designate in this country. Hitherto, at least in England and Canada, the function of the university has mainly been to impart a general and liberal educa- tion, continuing and completing the begin- ning already made in the secondary school. Speaking generally, I may say that under the German system the work of our second- ary schools and universities combined is performed by the gymnasium, the nine or ten years’ training of which leaves the young man of nineteen or twenty years of age with a much better liberal education than that possessed by the average grad- uate in arts of an Hnglish, Canadian or American university. How this is accom- plished it is not my purpose here to ex- plain. There is no doubt, however, as to the fact, which is substantiated both by the SCIENCE. 1003 nature of the curriculum of the gymnasium and by the testimony of those familiar with both systems. In this connection I recall the observation made to me on one occasion by a professor here, himself a wrangler of high standing in Cambridge, who remarked that it was always a mystery to him how the ‘German gymnasiums attained such extraor- dinary results, results which, he added, it would be hopeless to expect in England, while on the other hand I have more than once heard German professors express sur- prise at the meager equipment of university eraduates from America. It is upon this substantial preliminary training that the work of the German uni- versity proper is based. Up to this point the young man has been a ‘learner’; on entering the university he becomes a ‘stu- dent.’ This distinction, expressed by the German words ‘lernen’ and ‘studieren,’ marks the difference between gymnasium and university—the acquisition of knowl- edge under the teacher in one, the inde- pendent research under the guidance of the professor in the other. The typical German university possesses the four faculties of theology, law, medicine and philosophy. The scope of the first three is evident from their designation, and with them we are not at present immedi- ately concerned. The faculty of philos- ophy embraces the subjects which we in- clude as university studies, under the head of arts and science. It is the most impor- tant of the four, the professors in it some- times outnumbering those of all other faculties combined. The ultimate object of both professors and students is the advancement of knowledge and the inde- pendence with which research is conducted is well expressed by the two words ‘Lehr- freiheit’ and ‘Lernfreiheit’—the freedom of the professor as to what he teaches and the freedom of the student to select his special line of research. Some idea of the 1004 extent of this work may be formed from the number of universities in Germany, 21 in all, and from the fact that the aggre- gate number of matriculated students ex- ceeds 12.000, in addition to non-matricu- lated students, who are also numbered by thousands, while the philosophical faculty at Berlin and Leipzig in 1901—2 numbered, respectively, 207 and 120. To the 21 uni- versities mentioned should be added the nine technische Hochschulen which have now the right to confer the doctor’s degree in the applied sciences. It is impossible to exaggerate the en- thusiasm which prevails among both pro- fessors and students in their common object, and this enthusiasm is increased by legitimate emulation. The reputation of a university depends upon the progress made by its professors, the reputation of a professor upon the progress made in his department. Hence a student may be attracted from one university to another— which is allowable under the system—may choose to follow the lectures of the pro- fessor, ordinary or extraordinary, or even those of the privat-docent in his own par- ticular line of work. Under such a system and under such stimulating conditions it is evident that both professors and students must take their work seriously, with the result that the combined effort of a vast number of the best minds in the country is concentrated on the advancement of all the principal branches of knowledge. With regard to the research work done by the student and without which the degree of Ph.D. is not conferred, it may be objected that much of it is not important and some- times very trivial. It may be said, however, that it must all stand the test of publica- tion after being approved by the professor, so that its value may at once be estimated by the learned world, and the scholastic standing of professor and student rated accordingly. SCIENCE. (N.S. Von. XV. No. 391. The place and importance of research in the German system is further indicated by the fact that even teachers in the gym- nasium devote themselves to such work, their papers being published in the annual reports of their institutions. With such respect is the ability for research regarded that the publication of a paper of this kind may lead directly to a professorship in the university, as was the case, for instance, in the appointment of Weierstrass, the cele- brated mathematician. Let us now turn our attention for a few moments to the British university sys- tem. An extended description is unneces- sary, since we are all familiar with the working of British universities themselves, or with the Canadian or American devel- opment of the original British type. Hence it may suffice if I contrast briefly the British and German systems in some of their essential features. In the organization of the German uni- versity research has been shown to be a fundamental principle; in the British university it is as yet incidental or of sporadic manifestation. I do not of course ignore the very important contributions which have been made by British scholars to the advancement of learning, but it is worthy of note that the credit for their splendid achievements is rather due to the individuals themselves than to the univer- sities with which many of them were con- nected. The British university is not primarily an institution for research. In its function of providing the higher grades of a liberal education the proper compari- son is with the upper classes of the German gymnasium, not with the German univer- sity proper. True, we find in some of the British universities a specialization in certain subjects, e. g., m1 honor classics and mathematics at Oxford and Cambridge leading to higher work than that attempted in the gymnasium; but however advanced JUNE 27, 1902.] the studies may be, there is rarely. any at- tempt to guide the English undergraduate in the direction of research. Reading and examinations are the academic watchwords, and to the great mass of students and tutors the field of research is a terra in- cognita. The attitude of the British nation has been hitherto largely that of indifference towards organized research, and this has been true not only of the general public, but also of those engaged in academic ad- ministration. There has existed a deep- seated conviction, born perhaps of reiter- ated assertion, that the British university system is superior to that of Germany or any other country, and as near perfection as may well be. We are not concerned just here with the discussion of the merits of the system, which are undoubtedly many and great, but we must admit that the atti- tude of self-satisfaction which has pre- vailed, combined with the ignoring of other ideals, is at least unphilosophic. In the midst of such an atmosphere it is not sur- prising that the development of a true Renaissance spirit has been somewhat tardy. But the British nation is on the eve of an awakening, an awakening which has already taken place among certain leaders of thought. The fact is dawning upon the British mind that some vital connection really does exist between national progress and scientific discovery, and that the latter should be fostered in connection with the higher institutions of learning. Under the conviction that British commercial su- premacy will be seriously threatened unless foreign, and especially German, scientific methods are adopted, universities of more modern type than Oxford and Cambridge, and also technical colleges, have been es- tablished. Such institutions no doubt fill a long-felt want, but they do not go to the root of the matter. On the academic side SCIENCE. 1005 they are but a modification of the older type; on the technical side they contem- plate, not the discovery of new truth, but the application of what is already known. The spirit of research is lacking, and with- out it no expenditure of money, no raising of examination standards for mere acquire- ment, will actually increase the capital ac- count of national knowledge. It is perhaps owing in part to the gen- eral awakening already mentioned that a rudimentary scheme of research has been recently introduced in the University of Cambridge, where students pursuing ori- ginal investigations are placed on the same level as the ordinary undergraduate and may obtain the B.A. degree as a reward for work of this kind. Notwithstanding the lack of more substantial encouragement a number of students have entered these courses, being attracted by the reputation of certain professors who are themselves zealously engaged in the prosecution of research. The number of such students, however, is relatively small, nor can. it be said that the movement has become general, although other universities are beginning to do something in this direction, but it may perhaps prove to be the germ of a more complete organization in the future. The policy of the universities of the United States regarding this matter is in marked contrast with the indecision and conservatism which prevail in the mother country. The type of mind which has been developed in the century and a quar- ter of separate national existence is one of great vigor and originality; but these qualities have for the most part been turned aside by the circumstances of a new country from abstract investigations. Research after the almighty dollar by the nearest short-cut has been, and perhaps still is, regarded as the chief national charac- teristic of our American cousins, and in this pursuit they have displayed a genius 1006 for conerete research in mechanical inven- tion and an ability for commercial and industrial enterprise which have been an object of wonder, and latterly of anxiety to other nations. During the first hun- dred years of national existence the uni- yersity of the gymnasium type which has been inherited from England continued to develop and expand in the United States. Suddenly, however, almost exactly twenty- five years ago, a remarkable modification was introduced. The year 1877 marks an epoch in the establishment of the Johns Hopkins University, with research courses leading to the degree of Ph.D. as an addi- tion to the usual undergraduate work; in other words, a grafting of the German university system upon the original stock. It is proper to state that even before that date research work had been prosecuted incidentally in some of the older existing universities. On consideration of the cir- cumstances it is not difficult to account for this new departure. The movement was undoubtedly due to the influence of Ameri- ean students who had gone to Germany for special studies. This migration to and fro had been going on for some time before the founding of Johns Hopkins and still continues, the number of such students eradually inereasing from 77 in 1860 to an average of about 400 annually during the last decade. The new university ex- periment was a success from the first. The scheme was carried out on such a high plane that large numbers of able and zeal- ous students were attracted from all parts of the continent by the facilities for higher study and by the scholarships and fellow- ships which formed part of the scheme. The appoimtment of graduates of Johns Hopkins to positions in other universities and their success as teachers and investi- gators have led to a widespread demand for professors who have proved their capacity for original work. SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 391. Since 1877 many other universities, in- cluding the best of those already in opera- tion, as well as new foundations, have added a graduate department leading to the Ph.D. degree, although none of these, with the exception of Clark University, has made the prosecution of research the sole business of the university. Some idea of the rapid progress of this movement may be gathered from the fact that the numbers pursuing graduate studies in the univer- sities of the United States have increased from eight, in 1850, to 399 in 1875, and to about 6,000 in 1902. We must conclude from these figures, I think, either that the national mind discerns some ultimate ad- vantage in the cultivation of abstract science, or that, for once, it has been mys- teriously diverted from the pursuit of the ‘main chanee.’ It is surely significant that a practical philanthropist like Mr. Carnegie has recently bestowed the mag- nificent endowment of $10,000,000 for the establishment of an institution to be de- voted solely to the promotion of research. As to the ultimate scientific value of what has already been accomplished in the way of research under the influence of this recent movement, there is room for a quali- fying remark. It must be remembered that much of the graduate work referred to does not mean actual research, the course for the Ph.D. in many eases being no higher than the honor B.A. course with us. What is required to remedy this un- satisfactory condition is that the Ph.D. be given only on the German plan, and that the main test therefor, a research, be pub- lished. When this condition becomes absolute there will be material for the world’s judgment as to the amount and quality of the contribution to the advance- ment of knowledge. Organized research in Canadian uni- versities, as a definite system, ean scarcely be said to exist as yet, although within the JUNE 27, 1902.] last decade certain beginnings have been made which indicate a movement in that direction. Canada, like the United States, has derived its university ideals from Great Britain. Some of the original faculties of our universities were a transplantation, so to speak, of groups of scholars from Britain, who brought with them intact the traditions in which they themselves had been nurtured, so that we received by di- rect importation scarcely more than fifty years ago a system which in the United States had been developing in its own way since the founding of Harvard in 1636. I cannot better illustrate the attitude towards research of many of these academic pio- neers than by quoting the remark made by an Englsh professor—himself a classical scholar—on an occasion so comparatively recent as the establishment of the physical laboratory in the University of Toronto. “Why go to the expense,’ said he ‘of pur- chasing this elaborate equipment until the physicists have made an end of making dis- coveries 2’ In the interval the idea of research has made gratifying progress among the well- informed. Probably few scholars could now be found in Canada who would put their objections so naively as my classical friend. This progress has come in part from a natural process of evolution within ourselves, and in part also from external influences, notably that of Germany and the United States. Many of our graduates have pursued courses of study in Germany and have brought back with them the Ger- man ideal. Besides, such is the geograph- ical position of Canada with regard to the United States, and such the community of social and intellectual life, that the uni- versities of these two countries must in- evitably develop along parallel lines; and henee, if for no other reason, we may look forward to the gradual extension here of SCIENCE. 1007 the research movement which is already so widespread in the neighboring republic. That a natural and healthy demand for this kind of work already exists may, I think, be inferred from the success which has attached to the recent establishment of the doctorate degrees in certain universi- ties, but still more perhaps from the fact that for some years it has been customary in some eases to direct honor students in the final year of the B.A. course to the work of research. In illustration of what has been accomplished in this way I may state that some of the papers presented in Section III. at the present meeting have been prepared by undergraduates in arts in the University of Toronto. But what- ever may be the ultimate outcome of the research movement with us, permit me to repeat what I have already said in another connection, namely, that the Ph.D. should not be given without the presentation of a satisfaetory thesis, and that such research should be published before the degree is awarded. I have confined my remarks up to this point almost wholly to the historical as- pect of the question, but it will perhaps not be out of place for me to point out in conclusion some of the advantages which in my opinion are connected with the pur- suit of university research. Let us consider first the stimulating effect upon the individuals and institutions concerned. Among those who are affected by this stimulus should first be named the professor. Dr. Samuel Johnson was wont to compare accumulated Inowledge to a heap of ice lying exposed to the summer sun, the bulk of which could not be main- tained without constant replenishment. Continuing the figure, we can readily im- agine that the professor’s fund of knowl- edge which is ample enough for the class- room teaching of immature minds might 1008 shrink and trickle away until little is left but the sawdust which we usually asso- ciate with the preservation of that com- modity. Under the stimulus of research this is impossible, for research into the new implies a full and minute mastery of that branch of knowledge in which the re- search is being conducted. Hence if no other advantage resulted a good case might be made out along this line of argument. This stimulus to the professor would re- act with increased force upon the student. It was a favorite saying of a certain cele- brated artist that those who follow after others rarely outstrip them. To hold up before the student either by theory or practice solely the ideal of acquiring what has already been learned is medievalism pure and simple; it is to teach him to creep where he might walk upright and alone; it is to rob him in part of that intellectual birthright of independent thought which is the inheritance of every man, at least since the Renaissance. It is sometimes objected that the results attained by re- search students are often trivial or futile. I am disposed, however, to agree with a re- mark made by one of George Eliot’s characters: ‘‘Failure after long perse- verance is much grander (and I would say parenthetically more useful) than never to have a striving good enough to be called a failure.’’ It is sometimes also urged that research in the immature student leads to superficiality and conceit. I cannot but think this fear ill-grounded. It has been proved on the contrary that nothing will so quickly ripen and enlarge preliminary knowledge and so effectually extinguish presumption as the hand-to-hand struggle with some special problem in the depart- ment of study in which the student is already proficient. Apart from the professor and student, the first effect of the inauguration of re- SCIENCE. [N.S. Vou. XV. No. 391. search ‘work in our universities, if of the genuine stamp, will be felt upon the teach- ing profession of the country as a whole. Assuming an educated and interested pub- lic opinion, the premium so long placed upon memorized knowledge will disappear, and a change in the principle of selection of teachers both in universities and second- ary schools will result. The time will have gone by, let us hope, when Huxley will be passed over, as was the case fifty years ago, when his candidature for a chair in the Provincial University was unsuccessful. We come finally to the effect of research upon the national life. Canada, it is true, is barely on the threshold of national exist- ence, rich, however, in natural resources, and richer still in the physical, moral and intellectual qualities of its people. Its future as a nation will depend largely upon the aggregate of intellectual effort of its population. In this sense truly knowledge is power. The time has surely come when we should cease to take all our knowledge at second hand from abroad, and when we should do some original thinking suitable to our own circumstances. Under the term original thinking I do not include merely the researches of the laboratory, for the spirit of research which inspires the chemist or the philologist is one with that creative faculty which moves the poet and the novelist, a spirit which guides all contem- porary movements in literature, science and art. For the development of this spirit of originality the country must look pri- marily to its universities, for on them de- pends ultimately the whole intellectual life of the people. The time is approaching, if indeed it has not already arrived, when the research university must be regarded as the only university, and the task is in- cumbent upon those in authority of elab- orating a university system not necessarily in imitation of those of other lands, but one which shall have proper regard to the JUNE 27, 1902.] importance of this new factor as well as to the past and future of our country. JAMES LouDON. UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO. SECTION OF THE GEOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. THE meeting of the Royal Society of Canada at Toronto, May 26-29, was one of great interest, especially so in regard to the value and importance of the papers and discussions in Sections 3 and 4, whose particular provinee is the study of the nat- ural and applied sciences. The meetings were held within the precincts of the Uni- versity of Toronto, whose ample halls and well-equipped laboratories were placed freely at the disposal of the Society. The beautiful ‘Queen City’ of Canada was bright with blossoms and the fresh-tinted foliage of the trees which so abundantly adorn her broad avenues. A generous wel- come was extended by her citizens to the fellows and delegates of the Society who represented Canada from Halifax to Win- nipeg. The meeting lacked the genial pres- ence and active inspiration of Sir John Bourinot, the honorary Secretary, whose serious illness was a matter of deep regret to all. His rare executive ability and tact, and the control which he has so wisely ex- ercised in guiding the Society during the twenty perilous years of its existence, are shown in the position which it occupies to-day. The stimulus which it has given to original research and the world-wide interest which the publication of its pro- ceedings has awakened have been in a large measure due to his fostering care and un- remitting industry. Among the recommendations contained in the report of the honorary Secretary were the following: That everything pos- sible should be done to preserve historical sites in Canada; that systematic ethnolog- ical work should be carried on; that the SCIENCE. 1009 Canadian people should cooperate with the people of the United States and Mexico in determining the ninety-eighth meridian; and that the operations of the Government Marine Station of Biology should be con- tinued and increased. During the meeting committees considered several of these rec- ommendations and emphasized their im- portance in subsequent reports. The address of the president, Dr. Lou- don, of Toronto University, on ‘Research in Universities,’ was a careful presentation of the subject, showing what has been done—and what has not been done—in German, English, United States and Cana- dian Universities. In Section 4 a large proportion of the papers read embraced topics on the geology of various sections of eastern Canada. One of the most important of these was a paper on the sites of ancient voleanie activity in the neighborhood of the St. Lawrence Val- ley, by Professor Frank D. Adams, of Me- Gill University. After an introductory reference to the recent outbreak on the island of Martinique, Dr. Adams gave an account of the general geological structure and petrographical character of the series of ancient volcanic hills which rise from the Paleozoic plain to the east of Montreal. These are eight in number and are arranged along two parallel and almost straight lines, evidently ancient lines of weakness. Those situated on the most northerly of these lines, commencing from Mount Royal on the west and going east, are Mount Royal, Montarville, Beleil, Rougemont, Yamaska and Shefford. The distance from Mount Royal to Shefford Mountain is fifty miles. The mountains on the southern line are two in number—Brome Mountain and Mount Johnson. Of these hills Mount Royal (Mons Regius), at the foot of which the city of Montreal is situated, is the best known and may be taken as the type of the series. Dr. Adams proposes for the group 1010 the name of the Monteregian Hills. These hills form a most remarkable petrograph- ical province, consisting of a dual series of alkali-rich rocks, represented on one hand by the essexitetheralite series, and on the other by the pulaskite and nepheline- syenite series. There are also a great num- ber of dyke rocks of consanguineous types, bostonites, tinguaites, monchiquites, fon- chites, camptonites, alnoites, etc. The hills are erosion remnants of voleanoes or lac- colites, dating back probably to Neo- Paleozoic times. Dresser, who has recently studied Shefford and Brome, considers them to be partially uncovered laccolites. About Mount Royal, on the other hand, a few remnants of the ancient tufa pile remain, showing that the molten material at this point found a passage to the surface. A detailed description of Mount John- son was given. This very interesting oc- currence is 875 feet high and nearly circu- lar in cross section, being a little over half a mile in average diameter at the base. It is a typical neck or pipe, consisting of theralite in the center, which passes gradu- ally over into pulaskite on going outward to the periphery. It is situated about seven miles from the town of St. Johns, P. Q. Dr. G. F. Matthew discussed some geo- logical questions arising out of his studies of the Cambrian faunas of eastern Canada, especially the initial faunas of this system, to the examination of which he has devoted himself with great industry for many years. Six genera (and subgenera) of brachio- pods are found at the very base of the sys- tem; and it is seen that there is a gradual, though no very marked, increase in size of these forms when traced through the basal Cambrian faunas. The genera (and sub- genera) found were—of Atremata—Lep- tobolus, Obolus, Lingulepis and Lingulella —of Neotremata, Acrothyra and Acrotreta. The first of these two was the only genus SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 391. that exhibited no increase in size as time went on, and it was found only in the basal Cambrian (below the Paradoxides zone). The increase of bulk of the individuals of these old genera during this Geological Age is in accordance with the development in this respect of higher forms of life, but less noticeable in degree. Another subject taken up by Dr. Mat- thew was the development of the Canadian Obol, as shown in impressions of the mus- cle scars, of the vascular trunks, and by the surface ornamentation of the shells. It was stated that in the first determi- nation of these shells we must often depend cn the form, as this is the most obvious, and sometimes the only, available character. But further knowledge of the nature of the species, as shown by the internal mark- ings, ete., has proved that there are several independent lines of development of the Oboloid shells, and that the typical Obolus (O. Apollonis) is nearer in structure to the typical Lingulella (LZ. Davisii) than to these earlier species, which outwardly, as regards the form, are indistinguishable from Obolus. Of these shells one type belongs to the Lower Etcheminian fauna, one to the Up- per Etcheminian fauna, two to the Proto- lemus fauna (all these are below Paradox- ides), one to the Peltura fauna, and one to that of Dictyonema (D. flabelliformis). Another subject discussed in these notes was the evidence of the direction of the migration which brought these early faunas to the Atlantic region of Canada. It was shown that during the time when the Upper Etcheminian fauna prevailed in Atlantic Canada, there was a steady cur- rent setting along the then existing shores to the northeast. This is shown by the ori- entation of the valves of the inarticulate brachiopoda, the apices of the valves being directed to the southwest. Hence it is in- ferred that the migration of the fauna was JUNE 27, 1902. ] from that direction. This is the reverse of the conditions shown by R. Rudemann to have prevailed in northern New York dur- ing the time of the Utica state; the direc- tion of the current there and then being shown by the attitude of colonies of grap- tolites, which are turned in a southwest direction. Papers on local geology of Ontario and New Brunswick were presented by Pro- fessor H. S. Coleman, of Toronto Univer- sity, and by Professor L. W. Bailey, of the University of New Brunswick. An afternoon was spent by the geologists with Professor Coleman in examining the interglacial deposits at Scarborough Heights on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, near Toronto. The papers by Professor D. P. Penhal- low, of McGill University, on Cretaceous and Tertiary plants, possessed special in- terest from the fact that they represented a continuation of the paleobotanical work carried on for so many years by the late Sir William Dawson. Among the material collected by the latter were many plants which, at the time of his death, had not been studied, or if so, but very casually, and Professor Penhallow has since that time devoted special attention to their eritical examination. Plants from three localities form the subject of the present papers—Cretaceous plants from WVancou- ver and Queen Charlotte Islands, Tertiary plants from the Red Deer River, N. W. T., and also from the Horse-fly River, B. C. In each case the plants confirm previous testimony as to the age of the formation. From the Lower Cretaceous of Skidegate Inlet, Queen Charlotte Islands, there were obtained fragments of a fern which per- mitted the almost complete restoration of an Osmunda closely allied in most respects to the type of O. Claytoniana, though prob- ably about seven times as large. In a few respects the internal structure showed it SCIENCE. 1011 to approach the type of Todea, so that it may probably be taken as representing an intermediate form. Ginkgo pusilla and Sequoia Langsdorfi, previously known only through foliage and fruit, have now been recognized through the structure of the stem. In the collection from the Red Deer River, two new forms appear, and are un- questionably to be referred to the existing genera Clintona and Maanthemum, as the foliage is identical in all essential respects. Tn the Miocene of the Horse-fly River, there was found the wood of a Pseudotsuga, which appears to be the first material of the kind recorded. The remainder of the material embraces well-known species of the Cretaceous and Tertiary formations. Dr. Wm. Saunders, Director of the Cen- tral Experimental Farm, Ottawa, gave a striking illustration of the progress that is being made in introducing fruit plants in- to the Northwest. A hardy Siberian apple, which bears a fruit little larger than an Ontario haw, had been crossed with the Ontario apple. The result was the produc- tion of a fruit about an inch in diameter. About four hundred of these had been erossed, and last year they had thirty trees, and this year will have about seventy, bear- ing fruit. They retain the hardiness of the Siberian apple, but the more they are erossed the nearer the product comes to the Ontario fruit. Results of experiments in crossing English and American currants and gooseberries, plums and cherries with hardier varieties of these plants have not im all cases been successful, but enough las been accomplished to show that hardy varieties of Ontario fruits may be pro- duced in the Canadian Northwest, which in addition to becoming the greatest wheat- producing region in the world, will also be known for its fruit products. A paper on the botany of northern New Brunswick was read by Dr. G. U. Hay, in which was noted the large number of bor- 1012 eal species found on the Restigouche River in close proximity to those of a more south- ern or New England type found along that river and on the upper St. John. Dr. A. H. MacKay, Superintendent of Education for Nova Scotia, gave the re- sults of a series of phenological observa- tions carried on by the teachers and pupils of the schools in that province, one impor- tant object of which is the encouragement and stimulus given to ‘nature study.’ The results of a series of interesting ex- periments, noting the behavior of blind animals, were given by Professor Wesley Mills, of McGill University; and Professor B. J. Harrington, of the same University, read an appreciative sketch of the life and work of the late Dr. Geo. M. Dawson. The officers of the Royal Society for the current year are: President, Sir James Grant, Ottawa; Vice- President, Lt.-Col. G. T. Dennison, Toronto; Secretary, Sir John Bourinot, Ottawa; Treasurer, Dr. Jas. Fletcher, Ottawa. An exeursion to Niagara Falls, of which about thirty members of the Society— chiefly scientists—availed themselves, was given by the citizens of Toronto. The party visited the works of the Canadian Power Company, whose guests they were for a day; and also were allowed to inspect the plant of the Niagara Falls Power Com- pany on the American side, a favor which was greatly appreciated. G. U. Hay. St. Joun, N. B. SECTION OF THE MATHEMATICAL, PHYS- ICAL AND CHEMICAL SCIENCES. By special invitation the annual meet- ing of the Royal Society of Canada was held at Toronto, in the buildings of the University, on May 26-29. The sessions were largely attended, and the cool weather contributed to the success of the excursion to Niagara Falls (where the members were guests of the Canadian Niagara Power Co.) and of the trip along SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 391. the laké shore to examine the interglacial deposits east of Scarborough. The third Section (Mathematical, Phys- ical and Chemical Sciences) met in the large physical lecture room, the President, Professor R. KF. Ruttan, M.D., C.M., in the chair. ‘Dalton and the Theory of Atoms’ formed the subject of the President’s ad- dress, and the reading of papers was diver- sified by a debate on the ‘Hxistence of Particles Smaller than Atoms.’ Professor Rutherford gave an account of the erowth of the electron theory, and showed how the masses and velocities as- signed to the hypothetical ‘carriers’ had been arrived at. Dr. J. C. McLennan ex- hibited a number of experiments illustra- tive of the facts on which the theory is based. Professor Lash Miller discussed the advantages and disadvantages of cor- puscular theories in general, showing that they were impossible to prove and nearly as impossible to disprove, and Professor Cox spoke of the recent extension of the theory to cosmical phenomena. Pro- fessors Goodwin, Baker, Walker and Rut- tan also took part in an animated discus- s10n. At the close of the sessions, Dr. J. C. Glashan, of Ottawa, and Professor H. T. Barnes, of Montreal, were elected members of the Section, and Professor M. Berthe- lot, of Paris, a corresponding member of the Society. The following papers were read before Section 3: MATHEMATICS. On the Correlation of the Curve of the Second Order and the Sheaf of Rays of the Second Order in Geometry of Posi- tion: Professor A. BAKmr. Beginning with the curve of the second order, which may be considered to be de- fined by five points, tangents are con- structed at these five points; and viewing JUNE 27, 1902. ] the tangents as the basis of a sheaf of rays of the second order, the original five points are shown to be points of contact. Revert- ing to the original five points, construc- tion for a sixth point is made, and the tan- gent at that sixth point is obtained; this tangent is shown to belong to the sheaf of rays of the second order furnished by the five original tangents. It was also shown that the curve is uniquely determined whatever two points be selected as radiant points; and an analogous proposition was established with regard to the sheaf of rays. On the Matric Analysis of Quantics and Thew Concomitants: Dr. J. C. GuASHAN. A development of the consequences of applying to the operand as well as to the operator the notation of matrices. Forms for the Abelian Integrals of the Three Kinds: Dr. J. C. Frews. A Theorem Regarding Determinants with, Polynomial Elements: Professor W. H. MeETziEr. Generalization of a theorem of Muir’s (Messenger of Math., No. 153, 1884) omit- ting the restriction that the number of terms in each element of the determinant must be greater than the number of con- stituents in a row. PHYSICS. On the Use of the Wheatstone Stereoscope in Photographic Surveying: Capt. E. ‘DEVILLE. Description of an instrument proposed for drawing a topographical plan by me- chanical means from a pair of stereoscopic photographs. The Neutral Axis of Beams Under Trans- verse Loads: Professor H. T. Bovry. Experiments with a new Extensometer. The assumptions of the text-books are veri- fied for a cast-steel beam of square cross section, but not for a T-beam. SCIENCE. 1013 Soli-Lunar Time: Mr. G. W. McCreapy. The average date of the first full moon im every decade for 4,000 years. The Potential Difference Required to Pro- duce Discharge wn Air and Other Gases: Mr. W. R. Carr. Experiments carried out under the di- rection of Dr. J. C. MeLennan, with air, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, acetylene, hy- drogen sulphide, nitrous oxide, sulphur dioxide and oxygen. The law governing electric discharges between parallel plates, in a uniform field, in any gas, for pres- sures at and below the critical pressures, is that which Paschen found to hold with spherical electrodes for high pressures, yiz., that with a given spark potential, the pressures at which discharge occurs is in- versely proportional to the distance be- tween the electrodes. The values of the spark potentials are not influenced by the material or size of the electrodes; and the minimum spark potential is dependent of the pressure and of the distance between the electrodes, always provided that the discharge is com- pelled to pass in a uniform field. Penetrating Rays from Radium: Pro- fessor E. RuTHERFORD. Experiments showing the passage of the rays through from eight to ten inches of iron. The ionization produced by the rays after emerging from the iron shows that they must be regarded as consisting of negatively charged particles. Photo- graphie methods are being applied to de- termine the magnetic deflection of the rays. Radio-active Emanations from Thorium and Radium: Professor E. RuTHErR- FORD. Résumé of a number of recent experi- ments by the author. 1014 Excited Radio-actiity from the Atmos- phere: Mr. S. J. ALLAN. The amount of the radio-activity is in- dependent of the material of the nega- tively electrified wire. After exposure, the intensity of the radiation fell to one half in fifty minutes; while that excited by thorium fell to one half in eleven hours. : Radio-activity Induced in Salts by Cathode Rays and by the Discharge Rays from an Electric Spark: Mr. W. R. Carr. Experiments carried out under the di- rection of Dr. J. C. McLennan. Radio- activity is excited in certain salts by Ront- gen rays, as well as by cathode rays, and by the discharge rays from an electric spark. p Radio-activity Induced in Substances Ha- posed to the Action of Atmospheric Air: Mr. R. M. Stewart. Experiments carried out under the di- rection of Dr. J. C. McLennan. The rate of loss of induced radio-activity depends on the potential at which the wire was ex- posed, rather than on the time of exposure. On the Absolute Value of the Mechanical Equivalent of Heat: Professor H. T. BARNES. The heat required to raise the tempera- ture of one gram of water from 15.5° to 16.5° C. is equal to 4.183210" ergs. In gravitation units this becomes 426.60 kilogrammeters, or 777.58 foot-pounds. On the Density of Ice: Professor H. T. Barnes and Mr. H. L. Coors. Historical résumé and criticism. New experiments. Probable cause of variation in density. Bibliography. The Variation in the Density of Ice: Mr. H. L. Cooke. The variation is ascribed to mechanical strains due to unequal expansion and con- traction. SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 391. The Fall of Potential Method as Applied to the Measurement of the Resistance of an Electrolyte in Motion: Professor H. T. Barnes and Mr. J. G. W. JOHNSON. Measurements of the conductivity of solutions of magnesium chloride. During the measurements the solution flowed slow- ly through the cell; the velocity of flow did not affect the results. CHEMISTRY. A Modification of Victor Meyer’s Vapor Density Apparatus: Professor B. J. HARRINGTON. The long stem is bent into a series of loops, and a second opening is provided for introducing the substance into the bulb. The apparatus is compact and convenient. On the Determination of Moisture im Honey: Mr. F. T. Suaurt. The honey is dried in a current of air at a constant temperature below 100° C., and the loss determined. An Improved Method of Producing Con- centrated Manure from Human Refuse: Mr. T. MAcFARLANE. Description of an odorless moss-closet. When properly used, the quantity of ab- sorbent is not more than one twentieth of the resulting manure. Experimental Investigation of the Condi- tions Determining the Oxidation of Fer- rous Chloride: Mr. A. McGuu. Ferrous chloride can be decomposed by oxygen in such a way as to yield uniform- ly from 75 to 85 per cent. of its chlorine in available form, and from 10 to 20 per cent. as hydrochloric acid. Analysis of Anthraxolite from Hudson’s Bay: Professor W. H. Exits. A sample brought by Mr. G. R. Mickle from Long Island, Hudson’s Bay, con- tained 0.54 per cent. ash. The dry ash- free mineral gave: carbon, 96.54; hydro- gen, 1.33. JUNE 27, 1902.] Abnormal Results in the Hydrolysis of Amygdaline: Professor J. W. WALKER and Mr. W. S. HurcHinson. Boiled with dilute acids amygdaline is resolved into glucose, hydrocyanic acid and benzaldehyde. Heated with concen- trated hydrochloric acid it yields a hu- mus substance and dextro-mandelic acid. Boiled with dilute alkalies it yields am- monia and amygdalinic acid, which on hydrolysis with dilute hydrochloric acid gives inactive mandelie acid. Oudemann’s Law, and the Influence of Dilution on the Molecular Rotation of Mandelic Acid and its Salts: Professor J. W. WALKER. Strong indications were found that the law was not confirmed in very dilute solu- tions, where it ought to hold most rigidly. Specific Heats of Organic Liquids, and Thew Heats of Solution in Organic Sol- vents: Professor J. W. WALKER and Dr. J. HENDERSON. An electric method is employed for de- termining the specific heat; a close con- nection is indicated between the degree of association of a liquid and its heat of solu- tion in an unassociated solvent. The Specific Heat of Water of Crystalliza- tion: Mr. N. N. Evans. The sold, finely ground, is suspended in a suitable liquid in the calorimeter, and a measured quantity of heat is introduced electrically. A range of four degrees is sufficient for accurate results. Researches nm Physical Chemistry Carried Out in the University of Toronto During the Past Year. Communicated by Pro- fessor W. LasH Mimier. Under this head the following eight papers were introduced. SCIENCE. 1015 Application of Polarimetry to the Determi- nation of Tartaric Acid in Commercial Products: Professor E. Kenrick and Dr. F. B. Kenrick. The method is based on the addition of ammonium molybdate to the material to be analyzed; it is applicable in the pres- ence of alum, iron, sugar, ete. The Sulphates of Bismuth: Dr. F. B. Au- LAN. An application of the phase rule. The following salts were identified : Bi,O,.4S0O,;, Bi,0,.2S0,.24H,0, Bi,O,.S0,. (Am. Chem. Jour., 27, 284.) The Influence of Iron Salts on the Rate of Reaction Between Chromic Acid and Iodides: Miss C. C. BENSON. The rate of liberation of iodine as a function of the concentrations of the react- ing substances; and the rate of oxidation of ferrous salt by chromic acid in presence and absence of iodide. The Reaction Between Stannous Chloride and Potash: Mr. C. M. Carson. The results are in conflict with those of Ditte. The Rate of Oxidation of Iron Salts by Oxygen: Mr. J. W. McBatn. Experiments carried out under the di- rection of Dr. F. B. Kenrick. (Jour. Phys. Chem., V., 623.) The Rate of Reaction in Solutions Con- taining Potassium Chlorate, Potassium Iodide, and Hydrochloric Acid: Mr. W. C. Bray. Experiments showing that two reactions of the fourth order occur simultaneously. Sehlundt’s results are recalculated. The Rate of the Reaction Between Arseni- ous Acid and Iodine in Acid Solution; the Rate of the Reverse Reaction; and the Equlibrium Between Them: My. J. R. RoEBUCE. 1016 The ‘Thiosulphate Method’ of Measuwr- ing the Rate of Oxidation of Lodides: Mr. J. M. Bett. The method was introduced by Har- court, using sodium peroxide as oxidizing agent; it is not applicable when chloric acid, chromic acid, or ferric salts are em- ployed. Schiikarew’s assumptions (Zeit. Phys. Chem., XXXViII., 357) are not justifiable. W. LasH Mimuer, Secretary pro tem. PROBLEMS IN THE CHEMISTRY AND TOXI- COLOGY OF PLANT SUBSTANCES.* Tum organic chemistry of to-day is the chemistry of the approximately 50,000 car- bon compounds, enumerated in the recent edition of Beilstein’s ‘Handbuch der Or- ganischen Chemie.’ Most of these com- pounds are the fruit of research in purely synthetic chemistry, enormously stimu- lated, as it has been of late, by the growth of new, far-reaching conceptions in phys- ical chemistry, and, especially, by the sub- stantial rewards of the chemical industries which have arisen as a result of these in- vestigations; a considerable number of the compounds enumerated have, however, been isolated from plants. Some of this work of plant investigation has been adequately rewarded, but as a rule it has only awak- ened a greater esteem for the investigator. The larger returns of synthetic chemistry -are still enticing most of our best organic chemists into its fold, but its phenomenal success in producing substances such as urea, sugar and several plant alkaloids and elucosides hitherto known only as the prod- ucts or educts of life, has stimulated inquiry not only into the chemical nature of cell life, but also into the chemistry of the dead principles that may be isolated from these cells. Mother Nature is, however, a very eunning and erafty chemist, with a keen * Address of the retiring president of the Chem- ical Society of Washington, April 10, 1902. SCIENCE. [N. S.. Von. XV. No. 391. understanding of all of the requirements of cell growth under astonishingly varied conditions of environment, and especially with an eye for the protection and perpet- uation of her multitudinous progeny against the ravages of parasites, or of man and beast, she has built up a very great variety of compounds, the properties and methods of formation of many of which she still holds secret. Many of these com- pounds, especially those primarily designed for the protection of the plant, react phys- iologically on diverse forms of animal life, and are, therefore, recognized by the med- ical fraternity and by chemists as ‘active principles.’ All which produce disturb- ances of the normal functions of an animal when introduced into its economy are, ac- cording to Hermann’s well-known text- book on pharmacology, called poisons. It is a sad commentary on the present state of our knowledge of plant chemistry that all we know chemically about the active principles of many plants is that the plants themselves are poison- ous. Chemistry might be excused for her lack of interest in examining such physiologically-inert bodies as cellulose and chlorophyll, but it would seem that the plant poisons should at once challenge at- tention simply on account of their great tendency to react chemically, as they do with some one or more of the essential con- stituents of the animal organism. The dreaded effects upon man of such plants as the ‘deadly upas,’ the ‘deadly manchineel,’ or the common ‘poison ivy,’ deter many chemists from handling them, and,as shown above, there is little inducement finan- cially for one to enter into such investiga- tions, but the chemist’s lack of a knowl- edge of botany is more frequently the con- trolling factor in this neglect. Many of the most interesting problems of plant poison- ing cannot be conceived either by the chem- ist or by the botanist alone, but one who is JUNE 27, 1902.] constantly looking at these problems from both poimts of view could not well be thrown into intimate touch with the sub- ject long before many interesting problems would be presented to him for solution. When once conceived these problems are readily susceptible of treatment, either by the chemist or the physiologist alone, or by one or both of them in conjunction with the botanist, the biologist or the pharma- ecologist. It was with the object of inter- esting you, as chemists, in this line of work that I was induced to select it as the sub- ject of my discourse on this occasion. No more interesting and self-sufficient life- work could possibly be suggested to a young student starting on his college career than the investigation of plant poisons. As fascinating as a game of chess, the work ealls forth, for its most successful treat- ment, the widest activities of mind and the most skillful handling of finely adjusted instruments. Art and literature lend a peculiar charm to the work, while the warm plaudits of men await him who solves any of the important chemical problems of im- munity. This inviting field comes, I main- tain, as properly within the scope of plant chemistry as within that of medicine, for disease is simply a disturbance of the nat- ural functions of the animal economy, caused by poisons, many of which are ex- ereted within the affected animal by such low plant organisms as bacteria and per- haps molds. Indeed it has been shown that all of the lesions supposed to be caused by certain living bacteria can be produced by the administration of sterilized filtrates, obtained by passing extracts made from the bacteria through a Pasteur filter. Plant poisons divide themselves most naturally and most comprehensively ac- cording to their plant origin; all attempts at a chemical classification have been in- complete because of our ignorance of the composition and structure of many of the SCIENCE. 1017 compounds, while the physiological classi- fication is unsatisfactory on account of our ignorance of the chemical composition of the compounds and of their exact mode of action on animal life. Let us inquire into the nature of the parallelism which exists in the grouping of plant poisons, and the grouping of the plants which contain them! Plants are commonly divided into spe- cies, genera and families, and these are grouped into two series—the flowering and the non-fowering plants—the latter being the more simple morphologically. Hach of these in turn is grouped into smaller class- es. Proceeding from the more simple to the more complex, we have in the non- flowering plants such groups as the bac- teria, the diatoms, the molds, the fleshy fungi, the mosses and the ferns, while in the flowering plants we have the monocoty- ledons with parallel-veimed leaves and the dicotyledons with net-veined leaves. This classification is, in general, based on the general morphology of the plant, but in the lower orders, especially in the bacteria, the chemical composition or at least the chem- ical and physiological reactions which the plant is able to induce are taken into con- sideration in the differentiation of the spe- cies. In many of the subdivisions in the higher groups, however, there is often an apparent chemical basis for classification. Tt seems just as reasonable to suppose, as van Rijn has shown in his book entitled ‘Die Glykoside,’ that there should be gen- etic relationships between the chemical sub- stances represented in any one group of plants, as that there should be morpho- logical relationships. Both results are brought about entirely by the energy of the living cell, a process which is undoubt- edly largely chemical in its character, and would seem almost as necessary for a plant to gradually evolve new and therefore closely related chemicals for slight changes in environment, as that it should evolve new 1018 and closely related forms for the same pur- pose. The relationship between the chem- ical constituents of certain groups of plants cannot, of course, be so apparent as is the morphological relationship, simply because it cannot be determined by inspection alone, as the latter can. If, therefore, our knowledge of plant constituents were suf- ficiently complete we could perhaps write monographs classifying the different spe- cies of plants according to their chemical constituents, as well as we now write mono- graphs based solely on morphology. The same alkaloid is often found exclusively in certain families of plants, but the same family, and even the same species, often contains one or more alkaloids which dif- fer from each other by a few atoms of hydrogen or a few simple organic radicals, or they may differ only in being isomers or polymers. In many of these cases one compound can often be transformed into another by a few simple reactions. Of the two great classes of plants—the non-flowering and the flowering—the for- mer contain very few active principles, and those which do exist are far more simple than those which are found in the flower- ing plants. In the bacteria, to be sure, we have highly developed poisonous com- pounds, the toxalbumins, but aside from these there are few active principles in them. The simpler group of poisonous acids is here more abundant; there are few glucosides and still fewer alkaloids. The most prominent of the latter are ergotine from ergot, and muscarine from the fly fungus (Amanita muscaria). There has been an immense amount of study done on the former but its chemical composition is still in a most unsatisfactory condition. Trimethylamine, one of the simplest of the so-called alkaloids of the aliphatic series, is also present in ergot at certain stages of its growth. According to the definition of alkaloids now commonly accepted, however, SCIENCE. {N.S. Von. XV. No. 391. neither trimethylamine nor muscarine is an alkaloid, this class being restricted to the benzol or aromatic series of compounds. Proceeding still higher in our grouping of plants we find that there are but two con- spicuous alkaloids, toxine and ephedrine, in the lowest group of flowering plants, and that, in the many families of the next higher group, the monocotyledons, there is but one family, the Melanthacer, which contains more than one or two important alkaloids. In the highest group, however, there is a long list of alkaloids, arranged often in groups, characteristic of the fam- ily to which the plants belong. The atro- pine-like alkaloids of the Solanacez; the strychnine-like alkaloids of the Logania- cee; the morphine-like alkaloids of the Papaveracee; and the quinine-like alka- loids of the Rubiacew are the best well- known groups. There is a similar distribu- tion of the glucosides throughout the plant kingdom, but these compounds, being simpler than the alkaloids, are found lower down in the plant.scale. It is interesting to note, however, that throughout the whole list of the tremendously abundant family of grasses, one of the lowest families of flowering plants, there are but two gluco- sides, neither of which is at all well known. One of these is loliin, from the poison darnel, Lolium temulentum, while the other, setarian, was isolated from millet so recently as in 1899 by Professor EH. F. Ladd, chemist of the Agricultural Experi- ment Station at Fargo, North Dakota. The grouping of all plant constituents in accordance with their plant classification offers a tempting field of work, but this cannot well be undertaken to advantage until the identity and nature of a great many more plant substances have been de- termined. Sohn’s ‘Dictionary of the Active Prin- ciples of Plants’ enumerates about 600 sub- stanees, all of which are included under JUNE 27, 1902.] the three commonly recognized classes of these bodies, viz., the glucosides, the amaroids or so-called bitter principles, and the alkaloids. These three classes do not, however, include all of the groups of toxic substances which are represented in plants. In addition there are mineral substances, which under certain conditions may be taken up by plants, acids, oils, enzymes and their closely related congeners—the toxal- bumins. Mineral substances very rarely cause poisoning on account of their occurrence in plants, but it has been shown that the pres- enee of lead in a certain grass has led to distinet symptoms of lead poisoning in cows that ate it. An exceedingly important problem suggests itself in this connection and that is the possibility of poisoning from the gradually increasing use of insecticides on fruit trees and on vegetables. It has already been pointed out that plants which have been manured with superphosphates, whieh frequently contain arsenic, may ab- sorb arsenic into their tissues to such an extent that arsenic poisoning may result from eating them. The great toxicity of prussic acid is well known. It:oeceurs free in certain plants and in the form of a glucoside in several others, especially in those bélonging to the rose and apple families. Oxalic acid is also present in the form of an acid oxalate in many plants. It is extremely poison- ous. Crotonoleie acid, from Croton tig- liuwm,-is still more poisonous, the fatal dose being represented by only :38 of a milli- gram per lnlogram of body weight. Poisonous acids are not so generally looked for in iplants as they should be, and it is quite possible that the active principles of some plants, the chemical nature of which is still unknown, are acids. The effect of the common locoweed of the Western States, Astragalus mollissimus, has been at- tributed to loco acid. . SCIENCE. 1019 The medicinal and therapeutic effects of the vegetable oils are tolerably well known, but it is not commonly recognized that some are poisonous. Among the most powerful of these are the oils of chamomile, cloves, cinnamon, sassafras, savine, rue, hedeoma, and tansy. Many of these are commonly used as flavor and to preserve food, but it is certain that their excessive use might result in serious gastric disorders if not in death. All are useful on account of their being antiseptic, a property which was commonly recognized centuries ago by the Egyptians in embalming bodies. Nut- megs contain a volatile oil which is toxic; two of the nuts proved fatal to a young girl who ate them. The extreme toxicity of toxicodendrol, the non-volatile oil of the common poison ivy, Rhus radicans, and poison sumach, Rhus venenata, has recently been shown by Dr. Franz Pfaff, of the Harvard Medical School, who proved that the hundredth part of a milligram easily caused a severe dermatitis on many per- sons, while as little as the thousandth part of a milligram caused severe itching of the skin and half a dozen vesicles on some per- sons, and localized cedema on others that were more sensitive to its effects. The glucosides are well known. One of the most poisonous representatives of the group is the active principle antiarin, from the Hast Indian tree so well known to legendary history as‘the deadly upas.’ Its juice has been used in times of war by savage tribes to envenom their arrows. It takes but one to two milligrams of this glu- coside to kill a moderate-sized dog in nine minutes. Frogs are killed with a hun- dvedth of a milligram in twenty-four hours. The results of a most interesting investigation on the poisonous constituent of a leguminous plant of Egypt, known botanically as Lotus arabicus, have been recently published by two English investi- gators, Messrs. Dunstan and Henry. Its 1020 seeds when ripe are commonly used as fod- der, but the growing plant is quite poison- ous to horses, sheep and goats. It was noted that when the dry leaves were erushed and moistened with water they vave off an odor of hydrocyanic acid. An investigation revealed the presence of a glucoside, lotusin, which was hitherto un- known. Under the influence of an enzyme, also present in the plant, the lotusin was transformed into prussic acid, sugar and a new coloring matter called lotoflavine. It will thus be seen that this glucoside is very similar in its properties to amygdalin and also to linamarin from common flax. These glucosides may cause poisoning when taken into the stomach but are innocuous when administered hypodermically, for in the latter case they are excreted unchanged, while in the former they are apt to be de- composed by the acids and enzymes of the stomach. The class of amaroids has not been well investigated chemically, but we lnow sev- eral compounds belonging to the group which are extremely toxic. Cicutoxin is the poisonous constituent of the common water hemlock, Cicuta maculata, a plant which probably causes more fatal cases of poisoning in the United States than any other plant. Digitoxin, one of the poison- ous constituents of the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, is poisonous to cats in a dose of 0.4 of a milligram per kilogram of body weight, while andromedotoxin, the poison- ous constituent of many Ericaceous plants such as the common laurel, Kalmia lati- folia, and the rhododendrons, is still more toxic, being fatal to frogs and to birds in a dose of 0.1 of a milligram per kilogram when injected subeutaneously. But, as we shall see, it is much less fatal when fed to birds. It is much more fatal to frogs than is atropine or strychnine. The alkaloids are so well known that they do not need much discussion here. Aconi- SCIENCE. [N. 8S. Vou. XV. No. 391. tine is one of the most poisonous, being fatal to birds in the small dose of 0.07 of a milligram per kilogram when injected hypodermically. The enzymes are not very well known, and in most cases they are not toxic. Some of them are, however, capable of causing disorders when injected under the skin. Very closely related to these are the toxal- bumins which embrace the most deadly of all of the poisons, as may be recognized from the fact that they are the poisonous constituents of the venom of snakes and spiders, of many pathogenic bacteria, and of the most poisonous fungi, such as Aman- ita phalloides. We shall have more to say about these substances later. Nearly all of the active principles which have been isolated from plants have also been studied toxicologically, and have been classified in different ways, but chiefly with regard to the character of their effect and the organ most seriously poisoned. We thus have those which cause marked ana- tomical changes of tissues, those that prin- cipally affect the blood and those that do not cause any marked anatomical lesions. The fatal dose, also, has in many cases been established, so that we can-often tell how much of a given substance will lull a given animal in a given time. In this de- termination it is absolutely necessary, of course, that the animal tested be a healthy one, otherwise a fatal lesion may be pro- duced by the poison simply on account of the previous weakening of the affected tissue by the disease. The time and dose limitations of poisoning are not essential in our accepted definition of a poison, for it considers only derangements of function. If these are produced even by commonly edible substances, such as sodium chloride or sugar, we are obliged to say that under the special conditions of the case in hand these substances are poisonous. Sugar is thus poisonous to a diabetic patient, while JUNE 27, 1902.] pure salt when fed regularly even in nor- mal quantities would undoubtedly prove fatal if all other salts were withheld from the food for a considerable time; half tea- cupful doses of the saturated solution are said to be sometimes taken by the Chinese to commit suicide. This elimination of the time and dose elements makes it very diffi- eult, sometimes, to distinguish poisonous substances from foods, but it is eminently satisfactory because it calls for subsequent explanation showing in what way and to what extent a substance is toxic. It ealls more forcibly to mind, also, the danger in the continued use of drugs and of such narcotics as tobacco and hasheesh, and also to the flagrant and outrageous use of anti- septics in such foods as milk and bread which are consumed daily, sometimes in large quantities. Who can say how much material damage is done to the progress of civilization by this criminal practice? Until proven to the contrary, it ought to be taken for granted that any substance which has antiseptic or germicidal value is also capable of exerting these properties in a deleterious way in the human body, es- pecially when the substance is ingested fre- quently for a long period of time. The Spanish people are said to be a race of dyspeptics because of their inordinate use of condiments; let us pray that the Ameri- can people will never become degenerate on account of the use of the antiseptically preserved food which is too often sold in our markets. There are 16,673 leaf-bearing plants in- eluded in Heller’s ‘Catalogue of North American Plants,’ and of these there are nearly 500 which, in one way or another, have been accused of being poisonous. This does not, of course, mean that any one part or all of each of these plants would be fatal if eaten by man or by any one kind of an animal, but simply this, that some part or parts of each, at some period of the SCIENCE. _way of the mouth. 1021 plant’s growth, contain an active principle which is capable of causing death or some serious derangement of function im one or more forms of animal life when adminis- tered in a certain way, not necessarily by Snake venom is none the less poisonous because it can be swal- lowed with impunity in considerably more than what would be a fatal dose if injected into the skin in the natural way through the serpent’s fangs; neither is the death cup, Amanita phalloides, to be considered non-polsonous because it has been eaten after the poison was extracted by chemical methods. Other plants may be eaten with other things which will either enhance their poisonous effect, as in the case of amygdalin when an amygdalin-splitting ferment is also consumed, or counteract it, as might be the case when other medicinal plants are eaten; others again may be con- sidered non-poisonous because the active constituent may be removed or destroyed from the plant by boiling or by drying; and finally others may be declared innocent because the poison is not present in the part consumed, or is present only at cer- tain brief stages of growth; the amount present might also have been increased or diminished according to the conditions of growth or cultivation of the plant, as is most commonly the case in those which are cultivated for their medical value. We cannot take time to even mention all of the unsolved problems which have arisen in connection with all of these sus- pected plants, but there are several inter- esting questions in connection with the variable amount of poison present in a plant, its variable location in the plant, and especially the variable effect upon animals, that should receive special attention. Few poisonous plants are of sufficient commercial importance to have been inves- tigated chemically with anything like the detail necessary in order for one to draw 1022 definite conclusions in regard to the devel-. opment of their poisons, or of their location in the plant, but all druggists and phy- siclans are aware that the chemical com- pound by virtue of which a drug is of therapeutic value is almost invariably more abundant in one part of a plant than in another. The same is true of all plant compounds. ‘he variability of cultivated drugs in their contents of active principles was alluded to above. A more satisfac- tory example of how artificial environment ean affect the chemical constituents of plants may be found in a Bulletin recently published by Dr. H. W. Wiley, Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, and entitled ‘The Influence of Environment upon the Com- position of the Sugar Beet.’ In this bulle- tin itis shown that the factors which deter- mine the maximum yield of sugar are as follows: high latitude, free use of fertil- izers, and an even distribution of a rain- fall of from three to: four inches during the months of May, June, July and August, and a reduction of rainfall for ‘September and October: Natural environment affects some poi- ‘sonous: plants in a similar way, but in this ease the more southerly plants are-apt to have a greater development of the active constituents than those further north. ‘This is particularly noticeable in the Indian hemp, Cannabis sativa. The plants of the Southwest contain a larger quantity ofi the aetive principles than the more northerly ones do. «A ‘striking example of the pos- sible diurnal variation of the amount of poison in the leaves of plants is shown in a very instructive investigation by Dr. J. P. Lotsy of the cinchona ‘plant. The author showed that the quantity of ‘alka- loids varied greatly im the leaf as taken by day or night and on sunshiny or cloudy days, being most abundant in the first in- stance in each case. He showed also that SCIENCE. [N. 8. Von. XV. No. 391. these alkaloids are formed in the leaves during the day and are almost wholly de- posited in the branches or bark at night. If gathered in the early morning therefore cinchona leaves would be practically inert, while if gathered in the evening, especially on a sunshiny day, they would be in their most active condition. Thefoliage is,in gen- eral, the part of a plant which causes most eases of stock-poisoning. The period of leaf maturity is regarded by some culti- vators of medical plants as beimg the time at which its chlorophyll content is most highly developed, or when the leaves are most intensely green. This is generally soon after the flowering time in the case of herbaceous plants, but with some, such as ‘the aconite, the purple larkspur and the poison camas of Montana, and many bulb- iferous plants closely related to the last, ‘itis earlier, the leaves of some of these hav- ing commonly dried up before the plants have flowered. In such cases the leaves would naturally be most active physiologic- ally if-eaten before the plants blossom, and might. be practically imert at other times. Such is probably the case with the purple larkspur and death camas just referred to. The active principles are sometimes found most abundant in the most rapidly growing parts of the plant, as in the white sprouts of potatoes; and again they are to be found in parts! which have been fully developed, as in the case of sapotoxin in the corn cockle, Agrostemma githago. It has re- cently been shown that in aconite seeds the central parts contain most of the :aconite, while the seed coats are free from it. In the calabar beam the very poisonous: alka- loid eserine is found in the cotyledons. In the seeds of the common jimson -weed and black henbane the alkaloids are located chiefly in the layer beneath the epidermis ; the epidermis itself and the seed covering of-each are free from alkaloids. In jimson weed the quantity of alkaloids in un- JUNE 27, 1902 ] sprouted seeds was found to be fifteen times as great as in sprouted seeds, and in the seedlings of the jequirity bean, Abrus precatorius, it has been definitely shown that most of the toxalbumin is retained in the cotyledons. In growing colchicum the percentage of alkaloid is high in the grow- ing tips and comparatively low in the lower part of the bulb. The first year’s erop of leaves of foxglove and of henbane is inferior to that of the second on account of the smaller quantity of active principle. The variation in strength of the powerfully poisonous drug known as strophanthin is so well known to physicians that its med- ical use is being abandoned. Many such instances might be cited, but these show the importance of knowing the entire his- tory of a plant in testing its character as poisonous or non-poisonous. There are several molds and smuts which often infest corn and fodder. We know that some of these, when eaten or inhaled, sometimes cause death in a mechanical way by clogging up the system by their growth within the body, but there is much reason to believe that some of them contain poisons which are either consumed with the mold or are generated pari passu with the growth of the mold in the body. Probably some of these compounds like the sulphoeyanie acid of Aspergillus mger—a weak poison—are absorbed with difficulty, especially when taken into the stomach, and this may be the reason why the plants are often eaten with comparative impunity. But are there not conditions when a greater quan- tity of toxic substances may be present in them, or may there not be a condition of the system in which the poison is more easily absorbed? The large number of eases of stock-poisoning said to have been caused by molds and smuts demand. an ex- tended investigation. — Another problem which is essentially of the same nature is in connection with the SCIENCE. 1023 large polymeric group of saponin-like glu- cosides. These substances are, as a rule, not very poisonous when taken into the stomach, but it is a noticeable fact that few of the many plants which contain them are eaten by animals. Some are, however, eaten both by the lower animals and by man, as is the case with the fruit of the Moreton Bay chestnut or bean tree, Cas- tanospermum australe, of Australia. Some persons assert that this fruit is edible, others that it is merely indigestible, while still others are emphatic in regard to their deleterious effect upon man. Nearly all of the saponins are difficult to dialyze, so it is quite probable that when taken into the stomach they are ordinarily excreted before they can accumulate in sufficient quantity in the blood to cause symptoms of poison- ing, but in other cases where poisoning has. resulted it seems probable that some condi- tion of the digestive tract, perhaps uleera- tion, has facilitated the absorption of the compound into the system, where it at once exerts the same powerful effect that it does when injected hypodermically. Some animals are, for various reasons, entirely immune against the effect of cer- tain poisons. This difference in suscepti- bility is, in general, correlated to the men- tal development of the animals compared. The braim and nerve poisons, such as morphine and atropine, are much less poisonous to animals than man. Dogs and horses can, m proportion to their weight, endure ten times as much morphine as man, while doves can stand 500 times and frogs even a thousand times as much. In herbivorous animals, especially in those which chew their cud, such as sheep and cattle, the digestive tract is much longer than in the case of omnivorous or carniv- orous animals, consequently the food re- mains in the body for a much longer period. In case of herbivorous animals this period is usually several days, while in carnivo- 1024 rous animals it is about twenty-four hours only. In the former case, therefore, the poison would have much more time to be- come absorbed into the blood than in the latter. This, according to Frohner, prob- ably explains why it is that the metallic poisons are much more fatal to herbivorous than to carnivorous animals. The flesh of an immune animal to which a large dose of poison has been adminis- tered is apt to be poisonous to other ani- mals that eat it if they themselves are not immune to its effects. For example, it is asserted that advantage is taken of this fact in our Southern States in feeding strychnine to chickens in order to poison the hawks that prey upon them. Cases of human poisoning may inadvertently occur by thus eating the poisonous princi- ples of plants which are present in the honey, the milk or the meat derived from certain plants. All grades of merit or flavor are attrib- uted to the honey derived from plants, thus indicating that the chemical constit- uents which give characteristic odors and tastes to flowers are often transferred di- rectly to the honey derived from them. Some of the undesirable constituents of nectar are probably eliminated by the bee in some little-known way, and other por- tions are perhaps selectively retained. Formie acid is a poisonous substance which is found as an apparently essential constit- uent in all honey, but as it is present only to the extent of about three grains per liter it does not produce toxic effects. Gelsemine, the poisonous constituent of the southern jessamine, Gelsemiwm semper- virens, 1s said to have been found in honey from Branchville, South Carolina, and andromedotoxin has lately been found in honey from Rhododendron ponticum of Hurope. The most convincing proof that poisonous honey may be derived from rhododendrons and that its toxicity may SCIENCE. [N.S. Von. XV. No. 391. be due to andromedotoxin has been fur- nished by Plugge and Thresh. The for- mer has obtained the poison from the nec- tar of Rhododendron ponticum; the latter found it in 1887 in a sample of honey from Trebizond. Cases of poisoning from milk are more apt to happen nowadays from the use of preservatives and from bacterial toxines rather than from any other causes, but eases arise from milk becoming sour while in metallic containers or from the plants eaten by an animal. The effect of garlic on milk is well known but it is not so well known that cabbage and turnips also give milk a bad taste. Chicory imparts a bitter flavor to milk and Dyer’s weed, Genista tinctoria, is said to make the butter and even the cheese made from milk derived from it very unpleasant to the taste. Ko- bert states that children have been killed by the milk of goats that had eaten col- chicum or the broom plant. In my ‘Pre- liminary Catalogue of Plants Poisonous to Stock’ mention was made of a severe case of poisoning which was due to drinking milk from a cow that had been feeding on mandrake, and investigations made by Dr. EH. V. Wilcox and myself in Montana show that lambs are frequently killed by sucking milk from their mothers after these had eaten death camas, Zygadenus venenosus. It was a common impression throughout various districts in the South only a few years ago that the disease known as ‘milk- sick’ was due to milk from cows that had been eating poisonous plants. This prob- lem has never been solved, although the disease is still reported occasionally. Other cases of such poisoning are compara- tively rare, but two have recently been re- ported to the Department of Agriculture, one from Nebraska and another more im- portant one from the Pecos Valley in New Mexico. The butter and cheese were also suspected in the latter case. JUNE 27, 1902.] The interest in connection with poison- ous honey is both theoretical and practical ; that with poisonous game is, perhaps, only theoretical, since no cases have been called to public attention for many years and the records of past cases are few in number. To determine whether the flesh of a bird or animal that has eaten a poisonous plant is poisonous or not it is necessary to prove: first, that the birds or animals in question may eat the suspected plants with impunity to such an extent as to render their flesh poisonous; and secondly, that, perhaps under stress, they actually do so. This latter point can be solved only by the close study of actual cases. An attempt was made by the. writer a few years ago to ex- amine into the former question, especially in connection with some historic cases of poisoning, supposed to have been due to eating partridges which had fed on moun- tain laurel, Kalmia latifolia. It is true that partridges eat laurel leaves im winter, and that they may not be poisoned thereby. I have seen as much as 14 grams of the leaves taken from the crop of a single partridge, yet this bird was eaten without any ill ef- fect arising therefrom. In this case, how- ever, the leaves were still in large pieces many of them being over a half inch square. The andromedotoxin was, there- fore, not extracted, and, unless the bird’s previous meal consisted of the same food, its flesh could not have contained much of the poison. Andromedotoxin was fed for several days in gradually mereasing doses to a chicken, which, at the end of the fourth day, had received a very large dose without affecting it at all seriously. The chicken was then killed, cleared of entrails, boiled for a half hour and fed to a cat with the result that it was very badly, but not fatally, poisoned. Similar problems might be suggested in connection with the poison- ous plants eaten by game animals, and es- pecially in connection with the edibility of fish caught for food by the use of plants SCIENCE. 1025 thrown into the water to stupefy and poison them. Some detective work, also, is de- sirable to determine to what extent poison- ous plants are clandestinely added to whiskey and other alcoholic beverages to increase their intoxicating effect. It is re- ported that in some country districts throughout the South use is thus made of the leaves of mountain laurel and other andromedotoxin-containing plants. The practices above mentioned suggest another subdivision of my paper, and that — is the effects of the habitual use of nar- cotic plants. In the United States this use is confined mainly to tobacco smokers, but it 1s interesting to note that the use of In- dian hemp is spreading throughout the Southwest, where it was most probably in- troduced from Mexico. The effect of this drug is well known from accounts pub- lished in the daily press and elsewhere. The common Mexican name of the plant in ‘mariguana,’ but this name is also ap- plied in some parts of Mexico to a native Datura, D. meteloides, much like our com- mon jimson weed. Both of these plants and others, such as the tree tobacco, Nico- tina glauca, are sometimes called loco- weeds in Mexico. ‘Loco’ is a Spanish word which, in its original sense, means mad or crazy. Of late, however, it has been extensively applied, especially in northern Mexico and the United States, to certain plants which so affect the brain of animals that eat them as to cause chronic derangements of the power of thinking and of coordinating movement. It is, however, most popularly applied to several weeds—Astragalus and Aragallus spp.—of the bean family, which cause a peculiar kind of insanity in animals that eat them. It is not uncommonly asserted by Mexicans that sometimes a single dose of hemp will cause long-lasting insanity. Van Hasselt, a Dutch authority on poison- ous plants, also asserts that a single dose of this drug may cause mania for months, 1026 but the best pharmacologists are agreed that such might be the case only when the person affected is already badly diseased by the use of drugs or otherwise. There is reason for scepticism here, especially in regard to the crazing effect of single doses, but it is highly desirable that the subject be inquired into to find out how little of any one plant can cause insanity in a short time. With the true locoweeds of our Western prairies I am satisfied that at least several days’ feeding is necessary to produce any bad effect. The Depart- ment of Agriculture is at present engaged in an investigation of the curious behavior of these weeds. The question of disease-producing food presents many important problems closely related to those mentioned above. Aside from the study of locoism there are such problems as the relation of ergotism to the ergot of rye; of lathyrism to the seeds of the species of Lathyrus and Vicia, both commonly represented in our native flora; of the so-called ‘bottom disease’ of Mis- souri and the seeds of the rattlebox; of githagism to the seeds of the common corn cockle which is abundant in the wheat fields of the middle Northwest, and also to the spring cockle, Vaccaria vaccaria, which is also becoming common in the extreme Northwest, and finally the relation of dry food or of dry moldy foodstuffs to blind staggers or cerebro-spinal meningitis and the so-called cornstalk disease of the middle Western States. The toxic theory of disease is by no means a new theory, for Albrecht von Haller advanced it about the middle of the eighteenth century in connection with the extracts of putrefying animals, but it has received proper prominence only lately in connection with the toxalbumins, the first of which to be described was ‘echidnin’ or ‘viperin.” This was’ extracted in 1843 by by Prince Louis lL. Bonaparte, from the venom of vipers. Crotalin, the poison of SCIENCE. [N. S. Vou. XV. No. 391. the rattlesnake, was described by Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, an American, in 1860: But it was not until after 1884, when two English chemists, Warden and Wadell, isolated abrin from the seeds of jequirity, Abrus precatorwus, that these bodies were closely investigated in plants. Since 1884 ricin has been isolated from the castor-oil bean, crotin from a bean of the same fam- ily, phallin from the deatheup fungus, Amamta phalloides; and robin from the bark of the common locust. From many pathogenic bacteria and from some poison- ous spiders similar compounds have been isolated. All resemble ordinary albumen in being coagulable by heat and all are re- markably poisonous, but death often en- sues only after several days when the poison has been taken internally. After these substances once get into the blood there is no established method of offsetting their effects. There is, however, a most interesting method of preventing and per- haps offsetting their effect which is bound to come more and more into general use. I refer to the use of blood serum and to the various artificial ways of producing immunity or a high degree of tolerance. Ehrlich, a German investigator, first showed in 1891 that animals can be made to endure very large doses of two plant toxalbumins, abrin and ricin, and, in 1897, Cornevin showed that by heating ricin to a temperature of 100° C. for two hours a. substance is formed which, when injected two or three times under the skin of hogs, ruminants or chickens, will produce im- munity against the effects of ricm for several months. The essential factor of success in combating these poisons within the body seems to be the development of an increased number of white blood corpus- cles within the body. It has been experi- mentally proven that these corpuscles are not only eapable of attacking the destroy- ine bacteria, but also of destroying toxic substances present in the body, the chem- JUNE 27, 1902.] ical reaction mvolved being probably an oxidation. These bodies contain an oxydase or oxidizing ferment, and it is known that such oxidizing bodies as: permanganate of potash and chloride of lime easily oxidize most if not all of the toxalbumins and thus render them harmless. Any substance, therefore, which is capable of developing a larger number of white corpuscles in the body would serve as a kind of antitoxine against these poisons and it would not ap- pear to be necessary that each particular toxine should have a separate antitoxine. Indeed, experiments show that antitoxines are not chemical antagonists to toxines, but act simply as stimulants to the body to manufacture its own antidote. Certain chemicals, such as sodium hypochlorite and nuclein, an albuminoid obtained from cxsine or from beer yeast, stimulate the production of these cells; and these sub- stances may, therefore, be looked upon as antitoxines. Whether or not these sub- stances will also stimulate the white cor- puseles or the other oxidizing organs of the body so that they will offset the effect of plant poisons is a problem which is yet to be solved. It is not known how many poisons the leucocytes are able to destroy in the body, but if their action is really in the nature of an oxidation we may assume that all poisons which are harmless when oxidized, as plant poisons are apt to be, would be destroyed by them whenever they gained access to the blood, providing, of course, that the leucocytes were in suffi- cient abundance to do the work. We see then the great importance both from the poisonous-plant point of view and for general prophylactic effect against disease of building up an animal’s system so that it will contain a maximum quantity of leucocytes. It is probably impossible to stimulate the formation of leucocytes so rapidly that the process would be available for immediate treatment in cases of acute poisoning, but, since it requires only four SCIENCE. 1027 or five days to produce immunity to snake venom by repeated injections of a dilute solution of the chloride of lime, it might possibly be useful in chronic cases where the poison concerned is harmless when oxidized. A particularly interesting phase of ox- idation in relation to germicidal action has recently been investigated by Profess- ors Freer and Novy at the University of Michigan. Their preliminary paper shows an interesting comparison of the germi- cidal effect of: Hydrogen peroxide...... H—O—O—H. Benzoyl peroxide....... C,H,CO—O—O—COC,H;. Acetyl peroxide........% CH,CO—O—O—COCH,. Benzoyl acetyl peroxide. C,H,cCO—O—O—COCH, It will be noticed that the three organic compounds are symmetrical like that of hydrogen peroxide. The amount of avail- able oxygen in each compound is the same but the germicidal action of each varies ereatly. The use of hydrogen peroxide as a germicidal agent, especially in strong solution, is well known. Benzoyl peroxide is almost insoluble in water and is not hydrolyzed; it is therefore of no value as a germicide. The last two compounds have no germicidal value of themselves, but they are readily hydrolyzed in the presence of water yielding benzo peracid C,H,;CO—O—OH, and aceto peracid CH,CO—O—OH, both of which have a very marked germicidal value. These or- ganie peracids or peroxides are, according to the authors, at least several hundred times more active than is hydrogen perox- ide. The active oxygen content is the same in each, so that the difference in ef- fect cannot be due to nascent oxygen. Hydrogen peroxide loses its available oxygen readily and even violently on con-_ tact with enzymes, but these organic per- oxides do not. The authors were, there- fore, forced to the conclusion that the difference in action is due to the behavior of the acid ions. In this ease, therefore, 1028 it is the benzoyl and the acetyl ions and not the oxygen which does the germicidal work. In close connection with this investiga- tion there is another recent piece of work suggestive of important problems in con- nection with the chemistry and physiology of plant poisons which I wish to allude to before closing, and that is the paper by Dr. A. P. Mathews entitled ‘The Nature of the Nerve Impulse,’ published in the March Century. This treats of nerve stimulation and nerve paralysis on the basis of our modern theories on the nature of solution, a trend of investigation now being carried on at the Hull Physiological Laboratory of the University of Chicago under the direction of Dr. Jacques Loeb, Professor of Physiology at the institu- tion. The author’s conclusions are as follows: “Tt has been shown: first, that the chemical stimulation of protoplasm is really an electrical stimulation; second, that the poisonous action of inorganic salts is due to the electrical charges of the salts and probably to the movements of these charges: third, that the negative charges stimulate protoplasm, while the positive prevent stimulation, and if not counteracted by the negative will destroy life; fourth, that muscle contraction is probably in its essence an electrical phe- nomenon and that the conduction of a nerve impulse is almost certainly an elec- trical phenomenon; fifth, for the first time we have a physical explanation which agrees with all the main known facts of the nerve impulse and changes in irrita- bility; sixth, we have secured a physical explanation of the way in which an anes- thetic produces its effect; seventh, we are led to the hypothesis of the identity of stimulation by light and by chemieals.’’ The author does not, in this paper, dis- cuss the possible effect of the ions of plant SCIENCE. [N. S. Von. XV. No. 391. poisons, but it is difficult to see if his theory really holds good for organic com- pounds, why the complex cathion of so many alkaloids should be so extremely poisonous, and one is forced to wonder how any acid ion could be found which could be powerful enough to offset the toxic effect. One is also tempted to wonder if death can be the complete physiological op- posite of life, for is there not a tremendous difference between the automatically re- versible character of the cell protoplasm which enables it alternately and in rapid succession to solidify and redissolve, and the simple irreversible solid or liquid state which is the result of death? In the foregoing paper I have attempted briefly to discuss some of the practical, as well as some of the theoretical, features of plant poisons, throwing out suggestive hints rather than conerete problems here and there, and although I feel that the ground has not been adequately covered, T trust that at least some of you have been interested in the discussion, and I venture to express the hope that some of the sug- gestions have fallen on good ground and will result some day in a rich harvest of facts giving solutions to some of the prob- lems suggested. V. K. CHEsnurt. Unitep States DrEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Wasuineton, D. C. SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. Reports on Plans for the Hatermination of Mosquitoes on the North Shore of Long Island, between Hempstead Harbor and Cold Spring Harbor. Published by the North Shore Improvement Association. 1902. Pp. 125. - This is an extremely interesting and in some ways a most remarkable publication. It is a sign of the times that a number of men inter- ested in a given territory should form them- selves into an improvement association whose principal aim seems to be to do away with the JUNE 27, 1902.] mosquito pest, though that is not especially mentioned in the published list of objects. It is remarkable that, besides expending many thousands of dollars to attain that end, they should also publish their results at an expen- diture of hundreds more, for the benefit of others contemplating similar improvements. ‘Reports’ contained in the volume are made by the Executive Committee; by their en- gineer, Mr. Henry Clay Weeks; by Professor N. S. Shaler, of Harvard University; by Pro- fessor Charles B. Davenport, of the University of Chicago, and by Mr. Frank B. Lutz, of the same place. Professor Shaler deals chiefly with the mat- ter of salt marshes, their value when re- claimed, the methods of reclamation and the crops that may be planted on such areas. The paper is an interesting one, general in its scope, without pretense to novelty, but in- forming in character. i Professor Davenport and Mr. Lutz, each with an assistant, report on the entomological work done, which consisted mainly of a thorough survey of the territory covered by the association, and the determination of the breeding places for mosquitoes of all kinds. Culex and Anopheles are nearly always lumped and specific terms rarely appear. There is nothing, therefore, to determine what species actually occur and what species are actually troublesome. The usual generalized life histories are given and the usual reeommenda- tions applied to the specific conditions are made. No original investigations seem to have been carried on and no novelty is claimed; the report is informing in its gen- eral character, and is a model of thoroughness within its scope. It is to be regretted that, especially in Culex, the species found breeding in the various localities are not determined. Tt is by no means certain that for practical purposes all mosquitoes should come under an equal ban, and nothing in the report shows whether the mosquitoes so often referred to were such as were breeding in the waters near by, where larvze were found. The report of the engineer is supplemented by an elaborate map on a scale sufficient to admit of the marking of all points where treat- SCIENCE. 1029 ment is necessary or where engineering work is required. It is confined to the local prob- lem and no generalizations are attempted. Altogether the ‘Reports’ show a well-organ- ized effort, intelligently carried out, which is bound to secure the desired results in due time. It may be a question whether the re- sults could not have been obtained by a some- what less elaborate and expensive organiza- tion; and it may be that the staff employed by its very excellence and the expense incur- red may deter rather than encourage smaller or less wealthy bodies from embarking in similar works. To secure general cooperation in the cam- paign against mosquitoes the methods must be of the simplest and cheapest that will prove effective. But on this latter point the ‘Reports’ deserve unqualified praise for the stand taken, that destruction of breeding places, not the never-ending destruction of larve, should be aimed at; that permanent works rather than merely palliative measures should be the aim of the agsssociation. Joun B. SurrH. New Brunswick, N. J., June 12, 1902. Researches on Cellulose, 1895-1900. By Cross & Bevan. London, New York and Bombay, Longmans, Green and Co. 1901. 8vo. Pp. 180. The first work on cellulose by these authors, published in 1895, was an attempt to bring to- gether into convenient shape, and, as far as possible, into logical arrangement, the scat- tered and largely unclassified knowledge on this important subject. That they made an excellent beginning in bringing order out of chaos few investigators familiar with the subject will deny. The first work has been and is of decided value both to the scientific and the industrial worker. The present vol- ume reviews the researches on cellulose from 1895 to 1900. The matter is arranged under the following sections: Introduction, dealing with the subject in general outline; Section I., ‘General Chemistry of the Typical Cotton Cellulose’; Section II., ‘Synthetical Deriva- tives—Sulphocarbonates and Esters’; Section IIl., ‘Decompositions of Cellulose such as 1030 throw Light on the Problem of its Constitu- tion’; Section IV., ‘ Cellulose Groups, includ- ing Hemicelluloses and Tissue Constituents of Fungi’; Section V., ‘Furfuroids, 7. e., Pento- sanes and Furfural-yielding Constituents Generally’; Section VI.,‘The Lignocelluloses’ ; Section VII., ‘ Pectic Group’; Section VIIL., ‘Industrial and Technical; General Review’; Index of authors; Index of subjects. The authors should be highly commended for their appreciation and treatment of the practical industrial problems connected with cellulose. Pure science is not lowered in the estimation of most men because it may have practical bearings, and it is almost needless to say that some of the greatest advancements in scientific knowledge have been brought about by men who had an eye for the practical as well as the scientific side of investigations. The subject is developing rapidly at the pres- ent time from both the scientific and the practical side, and it certainly offers an invit- ing field for students of chemistry who wish to make their work count for something in the commercial as well as the scientific world. A. F. Woops. SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES. Tue Journal of Comparative Neurology for June contains the following articles: (1) ‘Number and Size of the Spinal Ganglion Cells and Dorsal Root Fibers in the White Rat at Different Ages,’ by S. Hatai. The number of spinal ganglion cells does not change with age, though some small cells become large cells and the number of dorsal root fibers increases. (2) ‘Observations on the Medulla Spinalis of the Elephant with some Comparative Studies of the Intumescentia Cervicalis and the Neu- rones of the Columna Anterior,’ by I. Har- desty. In addition to the histological exami- nation of the elephant, there is a similar study of the spinal cords of a series of twelve mam- mals of diminishing body weights, with statis- ties of the ratios to body weights of the dimen- sions of the spinal cord and ventral horn cells. (3) ‘Observations on the Post-mortem Absorp- tion of Water by the Spinal Cord of the Frog,’ by H. H. Donaldson and Daniel M. Schoe- SCIENCE. [N. S. Vou. XV. No. 391. maker. There is a post-morten absorption of water by the spinal cord of Rana virescens amounting sometimes in 24 hours to 25 per cent. of the normal weight of the cord. The conditions under which this absorption takes place were experimentally studied. (4) ‘Ob- servations on the Developing Neurones of the Cerebral Cortex of Foetal Cats,’ by S. Hatai. Confirms Paton’s observation that the den- drites develop before the neurites or axones. The usual literary notices complete the num- ber. Tue contents of the American Journal of Mathematics for July, 1902, are as follows: ‘Die Typen der linearen Complexe elliptischer Curven im R,,’ von S. Kantor; ‘ Generalization of the Differentiation Process, by Robert H. Moritz; ‘Simple Pairs of Parallel W-Surfaces,’ by Henry Dallas Thompson. : SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCE- MENT OF SCIENCE. We have received preliminary lists of the papers to be presented before three sections of the Pittsburg meeting of the American Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Science, as follows: SECTION GC AND THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. Tuesday, July 1, 1902. ‘Valence’: IRA REMSEN. ‘The Ozone from Potassium Chlorate’: WARD HART. ‘Electric Combustion’: EpwArp Hart. ‘The Chlorides of Ruthenium’: Jas. Lewis Howe. ‘Electrolytic Deoxidation of Potassium Chlo- rate’: WILDER D. BANCROFT. ‘The Solid Phases in Certain Alloys’: D. BANCROFT. ‘An Improved Grinder for Analysis of Mother- beets’: Davin L. Davott, Jr. ‘The Electrical Conductivity and TFreezing Points of Aqueous Solutions of Certain Metallic Salts of Tartaric, Malic and Succinie Acids’: O. F. Tower. “Recent Progress in the Fireproofing Treatment of Wood’: Sami. P. SADTLER. ‘Tonic Velocities in Liquid Ammonia Solu- tions’; EH. C, FRANKLIN. Ep- WILDER JUNE 27, 1902.] ‘The Expansion of a Gas into a Vacuum and the Kinetic Theory of Gases’: PETER FIREMAN. ‘Quantitative Blowpipe Analysis by Bead Col- orations’: JOSEPH W. RICHARDS. ‘Solubility, Electrolytic Conductivity, and Chemical Action in Liquid Hydrocyanic Acid’: Louis KAHLENBERG and HERMAN SCHLUNDT. “Determination of Glucose’: EDWARD GUDE- MAN. ‘Gluten Feed Analyses’: ‘Arsenic Pentachloride’: VILLE and H. H. BENNETT. ‘Black Rain in North Carolina’: BASKERVILLE and H. R. WELLER. ‘A New Method for the Preparation of Pure Praseodymium Compounds’: CHARLES BASKER- VILLE and J. W. TURRENTINE. “Deportment of Pure Thorium and Allied Ele- ments with Organic Bases’: CHARLES BASKER- VILLE and F. H. Lemty. “A New Constant High Temperature Bath’: CHARLES BASKERVILLE. “A Process for Rendering Phosphoric Acid EDWARD GUDEMAN. CHARLES BASKER- CHARLES Available’: CHARLES BASKERVILLE. “Molecular Attraction’: J. E. Mits. (By title.) “Condensation of Chloral with the Nitrani- lines’: A. S. WHEELER and H. R. WELLER. “The Composition of Urine and its Relation to Electrical Conductivity’: Jomun H. Lone. (By title. ) “Symmetrical Trimethylbenzyl, Symmetrical Trimethylbenzol Hydrazone and some of its De- rivatives’: HverHartT P. Harpine. “]. 4. Dimethylbenzyl, 1. 4. Dimethylbenzol Hydrazone and some Derivatives’: EVERHART P. Harpine. “The Action of Valerianic Acid and Valeric Aldehyde upon Antipyrin’: Davin C. Eccizs. “On Conductivity’: Goren A. HuLeTt. “Relation between Negative Pressure and Os- motic Pressure’: Grorce A. HuLeTT. (By title.) “Comparison of Results Obtained by Different Methods of Determining the Amount of Oxygen Absorbed by Waters Containing Oxidizable Sub- stances’: Lronarp P. Kinnicutt. ! “The Old and the New in Steel Manufacture’: Wm. MrTcarr. “Some Notes on Glass and Glass Making’: Rosert LINTON. “Manufacture of Optical Glass’: MAcBETH. “Bessemer and Open-Hearth Steel Practice’: Epwarp H. Martin and Wm. Bostwicr. Grorae A. SCIENCE. 1031 ‘Malleable Iron’: H. E. Dittmer. “Manufacture of Plate Glass’: Mason. : “Manufacture of White Lead’: SMITH. “Camphorie Acid: Synthesis of Trimethylpara- conic Acid’: W. A. Noyes and A. M. PATTER- SON. “The Hydrolysis of Maltose and Dextrine for the Determination of Starch’: W. A. Noyss, Girpert CrAwrorp, C. H. J UMPER, H. L. FLory. ‘Crucible Steel Manufacture’: E. L. FRENcH. Francis P. GERARD O, SECTION D, MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND ENGI- NEERING. “The Trend of Progress in Prime Movers’: Director R. H. Tourston, Cornell University. “On Changes in Form as an Essential Con- sideration in the Theory of Elasticity’: Mr. FRANK H. Critey, Brooklyn. “On the Advantage of Siamesed Hose Lines for Fire Steamers’: Professor MANSFIELD MmrRRI- MAN, Lehigh University. “The Nomenclature of Mechanics’: R. S. Woopwarp, Columbia University. “U.S. Work in the Ohio, Allegheny and Monon- gahela Rivers near Pittsburg’: Mr. THomas P. Ropers, Pittsburg. “On a Type of Planetary Orrery Using the Mechanical Principle of the Conical Pendulum’: Professor Davin P. Topp, Amherst College. “On the Ratio of the Transverse to the Longi- tudinal Elastic Strain Produced by Longitudinal Stress’: Professor THomas Gray, Rose Poly- technic Institute, Terre Haute, Ind. “On the Effect of Hardening Steel on its Young’s Modulus’: Professor Gray. “A Test of a Ball Thrust Bearing’: Professor GRay. “A New Photometer, with Exhibition of the Instrument’: Professor C. P. Marruews, Pur- due University. “The Mechanics of Reinforced Concrete Beams’: Professor W. K. Harr, Purdue University. ‘Some Experiences with a Simple Babbitt Test- ing Machine’: Mr. HE. S. Farwrett, New York City. “The Rules and Regulations Concerning