aN } jahte » t \ aT ae ant a Ph ireit . ie - Soa Fiat tach : ‘ if KY co ats 4 i } veal 4 ue ae oy ph + che Auth : ea ; tt Wises Hah o He ae : he i a a ath 4 i seahett hah y +e bite a oo is Ay ae a nN is lait! te - aie i ia i ae \ i i ent 19: nit ne i it oe itt eu ae " keane: 3 Bien ‘ ee : a — eh « Gidete Hip 1a ae ! ue Nyy: PAL nah (i ee bie NAL Digits an Hii itt Ny ; ai a ; . ae i ait re ES <=> ees Se nes == “SS 4 i gre i i} SS stint ‘Giant Te cat es a sea tesy sa " eae Watts ou ah HE ithe al ue Bae Ca i ele i Se Hts UeAe M eal 2 a ni a a hy a rie FALE eee See necse. = = 73322 iat U ‘ +) Ht a es Rule i i i mi : ie 4} di “ i tarp THU ti Sahih aise de hh His ea ny i hee is é AOE i My an y uy hie f F 4 Fy a Hie LSAT CL nt ' ben ae Bae $8 au atansetit a ae ta isi aimee Bh Ah) Sh id fa By C4 ais y: i if He ia ts id Han gicti en ae a i HH i mist} i | ith 2 es ite H pay i at iP b eh ay iii ith rae aa ie i . f HOnRH EAMES ENG nt vi Hi i ay ty “ty Hint Aeayity ne ae eon EHD ai Be Hc HOH ) in atte oo. egy ihe tis i aL Bi i ah o tes | SCIENCE | | Pe aLLUSTRATED JOURNAL PROBL STEED WEE KIEV VOLUME xX JANUARY—JUNE 1887 aa New York } | it eS Gaiee Nick CO MP ANY 1887 thx er * COPYRIGHT, 1887, — By THE SCIENCE COMPANY. - “ ‘ le , , / Hu ath an CONTENTS OF VOLUME Ix. Ss 1213, OLA Gy war ley 40 IO Eda PAGE Abbe, C. William Babcock Hazen . A 331 Adams, J. F. A. Is botany a suitable study for young men? : 116 Agriculture in eee de in 1886 249 American oriental association . 479 American society for psychical research . 3 50 Armsby, H. P. Enrichment of the soil by cultiva- tion a ‘enriching crops’ 5 5 37 Arrowsmith, R. Schools in Egypt 276 Asymmetry 620 Bain on ultimate questions of philosophy 620 Ballard, H.H. History of the Agassiz association . 93 Belfield, H. ie Manual training and public educa- tion . 372 Bishop, 8. E. The recent ‘eruption of Mauna Loa 205 Boas, F. Poetry and music of some North American tribes - z 583 The study of peorrapliy 137 Bowen, H.C. The training of the faculties of judge ment and reasoning : 6 < a C . 63, 164 British centenarians ; 98 British commission on the depression of trade 197 Browning, O. The university extension movement at Cambridge 5 A 6 s 3 4 6 Gh Humanism . : 5 3 ¢ 5 : . 161, 274 Realism . 6 . 561 Carpenter, W. H. The study of language 572 Carr, G. S. Competitive examinations 466 Channing, EB. Aims of geographical education 48 Chapman, Evelyn. Slojd . . 269 Clark, A. H. The American whale-ishery, 187 7- 86. 321 Coast tribes of British Columbia ' . 288 Color-blindness among railway-employe es °C 41 Commissioner Hadley’s second annual yepon 41 Conditional liberation of prisoners 125 Conn, H.W. Modern biology as a imag GE educa- tion 3 5 : $ . 168 Consanguinity and ionteall ansoundness : 118 Contagious diseases : 17 Co-operation on the continent of Europe . 395 Criticism of Pasteur B ; 96 Cruelty of old customs. « 310 Currents in the Bosphorus 301 Davis, W. M. Advances in meteorology 539 Dessoir, M. Hypnotism in France 541 7 Discussion on arsenic-poisoning 219 Distillery-milk report 3 : 548, 579, 602 Dodge, D. K; Scandinavian studies in the United States . 5 : 6 : - 4 Does education dtiwatinfigin anGimetrar vette Q77 Dutton, C.E. The STUDD Se trees of ‘the Columbia River 0 82 Dutton, C. E, and Hay den, E. Abstract of the results of the Wee eotiesuon of the Charleston earth- quake . p 489 Education in Uruguay 621 Electric railroads in this country 431 Exploration of the antarctic regions . 452 Exploration of the Welle 225 Explosions in coal-mines 429 Florida geological survey 446 French lycée E 170 Gardner, H. B. Comparative taxation 218 Gatschet’s ‘ethnological maps of the Gals states 404 Government scientific work . é 51 Greek elementin English . : 173 Health of New York during December 84 Health of New York during January 0 227 Hitchcock, C.H. The late eruption from Kilauea . 180 Huffeut, E. W. English in the preparatory schools. 474 Ice and icebergs é ‘ ; é : ‘ . 3824 PAGE Imperial university of Japan . : ‘ ; 5. Patt Indiana earthquake 7 3 3 : : e203 Industrial education association | 0 : . R DOS International statistical institute i F : - dOV Is beer-drinking injurious? 3 3 3 x F ol ee Italian medical psychology . 0 141 J., J. Some miscalled cases of fhought-transferrence 115 Laurie, S.S. The respective functions in education, of primary, secondary, and university schools . 367, 463 Left-handedness. — A hint for educators . " 5 . 148 London College of preceptors . : 0 é > Aer Ludwig Wiese . 72 Magnetic and tidal work of the Greely 2 arctic © expedi- tion D ‘ 215 Mason, O. T. A hairy nanan amily is 3 ‘ 5 ala Indian cradles and ee tsrom ra 6 ; 6 o | ile Synechdochical magic é 3 ‘ Zs ‘ Piey BUF The aboriginal miller . 6 oa) The Hupa Indians: an ethnographic sketch : 149 Meeting of the Economic aid Historical associations 507, 527 Mendenhall, T. C. The characteristic curves of composition 6 9) aie Mindeleff, V. Origin of pueblo architectre ‘ 593 Mitchell, HH. Circulation of the sea through New York harbor ‘ 0 6 0 6 . é . 204 Natural gas 3 iy : os 250. Naturalists’ meeting at Philadelphia ; 8 Parker, F. W., Henry, N. me and Giftin, Ww. M. ix: aining of teachers C 564 People of Central Africa 0 6 ‘ : 7 c - d2d Peter’s attack on Pasteur . % 5 : - 106 Physical geography of Central Africa é é f 5) eal Political education . ; 3 6 ByA0) Political geography of Central Africa 4 ¢ ‘ 5 aly Positionvof Emin Pasha 5 : c 3 - 505 Prisoners of the Soudan : : 5 2 4 c 4 Prohibition 4 105 Prussian minister of instruction on female education . . 370 Public instruction in Nex York state in 1886 . 5 18} Purity ofice . é C L 2 F - 40 Real-gymnasium . 375 Richet, C. General psyenology, its ‘aeanition, limits, and method 6 é 0 : 256 Riviera earthquake . 5 2 - 207 Romanes on the higher education of women F 6 . 473 Ruby-mines of Burmah A 6 : : : . Suu Scientific phrenology . 3 is : 3 5 . 299 Sea-sickness . : : 6 Bet) Sewall, H Biology and sociology . : 5 6 5 GR Sexton, S. Effects of explosions on the ear ; 3438 Shirrefi, Emily. Infant-schools and the kindergar- oy z 5 siguitennce ofl camer aiMea) names . ; 5 Senne Standard time and measures 5 7 Stern, S. M. The natural method of teaching lan- guages c = 68 System of or thography for native names of places > 421 Taxation of personal property in Erance, Gornleny, and the United States . : 15 Teaching of algebra 5 6 . 569 Tendency of contemporary ‘German ‘thought 4 sy ale Thomas, S. Industrial training in the public schools of Germany H 5 2 . 567 Tidal observations of the Greely expedition $ ; . 246 Training ofteachers . i ; Puy Vegetation of Central Africa B 523 Walker, F. A., Ham, C. H., and Love, S. G. What industry, if any, can profitably pe intro- duced into country schools? . ‘ . 3865 Wey, H.D. Physical culture for gimnecig: 3 . 58 When should the study of Greek be begun? . : 172 White, J. S. The Americal school of classical studies at ‘Ath ens . 3 2 : ‘ p : : . dot Youthfulness in science : ‘ : : 2 5 . 104 iv SCIENCE.—CONTENTS OF VOLUME IX. BOOK REVIEWS. PAGE Abbott’s Upland and meadow . 5 a Adams’s Relation of the state to industrial action — = 447 Alexander’s Problems of pHilosop hy: 3 : 5 - 280 Allgemeine Naturkunde 3 : : 2 . 118 Bascom’s Sociology . P 3 : : - 423 Beal’s Grasses of North “America : i : : - 448 Berghaus’s Atlas of physical geography . C - 425 Brown’s Paleolithic man. By H. W. Haynes « 5 - 22l Bryans’s Caesar. By H.T. Peck. id : . 3879 Buckland’s English institutions . ce Bureau of ethnology, fourth annual report of. ay F, Boas . - 597 Campili’s Hypnotism. By W. Noyes . ‘ 5 . 220 Challenger reports 349, 596 Chester’s Catalogue of minerals. By G. H. Williams . 305 Codrington’s Melanesian languages. By H. Hale. ¥ £99 Compayré’s Elementary psychology . 74. Connecticut agricultural experiment-station, annual report of the . . : 5 ‘ f . 3849 Corson’s Study of Browning 3 73 Crosby’s Tables for the determination of common min- erals. By G. H. Williams . 5 6 i - 304 Dana’s Mineralogy. By G. A. Williams 2 F . 304 Danson’s Wealth of households. By W. A. Dunning - 303 Dawson’s Zodlogy . EO) Day’s Mineral resources ‘of the United States . 6 . 9348 Edwards’s Butterflies of North America . 3 - 122 Edwards’s Differential calculus. By T. S. Fiske - - 282 Engelhardt's Observations Se CoE aues 5 : > 502 Fox’s Water, air, and food . 2 0 0 . 397 Gates's Latin word- building’. ; : F A . o Birt Geology of New Jersey . 595 Gurney, Myers, and Podmore’s Phantasms of the living. By W. James . 4 . 18 Henry, Joseph, scientific writings of. , - 6 . 398 Hewett’s Pedagogy . 0 5 é Z 6 5 : - 309 Hilgard’s Alkalilands . . i § q 0 6 - 283 PAGE Hilgard’s Report of viticultural work zi 5 5 - 348 Hudson’s Rotifera . ; . 598 Hunt’s Mineral physiology and physiography elas Jukes-Browne’s Historical geology . 424 Kennedy’s Mechanics of machinery. By R. HA, Thurston 501 Leclereq’s Laterre des merveilles . 622 Lockyer’s Chemistry of the sun . 305 Marshall’s Economics of industry. By W. A, Dunning 302 Mendenhall’s Century of electricity . 425 Miller’s Essentials of perspective 3s 0 F 2 - (622 Morse’s Arrow-release . z P 0 : : 3 . 119 Miiller’s Science of language. By H. Hale . 5 2325) Murray’s Handbook of psychology . 6 6 a 2D Newberry’s Earthquakes. By E. Hayden 6 18 New York agricultural Saporment sialon, fifth an- nualreport ofthe . 3 : é . 349 Payne’s Science of education . Supe Cie Pumpelly’s Mining industries of the ‘United States - 347 Raleigh’s Elementary politics . 22 Ramsay’s Selections from Tibullus and Propertius. By H. T. Peck. 2 4 : 379 Rawlins’s Livy. By H. T. Peck f é 9 Ks : . 379 Remsen’s Chemistry . ‘ : : 2 . 148 Ridgway’s Nomenclature of colors : , 2 : «22 Rosenkranz’s Philosophy of education . i . . 1%4 Schultz’s Diatetik des Geistes . é : 3 A . 3801 Sedgwick and Wilson’s Biology . . s < Aes} Storer’s Agriculture 0 a 4 E é - 400 Strong’s Juvenal. By H. T. "Peck 6 : - 282 Supan’s Commercial geography. By Ff. Boas 0 . 251 Verrall’s Aeschylus. By H. T. Peck . _ 3 . 378 Volksschulwesen im preussischen Staate 6 16) Wagner’s Annual report on the progress of geography. 501 Walcott’s Cambrian faunas of North America ; 545 White’s Pedagogy . 3 6 : 6 ‘ . 379 Wilbrand’s Psychic blindness . : : : ‘ . 422 Winchell’s Geology of Minnesota ; ; , Ms - 401 COMMENT AND CRITICISM, 1, 23, 45, 79, 101, 128, 145, 179, 201, 228, 258, 285, 307, 329, 351, 881, 403, 427, 449, 479, 503, 525, 547, 577, 601. ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES, 334, 441, 606. EXPLORATION AND TRAVEL, 387, 408, 432, 459, 512, 531, 581, 604. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES, 128, 152, 188, 210, 207, 258, 291, 312, 356. HEALTH MATTERS, 419, 444, 455, 481, 508, 530, 583, 605. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, 12, 33, 56, 90, 111, 134, 156, 192, 599, 611, 622. MENTAL SCIENCE, 457, 510. 213, 281, 268, 295, 316, 340, 363, 389, 411, 438, 460, 483, 515, 534, 559, 584, NOTES AND NEWS, 9, 30, 52, 87. 109, 130, 153, 189, 211, 230, 261, 292, 314, 388, 358, 388, 410, 433, 459, 482, 518, 582, 558, 583, 608. PSYCHOLOGICAL NOTES, "299. SCIENCE SUPPLEMENT, 15, 37, 61, 93, 115, 187, 161, 193, 215, 237, 269, 299, 821, 343, 265, 395, 419, 441, 463, 489, 517, 539, 561, 593, 617. SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE : Athens letter, 408 ; Honolulu letter, 127; ; ‘London letter, 126, 208, 289, 355, 386; letter, 528; Paris letter, 28, 86, 155, 311, 406; St. Petersburg letter, 107. New Zealand ERS OR: Meee SA AO INS) PAGE Africa, Central, ponticel BADE of, oe states of, eo vegetation of 2 a) Dee Antarctic regions, map o: of : a 0 2 - 458 Arrow-release, methods of co figs. ) 120, 121 Asymmetry Q figs.) 3 . 3 F A a (apeil Axe, Bayanzi . 6 5 : . . 615 Barometer during thunder-storms, 392 ; exposure - 316 Battle-axe of the Basonge . 6 6 6 - 443 Cradles, Indian (2 plates) . é 3 . 618, 619 Cretaceous rocks at San Marcos, Tex. b ‘ : - 537 Curves of composition (13 figs.) . 23 Karthquake, the Charleston (6 figs. ‘ 492, 493, 494, 496 ; the Indiana, 204; the Riviera oC Emin Bey, sketch- map showing proposed routes for reaching 2 5 Explosions, effects of, on the ear @ figs. re 344, a Gas at Oxford, O. : 623 Halema’uma’u (3 figs.) . 183, 184, 185 Harpoon-head, Eskimo (2 figs. ) 607 Health of New York during December, 853 during January 0 228 Hupa Indians, ethnological collection of . 150, 151 Indian chair . 606 Industrial education association @ figs. sth 538, 5b, BBD, 556 Kilauea . { ! : 5 ash PAGE Knife and dancing-implements ce fee Ng 3 . 606, 607 Mauna Loa, eruption of 3 6 3 206 Miller, the aboriginal (2 plates) . 26, 27 Mounds, snake-like, in Minnesota (6 figs. y 393, 394 Mtesa, audience-hall of : - 520 Muscles in birds of taxonomic value @ figs. WE : 5 . 624 New Lake, cavity once occupied by . 4 < - 182 New York harbor, currentsin . 6 5 5 2 . 205 Pastrana, Julia 5 : 0 0 ; 5 ° 6 : 33 Pelvis of the dugong 5 6 - 586 Sierra Leone tribes, masks of iG figs. ) 3 6 . . 442 Stanley Falls . E 6 . 409 Tachycineta, maxillo-palatines of (8 gs. 3 5 . 461 Testichew, Adrien . C 3 Se Thomson's electrostatic voltmeter 9 C 600 Tiptoe : - 6 5 a 235, al, 304, 390 Tonquin, loss Ofek : : ; ; 342 Tritylodon, pineal eye in 5 0 . : : . 114 Welle, explorations on the . 4 4 - 226 X. xanthocephalus, skulls of (2 figs. ‘a : 5 0 . 415 _ Africa, Central, map of . opposite 517 British Columbia, ethnological map orwe opposite 288 Gatschet’s ethnological maps of the Gulfstatesopposite 404 GT E. Ne E:. AN ILLUSTRATED JOURNAL PUBLISHED WEEKLY. Vérité sans peur. NEW YORK: THE SCIENCE COMPANY. FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 1887. COMMENT AND CRITICISM. STUDENTS OF THE PROBLEMS of taxation are directing attention to a law imposing progressive taxation, lately passed in canton Vaud, Switzer- land, and which will come into operation with the beginning of the new year. The practical work- ing and effects of the law will be closely studied. The project is undoubtedly popular ; for when put before the people, as is necessary for the enact- ment of a law in Switzerland, it was passed by very large majorities. This new Vaudois law divides real property into three classes, according as it falls below $5,000, between $5,000 and $20,000, or over $20,000 in value. The proportion of tax is to be 1 per 1,000 for the first class, 14 per 1,000 for the second class, and 2 per 1,000 for the third class. Personal property falls into seven classes, the lowest class being less than $5,000 in value, and the highest over $160,000. The rates of taxation on these classes are to be in the proportion of 1, 14, 2, 24, 3, 34, and 4, respectively, per 1,000. Incomes from earnings are similarly put in seven classes ; but, in estimating the amount to be taxed, a deduction is made amounting to $80 for each person legally dependent on the head of the family for his support. A great many theories as to taxation will be put to test by the operation of this law, and its outcome will be watched with interest. THE SYSTEM WHICH FECHNER deduced from the simple experiments of Weber has had the honor of exciting the criticism of nearly every eminent physiologist and physicist in Germany at one time or another during its brief career. Weber found, that, if you could just distinguish four ounces from five ounces, you could change the ounces to pounds without causing any change in the recognizability of the difference between the two weights. From this, with the aid of some hypotheses, Mr. Fechner deduced the psychophys- No. 205. — 1887. ical law that the sensation is proportional to the logarithm of the excitation. The system has been attacked on every side, and Fechner’s last hope is that it will stand, because the attackers cannot agree upon the mode of destroying it. But a consensus is now forming on the mode of attack. Dr. Adolf Elsas, in a recent pamphlet, boldly upholds that the system is unscientific from the root; that it does not follow from Weber’s experiments except upon an unjustifiable assump- tion ; and that no system of psychophysics, in Fechner’s sense, is physically, mathematically, or philosophically possible. It is possible to state briefly where the confusion came in, viz., in mis- taking the sensation of being different for a dif- ference of sensation ; butit is not possible to show in afew words how far-reaching the results of this misconception are. If a prediction is allow- able, the statement may be hazarded that the out- come of the discussion will be a recognition of a valuable means of gauging the discriminative sensibility of the senses, the avoidance of many current errors in experimentation, and the con- viction that it isas impossible to bridge the chasm between thought and nerve by psychophysics aSby any other of the numerous methods that have been proposed. AS WE STATED some time ago, the Kongo Free State has received a severe blow in the loss of the station at Stanley Pool. The official accounts of the affair have just reached us. It appears that the quarrel between Mr. Deane, an Englishman, who, with M. Dubois, commanded at the post, and the Arabs, was about a slave-girl who had sought refuge in the station. Notwithstanding the Arabs’ threats, the young Englishman refused to give up the girl. A peace was patched up for the time being ; but it was only a ruse on the part of the Arabs. Later they made an unexpected attack, and were repulsed. But soon ammunition ran short. The negro troops at the post took to their boats, and floated down stream to the next station of the association. This was commanded by Lieu- tenant Coquilhat. He ran up stream to the sta- 2 SCIENCE. tion in his little steamer, only to find it in posses- sion of the Arabs. Mr. Deane was found among some negroes soon after. M. Coquilhat thinks that the situation is quite serious ; not, perhaps, so much for its effect upon the immediate pros- pects of the Kongo Free State, as because it will show the natives that the whites and the Arabs are no longer on good terms. Then, too, it brings the day nearer when the inevitable conflict be- tween the trade association and the slavers must be fought out. It has also closed the route to the lakes via the Kongo and Tanganyika. But the Kongo State has still’ an interest in connection with the relieving of Emin Bey, referred to in another column. Mr. Grenfell has ascended a large tributary of the Kongo, which joins the main river about twenty-five miles south of the equator, to a point in longi- tude east from Greenwich of 19° 40’, and in latitude 4.27°. Dr. Junker passed six years in the Niam-Niam territories. He telegraphs from Zanzibar that on one excursion he followed the Welle to longitude 22° east. These two points are not more than from one hundred and fifty to two hundred miles apart. It may be that the Welle, instead of being a tributary of Lake Tsad, is, after all, a branch of the Kongo. If this proves to be the case, and the river proves also to be navigable, the key to the Soudan may yet be found to be the Kongo railway and river. s ian aa ae THE ANNUAL REPORT of the directors of the English convict-prisons, drawn up by Sir E. F. DuCane, is interesting, principally because of the valuable statistical tables appended to it. It seems that the number of sentences of penal servi- tude passed by ordinary courts in England and Wales in 1885 was 1,027, a decrease of 23 per cent as compared with the number so sentenced in the previous year, which, in turn, was lower than any year on record, and only half the number sentenced to penal servitude twenty years before. At the date of the report, the convict-prison popu- lation was only 8,183, as against 11,660 in 1869. There is also a remarkable and gratifying decrease in the number of females under sentences of penal servitude. It is now but 821, only a little more than half what it was ten years ago. During the year the commencement of a new work for the war department near Chatham afforded some points of interest in connection with the employ- ment of convict-labor. The report on this reads [Vou. IX., No. 205 as follows: ‘‘ The work in question being quite in the open country, and distant about two miles from the prison at Borstal, special consideration was necessary before deciding that the work could be undertaken. Arrangements were ultimately entered into, which have enabled the convicts to be employed there with complete security. A line of narrow-gauge tramway has been laid down by the royal engineer department along the whole line occupied by the forts under construction, and this is made use of for the conveyance of the con- victs to and from their work. A train of railway- carriages, specially fitted to insure the safe cus- tody of the convicts, has been furnished. The site of the works is enclosed by a palisading ten feet high, with a ditch on the inner side, and wire entanglements on the inner side of the ditch. Warders and civil guards travel with the train, and an addition has been made to the armed guard at the works, where a selected officer is always in charge. A system of signals is estab- lished between the work and the prison, and an engine is always available in case any thing should be required, or to facilitate inspection by the superior officers of the prison all along the line.” Sir Edmund DuCane has also something to say about the operation of the separate system, which Pentonville prison was designed especially to carry out. He recalls, that, when the system of separate confinement was decided on, grave doubts were expressed as to whether it could pos- sibly be carried out without injury to the mental and bodily health of the prisoners. At first the isolation and seclusion were very strict, and were imposed upon all prisoners for two years, after which they were removed to Australia. At first the apprehensions of the opponents of the separate system, those who had favored a system of silent or classified association, seemed justified ; for it was found that a certain class of minds became enfeebled and lost their balance under the regi- men adopted. As the result of this experience, the period of isolation was reduced to nine months, and its strictness was much modified. Since these changes, no evil results have followed ; and Sir Ed- mund DuCane writes, that, ‘‘ although a complete moral reformation is no longer expected to be the usual result, the separation undoubtedly prevents prisoners mutually contaminating each other, good influences have an opportunity of acting on them, and it has been found of the highest advantage as January 7, 1887.] a training and discipline preparatory to the sub- sequent stages of a sentence of penal servitude.” At all events, the reform in the system of dealing with crime and criminals has produced such results that the directors find, that, instead of an increasing amount of crime and a swelling prison population, they are enabled, in spite of the increasing population of the country, to dimin- ish the number of convict establishments. AT THE LAST annual meeting of the British medical association, Dr. Shuttleworth of Lancaster read a paper on ‘ The relationship of marriages of consanguinity to mental unsoundness,’ which has since been published in the Journal of mental science. Dr.Shuttleworth states, as evidence that there exists in the public mind a misgiving as to the propriety of such marriages, the fact that he is frequently asked whether any risk attends the marriage of cousins. Numerous contemporary authorities of good repute can be cited on both sides of the question. Dr. Shuttleworth shows that in early times no evil results were feared from the marriage of near kin, and quotes Jeremy Taylor to the effect that ‘‘ the elder the times were, the more liberty there was of marrying kindred.” In studying the history of the lower animals, it is found that ‘strict confinement to one breed, how- ever valuable or perfect, produces gradual deterio- ration.” Here, then, is the special danger of con- sanguineous marriages, especially as it seems to be the case that cousin-marriages are more frequent among neurotic than among perfectly healthy stock. It seems that in 1871 Sir John Lubbock tried to insert a question as to cousin-marriages in the census schedules, but his proposal was rejected amid the scornful laughter of the house of com- mons as ‘the idle curiosity of a speculative phi- losopher.’ In France some attempt has been made to obtain information as to these marriages ; and M. Boudin reckons that 0.9 per cent of all the marriages in France are between relations, 0.88 being between first-cousins. Other investigators present different returns, M. Dally contending that in Paris first-Gousin marriages amount to 1.4 per cent of all the marriages ; and M. Legoyt, chief of the statistical staff, estimates that throughout France first-cousin marriages form from 2.5 to 3 per cent of all marriages. In 1875 Mr. George H. Darwin undertook an elaborate in- SCIENCE. 3 quiry into the subject in England, and, “by a series of careful mathematical processes, he satis- fied himself that in England the proportion of such marriages averages from 1.25 per cent in London to 2.25 per cent in the rural districts for all classes of society, rising somewhat higher in the higher social grades.” From this basis, and assuming that first-cousin marriages are not ap- preciably inferior in fertility to mnon-consan- guineous marriages, Mr. Darwin concluded, that, unless we find in the idiot and lunatic asylums a larger proportion than the above figures would provide for, of children of first-cousins, then no evils, at least so far as mental unsoundness is con- cerned, can be attributed to first-cousin marriages. In an inquiry based on 4,308 patients, it was found that about 3.4 per cent of the inmates of asylums (5.25 per cent in Scotland) were the children of first-cousins. In Dr. Shuttleworth’s own asylum at Lancaster, the record of 100 cases shows 5.1 per cent to be children of consanguineous marriages, and (included in this) 2.8 per cent of first-cousin marriages. The general conclusion seems to be that the propriety of first-cousin marriages must be decided for each case separately as it arises. Mr. STUART C. CUMBERLAND of mind-reading fame gives a very frank and rational account of his doings, in the December issue of the Nine- teenth century. As a child, his perceptions were unusually keen. But his career as a mind-reader began only six years ago. His first attempt was entirely impromptu, but was as successful as any afterward. The gift was present; and future practice made it only quicker and more delicate, but not more certain. At first Mr. Cum- berland frankly confesses he was apt to imagine himself supernaturally endowed, but soon con- vinced himself that the whole thing is simply an ingenious and skilled interpretation of the un- conscious movements of the subject. ‘ Willing is either dragging or pushing,’ is the mind-reader’s formula. ‘Distinct and intense apperception, fixed attention is incipient motion,’ is the psychol- ogist’s conclusion. The account of Mr. Cumberland’s experiences with the nobility and eminence of Europe is ex- tremely readable ; but some notice of his general conclusions will be of greater interest here. The best subjects are among active brain-workers, states- men, scientists, etc., where concentration is easy and usual. Military men make excellent subjects ; : SCIENCE. lawyers are dodgy and unsatisfactory ; musicians cannot fix their attention on any thing but music ; artists are better subjects ; clergymen are perfect in the drawing-room, but not in public; physi- cians are good subjects when they have no theory about thought-reading. Von Moltke was the best and M. Dumas the worst subject. Englishmen and Germans are perhaps the best races for sub- jects ; while uncivilized races, such as Chinamen and Indians, are bad. Mr. Cumberland’s opinion on thought-reading without contact is well worth quoting in full: ‘‘Some mystically inclined people claim to be able to read thoughts without contact. For my part, I have never yet seen experiments of this kind successfully performed, unless there had been opportunities for observing some phase of physical indication expressed by the subject, or unless the operator was enabled to gather in- formation from suggestions unconsciously let fall by somebody around. I have on several occasions managed to accomplish tests without actual con- tact, but I have always been sufficiently near to my ‘subject’ to receive from him —and to act upon accordingly — any impressions that he physi- cally might convey.” The power is doubtless not an uncommon one, and is closely allied to the knack for reading character, which is quite common, and to the usual processes by which we detect lies and sus- picious persons, or avoid being imposed upon. Mr. Cumberland believes that the process might be of actual use in detecting criminals, and once succeeded in doing this himself. The operation of muscle-reading is a very fatiguing one, and the thing is apt to be overdone by amateurs. Mr. Cumberland’s experiences are important, be- cause they will aid in divesting these psychic tricks of the mysterious character so commonly ascribed to them, and in directing popular thought into more rational and healthy channels. THE PRISONERS OF THE SOUDAN. WHEN General Gordon fell at Khartoom, it was reported that an Egyptian army far up the Nile, commanded by Emin Bey, continued faithful to the khedive. Since then only vague rumors have reached us; and it was generally believed that Emin Bey and his army had long since been over- come by the mahdi, his followers dispersed, and he himself killed. Within the last month, news has been received that Emin Bey is alive, and, though neglected and forgotten by the khedive [Von IX., No. 205 and his English rulers, is still fighting under the Egyptian flag against the followers of the mahdi. About ten years ago, Emin Bey, then Dr. Schwitzler of Silesia in Austria, went to Egypt and entered the service of the khedive. He soon acquired the confidence of General Gordon, his commanding officer, and was rapidly promoted, and sent on several important missions into the southern part of Egypt. As a reward for his ability and success, he was made Emin Bey. When General Gordon was sent to the Soudan, Emin Bey was given command of the upper Nile, with headquarters at Lado, near Gondokoro. Here he was stationed when General Gordon was sent the second time to the Soudan. General Gordon was soon after besieged in Khartoom by the mahdi, and his communication both with upper and lower Egypt cut off. Emin Bey grad- ually retreated with his soldiers and their families up the Nile, fighting as he retired, and defeating the mahdi in several battles, until he made a permanent settlement at Wadelai, on the Nile (not far from Lake Albert), at the extreme south- ern limit of Egypt. His people are negroes from Nubia and the Soudan. For the last two or three years they have supported themselves by the cul- tivation of the land. <‘ All the stations are busily employed in agricultural work, and at each one considerable cotton plantations are doing well; this is all the more important for us, as it enables us, to a certain extent, to cover our nakedness. I have also introduced the shoemaker’s art, and we now make our own soap,” writes Emin Bey. Emin Bey has but two Europeans with him, — Dr. Junker and Captain Cassati. Dr. Junker is a Russian scientist, and, like his friend and former companion, Dr. Schweinfurth, is a distinguished botanist. Hight or ten years ago he went to Africa, and continued the explorations com- menced by Dr. Schweinfurth in the valley of the Bahr-el-Gazel, the western branch of the Nile. He also explored the head waters of the Welle, — one of the largest tributaries of the Kongo, — and afterwards traced the course of another large river, which Dr. Junker himself believed to be the Arouhuimi. The troops of the mahdi overran the country, and Dr. Junker was forced to retire. By great good luck he succeeded in joining Emin Bey, and has remained with him. The other European with Emin Bey is Gaetano Cassati, for- merly a captain in the Italian army. He left Italy in 1879, with several other ItMians, and landed upon the east coast of Africa. They spent several years in that part of Africa which the Italians have explored, until his companions were killed and he made a prisoner. He finally escaped, and made his way to Emin Bey at Gondokoro. SCIENCE. JANUARY 7, 1887.] Lake Leopold. It ATLANTIC OCEAN INDIAN OCEAN Bau SKETCH-MAP, SHOWING PROPOSED ROUTES FOR REACHING EMIN BEY. 6 SCIENCE. At the request of Emin Bey, Dr. Junker with a small caravan left Wadelai for Cairo for the purpose of obtaining aid. Cut off from all com- munication down the Nile, he was compelled to proceed to Cairo via Zanzibar and the Indian Ocean. His route was south through Unyoro and Uganda to Lake Victoria, from there round the western shore of the lake to the English mis- sion, and then east to Zanzibar. Kabrega, the ruler of Unyoro, has befriended Emin Bey, sup- plying him with food and stores. Moranga, the chief of Uganda, is hostile to Europeans, and may be remembered as the murderer of Bishop Hann- ington only a year ago. When Moranga heard that Kabrega had assisted Emin Bey, and had received Dr. Junker as his friend, he marched against Kabrega, and defeated him. Dr. Junker with great difficulty escaped, and reached the English mission of Msalla. On the 8th of October a letter was received from Dr. Junker, dated at Msalla, Aug. 10, in which he pleads for deliverance for Kabrega, succor for Emin Bey, and the reconquest of the Soudan. If Kabrega is not delivered and the Soudan reconquered, the prestige of Europe in central Africa, will, he says, be lost; and if Emin © Bey falls, it will be to the eternal shame of Egypt and England. These are the objects of his mission to Europe. He signs his letter, ‘‘ Your affectionate friend, disparu et enfin retrouve.” As it took Dr. Junker more than six months to reach the English mission, a distance of only three hundred and fifty miles, he must have had much difficulty in passing through Uganda. He left the mission as soon as his caravan was ready, and reached Zanzibar the 20th of December, and expected to arrive at Cairo on the 10th of January, 1887. Thusfar, no attempts have been made, either by the English government or the khedive, to relieve Emin Bey ; but an expedition under Dr. Fischer, a German naturalist who had spent many years on the coast, was sent out by geological societies of Germany, aided by the German government. It started from Pangani, on the eastern coast of Africa, about fifty or sixty miles north of Zanzibar, in August, 1885. It reached Victoria Nyanza, but, being unable to proceed any farther, returned to Zanzibar last June. In the early part of the present year, Dr. Oscar Lenz was sent out by the Austrian govern- ment to try to reach Emin Bey by the western coast of Africa. He steamed up the river Kongo -to Stanley Falls, and left there on the 4th of April, intending to sail up the Kongo to Nyangweé, where Stanley launched his boat in 1877 on his expedition across the Dark Continent. From there [Vou. 1X., No. 205 Dr. Lenz hoped to cross to Lake Tanganyika, thence by Lake Muta Nziga and the Albert Nyanza to Wadelai. This part of Africa is occu- pied by Mohammedans, traders in slaves and ivory, who bitterly oppose all explorations that might interfere with the slave-trade. They have recently seized the station of the Kongo Free State at Stanley Falls, and driven the Europeans down the river. It is therefore doubt- ful whether Dr. Lenz will succeed in passing through this country. Dr. Joseph Thomson, an Englishman who has spent several years in eastern equatorial Africa, and who commanded the Royal geographical so- ciety’s expedition through Massai Land to Lake Victoria during 1883 and 1884, offers to head a party to relieve Emin Bey. He proposes to start from Mombassa (a port on the Indian Ocean, 4° north latitude, and 120 miles north of Zanzibar), passing north of Kilimanjaro (a high mountain covered with eternal snows, which Dr. Thomson vainly attempted to ascend, but which has been re- cently ascended by Mr. H. H. Johnston), through the country of the Massai to Kwa Sundu, on the north-eastern shore of Lake Victoria, thence through Uganda to Wadelai. Though this route is north of the one taken by Dr. Fischer, yet the general character of the coun- try is the same, and it is inhabited by the tribes of the Massai, a most warlike race. Dr. Thomson succeeded in crossing this territory in 1883, but the people are now more hostile to Europeans, exacting heavier tolls and higher prices for pro- visions, and frequently robbing and murdering travellers who attempt to pass through. To show the great change in the treatment of Euro- peans by the negroes, it is only necessary to con- trast the account given by Mr. Stanley of Uganda in 1875 and that given by the London Times of December, 1886. Mr. Stanley says, ‘‘From the time the voyager touches Uganda ground, he is © as safe and free from care as though he were in the most civilized state in Europe. He and his are in the hands of Mtesa, emperor of Uganda.” The London Times says Munga, king of Ugan- da, ‘‘ dares to torture and massacre the converts of its missionaries, and an English bishop, with- out fear or even reproach.” Travelling in central Africa is made by very slow stages. Dr. Thomson did not reach Lake Victoria until one year after his arrival at Zanzi- bar, and then he had travelled only two-thirds of the way to Wadelai, and that the least difficult part. It is understood that Stanley has been sum- moned to Europe to take command of an expedi- tion fitted out by the Egyptian government, un- January 7, 1887.] der the advice of England, for the relief of Emin Bey. The Belgian papers state that his route will be up the Kongo to Arouhuimi (the tributary re- ferred to above), which empties into the Kongo near the equator, some distance below Stanley Falls. Mr. Stanley, on his last visit to the Kongo, sailed up this river for some distance, and believed it to be the outlet of the Wellé. From the head of navigation on the Arouhuimi, the route is east to Wadelai. Only about two hundred miles are said to be unexplored. The country is inhabited by peaceful negroes, food is easily obtained, and dif- ficulties are less than by the other route. A cable from England states that Mr. Stanley will sail for Zanzibar, and go directly to Albert Nyanza, through Massai Land; but we may well doubt this information, for although Mr. Stanley, in crossing the Dark Continent, went by Victoria - Nyanza, he took a route south of the one now pro- posed ; and he is much better acquainted with the Kongoroute. Itis possible that Mr. Stanley may sail to Zanzibar, remain there long enough to procure kroomen and porters, and sail with them to the Kongo, and thence up that river to the Arouhuimi, | The need of Emin Bey for relief appears from his letter, dated, Dec. 31, 1885, received in England Oct. 28. This letter brings the only news re- ceived ‘ from him in three years. He writes that he almost despairs of receiving succor from the north, for he has heard nothing from Cairo or England since April, 1883; that he is without stores and clothing; and that his ammunition is nearly exhausted. With the enthusiasm of a scientific man, he adds that he has worked with ardor at the formation of a grand collection, chiefly zodlogical, including skulls of the differ- ent tribes of negroes and of the chimpanzee, skeletons of various animals and two of the Akka of different sexes; and he will endeavor to com- plete it during his sojourn there. He promises to keep his post as long as possible, trusting, that, if Egypt still governs the Soudan, she must send re- lief in time. If the Soudan has been abandoned, he will move southward with his troops, until he is relieved by the government or has placed his people in safety. ‘‘ With the exception of the hu- man skulls, I have saved all my collection, and will not abandon them until the last. Formerly I re- ceived two or three times a year letters and news- papers. Alas! it is so no longer. I strive by every means to sustain my own courage and that 1 Since this article was written, we have read another let- ter from Emin Bey, dated July 7, 1886, and then his province was in complete safety and order. These letters show that the necessaries of life are not wanting; but how long he can Maintain himself depends upon the strength of the Mohammedan army under the new mahdi on the north, and of the army of the negroes from Uganda on the south. SCIENCE. a of my people. God has certainly protected and sustained me hitherto, and I have confidence, that, with his help, all will go well in the fu- ture.” He adds, ‘‘I have secured for a collection of shells from Lake Albert, which I will send by the missionaries at Uganda, and which I hope will reach him safely. — EMIN BEY.” STANDARD TIME AND MEASURES. AT the recent annual meeting of the American metrological society, letters were read from W. F, Allen, secretary of the general time conven- tion, and from Sandford Fleming of Ottawa, Canada, from which, as they contain consider- able information, we quote somewhat liberally below. Mr. Allen stated that he is at present engaged in quite an extensive correspondence with a view to bringing about the adoption of standard time by those cities which still adhere to local time. This movement has already resulted in success in two instances. In Belfast. Me., eastern time was adopted on Dec. 15, 1886, the clocks being set twenty-four minutes slow; and in Pittsburg, Penn., where an ordinance was passed adopting eastern standard time from Jan. 1, 1887, when the clocks were set twenty minutes fast. It is probable that the legislature of Maine will pass a law at its coming session making eastern time the standard for the state. Correspondence with the superintendents of public schools in a number of the cities of Ohio has developed the fact that a strong feeling in favor of the adoption of standard time exists in that state, from which favorable action is likely to come in the near future. The twenty-four o’clock scale is in use upon the Cana- dian Pacific railway west of Winnipeg, upon the Manitoba and north-western railway, and upon the Idaho division of the Union Pacific railway. It is proposed to adopt it soon on all the divisions of the Union Pacific railway. Under instructions from the general time convention, Mr. Allen is preparing, and will shortly issue, a circular asking the views of the leading railway officials on the subject of the general adoption of this scale for employees’ time-tables and advertisements. Mr. Fleming bore especially on the benefits to be derived from the twenty-four hour system, which has been put in practice on at least two thousand miles of railway. For the past six months the railway stretching from Lake Superior through Canada to the Pacific coast has been operated on the twenty-four hour system. ‘‘ The towns and vil- lages along the line,” writes Mr. Fleming, ‘‘ have with great unanimity accepted the change, and 8 SCIENCE. not a single voice has been heard in any quarter expressing a desire to return to the old usage. So satisfactory in every way has the new system proved, that the Canadian Pacific railway com- pany have decided to extend its application east- ward to Ontario and the valley of the St. Law- rence. The branch and connecting lines are following the same course, and I am assured that by the end of next year the twenty-four hour system will be in common use by the railways from Halifax in Nova Scotia to Vancouver on the Pacific coast. You are, no doubt, already aware that the twenty-four hour system is in use throughout the extensive lines of telegraph be- tween Great Britain, Egypt, India, South Africa, China, and Australia and New Zealand.” However important these changes are, they can only be viewed as provisional steps in the general unification of time throughout the world. They are means to an end, and the great end of the movement may be the universal adoption of a new notation of time which will be common to all nations. It is only step by step, and by famil- iarizing men’s minds with the new ideas, that the larger reform can be accomplished. With this end in view, the Smithsonian institution, desiring to co-operate in the movement, have agreed to publish and circulate, in all countries where their reports are sent, a paper on ‘Time-reckoning for the twentieth century.’ : ‘* This question,” continued Mr. Fleming, “has an educational interest ; and, such being the case, much could be done by appealing to the educa- tional institutions. Probably the most effective means of influencing the rising generation of this country would be to bring the subject under the notice of the public schools. If the children of both sexes were taught the true principles of time-reckoning, ina very few years their influ- ence would be felt, and the main obstacle in the way of adopting a common notation would dis- appear throughout this continent. I venture to suggest, therefore, that the society would in the highest degree advance the important movement by taking such steps as may be deemed neces- sary and proper, to bring the question to the no- tice of the superintendents of education in each state with the view of reaching each boy and girl of school age between the two oceans. If America takes the lead in this matter, I do not doubt that the other continents will follow in good time.” i The society would be pleased to correspond with any one desiring to use his influence in bringing about the adoption of the metric system, or who is interested in a common method of time-reckon- ing such as is indicated in Mr. Fleming’s letter. [Vou. TX., No. 205 The office of the secretary is at Columbia college. The officers for 1887 are, president, F. A. P. Barnard, president of Columbia college; vice- president, Prof. E. N. Horsford, Cambridge, Mass. recording secretary, Melvil Dewey, librarian Co- lumbia college ; corresponding secretary, Alfred Colin, New York; treasurer, Prof. J. K. Rees, Columbia college. THE NATURALISTS’ MEETING AT PHILADELPHIA. THE meeting of the Society of naturalists held in Philadelphia during Christmas week was at- tended by about fifty members, and proved an en- joyable and stimulating gathering. The strict enforcement of the rule limiting membership to persons ‘‘ who regularly devote a considerable portion of their time to the advancement of natural history,” allows only a slow growth to the society, but it insures the illumination of the association by its members, rather than the reverse. Mutual acquaintance is increased; the meetings become as informal as meetings may be; and the naturalist, who has spent a good part of the year too much alone in his own company, finds sugges- tive intercourse with his fellows. The constitu- tional object of the society is chiefly the discussion of methods of investigation and instruction ; for it is held that the announcement of the results of investigation finds more fitting and sufficient op- portunity in local societies. But in the present day of special investigation there is some danger that the detailed description of methods, useful in their place, and entertaining enough to a few members, may still fail to hold the attention of the meetings as a whole; especially when, as too often appears, the inventive specialist has failed to cultivate the art of presentation. The day that was devoted to methods of teach- ing was apparently the most satisfactory to the gathering. H. S. Williams of Cornell spoke on general instruction in geology ; Davis of Harvard followed on instruction in geological investigation. In the afternoon, Farlow of Harvard considered the lines profitable for botanical investigation in the United States. Martin of Johns Hopkins dis- cussed collegiate teaching of biology, and Whit- man of Milwaukee discribed the proper position of biological investigation in the university. All these papers awakened the meeting to active dis- cussion, and it was decided that the executive committee of the society should consider the ad- visability and means of publishing the proceed- ings of the day ; for it was generally agreed that both the papers and the discussion that they ex- JANUARY 7, 1887.] cited would be read with profit and encourage- ment by teachers far and wide. In view of the interest thus awakened, it was suggested that a day be set apart in the meeting a year hence for the discussion of science in the schools. During the session, Professors Leidy and Lesley were added to the list of honorary members, Professors Baird, Dana, and Gray having been previously elected to this class. NOTES AND NEWS. THE lectures delivered by Prof. Rodolfo Lan- ciani, LL.D., government director of archeological researches at Rome, before the Lowell institute, Boston, are full of interesting and instructive matter. The lecturer, after describing the humble origin of Rome, and the simple matter-of-fact causes which led to its foundation on the Palatine Hill, considered the sanitary conditions of the district which surrounded the new town. During prehistoric times the whole region was volcanic and free from malaria, and when it ceased to be volcanic, then malaria began. The clearest proof of the virulence of malaria in Rome in the first century is afforded by the number of altars and shrines dedicated to the goddess of the fever. At the time of Varro there were not less than three temples of the fever left standing. The principal works of improvement successfully completed in ancient times for the benefit of public health and for checking malaria were: I. The construction of drains; II. The construction of aqueducts; Ill. The multiplication and paving of roads; IV. The right organization of public cemeteries; V. The drainage and cultivation of the Campagna; VI. The organization of medical help. Professor Lanciani developed fully these points; and we regret, that, owing to want of space, we cannot follow him more minutely. The lectures are unique, and worthy reproduction in a permanent form. — Physicians will doubtless remember the case of the late Dr. Groux of Brooklyn, who had the power of stopping the action of the heart at pleas- ure. Dr. Lydston of Chicago, in a note to the American practitioner and news, claims to have the same power, and to have demonstrated it to members of the medical profession. — At a recent meeting of the Society of arts, Capt. Douglas Galton, chairman of the council, delivered an address which was a retrospect of the progress made in sanitation by the English nation during the reign of Queen Victoria. The registration of births, marriages, and deaths came into operation in 1837, ten days after the queen’s accession to the throne. The sanitary condition SCIHNCE. 5 of the country was wretched at this time. One- tenth of the population of Manchester, and one- seventh of that of Liverpool, lived in cellars. In 1845 a chapel in the immediate neighborhood of Lincoln’s-Inn Fields was used as a schoolroom in the day-time, and a dancing-saloon at night. In the cellars underneath this chapel ten thousand bodies had been buried in the seventeen years ending 1840, the burials were still continuing, and the old coffins were removed through a con- tiguous sewer to make room for new ones. In the rural districts the same neglect of the public health was also prevalent. The various acts which have been passed during these fifty years have contributed greatly to the welfare and pros- perity of England-.as a nation. In the decade 1850-60 the annual average saving of lives in England and Wales from sanitary improvement was 7,789; 1860-70, it rose to 10,481; 1870-80, it was 48,443; and in the five years 1880-84, the average annual number of lives saved by sanitary improvements has been 102,240. —Mr. E. D. Preston of the U. S. coast and geodetic survey left last week for the Sandwich Islands on an important mission for that govern- ment. The object of his visit is the determina- tion of astronomical latitudes on these islands, fifteen stations having already been decided upon. The pendulum will be swung at a great elevation, and also at the sea-level, to determine the down- ward attraction of some of the principal moun- tains. The latitude stations will be on the follow- ing islands: Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, and Hawaii. The work will probably show great deflections of the plumb-line on all the islands, and the pendulum work will no doubt confirm previous experiments on island stations; viz., that islands give an excess of gravity. The ob- servations will occupy about four or five months. A copy of all observations will be deposited in the coast and geodetic survey archives. The work is done entirely at the expense of the Hawaiian government, the coast survey loaning the neces- sary instruments. — Congressman Hatch, chairman of the house committee on agriculture, has received from Com- missioner Colman of the agricultural department a reply to the resolution offered by Mr. Swinburne of New York regarding the cause and extent of pleuro-pneumonia in cattle. The commissioner sets forth the difficulties met in the attempt to extirpate or control this disease in the present state of the law, and with the machinery at hand, and re-enforces his recommendations previously made for more heroic methods. The commis- sioner again recommends as the only measure 10 SCIENCE. which will extirpate thé plague, and prevent both the direct and indirect losses, that, wherever an infected herd is discovered, all exposed animals should be slaughtered, the premises thoroughly disinfected, and the owner compensated for the loss to which he is subjected for the protection of the public. He urges upon congress the necessity of legislation giving to the departments power to carry out the measures required for extirpating pleuro-pneumonia untrammelled by state laws or state authorities, and it is expected to promptly suppress this disease. — W. Stainton Moses, lately a vice-president and a member of the council of the English society for psychical research, has withdrawn from the society. In his letter of resignation, Mr. Moses says, ‘‘I have concluded, that, as a representative spiritualist, I could not do otherwise. considering, as I do, that the evidence for phenomena of the genuine character of which I and many others have satisfied ourselves beyond doubt, is not being properly entertained or fairly treated by the So- ciety for psychical research.” ~ — Professor Rohé of Baltimore, in a paper read at the last meeting of the American medical asso- ciation, recommended that instruction in cook- - ery be made a part of the curriculum of the public schools, and that mental philosophy or trigonometry should be dropped in order to make a place for it. In a number of schools and semi- naries throughout the country the art of cooking is taught. In Lasell seminary at Auburndale, Mass., it has been taught since 1877. The Boston cook- ing-school was started in the same year. Similar schools are in operation in Raleigh, N.C. ; Staun- ton, Va., and Washington, D.C. In London prac- tical lessons in cookery are given in the girls’ com- mon schools. In Boston, Mr. Hemmenway of that city has succeeded in persuading the members of the school board to make instruction in cook- ery a part of the regular system of instruction. —Mr. J. W. Walker has discovered on the south side of Pine Mountain, Georgia, nearly two hundred feet above the famous corundum-mine, a site where the ancient inhabitants of that region manufactured their tale vessels for cooking. Evi- dences of the use of stone implements in the work are indubitable. The vessels were blocked out and hollowed before being broken from the ledge. Many of the remaining fragments are honey- combed by exposure for a long time. Archeolo- gists are familiar with similar phenomena else- where. Dr. Rau of the Smithsonian institution mentions several sites in the District of Columbia, and Paul Schumacher gives an elaborate account of the working of such quarries in southern Cali- [Vor. I1X., No. 205 fornia (Wheeler’s Report on U. S. geog. surv. west of 100th merid., vii. 117-121). Dr. Abbott’s paper in the same volume (pp. 93-116) should also be consulted. — On Nov. 10, 1886, a meeting of intercolonial delegates was held at the Royal society’s rooms, Sydney, for the purpose of forming an Australa- sian association for the advancement of science. The following delegates were present : — Victoria : Field naturalists’ club of Victoria, the Rev. Dr. Woolls; Geological society of Australasia, and Historical society of Australasia, Mr. R. T. Litton ; Royal society of Victoria, Mr. K. L. Murray ; Victorian institute of surveyors, Messrs. W. J. Conder and W. H. Nash; Victorian engineering association, Professor Kernot and Mr. K. L. Mur- ray. Queensland: Geographical society of Aus- tralasia, Queensland branch, Mr. J. P. Thompson ; Royal society of Queensland, Mr. Henry Tryon. Tasmania: Mr. James Barnard. New Zealand : Philosophical institute of Canterbury, Mr. S. Her- bert Cox. New South Wales: Linnean so- ciety of New South Wales, Professor Stephen ; Royal society of New South Wales, Mr. H. C. Russell, Professor Liversidge, Mr. C. S. Wilkinson ; New South Wales zodlogical society, Dr. A. T. Helroyd ; Sydney branch of the Geographical so- ciety of Australasia, Sir Edward Strickland. In the absence of Mr. C. Rolleston, president of the Royal society, Mr. Russell was voted to the chair. The first election of officers will be held in Sydney in March, 1888, and the first meeting of the asso- ciation in the first week in September, 1888. Pro- fessor Liversidge was appointed convener for the next meeting, and a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to that gentleman for the part he had taken towards the formation of the new associa- tion, general satisfaction being manifested at the successful result of the meeting. — Mrs. Thomas Say, the widow of the well- known naturalist who has been dead over fifty years, died at Lexington, Mass., on Nov. 15 last. . — Our Vienna correspondent writes us, ‘‘ 1 was recently present at the trials made with a new pistol invented by Mr. Marcus, a distinguished mechanical engineer. In this invention the use of a cartridge is dispensed with, the bullet itself being prepared with an explosive. But, in spite of this explosive nature of the bullet, its shape is not altered by the explosion. The explosion is initiated by a simple mechanism provided in the interior of the pistol. The experiments were made with a single-barrel pistolet (the barrel be- ing four centimetres long, and its caliber six mil- limetres). At a range of thirty paces a three- quarter-inch thick wooden board was pierced by JANUARY 7, 1887.] the bullet. Then a pistol with a simple-acting magazine, containing twelve bullets, was tried, allowing to give off forty shots per minute.” — Baltimore is about to build a crematory mod- elled after that of Buffalo. — From the Medical and surgical reporter we learn, that, among the recruits recognized as un- fit for military service in Switzerland in 1885, were 66 per cent of the tobacco-workers, 67 per cent of the basket-makers, 60 per cent of the tailors, 25 per cent of the butchers, and 25 per cent of the stonemasons and carpenters. Of 6,154 recruits in canton Berne, 1,833 were re- fused ; of these, 581 suffered from goitre, and 162 from flat-foot. — The Abbé Laflamme, of the University La- val, Quebec, has presented a note to the Royal society of Canada (‘ Memoirs,’ 1886) on the con- tact of the paleozoic and archean formations in his province. Numerous exposures were exam- ined, and in nearly all of them the Trenton lime- stone was found resting immediately on the clean, firm, rather smooth surface of the gneiss, without transitional deposits. Fragments of the crystal- line rocks in the stratified are seldom found. The limestone beds follow the irregularities of their foundation, mantling over the mounds, and de- scending into the hollows. At certain points a sandstone lies on the crystallines: this is regarded as a time-equivalent of the Trenton, owing its composition to local geographic control not felt elsewhere. The change from the Trenton lime- stone to the overlying Utica slates is described as abrupt, without traces of gradual transition. — The Franklin institute of Philadelphia has recently determined to attempt the formation of a state weather-service for Pennsylvania on the plan generally pursued by these organizations. The offer of the chief signal officer to furnish a member of the signal corps to assist in the work is accepted, and the legislature is to be petitioned for an appropriation of three thousand dollars for instruments and publications. The chairman of the committee in charge of the matter is Mr. W. P. Tatham, who should be addressed, in care of ' the Franklin institute, Philadelphia, by volunteer observers in Pennsylvania qualified for the work proposed. — An account of the hurricane of March 3 and 4, 1886. over the Fiji Islands, was read at a recent meeting of the Royal meteorological society in London, by Mr. R. L. Holmes. This storm was the most destructive that has ever been known to occur in the Fiji group. The lowest barometer reading was 27.54 inches at Vuna, in Taviuni. SCIENCE. 30 The storm was accompanied by a great wave from 18 to 30 feet in height, which swept over the land, and caused an immense amount of damage. It was reported that 50 vessels were wrecked, and 64 lives lost, during this hurricane. — The state board of health of Pennsylvania has issued its first annual report. It includes re- ports on the pollution of the Schuylkill River, the sanitary condition of Harrisburg, a detailed ac- count of the typhoid-fever epidemic at Plymouth. In this famous epidemic there were 1,153 cases of sickness, with 114 deaths, and an expense of $97,- 120.25. A description of the disinfection appara- tus employed at the municipal hospital of Phila- delphia is also given. — The ninth biennial report of the state board of health of California has just been issued. For the year ending June 30, 1885, there were 8,238 deaths recorded in the state : 1,227 deaths occurred from consumption. The rate from this cause is but little less than that of Massachusetts. — The state board of health of Massachusetts has issued a manual containing the statutes of that state relating to the public health, and the decisions of the supreme court relating to the same. —A wood-turner of San Francisco died ten days after receiving an injury to the brain which was not discovered until several days afterward. While at work at his trade, a steel chisel became detached from a grooving-machine, and struck him in the head, producing a fracture of the bones of the nose, and severely injuring the left eye, so seriously as to destroy that organ and necessitate its removal. After the removal of the eye, the surgeons found behind it a piece of steel three and a half inches long, one inch wide at the centre, and tapering to sharp points at the ends. One end was buried one inch and a half in the brain. The velocity and force with which this chisel must have entered the brain may be im- agined when it is stated that the drum to which it was attached was making twenty-three hundred revolutions a minute. —A correspondent of the Medical press writes from Berlin that the toxic qualities of the cholera bacillus have been investigated by Professor Can- tani of Naples. He claims that the poison may be due to ptomaines, to the secretions of the bacilli, or to the bacilli themselves. Experiments made on dogs lead him to incline toward the last theory. Pure cholera cultures in beef-tea steril- ized by heating to 100° C., injected into the dog's peritoneum, produced all the symptoms of cholera- poisoning ; while pure beef-tea, injected in the 12 re SCIENCE. same manner, left the animals in perfect health. This certainly would demonstrate toxic qualities for the dead bacilli when absorbed by the living body. —Dr. McEachran, live-stock inspector for Can- ada, is opposed to the inoculation of cattle for the prevention of pleuro-pneumonia. He believes, that, in every country in the world where it has been impartially tried and reported on, the report has been unfavorable. He regards it as a danger- ous operation, and not warranted by any known benefits. Many die from the operation itself, and wherever it is practised it has to be kept up. Thus in Scotland, where inoculation is practised, there is a constant supply of the Virus; and the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh are active centres of the disease. —The recently held meeting of the French congress of surgeons was a very notable one. M. Ollier of Lyons, well known for his experiments in bone-grafting, presided at the meeting, which was attended by many of the most eminent sur- geons of France, as well as by other men of note, amoung whom were the president of the senate and the rector of the university. The most interesting discussion was that in regard to tetanus, or, as it is commonly called, lockjaw. It was opened by M. Vaslin of Angers. He regards it as a purely nervous disease, and, in support of his views, nar- rated a case which had come under his own ob- servation, in which the disease was due solely to emotional causes, and which was cured by chloral and morphine. Professor Balestreri of Genoa concurred with M. Vaslin, and related several cases which he had treated, and which were suc- cessful. Professor Thirier of Brussels, on the other hand, believed tetanus to be contagious and of a parasitic nature. M. Mannoury of Chartres denied its contagiousness,.and said, that, after conferring with a good many veterinarians, he was unable to learn of a single case in which the disease was communicated from one animal toan- other. Professor Verneuil of Paris is a firm be- liever in the contagiousness of tetanus, and thinks that it can be contracted by man from the horse. He said that human beings are often attacked with tetanus when living with or near animals affected with the disease, and that it often follows horse- bites. Wounds which have in any way come in contact with earth or straw soiled by horses are more liable to be accompanied by tetanus than others; and the disease is most frequent among stable-boys, horse-dealers, and, in general, those whose duties bring them in contact with horses. Notwithstanding all these arguments, it was gen- erally admitted that all attempts to convey the [Vou. IX., No. 205 disease experimentally from an affected animal to a healthy one had failed. M. Blanc of Bom- bay thought the disease to be contagious, and communicated sometimes through infected water. Interesting papers were read on bone-grafting, and the uniting of divided nerves by suturing. The author of the latter paper believed that severed nerves may be made to unite in a few hours. — The sermons and autobiography of Mark Pattison, late master of Lincoln college, Oxford, excited such general interest, that arrangements are making to publish a volume of selections from Mr. Pattison’s miscellaneous writings. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. *,*Corresyondents are requested to be as brief as possible. The writer's name is in all cases required as proof of good faith. . Polarization of resistance coils. In August last Professor Mendenhall, in conversa- tion with the writer, alluded to his observation of the polarization of certain resistance coils, and sug- gested an examination of the coils in this laboratory. The examination was made, and the results stated in remarks upon Professor Mendenhall’s paper at the Buffalo meeting of the American association. A brief account may not be without interest and value. The idea entertained by Professor Mendenhall at the time seemed to be that the polarization was of a ‘statical’ nature; the deflection obtained on connect- ing the coil, through which a current had been passed, with a galvanometer, being produced by the ‘residual charge.’ The examination of our coils was undertaken with the same idea, the ‘condenser dis- charge’ method being made use of, substituting the coil under trial for the condenser. The galvanometer was a 6,000 ohm astatic Thomson, by Elliott Brothers, its needle making a vibration in about ten seconds. A Fuller cell and Sabine discharge key were used. Polarization was found in every coil inthe laboratory, except in a standard B.A. unit from Elliott Brothers. It was also found in a Hartmann box loaned for ex- amination by Messrs. Queen & Co. The effect was found to vary widely in different coils in the same box, particularly so in a box of 100,000 units from Elliott’s, whose 40,000 coil gave 40 degrees deflection against 6 or 7 degrees for any other coil in the box. On opening the box, it was found that the 40,000 coil had been heated till the paraffine had melted and some of it had run off, while the other coils were well covered, as usual in Elliott coils. The Hartmann box, whose coils were not paraffined, showed the effect more strongly than any except the 40,000 Elliott. It was observed that the coil terminal connected to the positive pole of the battery in charging, was itself positive in discharging; that reversing the battery reversed the discharge deflection ; that the deflection was not momentary, as with condensers, but that it indicated a steady current, diminishing slowly, but not ceasing in some instances after eight or ten hours ; that when the coil was charged by battery for several minutes, and then the current reversed and allowed to flow a few minutes longer, the discharge current was at first due to the last charging current, but after a time it ceased, and was followed by another JANUARY 7, 1887.] discharge current due to the first charging. An ex- perimental coil was then made up of 1,800 ohms of wire haying unparaffiined cotton insulation. It was wound on a warm rainy day, and tested immediately, showing the strongest polarization found, driving the spot of light violently off the scale. The coil was then baked in a hot-air oven at 150° C. for an hour, and tested again when cool. No trace of polariza- tion could then be found, though the charging cur- rent was increased. The previous observations of course indicated electrolytic polarization as the dis- turbing cause ; and the last showed, that, in the case of that coil, it was electrolysts of water absorbed from the air by the cotton insulation. The experi- mental coil was then heated, and soaked well with pure paraffine, and drained while hot until it seemed to be as nearly as possible in the same condition as the 40,000 Elliott coil, and tested when cool. No trace of polarization was shown. It was then put aside in the instrument case to see whether it could still absorb water enough to polarize. Ten days later, just after the Buffalo meeting, the coil was tested again and polarized strongly. On heating it again, the polarization entirely disappeared. A drop of hydrant water placed on the coil caused polariza- tion to re-appear in five seconds, and in five minutes the effect was so strong as to drive the needle to its ~ stops. The degree of error in measurement resulting from polarization was not examined, but Professor Men- denhall’s statements show that it may be a consider- able quantity. It is obvious that unparaffined coils are, on this ac- count, unsuited to the best work; also that coils well paraffined (as in the B.A. unit coil) or coils freshly baked and paraftined are free from such error. The paraffining of ordinary coils, even when as thoroughly done as by the Elliotts, is not a perma- nent protection, probably because of cracking of the mass of paraffine, allowing vapor to reach the wire and insulation. A test will quickly determine the condition of any particular coil. A box might be made proof against polarization by filling entirely the space about the freshly baked coils with pure paraffine, just warm enoughtoflowfreely. Tempera- ture difficulties could be in part overcome by thermo- junctions, as in standards. Another and on some accounts better plan would be to mount the coils in an impervious box with liquid-tight joints, and fill- ing the interior with a petroleum oil, which may readily be found in market, of such quality as to exhibit no polarization. With such a box, there need be no uncertainty as to the temperature of the coils. Bens. F. THomas. Columbus, O., Dec. 27. Atmospheric lines in the solar spectrum. The ingenious device recently published by Mr. Conner, for detecting the lines in the solar spectrum due to the earth’s atmosphere, recalls a similar plan proposed by the writer some years ago. In a letter dated Feb. 21, 1883, I wrote to Professor Rowland, ‘‘T hope that you will try the experiment of which I spoke to you last summer, — forming two images of the sun, and photographing the spectra of the oppo- site limbs. A glance would serve to distinguish the solar from the telluric lines.” An accompanying sketch showed that a double-image prism was to be placed between the slit and a lens forming an image SCIHNCE. 13 of the sun upon it. This prism was to be moved until the two images were in contact. The east and west limbs were thus brought together, and the slit was placed at right angles to their line of junction, In the photograph, telluric lines should cross the spectrum undeviated, while solar lines would be bent in opposite directions where they crossed the line of separation of the two spectra. The advantages of this method over that of Mr. Conner are, first, its simplicity, as it is easily tried by any one who has a spectroscope giving asufficient diffusion ; secondly, the solar lines, instead of becoming hazy, continue well defined. For these reasons I call attention to the matter, and not to detract from the credit due to the eminent French physicist, who has preceded me both in trying and publishing a solution of this very important problem. Epwarp C. PICKERING. Harvard coll. observ., Jan. 1, 1887. A brilliant meteor. On Jan. 3, 1887, at 5.15 p.m., I observed a meteor of unusual brilliancy. It started, as nearly as I could make out, from the constellation Ursa Minor, pos- sibly a little higher up, moving with a rapid rush and brilliant light in an easterly direction. As it neared the horizon, its speed apparently diminished, until it disappeared behind some trees. It was visi- ble fully thirty seconds, and, during the last part of its flight, appeared to float slowly downwards. A trail of considerable length was drawn behind, giving it the appearance of a large rocket. Its flight was unattended by any sound. R. W. Woop, Jr. Jamaica Plain, Mass. What was the rose of Sharonp I notice in your issue of Dec. 31 an article on the rose of Sharon. Without desiring to enter into the discussion of this subject, I wish to refer those in- terested to a few words upon this subject by an emi- nent investigator. Speaking of that part of the pleistocene plain near Jaffa, bordering the Mediter- ranean Sea, Sir J. W. Dawson, in his recent work on ‘Egypt and Syria,’ says, ‘‘In February we found it gay with the beautiful crimson anemone (A. coro- naria), which we were quite willing to accept as the ‘rose of Sharon,’ while a little yellowish-white iris, of more modest appearance, growing along with it, represented the ‘lily-of-the-valley’ of Solomon’s song.” From this would it not be reasonable to in- fer that this anemone is quite generally recognized as the ‘rose of Sharon’? Amos W. BUTLER. Brookville, Ind., Jan. 3, 1887. Electrical phenomena on a mountain. In confirmation of the observations of M. F. (Science, viii. p. 564) in relation to electrical phe- nomena on Lone Mountain, near Bozeman, I beg leave to call attention to the fact that more than twelve years ago Mr. Franklin Rhoda, assistant topographer, in his ‘Report on the topography of the San Juan country’ (vide F. V. Hayden’s Report of U.S. geolo- gical and geographical survey of the territories for the year 1874, pp. 456-458, also p. 461), gives a detailed and graphic account of similar electrical manifestations experienced by Mr. A. D. Wilson and 1t SCIENCE. himself at station No. 12, on one of the peaks of the San Juan Mountains, in August, 1874, at an altitude of 13,967 feet above the level of the sea. An interesting and significant circumstance recorded by Mr. Rhoda was the fact that there was a sudden and instantaneous cessation of the distressing electri- cal manifestations whenever a stroke of lightning took place, to be speedily renewed by the returning tension of the electricity. He says, ‘‘ The sharp points of the hundred stones about us each emitted a continuous sound, while the instrument outsang every thing else, and, even at this high elevation, could be heard distinctly at the distance of fifty yards. The points of the angular stones being of different degrees of sharpness, each produced a sound peculiar to itself. The general effect of all was as if a heavy breeze were blowing across the mountain. The air was quite still, so that the wind could have played no part in this strange natural concert, nor was the in- tervention of a mythological Orpheus necessary to give to these trachytic stones a voice.” JOHN LECONTE. Berkeley, Cal., Déc. 25. Stereoscopic vision. In reply to the inquiry of Mr. W. H. Pratt in the last issue of Science, it is necessary only to consider the various elements which are combined in the formation of a visual judgment. If an observer, who possesses but a single eye, looks out upon a landscape, the relative distance of the different ob- jects viewed may be roughly estimated in terms of some standard arbitrarily chosen, so long as they are not precisely aligned with his eye. The judgment is less accurate as the angular separation of the ob- jects becomes less, and as there are fewer of them at moderate distances for comparison with the rest. Always, and usually unconsciously, he employs one or more of the following elements in judging the distance and form of each object regarded : — I. Near objects subtend larger visual angles than remote objects of equal size. II. Near objects are seen more distinctly than those that are remote. The illusion of distance may hence be produced by decreasing the brightness of the object viewed, by changing the nature of the medium, or by increasing the contrast between light and shade. III. Near objects that are almost aligned with those which are remote, often partly cover them. Covering objects are judged nearer than those covered. IV. Familiarity with the dimensions of known ob- jects when near enables us to compare them when remote, and thereby judge their relative distance. V. By moving from one stand-point to another, and comparing the new view with what is retained in memory of the previous one, parallax of motion thus contributes to the formation of a judgment of both distance and form. All of these elements may be imitated in pictures, except the last. In the examination of ordinary stereo- graphs they are combined with the important element of binocular perspective, and to such an extent that it is impossible to know just how much we are indebted to binocular perspective for the illusion of apparent relief. Skeleton diagrams, properly constructed, are hence the only means of studying stereoscopic [Vou. IX., No. 205 vision, if this term be taken as a synonyme of binoc- ular vision. If Mr. Pratt will try his method with an outline drawing, it will fail. In regarding an ordinary painting, binocular vision is often a hinderance, rather than an aid, in appreci- ating perspective. It is at least important to cut off from view the objects surrounding the picture, which we involuntarily take into comparison with it. In the application of geometry to perspective, a single point of view (station-point) is always assumed, and in examining the result the observer should place a single eye as nearly as possible at the same station- point to attain the best perspective illusion. The other eye must be closed, if he wishes to exclude the interfering element of binocular vision which will at once be unconsciously applied to the card or canvas on which the picture has been made. It is by the observance of these precautions that Mr. Pratt has been able to appreciate perspective in the pictures examined, but true stereoscopic vision was excluded instead of being attained by what he may have supposed to be a new method. W. LeContEe STEVENS. Brooklyn, Jan. 1, 1887. Star rays. Mr. Randolph will find the phenomenon of the long vertical rays or streamers proceeding from a strongly luminous point described and fully ex- plained in my little volume entitled ‘ Sight,’ pp. 87- 89. They are produced, not by reflection from the eyelashes, as he supposes, but by refraction of light passing through the meniscus of moisture between the lid and the cornea, and are therefore more dis- tinct when the lids are brought near together. I had investigated the phenomenon and ascertained its cause before I was aware of the very brief mention of it in Daguin’s ‘ Traité de physique,’ vol. iv. p. 323. The radiating points about a star are more difficult to explain. They are probably due to some pecul- iarity in the structure of the crystalline lens. JOSEPH LECONTE. Berkeley, Cal., Dec. 25. A German sentence. In your current number you give an example of a German sentence. In Teutonicity it can hardly com- pete with the following extract from an advertise- ment of a well-known periodical: ‘‘ Als eines der vorziglichsten Weihnachtsgeschenke miissen die ele- gant gebundenen Quartalsbande der Deutschen Rundschau herausgegeben von Julius Rodenberg Preis pro Band in elegantem, rothem Originallein- wandband mit Schwarz und Golddruck 8 Mark be- zeichnet werden.” N. Washington, Jan. 3, 1887. Pleuro-pneumonia. It may not be worth while to call attention to two slight mistakes in the printing of my communication on p. 631 (viii. No. 204). The ‘meplis’ should be ‘ Mehlis,’ the author of micrurus; and the ‘U.S. fish commission’ on the first line of second column should be ‘U.S. entomological commission.’ C. V. Riney. Washington, D.C., Jan. 3, 1887. Calendar of Societies. Anthropological society, Washington. Dec. 21.— C. KE. Dutton, Mr. ‘ Progress and poverty.’ Henry George’s Engineers’ club, Philadelphia. Dec. 18. —— Kenneth Allen, A table of thicknesses of plates for standpipes, with formulae, for the refer- ence-book; L. M. Haupt, Results of some calcula- tions upon the equilibrium and stability of his sys- tem of floating deflectors; A. H. Howland, Stand- pipes; J. H. Harden, Notes upon the Chester county, Penn., granite. Society of arts, Boston. Dec. 23. — HK. C. Pickering, Stellar photography. Society of natural history, Boston. Jan. 5. —F. W. Putnam, Explorations in the Little Miami valley, Ohio. Indiana academy of science, Indianapolis. Dec. 29, 30. — D.S. Jordan, The dispersion of fresh- water fishes; J. N. Rose, The mildews of Indiana; C. R. Barns, The moss leaf; S. Coulter, The chloro- phyl bands of Spirogyra; Lillie J. Martin, Outline of a course in science study based on evolution; Geo. H——, Additions to the flora of Jefferson county ; J. M. Coulter, Origin of the Indiana flora ; EH. R. Quick, Our blind mice; A. W. Butler, Notes on the house-building habit of the muskrat; O. P. Hay, A curious habit of the red-headed woodpecker ; A. W. Butler, Notes on Indiana ornithology ; B. W. Evermann, Notes on birds observed in Carroll county,, Ind.; O. P. Hay, The higher classification of the amphibia; Some reptiles and amphibians that appear to be rare in Indiana; Some reptiles and amphibians that are to be looked for in Indiana; Notes on the winter habits of Amblystoma tigrinum and A. micro- stoma; C. H. Higenmann and Elizabeth G. Hughes, Review of Diplodon and Lagodon; C. H. Eigenmann and Jennie Horning, Review of American Chaetodon- tidae; O. P. Jenkins, The fishes of the Wabash and some of its tributaries; D. S. Jordan, The relation of latitude to the number of vertebrae in fishes; S. E. Meek, EHlagatis pinnulatus at the eastern end of Long Island; H. L. Osborn, Osphradium in Crep- idula; C. H. Bollman, Notes on the Acrididae of Bloomington, Ind., with descriptions of four new species; Jerome McNeill, A remarkable case of longevity in the longicorn beetle, Eburia quadri- geminata Say ; F. M. Webster, Some biological studies of Lixus macer Say, and L. concavus Lee; J. Mc- Neill, Descriptions of four new species of myriapods from the United States; C. H. Bollman, New North American myriapods, chiefly from Bloomington, Ind.; R. F. Hight, On the Thysanura; J. McNeill, The ‘teaching of entomology in the high schools ; J. L. Campbell, The geodetic survey in Indiana; T. C. Mendenhall, Recent progress in seismology; J. C. Branner, An Indiana earthquake; A.J. Phinney, Natural gas and petroleum; D. W. Dennis, The bearing of the Lebanon beds on evolution ; J. T. Scovell, The geology of Vigo county, Ind.: A. J. Phinney, Zoantharia rugosa; V. C. Alderson, Town geology, what it is, and what it might be; i H. Means and J. C. Branner, Preliminary location of a parting in the sub-carboniferous of Monroe county, Ind.. W. P. Shannon, The physical geography of Decatur county, Ind. , during the Niagara period; J. T. Scovell, The Niagara River; C. R. Dryer, The surface geology of the Wabash-Erie divide; O. P. Hay, The manner of deposit of the glacial drift, and the formation of lakes; J. C. Branner, The limit of the drift in Kentucky and Indiana ; The deep well at Bloomington, Ind.; Daniel Kirkwood, The zone of minor planets; H. W. Wiley, Causes of variation of sucrose in sorghum ; P. H. Baker, The new alkaloid, cocaine; A. B. Woodford, The nation, the subject- matter of political science. Engineers’ club, St. Louis. Dec. 21.— Announcement of the death of Col. C. Shaler Smith. Wisconsin academy of sciences, arts, and letters. Dec. 28-29. — R. D. Irving, The basal conglomo- rate of the Huronian; R. D. Salisbury, Constitution of the residuary clays; T. C. Chamberlin, Glacial phenomena about the head of Lake Michigan ; I. M. Buell, Bowlder trains of Dodge, Dane, and Rock counties; F. B. Power, Disinfection; P. R. Hoy, Science and society; W.F. Allen, The genesis of the town; John Bascom, Limitations of political econo- my; J. J. Blaisdell, The methods of science. Publications received at Editor’s Office, Dec. 20-25, Brinton, D.G_ The conception of love in some American languages, Philadelphia, WcCalla & Stavely, pr., 1886. 18 p. ° Brownell, H. Handbook for school trustees in the state of New York. Syracuse, C. W. Bardeen, 1886. 4464p. 16°. Comfort, G. F. Modern languages. in education. Syracuse, INE Ge W. Bardeen, 1886. 40 p. 16°. Education, circulars of information of the bureau of. No. 1, 1886: The study of music in public schools. Washington, Government, 1886. 78p. 8°. Heberden, C. B. Euripides Medea. Partsi., ii. (Clarendon pr. ser.) Oxford, Clarendon pr., 1886. 80+59 p. 16°. (New York, Macmillan, 50 cents.) Illinois state board of health, report of proceedings of the. Springfield, State, 1886, 16p. 12° Sloman, A P. Terenti Adena (Clarendon pr. ser.) Ox- ford, Clarendon pr., 1886. 32+128 p. 16°. (New York, Mac- millan, 75 cents.) Sweet, H. Second middle English primer. Extracts from Chaucer. (Clarendon pr. ser.) Oxford, Clarendon pr., 1886. 6-112 16°. (New York, Macmillan, 50 cents.) Williams, ¢ G. A. Topics and references in American history, Syracuse, N.Y., C. W. Bar- with numerous search questions. deen, 1886. sop. 16°. Advertised Books of Reference. THE STANDARD NATURAL HISTORY. By all the leading American scientists. Edited by J. S. Kingsley, Ph.D. Vol. I. Lower Invertebrates. Vol. II. Crustacea and Insects. Vol. III. Fishes and Reptiles. Vol. IV. Birds. Vol. V. Mam- mals. Vol. VI. Man. 6 vols., nearly 2,500 illustrations and 3,000 pages. Imp. 8vo, cloth, $36.00; half morocco, $48.00. S. E. Cassino & Co. (Bradlee Whidden), Publishers, Boston. 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Correspondent of the Institute of France, Professor of geology in the University of Oxford. In twovols. Vol. 1.: Chemical and Physical. 8vo. $6.25. (Oxford University Press.) Macmillan & Co., Pubs., New York. W. H. WALMSLEY & CO, SUCCESSORS TO R. & J. BECK, 1016 Chestnut Street, Phila. Microscopes and all Acces- soriesand Apparatus. Pho- tographic and Photo-Min- graphic Apparatus and Out- ts. Spectacles, Eye Glasses, Opera and Marine Glasses, etc., etc. Illustrated Price List mailed free to any address. Mention SCIENCE in corresponding with us. ALFRED R. WALLACE, LL.D., England’s eminent Naturalist, is prepared to make lecture engagements during winter and spring in the Eastern and Western States. Apply to THE WILLIAMS LECTURE BUREAU, 258 Washington St., Boston, Mass. To keep abreast with progress in the science of plants read THE Botautcal Gazette, An illustrated journal devoted to botany in all its phases. It represents the high-water mark of Ameri= can botanical thought, containing articles by the lead- ing botanical writers, editorial comments, critiques on current literature, home and foreign news, $2 PER YEAR EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS. JOHN M. COWLTER, Ph.D., Crawfordsville, Ind. CHARLES R. BARNES, Ph.D., Lafayette, Ind. J. C. ARTHUR, Sc.D., Geneva, N. Y. NM. B. By special arrangement with the Publishers of the BOTANICAL GAZETTE, the Publishers of SCIENCE well send SCIENCE and the BOTANICAL GAZETTE Zo the same address for one year for $6.25. Orders to be sent to the Publishers of SCIENCE. BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. WALKER PRIZES. 1887. Original investigations in Lithology. 1888. Original investigations in Physiology. First Prize, $60 to $100. Second Prize, $50. Essays must be offered before April 1 of the corre- sponding year. For farther particulars apply to EDWARD BURGESS, Secretary. PSYCHICAL RESEARCH. Every person interested in this subject should read the January number of the PopuLar Sci—ENcz News which contains a most valuable and important essay upon psychical phenomena entitled ‘“WHAT OF GHOSTS”’ written by Dr. R. Nichols, who has given much attention to this subject for many years. Price 10 cents, or the paper will be sent till January, 1888, upon receipt of one dollar, the regular subscription price. Address POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS CO., 19 Pearl St., Boston, Mass. Choice Farm Loans Ne- P © t gotiated by the Potter er en. e County Bank, Gettys- burg, Dakota. E. S. ORMSBY, Pres., J. R. HUGHES, Cashier. PENCE SUPPLEMENT. FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 1887. TAXATION OF PERSONAL PROPERTY IN FRANCE, GERMANY, AND THE UNITED STATES. WHEN Lord Rosebery was in Mr. Gladstone’s cabinet as secretary for foreign affairs, he insti- tuted some investigations through his diplomatic and consular officers that resemble closely those carried on by our consuls during the past decade in accordance with the system inaugurated by Secretary Evarts. One of Lord Rosebery’s in- vestigations had reference to the system under which personal property is brought into contribu- tion for local or national purposes, and was under- taken by the British ministers at Paris, Berlin, and Washington. The returns have recently been embodied in a parliamentary paper, and present many points of interest. In France there are four heads of direct taxes, — the real-property tax (contribution fonciére), the door-and-window tax, the personal-property tax (contribution per- sonnelle et mobiliére), and the tax on professions. The total amounts to be obtained from the first three taxes are first fixed by the budget, and are then divided and subdivided between the depart- ments, arrondissements, and communes, until finally the share of each tax-payer is decided on. The contribution personnelle et mobiliére is of two kinds. The first is a poll-tax of what is considered equivalent to three days of labor, and is payable by every Frenchman in France, and every foreigner of either sex who is not reputed in- digent, and who is in possession of his or her ‘rights.’ The minimum of this tax is 1 franc 50 centimes, and the maximum 4 francs 50 centimes. The second form of personal tax is laid on all those liable to the poll-tax, and is proportioned to the letting price of the house or apartment each may inhabit. The assessors are the mayor of the commune and his adjoimt or adjoints, and five citizens, termed répartiteurs, named by the head of the arrondissement, and changed annually. An _ elaborate system of councils provides for the assessment, collection, and payment of these taxes. Besides these main state taxes, there are so many centimes additionnels. These are of three kinds, — généraux, when for the exigencies of the state ; départementaux, when for the departmental administration ; communaux, when for the com- munal administration. A special category of cen- times additionnels is also provided, the returns from which are granted to the ministry of agriculture or finance for special emergencies, such as the abatement or return of taxation to persons or dis- tricts which have suffered from floods, fire, hail, etc. The tax on professions or trades (patentes) is also a personal tax, but its amount cannot, like the other three, be fixed beforehand. There is an official scale according to which each industry or profession is taxed; and the administrator of direct taxes determines the schedule into which each tax-payer shall be placed, and settles the droit fixe and the droit proportionnel. The droit fixe is based on the population and the nature of the trade or profession. The droit proportionnel is fixed according to the annual rental of the buildings or premises used for the exercise of the trade, industry, or profession. This contribution des patentes is due by every Frenchman or foreigner who exercises a trade, industry, or pro- fession not included in the exceptions made by law. Mr. Edgerton, who has prepared the paper on personal taxation in France, remarks that the general tendency of late changes in the scale of this tax has been to abate the amounts paid by the smaller industries, and to increase those paid by the larger ones. For example: in 1880 the fixed patentes on bankers. was increased from 1,000 to 2,000 francs. The return for Germany in answer to Lord Rosebery’s circular applies to Prussia only, as no direct taxes are levied for the account of the im- perial government. But Prussia serves as a type of all the other German states, since their system and method of assessment are modelled on hers. In Prussia all communes not having sufficient independent revenue to cover their local require- ments may raise such necessary revenues, either by surtaxes (zuschldige) based on the rates of cer- tain specified state direct taxes, or by special sanc- tion from the state to impose special taxes, direct or indirect. The former alternative is the one usually chosen by such communes as have not an independent revenue from real property. The wealthiest communes dispense with these sur- taxes altogether, while in the poorer communes the surtax is as high as 300 or 400 per cent of the state tax. The state taxes, which serve as the basis of computation for these surtaxes, are : — (a) Personal: I. Class tax on personal net annual incomes under 3,000 marks ; II. Classified income 16 tax on annual net incomes above 3,000 marks; Til. Trading tax. (6) On real property: IV. Ground tax; V. House tax. Under I. were put, in twelve classes, the in- comes above 420 and under 3,000 marks; and the annual tax is from 3 to 72 marks, incomes under 420 marks being exempt. By a law passed in 1883, all incomes under 900 marks were exempted, and the remaining classes relieved from one-fourth of their tax ; the instal- ments due in July, August, and September of each year being remitted. Under II. are put the incomes over 3,000 marks; and they fall into forty classes, the tax ranging from 90 to 21,600 marks, the latter on an income from 720,000 to 780,000 marks. The pay of persons in the standing army is exempt from state taxation, and has only this year been made liable to local taxation. In assessing the com- munal surtaxes, only half the salary of govern- ment officials is taken into account. An annual net income is construed to be the net income de- rived from all descriptions of property and occu- pations after deducting interest paid on proved debts, amounts paid in other taxes, and costs of production. Deductions are also allowed in spe- cial cases where the tax-payer has a large family to support. The assessment of this class tax is in- trusted to a board composed of the president of the commune and of members elected by the communal representative body, all classes of tax- payers being represented as far as possible. Each tax-payer is duly notified of the class in which he is placed, and opportunity is offered him for pro- test or application for deduction. The system of assessing III., the trade tax, is quite complicated. Persons liable to this tax are distributed into classes, ranging from large trades down to hackmen. The individual assessment is thus determined : each class, except the highest, is subdivided into four sections, and a medium rate is fixed for each section in each class. This medium rate, multiplied by the number of persons liable for taxation in the first’three sections of each class in the case of towns, and in the fourth sec- tion in the case of a Kreis or circumscription, rep- resents the total annual amount of the tax for which the town or Kreis is liable, and which it has to collect for the state. If the medium rate falls too heavily on any members of a class, they are assessed less, and the rate is raised for those mem- bers of the same class who are better able to pay. Steamers pay an annual tax of 0.75 of a mark for every horse-power ; and carriers by land, with two horses and upwards, pay an annual tax of 3 marks for each horse. The report on the United States is prepared by SCIENCE. [Vou, 1X., No. 205 Mr. Helyar, second secretary of legation at Wash- ington, and is based on the works of Burroughs and Cooley, and on some details gathered by Mr. EK. J. Reinck of the U. S. treasury. A HAIRY HUMAN FAMILY. THE superabundance of hair in certain mem- bers of the human family is one of the impor- tant problems of anthropology. Dr. Eckernamed this phenomenon ‘hypertrichosis’ (‘On the pilous system and its anomalies,’ analyzed in Revue d’an- thropologie, 1880, p. 170). In Ecker’s third class, or ‘ dog-men,’ are included those subjects in which the hypertrichosis is general. In 1879 two Rus- sians, father and son, were exhibited in Paris, who were good examples of this anomaly. The case of Barbara Ursler, reported in 1639-56, is re- viewed by Dr. Ecker, with an illustration, in Archiv fir anthropologie, xi. 1879, p. 176 (see also Globus, xxxiii. 1878, Nos. 12 and 14; and Stricker, ‘ Ueber die sogenannten Haavmenschen, Frankfurt-a.-M.,’ 1877, p. 97; Bernhard Ornstein, in Archiv fiir anthropologie, xvi. pp. 505-510; Dr. O. Fraas, Archiv, xiv. 1883, pp. 339-342 ; Mme. Clemence Royer, ‘Sur le systéme pileux,’ Revue WVanthropologie, 1880, pp. 13-26). Adrien Teftichew, of the government of Kos- troma, Russia, mentioned above, was, at the time of his exhibition in Paris, fifty-five years old. It was from his appearance that this type received the name of ‘dog-men.’ His forehead, cheeks, eyelids, ears, and nose were covered with long, smooth hair. The neck, body, and extremities were covered with hair, but not so long as that upon the face. The son Theodore did not differ materially in this respect from his father. The Birman family, as described by Ecker, con- sisted of Schwé-Maong, thirty years old, his daughter Maphoon and her two sons, —three generations presenting this anomaly. Moreover, the lower jaw of Schwé-Maong had only four in- cisors and: the left canine ; the upper jaw, only four.teeth ; the molars are entirely wanting, their place being filled by fleshy gutters on the gums. Even the alveolar processes are supposed to be absent. Schweé-Maong affirms that he never lost any teeth, and that the eruption of his permanent teeth did not take place until he was twenty years. old. Maphoon also lacks canines and molars, whose places are supplied by the fleshy gutters. with which she does her masticating. Dr. Ecker further describes the famous Mexican danseuse, Julie Pastrana, and a child named Possassi, of Hufeland, described by Dr. Beverne in 1802. JAnuaRy 7, 1887.] It is well known that at seven months the human foetus is entirely covered with hair. These hairs traverse the skin obliquely, and con- tinue to increase slowly until they attain from a quarter to half an inch in length, when they are replaced by the small persistent hairs. The infant comes into the world covered with embryonal hair. The dog-men are covered with a woolly or silky hair, presenting embryonal characters. Both Ecker and his reviewer, Dr. Vars, agree that general hypertrichosis is simply an arrest of de- velopment ; that is to say, the down, instead of being replaced by hair, persists and continues to develop. I had not heard of the transfer of the Birman family to England until I read the newspaper re- port recently. There is no reason to discredit the account, proper allowance being made for enthu- siastic hyperbole. O. T. Mason. - CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. In a paper recently read before the Philadel- phia county medical society, Dr. Arthur V. Meigs takes the ground that scarlet-fever is very much less contagious than is commonly supposed ; much less, in fact, than measles and whooping-cough ; and in proof of his opinion, he cites the fact, that, while it is the rule for measles and whooping- cough to affect all the children in a household, scarlet-fever usually limits its attack to one or two, even though there may be others who have never had the disease, and are therefore presuma- _ bly susceptible. There is one point which the au- thor of the paper does not, it seems to us, lay suf- ficient stress upon ; and that is, that, while parents dread scarlet-fever, they have but little fear of measles or whooping-cough, and, being influenced by that popular impression that all children must at some time of their lives have these latter dis- eases, they take no pains to isolate the sick from the well, as they do if the disease be scarlet-fever. The writer could give repeated instances where the most rigid isolation was practised in cases of measles, in which but one member of a family was attacked, though there were a number of others who were presumably susceptible. Until, therefore, the same scrupulous care is taken to separate the affected child from the unaffected in measles as is done in scarlet-fever, we shall hesi- tate to accept the conclusion that scarlet-fever is much less contagious than measles. This will probably never be done until parents are taught that measles is not a trivial disease, but is, in fact, many times a most serious one. In England the number of deaths in five years from measles was 42,139 ; in Brooklyn in ten years 1,012 children SCIENCE. 17 died from this cause ; and in New York during the week ending Dec. 4, 42 deaths from it are re- corded. This takes no account of the countless number that are left with impaired constitutions and lung diseases, and who, within a very short time after this attack of measles, appear in the mortality statistics as victims to bronchitis or pneumonia. And the same may be said of whoop- ing-cough, —a disease which, in the period 1875— 79, caused in England alone 66,730 deaths. SYNECHDOCHICAL MAGIC. ALL students of anthropology are familiar with the belief among lower peoples that what is done to a part of a person or to his property is done to him. ‘These people all dread to have the smallest part of their bodies or their intimate possessions go from them. It has always seemed to me to need further explanation, a more simple and com- monplace solution. This is given in Mr. A. W. Howitt’s paper in the August number of the Journal of the An- thropological institute. I quote his language : — ‘Connected with the throwing of magical sub- stances in an invisible form is the belief that they can be caused to enter the body of a victim by burying them in his footsteps, or even in the mark made in the ground by his reciining body. Sharp fragments of quartz, glass, bone, charcoal, are thus used, and rheumatic affections are fre- quently attributed to them. <“‘ Another form of this belief is seen in the practice of putting the jagged cone of the Casua- rina quadrivalvis into a man’s fire, so that the smoke may blow into his eyes and cause him to become blind. The idea seems to be that the eidolon of the cone will produce acute ophthal- mia. ‘‘A piece of hair, some of his faeces, a bone picked by him and dropped, a shred of his opos- sum rug, will suffice. Even his saliva may be picked up and used for his destruction.” _ The explanation of all this, which I have long sought, is given in the very words of one of Mr. Howitt’s informers, who said, ‘‘ You see, when a blackfellow doctor gets hold of something belonging to a man and roasts it with things, and sings over it, the fire catches hold of the smell of the man [italics mine], and that settles the poor fellow.” In other words, the smallest part of a man, or of any thing he has touched, will suffice to give the demon his scent. Of course, customs survive millenniums after the cause of their origin is forgotten, and it is scarcely probable that those who carefully burn their waste hair and nails do so to avoid giving 18 SCIENCE. the witches their scent or the means of indentify- ing them. The savage who refuses to allow his picture to be taken, and the felon who objects to having his ‘mug’ adorn the walls of Rogues’s gallery, are not so far apart, if we can bring our minds to identify the devil of the former with the detective of the latter. O. T. MASon. PROFESSOR NEWBERRY ON EARTH- QUAKES. PROFESSOR NEWBERRY’S paper on earthquakes is, in the words of the author, “‘a brief review of what is known and believed in regard to the phenomena and causes of earthquakes by those whose opinions on this subject are most worthy of confidence.” After defining the word ‘earth- quake,’ he proceeds to give a summary of the facts upon which he bases his definition, carefully elaborating and illustrating the subject from the point of view of a cooling and contracting sphere, with a relatively thin crust, and fluid or viscous interior. The latter part of the essay is treated under the headings, ‘ Karthquakes and volcanoes as measures of the thickness of the earth’s crust,’ and ‘Flexibility of the earth’s crust.’ Finally, ‘Proximate causes of earthquakes’ are briefly considered, and a short bibliography is appended. The definition, which is taken as the text, and which is really an epitome of the whole argu- ment, is as follows: ‘‘ An earthquake is a move- ment caused by a shrinking from the loss of heat of the heated interior of the earth, and the crush- ing-together and displacement of the rigid exterior as it accommodates itself to the contracting nu- cleus.” It is then stated that the facts upon which this statement is based are so numerous and significant that the conclusion ‘is not only convincing, but inevitable.’ Although this broad generalization is perhaps applicable in the case of most earthquakes, and the theory as to the struc- ture of the earth which it involves is very gener- ally accepted by geologists, yet, in view of the fact that many eminent scientific men are not prepared to subscribe to it at all, in either case it is to be regretted that the author has not adopted the comprehensive and more non-committal defi- nition given by Mallet, and substantially repeated as follows by Powell (in The forum for Decem- ber): ‘‘ An earthquake is the passage of waves of elastic compression in the crust of the earth.” The very fact that different theories are to be found, even in the very latest utterances of emi- nent authorities, would seem to make it desirable to acknowledge that the subject is not one that Earthquakes. By Prof. J. 8. NEWBERRY. New York, The author, 1886. 8°. ‘[Vou. TX., No. 205 can be disposed of in such an ex cathedra state- ment, but rather one worthy of the most pains- taking study, which, indeed, it is now receiving from the most advanced nations. The further statement that ‘‘earthquakes are neither novel nor mysterious, but are among the most common and simplest of terrestrial phenomena,” is not likely to receive very wide acceptance in its en- tirety, and issue will certainly be taken with Pro- fessor Newberry as to there being any very great degree of unanimity in this opinion among ‘‘ those whose opinions are most worthy of confidence.” Similarly it must be said that far more confi- dence is placed by the author in the various methods of calculating the depth of origin by means of accurate observations as to time and angle of emergence than seems warranted. The problem is so complicated by the great hetero- geneity of the superficial formation of the earth’s crust, that the best observations we can make, give, at best, only roughly approximate results. Again, it is stated that the reported shortening of railroad-tracks in certain places near Charleston, ‘cif verified and measured, would give a clew to the location and extent of the subterranean move- ments which produced the vibrations.” Most authorities, however, will probably regard it, in the case of a shock disturbing so great an area, as an entirely secondary effect, along with the production of local sinks, geysers, and land-slides. This well arranged and condensed réswmé of the subject, from the stand-point of a geologist of Professor Newberry’s reputation, cannot fail to be read with interest by the general reader as well as by the special student. The only criticism that can he made, other than favorable, seems to be that to the average reader it may leave the impression that the causes of all earthquakes, and even the nature of the earth’s interior, are now so well understood as to leave very little room for difference of opinion among those best qualified to judge. EVERETT HAYDEN. PHANTASMS OF THE LIVING. THIS is a most extraordinary work, — fourteen hundred large and closely printed pages by men of the rarest intellectual qualifications, for the purpose of setting on its legs again a belief which the common consent of the ‘enlightened’ has. long ago relegated to the rubbish-heap of old wives’ tales. In any reputable department of science the qualities displayed in these volumes. would be reckoned superlatively good. Untiring zeal in collecting facts, and patience in seeking to Phantasms of the living. By EDMUND GURNEY, FREDERIC W. H. MYERS, and FRANK PODMORE. 2vols. London, 7rub- ner, 1886. 8°. JANUARY 7, 1887.] make them accurate; learning, of the solidest sort, in discussing them ; in theorizing, subtlety and originality, and, above all, fairness, for the work absolutely reeks with candor, — this com- bination of characters is assuredly not found in every bit of so-called, scientific research that is published in our day. The book hardly admits of detailed criticism, so much depends on the minutiae of the special cases reported : so I will give a broad sketch of its contents. The title, ‘Phantasms of the living,’ expresses a theory on which the recorded facts are strong, but of which the latter are of course inde- pendent. The ‘facts’ are instances of what are commonly called ‘apparitions.’ Collected for the Society of psychical research, their sifting and cata- loguing is a laborious piece of work which hasa substantive value, whatever their definitive expla- nation may prove to be. Very roughly speaking, there are reported in the book about seven hun- dred cases of sensorial phantasms which seem vaguely or closely connected with sbme distant contemporaneous event. The event, in about one-half of the cases, was some one’s death. In addition to these cases, Mr. Gurney has collected about six hundred of hallucinations seemingly ir- relevant to any actual event, and thus has cer- tainly a wider material to work upon than any one who has yet studied the subject of phantasms. Of course, the rationalistic way of interpreting the coincidence of so large a number with a death or other event, is to call it chance. Such a large number of ‘veridical’ phantasms occurring by chance would, however, imply an enormous total number of miscellaneous phantasms occurring all the while in the community. Mr. Gurney finds (to take the visual cases alone) that among 5,705 persons, interrogated at random, only 23 visual hallucinations had occurred in the last twelve years. And combining by the calculus of proba- bilities such data as the population drawn upon for the coincidence-cases, the adult population of the country, the number of deaths in the country within twelve years, etc., he comes to the conclu- sion that the odds against the chance occurrence of as many first-hand and well-attested veridical visual phantasms as his collection embraceg, is as _a trillion of trillions of trillions to 1. Of course, the data are extremely rough ; and, in particular, the census of phantasms occurring at large in the community ought to be much wider than it is. But the veridical phantasms have, furthermore, many peculiarities. They are more apt to be visual than auditory. Casual hallucinations are oftener auditory. The person appearing is almost always recognized; not so in casual hallucina- tions. They tend to coincide with a particular SCIENCE. 19 form of outward event, viz., death. These and other features seem to make of them a natural group of phenomena. The next best rationalistic explanation of them is that they are fictions, wilful or innocent; and that Messrs. Gurney, Myers, and Podmore are vic- tims, partly of the tendency to hoax, but mainly of the false memories and mythopoietic instincts of mankind. These possibilities do not escape our authors, but receive ample consideration at their hands. Nothing, in fact, is more striking than the zeal with which they cross-examine the wit- nesses ; nothing more admirable than the labor they spend in testing the accuracy of the stories, so far as can be done by ransacking old newspa- pers for obituaries and the like. If a story con- tains a fire burning in a grate — presto the Green- wich records are searched to see whether the thermometer warranted a fire on that day; if it contains a medical practitioner, the medical regis- ter is consulted to make sure he is correct ; etc. But obviously a hoax might keep all such acces- sories true, and a story true as to the main point might have grown false as to dates and accesso- ries. It therefore comes back essentially to the investigator’s instinct, or nose, as one might call it, for good and bad evidence. A born dupe will go astray, with every precaution; a born judge will keep the path, withfew. Saturday reviewers will dispose of the work in the simplest possible way by treating the authors as born dupes. ‘ Sci- entists’ who prefer offhand methods will do the same. Other readers will be baffled, many con- vinced. The present writer finds that some of the cases accounted strong by the authors strike him in the reading as weak, while scruples shown by them in other cases seem to him fanciful. This is the pivot of the whole matter ; for I sup- pose the improbability of the phantasms being veridical by chance, will, if the stories are true, be felt by every one. Meanwhile it must be re- membered, that, so far as expertness in judging of truth comes from training, no reader can pos- sibly be as expert as the authors. The way to be- come expert in a matter is to get lots of experience of that particular matter. Neither a specialist in nervous diseases, nor a criminal lawyer, will be expert in dealing with these stories until he has had Messrs. Gurney’s, Myers’s, and Podmore’s special education. Then his pathology, or his familiarity with false evidence, may also serve him in good stead. But in him, or in them, ‘ gumption’ will, after all, be the basis of superiority. How much of it the authors have, the future alone can decide. One argument against the value of the evidence they rely on is drawn from the history of witch- craft. Nowhere, it is said (as by Mr. Lecky in his 20 SCIENCE. ‘Rationalism’), is better-attested evidence for facts; yet the evidence is now utterly discredited, and the facts, then apparently so plenty, occur no more. Mr. Gurney considers this objection, and comés to an extremely interesting result. After ‘‘careful search through about 260 books on the subject (including the principal ones of the six- teenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries) and a large number of contemporary records of trials,” he affirms that the only facts of witchcraft for which there is any good evidence whatever are those neuropathic phenomena (trance, anaesthesia, hysteria, ‘suggestion,’ etc.) which, so far from being now discredited, are more than ever ascer- tained; while the marvels like conveyance through the air, transformation into animals, etc., do not rest on a@ single first-hand statement made by a person not ‘ possessed ’ or under torture. The authors’ theory of veridical phantasms is that they are caused by thought-transferrence. The ghost theory and the ‘ astral-form’ theory are criticised as unsatisfactory (ghosts of clothes, phan- tasms not seen by all present, etc.). Thought- transferrence has been once for all established as a vera causa. Whynot assume that even the im- pressions announcing death were made during the last moments of the dying person’s life? Where the apparition is to several witnesses, this explanation has to be much strained ; and, in spite of Messrs. Myers’s and Gurney’s ingenuity, I can hardly feel as if they had made out a very plausible case. But any theory helps the analysis of facts; and I do not understand that Messrs. Gurney and Myers hold their telepathic explanation to have at present much more than this provision- al sort of importance. I have given my impression of theability of the work. My impression of its success is this: the authors have placed a matter which, previous to them, had been handled so locsely as not to com- pel the attention of scientific minds, in a position which makes inattention impossible. They have established a presumption, to say the least, which it will need further statistical research either to undo or to confirm. They have at the same time made further statistical research easy ; for their volumes will certainly stimulate the immediate registration and publication, on a large scale, of cases of hallucinations (both veridical and casual) which but forthem would have been kept private. The next twenty-five years will then probably de- cide the question. Hither a flood of confirmatory phenomena, caught in the act, will pour in, in consequence of their work ; or it will not pour in —and then we shall legitimately enough explain the stories here preserved as mixtures of odd co- incidence with fiction. In the one case Messrs. [Vou. IX., No. 205 Gurney and Myers will have made an epoch in science, and will take rank among the immortals as the first effective prophets of a doctrine whose ineffectual prophets have been many. In the ~ other case they will have made as great a wreck and misuse of noble faculties as the sun is often called to look down upon. The prudent by- stander will bein no haste to prophesy; or, if he prophesy, he will hedge. I may be lacking in prudence ; but I feel that I ought to describe the total effect left at present by the book on my mind. It is a strong suspicion that its authors will prove to be on the winning side. It will sur- prise me after this if neither ‘telepathy’ nor ‘veridical hallucinations’ are among the beliefs which the future tends to confirm. WILLIAM JAMES. MURRAY'S HANDBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY. Dr. MuRRAY has written an excellent elemen- tary text-book for students of psychology. In the present state of that science, it is difficult to pre- sent its doctrines in a form suitable for didactic purposes. It is often necessary for the author to leave untouched certain important questions, the settlement of which is only possible by a contro- versial excursion into the department of meta- physics. Dr. Murray’s book is not a treatise on physio- logical psychology, although the conclusions of physiologists seem to be familiar to him. He has occupied himself chiefly with what is called ‘subjective psychology,’— a field which must be traversed before one can enter upon the more positive science of the relation of psychical to nervous states. He treats of psychology and its method, gives a full and satisfactory account of sensation, analyzing the knowledge given by the various senses, and noticing the subject of general or organic sensations. This is followed by an account of association and its laws, and a short chapter on comparison. These subjects constitute what he describes as ‘ general psychology.’ ‘Special psychology ’ has to do with ‘ cognitions, feelings, and volitions,—a threefold division, corresponding to the classical partition of ‘intel- lect, feeling, and will.’ Under the head of ‘cognitions’ we find an account of perceptions, generalization, reasoning, idealization, illusory cognitions, and a chapter on the general nature of knowledge, which discusses ‘self-conscious- ness, time, space, substance, and cause’ from the psychological rather than the metapbysical point of view. After an introduction treating of the nature of pleasure and pain and the expression A handbook of psychology. By J. CLARK MURRAY. London, Gardner, 1885. JaNnuARY 7, 1887.] and classification of the feelings, are chapters on the feelings of sense, feelings originating in asso- ciation, feelings for self and for others, feelings originating in comparison, intellectual feelings, and feelings of action. Four chapters are devoted to volition, the last treating briefly of the free- dom of the will. As we said above, the book is an excellent one, and few serious sins of commission can be charged against it. We question somewhat the advisa- bility of the abrupt divorce of perception and sensation as kinds of mental conditions. Mr. Sully, in his ‘Outlines of psychology,’ agrees with the author in his separation of these states or actions. It seems to us that a sensation is nothing more than a nervous stimulus un- less it is perceived. Perception is the perception of a sensation, and nothing more. When we pass beyond the perception of sensations to a knowledge, say, of objects, we may explain that Knowledge either by the association of the per- ceptions, or by the union of the perceptions in the act of conception. Forthis reason we believe that those who, with Sir William Hamilton, use the term ‘sense-perception,’ use an awkward term, but one which is scientifically accurate. The author’s treatment of the process of rep- resentation is one of the most unsatisfactory parts of the book. His account of association is not sufficient to give information about all that we call popularly ‘memory.’ We also fail to find any chapters on reflex action or on the highly im- portant subject of unconscious mental modifica- tions. On the other hand, Dr. Murray’s simple and interesting account of illusory cognitions de- serves high commendation, and his classification of the feelings seems to us to be both natural and scientific. The author (p. 23, ef seg.) appears to view with but little favor the results of investigation in the department of psychophysics. We have no space to discuss the question how far his caution or scepticism is justified. On both sides of the At- lantic this branch of psychology is enjoying a very extraordinary share of attention, and sugges- tive and interesting results have been reached. We are inclined to regard these investigations as of less importance than those engaged in them are disposed to attach to them, and we confess that we await with some expectancy results commen- surate with the amount of labor expended in gathering the statistics which form so prominent a part of the periodical literature on philosophy. Dr. Murray’s closing chapter on the freedom of volition, we regard as perhaps the least scientific part of hisbook. His doctrine is suggested in the sentence, ‘‘The very nature of volition, therefore, SCIHNCE. at would be contradicted by a description of it in terms which brought it under the category of causality ” (p. 417). 1 se book, however, is admirably adapted for teaching the elements of psychology to classes in schools and colleges. TWO VALUABLE PRIMERS OF POLITICS. It has been said that greater ability is needed to develop and elucidate fundamental principles than to deduce from them an elaborate set of con- clusions. This is doubtless true; and for that reason most primers, whether of literature, his- tory, science, or politics, are failures, in that they are the work of well-meaning but insufficiently and narrowly informed students. That leading specialists can use their talents to good purpose in writing primers, and thus bring their influence directly to bear on the generation in process of education, has been amply demonstrated by Pro- fessors Huxley, Roscoe, Balfour Stewart, Geikie, Michael Foster, Jevons, and others. The two little books to which we have reference in the head- ing of this notice rank, with the works of the au- thors just mentioned, as primers that are worth something. They have something in common, in that they are written primarily for English read- ers by an English woman and an English man respectively. There the resemblance ceases. Miss Buckland’s primer’ isa summary of existing Eng- lish institutions, and we are free to say that we have never seen them more clearly, more con- cisely, and more accurately pictured. Miss Buckland draws to a large extent from the books in the ‘ English citizen’ series on particular insti- tutions and phases of English politics, but the com- pleteness and articulation of this little book are peculiarly her own. She treats of the constitution in general, of the sovereign, parliament, the house of lords, the house of commons, the privy coun- cil, the national budget, the English church, edu- cation in England, local government, and so on. The careful reader will obtain from the book a very thorough knowledge of the workings of Eng- lish governmental institutions ; and it is just such a book as a teacher should use for a few weeks with a class that has completed the study of Eng- lish history, in order to enable the pupils to follow and discuss intelligently current English politics, We do not recall an inexact or wrong statement in the book, considered simply as an exposition. On p. 34 is an obvious misprint, £71,000 being given as the amount of the annual allowance to the Queen’s family. The correct sum is £171,000, and it is so stated by Miss Buckland on p. 9. 1 Our national institutions : a short sketch for schools. By ANNA BUCKLAND. London, Macmillan, 1886. 16°. 22 SCIHNCE. As Miss Buckland’s primer is one of political exposition, so Mr. Raleigh’s’ is one of philosophi- cal exposition, and it rises to a very high plane indeed. For obvious reasons the author’s illus- trations are drawn principally from English his- tory and English institutions ; but as society and civilization are not national, but international, Mr. Raleigh’s able volume should attract much attention and find numerous readers in this coun- try. In his preface the author states that most controversies would end before they begin if the disputants would only define the terms that they use. The pages that follow are an attempt to de- fine and make explicit the terms used in political argument. As the author himself allows, his book will stimulate rather than satisfy inquiry ; and for just that reason it is capable of becoming, in the hands of a competent teacher of civics or politics, an invaluable text-book. It is eminently impar- tial, and for that reason might in some parts mys- tify rather than satisfy the beginner ; but, properly interpreted, it can be made of the greatest service. The author begins by summarizing (the whole book only contains 163 small pages) the principles which lie at the basis of society and civilization ; then he examines modern society and the modern state, and passes to elections, party government, economic terms and principles, the functions of the state, and propositions looking to reform. Lack of space forbids our quoting as much as we should wish from Mr. Raleigh’s compact volume, but to a few salient points we must call particular atten- tion. He enforces, from many points of view, the position that no ahkstract theory of government, nor any radical law, can give the prosperity and satisfaction demanded by certain theorists who call for revolution and reform. ‘‘ The cardinal error of revolutionary politicians is this, that they assume the possibility of breaking away from custom and tradition. They look on institutions as if they were purely artificial, and therefore alterable at pleasure. In point of fact, institu- tions are rooted in the natures of men who are accustomed to them. If all our laws were de- stroyed in a day, our habits and ways of thinking would remain, and out of these a new set of laws, not very unlike the old, would soon be developed. If we desire great changes, we must not put our trust in revolution: we must work steadily at those reforms which seem most likely to improve our habits and ways of thinking” (p. 127). And in connection with this subject, reform, there is this timely warning given: ‘‘ When social re- formers put forward schemes by which the strain of competition would be lessened, we must exam- 1Hlementary politics. By THOMAS RALEIGH. Oxford uniww. pr., 1886. 16°. London, [Vou. IX, No. 205 ine their proposals carefully, to find out whether they do not involve an appeal to the selfishness of the weak, which is just as dangerous in its way as the selfishness of the strong” (p. 97). Mr. Raleigh’s remarks about speculation (p. 99), the effect of state help (p. 180), and his summary of how far state interference can safely go (pp. 150 and 157), are as scientific in form as they are satis- factory in contents. We most unreservedly com- mend the book as a clear, strong, and healthy primer of politics, and heartily wish that it could be studied and appreciated in every high school and by every citizen of the United States. A SANITARY convention under the auspices of the Michigan state board of health was held at Big Rapids, Nov. 18 and 19, 1886. Dr. Stoddard read a paper on the injuries of every-day drug- taking. It partly came from mothers dosing babies with soothing-sirup, paregoric, worm-loz- enges, etc. The remedy was to educate the people in the injurious effects of drugs. Dr. Inglis of Detroit closed his remarks on alcohol as a medicine by saying that he should like to pro- duce the continually accumulating evidence of the positive harm caused by such indiscriminate use of all kinds of alcoholic drinks, bitters, and tonics, and that physicians should let alcoholic liquor be the last, and not the first, remedy in the treatment of disease. Professor Ferris of the In- dustrial school read a paper on hygiene of schools, dwelling upon the lack of ventilation in the schools of Big Rapids, in several the air-space for each pupil not exceeding two hundred cubic feet. Papers were read on Pasteur and preventive medi- cine, public-health laws, and the prevention of communicable diseases. — Intubation of the larynx, which has been in- troduced recently as a substitute for tracheotomy in cases of diphtheria and croup, is coming into gen- eral favor with medical practitioners. The credit of its introduction is due to Dr. O’Dwyer, a New York physician. Already one hundred and sixty- five cases have been reported in which it has been practised, with twenty-eight and one-half per cent of recoveries. The introduction of the tube into the larynx is a very simple operation, and requires no anaesthetic nor trained assistants. In- asmuch as no cutting operation is required, as in tracheotomy, there is no difficulty in persuading parents to consent to the intubation of their chil- dren, when the more formidable operation of - tracheotomy would not be permitted. This per- centage of recoveries will doubtless be much in- creased as physicians become more accustomed to the method. - Tenll Sere NCE FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 1887. COMMENT AND CRITICISM. THE DANGER of long-range weather-prediction, even of the cautious kind lately indulged in by Dr. Hinrichs, is forcibly illustrated in the statements given in the advance proof of the lowa bulletin for December. The month is described as very cold, fair, and dry, the mean temperature of the air being more than seven degrees below the nor- Only once in the past sixteen years has lowa had a colder December (1876). This is not a satisfactory verification of the statement made a month ago: ‘‘ The probability is very high that the winter now begun will be a mild one in Iowa and the north-west.” Apparently as a comment on this discordance, Dr. Hinrichs says, ‘‘ January will, it seems, also run decidedly below normal. February may be markedly above normal, and contribute greatly to reduce the severity of the winter [a possibility very much to be desired]. During the forty years preceding 1883, there never have been more than two consecutive cold winters in lowa ; namely, those of 1856 and 1857. Beginning with 1883, we have now had four severe winters in unbroken succession, and these winters have not been followed by a month of severe weather this winter. This is entirely with- out precedent, and of very serious import to the people of Iowa.” That seems to be the difficulty : the weather cares too little for precedent. THE HOLIDAY EDITION of the Age of steel de- serves attention because of the number and inter- est of the economic articles it contains. it seems more like an economic than a technical journal. It is somewhat of a novelty, too, to find that the economics are thoroughly practical, the theoretical and speculative element occupying a very subordinate place. M. Godin, the founder of the Familistere, tells again briefly the well- known story of that institution. At the end of his article, the philanthropist grows confidential, and points out the principal obstacle with which his foundation has to contend. That obstacle is, as might have been suspected, nothing less than human nature itself. And it has happened in this No. 206.—1887. — In fact, way. The association has made large profits, which have been published every year. A knowl- edge of the detailed operations of the concern is accessible tothe public. Just here the difficulty presented itself. In the language of M. Godin. ‘‘ instead of study- ing them [the annual balance-sheet, and so forth] for the purpose of imitating us by organizing labor, this is the way the filibusters in industry have argued : they have said to themselves, ‘The Association of the Familistere pays actually about 1,800,000 francs ($360,000) in wages. If we estab- lish a similar industry, copy its products, and pay 50 per cent less to our operatives than the Society of the Familistere pays theirs, we shall realize profits amounting to nearly a million more than it ; so that it cannot compete with us, except it lowers wages, —a thing it cannot do, since its operatives are associates in its industry : thus we can beat them in the market.’ These arguments have been carried out in practice, so that the Association of the Familistere has to-day to com- pete with establishments that let down wages to their lowest point, and, by these means, prac- tise a deplorable competition, which push the wage-workers to strike and misery.” These . ‘wrongs of egoism,’ as M. Godin calls them, are the very things that idealists and reformers of all ages have had to contend against: and the fact that they are certain to recur is the neglected fac- tor in the calculations of so many of the social re- formers of our own generation. PROFIT-SHARING is also the subject of several articles in the same journal. Prof. J. B. Clark of Smith college, and Frank A. Flower, commis- sioner of labor for the state of Wisconsin, write favoring profit-sharing ; but the testimony of two large concerns — the Crane Brothers manufac- turing company of Chicago, and the H. O. Nelson manufacturing company of St. Louis —is of more importance and value than any hypothetical argu- ments can possibly be. Mr. Crane says that his company has tried with much success the plan of permitting the employees to buy stock in propor- tion to their yearly salary, but, as in many cases the workmen are not prepared to buy the amount > 24 apportioned to them, the plan has been adopted of allotting the stock to them, they enjoying the benefits of it less interest. To this plan, as to any other scheme of profit-sharing, the objection is raised that in bad times it passes into loss-sharing, and this is not what the employees want or will submit to. In view of this, Mr. Crane believes that a surplus fund should be established, from which dividends are to be paid during years of depression, when there is no profit from which to pay them. ; Mr. Nelson bears similar testimony to the working of profit-sharing in his company. In March last, the company issued a circular estab- lishing profit-sharing. After allowing seven per cent interest on actual capital invested, the remainder is to be divided equally upon the total amount of wages paid and capital em- ployed. The employees will this year receive about two-fifths of the net profits. The books have not yet been closed for the year, nor the dividend declared, but there is ample evidence of the success of the experiment. At the conclusion of the firm’s present fiscal year, the scheme is to be elaborated somewhat. Ten per cent of the profits is to be set aside as a provident fund for sick and disabled members and the families of deceased ones, ten per cent as a surplus fund to cover losing years, should such occur, and two per cent as a library fund, the company paying interest on any unused portions of such funds. The allotments are also to be so apportioned that a premium is offered for continuous service and the saving of dividends. Evidence such as this from the sphere of practical business should be of great help to economists in developing their theories. THE ITEMS APPROPRIATED by the house for the support of the U.S. coast survey during the next fiscal year are the same as those at first recom- mended by the house last year, and far under the estimates. If the senate should agree to the penurious policy of the house, a large reduction in the personnel of the service must ensue, and its utility would be sadly impaired. We cannot believe the senate will agree to the recommenda- tions of the house in this important matter. The coast survey is doing good work, which should be encouraged by congress, and liberal appropriations should be made for its proper support. SCIHNCEH. [Vou. TX., No. 206 IS BEER-DRINKING INJURIOUS ? WE have before us a direct and unqualified challenge to the prohibitionists in the form of a pamphlet on ‘The effects of beer upon those who make and drink it,’ by G. Thomann (New York, U. 8S. brewers’ assoc., 1886). The writer boldly presents the following propositions. 1. Brewers drink more beer, and drink it more constantly, than any other class of people. 2. The rate of deaths among brewers is lower by forty per cent than the average death-rate among the urban population of the groups of ages corresponding with those to which brewery-workmen belong. 3. The health of brewers is unusually good : dis- eases of the kidneys and liver occur rarely among them. 4. On an average, brewers live longer, and preserve their physical energies better, than the average workmen of the United States. The writer claims that beer is a perfectly wholesome drink, and, in support of this claim, refers to in- vestigations made in Belgium, France, Holland, and Switzerland. He quotes also from the report made by a sanitary commission appointed by Presi- dent Lincoln to examine the camps of the Union army and their sanitary condition. In examining the condition of regiments in which malt-liquors were freely used, the commission found not only that beer is a healthy beverage, but that it pos- sesses hygienic qualities which recommend its use for the prevention of certain diseases. Mr. Tho- mann states, that, wherever the effects of the use of beer upon the human body have been examined methodically by competent physicians, it was found, to use the words of Dr, Jules Rochard of the Académie de médecine of Paris, ‘‘ that beer is a very healthy beverage, which helps digestion, quenches thirst, and furnishes an amount of as- similable substances much greater than that con- tained in any other beverage.” — The charge is often made that American beer is composed of so many poisonous ingredients that it is thereby rendered unfit for consumption; that, while pure beer may be harmless, such beer as is supplied by brewers at the present time in this country is positively injurious. This is met with a reference to the report of the New York state board of health, in which it is stated that an analy- sis of four hundred and seventy-six samples of malt-liquors had been made, and that they were all found perfectly pure and wholesome, and to contain neither hop-substitutes nor any deleteri- ous substances whatever. The most interesting portion of Mr. Thomann’s pamphlet is that which deals with the statistics of the physicians under whose professional care the men employed in the breweries are placed. About five years ago the brewers of New York, Brook- January 14, 1887.] lyn, Newark, and the neighboring towns and vil- lages, established a benevolent bureau for the re- lief of their sick and disabled employees. Physi- cians are appointed, whose duty it is to attend the sick members of the bureau, and a record is kept of all cases of sickness and death which occur. The number of deaths which took place among 960 brewery workmen in five years was 36, —an average of 7.2 per annum, or a death-rate per 1,000 of 7.5. The United States census gives the rate per 1,000 of the urban population of the same ages, as 12.5; or, in other words, the risks in- curred in insuring the lives of habitual beer- drinkers are less by forty per cent than the ordi- nary risks of such transactions. The death-rate per 1,000 in the regular army of the United States in 1885 was 10.9; so that, even as compared with the soldier in peace time, we find that the brewery workmen have a great advantage in point of low - rate of mortality. Mr. Thomann gives us a number of interesting facts connected with the breweries and the work- men engaged therein. In every brewery is a room, called the ‘Sternenwirth,’ in which beer is con- stantly on tap, to be used by every one at pleas- ure and without cost. Every one drinks as much beer as he thirsts for, without asking, or being asked any questions as to his right todo so. The average daily consumption of malt-liquors for each individual is 25.738 glasses, or about ten pints. In the statistics which are given we find that a considerable number of the men consume forty and fifty glasses a day, and two are reported as drinking, on an average, seventy glasses daily. With a view to ascertaining, in the most reliable manner possible, the effects of the use of malt- liquors, the physicians of the benevolent bureau examined one thousand of the brewery workmen as to general state of health, condition of liver, condition of kidneys, and condition of heart. In addition to this, they weighed and measured each man, and tested his strength by the dynamome- ter. These examinations showed that there were, in all, twenty-five men whose physical condition was in some respect defective ; and the remaining nine hundred and seventy-five enjoyed exceptionally good health, and were of splendid physique. There were 300 men who had been engaged in brewing from five to ten years, 189 from ten to fifteen, 122 from fifteen to twenty, and 46 more than twenty-five years. One special case referred to is that of a man fifty-six years of age, uninter- ruptedly at work in breweries during thirty-two years, who drank beer throughout this time at the rate of fifty glasses per day, yet has never been sick, and to-day is perfectly healthy, vigorous, and active. SCIENCE. 25 The statistics are, to say the least, very surpris- ing, and, unless refuted, will result in modifying to a considerable degree the generally accepted views of the influence of malt-liquors on the health of those who drink them habitually. Mr. Thomann has boldly thrown down the gauntlet, and we shall watch with interest to see who will take it up. THE ABORIGINAL MILLER. DOUBTLESS it has occurred to many archeolo- gists that the stone arrow-heads, knife-blades, pestles, axes, etc., in their collections are exam- ples of but a small part of the articles once used by prehistoric peoples, the more perishable articles of wood, hide, or bone having long since disap- peared. A study of the present arts of savage life —the surest safeguard in speculating about the arts of ancient times — proves this view to be correct, for the number and variety of imple- ments of animal and vegetal origin now used in the camps of savage tribes greatly exceed those of stone. In the present article the implements of the aboriginal miller are introduced in illustra- tion of what has been said above. The tribes from which the illustrations are drawn are, the Hupa, of northern California (1), from the collection of Lieut. P. H. Ray, U.S.A. ; the Pima and the Yuma stock, around the mouth of the Colorado River (2), from the collections of Edward Palmer ; the tribes formerly east of the Mississippi (3); and the Utes of the great interior basin (4), from the collections of Major Powell and other officers ; with glimpses of the Sioux and the Pueblo miller. It must be remembered that the active agent in all the varied operations of milling, among the savage tribes, —as well as of tanning, shoemaking, tailoring, weaving, the manufacture of pottery, and other peaceful in- dustries, — is always a woman. In describing the illustrations, I shall first refer to the sketches in plate 1. The Hupa, like all other primitive millers, has to gather the grist be- fore she grinds it. For this purpose she uses a light but strong carrying-basket (fig. 5), made with warp of osier, and weft of thesame material split and twined. A soft buckskin strap surrounds the basket, and passes around her forehead, which is protected by an ingenious pad (fig. 7). Her basket being filled with acorns, she trudges to her camp, and deposits them in a granary of closely woven, twined basketry (fig. 6). Her mill is both novel and ingenious, consisting of a pestle, a hop- per, a mortar-stone, and a receiving basket-tray (fig. 9). The pestle is like its congeners all the world over; and the hopper has no bottom, its lower margin merely resting upon the morvar- 26 | SCIENCE. | (Von. 1X., No. 206 AS AU WHOLE ANG a Ih yh ae Mh WIS 4 Meh January 14, 1887.] SCIENCE. 27 of P) Hay itt ce ve ey, 2S ™ ‘ \\ ‘