{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_45361/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_45361","id":"gutenberg_45361","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45361","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Modern (1750+)","Category: Journals","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Science - Biology","Category: Science - Chemistry/Biochemistry","Category: Science - Earth/Agricultural/Farming","Category: Science - Physics","Science -- Periodicals","Technology -- Periodicals"],"text":"Established by Edward L. Youmans\n\n              APPLETONS'\n           POPULAR SCIENCE\n               MONTHLY\n\n              EDITED BY\n         WILLIAM JAY YOUMANS\n\n               VOL. LV\n\n        MAY TO OCTOBER, 1899\n\n              NEW YORK\n       D. APPLETON AND COMPANY\n                1899\n\n\n\n\n          COPYRIGHT, 1899,\n     BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: WILLIAM KEITH BROOKS.]\n\n\n\n\nAPPLETONS' POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.\n\nJULY, 1899.\n\n\n\n\nSCIENTIFIC METHOD AND ITS APPLICATION TO THE BIBLE.\n\nBY THE REV. DAVID SPRAGUE, B. D.\n\n\n\"Trained and organized common sense\" is Professor Huxley's definition\nof science. There is probably no better.\n\nThe popular mind persists in thinking that there is a wide difference\nbetween science and knowledge in general. Yes, there is a wide\ndifference, but it is just the difference that there is between a\ntrained and organized _body_ of men for the accomplishing of some\ngreat work, and a _crowd_ of men unorganized and undisciplined. What\nunscientific knowledge has accomplished may be roughly seen in the\ncondition of savage races to-day; while the changes wrought by\nknowledge trained and organized, in enlarging the sum of knowledge, in\nextending men's power of perception, and in increasing the facilities\nnot merely for living, but for living well, are changes in comparison\nwith which all others recorded in history are trifling.\n\nIt will be profitable for us, in order to get a clearer idea of\nscientific method, to trace as briefly as possible the history of\nscience and the development of the scientific idea.\n\nThe very beginning of science is beyond our ken. We can form no idea\nof just what stage in the intellectual development of the race\nwitnessed the rise of training and order in men's knowledge. Long\nbefore the dawn of history there must have been some degree of\norderliness in men's knowledge--some grouping of facts, and reasoning\nfrom one thing to another. Rude classification would be made, e. g.,\namong animals, as some were found to be good for food and others not;\nso among herbs, as to size, form, color, use for food and medicine,\npoisonous qualities, etc.; so among woods, as some were better\nadapted than others to use as instruments of war and of the chase. Men\nmust also, very early in their development, have noticed the changes\nthat took place in the heavens: the sun by day, the moon and the stars\nby night; have grouped the stars into little clusters here and there\nas they seemed rudely to resemble forms of things which they knew, and\nas some were brighter than the rest; have begun to reckon periods of\ntime according as position of sun and moon varied. In their\nobservation of the heavens no other phenomenon would have attracted as\nmuch attention as an eclipse, and for a long time men would have\nascribed this occasional phenomenon to the intervention of some\nsupernatural power. In process of time, however, as their observations\nwere made with more care and recorded, some regularity would be\nnoticed in these, as in other phenomena of the skies; and the period\nof their recurrence being at last approximately known by those more\nlearned than the rest, predictions of eclipses would be made and\nverified by what would seem to the multitude direct supernatural aid.\nHence the earliest scientific records that have come down to us are of\neclipses observed, and in time regularly predicted, by the Chaldeans;\nhence also the reputation that was always given to the Chaldeans of\nhaving magical power. Coming down now to the time when men first\nseemed to have a genuine spirit of scientific inquiry, we find it\namong the Greeks some five hundred years B. C. Whatever of rudely\nscientific work had been done before, seems to have been for practical\nor religious purposes. About that time, however, men began to\ninvestigate and speculate in order to find out the truth, and soon we\nsee a class of men, known as philosophers, whose one aim was to find\nout, because they loved, the truth. \"What they saw excited them to\nmeditate, to conjecture, and to reason; they endeavored to account for\nnatural events, to trace their causes, to reduce them to principles\"\n(Whewell). They set about this, too, in no small, narrow way. They\nwanted to go right to the bottom of things, of everything at once, and\nto know the great principles, as they called them, of Nature and of\nlife. That was the reason why the actual scientific results of Greek\nthought, with all its splendid powers, were so meager. Two things are\nthe necessary conditions of science--facts, and the human power of\nreasoning. Two processes must be carried out in order to yield any\nscientific result: facts must be patiently accumulated, and the mind\nmust set its reasoning powers to work on them. It was in the first of\nthese that the Greeks were wanting. They did not realize the need of\nendless patience in learning the details of Nature's way of working.\nThey wished to take in all of Nature with one tremendous sweep of\nthought. They did a little investigating and a great deal of\nreasoning. Occasionally, however, we find an instance of inquiry into\nthe cause of more definite and limited phenomena, which seems much\nmore to suggest the true spirit of physical inquiry. We have one\nrecorded by Herodotus, which is the more remarkable from being so\nnearly alone. It is in reference to the fact which he had observed\nabout the flooding of the Nile--that it was flooded for one hundred\ndays, beginning with the summer solstice; and that from that time it\ndiminished, and was during the winter months very low. He tells us\nthat he made pressing inquiries about the cause of it from many of the\nEgyptians, but that he found no satisfaction, and apparently little\ninterest in the matter. Three different theories on the subject that\nhad been propounded by the Greeks he examines in detail and confutes;\nand finally he states a theory of his own. And yet even in this\ninstance of scientific inquiry he commits the usual fault of the\nGreeks--he does not pursue far enough the investigation of the facts\nof the case, and the absence of the facts he tries to make up for by\nexhaustive arguments on words used in describing the phenomena.\n\nStrange as it may seem at a first glance, it is a very similar trouble\nthat we find with the reasoning of Aristotle. It seems strange, I say,\nbecause we are accustomed to associate with Aristotle just those\nthings which would seem to indicate a scientific temper, and to give\npromise of great results: 1. Extensive accumulation of facts. Many of\nthose works of Aristotle which remain to us are vast treasuries of\nfacts collected from almost every field of Nature, and we have reason\nfor thinking that he made other wonderful collections of facts which\nhave not come down to us. His work has been a standing marvel to all\ntime. 2. Extraordinary powers of reasoning. 3. The fact that he\nasserted in the strongest terms the need of building up the whole\nsuperstructure of knowledge on _experience_. And yet throughout his\nworks, side by side with the evidences of profound knowledge and\nprofound speculation, there are repeated instances of reasonings which\nare not only unsound, but altogether puerile--e. g., in the beginning\nof his treatise on the heavens he proves the world to be perfect by\nreasoning of the following kind: \"The bodies of which the world is\ncomposed are solids, and therefore have three dimensions. Now, three\nis the most perfect number; it is the first of numbers, for of one we\ndo not speak as a number; of two we say both; but three is the first\nnumber of which we say all; moreover, it has a beginning, a middle,\nand an end.\" That is a fair instance of his scientific incompetency.\nHe has the facts, he is able to reason, but he does not reason\n_according to_ the facts; he loses sight of them and builds up great\narguments on words and names. To give one more example: \"He is\nendeavoring to explain the fact that when the sun's light passes\nthrough a hole, whatever be the form of the hole, the bright image,\nif formed at any considerable distance from the hole, is circular.\nThis, of course, is easily seen to be a necessary consequence of the\ncircular figure of the sun, if we conceive light to be diffused from\nthe luminary by means of straight rays proceeding from every point.\nBut Aristotle attempts to explain the fact by saying that the sun's\nlight has a circular nature which it always tends to manifest. He\nemploys the vague and loose conception of a circular _quality_ instead\nof the distinct conception of rays\" (Whewell).\n\nIt is a kind of reasoning which may be applied with great show of\nsuccess to everything, but which really proves nothing.\n\nAnd so, as a matter of fact, Aristotle did not leave one single\nscientific generalization of value to succeeding ages.\n\nDid not the Greeks then do anything in the way of physical science\nthat was to stand? Yes, there was a little work that was exact, and\ntherefore lasting. Archimedes established the fundamental principle on\nthe one hand of the lever, on the other of pressure in fluids--that is\nto say, laid the stable foundation of the sciences of statics and\nhydrostatics. Euclid developed, if he did not discover, the law of the\nreflection of light. Pythagoras discovered, and his followers\ndeveloped, some of the fundamental principles of harmonics. Greater\nthan any of the others in genuine scientific work was Hipparchus, who,\nwith many erroneous theories, yet really laid the permanent foundation\nof the science of astronomy. Only one more name need be mentioned\namong the ancients--that of Ptolemy, who seemed possessed of a\ngenuinely scientific spirit. He accomplished little original work,\nmade no broad generalization (what is known as the Ptolemaic system\nwas in reality the system of Hipparchus), but more than any other of\nthe ancients he is the type of the true scientist in these\nrespects--the accuracy of his observations, the thoroughness of his\nwork at every point, and the really great additions that he made to\nscience in the way of verifying, correcting, and extending the theory\nhe received. He lived in the early part of the second century A. D.\n\nAnd the next name to attract our notice is that of Copernicus, more\nthan twelve hundred years later. What is the meaning of that lapse of\ntime? After such noble foundations had been laid, was there no great\nscientific work built thereon in all those centuries? Absolutely none.\nIt will be well for us to think for a moment of what were the reasons\nfor that barrenness, for the same causes are more or less at work at\nall times to hinder the growth of science and the extension of\nscientific method.\n\n1. And what strikes us most forcibly at the outset is a lack of the\nsense of the importance of physical science. Through most of that\nperiod Christianity dominated the best thought of Europe, and the\ntremendous practical problems that confronted the Church for a long\ntime threw everything else into the shade; for a long time, I said,\nduring the early part of this period in especial, when the Church in\ngeneral seemed to realize its responsibility to win the whole world to\nits Master, and every individual coming into the Church was made to\nfeel that the Church's work was above everything else in the world.\nThe importance of an exhaustive knowledge of the facts of Nature\nseemed trifling when compared with questions of character and future\nlife, and making the world feel the power of Christ. Eusebius only\nexpressed the thought of much of his age when he said, speaking of\nthose who pursued the study of physical science, \"It is not through\nignorance of the things admired by them, but through contempt of their\nuseless labor, that we think little of these matters, turning our\nsouls to the exercise of better things.\" And with that deliberate\nturning away from such subjects there would come of necessity that\nindistinctness of ideas about natural things which is fatal to all\nscientific investigation. Witness these words of Lactantius: \"To\nsearch for the causes of natural things; to inquire whether the sun be\nas large as he seems; whether the moon is convex or concave; whether\nthe stars are fixed in the sky or float freely in the air; of what\nsize and of what material are the heavens, whether they be at rest or\nin motion; what is the magnitude of the earth, on what foundations it\nis suspended and balanced--to dispute and conjecture on such matters\nis just as if we chose to discuss what we think of a city in a remote\ncountry, of which we never heard but the name.\" As Whewell, from whom\nthese last two quotations are taken, says, \"It is impossible to\nexpress more forcibly that absence of any definite notions on physical\nsubjects which led to this tone of thought.\"\n\n2. Contributing, without doubt, largely to that indistinctness of\nideas, and to the low value put upon physical science, was the\nmysticism common to the early and the medi\u00e6val Church, and to the\nworld at large for many hundred years--the mysticism, that is to say,\nthe habit of assigning supernatural agencies to the various phenomena\nof Nature, and of regarding them as subject to the vicissitudes of\narbitrary will rather than as following out the workings of a\nconsistent orderly plan. There is no need of any attempt to show how\nfatal such a spirit is to science, nor how that spirit seemed for a\nlong while to dominate the world. \"It changed physical science to\nmagic; astronomy to astrology; the study of the composition of bodies\nto alchemy; and even mathematics was changed till it became the\ncontemplation of the spiritual relations of number and figure.\" That\nthe Church was not, as has been often charged, responsible for this\nspiritualizing temper of the age is apparent to any one familiar with\nthe development of Greek philosophy and with the history of the\nsuperstitions of the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, it is also true that\nthat temper has been increased in the past and is fostered to-day by\nthe undue emphasis which the Church has placed upon the miraculous\ncharacter of early Christianity.\n\n3. We notice in the history of the thought of this period, both in the\nChurch and in the world at large, a disposition rather to examine,\ncriticise, and comment upon the work of others, than to do\ninvestigating and thinking of one's own. That such a spirit should be\nfound in the Church is not to be wondered at, for the authority of\nChrist and his apostles would seem to leave no room for originality of\nthinking on religious subjects, and the sacred Scriptures would give\nabundant scope for the exercise of the highest learning and of\nintellectual penetration in interpreting. But the same tendency is\nnoticed outside of the Church, as the great schools of interpreters of\nAristotle and of Plato, and the large volumes of abstracts and\ncompilations from preceding writers, bear witness. But when vast\nlearning and ability are expended, rather on such labors than on\ninvestigation into the secrets of Nature, science does not thrive.\n\n4. And once again we observe the gradually increasing dogmatic\ntendency of the Church, the claim to be the repository of all\nknowledge, the stifling of thought, and of investigation into what\nmight lead men away from the truth and the \"faith once delivered to\nthe saints.\"\n\nIt seemed best to give in detail these four evident reasons for the\nbarrenness of science during those centuries, because, as I said, the\nsame things to-day, though with decreasing force, interfere with the\nprogress of science and the extension of scientific method. I shall\nrefer to them again a little further on.\n\nThe great revival of four centuries ago in art, in learning, in\nreligion, reached also to science. At last the spell of ignorance, of\nunreasoning prejudice, of offensive dogmatism, and of vague mysticism,\nthat had held the world for so long, was broken. The new life of\nscience was feeble at first, and remained long in its swaddling\nclothes. It was about the middle of the sixteenth century that\nCopernicus gave his great work to the world; then no great work again\nfor nearly one hundred years, when Kepler, Galileo, and Stevinus\narise. But the century has not been an idle one. Everywhere men have\nbeen awakening to the new light, have begun to think freely and\nfearlessly; are no longer deterred by the cry of magic or the\nprohibition of church dignitaries from investigating into Nature for\nthemselves. And so, when in the seventeenth century those mighty ones\nappeared, thoughtful people in great numbers were found to welcome\nthe new truths; and at almost the same time Descartes by his essay on\nScientific Method, and Bacon by the Novum Organum, were able to give\nan impetus to scientific investigation such as the world had never\nfelt before.\n\nThe history of the progress of science from that time to this is too\ncomplex to receive any treatment in a paper of this character. How it\nhas been throughout a record of successive triumphs; how gradually one\ndepartment after another of Nature's workings has been mastered and\nreduced to orderly system; how all systems have been themselves\nreduced to one, harmonious and complete, in the magnificent\ngeneralization of evolution; how all the time not only has the sum of\nknowledge been steadily augmented, but the power of acquiring\nknowledge marvelously enlarged--all of that we know. That which has\naccomplished such results is science, and the process employed has\nbeen scientific method. We are in a position now to have a fairly\nintelligent idea of it. Look at it and see.\n\n\"Scientific method\" is not, of course, a technical expression, as are\ninduction, deduction, etc. Yet it means something very definite. It is\nthat method of dealing with phenomena which reason declares and\nexperience has shown to insure the greatest accuracy in results. There\nare in the complete process four necessary steps: 1. Observation of\nfacts. 2. Comparison and classification, or generalization. 3.\nDeduction. 4. Verification.\n\nWe can see these steps alike in the simplest scientific attempt of our\nremote ancestors, and in the work of a Newton or a Darwin.\n\nTo use an illustration of the former suggested by the book of\nLeviticus. In very early times it was noticed that animals that had\nboth the characteristics of being cloven-hoofed and of chewing the cud\nwere good for food. A new animal is discovered having those\ncharacteristics. It is argued from the general principle laid down\nthat this new animal is good for food, and the matter is verified by\nexperiment. There are the four distinct steps: observation of the\nfacts, drawing a principle from the comparison of the facts, deducing\nas to the particular case, verifying. The result is, of course, not\nonly a classifying of the particular case, but also the extension of\nthe principle. So with the generalization of the law of gravitation.\nNumberless facts were observed with the greatest care; from them the\nprinciple was generalized; from that again deductions were made as to\nparticular cases; and the results were verified. But though the steps\nof the process are the same in both instances, yet what a vast\ndifference between them! Take the first step, the observation of\nfacts. All that the thought of the earlier age could do was to note a\nfew striking resemblances and differences among the animals that\nroamed the neighboring forests. What could be done in the later age,\nay, what the scientific temper of the age demanded, was the most\nrigidly careful examination of multitudes of facts; examination by a\ntrained mind and with all the improved appliances which science and\nart had given to the world, and then submitted to the searching\nscrutiny of other trained minds, with like appliances. Or take the\nlast step, verification. In one case it meant finding the effect upon\nthe taste and upon the health. In the other, what it meant may be\njudged from the account we have of one of Newton's investigations. In\napplying his hypothesis of gravitation (it was only a hypothesis then)\nto the motion of the moon, there was a very slight divergence, about\ntwo feet a minute, between the time of the revolution of the moon in\nits orbit, as he calculated it and as he observed it. He was not\nsatisfied until, _eighteen years after_, on account of an improvement\nmade in the method of taking observations, he was able to obtain what\nhe regarded as a verification.\n\nAnd so what we learn from the history of science is the gradual\n_development_ of scientific method. Scientific method in the work of\nHipparchus meant a very different thing from the scientific method of\nthe Chaldeans. Very different still is the scientific method of\nstudying the heavens to-day. So to an even greater degree is there a\ndifference between the scientific method of studying the earth to-day\nand as our fathers studied it. It is not merely the multitude of facts\nthat we have learned, nor the marvelous instruments that we have made\nto aid us in our observations; it is also, and by no means least,\nthis--that men all these centuries have been _learning_ to observe, to\nreason, and to verify.\n\nWe may say that science and scientific method have grown and developed\ntogether: the development of one has invariably advanced the\ndevelopment of the other, and, on the other hand, where one has\nremained stationary, or has retrograded, so has the other.\n\nHistory has enabled us to see this other fact also: that the\nconditions which interfered with the growth of science in the past not\nonly interfere with it always, wherever they exist, but to very much\nthe same degree interfere with the free application of scientific\nmethod. What those conditions were during one long period of history\nwe saw--a failure to realize its importance as compared with questions\nof conduct; a tendency to comment rather than investigate; a tendency\nto ascribe everything to spiritual agency rather than to natural\ncauses; and lastly, dogmatism. We very well know how, as a matter of\nfact, those very conditions do interfere with the application of\nscientific method to-day.\n\nHow far is scientific method applicable to the investigation of the\nBible? Is there any department of human knowledge to which scientific\nmethod of investigation is not applicable? If scientific method is\nwhat we defined it to be, that method of dealing with phenomena which\nreason declares and experience has shown to insure the greatest\naccuracy in results, then there is obviously no department of\nknowledge to which that method is not applicable, for it means simply\nthe method which will bring us nearest to the truth. When we are\ndealing with the highest spiritual verities we use that method which\nwill bring us nearest to the truth; we are bound to use it in the\ninterest of truth! That does not mean that we are to look for material\ncauses for spiritual phenomena; nor does it mean that those things\nwhich in their nature appeal to the sensibilities, or have to do with\nconduct, or require an exercise of faith, must, in order for us to\nfind out the truth, be removed from the domain of sensibility,\nconduct, faith. That would be a most unscientific method of\ninvestigation. The very first canon of scientific method is that it be\nappropriate to the matter in hand. And so in investigating the truths\nwhich are distinctly taught in the Bible--truths which are of the\nnature of a revelation of God's will and which are designed to reach\nand affect the whole nature of man--to take no account of other\nfaculties in a man besides his power of apprehending intellectually,\nand of reasoning logically, would be unscientific beyond hope of\npardon.\n\nBut what I wish especially to consider is a different kind of\ninvestigation of the Bible--one not concerned with the truths taught\nin the Bible, but with the Bible itself, as a collection of writings\nthat has come down to us from the past. What is the nature of these\nwritings? Who are their authors? Are there any of them which have more\nthan one author? Are there any which are compilations from several\ndifferent sources? What is the age in which these works were written\nor compiled? All of those, and similar questions, are not only the\nappropriate but the necessary inquiries of a truth-loving mind. They\nwill continue to be asked until they are satisfactorily answered. With\nreference to other writings, the persistence of such inquiries will\ndepend, except in cases of pure curiosity, upon the importance of such\nwritings to the world. On that principle there will be no cessation of\ninquiries concerning the Bible until they are, as I said,\nsatisfactorily answered, for no other writings are to be compared, in\ntheir importance to the world, with the writings of the Bible. How can\nsuch answers be given? Where does competency to give answer lie? Does\nit lie in the authority of the Church? Not to lay any stress upon the\nfact, one way or the other, that the Church, except in certain\nlocalities, has never declared on the canon of the Bible, much less\non the questions proposed above, there is no such authority residing\nin the Church, unless we grant the claim sometimes made for her, to\ninfallibility. With those making such a claim we must, within the\nlimits of this paper, decline to argue.\n\nBut if not the Church, what other authority can give us the answers we\nseek? The authority of primitive tradition, or of the opinions of\ngreat commentators, or of the great mass of Christian people of modern\ntimes? Authority which is so shadowy in other things that might be\nmentioned would surely count for nothing in a matter as grave as this.\nOr can particular expressions of the Bible itself be taken to settle\nthe matter once for all? But as to most of those very questions the\nBible itself is silent; and if it had spoken, yet the question of\ncompetent authority would only be put one step further back. Or, once\nagain, can the answer come from \"the spirit which is in man,\" guided\nby God's Spirit? But in this, as in the instance mentioned above, that\nwhich has been shown to be incompetent in so many other things can not\nbe called competent in this.\n\nThere is, there can be, according to the requirement of our minds,\nonly one answer which will satisfy; it is that which is determined by\npurely scientific method--that is to say, according to the nature of\nthe subject, that method of investigating literary works which reason\ndeclares and experience has shown to insure the greatest accuracy in\nresults. That method is known by the name of the \"Higher Criticism.\"\n\nWhat is the history of the higher criticism? One would imagine, from\nthe language often used by the opponents of its application to the\nBible, that it was an arbitrary method of criticism, invented in these\nrationalizing times expressly for the purpose of doing away with the\ndivine character of the Bible. But higher criticism has been in use in\nexamining the classics and other (nonscriptural) writings of former\nages for fully two hundred years. The first one to state its\nfundamental principles was Du Pin, in his New History of\nEcclesiastical Writers, published in 1694. In 1699 Bentley published\nhis famous examination of the epistles of Phalaris, according to the\nmethods and principles of the higher criticism. There is no better\ninstance of scientific investigation as to authenticity. These\nepistles had been commonly accepted by scholars as the work of\nPhalaris, and accounted of great value. Bentley, by his searching\nexamination of them, proved them to be the forgery of a sophist, so\nconclusively that no scholar worthy of the name has ventured to\nquestion the result since. That, I say, was in 1699.\n\nThe first work in the way of higher criticism of the Bible, Eichhorn's\nIntroduction to the Old Testament, was not published till nearly one\nhundred years later.\n\nBut that very modernness of the work brings it with some into\ndisfavor. \"If that is the true way of investigating the biblical\nwritings,\" they say, \"why are we so long in finding it out? Why did\nnot the fathers of the Church--mighty, indeed, as many of them were,\nwith keenness of insight into the Bible, with profound knowledge of\nits characteristics, with substantially the same evidence before them\nas we have now--why did not they give us the principles of the higher\ncriticism, if those principles are true?\"\n\nFor the very same reason as science in general has not until very\nlately begun to do its true work. How meager is all the scientific\nwork done in the ages of the past in comparison with that done during\nthe last three hundred years! Men were not up to it; they were only\nlearning the scientific method. So, the scientific method of examining\nliterature, men have not learned till within the past two hundred\nyears. Having all the facts before them which we have now would avail\nnothing without the knowledge of _how_ to observe, to classify, to\ndeduce, to verify, any more in the field of letters than in the field\nof Nature; any more in the Bible than in other literary works. Among\nthe immense benefits which science has conferred upon the world,\nsurely this should not be accounted the least, that it has taught us a\nmethod by which we may find out with ever-growing certainty the truth\nconcerning the Bible itself.\n\nWhat, then, should be the attitude of lovers of truth toward the\nhigher criticism of the Bible? It can be only one--openness of mind to\nthe ready acceptance of its work. Not that all its present results are\nto be accepted as final, for its work is still confessedly incomplete.\nMoreover, we can not fail to see that all investigations into the\nsacred Scriptures have not been prompted by a genuine love of truth,\nnor carried on with that judicial mind that should characterize every\none working in the name of science. So that not all that has been done\nin the name of the higher criticism has been according to scientific\nmethod. Nevertheless, there are results already obtained, bearing the\nstamp of truth--such as the composite character of the Hexateuch; the\ndouble authorship of Isaiah; the post-exilic date of many of the\nPsalms--results which to a scientific mind have the practical\ncertainty of a demonstration, but which the great majority of\nChristian ministers, who are supposed to look at such things\nintelligently, are not ready to accept.\n\nAre not the ministry in general more zealous to do as St. Paul says,\n\"Hold fast that which is good,\" than either to do, as he also says,\n\"Prove all things,\" or to make sure that what they hold fast is the\nbest? Well, undoubtedly that is the better way to do, if they are to\ndo only one--to \"hold fast that which is good.\" And yet it is a\nblessed thought that every brave, fearless effort which men make\ntoward finding out the truth, with every help that they can get from\nreason and a knowledge of the past, is an effort after God.\n\n\n\n\nGEOLOGY OF THE KLONDIKE GOLD FIELDS.[1]\n\n    [Footnote 1: From Alaska and the Klondike. With thirty-five\n    full-page illustrations and three maps. By Prof. Angelo Heilprin.\n    New York: D. Appleton and Company. Pp. 326. Price, $1.75.]\n\nBY ANGELO HEILPRIN,\n\nLATE PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY AT THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF\nPHILADELPHIA, FELLOW OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.\n\n\nThe gold fields of the Klondike or Troandik district, as officially\ndesignated, lie along or immediately about the waters, whether direct\nor tributary, of the Klondike, an eastern affluent of the Yukon, which\ndischarges into the \"father of northern waters\" at the site of Dawson.\nThe Klondike itself, whose upper waters are as yet only imperfectly\nknown, seemingly carries but little gold, the main quantity of the\nprecious metal and that which has made the region famous being\ncontributed by one of its southern arms, the Bonanza, and by a\ntributary of this, the Eldorado. Hunker Creek, draining a mountainous\ndistrict several miles to the eastward of the Bonanza, and like it a\nsouthern affluent of the Klondike, finds promise of a wealth but\nlittle if at all inferior to that of the Bonanza. In a broader or more\npopular sense, the Klondike region not only embraces the special\ndistrict so designated in the books of the Gold Commissioner, but also\nthe entire tract which heads up to the sources of the streams that\nhave before been mentioned, and thereby, with Quartz, Sulphur, and\nDominion Creeks as tributaries of Indian River, takes in the greater\nportion of the Indian River mining district, and with Baker, Reindeer,\nand other creeks on the west, the official districts indicated by\nthese names as well. With this limitation the region roughly defines\nan area about forty miles square, whose northern boundary lies\nsomewhat to the north of the sixty-fourth parallel of latitude, and on\nthe west reaches to within about thirty-five miles of the\ninternational boundary, the one hundred and forty-first meridian of\nwest longitude.\n\nThis area of approximately fifteen hundred square miles, which but\nlittle exceeds that of Rhode Island or of the county of Cornwall in\nEngland, may be broadly characterized as being gently mountainous,\nwith elevations of five hundred to fifteen hundred feet, and in the\nhighest parts of about twenty-two hundred feet. Its lowest depression\nis the valley of the Yukon, which, in itself occupying a position\nabout fourteen hundred feet above the sea, gives to these points\nabsolute elevations of three and nearly four thousand feet. Dome\nMountain, or, as it is frequently designated, simply \"The Dome,\" and\nless often \"Solomon's Dome,\" \"King Dome,\" and \"Mount Ophir,\" appears\nto be the culminating point of the entire region; and its prominent\nposition at the water parting of Bonanza, Hunker, Sulphur, and\nDominion Creeks makes it a noble figure in the landscape, and the most\ninteresting single feature to the prospector and miner. No absolute\ndeterminations for altitude have as yet been made for it, but when\ncrossing the summit it seemed to me that it could not be much under\nfour thousand feet, and I believe that Mr. Ogilvie gives to it about\nthirty-five hundred feet. The landscape which this mountain dominates\nis surpassingly beautiful, and I know of no finer view from similarly\nlow mountains than that which this one commands. The sharply incised\nwooded valleys of the different streams that head up to it tear the\nmountain into projecting buttresses, and in the ridge that leads off\nfrom it southwestward contracts it to the extent of forming for half a\nmile or more a narrow backbone or saddle. In this respect it reminded\nme much of Mount Katahdin, in Maine. On a clear day the distant main\nmass of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains is sharply outlined against\nthe northeastern sky, a most impressive setting to the verdant slopes\nthat trend off toward it, only to disappear in the belt of plain that\nseparates the two mountain systems. I was unfortunate in not getting\nthe full benefit of this view, as at the time of my first crossing the\natmosphere was very cloudy, and on the second it was so surcharged\nwith smoke from forest fires in the valleys of Gold Bottom, Quartz,\nand Sulphur Creeks that hardly more than the foreground was visible.\n\n[Illustration: A BIT OF NORWAY IN ALASKA.--CASCADE NEAR SKAGUAY.]\n\nA succession of five or six knobs runs out from the ridge to which\nreference has been made and which trends off in the direction of the\nhead waters of Eldorado, and these, together with the main Dome, are\nsometimes spoken of as the \"Seven Domes,\" but they have no particular\nsignificance in the orographic detail and can not even be said to be\nclearly defined to the eye. Dome Mountain is held in a respect\nbordering almost on veneration by the Klondikers, inasmuch as it is\ngenerally thought to be the mainspring of the gold supply which is\ncontained in the streams that fall off from it, and this means nearly\nall the good and the promising streams of the entire region. And, in\ntruth, there is for the moment no way of absolutely disposing of the\nminer's suppositions, nor can the circumstance that little or no gold\nhas yet been found in place either on or in the mountain be given much\nvalue in the discussion of the probable origin of the gold, inasmuch\nas the same negative condition confronts us in a study of the rocks of\nall other parts of the same and adjoining regions. Assuming that\nalluvial gold is in the main a derivative from reef gold, it is\ncertainly strange that streams flowing in well-nigh opposite\ndirections, and yet rising within very short distances of one\nanother, should be so largely charged with gold, unless they have\nobtained it from a common source; nor can the fact, as received and\nreported by most miners, but of the full import of which I have not\nyet fully made up my mind, that the different streams carry different\nclasses of gold, be argued away as having no significance in this\nconnection. Claim holders profess at most times to be able to\ndistinguish between Eldorado gold and that of Bonanza, between the\ngold of Bonanza and that of Hunker or Dominion, and so on; and there\nis no question that marked differences in color and in the contours of\nthe coarse flakes and nuggets do present themselves, and even in\nnarrower limits than has here been outlined. Thus, the gold from\nFrench Hill, abreast of Claim 17 on Eldorado, has a distinctiveness\nthat is largely its own, and hardly follows the gold of the rest of\nthe Eldorado tract; and the same is true of the gold of Skookum Hill\nin its relations to that of Bonanza, and also of that of Victoria\nGulch. Moreover, the recent assays that have been made by the Bank of\nBritish North America and the Canadian Bank of Commerce, in Dawson, of\nthe gold of the different creeks and gulches show plainly that marked\ndifferences as to fineness are distinctive qualities--at least they\nappear to be such at the present time. Thus, while Eldorado and\nBonanza gold generally assays but about $15.50 or $15.80 to the ounce,\nDominion gold shows as high as $17.80, and Hunker close to $18.50; the\ngold of Bear Creek, a minor tributary of the Klondike, is reported to\nactually give $19.20 to the ounce, falling only behind the almost pure\nspecimens that have been reported from American Creek and Mynook, and\nto which a valuation of nearly $20 has been given. If these assumed\nfacts continue to be proved true, then they must argue in favor of a\ndistribution of gold from largely localized spots or areas, a\nconclusion that is also pointed to by a number of other circumstances.\nOn the other hand, there are some facts which point in quite the\nopposite direction, and some of these will be referred to later on.\n\n[Illustration: THE VALE OF ELDORADO.]\n\nNone of the mountains of the region even approximates the snow line,\nwhich would here probably occupy a position not much below six\nthousand feet, and on the northern face perhaps even rise to seven\nthousand feet. Not a vestige of snow was seen by me when crossing the\nDome, not even in the most sheltered hollows, a condition that at\nfirst strikes one as strange, considering that in so many parts of our\nown mountains of equal or less elevation snow may be found lingering\nthrough a long period of the summer months. But here the greatly\nprotracted hours of summer daylight and heat, together with the\ncorrespondingly diminished period of night, when a regelation might\ntake place or melting at least could be arrested, have a marked\ninfluence in dissipating the winter's snows and ice when these are not\nparticularly heavy. I did not find the August heat quite so intense on\nthe mountain tops as I had been led to suppose that it would be, but\nthere was quite enough of it to satisfy an ample vegetation and to\nmake heavy garments in walking more than a luxury. Unfortunately, my\nthermometer was away from me at this time, and as sensation in this\ndry northern climate is so difficult to gauge by the standard of the\nmercurial index, I shall not hazard a guess as to the actual reading.\n\nTaking the mountains in their entirety, it is difficult from single\npoints of view to determine for them any definite relation. There are\nso many valleys in close proximity to one another, some very ancient\nand others relatively modern, and with trends so opposed in all\ndirections, that in the absence of a dominant ridge or mass this\nrelation becomes very confused; and I was not in a position, with the\nlimited time at my command and the deficiency of rock outcrops, to\npositively define any main line or axis of uplifts. Yet I suspect that\nthere is one such, with a generally east and west bearing, whose trend\nmight correspond with that of the ridge already referred to, which,\nwith a southwesterly deflection, unites Dome Mountain with the mass\nthat separates the upper Eldorado from Chief Gulch. What strikes one\nas particularly interesting in the conformation of some of these\nmountains when seen from an elevation is their hummocky appearance.\nThis is particularly noticeable in the mountains which close in the\nEldorado and Bonanza Valleys. With considerable actual elevations,\nthey convey the impression of being merely swells or undulations of an\nopen surface, very much like magnified morainic knolls in a glaciated\ncountry. This depressed type of mountain structure, with the evidence\nof its expanded valleys and gently flowing contours, carries with it\nthe proof of long-continued degradation, and of a history whose pages\nread far back into geological chronology.\n\nWith the evidences of antiquity before us, there are yet indications,\namounting, it seems to me, almost to proof, that many of the more\npronounced features of the region date their origin from only a\ncomparatively recent period. Such is the case with a number of valleys\nthat are tributary to the main ones, and even the latter appear to\nhave been modified by late stream displacements. Taking the Eldorado\nor Bonanza, with their open U-shaped troughs and in most parts gently\nsloping banks, as types of the older valleys, it is surprising to note\nhow many of their tributaries have the deeply incised and narrow\ncontours; and I am led almost to conclude that some of these are\nreally of very late construction. The stream displacements, which, by\nreason of the indices they give to the finding of new placers, are now\nbeginning to be so attentively studied by the miner and prospector,\nare emphatic in their testimony in this direction.[2] One has but to\nnote the triangular area that is included between French Gulch\n(tributary to Eldorado abreast of Claims 17 and 18) and Adams Creek\n(tributary to Bonanza at Claim 6 below Discovery) to be convinced of\nthe actuality of recent transformations. Most of the miners regard the\nhigh-level gravels of this tract--of French Hill, Gold Hill (opposite\nto Grand Forks Village), Skookum Hill, and Adams Hill--so rich in gold\nas to make the claims fairly the rivals of the creek claims, as\nrepresenting the ancient high-level flow of the Eldorado and Bonanza,\nbut I am convinced that this is not the case (although it is certain\nthat both streams mentioned did at one time flow at as high, and even\nconsiderably higher, levels). The materials that so largely\ndistinguish these bench or hillside gravels (placers) are in greater\npart rounded bowlders or cobbles of white quartz, with a marked\ndeficiency of the fragmented schists and slates which make pay dirt\nand bed rock in the course of the streams below.\n\n    [Footnote 2: Prof. Israel Russell has made the interesting\n    observation that orographic movement may now be taking place in\n    the region of the middle Yukon, about the Lower Ramparts, with the\n    uplifting of a mountain range athwart the river; on this\n    supposition he seeks an explanation for the detail of the Yukon\n    lowlands.]\n\n_Per contra_, the creek claims of Eldorado and Bonanza contain, as a\nrule, only an insignificant quantity of the rounded quartz bowlders,\nwhile almost everywhere where excavations have been made the body and\nsubstance of the output are the flattened and discoid parts of the\nmother-rock of most of the region--quartzitic, micaceous, hornblendic,\nand chloritic schists, and with them a less quantity of gneissic and\ndioritic rock. The high quartz-capped knob to which reference has\nalready been made as marking the water parting of French, Nine Mile,\nand Adams Creeks, has large quartz masses entering into its\ncomposition, whether as bosses, dikes, or veins, and to them, or\nrather their wasted parts, must we look for the source which has so\ngenerously supplied the materials of the French-Adams Hills benches.\nThere has been a bad break-up in this quarter, and the materials\nresulting from it have been swept into the confluence (delta) of the\ntwo streams which define the main valleys. Furthermore, the descending\narcuate contour lines which are so well marked by terrace slopes on\nthat face of French Hill which is turned to the corner of Eldorado and\nFrench Gulch, show plainly the receding course, in the direction of\nsouth, of French Creek (Gulch). On the hill slopes south of the\nposition which it now occupies there is none of that deposit which\nlies to the north of it; the riches of French Hill are delimited by\nFrench Gulch, and even in the gulch itself there is nothing that can\nbe compared with what is found on the heights. Again, on the side of\nEldorado opposite to French and Gold Hills there is the same\ndeficiency as regards the characteristic bench deposits, and this also\nholds true with the Bonanza opposite Skookum and Adams Hills. If these\nhigh-level deposits were in fact the ancient waste of the Eldorado and\nBonanza, we should naturally expect to find at least \"outliers\" on\nthe less favored bank of the streams, and surely in the case of the\nEldorado former evidence of this deposition ought to be had on the\nhillsides, similarly contoured to those of the north, which lie south\nof and immediately adjoining French Gulch.\n\n[Illustration: GRAND FORKS VILLAGE.--VALLEY OF THE BONANZA.]\n\nThrough virtually the entire Klondike tract and far beyond it on all\nsides there are evidences of high water flows. No more perfect\npresentation of high-level terraces can be had than that which defines\nthe first line of heights, of perhaps one hundred and fifty to two\nhundred feet, which so beautifully impress the landscape of the Yukon\nabout Dawson. The observer, from a still loftier elevation, notes\nthese flat-topped banks, having the regularity of railroad\nconstructions, following the course of the river as far as the eye can\nreach, here perhaps interrupted by a too steeply washed buttress,\nelsewhere washed to low level by some stream which has taken a\ntransverse direction. A somewhat higher line of benches curves around\nthe still higher points of eminence, and defines the course of water\nacross country--such, at least, it is to-day. And all the way to the\ntop, scattered evidences of the recent presence of water can still be\nfound. I met with rolled or water-worn pebbles so near to the top (the\nactual summit and not the position of the signal flag) of the high\npeak overlooking Dawson that it may safely be assumed that they also\noccur on the very apex (about eleven hundred feet above the present\nlevel of the Yukon), a conclusion which is more than strengthened by\nthe finding of pebbles at even a greater elevation on the French-Adams\nCreek knob. While thus presenting the evidence of high water levels, I\nam far from convinced that this evidence points exclusively to river\nflows. Much more does it appear that, in one part of its history at\nleast, we are dealing with the evidences of the past existence of\nlarge lakelike bodies of water, perhaps even of a vast inland sea. The\ncontours of the country in a sort of ill-defined way suggest this\ninterpretation--an interpretation that is not, however, without\nevidence to support it, and which seems also to have been entertained\nbefore me by McConnell and by Israel Russell. The latter investigator\nhas, indeed, given the name of Lake Yukon to a former extensive body\nof water, of which the existing Lakes Lebarge, Marsh, Tagish, and\nBennett, with the connecting Yukon, are only dissociated parts. This\nlake is assumed to have been about one hundred and fifty miles in\nlength, with a surface elevated between twenty-five hundred and\ntwenty-seven hundred feet above the sea.\n\nFirst in the line of evidence may perhaps be taken the universality of\nwash gravel and of terrace _d\u00e9bris_ and the great heights which they\noccupy. While I have not myself observed such evidences of water\naction on the very summit of the Dome, there is reason to believe that\nthey do or at least did exist. Most of this summit, in its narrowed\nform and rapidly descending slopes, has been, if one may use the\nexpression, more than washed off, and could hardly be expected to\nretain for any great length of time accumulations of loose fragmental\nmaterial. But at least its far-off continuation near the source (right\nfork) of Eldorado Creek bears some of it on its shoulder, and I have\nalso seen it in an excavation on the loftily located Claim 71 of that\nstream. Nearly abreast of the international boundary, the one hundred\nand forty-first meridian of west longitude (Greenwich), McConnell and\nRussell noted the terrace line of the Yukon River as high up as seven\nhundred and thirty feet, which is still about four hundred feet below\nthe point where I obtained wash gravel on the peak back of Dawson; but\nDr. George Dawson found the terraces on Dease Lake to rise to\nthirty-six hundred and sixty feet, and elsewhere he calls attention to\nhaving come across water-rolled gravel at an elevation of forty-three\nhundred feet, which would probably exceed by about six hundred feet\nthe culminating point of Dome Mountain. Such high water could, with\nthe existing configuration of the land surface, hardly define any\nother feature than that of a large interior sea or of a series of lake\nbasins; and while it may be argued that there has been sufficient\ndegradation of the land surface since the period of the height of\nwater to permit us to reconstruct a contour that would be in harmony\nwith altered and reduced river courses, and relieve us from the\nnecessity of invoking the assistance of lacustrine bodies in a\nsolution of the problem, it does not seem to me likely that this has\nbeen the case. The physiognomy of the upper Yukon Valley supports this\ncontention, and even to-day the river has not yet fully escaped from a\nlacustrine condition which is merely fragmental of a previous state.\n\nOn one point bearing upon the succession of events in the upper Yukon\nValley, and which has its connection with the history of the Klondike\nregion, my conclusions differ somewhat from those that have been\nexpressed by Dawson. This pertains to the deposit of volcanic ash\nwhich is so marked a feature of the accumulations of the river's\nbanks. For nearly three hundred miles by the course of the river a\nstratum of pumiceous ash, ordinarily not more than four or six inches\nin thickness, constitutes almost without break the top layer but one\nof the banks on either side, and that which is above it is generally\nonly the insignificant soil or subsoil which immediately supports the\nvegetation. So persistent is this ash layer, and so uniformly does it\nhold to an even thickness and to its exact position beneath the\nsurface, that without further examination one would be tempted to\nbelieve from a little distance that it was merely the ordinary subsoil\nlayer from which the color had been leached out by vegetable growths.\nHere and there, where there have been local disturbances or water\nwashings have produced concentration, it may have acquired a\ndevelopment of a few feet, and occasionally it has accommodated itself\nto flexures or saggings of the deposits which it normally caps as a\nhorizontal zone. Dr. Dawson, in commenting upon its occurrence,\ncorrectly assumes that it represents one continuous volcanic eruption,\nthe date of which might fall well within a period of a few hundred\nyears, and he speculates as to its being possibly associated with an\noutbreak from Mount Wrangel or some active cone which is represented\nby the Indians to exist in the region of the upper White River. Beyond\nthis, from the normality of its position, and the assumed fact that no\nfluviatile or aqueous deposits have been found overlying it, the same\nobserver argues that the outbreak must have taken place subsequent to\nthe formation of the present river courses and their valleys, a\nconclusion in which I do not see my way to concur. The only\nsatisfactory interpretation of this vast uniformly placed and\nuniformly layered deposit of ash is to me that which assumes a\ndeposition in a widely extended lake basin, or in shallow lagoon\nwaters which already in part occupied the present valley surfaces. In\nsuch waters precipitation from long-continued suspension would proceed\ngradually and evenly, to the end of shaping a deposit of nearly\nuniform development and of vast extent. Such depositions we find in\nthe valleys lying north of the City of Mexico (Zumpango, Tequixquiac)\nand in the lacustrine area of Anahuac, also in the famous\nfossiliferous basin of Florissant, in Colorado. With the subsequent\nformation or reformation of the river's course we should have this\ndeposit cut through, with the result of presenting the even layer\nwhich is so persistent in its following. This method would also\naccount for the anomalous position in which we find the ash deposits;\nwhile still holding the same relation to the top surface, it\noccasionally rises far above what might be assumed to be its normal\nheight or level above the water's surface--from four to ten feet--a\ncondition that would hardly be in consonance with the assumption that\nthe ash was deposited after the actual river channels had been cut.\nBut other and more direct proof of aqueous occupation after the laying\nof the ash is had in the fact that in one place at least, and\ndoubtless many more such will be found on closer investigation,\nlacustrine or fluviatile shells (subfossils) occur in the layer\noverlying the ash. A locality of this kind is found on the right bank\nnot many miles above the Five Finger Rapids. Here, at a height of not\nmore than four feet above the river, I had the pleasure of determining\nspecies of _Limnea_ and _Physa_, associated singularly enough with\n_Helix_, in the layers immediately above and below the ash bed, and in\nboth horizons the species were identical. This isolated fact speaks\nvolumes for itself. Had this been the region of Helena, Ark., I should\nhave been prompted to class the bed with a portion of the Mississippi\nloess. What interested me further in this connection was the fact that\nup to this time I had failed to bring to light one solitary mollusk\nfrom the upper Yukon, and to all inquiries regarding the existence of\nshellfish in this northern water invariably a negative reply was\nreceived. Only on that day did I again obtain success in my\nmalacological effort, the almost icy waters rewarding my search with a\nsingle specimen--unfortunately subsequently lost--of a _Bythinella_,\nor some closely related type, so that even to-day my knowledge does\nnot permit me to state if the subfossil species of the banks have\ntheir living representatives, either specific or generic, in the\nalmost wholly noncalcareous waters of the existing river. The question\nfrom more points than one is interesting, and deserves more than\npassing attention. It may be remarked in this place that the only\nother fluviatile invertebrate which I found in these waters was a\nwhite siliceous coating sponge, whose statoblasts were well visible to\nthe naked eye. Unfortunately, the loss of my specimens has prevented\ndetermination, a circumstance the more to be deplored as these\nfresh-water sponges are the most northern in habit known to the\nzo\u00f6logist.[3]\n\n    [Footnote 3: Professor Russell, in discussing the flood-plain\n    deposits of the Yukon about the mouth of the Porcupine River, says\n    that \"fresh-water shells were frequently observed in the finer\n    deposits.\" Unfortunately, no statement is made of the types which\n    they represent.]\n\nThere is evidence of another kind pointing to a comparative newness of\nmuch of the present course of the Yukon. The feature has been noticed\nalike by nongeographers and geographers, and by geologists as well,\nthat the arm which carries the greatest volume of water does not\neverywhere occupy the main orographic valley. Thus, as Dawson has well\npointed out, in coming up the stream the valley of the Big Salmon\nappears to be more nearly the continuation of the main valley below\nthan that which still (and properly) continues to be designated the\nLewes (Yukon) above; and this is still more markedly the case with the\nHootalinqua (Teslin-too or Newberry River) at the confluence with the\nThirty Mile. Even the valley of the Pelly at its junction with the\nYukon, near Fort Selkirk, would perhaps to most persons suggest itself\nas the main channel of erosion. There is no hardship to geological\nfacts in invoking the aid of great displacements to account for a\ncondition which to my mind is well impressed upon the landscape; for,\neven without the proper or fully satisfactory evidence in hand to\nsupport the view, I fully believe that the greater part of the upper\nYukon tract only recently emerged from a lacustrine condition. Nor is\nit to me by any means certain that this emergence or final\nreconstruction of the land surface into valley tracts need be more\nthan a few hundred years old, or necessarily older than the deposition\nof the volcanic ash, which is hypothetically carried back to Dawson to\na possible five hundred years or so. If it should be objected that we\nknow of no such rapid change in the configuration of a land surface\nbrought about by aqueous agencies, it might be answered that the\nmechanics of erosion in a pre-eminently drift-covered region, under\nsubarctic conditions and with the influence of a most powerful and\nenergetic stream near by, have neither been studied nor observed.\n\n[Illustration: SLUICING ON THE BONANZA.]\n\nLet us examine the possibilities of the case. As an initiatory premise\nit might be assumed, without much chance of either affirmation or\ndenial, that the degradation of the land surface in the immediate\nvalleys of the main streams is or has been in the past taking place at\nthe rate of half a line per day; so far as the eye and ordinary\ninstruments of measurement are concerned this is a quite inappreciable\namount, and I see no reason why it may not be assumed as the working\npower of the Yukon. With this rate of erosion a valley trough or\ncontour of about a foot and a third might be formed in the period of a\nsingle year, or of nearly seven hundred feet in five hundred years;\nand if we lessen the daily erosion to one quarter of the amount\nstated--i. e., to an eighth of a line--we should still have in this\nsame period of five hundred years, speaking broadly, a trough of about\none hundred and seventy-five feet depth, quite sufficient to have\nbrought about most marked changes in the aspect of a drift-covered\nlagoon region, and perhaps ample to account for those physiognomic\npeculiarities which have been discovered. I am fully impressed with\nthe magnitude of the distance which separates the amount of erosion\nwhich I have assumed--an eighth of a line daily--from the \"one foot in\nsix thousand years,\" which has been preached categorically from\nlecturn and text-book for the better part of a quarter of a century\nand threatens to make dogma for still another period of equal length;\nbut the conditions here are entirely different from those of average\ncontinental denudation--in fact, have as nearly nothing in common as\nthey can have. My observations in the tropics and subtropics have most\nimpressively taught me the lesson of rapid changes, and with the\nconditions that are and have been associated with the Yukon, I am\nprepared for the lesson of equal change in the north. But, as a matter\nof fact, are we not taught of a removal in the west central United\nStates of some twelve thousand feet of rock strata in a period not\nimpossibly considerably less than two hundred thousand years? The one\nfoot in sixteen years has here likewise nothing in common with the\n\"prevailing\" rate of continental destruction.\n\nWhile stalled on a bar on the Yukon River, about two miles above Fort\nSelkirk, I was much impressed with the mechanical work of the stream.\nThe gravel and pebbles were being hurried along rapidly under the lash\nof a five to six mile current, and their groans were audible\nfrequently when they themselves were invisible. Every few minutes our\nsteamer would swerve from her seemingly fixed position by the\nundercutting of the bar, and perhaps it would be not far from the\ntruth in saying that we should be to-day in very nearly the same\nposition that we were in then had it not been for this undermining\naction of the stream. Let it be remembered that the Yukon has a\ncurrent ranging up to seven miles, or to eight, as some of the\nnavigators say, and that in certain months it is swiftly ice-bound\nboth on top and at the bottom, and heavily charged with bowlders, and\none may well realize the work of which it is capable. That with which\nI have debited it is purely hypothetical or conjectural, but it may\nserve a purpose in the elucidation of the main problem.\n\nIn its more distinctively geological relations the Klondike region may\nbe broadly defined as one composed in the main of schists and\nschistose rocks, defining an area of considerable disturbance. Owing\nto the limited number of outcrops, by far the greater part of the\nsurface being still buried beneath vegetation of one kind or another,\nthe variety of rocks included within the region can best be told from\nan examination of creek bowlders or the different dumps that mark\nhundreds of diggings and prospect holes along the various valleys and\ngulches. Some of this output, in which may be found fragments of\nquartz and quartzitic schist, of mica, hornblende, and chloritic\nschists and slates, of granitic gneiss and gneissose granite,\nporphyry, diabase, diorite, and quartz (quartzite), is probably\nextra-territorial, having been washed in at a time when a more\nextensive foreign water had access to the region; but there is enough\nof outcrop to show that most, and perhaps all, of the types here\nindicated are really a part of the tract. The schists and schistose\nrocks, whose age from direct evidence in the field I was unable to\ndetermine, but which are almost certainly the equivalents in greater\npart of the Birch Creek series, as described by Spurr from the\nAmerican side (Birch Creek and Forty Mile districts), constitute the\nkernel of the region. Observation is as yet too limited to permit of a\npositive classification of these schists according to their natural\nrelations, and the reasons that have prompted some to consider them as\nbeing in part of pre-Paleozoic age are not quite clear to me, although\nthey may easily be such. Of granite and true gneiss in position I saw\npractically nothing, and the limestones and marble were not sufficient\nin quantity to permit me to identify the heavy beds which are\nconsidered to be the distinguishing element of the Forty Mile series.\nThe beds where exposed show in most parts steep dips--in places\nstanding almost vertically--but in how far these dips are uniform or\nthe reverse, or in any way define a line of strike with anticlinals\nand synclinals, must be left for future close examination to\nascertain.\n\n[Illustration: APPROXIMATE MAP OF THE KLONDIKE REGION]\n\nGreat lumps of white or pinkish quartz, some of them _in situ_, others\nwashed or rolled down the open slopes, occur at many points of some of\nthe mountain elevations, indicating the presence of dikes and gash\nveins, and in part of interstratified beds containing this material. I\nfound much of it at several \"horizons\" of the slope back of French\nHill, and also as a cap overlying the badly cleaved and fragmented\nschists of the summit (three thousand feet?) of the prominent knob\nwhich dominates this region. The same type of \"kidney\" quartz appears\nat repeated intervals on the slope leading up to the Dome, almost\nimmediately after leaving the junction of Carmack's Fork with the\nBonanza, and also on the saddle ridge which might properly be\nconsidered to be a part of the summit of Dome Mountain. Prospectors\nhave in nearly all cases staked these assumed outcrops of quartz,\nrecognizing them as ledges, and in a number of them have claimed the\ndiscovery of the \"mother lode.\" So far as visible gold is concerned, I\nhave in nearly all cases found them to be absolutely barren, and I do\nnot think at this time that there is much chance of finding anything\nmaterially valuable in them, although events might prove the reverse.\nMost of the quartz that has so far been discovered in direct\nassociation with the gold--that is to say, wrapped up with or within\nitself, as in the case of the quartz-gold nuggets of French Hill--is\nof a gray-blue or pinkish tint and of a granular and nonspathic type,\ntherefore differing materially in aspect and structure from the quartz\nof the hillsides and from the greater number of the quartz bowlders\nthat are contained in the dumps or have been removed from bed rock.\nSome of the bowlders or rolled pebbles containing coarse gold are of\nthe same character of quartz as the quartz of the hillsides. Notably\none such was shown to me as coming from a high-bench claim (Millett's)\non Adams Hill (left \"limit\" [bank] of Bonanza, between Little Skookum\nand Adams Creek), and other similar fragments taken from the rock _in\nsitu_ were observed on Gay Gulch and the ridge which separates the\nhead waters of this stream from those of Eldorado. In a dump at the\nmouth of Gay Gulch (a right-hand tributary of Eldorado abreast of\nClaim 37) I found fragments of rotted quartz which were well sprinkled\nwith fine gold.\n\nIt does not by any means appear so conclusive to me as seemingly it\ndoes to Professor Spurr that because in some gulches the gold heads up\nin increasing quantities the nearer we approach the beginnings (heads)\nof these gulches, and that with this approach the coarseness of the\ngrains and nuggets likewise increases, we are necessarily forced to\nassume that the travel of the gold at large has been confined within\nthe boundaries of the gulches in which it is at present contained, or\nthat its source is to be sought near by. A number of the most \"solid\"\nstreams of the Klondike region, such as the Bonanza and Eldorado, if\nwe are permitted to judge from the evidence of outputs and of\nprospects up to the present time, hardly sustain the conditions of\nthe American creeks. The richest claims on the Eldorado are, starting\nfrom its mouth--the junction of the Bonanza--4, 5, 12, 13, 29, 30, 31,\n36, with other claims abundantly rich between these. Number 30 is, I\nbelieve, generally considered to be the banner claim, and it is\nsituated about three miles up--far enough, perhaps, to sustain in a\nsuperficial way Professor Spurr's generalization as to location--and\nabove it 36 is not unlikely to show up as well as any of the other\ncreek claims below. But the valley of Eldorado, whether constricted or\nopen, continues for miles beyond either of its two head forks--that\nwhich is known as Eldorado proper, and the one, Chief, or Chief Isaac\nGulch, which is geographically the continuation. So little has been\nfound above 36 or 37 that the stream in that part is ordinarily spoken\nof as being barren. Again, so far as the tributaries on either side of\nEldorado are concerned, and the possibility that they are responsible\nfor the gold that is contained in the main stream between 37 and 1\nrather than the Eldorado itself--a condition in no way impossible or\nimprobable--it can only be said for them that up to this time they\nhave, with the possible exception of Oro Grande (tributary to Eldorado\nabreast of Claim 31), yielded very little gold themselves, and have\nhardly given indication of containing much of a supply. I have used\nthe words \"up to this time\" advisedly, because I am aware upon how\nlittle the evil reputation of a gulch rests, and how prospectors\ndeceive themselves by the character of their defective prospect holes.\nHence, while my argument is drawn from existing evidence, it can not\nbe assumed that this evidence is by any means sufficient to warrant a\nconclusion. It is by no means unlikely that some of the lateral\ngulches will really be found to be largely gold-bearing, and of such\nGay Gulch and the left-fork ascending of Eldorado (Eldorado proper\nabove 47) appear to me the most promising.[4]\n\n    [Footnote 4: Since writing the above intelligence has been\n    received of the location of a rich pay streak on Gay Gulch.]\n\nThe condition of the Bonanza is very similar to that of the Eldorado.\nIts greatest wealth, as so far determined, is concentrated in its\nmiddle course, beginning about five miles above its mouth and\nterminating some six miles below its source. But very little gold, if\nthe information given to me is correct, has been taken out from or\ndetermined to exist in the tract lying above Claim 42 above Discovery,\nor the mouth of Victoria Gulch (left-hand tributary, whose source is\nfound on a ridge from the opposite side of which Gay Gulch descends to\nthe Eldorado), and yet the valley continues open and without material\nchange for at least two miles, and with a certain contraction for four\nmiles more. Barring the Eldorado and the streams coming in from the\nsame side nearest to it--Big Skookum, Little Skookum, and Adams--few\nif any of the side gulches of the Bonanza are known to be really rich\nin gold, and for the moment, at least, they can hardly be looked upon\nas having furnished the main supply to the main stream.\n\n\n\n\nTHE RACE PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES.\n\nBY BOOKER T. WASHINGTON,\n\nPRINCIPAL OF THE TUSKEGEE NORMAL INSTITUTE.\n\n\nI have been asked a number of times during the last few months the\ncause of and the cure for the riots that have taken place recently in\nNorth Carolina and South Carolina. I am not at all sure that what I\nshall say will answer these questions in a satisfactory way, nor shall\nI attempt to narrow my expressions to a mere recital of what has taken\nplace in these two States. I prefer to discuss the problem in a\nbroader manner.\n\nIn the first place, in politics I am a Republican, but have always\nrefrained from activity in party measures, and expect to pursue this\npolicy in the future; so in this article I shall refrain, as I always\nhave done, from entering upon any discussion of mere party politics,\nin the narrow and usual sense. What I shall say of politics will bear\nupon the race problem and the civilization of the South in the larger\nsense. In no case would I permit my political relations to stand in\nthe way of my speaking and acting in the manner that I believe is\ngoing to be for the permanent interest of my race and the whole South,\nregardless of mere party name and organization.\n\nIn 1873 the negro in the South had reached the point of greatest\nactivity and influence in public life, so far as the mere holding of\nelective office was concerned. From this date those who have kept up\nwith the history of the South have noticed that the negro has steadily\nlost in the number of elective offices held. In saying this I do not\nmean that the negro has gone backward in the real and more fundamental\nthings of life. On the contrary, he has gone forward faster than has\nbeen true of any other race in history, under anything like similar\ncircumstances.\n\nIf we can answer the question as to why the negro has lost ground in\nthe matter of holding elective office in the South, perhaps we shall\nfind that our reply will prove to be our answer also as to the cause\nof the recent riots in North Carolina and South Carolina. Before\nbeginning a discussion of the question I have asked, I wish to say\nthat this change in the political influence of the negro has continued\nfrom year to year, notwithstanding the fact that for a long time he\nwas protected politically, by force of Federal arms and the most rigid\nFederal laws, and still more effectively, perhaps, by the voice and\ninfluence in the halls of legislation of such advocates of the rights\nof the negro race as Charles Sumner, Benjamin F. Butler, James A.\nGarfield, Oliver P. Morton, Carl Schurz, and Roscoe Conkling; and on\nthe stump and through the public press by those great and powerful\nnegroes, Frederick Douglass, John M. Langston, Blanche K. Bruce, John\nR. Lynch, P. B. S. Pinchback, Robert Browne Elliot, and many others;\nbut the negro has continued for twenty years to have fewer\nrepresentatives in the State and national legislatures. The reduction\nhas continued until now it is to the point where, with few exceptions,\nhe is without representatives in the lawmaking bodies of the State and\nof the nation.\n\nNow, let us find, if we can, a cause for this. The negro is fond of\nsaying that his present condition is due to the fact that the State\nand Federal courts have not sustained the laws passed for the\nprotection of the rights of his people, but I think we shall have to\ngo deeper than this, because I believe that all agree that court\ndecisions, as a rule, represent the public opinion of the community or\nnation creating and sustaining the court.\n\nAt the beginning of his freedom, it was unfortunate that those of the\nwhite race who won the political confidence of the negro were not,\nwith few exceptions, men of such high character as would lead them to\nassist him in laying a firm foundation for his development. Their main\npurpose appears to have been, for selfish ends in too many instances,\nmerely to control his vote. The history of the reconstruction era will\nshow that this was unfortunate for all the parties in interest.\n\nIt would have been better, from any point of view, if the native\nSouthern white man had taken the negro, at the beginning of his\nfreedom, into his political confidence, and exercised an influence and\ncontrol over him before his political affections were alienated. In\nthe light of present experience, I think all will now agree that the\nballot would have meant more to the negro and would have been more\nlasting in its results, would have caused less opposition, if it had\nbeen given to him gradually, as he came into possession of education.\n\nThe average Southern white man has the idea to-day that if the negro\nwere permitted to get any political power all the mistakes of the\nreconstruction period would be repeated. He forgets or ignores the\nfact that thirty years of acquiring education and property and\ncharacter have produced a higher type of black man than existed thirty\nyears ago.\n\nBut to be more specific for all practical purposes, there are two\npolitical parties in the South--a black man's party and a white man's\nparty. In saying this, I do not mean that all white men are Democrats,\nfor there are some white men in the South of the highest character who\nare Republicans, and there are a few negroes in the South of the\nhighest character who are Democrats. It is the general understanding\nthat all white men are Democrats, or the equivalent, and that all\nblack men are Republicans. So long as the color line is the dividing\nline in politics, so long will there be trouble.\n\nThe white man feels that he owns most of the property, furnishes the\nnegro most of his employment, that he pays most of the taxes, and,\nbesides, has had years of experience in government. There is no\nmistaking the fact that the feeling which, in some way, has heretofore\ntaken possession of the negro--that to be manly and stand by his race\nhe must oppose the Southern white man with his vote--has had much to\ndo with intensifying the opposition to him.\n\nThe Southern white man says that it is unreasonable for the negro to\ncome to him, in a large measure, for his clothes, board, shelter, and\neducation, and for his politics to go to men a thousand miles away.\nThe Southern white man argues that when the negro votes he should in a\nlarger measure try to consult the interests of his employer, just as\nthe Pennsylvania employee tries to vote for the interests of his\nemployer.\n\nThe Southern white man argues, further, that much of the education\nwhich has been given the negro has been defective in not preparing him\nto love labor and to earn his living at some special industry, and\nhas, in too many cases, resulted in tempting him to live by his wits\nas a political creature, or by trusting to his \"influence\" as a\npolitical timeserver.\n\nThen there is no mistaking the fact that much opposition to the negro\nin politics is due to the circumstance that the Southern white man has\nnot got accustomed to seeing the negro exercise political power,\neither as a voter or as an officeholder. Again, we want to bear it in\nmind that the South has not yet reached the point where there is that\nstrict regard for the enforcement of the law against either black or\nwhite men that there is in many of our Northern and Western States.\nThis laxity in the enforcement of the laws in general, and especially\nof criminal laws, makes such outbreaks as those in North Carolina and\nSouth Carolina of easy occurrence.\n\nThen there is one other consideration which must not be overlooked: it\nis the common opinion of almost every black man and almost every white\nman that nearly everybody who has had anything to do with the making\nof laws bearing upon the protection of the negro's vote has proceeded\non the theory that all the black men for all time are going to vote\nthe Republican ticket, and that all the white men in the South are\ngoing to vote the Democratic ticket; in a word, all seemed to have\ntaken it for granted that the two races are always going to oppose\neach other in their voting.\n\nIn all the foregoing statements I have not attempted to define my own\nviews or position, but simply to describe conditions as I have\nobserved them, that might throw light upon the cause of our political\ntroubles.\n\nAs to my own position in all these matters I do not favor the negro's\ngiving up anything which is fundamental and which has been guaranteed\nto him by the Constitution of the United States. It is not best for\nhim to relinquish any of his rights; nor would his doing so be best\nfor the Southern white man. Every law placed in the Constitution of\nthe United States was placed there to encourage and stimulate the\nhighest citizenship. If the negro is not stimulated and encouraged by\njust State and national laws to become the highest type of citizen,\nthe result will be worse for the Southern white man than for the\nnegro. Take the State of South Carolina, for example, where nearly two\nthirds of the population are negroes. Unless these negroes are\nencouraged by just election laws to become taxpayers and intelligent\nproducers, the white people of South Carolina will have an eternal\nmillstone about their necks.\n\nIn addressing the Southern white people at the opening of the Atlanta\nExposition, in 1895, I said:\n\n\"There is no escape through law of man or God from the inevitable:\n\n      \"'The laws of changeless justice bind\n        Oppressor with oppressed;\n      And close as sin and suffering joined\n        We march to fate abreast.'\n\n\"Nearly sixteen millions of hands will aid you in pulling the load\nupward, or they will pull against you the load downward. We shall\nconstitute one third and more of the ignorance and crime of the South,\nor one third of its intelligence and progress; we shall contribute one\nthird to the business and industrial property of the South, or we\nshall prove a veritable body of death, stagnating, depressing,\nretarding every effort to advance the body politic.\"\n\nSubsequently, in an open letter to the State Constitutional Convention\nof Louisiana, I wrote:\n\n\"I am no politician; on the other hand, I have always advised my race\nto give attention to acquiring property, intelligence, and character,\nas the necessary basis of good citizenship, rather than to mere\npolitical agitation. But the question upon which I write is out of\nthe region of ordinary politics: it affects the civilization of two\nraces, not for to-day alone, but for a very long time to come; it is\nup in the region of duty of man to man, of Christian to Christian.\n\n\"Since the war no State has had such an opportunity to settle for all\ntime the race question, so far as it concerns politics, as is now\ngiven to Louisiana. Will your convention set an example to the world\nin this respect? Will Louisiana take such high and just grounds in\nrespect to the negro that no one can doubt that the South is as good a\nfriend to the negro as he possesses elsewhere? In all this, gentlemen\nof the convention, I am not pleading for the negro alone, but for the\nmorals, the higher life of the white man as well; for the more I study\nthis question, the more I am convinced that it is not so much a\nquestion as to what the white man will do with the negro as to what\nthe negro will do with the white man's civilization.\n\n\"The negro agrees with you that it is necessary to the salvation of\nthe South that restriction be put upon the ballot. I know that you\nhave two serious problems before you: ignorant and corrupt government\non the one hand, and on the other a way to restrict the ballot, so\nthat control will be in the hands of the intelligent, without regard\nto race. With the sincerest sympathy with you in your efforts to find\na good way out of the difficulty, I want to suggest that no State in\nthe South can make a law that will provide an opportunity or\ntemptation for an ignorant white man to vote and withhold the\nopportunity or temptation for an ignorant colored man without injuring\nboth men. No State can make a law that can thus be executed without\ndwarfing for all time the morals of the white man in the South. Any\nlaw controlling the ballot that is not absolutely just and fair to\nboth races will work more permanent injury to the whites than to the\nblacks.\n\n\"The negro does not object to an educational and property test, but\nlet the law be so clear that no one clothed with State authority will\nbe tempted to perjure and degrade himself by putting one\ninterpretation upon it for the white man and another for the black\nman. Study the history of the South, and you will find that where\nthere has been the most dishonesty in the matter of voting, there you\nwill find to-day the lowest moral condition of both races. First,\nthere was the temptation to act wrongly with the negro's ballot. From\nthis it was an easy step to act dishonestly with the white man's\nballot, to the carrying of concealed weapons, to the murder of a\nnegro, and then to the murder of a white man, and then to lynching. I\nentreat you not to pass a law that will prove an eternal millstone\nabout the necks of your children.\n\n\"No man can have respect for the Government and officers of the law\nwhen he knows, deep down in his heart, that the exercise of the\nfranchise is tainted with fraud.\n\n\"The road that the South has been compelled to travel during the last\nthirty years has been strewn with thorns and thistles. It has been as\none groping through the long darkness into the light. The time is not\nfar distant when the world will begin to appreciate the real character\nof the burden that was imposed upon the South when four million\nex-slaves, ignorant and impoverished, were given the franchise. No\npeople has ever been given such a problem to solve. History has blazed\nno path through the wilderness that could be followed. For thirty\nyears we have wandered in the wilderness. We are now beginning to get\nout. But there is only one road out, and all makeshifts, expedients,\nprofit-and-loss calculations, but lead into swamps, quicksands,\nquagmires, and jungles. There is a highway that will lead both races\nout into the pure, beautiful sunshine, where there will be nothing to\nhide and nothing to explain, where both races can grow strong and true\nand useful in every fiber of their being. I believe that your\nconvention will find this highway; that it will enact a fundamental\nlaw that will be absolutely just and fair to white and black alike.\n\n\"I beg of you, further, that in the degree that you close the ballot\nbox against the ignorant you open the schoolhouse. More than one half\nof the population of your State are negroes. No State can long prosper\nwhen a large part of its citizenship is in ignorance and poverty, and\nhas no interest in government. I beg of you that you do not treat us\nas an alien people. We are not aliens. You know us; you know that we\nhave cleared your forests, tilled your fields, nursed your children,\nand protected your families. There is an attachment between us that\nfew understand. While I do not presume to be able to advise you, yet\nit is in my heart to say that if your convention would do something\nthat would prevent for all time strained relations between the two\nraces, and would permanently settle the matter of political relations\nin one Southern State, at least, let the very best educational\nopportunities be provided for both races; and add to this an election\nlaw that shall be incapable of unjust discrimination, at the same time\nproviding that in proportion as the ignorant secure education,\nproperty, and character, they will be given the right of citizenship.\nAny other course will take from one half your citizens interest in the\nState, and hope and ambition to become intelligent producers and\ntaxpayers, to become useful and virtuous citizens. Any other course\nwill tie the white citizens of Louisiana to a body of death.\n\n\"The negroes are not unmindful of the fact that the white people of\nyour State pay the greater portion of the school taxes, and that the\npoverty of the State prevents it from doing all that it desires for\npublic education; yet I believe that you will agree with me that\nignorance is more costly to the State than education; that it will\ncost Louisiana more not to educate the negroes than it will to educate\nthem. In connection with a generous provision for public schools, I\nbelieve that nothing will so help my own people in your State as\nprovision at some institution for the highest academic and normal\ntraining in connection with thorough training in agriculture,\nmechanics, and domestic economy. The fact is that ninety per cent of\nour people depend upon the common occupations for their living, and\noutside of the cities eighty-five per cent rely upon agriculture for\nsupport. Notwithstanding this, our people have been educated for the\nmost part since the war in everything else but the very thing most of\nthem live by. First-class training in agriculture, horticulture,\ndairying, stock raising, the mechanical arts, and domestic economy\nwould make us intelligent producers, and not only help us to\ncontribute our proportion as taxpayers, but would result in retaining\nmuch money in the State that now goes outside for that which can be as\nwell produced at home. An institution which will give this training of\nthe hand, along with the highest mental culture, would soon convince\nour people that their salvation is largely in the ownership of\nproperty and in industrial and business development, rather than in\nmere political agitation.\n\n\"The highest test of the civilization of any race is in its\nwillingness to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. A race,\nlike an individual, lifts itself up by lifting others up. Surely no\npeople ever had a greater chance to exhibit the highest Christian\nfortitude and magnanimity than is now presented to the people of\nLouisiana. It requires little wisdom or statesmanship to repress, to\ncrush out, to retard the hopes and aspirations of a people, but the\nhighest and most profound statesmanship is shown in guiding and\nstimulating a people, so that every fiber in the body and soul shall\nbe made to contribute in the highest degree to the usefulness and\nability of the State. It is along this line that I pray God the\nthoughts and activities of your convention be guided.\"\n\nAs to the cure for such outbreaks as have recently hurt North Carolina\nand South Carolina, I would say that the remedy will not come by the\nSouthern white man's being merely cursed by the Northern white man or\nby the negro. Again, it will not come by the Southern white man merely\ndepriving the negro of his rights and privileges. Both of these\nmethods are but superficial, irritating, and must in the nature of\nthings be short-lived. The statesman, to cure an evil, resorts to\nenlightenment, to stimulation; the politician to repression. I have\njust remarked that I favor the giving up of nothing that is guaranteed\nto us by the Constitution of the United States, or that is fundamental\nto our citizenship. While I hold to these views as strongly as any\none, I differ with some as to the method of securing the permanent and\npeaceful enjoyment of all the privileges guaranteed to us by our\nfundamental law.\n\nIn finding a remedy, we must recognize the world-wide fact that the\nnegro must be led to see and feel that he must make every effort\npossible in every way possible to secure the friendship, the\nconfidence, the co-operation of his white neighbor in the South. To do\nthis, it is not necessary for the negro to become a truckler or a\ntrimmer. The Southern white man has no respect for a negro who does\nnot act from principle. In some way the Southern white man must be led\nto see that it is to his interest to turn his attention more and more\nto the making of laws that will in the truest sense elevate the negro.\nAt the present moment, in many cases, when one attempts to get the\nnegro to co-operate with the Southern white man, he asks the question,\n\"Can the people who force me to ride in a Jim Crow car, and pay\nfirst-class fare, be my best friends?\" In answering such questions,\nthe Southern white man as well as the negro has a duty to perform.\n\nIn the exercise of his political rights I should advise the negro to\nbe temperate and modest, and more and more to do his own thinking,\nrather than to be led or driven by a political \"boss\" or by political\ndemagogues.\n\nI believe the permanent cure for our present evils will come though a\nproperty and educational test for voting that shall apply honestly and\nfairly to both races. This will cut off the large mass of ignorant\nvoters of both races that is now proving so demoralizing a factor in\nthe politics of the Southern States.\n\nBut most of all it will come through industrial development of the\nnegro! It is for this reason that I have believed in General\nArmstrong's theory of industrial education. In the first place,\nindustrial education makes an intelligent producer of the negro, who\nbecomes of immediate value to the community rather than one who yields\nto the temptation to live merely by politics or other parasitical\nemployments. In the next place, industrial development will make the\nnegro soon become a property-holder, and when a citizen becomes a\nholder of property he becomes a conservative and thoughtful voter. He\nis going to think about the measures and individuals to be voted for.\nIn proportion as the negro increases his property interests he becomes\nimportant as a taxpayer. When the negro becomes a large taxpayer, he\nwill see that it is to his interest to consult with his white neighbor\nabout the measures to be voted for. There is little trouble between\nthe negro and the white man as to matters of education, and when it\ncomes to the negro's business development the black man has implicit\nfaith in the advice of the Southern white man. When the negro gets\ninto trouble in the courts, which require a bond to be given, in nine\ncases out of ten he goes to a Southern white man for advice and\nassistance. Every one who has lived in the South knows that in many of\nthe church troubles among the colored people the ministers and other\nchurch officers apply to the nearest white minister for assistance and\ninstruction. As soon as we have grown to the point where we shall\nconsult the Southern white man about our politics as we now consult\nhim about our business, legal, and religious matters, there will be a\nchange for the better in the situation.\n\nThe object lesson of a thousand negroes in every county in the South\nowning neat and comfortable homes, possessing skill, industry, and\nthrift, with money in the bank, who are large taxpayers and co-operate\nwith the white men in the South in every manly way for the development\nof their own communities and counties, will go a long way in a few\nyears toward changing the present status of the negro as a citizen as\nwell as the attitude of the whites toward the blacks.\n\nIn proportion as the negro grows along industrial and business lines\nhe will divide in his politics on economic issues, just as the white\nman in other parts of the country now divides his vote.\n\nIn proportion as the South grows in business prosperity the whole\nSouth will divide its vote on economic issues, just as other portions\nof the country divide their vote. When we can enact laws that result\nin honestly cutting off the large ignorant and nontaxpaying vote, and\nwhen we can bring both races to the point where they will co-operate\nwith each other in politics in matters of business, religion, and\neducation, the problem will be in a large measure solved, and\npolitical outbreaks will cease.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n     COLONEL GEORGE EARL CHURCH, speaking of the Indians of the\n     country of the Amazons, relates of the chief of a horde of Yocar\u00e9\n     savages whom he met among the falls of the Madeira, a young\n     fellow twenty-five years old, that \"he appeared to know\n     everything that was going on around him. He seemed to have eyes\n     in the back of his head, so acute were his senses. His hearing\n     appeared to indicate, and his mind to define, the thousand things\n     which were occurring in the tropical forest around us.\n     Instinctively, he classified and estimated them at their true\n     value as if they were under close and accurate analysis. As he\n     sat dining with me at my camp table, in the simplicity of his\n     nature and modesty of his nakedness, I could not help thinking\n     that, in the evolution of man, many magnificent qualities have\n     been sacrificed upon the altar of civilization.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE ANTIQUITY OF MAN IN NORTH AMERICA.\n\nBY DR. CHARLES C. ABBOTT.\n\n\nThe claim of satisfactory evidence of the extreme antiquity of man in\nthe valley of the Delaware River has been soberly discussed and\nintemperately ridiculed until the public, both scientific and general,\nhave become tired of hearing the subject mentioned; but this is no\nvalid reason why the truth should not be ascertained. If man in a\npaleolithic stage of culture did exist on the Atlantic seaboard of\nNorth America, then we have a basis upon which to build--a tangible\nstarting point from which to date a history of human activities on\nthis continent. As it is, we have but an immense array of facts,\nlargely unrelated, and the greater portion sadly distorted and\nmisleading because of the reckless theories set forth with them by\ntheir discoverers, and undoubtedly there never has been, in the whole\nrange of scientific agitation of a simple question, as great a volume\nof reckless assertion, illogical deduction, and disregard of exact\nstatement. The main question was often wholly lost sight of, and the\nauthor's sole purpose that of demonstrating some one else in error.\nPredetermination on the part of many has been fatal to the value of\ntheir field work. Convinced on theoretical grounds, such are\nnecessarily blinded when on the spot where positive evidence occurs.\nHe who does not desire the object searched for seldom finds it; and,\nlater in the day, pride declines to accede to the just demands of\ncandor--the admission of having reached a wrong conclusion.\n\nThere probably would not have been as much attention paid to the\nsubject of man's growth in culture on this continent had not the\nproposition of a sequence from paleolithic to Indian, with an\nintervening period, seemed to necessitate a dating back to the Glacial\nepoch, which naturally brought geological erudition to bear upon the\nquestion, and since then, most surprisingly, there has been confusion\nworse confounded, rather than a flood of light. Much has been written,\nbut we can not yet be confident which author is most nearly correct;\nand the latest report, showing sad evidences of haste, is vitiated by\nevident determination to modernize every trace of man, whether the\nfacts warranted such procedure or not.\n\nWhat is held, primarily, to be an evidence of paleolithic man is a\nwrought stone implement, that in Europe was characteristic of his\nhandiwork. Here, in the valley of the Delaware, this same form of\nimplement has been confidently asserted to be a rejected piece of\nstone--usually argillite--that failed to lend itself to reduction to a\nfinished blade or spear point. If this could be established as of\ninvariable application, however the supposed \"reject\" occurred, then\nthe whole matter would be brought to a quick conclusion. But the\n\"reject\" theory has utterly failed of establishment. The typical\npaleolithic implement is not characteristic of the refuse of an\narrow-maker's workshop site, and the familiar arrow points of small\nsize, nor even the long, thin blades of several times their length,\nwere reduced from masses greatly larger than the desired form. The\nrefuse of many a chipping site shows this conclusively; and, as\nhundreds of failures demonstrate, many an arrowhead was made from a\npebble but a trifle larger than the finished object.\n\nBut admit, for argument's sake, the identity in shape of a \"reject\"\nand a \"paleolithic\" implement; this does not prove their identity in\nage and origin, and it is not an unwarranted or illogical suggestion\nto draw a distinction between the two, where the conditions under\nwhich they occur suggest a possibility of diverse history. Rather than\ndemonstrating that all rudely chipped stones are \"failures,\" it should\nbe shown that paleolithic man, as we know of him in Europe, could not\npossibly have existed here. This has not only never been attempted,\nbut the conditions during and immediately subsequent to the glaciation\nof the river valley have been asserted, time and again, to have been\nfavorable for man's existence. Furthermore, it has not been shown that\na typical paleolithic implement could not have been available on this\ncontinent, as it undoubtedly was in Europe, as an effective weapon,\nand it must be remembered that the fauna of the Delaware Valley was,\nin glacial times, very like that of parts of Europe in what we may\ncall the reindeer period. Like conditions may not have produced like\nresults in the case of early man, but what was practicable in Europe\nwas certainly so in America, and the question resolves itself into\nthat of determining if any trace of man that has been discovered in\nthe valley of the Delaware can be dated back to a time preceding the\nIndian as he was when first he came in contact with the European. Did,\nin other words, the Indian bring his art with him from Europe or Asia,\nor did he experience a growth in culture from paleolithic simplicity\nto neolithic complexity?\n\nThe whole subject hinges on the distribution of these traces of man.\nIf from the first day of his occupancy until the European replaced the\nIndian the immediate valley of the river had undergone no change, then\nthe imperishable relics of the first and last savage would remain\nassociated, and position alone would tell nothing concerning any\nparticular object's age or origin, but, at the present day, except the\ncontents of graves, not a stone implement of the Delaware Indians\nrests where chance or the intention of its one-time owner placed it.\nIndeed, save a few bowlders of the largest size, few natural objects\non the immediate shores of the river are as first seen by William Penn\nand his associates. This fact has not been duly considered, and\nunwarranted conclusions have been published as established\ntruths--all, of course, eliminating antiquity from the Indian history\nof the region. The fact that a so-called paleolithic implement was\nfound lying on the surface of the river's shore has resulted in a pen\npicture of a modern Indian attempting to fashion a blade and tossing\nthe pebble aside in disgust. Why, indeed, could not an Indian walk on\nexposed gravel and pick up a pebble as well as we can to-day?\n\nThere are two considerations to which we must give heed when this\nquestion is asked. We are, in the first place, tacitly informed that\nthe Indian was given to chipping stone in this haphazard way to supply\na sudden need upon the spot, all of which is not only not a reasonable\nassumption, but absolutely incorrect, as argillite bowlders and\npebbles, which are not abundant in the gravels, were not habitually\nused, but, instead, the mineral was systematically mined and selected\nwith skill, so that failures were reduced to a minimum. Then, again,\nif the object as found has been lying undisturbed on the river shore\nfor centuries--two centuries at least--why is it that the chips are\nnot there also? These are never found under such circumstances. In\nfact, they are very rarely found at all in the gravel where the\nimplement itself occurs, and in numbers they exceed the \"reject\" or\nfinished object at least as ten to one. Furthermore, we are asked to\nbelieve that the river shore where we find rude implements is the same\nto-day as when the Indian wandered along it centuries ago. Fig. 1\nshows clearly how the never-resting tidal flow wears away the shore,\ncarrying sand and fine gravels from one point and spreading it\nelsewhere to form a sand bar, it may be, and turning the channel from\none side of the stream to the other, and so exposing long reaches of\nthe shore to wasting, that for many a year had been fixed and\napparently secure. Often the mud is entirely removed from the\nunderlying gravel, and abundant traces of Indian occupation are\nbrought to light, and, less frequently, so strong a current attacks a\ngiven point that even the gravel is moved and deep holes are formed,\nto be filled in time with the wasting shore from a point perhaps a\nmile away. This is the story of the river of to-day, and so it has\nbeen for centuries; and yet we are asked to believe that we can fill\nthe moccasin prints of the Indian by walking now along the water's\nedge. I submit that it is asking a great deal too much.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 1.--WASTING RIVER SHORE DUE TO TIDAL FLOW.]\n\nIt has been suggested that rudely chipped implements, when found on\nthe gravelly shore of the river, have fallen out from the bank and\nrolled down from where they had long been lying. This is not at all\nimprobable; but how does this modernize the object, when the gravel\nextends quite to the surface? The pebbles and bowlders at the top of\nthe bank are clearly as much a part of the deposit as are those at its\nbase, and while the surface may be--is, in fact--less ancient than the\ndeeper gravels, still they can not be dissociated; and it is a\nsignificant fact that we find, on the gravel at the foot of the bluff\nor other exposure, only the rude argillite objects at the water's edge\nor on the flat laid bare at low tide, and not a general assortment of\nthe Indian's handiwork, including pottery; and we must not overlook\nthe fact that the \"gravel-bed\" implements bear evidence of all the\nconditions to which the gravel itself has been subjected--this one\nstained by manganese, that incrusted with limonite; this fresh as the\nday it was chipped, because lost in sand and water and not\nsubsequently exposed to the atmosphere; that buried and unearthed,\nrolled, scratched, and water-worn until much of its artificiality has\ndisappeared. The history of almost every specimen is written upon it,\nand not one tells such a story as has been told about it by the\nadvocates of the \"Indian-reject\" theory.\n\nMuch has been written on the natural history of the gravel that is so\nmarked a feature of the river valley, particularly at the head of\ntide water, and almost every essay differs in more or less degree from\nits fellows in the matter of the gravel's age as a well-defined\ndeposit. Its origin no one can question, nor the agencies by which it\nwas brought to where we now find it. Ice and water did the work, nor\nhave they ceased entirely to add to the bulk transported in strictly\nglacial times--perhaps it were better to say in superlatively glacial\ntime, as the river even now can be positively glacial upon occasion,\nas Fig. 2 demonstrates. The main channel has often been completely\nblocked with ice and the water forced into new directions and spread\nover the lowlands or flats, which it denudes of its surface soil, and\nonce within recent years the stream found an old channel, deepened it,\nand for a time threatened to leave a flourishing riverside town an\ninland one. Ice accumulated in this way year after year must\nnecessarily affect the river's banks, and yet the extent of \"damage\"\nis trifling usually, in comparison with that of the water,\nparticularly when agitated by passing steamboats or violent winds; and\nnow, too, the ice of our present winters does not transport coarse\npebbles to any significant extent. I am convinced of this since the\nexamination I gave acres of ice, when the river was gorged with it,\nsome years ago. It was possible to walk for miles over the ice, as\nshown in Fig. 2, and to see it under exceedingly favorable\ncircumstances, and a most careful search failed to reveal a stone\nlarger than a pigeon's egg incased in this ice, which was all gently\nfloated from far up the stream and stranded here; and where piled up\nupon the shores it usually remains until melted, and really acts as\narmor plate, protecting the ground from abrasion when the floods\nincident to the \"break-up\" prevail. Such are the present-day\nconsiderations, and they have a direct bearing upon the question of\nman's antiquity here because, first, the river valley has not varied\nfor hundreds of years, except in becoming wider, the low shores\nreceding, and the stream becoming broader and more shallow. In\nearliest Indian times the river was subject to freshets and ice gorges\nas now, but never did the water become so dammed up as to overflow the\nbroad plateaus, areas of glacial gravel, that at the close of the\nGlacial period were within the boundary of the river. The Delaware was\na very different stream then--_crescendo_ for thousands of years, and\n_diminuendo_ for thousands since--until now it barely hints at what\nonce was. But not even in the height of its glacial activity was the\nclimate so severe that the waters contained no fish, nor the forests\nof the high surrounding hills harbored no game. Never was it as bleak\nas the arctic region of to-day, and as man maintains a footing there,\nwhy should he not have done so here, where life was ever more easily\nsustained? True; but did he live here in glacial time?\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 2.--ICE-GORGED RIVER.\n\nReproducing on a small scale the conditions of the Glacial epoch.]\n\nIt has been stated in the most positive manner, which only positive\nevidence could warrant, that so-called paleolithic implements have not\nbeen found _in situ_ in gravel deposits at a distance from the river,\nand such, _if there were such_, as appeared to be in the gravel, were\nrecent intrusions. This statement, in its several parts and its\nentirety, is absolutely incorrect, and no excuse can be offered for\nits publication. It is to be explained, however, because avowedly\npredetermined. Wherever the glacial gravel of the Delaware tide-water\nregion is found, there paleolithic implements occur, as they also do\non and in the surface of areas beyond the gravel boundary. We accept,\nnotwithstanding the unscientific source of the suggestion, the\nstatement that post-glacial floods inhumed all traces of man found\nbeneath the superficial soils, and find that, if these traces are\nconsidered in that light, some mysterious power was behind the\nsenseless flood, and always buried argillite paleolithic implements\nfar down in the gravel, and then selected argillite artifacts of more\nspecialized forms for the overlying sands and reserved the pottery and\njasper arrow points for the vegetation-sustaining soil. This, as\nstated, is absurd, but such is the order of occurrence of the traces\nof early man in the upland fields, and these are to be considered\ncarefully before a final conclusion can be reached. The broad,\nelevated plateau extending eastward from the present bank of the river\noffers facilities for studying the evidences of man's occupancy in\nthis region such as are to be found in few localities. The principal\nreason for this is that almost no local disturbance has occurred since\nthe original deposition of the sand that overlies the gravel and\nunderlies the soil. The natural history of these underlying sands has\nrecently received a good deal of attention, because, unlike the deeper\ngravels, there is perfect accord as to the occurrences therein of\nartificially chipped objects; and the suggestion that they are of\nintrusive origin being set aside as untenable, the geologists are now\ndivided on the question whether the sand is wind-blown, a modified\ndune, and so not necessarily old even in years, or the result of\nintermitting overflow of water, usually carrying a considerable amount\nof sand and often heavy with washings from some distant clay bank. The\nobjections to the \"eolian\" theory are that pebbles and bowlders, even\nof considerable weight, are scattered at all elevations through the\nsand, and these pebbles, as a rule, do not present any evidence of\nexposure to eroding sands, but are smooth and glassy, or the typical\nwater-worn pebbles of a brook or the river bed, and more significant\nis the fact that the sands themselves are of different degrees of\nfineness, layer upon layer, and are nowhere clean or free from clay;\nand finally the thin layers of clay are clearly continuous over such\nextensive areas that in no sense can they be called segregations of\nthat material. On the other hand, a carefully instituted comparison of\nthe sand from the surface of the field to its junction with the gravel\nproper shows its identity with a deposit made by water in\ncomparatively recent times. No difference whatever could be detected.\nThe sand dune, modified by rains and finally leveled to a plain,\npresents, in section, no such appearance as the sands that overlie the\ngravels of glacial origin. Without a scintilla of reason, however,\nmany geologists declare that no deposit of sand can be of any\ngeological significance _if it contains traces of man not clearly\nintrusive_. The latter fact necessitates the former claim, all of\nwhich, I submit, is nonsense.\n\nFig. 3 illustrates how artificially chipped pebbles occur in this\nunderlying sand. The upper portion shows the superficial soil removed\nto its point of contact with the sand. This is determined by the\nchange of color from dark brown to light yellowish brown, and it is\ngenerally so very abrupt a change that no doubt arises as to where the\nsoil ends and the sand begins. The sand proper is shown by the\nposition of the object--the measuring rule and trowel. It will be\nnoticed that the implement is lying flat, as such an object would\nalmost necessarily be if transported by water, and not perpendicular,\nas would be the case if it had fallen down some root-hole, animal's or\ninsect's burrow, or opening in the earth from any cause, and now\nobliterated.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 3.--OCCURRENCE OF AN ARGILLITE IMPLEMENT IN\nGLACIAL STRATIFIED SAND.]\n\nThe presence of these artificial flakes, blades, and other forms of\nsimple implements can only be explained by considering them as a\nconstituent part of the containing bed, having been brought hither by\nthe same agency that brought the sand, pebbles, and clay. When\nstanding before a newly made section of this implement-bearing deposit\nit is easy to picture the slow progress of its accumulation. The broad\nplain has been subjected to overflow, now of water bearing only sand,\nand then of muddy water; now with current strong enough to roll small\npebbles from some distant point, and then periods when the sun shone\non the new deposit, dried it, and the loose sand was rippled by the\nwind. Floods of greater volume occasionally swept across the plain,\nand ice-incased pebbles were dropped upon its surface, and with this\nbuilding up of the plateau to a higher level there were also brought\nto it traces of man's handiwork. Of this, I think, there can be no\ndoubt now. Years ago I endeavored to show from the distribution of\nrude argillite implements of specialized forms, as arrow points and\nsmall blades, trimmed flakes and scrapers, that these objects were\nolder, as a class, than jasper and quartz implements and weapons, and\nthat pottery was made only in the rudest way before \"flint\"\nchipping--jasper and quartz--was established. The more exhaustively\nthis subject was followed up, the proposition became more evidently\ntrue, and to-day it is unqualifiedly confirmed by the results obtained\nfrom systematically digging deeply over wide areas of country. The\nfact that argillite continued in use until the very last does not\naffect this conclusion.\n\nAs the high land, now forty or more feet above the river and beyond\nthe reach of its floods of greatest magnitude, was once continually\noverflowed and gradually built up by the materials the water spread\nupon it, it is evident that the conditions were materially different\nwhen such things happened from what now obtains, and the whole\nconfiguration of the country to-day points to but the one conclusion:\nthat these plateau-building floods occurred so long ago as when the\nriver flowed at a higher level and possessed a greater transporting\npower than at present. This, it is true, was long after the coarse\ngravel and huge bowlders were transported from the hillsides of the\nupper valley, but it was before the river was confined to its present\nchannel, and more significantly before what may be called the\nsoil-making period, itself of long duration and the time of the Indian\nas such. Not an argillite chip from the sands beneath the soil but\nspeaks of the distant day when this plateau was an almost barren\nplain, and man saw it, roamed over it, and perhaps dwelt upon it, when\nbut the scantiest vegetation dotted its surface, and only upon the\nhills beyond its boundary were there trees and herbage.\n\nEven if we consider the agency of the streams that now are but\ninsignificant inflowing brooks in spreading, during their freshet\nstages, sand over level areas, we must still go back to a time when\nthey were streams of infinitely greater magnitude than they have been\nfor many centuries, and before, too, the Indian was a skilled chipper\nof jasper and a potter of taste, else why the absence of these\nproducts of his skill in the deeper sands? It matters not how we look\nat it, whether as geologists or arch\u00e6ologists, or whether it is all\npost-glacial, or the starting point is still so distant as ice-age\nactivities, the sequence of events is unaffected. We still have\npaleolithicity in the gravel, argillite and the discovery of pottery\nsynchronous with the deposition of the gravel-capping sand, and,\nlastly, the Indian.\n\nThe record is not a difficult one to read, and never has been, and the\nmanifold attempts to modernize all traces of man on the eastern coast\nof North America can safely be relegated to the limbo of misdirected\nenergy. Studied in the proper spirit and after the needful preliminary\nstudy of arch\u00e6ology as a whole, the student will find himself, when in\nthe field--ever a more desirable place than the museum--face to face\nwith evidences of an antiquity that is to be measured by centuries\nrather than by years.\n\n\n\n\nTHE USE OF ACETYLENE.\n\nBY EDWARD RENOUF,\n\nCOLLEGIATE PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY.\n\n\nIt is now five years since the use of acetylene as an illuminant was\nsuggested to the public, and it may be of interest to give a sketch of\nwhat has been done during this time, especially as it seems that with\nthe year 1899 the tentative period which must characterize every new\nindustry is in some respects passed, and a period of solid and\nwell-directed industrial effort, backed by ample capital, has begun.\nThe knowledge gained during this tentative period by the laboratory\nexperiments of scientific men, and by the practical work of inventors\nand promoters, has made it possible for the industry to enter on its\nnew phase. To understand its present and to foresee its future\nimportance it is necessary briefly to review the work of the last\nyears.\n\nIn May, 1892, Mr. Thomas Willson, a Canadian electrician, tried to\nmake the metal calcium in an electric furnace in his works at Spray,\nNorth Carolina, by heating a mixture of lime and coal dust. He thought\nthat the lime (calcium oxide) would act on the coal (carbon) to form\ncalcium and carbon monoxide. He did not succeed in getting calcium,\nbut found in the furnace a brown, crystalline mass, which was\ndecomposed by pouring water on it, yielding an inflammable gas.\nWillson is not a chemist, and he therefore sent specimens of the\nmaterial to several men of science to determine its nature. It was\nshown to be calcium carbide, a compound of calcium and carbon, formed\nby the action of the carbon on the calcium oxide. The reaction\nexpressed in chemical symbols is CaO + 3C = CaC_{2} + CO. The gas\nformed by the action of water was acetylene, a compound of carbon and\nhydrogen. The reaction is CaC_{2} + H_{2}O = C_{2}H_{2} + CaO; calcium\ncarbide and water form acetylene and lime. If water enough is added,\nthe lime is slaked, and slaked lime, or calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH_{2}),\nis formed. Neither calcium carbide nor acetylene was a new discovery;\nacetylene was discovered by Edmund Davy in 1836, and its properties\nwere studied by Berthelot in 1862. Impure calcium carbide was first\nmade in 1862 by W\u00f6hler, who described its decomposition by water into\nacetylene and lime. What was there new, then, in Willson's discovery?\nTwo important facts: (1) He was the first to make carbide by a method\napplicable commercially; (2) he was the first to make crystalline\ncarbide. W\u00f6hler's carbide was impure and amorphous; Willson's, nearly\npure and crystalline, so that he succeeded in obtaining United States\npatents for crystalline carbide, and, as all carbide made by\ncommercial processes is crystalline, its manufacture is covered by\nWillson's patents.\n\nIn the same year, 1892, Prof. Henri Moissan, of Paris, announced the\ndiscovery of crystalline calcium carbide. Moissan's discovery, too,\nwas an accidental one. He was reducing refractory metallic oxides in\nan electric furnace made of lime. At the close of the article in which\nhe reports his work to the French Academy of Sciences (_Comptes Rendus\nde l'Acad\u00e9mie Fran\u00e7aise_, vol. cxii, page 6, December 12, 1892) he\nrefers in two lines to the formation of an ill-defined carbide of\ncalcium by the action of the carbon electrodes on the lime of which\nhis furnace was made.\n\nAs is common with most important inventions, there is a dispute as to\nthe priority of making carbide by an electric furnace; and the wonder\nis, not that there is a dispute, but that there are so few claimants.\nA few words of explanation of the electric furnace will show why. The\nenormous heat of the electric furnace (2000\u00b0 to 3000\u00b0 C.) is caused by\nan electric arc, formed by currents playing between carbon electrodes;\ncarbon is often used in the furnace processes; here we have one\nconstituent of calcium carbide. Lime, the material for the other\nconstituent, withstands heat better than any other common substance\nexcepting magnesia; naturally, inventors would use it, as Moissan did,\nas a refractory lining to the furnace. Electric furnaces were not new.\nThe conditions then were such that the discovery of the carbide was\nfairly forced on experimenters, and, as we have seen, the discoveries\nof Willson and Moissan were both accidental.\n\nAmerican priority was claimed by Willson, French priority by the\nfriends of Moissan, German priority by Professor Borchers, of\nAix-la-Chapelle. Fortunately for Willson, among those to whom he had\nsent specimens of carbide was Lord Kelvin, the famous English\nphysicist, whose reply to Willson, stating that the substance received\nwas calcium carbide, was dated October 3, 1892, two months before\nMoissan's first publication. Borchers's claims are too vague to waste\nspace on. Willson's priority is now generally recognized excepting in\nFrance. The German Government has acknowledged it, and has annulled\nthe German patent granted to Bullier.\n\nCommercial carbide is essentially an American discovery, and it was\ndeveloped industrially by Willson's associates before industrial\naction began abroad. Messrs. Dickerson and Suckert, of New York, were\nthe first to undertake the industrial liquefaction of acetylene. Dr.\nG. de Chalmot, chemist, and Mr. J. M. Morehead, electrician, worked up\nthe details of the furnace process in the early days at Spray, North\nCarolina, and the purity and the yield from a given weight of material\nof their carbide have never been excelled, though cheaper working\nfurnaces are now in use.\n\nCarbides of other metals can be made in the electric furnace, but,\nowing to the cheapness of the new material, calcium carbide is the\nonly one of these which has industrial value as a source of acetylene.\nOne pound of pure carbide yields 5.89 cubic feet of acetylene.\n\nThus far carbide has been found industrially valuable for two other\npurposes. The one is for carbonizing steel; experiments in Germany\nshow that iron or soft steel takes up carbon more readily when it is\nheated with carbide than when it is heated with coal dust or charcoal.\nSome steel works are now using carbide for this purpose. The other use\nof carbide is more important. It is found to be a valuable germicide.\nIt is said to be the most effectual preventive of black rot, and to\ndestroy the _Phylloxera_, the two worst enemies of the grape. The\naction of the carbide as a germicide depends on its decomposition by\nthe moisture of the soil, forming acetylene, which kills the\n_Phylloxera_. If the use of carbide on a large scale substantiates the\nclaims made for it, this is a discovery of vast importance. The\nravages caused by the _Phylloxera_ in the vineyards of southern\nEurope, of Africa, and Australia must be ranked as great national\ncalamities.\n\nA temperature ranging from 2000\u00b0 to 2500\u00b0 C. (3600\u00b0 to 4500\u00b0\nFahrenheit) is required to make carbide. It is probable that this\ntemperature can be economically attained only by the electric furnace\nusing water power as the source of the electric current, and this is\nthe only method used for making carbide, with the exception of the\nWalther process, which does not use electricity but depends on the\nintense heat generated by burning acetylene under pressure. In\nelectric furnaces the formation of carbide depends simply on the heat\nof the arc, which fuses the mixture of lime and coke. The latest\nimprovements on the first very simple forms of furnace have secured\ncontinuity of work and economy of electric energy. In the United\nStates carbide is made exclusively in the Horry furnace. This furnace\nconsists of a huge short cylinder or hollow wheel, mounted to revolve\nslowly on a horizontal shaft. The periphery of the cylinder is closed\nby removable cast-iron slats. As the cylinder is partly revolved on\nits axis from time to time, the slats are taken off from one side and\nreplaced on the other, thus leaving the top always open. The cylinder\nis filled on one side with the powdered mixture of coke and lime. Into\nthe mixture two vertical carbon electrodes project downward through\nthe open top of the cylinder. As the carbide is formed, the cylinder\nis revolved, lowering the mass from the electrodes. The fused carbide\ncools, hardens, and is broken off and removed as it rises on the other\nside of the slowly revolving cylinder; new material is constantly fed\nin to maintain the level around the electrodes. The process in the\nHorry furnace is continuous; the furnace can be run without arresting\nthe current until repairs are necessary. It is said to combine the\ndifferent theoretical improvements referred to, and to reduce the cost\nof production. The Horry furnace is in use at Niagara Falls and at\nSault Ste. Marie. At St. Catherine's, Canada, Willson is using his own\nfurnace. Abroad, the older types of furnace, the Willson, Bullier, and\nH\u00e9roult, are those chiefly in use.\n\nThe actual ingot of good commercial carbide is nearly pure--ninety-six\nto ninety-nine per cent--but the ingot is surrounded by a crust of\ncarbide mixed with unchanged material, containing forty to seventy\nper cent of carbide. Foreign makers break and blend ingot and crust to\nstandard size, the best makers guaranteeing their carbide ninety per\ncent pure, giving five cubic feet of acetylene per pound (pure carbide\ngives 5.89 cubic feet). Eight to nine pounds of carbide per horse\npower in twenty-four hours, averaging five cubic feet of acetylene, is\nconsidered satisfactory work. The Union Carbide Company, which\ncontrols the sale of carbide in the United States, is selling graded\ncarbides under guarantee, the first grade being the nearly pure ingot,\nthe lower grade the crust.\n\n[Illustration: HORRY FURNACE, SHOWING ELECTRODES.[5]]\n\n[Illustration: HORRY FURNACE, SHOWING GEARING.[5]]\n\n[Illustration: HORRY FURNACE, SHOWING CARBIDE JUST REMOVED.[5]]\n\n    [Footnote 5: NOTE.--We are indebted to the courtesy of the\n    Electrical World and Engineer for cuts showing the Horry furnace.]\n\nAs the moisture of the air decomposes the carbide, it must be broken\nup as soon as made, and packed in air-tight tin cans, varying in size\nfrom one to four hundred pounds.\n\nThe present price of carbide abroad averages $96.80 in large lots, and\n$7.26 per hundredweight in small lots, packing included; in the United\nStates, $70 per ton in large lots, and $4.50 per hundredweight in\nsmall lots, packing included. In 1898, 4,650 tons are said to have\nbeen made in the United States and Canada, and a much larger amount\nabroad. The output for 1899 is estimated at 12,000 tons for the United\nStates, with a capacity in the new works in erection at Sault Ste.\nMarie and at Niagara Falls of 41,000 tons. The new works building in\nEurope, to be finished in 1899-1900, have a capacity for making\n80,000 metric tons. These figures will justify the statement made at\nthe beginning of this article, that the new industry has found ample\ncapital.\n\nThe statement is still current that acetylene attacks copper and\nbrass, forming an explosive compound. This is not true. Exhaustive\nexperiments by Moissan and by Gerdes, keeping these and other metals\nin contact with acetylene for months at a time, have shown that the\nmetals were not affected. The conditions under which the explosive\ncopper acetylide is made in laboratories can not well occur in\ngenerators or gas holders. It has been said that acetylene is very\npoisonous; the experiments of many observers, and especially those of\nGr\u00e9hant, do not confirm this statement. Gr\u00e9hant experimented on dogs,\ncausing them to breathe mixtures of acetylene, air, and oxygen, which\nalways contained 20.8 per cent of oxygen, this being the percentage of\noxygen in pure air. By this device he was able to discriminate between\nthe poisoning caused by acetylene and suffocation caused by\ninsufficient oxygen. A mixture containing twenty per cent acetylene\ninhaled for thirty-five minutes did not seem to trouble the animal. A\nsample of the dog's arterial blood contained ten per cent of\nacetylene. A dog which inhaled a mixture containing forty per cent of\nacetylene died suddenly after fifty-one minutes, having inhaled one\nhundred and twelve litres of the mixture; the arterial blood contained\ntwenty per cent acetylene. Gr\u00e9hant proved that acetylene simply\ndissolves in the blood plasma, while carbon monoxide forms a compound\nwith the h\u00e6moglobin of the blood. A dog breathing a similar mixture of\nair, oxygen, and illuminating gas containing only one per cent of\ncarbon monoxide quickly showed convulsive movements, and died after\nten minutes; its blood contained twenty-four per cent of carbon\nmonoxide. Thus acetylene, while slightly poisonous, is less poisonous\nthan coal gas, and vastly less than water gas, which contains a high\npercentage of carbon monoxide.\n\nA pressure of thirty-nine atmospheres and three quarters at 20\u00b0 C.\nconverts acetylene into a liquid weighing one third as much as the\nsame volume of water, while one cubic foot of the liquid when released\nfrom pressure gives five hundred cubic feet of gas.\n\nHitherto acetylene is used only as a source of heat or as a source of\nlight; yet with very cheap carbide it would prove useful in many ways\nin chemical industry, and its use would have the most wide-spread\neffect on industry and agriculture. For instance, a method of making\nalcohol from acetylene is patented abroad, and by another patented\nprocess it is proposed to make sugar from acetylene. With the present\nprices of alcohol, sugar, and carbide, these processes have no\ncommercial value.\n\nAcetylene may be made from the carbide in gas works and delivered to\nthe consumer through mains like ordinary illuminating gas; or it may\nbe liquefied at a gas works and delivered to the consumer in the\nliquid form under pressure; or the consumer may purchase carbide and\ngenerate acetylene for his own consumption. All three of these methods\nare in use.\n\nTo understand the attitude of insurance companies and of consumers\ntoward liquid acetylene it will be well to examine its record for the\nlast few years. Those interested in methods for liquefying acetylene,\nand for reducing the pressure of the liquid at the place of\nconsumption so that the consumer actually uses it as a gas under a\nwater pressure of six inches or less, may find processes described in\ndetail in the Progressive Age, and in other technical journals.\nSuffice it to say that the methods in use in this country and abroad\nare simple and effective. The purified acetylene is delivered in\nstrong steel cylinders, which may be placed in a special building or\ncase and need not be handled by the consumer. It has been proved by\nthe exhaustive experiments of the eminent French chemist Berthelot\nthat liquefied acetylene in cylinders can not be exploded by blows or\nshocks to the closed cylinder. If it is exploded, however, by causing\na spark within the cylinder, the explosive force is very great, being\nabout equal to that of gun cotton.\n\nThe use of the liquefied acetylene is so simple and clean that the\nattention of inventors was first turned to this mode of supply. It may\nin future come again into prominence despite the present strong\nfeeling against it, its use in many cities being prohibited. This\nfeeling was caused by a number of explosions, accompanied by loss of\nlife. Three of these explosions occurred in factories for liquefying\nacetylene; one in a factory where liquid acetylene regulators were\nmade; several in buildings of consumers. In October, 1896, Pictet's\nworks in Paris were wrecked by the explosion of a cylinder filled with\nliquid acetylene; evidence proved that the cylinder was held in a\nvise, and that the two workmen killed were at the ends of a wrench,\nclosing or opening the valve, supposing the cylinder to be empty. The\nexplosion was caused either by a spark from friction in turning the\nscrew, or by the too sudden opening of the valve and releasing the\npressure, causing a shock sufficient to decompose the liquid. In\nDecember, 1896, the works of G. Isaac, in Berlin, were destroyed by an\nexplosion in the condenser where the cooled acetylene was liquefied by\npressure; Isaac and three workmen were killed. Evidence showed that\nthrough carelessness warm water instead of cold water was in contact\nwith the condenser, thus warming the liquid and increasing the\npressure to a point which burst the condenser. In December, 1897, the\nworks of the Dickerson & Suckert Acetylene Gas Liquefying and\nDistributing Company in Jersey City were destroyed by fire caused by\nthe explosion of a cylinder filled through carelessness of workmen\nwith a mixture of air and liquid acetylene--i. e., with an explosive\nmixture--killing the superintendent and a workman. In the explosion at\nthe regulator factory at New Haven, January, 1895, the valve of the\ncylinder, on which one of two workmen killed was working, broke; a\nlarge volume of acetylene escaped and ignited from a lighted candle.\nIn all four cases the explosions were caused by ignorance or\ncarelessness incident to the beginnings of a new industry, and could\nbe avoided by experience and skill.\n\nIt should be stated that in the explosion at Paris all of the full\nacetylene cylinders were dug out of the ruins unhurt. The same was\ntrue at Berlin, where five full cylinders were blown against the wall\nof the building by the explosion of the condenser, but did not\nexplode. At Jersey City sixty filled cylinders were exposed to the\nheat of the fire following the explosion; they were fitted with safety\ndiaphragms of fusible metal; forty-eight remained intact, the\nacetylene burning off quietly as it escaped through the fused\ndiaphragm, and twelve exploded, either on account of imperfection of\nthe diaphragms or stoppage of the air passage leading from the\ndiaphragm. The explosions of liquid acetylene in buildings of\nconsumers have been due in every case to gross carelessness and\nignorance on the part of the consumer.\n\nAlthough one of the chief points in favor of the liquid acetylene is\nits portability, yet it can be shown that it is still easier to carry\ncarbide to the consumer. One cubic metre of acetylene is compressed to\ntwo litres in liquid form; two litres of carbide weigh 4.44\nkilogrammes, which will produce a cubic metre and a third of\nacetylene, reckoning three hundred litres to the kilogramme, which is\nthe average guaranteed yield of carbide. The light tin carbide cans\noccupy less space and weigh less than the heavy steel cylinders, while\nthe generation of the gas is simple and, with proper generators,\nperfectly safe. On the other hand, the generators must be cared for,\nmust often be filled with fresh carbide, and from time to time must be\ncleaned. With the generator system acetylene is as safe as or safer\nthan illuminating gas. Berthelot has shown that at pressures below two\natmospheres a vessel filled with acetylene can not be exploded by the\nexplosion of a cap of fulminating mercury within the vessel, nor by\nheating a wire which extends into the vessel to a white heat by an\nelectric current. The reason is that the acetylene can not explode\nunless it is decomposed into its elements, carbon and hydrogen; to\ndecompose it requires a certain amount of energy. While the energy of\nthe glowing wire or of the exploding cap causes a local decomposition\nat the point of contact, it is not sufficient to spread the\ndecomposition further. Acetylene forms an explosive mixture with air;\nso does illuminating gas. The odor of acetylene is unpleasant; so is\nthe odor of the water gas used generally in the United States, and the\nacetylene can be cheaply deodorized.\n\nAs the generator system, then, is the general one, the most important\nquestion to the consumer is what generator to buy, and it is a\nperplexing question. The carbide manufacture is so organized that it\nis everywhere under the control of powerful and responsible companies\nwhich sell a guaranteed product. The burners now in use are nearly all\ngood. With generators it is different; the market is flooded with them\nat all prices, ranging in value from worse than useless to very good,\nas regards safety, economy, and quality of light. As the generator\nquestion is by far the most important and the least understood in the\nwhole acetylene industry, it will be well to give a full account of\nthe results of the experiments which have been made within the last\ntwo years on this question. The most exhaustive experiments are those\nof the English expert, Professor Lewes, and his results agree with\nthose of other observers.\n\nLewes first determined the amount of heat developed by the\ndecomposition of carbide by water, and the conditions which tend to\nlessen or increase the intensity of the reaction. The average result\nof the experiments as to the amount of heat was 446.6 calories for\npure carbide, and a little less for commercial carbide (to state this\ndifferently, one pound of carbide, when decomposed by water, gives off\nheat enough to raise the temperature of 446.6 pounds of water 1\u00b0 C.,\nor to raise the temperature of one pound of water 446.6\u00b0 C.). As the\nintensity of the heat developed determines the highest temperature\nattained during the decomposition, and is a function of the time\nneeded to complete the action, and as the decomposition of carbide in\ncontact with water is extremely rapid, it is evident that the\ntemperature developed may be so high as to cause disaster. All the\ngenerators at present before the public may be classified under three\nheads: 1. Those in which water is allowed to drip or flow slowly on a\nmass of carbide, the evolution of the gas being regulated by the\nstopping of the water. 2. Those in which water in considerable volume\nis allowed to rise in contact with carbide, the evolution of the gas\nbeing regulated by the driving back of the water by the increase of\npressure in the generating chamber. 3. Those in which the carbide is\ndropped or plunged into an excess of water.\n\nThe conclusions deduced from a large number of experiments were that\nwhen, as in type 1, water is allowed to drip or flow in a fine stream\nupon a mass of carbide, the temperature rapidly rises until after\neighteen to twenty-five minutes the maximum is reached, which varies\nfrom 400\u00b0 to 700\u00b0 C. (720\u00b0 to 1120\u00b0 Fahrenheit), and it is probable\nthat in some of the mass the higher limit is always reached, as\ntraces of tar are usually found in the residual lime, in some cases in\nsufficient quantity to make the lime yellow and pasty, while vapors of\nbenzene and other polymerization products pass off with the gas.\nLeaving the question of temperature in this type of generator, another\nimportant question is the length of time during which the generation\nof gas continues after the water supply is automatically cut off. It\nis found that gas is evolved with increasing slowness sometimes for an\nhour and three quarters after the water supply has ceased, the total\nvolume of gas so evolved being large.\n\nThe experiments showed that in any automatic generator of this type\nthe cut-off should be so arranged that one quarter of the total\ncapacity of the gas holder is still available to store the slowly\ngenerating gas.\n\nThe second class of generators bring about contact either by water\nrising from below to the carbide suspended in the cage (II, _A_), or\nby a cage of carbide suspended in a movable bell which, as it falls,\ndips the carbide into water, withdrawing the carbide from the water as\nthe excessive generation of gas lifts the bell (II, _B_). Lewes found\nthat under certain conditions generators of the type II, _B_ were far\nworse than those of type I.\n\nThe trials were made with a movable glass bell, with counterweights,\ncontaining a half-pound of carbide. The maximum temperatures reached\nin four trials were 703\u00b0, 734\u00b0, 754\u00b0, and 807\u00b0 C. Excessive heating\ntook place in every case; in the last mentioned the temperature was\nfar above the point at which acetylene is decomposed into carbon and\nhydrogen, a thin black smoke being formed immediately around the\ncarbide while tar vapor poured out. On removing the residue after\ncooling it was found to be coated with soot and loaded with tar. On\nseveral occasions the charge was removed from the generator just after\nthe maximum temperature was reached, and was found to be at a bright\nred heat.\n\nThese experiments are of the greatest practical importance. At 600\u00b0\nacetylene begins to polymerize--i. e., to form more complex\nhydrocarbons, which are liquid, or solid, at ordinary temperatures.\nProbably in the generator acetylene is first given off so rapidly that\nthe heat does not act on it, but as decomposition advances into the\ncenter of the mass of carbide, the acetylene generated has to pass\nthrough the external layers, which, as shown, may be at high\ntemperatures, above that at which acetylene decomposes; thus a\nconsiderable amount of gas is lost, and the tar formed may distill\ninto the generator and tubes, clogging the tubes. A more serious evil\nis the deterioration in the illuminating quality of the gas. Samples\nof the gas were taken as the maximum temperature was approached, and\nanalyzed with this average result: Acetylene, seventy per cent; other\nhydrocarbons, eleven per cent; hydrogen, nineteen per cent. This\nreduces the illuminating value from two hundred and forty to one\nhundred and twenty-six candles. The hydrocarbons consist largely of\nbenzene, which requires three times as much air for complete\ncombustion as acetylene does. The best possible acetylene burner\nsmokes when the acetylene contains benzene.\n\n[Illustration: Type I.\n\nTYPE OF GENERATOR.[6]]\n\n[Illustration: Type II, _A_. Type II, _B_. Type III.\n\nTYPES OF GENERATORS.[6]]\n\n    [Footnote 6: NOTE.--We are indebted to the courtesy of the\n    Progressive Age for cuts showing types of generators.]\n\nAt first sight these experiments would seem absolutely to condemn\ngenerators of class II, yet the fact remains that some excellent\ngenerators are of this type. Under certain conditions excessive\noverheating may be avoided. The rising bell shown in II, _B_ should be\ndiscarded. Generators in which the water rises from below, and slowly\nattacks the carbide, can be made safe if the water is never driven\nback from the carbide, and the carbide is in separated layers as in\nII, _A_. Under these conditions the water is always in excess at the\npoint where it attacks the carbide, so that the evaporation, by\nrendering heat latent, keeps the temperature down, the temperature of\nthe melting point of tin, 228\u00b0 C., being rarely reached in good\ngenerators where these conditions are met.\n\nUndoubtedly the best generators, and the only ones which from a\nscientific point of view should be employed, are those of class III,\nin which carbide falls into an excess of water. In such generators it\nis impossible to get a temperature higher than the boiling point of\nwater, 100\u00b0 C., while with a properly arranged tank the temperature\nnever exceeds that of the air by more than a few degrees. Under these\nconditions the absence of polymerization and the washing of the\nnascent and finely divided bubbles of gas by the limewater in the\ngenerator yield acetylene of a degree of purity unapproached by any\nother form of generator.\n\nWhen acetylene is burned in air under such conditions that the flame\ndoes not smoke, it has been proved by Gr\u00e9hant that there is no carbon\nmonoxide among the combustion products; the acetylene combines with\nthe oxygen of the air to form carbon dioxide and water (C_{2}H_{2} +\n5O = 2CO_{2} + H_{2}O). One cubic foot of acetylene requires two and a\nhalf cubic feet of oxygen. Supposing a room to have an illumination\nequal to sixty-four standard candles; this amount of light from\ncandles would use up 38.5 cubic feet of oxygen from the air, and would\ngive off forty-three cubic feet of carbon dioxide; petroleum requires,\nin cubic feet, twenty-five of oxygen, and gives off forty of carbon\ndioxide; gas burned with a flat flame requires about twenty-five\noxygen and gives nineteen carbon dioxide--with an Argand flame a\nlittle less, while with the Welsbach burner gas requires only three\noxygen, and gives off 1.8 carbon dioxide; acetylene requires five\noxygen and yields four carbon dioxide. So that, light for light,\nacetylene fouls the air less than any ordinary illuminant excepting\nthe Welsbach gas burner. (With incandescent electric light there is no\ncombustion and no fouling of the air.)\n\nUnder the best conditions five cubic feet of acetylene give a light of\ntwo hundred and forty candles for one hour, or we may speak of\nacetylene as a two-hundred-and-forty-candle gas. Yet this statement,\nthough strictly true, may be misleading. When ordinary illuminating\ngas is tested with the photometer, it is burned from a standard\nflat-flame burner, burning five cubic feet per hour. Now the amount of\nlight given by such a gas flame is no greater than is pleasant to the\neye; it is true that if we burn five cubic feet of acetylene from a\nsuitable flat-flame burner, a light of two hundred and forty candles\nis given, but it is unfair to take this ratio as representing the\nactual relative illuminating value of the two lights, because we\nneither need a light of two hundred and forty candles, nor is such an\namount of light issuing from one burner endurable to the eye. One-foot\nor one-half foot acetylene burners are used for domestic lighting;\nlight from the best one-foot burners averages thirty-two to\nthirty-five candles per cubic foot. With acetylene, as with every\nother illuminating gas, the smaller the burner and consumption, the\nless light per cubic foot of gas is obtained. Another important point\nis that while these figures represent the best practical illumination\nobtained from acetylene by the burners hitherto in use, the standard\nflat-flame burner does not give the best gaslight; with a good\nWelsbach burner a cubic foot of illuminating gas will give a\nseventeen-candle light as an average. The comparison, to be fair,\nshould be between acetylene and the Welsbach light.\n\nThe reader will ask whether it is not possible to burn acetylene with\nother forms of burner, or to use it with Welsbach mantles. Successful\nacetylene burners of the Argand or of the regenerative type have not\nyet been introduced; but in Germany a new acetylene burner with\nWelsbach mantle promises good results. Experiments in England with an\nacetylene Bunsen burner and Welsbach mantle gave a light of ninety\ncandles per cubic foot of acetylene used. It remains to be seen\nwhether it is necessary to modify the composition of the mantles\nbecause of the intense heat of the acetylene Bunsen flame, which gives\na temperature of 2100\u00b0 to 2400\u00b0 C. (3812\u00b0 to 4397\u00b0 Fahrenheit).\n\nIt would extend this article to undue length to speak of the various\nuses of acetylene as an enricher of other gases, but a mixture of\nacetylene and Pintsch oil gas now in use on all the Prussian state\nrailways deserves mention, as it is a success, and ten thousand tons\nof carbide will be used this year for lighting cars by this system.\nLewes's new invention of a very cheap methane water gas which is\nenriched by acetylene, carried to the consumer through mains, and\nburned in ordinary burners, is also promising.\n\nInsurance and police regulations vary for every country. As a rule,\nrestrictions are put on the use of liquid acetylene, and on the amount\nof carbide to be kept in storage. Generators must stand in separate\nbuildings, which, in towns, must be fireproof.\n\nThe Willson patents cover the manufacture of crystalline carbide in\nthe United States, Canada, and the South American states; and, as all\ncarbide made by the electric furnace is crystalline, no carbide can be\nmade independently of these patents in these countries.\n\nIn conclusion, it may be predicted that within the next few years\nacetylene will prove a factor in giving us an improved and cheaper\nlight. Whether this will be an acetylene-Welsbach light or whether the\nacetylene will be chiefly used as an enricher of cheaper gases the\nfuture will show.\n\n\n\n\nTHOUGHTS ABOUT UNIVERSITIES.\n\nBY WILLIAM KEITH BROOKS,\n\nPROFESSOR OF ZO\u00d6LOGY IN THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY.\n\n\nYou are aware that the pedagogue is no longer treated with that\ndeference and respect which he feels to be due to his love of\nlearning. Past is all his fame. Past is the day when the village all\ndeclared how much he knew. Nowadays he is accustomed to be told by the\nrustics, who once gazed and wondered, that he is old-fashioned and out\nof place in our modern world; that he does not represent the nation;\nthat the love he bears to learning is at fault; and that the\nuniversity the people want must be universal like an omnibus, with a\nplace for all, either for a single square or to the end.\n\nHe is also used to hearing from those successful people of whom all\nmust speak with reverence--those who have demonstrated their\nsuperiority by laying their hands on everything they think worth the\ngetting--that he is a mere \"bookish theorist,\" and that they are much\nmore able to show him the path to success than he to tell them\nanything to their advantage.\n\nUnless he can minister to their comfort or entertainment, or make\nsmooth the royal road to learning, or at the very least help to\nmaintain the patent office, he is told to be content with such\ntreatment as they think good enough for him, and to keep himself to\nhis work of teaching the lower classes to be lowly and reverent to all\ntheir betters.\n\nI have been much interested of late by two books on certain aspects of\nmodern society. One treats of the dangers which threaten liberal\nculture and constitutional government, and all the best products of\ncivilization, through the increasing prevalence of the belief that our\ninstitutions have been _devised_ by a few for their own selfish ends.\nSo long as men differ in natural endowments the ignorant and the\nincapable and the unsuccessful must outnumber those whose industry and\nenergy and foresight insure success. As those who have little have\nalways outnumbered those who have much of the desired fruits of\ncivilization, this writer says that one of the great questions of the\nday is whether, in last resort, the world shall be governed by its\nignorance or by its intelligence. He is alarmed by the diffusion of\nbelief that our established institutions do not represent the people,\nand that they are hostile to the best interest of mankind, and by the\nprevalence of the opinion that the true way to reform the world and to\nsecure rational progress is to intrust the organization and\nadministration of government and of education and of all matters of\npublic interest and importance to the majority.\n\nThe danger so clearly pointed out is real, beyond question; but I can\nnot agree with the author that it is exclusively or distinctively\nmodern. If some in our day interpret the belief that the voice of the\npeople is the voice of God, as conviction that the loudest voice is\nmost divine; if they assert that the man with pure and lofty ideals of\neducation and duty and loyalty is a public enemy; we must remember\nthat so wise a man as Aristotle taught, in the day of Athenian\ndemocracy, that the man who is virtuous in undue measure is a moral\nmonster, as justly repugnant to his neighbors as one pre-eminent in\nvice.\n\nIf the first book calls Aristotle to mind, one must often think of\nJeremiah while reading the second, for its author is a dismal prophet,\nwho holds that, formidable as unbridled democracy seems, it is\nhelpless in the struggle with organized plutocracy, and that its\nefforts to shake off the restraints and limitations of social\nexistence can end in nothing but a more crushing despotism, while\nsubmission may bring such rewards of merit for good behavior in the\npast and such prizes for good conduct in the future as seem to the\ngivers to be good investments.\n\nBoth writers draw many of their illustrations from the history of our\nown country, and they hold that our great political contests are\nstruggles between those who wish to maintain our institutions for the\nsake of what they can themselves make out of them, and those who seek\nto wreck the ship of state for very similar reasons.\n\nSome hold that, these things being true, they can show the learned\nprofessor how he may win back, through the struggle between these two\ngreat classes of mankind, some of that confidence in his wisdom which\nhis predecessors enjoyed. They tell him he may make his learning\nrepresent the people if he will extend his university until it becomes\nas universal as the kindergarten, and that he may at the same time\nincrease his popularity with the select if he will devote more of his\ntime and more of his energy to that branch of learning which was in\nolden times pursued in that secluded cloister called the campus,\nalthough it is better known to the polite society of our day through\nthe banjo club, the football team, and the mask and wig club.\n\nIf he will cultivate these two fields, and, refraining from the\ntheoretical pursuit of empty generalities, will enter upon a three\nmonths' campaign of education at some time when men's minds are\nstimulated by the heat of faction to welcome calm discussion of the\nprinciples of common honesty and good citizenship, he can not fail to\nwin the respect and confidence of all.\n\nWhen I wrote this last sentence I thought that it was all out of my\nown head, and I was proud of it; but as I laid down my pen in my\nsatisfaction for a moment's rest, my eye fell upon this passage in the\nprospectus of a new university--one which is said, in the prospectus,\nto be not only universal, but cosmopolitan: \"When a question arises\nwhich divides scholars, like the tariff, the causes and course of the\nReformation, money, etc., the student will be referred to the ablest\nexponents of the opposing sides.\"\n\nNo professor can plead ignorance of the way to enter this new career\nof usefulness. One can scarcely pick up a college catalogue or a\nmagazine or a newspaper without learning how to make the university\nuniversal. One of the simplest plans, with which all are familiar, is\nto send to men with a reputation for learning a ruled form and a\nrequest that each will write, in the proper columns, the price,\npublisher, and title of the best book on his own subject--mathematics,\nastronomy, moral science, or whatever it may be--or, if he knows of no\nsuch book, that he will write one. An accompanying circular tells how\nthese lists are to be scattered through the innumerable homes of our\nland, and how diplomas are to be distributed as prizes to those who,\nafter purchasing the books, prepare and submit the most exhaustive\npermutations of their tables of contents.\n\nLearned men who do not approve this plan are offered a choice from\nmany others: six-week courses in law, medicine, and theology; summer\nschools for the promotion of science and the liberal arts; questions\nand answers in the educational column of some journal for the home; or\na national university so universal that it shall supply lunches and\nlearning for all out of the public chest, with no doorkeeper to\nexamine passports.\n\nThe way to extend the university in this direction is so well\nunderstood that I will turn now to another part of our subject, for\nsome may be less familiar with our opportunity to construct a royal\nroad to learning for those who are entitled to use it.\n\nA recent writer on education, who says American universities impose\n\"upon young men in the nineteenth century a curriculum devised by\ndead-and-gone priests for the young men of the twelfth,\" calls upon\nthe teachers of America to reconstruct their curriculum on\npsychological principles. I myself am no psychologist, and while I\nfail to see how this fact concerns the public, it has recently been\npointed out in print, although no one has ever charged me with lack of\nreverence for the psychologist. In truth, he is to me what the good\nold family doctor is to many, for I am convinced that it would be hard\nto name one among all the educational ills that flesh is heir\nto that he would not be able to throw on the spot, with a good\ncollar-and-elbow hold. I have a prodigious respect for those fine big\nwords _curriculum_ and _psychological principles_, and I welcome the\nplan for reconstructing the curriculum on psychological principles the\nmore eagerly because it is extremely simple and not hard to\nunderstand, like some psychological utterances. In fact, it is so very\nsimple and easy that it is sure of enthusiastic indorsement by\ninnumerable children, for this reformer's plan is neither more nor\nless than the abolition of the pedagogue.\n\n\"If,\" he says, \"I was director general of education for all America\"\n(which at the present moment he is not), \"I would abolish colleges,\nbut send American youths to travel for two years in Europe. In my\nopinion,\" he says, \"a father who has sons and daughters of a proper\nage to go to college will do better by his children if he sends them\nfor two years to travel in Europe than if he sends them for three\nyears to an American or English university.\"\n\nAdmirable and simple as is this plan for ascending Parnassus in\nvestibuled trains of drawing-room cars, personally conducted by Grant\nAllen, this psychologist seems to me to err in thinking it new, for it\nwas in high favor in England during the reign of that merry monarch\nwho was always so furious at the sight of books that his queen, who\nloved reading, had to practice it in secret in her closet.\n\nEuphranor having asked, in the reign of George II, \"Who are these\nlearned men that of late years have demolished the whole fabric which\nlawgivers, philosophers, and divines have been erecting for so many\nages? Lysicles, hearing these words, smiled and said he believed\nEuphranor had figured to himself philosophers in square caps and long\ngowns; but, thanks to these happy times, the reign of pedantry was\nover. Our philosophers, said he, are of a different kind from those\nawkward students. They are the best-bred men of the age, men of the\nworld, men of pleasure, men of fashion, and fine gentlemen. I will\nundertake a lad of fourteen bred in the modern way shall make a better\nfigure and be more considered in any drawing-room or assembly of\npolite people than one at four-and-twenty who hath lain by a long time\nat school and college. He will say better things in a better manner,\nand be more liked by good judges. I say, when a man observes and\nconsiders all this, he will be apt to ascribe it to the force of truth\nand the merits of our cause, which, had it been supported by the\nrevenues and establishments of the Church and universities, you may\nguess what a figure it would make by the figure it makes without them.\nPeople begin to open their eyes. It is not impossible but the revenues\nthat in ignorant times were applied to a wrong use may hereafter, in a\nmore enlightened age, be applied to a better.\"\n\n\"The money that went to found the Leland Stanford or the Johns\nHopkins University,\" says the modern reformer, \"would have been\nimmeasurably better spent in bringing St. Marks at Venice and the\nUffizi at Florence into the lives of innumerable young Americans.\nHere, then, is the opportunity for a wiser Cornell.\"\n\nA few years ago an acquaintance of my own, himself an accomplished\npsychologist, brought with him to Washington a young man, a native of\nnorth Greenland, that he might take into his life the best substitute\nfor St. Marks at Venice that this country affords. While limited in\nrange, the results were as definite as one could wish, for two of the\nmost refined delights of our wonderful civilization--rum and\nhorses--were at once taken into the life of Eskimo Joe with all the\nfresh enthusiasm of youth. In his boyish impetuosity he could not see\nwhy a hired horse should not have the fleetness of Santa Claus's\nreindeer and the endurance of wild dogs; and as few horses survived\nthe first lesson, the psychologist soon reconstructed the curriculum,\nfor Joe's progress in rum and oysters was most gratifying. You who\nhave attended my lectures in anthropology will remember that Nature\nhas bestowed on the Eskimos two endowments which are not elsewhere\nfound united, although they are exhibited separately in high\nperfection by the anaconda and the camel. Joe was able to load himself\nwith food and drink like a pirate ship victualed for a long cruise,\nand he became so proficient in three months that a two-year course\nseemed unnecessary, so he was shipped off to Labrador at the first\nopportunity, and was left there to carry St. Marks at Venice into the\nhomes of Greenland as best he might. It is clear that our\npsychological reformer's plan is not new, but he says our curriculum\nis some thousand years behind the times, and he asks, \"Will somebody\none day have the wisdom to perceive that the education which sufficed\nfor the medi\u00e6val England of the Plantagenets is not absolutely adapted\nto the America of the nineteenth century?\" I myself know so little of\nthe curriculum of that day that this charge may, for all I know, be\nwell founded, and if so it were a grievous fault. For all I know the\ndead-and-gone priests of the twelfth century may have read Homer in\nthe original Greek, and carried on their studies in trigonometry and\nnavigation with the aid of logarithms and the nautical almanac,\nalthough it has come in my way to know something of their method of\nteaching zo\u00f6logy, for my studies have led me to examine a text-book on\nthis subject, which was written early in the twelfth century for the\neducation of the young Queen Adelaide, who was married to Henry I of\nEngland in 1121. The dedication is as follows:\n\n\"Philippi de Thann into the French language has translated the\nBestiary, a book of science, for the honor of a jewel, who is a very\nhandsome woman, Aliz is she named, a queen is she crowned, Queen she\nis of England, may her soul never have trouble! In Hebrew in truth\nAliz means praise of God. I will compose a book, may God be with the\ncommencement!\"\n\nAs a sample of the zo\u00f6logical curriculum of the twelfth century take\nthis chapter:\n\n\"Onager by right is named the wild ass; of it the Physiologus says, in\nhis speech, when March in his course has completed twenty-five days,\nthen that day of the month he brays twelve times, and also in the\nnight for this reason, that that season is the equinox, that is that\nnight and day are of equal length; by the twelve times that it makes\nits braying and its crying, it shows that night and day have twelve\nhours in their circuit. The ass is grieved when he makes his cry, that\nthe night and day have equal length; he likes better the length of the\nnight than of the day. Now hear without doubt the signification of\nthis. Onager signifies the devil in this life; and by March we\nunderstand all the time that we have; by the day we understand good\npeople, by right, who will go in light; and by night we understand\nthose who were Neros; and by hours we understand the number of people.\nAnd when the devil perceives that his people decrease, as do the hours\nwhich are in the night, after the vernal equinox which we have in\nMarch, then he begins to cry, to deplore greatly, as the ass does\nwhich brays and crys.\"\n\nOne need not go back to the middle ages for a measure of progress, for\nall who remember the American college of thirty years ago know there\nhas been notable improvement in this short time, and they also know\nthat every change has not been an improvement. All who are concerned\nwith education see many defects, and wish to do what they can to\nremedy them, and to increase the efficiency and usefulness of our\nwhole educational system in all its branches from the lowest to the\nhighest, although I believe they still find much wisdom in the advice\nof the prophet of old, \"that we make a stand upon the ancient way, and\nthen look about us and discover what is the straight and right way,\nand so walk in it.\"\n\nMany who are now before the public as reformers seem to me to fall\ninto error through belief that our educational system has been\n_devised_ by some one, either in the twelfth century or at some other\ntime, and that they may therefore hope to devise a better. All who\nknow that it is a highly complex and delicate organism which has grown\nup imperceptibly and naturally in accordance with many needs,\nfulfilling many different purposes and acting in many diversified and\nfar-reaching ways, know also that while reform always has been and\nalways will be needed, organic change is quite another matter. They\nknow, too, that a disposition to pull it to pieces in the interest of\nsome theory or speculation must inevitably end in disaster, for they\nmust agree with Bacon that \"it were good, therefore, that men in their\ninnovations would follow the example of time itself, which indeed\ninnovateth greatly, but quietly, and by degrees scarce to be\nperceived.\"\n\nThe complaint that learning is no longer treated with due deference is\nnot exclusively modern, for it was enumerated long ago among the\nthings that are not new under the sun; and he who for his own pleasure\nor distinction devotes himself to work in fields that yield nothing\nbut the interest of the exploration should look to his own pleasure\nfor his reward, since learning is no more exalted by turning it into\nan aristocratic and exclusive pleasure ground than by making it a shop\nfor profit. While no weak and foolish brother of the laboratory should\nbe permitted to think that he belongs to a favored class or has any\nclaims to support or respect except for service rendered, it is the\nduty of our graduates to teach the world, by the example of their\nlives, what the work of the university is.\n\nLyceum lectures and summer schools and systematic courses of reading\nare good things, and the common school and the home are the foundation\nof all education. Travel is a most valuable adjunct, but those who are\nto profit by it must first know what they go out to see, \"for else\nshall young men go hooded and look abroad little.\"\n\nNo school or college can improve its work by calling itself a\nuniversity, although the prevalence of belief that its work is the\nwork of a university may bring harm incalculable; for that university\nis universal, in the best sense of the word, where students are\ninspired with enthusiasm for truth by the example of those whose minds\nare \"as a mirror or glass capable of the image of the universal world,\nand joyful to receive the impression thereof as the eye joyeth to\nreceive light.\"\n\nWhat nobler task can our graduate undertake than to teach the world\nthat while the benefits which learning confers are its only claim to\nconsideration, these benefits will cease so soon as they are made an\nend or aim? All men prize the fruit; but who else is there to tell\nthem that the tree will soon be barren if they visit it only at the\nharvest, that they must dig about it and nourish it and cherish the\nflowers and green leaves? What better service can he render than to\npoint out that the gifts of learning are like health, which comes to\nhim who does not seek it, but flies farther and farther from him who\nwould lure it back by physic or indulgence?\n\nThe two authors I referred to at the beginning can not both be right,\nand both may be partly wrong, for it is possible that neither\nplutocracy nor a democratic majority makes a state. No university\nneed humble itself to seek the favor of either plutocracy or democracy\nif its graduates can convince mankind, by their own lives, that its\naim is not to gain deference or success or distinction or reward of\nany sort, but solely to propagate and diffuse among mankind \"that\nenthusiasm for truth, that fanaticism of veracity, which is a greater\npossession than much learning, a nobler gift than the power of\nincreasing knowledge.\"\n\n\n\n\nIN THE LITTLE BROOK.\n\nBY DAVID STARR JORDAN.\n\n\nLong ago, in the old Devonian times, when life was very leisurely, all\nthe beasts and people that there were lived in the sea together. The\nair was dull and murky on the land. It was so light that it gave no\nsupport to the body, and so those that ventured about in it had to lie\nprone on the ground all the time wherever they went. So they preferred\nto stay in the water, where motion is much easier. Then, too, water is\nso much better to breathe than air, if one has gills fitted for it! He\nhas only to open his mouth and the water rushes in. Then he has only\nto shut his mouth and the water rushes out backward, bathing his gills\non the way. Thus, the air dissolved in the water purifies all the\nlittle drops of blood that run up and back through the slender tubes\nof which the gills are made.\n\nBut in those days, besides the gills, some of the beasts of the sea\nhad also a sac in the throat above the stomach in which they could\nstow away air which they took from the atmosphere itself. This served\nthem in good stead when they were in crowded places, in which the air\ndissolved in the water would fail them.\n\nAnd those which were so provided used to venture farther and farther\nout of the water, pushing their way heavily on the ground. And those\nwhich could put forth most effort survived, until at last their\ndescendants were able to maintain themselves on the land altogether.\nThese gave rise to the races of reptiles and birds and mammals, the\nancestors of all the land beasts that you know, as well as men and\nwomen and all the monkey people. But it was very long ago when this\nhappened, and because these ancestors came finally out of the water\nthey have no part in the story I am trying to tell to-day.\n\nThose that remained in the water grew more and more contented with\ntheir condition. Because the medium in which they lived was as heavy\nas their bodies, they swam without much effort, and effort not being\nneeded, it was not put forth. As there was food enough in the water,\nthey did not need to go on land. As they did not go on land, they did\nnot use their lungs for breathing, the air sac gradually shrank away,\nor was used for some other purpose, and all the parts of the body\nbecame adjusted for life in water, as those of their cousins who left\nthe sea became fitted for the life in air. Being now fishes for good,\nall the progress since then has made them with each succeeding century\nmore and more decidedly fishy.\n\nAnd because they are fishes they are contented to live in little\nbrooks, which would not satisfy you and me at all. But our ancestors\nin the early days were more ambitious, and by struggle and effort won\nwhat seems to us a larger heritage.\n\nSo it happened one spring when the ice melted out from some little\nbrook that flows down from somebody's hills somewhere toward some\nriver that sets toward the Mississippi, the little fishes began to\nrun.\n\nAnd first of all came the lampreys, but they hardly count as fishes,\nfor they have yet to learn the first principles of fishiness. A fish\nis a creature whose arms and legs are developed as fins, having\ncartilaginous rays spreading out fanlike to form an oar for swimming.\nBut the lamprey has no trace of arm or leg, not even a bone or\ncartilage hidden under the skin. And its ancestors never had any limbs\nat all, for the earliest lamprey embryo shows no traces of them. If\nthe ancestors ever had limbs, the descendants would never quite forget\nit. Some little trace would be kept by the clinging force of heredity,\nand at some time or another this rudiment would appear. And the lower\njaw they lack too, for that is really another pair of limbs joined\ntogether in front--as it were, a pair of short hands clasped together\nand never unlocked.\n\nBut though the lampreys have no limbs and no jaws and are not fishes\nanyhow, they do not know the difference, and come up the brook in the\nspring, rushing up the rapids, swirling about in the eddies, just as\nif they were real fishes and owned the brook themselves. They are\nlong, slender, and slippery, shaped like eels, without any scales and\nwith only a little fin, and that along the back and tail, an outgrowth\nfrom the vertebral column. The vertebral column itself is limp and\nsoft, the vertebr\u00e6 only imperfectly formed and made of soft cartilage.\nIn front the lamprey seems to be cut off short, but if we look\ncarefully we see that the body ends in a round disk of a mouth, and\nthat this disk is beset by rows of sharp teeth. A row of the sharpest\nof these is placed on the tongue, and two of these are above the\ngullet, for the tongue to scrape against them. And the rest are all\nblunt and are scattered over the surface of the mouth, which has no\nlips nor jaws, but is surrounded by a belt of fringes. When the\nlamprey is hungry he puts his mouth against the side of some fish,\nexhausts the water between, and then the pressure of the outside water\nholds him there tightly. When this is done, the fish swims away and\nthe lamprey rides with it, giving no thought to where he is going, but\nall the while scraping away the flesh with his rasplike teeth. When he\nhas filed off enough fish flesh to satisfy his hunger he lets go, and\ngoes off about his business. The fish, who does not know what hurt\nhim, goes off to get well if he can. Usually he can not, for the water\nof the brook is full of the germs of little toadstool-like plants, and\nthese fasten themselves on the fish's wounds and make them bigger and\nbigger, until at last the cavity of the abdomen is pierced and little\ncreatures of many kinds, plant and animal, go in there and plunder all\nthis fish's internal organs, to carry them away for their own\npurposes.\n\nBut when the lampreys come up the April brook it is not to feed on\nfishes, nor is it to feed at all. Nature is insistent that the race\nshould be kept up, and every animal is compelled to attend to the\nneeds of the species, even though it be at the sacrifice of all else.\nIf she were not so, the earth and the seas would be depopulated, and\nthis is a contingency toward which Nature has never looked.\n\nThe lampreys come up the stream to spawn, and while on this errand\nthey fasten their round mouths to stones or clods of earth, that the\ncurrent may not sweep them away. When so fastened they look like some\nstrange dark plant clinging to the bottom of the brook. When the\nspawning season is over some of them still remain there, forgotten by\nNature, who is now busied with other things, and they wear their lives\naway still clinging--a strange, weird piece of brook-bottom scenery\nwhich touched the fancy of Thoreau.\n\nWhen the young are hatched they are transparent as jelly, blind and\ntoothless, with a mouth that seems only a slit down the front end of\nthe body. These little creatures slip down the brook unobserved, and\nhide themselves in the grass and lily pads till their teeth are grown\nand they go about rasping the bodies of their betters, grieving the\nfishes who do not know how to protect themselves.\n\nThe lamprey is not a fish at all, only a wicked imitation of one which\ncan deceive nobody. But there are fishes which are unquestionably\nfish--fish from gills to tail, from head to fin, and of these the\nlittle sunfish may stand first. He comes up the brook in the spring,\nfresh as \"coin just from the mint,\" finny arms and legs wide spread,\nhis gills moving, his mouth opening and shutting rhythmically, his\ntail wide spread, and ready for any sudden motion for which his\nerratic little brain may give the order. The scales of the sunfish\nshine with all sorts of scarlet, blue, green, purple, and golden\ncolors. There is a black spot on his head which looks like an ear, and\nsometimes grows out in a long black flap, which makes the imitation\nstill closer. There are many species of the sunfish, and there may be\na half dozen of them in the same brook, but that makes no difference;\nfor our purposes they are all as one. They lie poised in the water,\nwith all fins spread, strutting like turkey-cocks, snapping at worms\nand little crustaceans and insects whose only business in the brook is\nthat the fishes may eat them. When the time comes, the sunfish makes\nits nest in the fine gravel, building it with some care--for a fish.\nWhen the female has laid her eggs the male stands guard till the eggs\nare hatched. His sharp teeth and snappish ways, and the bigness of his\nappearance when the fins are all displayed, keep the little fishes\naway. Sometimes, in his zeal, he snaps at a hook baited with a worm.\nHe then makes a fierce fight, and the boy who holds the rod is sure\nthat he has a real fish this time. But when the sunfish is out of the\nwater, strung on a willow rod, and dried in the sun, the boy sees that\na very little fish can make a good deal of a fuss.\n\nWhen the sunfish goes, then the catfish will follow--\"a reckless,\nbullying set of rangers, with ever a lance at rest.\" The catfish\nbelongs to an ancient type not yet fully made into a fish, and hence\nthose whose paired fins are all properly fastened to the head, as his\nare not, hold him in well-merited scorn. He has no scales and no\nbright colors. His fins are small, and his head and mouth are large.\nAround his mouth are eight long \"smellers,\" fleshy feelers, that he\npushes out as he crawls along the bottom in search of anything that he\nmay eat. As he may eat anything, he always finds it. His appetite is\nas impartial as that of a goat. Anything from a dead lamprey or a\nbunch of sunfish eggs to a piece of tomato can is grateful to him. In\neach of the fins which represent his arms is a long, sharp bone with a\nslimy surface and a serrated edge. These are fastened by a\nball-and-socket joint, and whenever the fish is alarmed the bone is\nwhirled over and set in place; then it sticks out stiffly on each\nside. There is another such bone in the fin on the back, and when all\nof these are set there is no fish that can swallow him. When he takes\nthe hook, which he surely will do if there is any hook to be taken, he\nwill swallow it greedily. As he is drawn out of the water he sets his\nthree spines, and laughs to himself as the boy pricks his fingers\ntrying to get the hook from his stomach. This the boy is sure to do,\nand because the boy of the Mississippi Valley is always fishing for\ncatfish is the reason why his fingers are always sore. The catfish is\ncareless of the present, and sure of the future. After he is strung on\na birch branch and dried in the sun and sprinkled with dust and has\nhad his stomach dug out to recover the hook, if he falls into the\nbrook he will swim away. He holds no malice, and is ready to bite\nagain at the first thing in sight.\n\nThe catfish uses his lungs as an organ of hearing. The needless lung\nbecomes a closed sac filled with air, and commonly known as the swim\nbladder. In the catfish (as in the suckers, chubs, and most brook\nfishes) the air bladder is large, and is connected by a slender tube,\nthe remains of the trachea, to the oesophagus. At its front it fits\nclosely to the vertebral column. The anterior vertebr\u00e6 are much\nenlarged, twisted together, and through them passes a chain of bones\nwhich connect with the hidden cavity of the air. The air bladder\ntherefore assists the ear of the catfish as the tympanum and its bones\nassist the ear of the higher animals. An ear of this sort can carry\nlittle range of variety in sound. It probably gives only the\nimpression of jars or disturbances in the water.\n\nThe catfish lays her eggs on the bottom of the brook, without much\ncare as to their location. She is not, however, indifferent to their\nfate, for when the little fishes are hatched she swims with them into\nshallow waters, brooding over them and watching them much as a hen\ndoes with her chickens. In shallow ponds the young catfishes make a\nblack cloud along the shores, and the other fishes let them alone, for\ntheir spines are sharp as needles.\n\nUp the brooks in the spring come the suckers, large and small--coarse,\nharmless, stupid fishes, who have only two instincts, the one to press\nto the head of the stream to lay their eggs, the other to nose over\nthe bottom of the stream wherever they go, sucking into their\npuckered, toothless mouths every organic thing, from water moss to\ncarrion, which they may happen to find. They have no other habits to\nspeak of, and when they have laid their eggs in a sandy ripple they\ncare no more for them, but let go of life's activity and drop down the\ncurrent to the river whence they came. There are black suckers and\nwhite suckers, yellow ones, brown ones, and mottled, and there is more\nthan one kind in every little brook, but one and all they are harmless\ndolts, the prey of all larger fishes, and so full of bones that even\nthe small boy spits them out after he has cooked them.\n\nThen come the minnows, of all forms and sizes, the female dull colored\nand practical, laying her eggs automatically when she finds quiet\nwater, and thinking no more of them afterward. The male, feeble of\nmuscle, but resplendent in color, with head and fins painted scarlet\nor purple, or silver white, or inky black, as may be most pleasing to\nhis spouse. His mouth is small and without teeth, for he feeds on\ncreatures smaller than fishes, and his head in the spring is covered\nwith coarse warts, nuptial ornaments, which fall off as soon as the\neggs are properly disposed of. In the little brook which comes to my\nmind as I write two kinds of minnows come up the stream together\nbefore the others realize that it is verily spring. The one is small,\ndainty, translucent, and active, swimming free in the water near the\nsurface and able to take care of itself when pursued by a sunfish or\nbass. Along the side of its body are two black stripes not quite\nparallel, and between and below them the silvery scales are flushed\nwith fiery scarlet. The fins are all yellow, with scarlet at base, and\nas the male passes and repasses before the female all these colors,\nwhich she has not, grow brighter than ever.\n\nThe next is a larger fish, clumsy in form, hugging the bottom as he\nswims. The whole body of the male is covered with coarse white warts,\nand across each fin is a bar of black, white, and orange. This minnow\nfeeds on mud, or rather on the little plants which grow in mud, and\nhis intestines are lengthened out proportionally. In fact, they are so\nlong that, to find room for them, they are wound spool-fashion about\nthe air bladder in a way which happens to no other animal.\n\nOf the other minnows, the one attracts his female by a big, jet-black\nhead; another by the painted fins, which shine like white satin;\nanother by his deep-blue sheen, which is washed all over with crimson.\nIn fact, every conceivable arrangement of bright colors can be found,\nif we go the country over, as the adornment of some minnow when he\nmates in the spring. The only exception is green, for to the fishes,\nas to the birds, green is not a color. It only serves to cover one,\nwhile the purpose of real color is to be seen.\n\nAnd there are fishes whose colors are so placed that they are hidden\nfrom above or below, but seen of their own kind which looks on them\nfrom the side.\n\nThe brightest fishes in the world, the \"Johnny darters,\" are in our\nlittle brook. But if you look at them from above you will hardly see\nthem, for they are dull olive on the back, with dark spots and dashes\nlike the weeds under which they lie. The male is only a little fellow,\nnot so long as your finger and slim for his size. He lies flat on the\nbottom, half hidden by a stone, around which his tail is twisted. He\nwill stay there for hours, unseen by other fishes, except by his own\nkinsmen. But if you reach down to touch him with your finger he is no\nlonger there. The tail straightens out, there is a flash of blue and\nscarlet, and a foot or two away he is resting quietly as before. On\nthe bottom is his place, and he seems always at peace, but when he\nmoves his actions are instantaneous and as swift as possible to a\ncreature who lives in the water. On the bottom, among the stones, the\nfemale casts her spawn. Neither she nor the male pays any further\nattention to it, but in the breeding season the male is painted in\ncolors as beautiful as those of the wood warblers. When you go to the\nbrook in the spring you will find him there, and if you catch him and\nturn him over on his side you will see the colors that he shows to his\nmate, and which her choice through ages has tended to develop in him.\nBut do not hurt him. He can only breathe for a moment out of water.\nPut him back in the brook and let him paint its bottom the colors of a\nrainbow, a sunset, or a garden of roses. All that can be done with\nblue, crimson, and green pigments in fish ornamentation you will find\nin some brook in which the darters live. It is in the limestone brooks\nthat flow into the Tennessee and Cumberland where they are found at\ntheir brightest, but the Ozark region comes in for a close second.\n\nThere will be sticklebacks in your brook, but the other fishes do not\nlike them, for they are tough and dry of flesh, and their sharp spines\nmake them hard to swallow and harder still to digest. They hide\nbeneath the overhanging tufts of grass, and dart out swiftly at\nwhatever passes by. They tear the fins of the minnows, rob the nests\nof the sunfish, drag out the eggs of the suckers, and are busy from\nmorn to night at whatever mischief is possible in the brook.\n\nThe male dresses in jet-black when the breeding season is on,\nsometimes with a further ornament of copper-red or of scarlet. The\nsticklebacks build nests in which to hide their eggs, and over these\nthe male stands guard, defending them with courage which would be\ndauntless in any animal more than two inches long. Very often he has\nto repel the attacks of the female herself, who, being relieved of all\nresponsibility for her offspring, is prone to turn cannibal. Even the\nlittle dwellers of the brook have their own troubles and adversities\nand perversities.\n\nLast of all comes the blob, or miller's thumb, who hides in darkness\nand picks up all that there is left. He is scaleless and slippery,\nlarge of head, plump of body, and with no end of appetite. He lurks\nunder stones when the water is cold. He is gray and greenish, like the\nbottom in color. He robs the buried nests of eggs, swallows the young\nfishes, devours the dead ones, and checks the undue increase of all,\nnot forgetting his own kind. When he has done his work and the fall\nhas come and gone, and the winter and the spring return, the brook\nonce more fills with fishes, and there are the same kinds, with the\nsame actions, the same ways, and the same numbers, and one might think\nfrom year to year, as the sun is said to do, that these were the\nselfsame waters and the selfsame fishes mating over and over again and\nfeeding on the selfsame food.\n\nBut this is not so. The old stage remains, or seems to remain, but\nevery year come new actors, and the lines which they repeat were\n\"written for them centuries before they were born.\" But each\ngeneration which passes changes their lives just a little, just as the\nbrook and the meadow itself is changing.\n\n\n\n\nWHITE WHALES IN CONFINEMENT.\n\nBY FRED MATHER.\n\n\nThe dolphin family (_Delphinid\u00e6_) contains nine genera, with only one\nspecies in each, but the most interesting one is the white whale\n(_Delphinapterus leucas_ of Pallas, or _D. catodon_ [Linn.] of Gill),\nbecause it is the only one that can be kept in confinement and its\nhabits observed under semi-domestication. It has fallen to my lot to\ncare for several of these animals in confinement, and to have a chance\nto note their peculiarities.\n\n\"The Great New York Aquarium,\" at Broadway and Thirty-fourth Street,\nNew York city, was built by Messrs. Coup and Reiche, and opened in\n1876. Mr. Butler was the superintendent. I supervised fish culture,\nand when not otherwise engaged made collections of fishes and\ninvertebrates in Bermuda and in other parts. In 1877 I had charge of\ntheir branch aquarium at Coney Island. At both places we had many\nwhite whales at different times, for the management would keep whales\npenned up on the St. Lawrence River to replace those which died, and\nwould never show more than two at a time, claiming that they were rare\nanimals and only to be had at \"enormous\" expense. The aquarium was a\nprivate concern; admission fifty cents; and as the owners were W. C.\nCoup, a former circus proprietor and once the business manager of\nBarnum's Circus, and Henry Reiche, an animal dealer, who would sell\nyou giraffes, elephants, or white mice, the attractions were duly\nexaggerated by the press agent, no matter what the facts might be.\nThis is why we kept a reserve stock of white whales. It would never do\nto have the public know that they were common during the summer in the\nSt. Lawrence, and when one was getting weak another would be sent\ndown, and the public supposed that the same pair was on exhibition all\nthe time.\n\nThis species is common in the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and\nArctic Oceans. According to the late Prof. G. Brown Goode, \"stragglers\nhave been seen in the Frith of Forth, latitude 56\u00b0, while on the\nAmerican coast several have been taken within the past decade [1880]\non the north shore of Cape Cod. They are slightly abundant in New\nEngland waters, but in the St. Lawrence River and on the coast of\nLabrador are plentiful, and the object of a profitable fishery. They\nabound in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas, and ascend the Yukon River,\nAlaska, to a distance of seven hundred miles. The names in use are\nbeluga and whitefish among whalers, porpoise, dauphin blanc, marsouin\nor marsoon in Canada, and keela luak with the Greenland Eskimos\"\n(Fisheries Industries).\n\nThe white whale grows to be sixteen feet long; we never had one over\nten feet in length, but they were billed, showman fashion, to be much\nlonger. An adult will yield from eighty to one hundred gallons of good\nwhale oil, besides several gallons of more valuable oil from the head\nwhich is used on clocks and watches under the trade name of\n\"porpoise-jaw oil,\" which is sent in a crude state to manufacturers on\nCape Cod, who refine it and free it from all tendency to gum. The\nskins make a leather that is waterproof and stands more hard service\nthan any other known leather. Large quantities of it are sent to\nEngland and made into \"porpoise-hide boots\" for sportsmen, and in\nCanada the hides are converted into mail bags. The flesh is eaten to\nsome extent by the fishermen, fresh, salted, and smoked.\n\nZach. Coup said: \"I have eaten the fresh steaks several times, and\nfound the meat a fair substitute for beef when the choice was between\nfish and bacon as a continuous diet, down on the islands where these\nthree things were the only possible variation in the line of animal\nfood, and a very limited choice in the vegetable line, comprising\ndried beans and rice, for when I was with them there was a scarcity of\npotatoes for seed, and canned goods had not attained their present\npopularity, even if these poor fishermen had been able to buy them.\"\n\nThe fat, oily blubber is an overcoat, a nonconductor of heat, and is\nbetween the muscle and the skin, as is largely the case with the hog,\nand, like the latter animal, there is savory muscle which may be cut\ninto succulent steaks below it.\n\nAt first the white whales were not in my care, but, being strange\nanimals, were watched with curiosity. The whale tank was as nearly\ncircular as a twenty-sided tank could be whose glass plates were four\nfeet wide with iron standards between, making a pool of about thirty\nfeet in diameter. The pool was of cement and tapered down to an outlet\nabout three feet below the floor, for drainage, and on the floor the\ncement basin arose two and a half feet, while the panes of one-inch\nglass were six feet high, with the water line two feet below the top\nof the glass. This gave the spectators a view of the animals below\nwater, and of their backs as they came up to blow. The white whale and\nthe harbor porpoise (_Phoc\u00e6na brachycion_), known as the herring-hog,\netc., do not make as much of a \"spout\" as the larger whales do; they\nroll up and exhale either less strongly or with less water over the\nblow-hole than their larger relatives. They merely send a mist into\nthe air which can not be seen at a distance of a thousand yards, while\nthe \"blowing\" of the larger whales may be seen for miles. Half a\ncentury ago we boys were taught by the text-books that the\nwhale--there was only one mentioned--drew in water through its mouth,\nstrained out the jellyfishes and other life, and then ejected the\nwater, after the manner of a fire engine, through the top of its head.\nThat this nostril, equipped with the best water-tight valve ever\ninvented, enabled an air-breathing mammal to exhale and inhale,\nwithout getting much water into its lungs, we never suspected. If we\nthought about it at all we looked at the whale as a fish, having gills\nsomewhere, and let it go at that. As our laws speak of \"whale\nfisheries\" and \"seal fisheries\" in connection with these great aquatic\nmammals, it would be just as correct to speak of all animals which\nfrequent the water as \"fishes,\" and legislate on the \"muskrat\nfisheries,\" \"mink fisheries,\" etc.; there is really no difference.\n\nI have seen newspaper reports that about thirty years ago a white\nwhale, brought there by a Mr. Cutting, lived in captivity in Boston\nfor two years. Beyond the fact that one was brought there by a Mr.\nCutting, and was on exhibition about that time, is all that I have\nbeen able to learn, and it is doubtful if it lived one year (see\nFisheries Industries, section 1, page 19). One was exhibited at\nBarnum's old museum, at Broadway and Ann Street, New York, that is\nsaid to have lived nine months and was then burned up when that\nbuilding burned, in March, 1868. As these animals only come into the\nSt. Lawrence, where all live ones have been captured, in May and June,\nthere is no reason to doubt that it did live in confinement for nine\nmonths, but none that have been exhibited since that time have\nsurvived more than half as long, and I have had personal knowledge of\nevery one since Barnum's.\n\nCoup's Broadway Aquarium opened on October 11, 1876--too late to get a\nwhite whale that year. But early next spring Mr. Coup sent his brother\nto the St. Lawrence River for specimens. This brother, \"Zach.,\" had\nnever seen a whale, but he had full instructions concerning their care\nfrom Professor Butler, who had charge of the one at Barnum's Museum.\nThere was an air of mystery about the expedition, and in May \"Zach.\"\nbrought a solitary specimen and at once went for more. The town was\nbilled, the daily press was worked in true circus fashion, the crowd\ncame and expressed various opinions. Standing by the tank, I heard\nstrange comments:\n\n\"Do you call that little thing a whale?\" This to an attendant.\n\n\"Yes, sir, it's a white whale from the northern coast of Labrador, the\nonly one ever captured or ever seen by the oldest whaleman. It was\nreported to have been seen near the entrance to Hudson Bay, and Mr.\nCoup fitted out an expedition and captured it at an expense of over\none hundred thousand dollars.\" He had evidently been reading what the\npress agent had stuffed into the newspapers.\n\nThe visitor took another look and remarked: \"The papers said it was\ntwenty feet long; I should think it might be six feet, but no more.\"\n\n\"Well,\" answered the attendant, \"water is mitey deceivin', an' that\nwhale is more'n three times as long as it looks. The fact is, the\npapers did report it to be longer than it is, for when we drew off the\nwater to clean the tank yesterday we put a steel tape over the whale\nand it measured just nineteen feet eleven inches and a half.\"\n\nThen a rural couple came, and she remarked: \"Oh, I'm so glad we came\nhere, and can tell the folks that we've seen a real live whale!\"\n\n\"Lucy,\" said he, \"this city is full of all kinds of cheats, an' I\ndon't believe that thing is alive more'n Methuselah is; it's some\nindy-rubber contraption with clockwork in it that makes it go round\nand puff in that way.\"\n\nAfter the season for hatching trout and salmon was over, in April, I\nwas detailed to build a branch aquarium at Coney Island, with\ninstructions to construct a whale tank the first thing, in order to be\nready for the next arrivals. I employed a maker of beer vats, and he\nbrought three-inch planks for the bottom, staves eight feet high, and\niron for hoops. The tank was to be twenty-five feet in diameter, with\na \"chime\" nine inches below the bottom, making the tank seven feet\ndeep inside. It was to set with its top eighteen inches above the\nsoil, which was to be the water line, giving the whales five feet and\na half of water--little enough when we realize that a ten-foot animal\nhas a diameter of nearly three feet. Heavy timbers were laid under the\nbottom of the tank, carefully leveled, for no weight can be borne by\nthe staves in a tank of that size.\n\nAll this was planned, as well as the engine and pumps, and was well\nunder way, when I received an order from Mr. Coup to go to Quebec and\nbring down two whales while Zach. went for more. Then I learned the\nsecrets of the live white whale trade. The first whale had been kept\nback until it could be delivered at night, and its transportation was\na mystery intended to arouse the curiosity of the public.\n\nAt the railroad station at Quebec two boxes were turned over to me.\nThey were about fifteen feet long, four feet wide, and four feet deep.\nThey were upholstered with \"bladder wrack,\" a most soft cushion, and\nin each box a white whale lay on these pneumatic cushions. A plug in\nthe bottom of each box had let the water out while the boxes were\nbeing lifted by the rope handles on the sides, but when on the cars\nthe plugs were replaced and water to the depth of a foot was poured\nin; this served to keep the under parts moist, while frequent sponging\nor the use of a dipper served to keep the skin from drying. The\nnostril, or \"blow-hole,\" needed the most attention, for it has a valve\nwhich must not be allowed to get even partially dry, and a saturated\nsponge was kept suspended over this all the time during the journey by\nrail to New York.\n\nThe white whale is a very timid animal, and comes up the St. Lawrence\nin May and June, when the young are brought forth; it is believed that\nthey then go to the river to avoid their enemies, among which is the\n\"killer\" or orca whale. Their food, according to Professor Goode, is\n\"bottom fish, like flounders and halibut, cod, haddock, salmon,\nsquids, and prawns.\" From my knowledge of this whale in confinement I\nam surprised at the above list, for those under my observation not\nonly preferred live eels, but could not swallow one whose diameter was\nover one inch, and it was difficult to get quantities of eels as small\nas three quarters of an inch in diameter, especially when an adult\nwhale would consume about twenty pounds in a day. When larger eels\nwere placed in the tank they would be taken out dead in a day or two\nwith their sides scratched and torn by the small teeth of the whale\nwhich had failed to swallow it. We tried other food, for eels are\nquite expensive in New York city, costing fifteen and eighteen cents\nper pound, but the whales refused small flatfish, flounders, etc., and\nthe only other food they ate was small tomcods. They refused dead\nherrings and all fish that were cut in pieces.\n\nThe animals are captured at the small French fishing village of\nRivi\u00e8re l'Ouelle, on Isle aux Coudres, seventy miles below Quebec,\nwhere life is as primitive as it was two hundred years ago in this,\none of the oldest of Canadian settlements. Luke Tilden, one of our\naquarium men, who went up with Zach. Coup, told of the capture of the\nwhales, and the following is from notes taken by me as Luke told it:\nThe men all fish and the women do a little gardening, but their\nharvest is the marsouin, a name common to the white whale and to the\nblack porpoise. A fair white whale will weight eight hundred pounds\nand yield nearly one hundred gallons of oil worth fifty cents per\ngallon, so that when they trap twenty in a season it means prosperity\nto the colony; in 1874 they took one hundred, but the catch has fallen\noff since. \"When we reached the island,\" said Luke, \"we went straight\nto Father Alixe Pelletier and donated ten dollars to the Church for\nprayers for our success, and it was well invested. The good old man\nis the head of that colony and keeps everything straight. In 1863\nthere was an epidemic of indifference to the Church, and the men went\nto the bad, got drunk, fought, fished on Sundays, and reviled the\npriest, withholding all dues to him. Then he said, 'God is angry with\nyou, and to punish you will send no more marsouin until you repent.'\nThey laughed at him, and for three years no marsouin came to them, and\nthey were very poor. They went to the father on a Christmas day and\nimplored him to intercede for them, and he did. The next spring there\nwas a great catch of marsouin, and the men have remained faithful\nsince.\n\n\"The tides here rise and fall some twenty feet, and the whales are\ntrapped in an inclosure made of poles, the entrance to which is closed\nwhen a school enters. The pound is about a mile square, and is made of\nslim poles put two feet apart, space enough to let a whale through,\nbut they will not attempt it. The tide falls and leaves them on the\nmud, quaking with fear. When we want live ones the boxes are made,\npadded with seaweed, shoved out over the mud, tipped on one side, and\nthe whale rolled into it, where its struggles soon put it on an even\nkeel, and then it gives up and does nothing but breathe as the boxes\nare taken on board a schooner for Quebec.\"\n\nI was fortunate in getting the above story from Luke Tilden, for a few\nweeks afterward he died in the aquarium; and Zach. Coup would tell\nnothing that could be relied on, not even to the locality where the\nwhales were caught.\n\nThe white whale is the only one of its tribe that can be captured in\nthe manner related, because of its cowardly timidity. The harbor\nporpoise, or \"herring-hog,\" would jump nets and break barricades or\ndie. It would not bear the confinement of an aquarium, for it would\nleap out of the tanks or dash its brains out in trying to do so; but,\nonce placed in a tank of either salt or fresh water, the white whale\nstarts to circle it, always to the left, with the sun, and contentedly\nblows at intervals of from five to fifteen minutes, and seems as\ncontented as a canary bird in its cage.\n\nThe whale does not always swim in circles to the left when free, and\nwhy it does so in confinement is a question. I merely assert the fact.\nPerhaps wiser men know why perfectly still water in a washbowl will\nrotate to the left with an accelerated motion when the plug is\nwithdrawn, but I do not. As the motion to the left is invariable there\nmust be a rule for it, but, granting that this motion has some\nrelation to the motion of the earth, the question of how this affects\nthe voluntary movements of an animal remains to be answered. I have\nwatched over a dozen white whales in captivity, dumped into tanks from\nthe most convenient side without regard to the direction of their\nheads, and every one turned and circled to the left. The question\narises, Why do they do this? At the new aquarium now at Battery Park,\nNew York city, the big sturgeon always circles to the left except when\nfeeding.\n\nThe two whales at Coney Island were good-sized ones, nearly ten feet\nlong, and they raced around, side by side, and played for nearly two\nhours before they began to take the eels which had been in the tank\nseveral days, although the large mammals had been without food for at\nleast seven days. On the way down I had noticed a difference in the\nsound of their breathing, that of the female being sharp and clear,\nwhile her mate seemed to have a hoarseness, and occasionally gave\nsomething like a cough. I called attention to this and told Mr. Coup\nthat the animal had some lung trouble. He consulted a man who\nprofessed to know about these animals, and then reported his opinion\nthat the cough was nothing to fear, \"merely a little water in the\nblow-hole.\"\n\n\"This may be true,\" I replied; \"I'm not a medical man, but I've heard\nmany consumptives cough, and that whale imitates them. I doubt if it\nlives a month.\"\n\nIt lived just twenty-six days after its arrival at Coney Island. The\nlast five days of its life it took no food, and its labored breathing\nwas annoying to all who knew the cause of it. Then came a touching\ndisplay of affection. The female slackened her pace day by day to\naccommodate it to that of her constantly weakening companion, and as\nthe end neared she put her broad transverse tail under his and\npropelled him along. He stopped breathing at 10 A. M., but his mate\nkept up her efforts, occasionally making a swift run around the tank,\nas if to say, \"Come, follow me,\" and then slowing up at his side,\nresumed the work of sculling him along, as before. Rude men expressed\npity for the living one, and after my men had rigged a derrick and\nhoisted her mate from the pool she would rise higher out of water when\nshe came up to blow, remembering that he had gone out over the top of\nthe tank. An autopsy by local physicians, whose names have been\nforgotten, assisted by a medical student then in my employ, now Dr. J.\nR. Latham, 126 West Eleventh Street, New York city, disclosed the fact\nthat the whale died of pneumonia.\n\nA white whale which reached the Broadway aquarium about July 1st,\nafter mine came, lived seven months, dying January 28, 1878. My whale\nwas either diseased when captured or took a cold at Isle aux Coudres.\nThe New York one was sound all summer, and I told Mr. Coup that it\nmight live for years, but the artificial heat of the aquarium in\nwinter was not what a subarctic animal could endure, and it succumbed\nas most of Peary's Eskimos did in New York last winter. The autopsy on\nthis whale was performed by Dr. F. D. Weisse, professor of practical\nand surgical anatomy of the medical department of the University of\nthe City of New York, assisted by Prof. J. W. I. Arnold, of the same\nuniversity, and Dr. Liautard, superintendent of the Veterinary\nCollege. They agreed that pneumonia was the cause of death, induced by\na change of temperature of the water in which the animal had been\nkept. The official measurements of this female specimen, whose organs\nwere kept in the two institutions named, were: nine feet six inches\nfrom snout to tail tips; three feet between tips of caudal fins, with\na body breadth of twenty inches and a head breadth of thirteen inches.\nThe lungs, weighing twenty-two pounds, presented on dissection the\nappearance of having been affected with chronic catarrhal pneumonia.\nThe liver weighed nineteen pounds. The four stomachs were all free\nfrom any trace of previous disease.\n\nIn looking up the life history of the white whale when opportunity\noffered, during the last twenty years I have consulted many old\nwhalemen, and they all say that whales of all kinds take their babies\non their flukes and scull them along as my female sculled her dying\nand dead partner. This must be a fact, for the little one could never\nswim with its parent. But another question arises: Is this purely a\nfemale instinct to provide for its young, which was, in the case of my\npair, developed into a desire to preserve a companion? or, in other\nwords, would a male have done this, or would a female have done it if\nshe were free and had other companions? Was it love for her mate, or a\nfeeling of selfishness at her lonely position? My female was afterward\nsent to England in the old transportation box, and was nine days\nwithout food, for they will not swallow food in transit, and it lived\nfour days in London, clearing more than enough to pay for the animal\nand all expenses.\n\nWhen the free aquarium at Battery Park, New York city, was opened,\nDecember 10, 1896, there was talk of getting white whales the next\nspring, but there was no way to employ men to go for them at a stated\nsalary, as they would have to pass a civil-service examination and\nbecome regularly appointed employees of the city. In this emergency\nMr. Eugene G. Blackford came forward and advanced the money for the\nexpedition, and it started early in May. On June 4th Professor Butler\ndelivered a pair of them to the superintendent, Dr. Bean. I was aware\nof their coming, and was at the aquarium, and so was Dr. Latham. The\nmale was lead-colored, was said to be a year and a half old, and was\nnine feet long. The female was of the usual cream-color, ten feet and\na half long, and was said to be a year older than her mate. It is\nknown that young and immature specimens are darker than adults, but I\nam skeptical about the ages, especially as there is a half year\ncredited to each at the exact time the young are brought forth, and do\nnot know on what the ages are based further than that the young are\ndarker in color for a time.\n\n\"How does the breathing of the big one sound to you?\" the doctor\nasked.\n\n\"Like ours at Coney Island that died from lung trouble,\" I replied,\n\"and I would not have brought that animal down unless it was the only\none to be had during the season.\"\n\n\"I think I'll give her about ten days to live,\" replied the doctor.\n\nAs these were not my whales, I declined to talk of their prospects of\nlife to several reporters who knew me, and the whale in question died\nof pneumonia on June 11th, just a week after its arrival in New York,\nand several days before the trained ear of Dr. Latham had allotted its\nspan of life.\n\nThe male came to its death by an accident at 9 P. M. on June 24th,\njust twenty days after arrival. An eel got into its blow-hole and it\ndrowned. According to an account published in the New York Sun of\nMonday, July 26, 1897, said to be obtained from Dr. Tarleton H. Bean,\ndirector of the aquarium, the whale \"was as healthy a one as ever\nspouted until late on Friday afternoon, the 24th, when one of the\nkeepers noticed that something was wrong. His attention was attracted\nby the loud wheezing that accompanied each blow that the whale made\nwhen he came up for air. The wheezing could be heard all over the\naquarium. Dr. Bean was sent for. He was certain that the whale's lungs\nwere all right. He cited a fact, known to the custodian and to all the\nkeepers, that the mammal for the past month had remained under water a\nlittle longer after he came to the surface to blow. This convinced Dr.\nBean that the whale's lungs were sound and that some other cause of\nillness must be found.\"\n\nThen the whale coughed out a piece of an eel that it had bit in two,\nand as it came up to blow again there was another piece hanging from\nthe blow-hole which could not shut, and so let water into the lungs.\nDr. Bean ordered the water drawn off the tank in order to get at the\nanimal, but a former superintendent, who had planned the tanks, had\nput in such small drainage pipes that by the time the water was drawn\ndown so that the men could get at the whale it was dead.\n\nI do not believe that a white whale lived two years in Boston, because\nthis subarctic animal could not endure the extremes of Boston's\ntemperatures without contracting lung disease in some form. Think of\nsuch an animal living through climatic conditions that an Eskimo can\nnot stand, and in a public institution where thousands of people are\nvitiating the air!\n\nAnimals which live wholly in water are more susceptible to changes of\ntemperature than those which live on land. The white whale can be kept\nthe year round in New York city if it can have a refrigerating plant\nto give it the temperature which it needs, and proper food.\n\nWe bring polar bears to New York which suffer in summer, if not in our\ncomparatively mild winters, and tropical animals which barely survive,\nbut these land mammals are not so susceptible to climatic influences\nas are the fishes and the purely aquatic mammals, like the whales.\nThese can never be kept long by the crude means which have been\nemployed. From the purest air they have been changed to the more or\nless vitiated air where thousands of human beings are crowded and in a\ntemperature which is unnatural. If we would keep them we must give\nthem better chances for living than in open tanks in the summer\ntemperature of New York.\n\n\n\n\nUNUSUAL FORMS IN PLANTS.\n\nBY BYRON D. HALSTED.\n\n\nThe unexpected is apt to occur. Along with the regularity in living\nthings, which we call \"uniformity of Nature,\" there is so strong a\ntendency to vary that one almost expects to find a turn in the avenues\nof life sooner or later, and that gradual or sudden, as the case may\nbe. We will not stop to discuss the open question of whether we are\npossessed by an inherent quality of variation, or as creatures of\ncircumstances, subject to the controlling forces of our environment.\n\nYesterday while looking at a row of seedling peaches, all from the\nsame lot of pits, one of the miniature trees was found to be bronze or\ncopper colored throughout. This set me to thinking. Here was a\n\"sport,\" as it is termed, and if I take good care of the abnormity,\nbud it into common stock, etc., the landscape architects and\nornamental gardeners may thank me for the novelty that will please\ntheir wealthy patrons.\n\nLeaving aside the abnormal as met with in the animal world, for much\nof it is more painful than otherwise to contemplate, let us glance at\nsome of the unusual things occurring among plants.\n\nOne first thinks of some strange forms in leaf, and if the eyes are\nopened to them they may be met with upon every hand. The \"four-leaf\"\nclover is lucky perhaps only because the finder is sharper-eyed than\nothers, and stands a brighter chance of seeing success as it crouches\nalmost invisible in the wild grass, the tilled field, or wherever the\neyes may be set to find it.\n\nThe child who brings me the oddities of vegetable forms is knowing in\nthe normals of his class of curiosities, or else he would not see the\nnovelties from the finding and exhibiting of which he gains so much\npleasure. The person who is familiar with the striking beauty of the\ncardinal flower (_Lobelia cardinalis_) is the one who rejoices at the\nvariations that may occur in the tints of the bright corolla. His\ndelight would reach a high pitch should the conspicuous spikes be\nfound upon dry ground, and not by the bank of some stream half hidden\nby the overhanging grass. But should the wandering plant display white\nflowers, then an albino of a most interesting kind has been met with,\nand some reason for it is sought in the unusual locality. Only a few\ndays ago a white variation of the _Lobelia syphilitica_, cousin to the\ncardinal, was seen by the writer treasured in the Botanical Garden at\nCambridge, Mass., and it called to mind the rage for pink water\nlilies, that twenty years ago were only met with wild in ponds at\nPlymouth, Mass. I asked an expert recently if there was any call for\nthe pink or \"Plymouth\" lilies, and he informed me that the fad had\ndied out with the transplanting and widespread culture of the pink\n\"sports\" of the nymph\u00e6a ponds.\n\nAbnormal colors in flowers are among the most common freaks in wild\nplants, and none are more frequent than the albinos. One could fill a\npage with instances of this sort. Some of our most common weeds, as\nthe moth mullein (_Verbascum blattaria_), have a large percentage of\nthe plants with white blossoms, and the patches of the white\ninterspersed with the normal yellow-flowered plants in poorly kept\nmeadows and neglected land has led the writer to gather seed of each\nto test the truth of the opinion that the white strain may be\ntransmitted to the offspring, but the proof is not yet at hand.\n\nThe writer knows where there is a patch of the hound's tongue\n(_Echinospermum_) with a good sprinkling of plants producing white\ncorollas instead of the normal deep maroon. The two colors make a good\nsubject for students who are gaining an elementary knowledge of the\nstability of species, and the range of striking variations that must\nbe allowed for them.\n\nNext to the albinos the instances where the floral parts approach\nleaves in size and color are the most common. A few weeks ago while\npassing through a field once devoted to corn, but now overgrown with\nweeds, and therefore of special interest to a botanist, my eyes fell\nupon a daisy plant all the heads of which were with olive-green ray\nflowers instead of the ordinary pure white ones. These rays were\nsmaller than the normal and quite inclined to roll, as shown in Fig.\n1, and form quills, as seen in some of the fancy chrysanthemums. By\nthe way, our common field daisy is a genuine chrysanthemum, and that\nwhich is produced in one species under the guiding, fostering hand of\nthe skilled gardener was here shadowed forth in the field of waste\nland.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 1.--GREEN AND NORMAL OXEYE DAISY HEADS.]\n\nA week or so later, while going through a similar field in an\nadjoining county to the one where the daisy freak was found, I came\nupon nearly the same thing as seen in the heads of the \"black-eyed\nSusan,\" or cone flower (_Rudbeckia hirta_ L.). Here were the two\nleading weedy daisies, the white and the yellow, the former coming to\nour fields from the East and across the sea, while the latter, as a\nnative of our Western prairies, journeys to make a home here and help\nto compensate by its pestiferous presence for the vile weeds that have\ngone West with the advance of civilization. Both of these daisies\nrevealed that tendency in them to vary in their floral structures that\nif made use of by the floriculturist might result in forms and colors\nas attractive and profitable as met with in their cousins the\nchrysanthemums of the Orient.\n\nPerhaps the season which we have had, with its excess of moisture and\nsuperheat, has made the abnormal forms more abundant than usual. The\neven current of life has been met by counter streams, so to say, and\nthe channels were broken down. In walking through a meadow in early\nJune it was a common thing to find the spikes of the narrow-leaved\nplantain (_Plantago lanceolata_ L.) branched and compounded into\ncurious shapes. Some of the normal and malformed spikes are shown in\nFig. 2.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 2.--MALFORMED HEADS OF PLANTAGO LANCEOLATA.]\n\nAs a tailpiece to this portion of the subject it is a pleasure to\nintroduce a freak among the native orchards, as shown in Fig. 3. A\nword of explanation is needed of the normal form of the lady's slipper\nhere shown. As found in the moist woods, the plant above ground\nconsists of two leaves and a single pink and strange-looking blossom\nterminating the stalk. This is the rule, and it has been strictly\nadhered to, so far as the writer knows, for centuries with a single\nexception, and that exception is the one here presented. It is as\nremarkable as a double-headed dog, and as difficult of explanation as\nthe twin thumb.\n\nPerhaps the best way is to make no attempt to account for the freak,\nand leave the subject open for those who have a gift of insight into\nthe secrets of the abnormal and the unexpected. Other species of\ncypripediums regularly bear more than one flower; this one may have\ndone so in former ages, and here is the link that binds our pretty\nunifloral species to its remote and possibly extinct ancestor. On the\nother hand, a double-flowered form is possibly in embryo, and before\nthe next century closes the _Cypripedium acaule_ Ait. may need to have\nits description changed so as to embrace two flowers.\n\nThe influence of moisture, heat, and light is very great upon\nvegetation, and one only needs to observe the same species of plant as\ngrown in a moist, shady place, as compared with the ones that are\nlocated in the full sun where the soil is dry. Size and shape of\nparts, and even their color and the surface, are different, and this\nall leads us up to the cultivated plants where variation is the rule\nand constancy the exception.\n\nAmong wild plants where similar surroundings obtain for all members of\nthe species the albino is noted, and any replacement of stamens by\npetals, as in the wild buttercup, is the rare exception. But the\ncultivated plants have led a charmed life, and we scarcely wonder that\nthe plants in the bed of sweet peas or gladiolus, canna or dahlia, are\nas diverse in form and color as the pieces in a crazy-bedquilt. Man,\nwith all his ingenuity and skill, has been at work molding the plant\nclay made plastic by generations of special culture.\n\nIn one sense the greenhouse, the garden, orchard, and even the\ncultivated field are all dealing with monstrosities. The well-filled\nhorticultural hall at a State or county fair is a vast collection of\nunnatural curiosities--that is, they do not occur in Nature, but are\ntruly the creations of the mind of man as worked out along lines of\nvegetable physiology and stimulated plant production. For dinner this\nvery day the writer ate a slice of a modern watermelon. What a triumph\nof horticultural art was exhibited in that giant fruit, each seed of\nwhich was filled with the accumulated tendencies of a generation of\nhigh breeding! There was represented the influence of soil and\nselection, of crossing and of culture, until the wild melon, which\nnone of us sees or cares to see, is gone and a special creation takes\nits place, with its great demands upon any one who would attempt to\ngrow it to perfection.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 3.--A TWIN-FLOWERED CYPRIPEDIUM ACAULE (AIT.).]\n\nThe art of breeding might possibly have deprived it of seeds had there\nbeen some other convenient method for propagation, as is true of many\nof our tree fruits, the navel orange being a striking example. Along\nwith the absence of seeds and the presence of fine flavor there is\ntruly a monstrous form, in that one orange is within and at the\n\"navel\" end of the other.\n\nShould we glance at some of our garden vegetables, as, for example,\nthe cabbages in their various races, every one will be struck with the\nstrangeness, to say the least, of the forms produced. In contrast with\nthe head of the true cabbage, where leaf is folded upon leaf until a\nmass of metamorphosed foliage as large as a half bushel is produced,\nthere is the cauliflower, with the edible substance stored in a fleshy\ninflorescence that has lost its normal function and become truly\nmonstrous. Were it not so tender and delicate a food we might be\ndisposed to smile at the absurdity of the whole thing, or at the\nkohl-rabi, with its turniplike bulb in the stem just above the surface\nof the ground. It is certainly a plastic species that will give such\ndiverse and fantastic forms--so far from the wild state, and for that\nreason so useful to man.\n\nIn the same manner a comparison of our orchard fruits with the forms\nfrom which they came would lead to the thought that man has made them\nto his liking, and not for service to the plant species. They are\nabnormal, judged by all standards in Nature; monstrous in size and in\nmany cases have lost their essential structure as seed-producing\norgans.\n\nComing to the ornamental grounds, the disguises are largely swept\naway, and there is but little hope of judging what the original plants\nmay have been from which have descended the favorites of the flower\nbed and the conservatory. Species have been split into a thousand and\none varieties, each with its peculiarities and each with the potency\nfor greater deviation. Where shall we cast the line and land an\nexample? The rose show of June is only surpassed by the chrysanthemum\nexhibition in autumn. There must be the new sorts brought out each\nyear, whether the fancy be for a special shade or color or a striking\nnew shape of bud or form of bloom. Would you realize what a novelty\nmeans to those in the craft who watch a group of carnation growers as\nthey hang over the exhibit of a \"new\" rival, and consider all the\nmerits and defects of the candidate for a certificate?\n\nAll the beauties of the flower garden are so familiar to us that it is\nnot expected that they will be considered unnatural. If the hydrangea\nmakes a panicle larger than it can bear, man helps it out with a\nstring or stake, for by overdoing it is not undone any more than is\nthe coddled peach tree held up at fruiting time by a dozen poles, or\nthe forced lily with a weak back supported upright by an artificial\ngreen stem at church on Easter morning.\n\nBut even here there are monstrosities in the true sense. The asparagus\nor sweet potato stem occasionally broadens out into a ribbon, and it\npasses as an abnormity. The same thing takes place in the flower\ncluster of cockscomb (_Celosia cristata_), and if it failed to produce\na strange fan-shaped and highly colored and crested top the owner\nwould complain that her seed had given her only an inferior pigweed,\nand therefore not come true to name. The attractiveness of the\ncockscomb resides in the strange habit the plant has of broadening the\nupper end of the flower stalk out into a form that is truly monstrous.\nAnd this brings me to speak of a form that attracted my attention\nduring the present season, samples of which are shown in Fig. 4.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 4.--MONSTROUS BLOSSOMS OF FOXGLOVE.]\n\nThe striking feature of the specimens of foxglove (_Digitalis\npurpurea_) under consideration is the production of an enormous\nsomewhat bell-shaped flower at the extremity of the long racemose\ninflorescence, and at a time when only a few of the lowermost blossoms\nupon the stem have opened. The normal digitalis flower has a large\npendant purple corolla much spotted upon the middle lobe of the larger\nand lower lip. On the other hand, the truly monstrous flowers, two to\nthree inches across, are borne terminally and are quite uniformly\nbell-shaped, with the lobes from twelve to fourteen and spotted evenly\nover all the surface. The four stamens of the normal flower have\nincreased to twelve in three examined and to thirteen in another.\nThese stamens are normal in size and situated upon the corolla tube,\nexcept that there is no indication of their being in long and short\npairs.\n\nThe single pistil is many times enlarged in the monstrous blossom--in\none instance two thirds of an inch in diameter for the ovary. Within\nthe outer ovarian wall there was a circle of five petaloid pistils,\nsome showing the placent\u00e6 and ovules intermixed with the pink and\npurplish petaloid expansions.\n\nWithin the circle above mentioned there was a second pistil, tipped\nlike the original with petal-like lobes instead of a stigma. The\ncolumn was found so closely built up that the parts would not\nseparate, and a cross-section was made through it, which showed that\nthe pistil had a greenish central stalk around which the ovarian\ncavities were scattered quite irregularly, all bearing numerous\novules. In the flowers with twelve stamens there were four tips to the\nstigma, and the eight cavities were to be distinguished in the ovary,\nalthough they were not arranged in any regular order and not uniform\nin size. In short, the transections of these resembled the seed\ncavities seen in a slice of a large tomato of the \"trophy\" or\n\"ponderosa\" type.\n\nThe florists' catalogues advertise in a few instances this \"_Digitalis\nmonstrosa_,\" and it is presumed that the specimens from which the\nengraving was made were from a packet of this \"strain\" of seed. As but\na small percentage of the plants in the bed examined were monstrous,\nletters were addressed to some German growers of the seed, with\nquestions as to this commercial monstrosity. One reply contained the\nstatement that the form known as \"monstrosa\" had been in the market\nabout ten years, and that about fifty per cent of the plants produce\nthe strange terminal flowers. Another correspondent recalls the form\nin question as having been catalogued for more than forty years, and\nthat it is described in a work upon gardening published in 1859, in\nwhich it states that the seed of this variety must only be gathered\nfrom the capsules of the monstrous flowers in order to preserve the\nabnormity. Concerning this last my correspondent said that it is all\nthe same whether the seed is taken from the capsules of monstrous\nflowers or from the whole spike. Seed taken in this way will give from\ntwenty-five to thirty-five per cent of the monstrous flowers, but the\nratio varies from year to year.\n\nThere are some advantages to the floriculturist in the monstrous form\nas the first bloom in it is uppermost and very conspicuous, while in\nthe normal form the blooms appear from below upward, and the drooping\ntip of the spike is the last to produce flowers. The case in hand is a\nremarkable deviation from the type in many ways, but most interesting\nof all is the fact that floriculturists have by selection developed a\nvariety that, in a packet of a hundred seeds, is quite certain to give\nsome plants of the type \"monstrosa,\" which it bears as its trade name.\n\n\n\n\nMALAY LITERATURE.\n\nBY R. CLYDE FORD.\n\n\nThe Malay has a literature peculiarly his own, and in it comes to\nlight all that subtle appreciation of Nature which marks him as a\n_Naturmensch_, but not a savage. This lore of his race he carries\nmostly in his memory, for to reduce it to writing has been, until\nrecently, a task at once laborious and scholarly, and the ordinary\nMalay, living in the ease of perpetual summer, is neither. Still,\nthere are dog-eared old manuscripts which circulate from one village\nor _campong_ to another, and these are often read aloud in the\nevenings to eager companies. And it makes a scene never to be\nforgotten, to see a dozen people seated in the shadows around some old\nman and to listen to the mellow cadences of his voice as he reads to\nthem a tale of the olden time, of the great days of his race, before\nthe foreigner's ships had scared the fish from the bays or turned them\ninto noisy harbors; the sparkling stars peep through the ragged,\nwhispering fronds of the palm trees, the yellow light of the _damar_\ntorch shines on eager faces, crickets chirp in the grass, and from\nafar comes the booming of the sea borne on the soft breath of the\nnight wind.\n\nMalay literature, like most literatures, has had an ancient and a\nmodern period. In the former we behold a primitive people dominated by\nSanskrit life and civilization, and naturally enough the literature of\nthis time is mostly translations of Sanskrit poems and romances, or at\nleast productions inspired by such, and full of allusions to Hindu\nmythology. Probably to this early time may be traced such works as\n_Sri Rama_, a free translation of the _Ramayana_; the _Hikayat Pancha\nTantra_, an adaptation of the _Hitaspod\u00easa_; _Radin Mantri_, a history\nof the love affairs of a Javan royal prince; the _Sha\u00efr Bidasari_, an\nepic; and several other such epics and romances.\n\nOne must not think that the language of these works is old-fashioned\nor obsolete, as Beowulf and Chaucer are to us, or the Niebelungen Lied\nin German. On the contrary, they are full of Arabic words and many\nother marks of recent composition; but it is the matter, the\nconditions of life described, the evident antiquity of the very\nfeeling of the productions, that lead one to refer them to the early\nperiod.\n\nThere are also some works that are genuinely Malay in origin and\ninspiration, and probably of a date that would put them between the\nancient and modern periods. Of such is _Hong Tuah_, a story of a\nprince of Malacca who was a kind of King Arthur of his day. This work\nexists in several manuscripts, some of which are in England, one in\nLeyden, and one or two in the East Indies, and the date of the oldest\nis not before 1172 of the Hegira. Considering the fact that the year\n1317 of the Mohammedan era does not commence till May 12, 1899, we\nthus see that many of the manuscripts of Malay literature are of no\ngreat antiquity. Another of these intermediate works is the _Sejarat\nMalayu_, or Malay Annals, which narrates the history of the Malays of\nMalacca, and their heroic defense against the Portuguese in the year\n1511. It is divided into chapters, and is about the only notable\nhistorical composition in the language.\n\nThe modern period is that period which marks the domination of Islam\nin the far East, the period in which the Malay mind has adjusted\nitself to a new faith and a new education. It is hard to tell when\nMohammedanism first obtained a real foothold among the Malays, but\nprobably not much before the fourteenth century. However, the conquest\nwhen once effected was complete, and to-day the people of Tanah Malayu\nare among the strictest followers of the Prophet.\n\nIn a certain sense this period of the literature has been fruitful,\nbut not so fruitful as the former one. Originality has been checked\nand imagination deadened, and the result is seen in a loss of\nsprightliness and vivacity. Works of morals and philosophy and\ncompilations of Mohammedan law, have flourished. Still, we find some\nprose works of this period which are commendable; they even have some\nof the spirit of the earlier writings by which, no doubt, they were\ninspired; among these may be mentioned the _Tadju Elsalathin_, or\nCrown of Kings, by a mendicant monk, and the _Hikayat Sultan Ibrahim_,\na religious romance of some beauty and pathos.\n\nWithin the last seventy-five years the prose literature has received\nsome notable additions through the writings of Abdulla bin Abdulkadir,\na famous _moonshi_ of Singapore, who attained to some distinction\nunder the Straits Government, being sent once or twice on missions to\nnative states. He was born in Malacca toward the close of the last\ncentury, of Arab-Malay parentage, and received the ordinary education\nof a Malay lad of good family. After Singapore was founded, in 1819,\nhe moved thither, where he thenceforth spent most of his life. His\nmost important works are the _Hikayat Abdulla_, an autobiography, the\n_Pelayaran Abdulla_, an account of his trip for the government to\nKelantan, and a narrative of his pilgrimage to Mecca made in the year\n1854.\n\nWithout a doubt Abdulla was the most cultured Malay who ever wrote. In\nhis capacity as teacher he was often called upon to help missionaries\nwith their translations of the Bible into Malay; though a devout\nMohammedan, he was more than ordinarily liberal in belief, and quite\nwilling to see the contest between Christianity and Islam go on fairly\nand on its merits. He once assisted a Mr. Thompsen, of Malacca, in\ntranslating portions of the Scriptures, but it was a thankless task,\nfor the missionary was obstinate, and thought he knew more about the\nlanguage than the _moonshi_ himself. As a result, such wretched Malay\ngot into the work that Abdulla felt called upon in his autobiography\nto set himself right before the world. This is what he says:\n\n\"... But let it be known to all gentlemen who read my autobiography\nthat where there are wrong expressions or absurd Malay phrases in Mr.\nThompsen's translation they must consider well the restraint put upon\nme, wherein I could neither add nor subtract a word without the\nconcurrence of Mr. Thompsen. Now, because of all the circumstances\nmentioned here, let no gentleman rail at my character, for I was\nmerely Mr. Thompsen's _moonshi_ or instructor. I acknowledge I am not\ndestitute of faults, but truly by God's grace I am able to distinguish\nbetween right and wrong in all that relates to the idiom of the Malay\nlanguage, for I have made it my study. I did not attain it by hearing,\nnor by the way, nor in the bustle of the crowd.\"\n\nBut it is in poetry that we must look for whatever of originality and\nbeauty there is in Malay literature, a fact not to be wondered at if\nwe consider the softness and mellifluence of the language, which lends\nitself easily to the requirements of rhyme and rhythm. Two chief forms\nof poetry are recognized--the _pantun_ and the _sha\u00efr_.\n\nTHE PANTUN.--The _pantun_ in Malay literature corresponds to the lyric\nverse of Western lands. It consists of one or many quatrains, as the\ncase may be, the lines usually from ten to twelve syllables in\nlength. However, if worse comes to worst, the Malay poet with true\npoetic license suits himself in preference to others, and frequently\nemploys as few as six or as many as thirteen syllables in a line. The\nlength of a syllable is determined by tonic accent, but penult\nsyllables not ending in a consonant are long, those ending in silent\n_i_ are short. But here, too, the Malay often departs from theory, and\nhis rhymes, instead of being always exact, are constructed for the eye\nand not for the ear; and as for the short lines, they have to be\ndrawled out into a legitimate scansion. The lines are not written one\nbelow another as with us, but the second opposite the first, the third\nunder the second and opposite the fourth, and so on.\n\nThe _pantun_ is much employed in improvisation, the stanzas being\nrecited alternately by the two taking part. To the Malayan mind the\nbeauty of this kind of verse lies in the artistic perfection of each\nquatrain by which it is made to veil some charming metaphor, which in\nturn serves in the last two lines to point a moral or express some\nsentiment of love or friendship, depending on the allegory of the\npreceding. To illustrate:\n\n      _Tinggih tinggih pokok lamburi\n      Sayang puchok-nia meniapa awan\n      Habis teloh puwas kuchari\n      Bagei punei menchari kawan._\n\n      _Bulan trang bintang berchaya\n      Burong gagah bermakan padi\n      Teka tuan tiada perchaya\n      Bela dada, melihat hati._\n\n      The lamburi tree is tall, tall,\n        Its branches sweep the sky;\n      My search is vain, and o'er is all,\n        Like a mate-lorn dove am I.\n\n      Clear is the moon, with stars agleam,\n        The raven wastes in the padi field;\n      O my beloved, when false I seem,\n        Open my breast, my heart is revealed.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n      The waves are white on the Kataun shore,\n        And day and night they beat;\n      The garden has white blossoms o'er,\n        But only one do I think sweet.\n\n      Deeper yet the water grows,\n        Nor the mountain rain is stilled;\n      My heart more longing knows,\n        And its hope is unfulfilled.\n\nIn poetry of more pretentious style, and in improvisations also, each\nstanza contains a key-word or line which becomes the text, so to\nspeak, of the next. As artificial and unnatural as this may seem, it\nis, nevertheless, an ingenious way of keeping the thread of one's\ndiscourse when other inspiration fails. The best results of Malay\nverse come from it. A beautiful example may be cited from the Asiatic\nJournal of 1825:\n\n      Cold is the wind, the rain falls fast;\n      I linger, though the hour is past.\n      Why come you not? Whence this delay?\n      Have I offended, say?\n\n      My heart is sad and sinking too;\n      O break it not--it loves but you!\n      Come, then, and end this long delay;\n      Why keep you thus away?\n\n      The wind is cold, fast falls the rain,\n      Yet weeping, chiding, I remain.\n      You come not still, you still delay--\n      O wherefore can you stay?\n\nAdelbert von Chamisso, the German poet, who has another claim to fame,\nhowever--his scientific career was charmingly described in the Popular\nScience Monthly for December, 1890--includes in his published poems\nthree songs, In Malay Form, for which he doubtless obtained\ninspiration during his voyage to the far East in 1815 to 1818. They\nare so faithful in spirit and style to their source that we can not\nforbear quoting one in translation. It is called The Basketmaker, and\nis in the form of a dialogue, each stanza having the usual \"key\" line:\n\n      The shower's gone by, the sun shines bright,\n        The weather vanes now gayly swing;\n      We maidens here in merry plight\n        Quick beg of you a song to sing.\n\n      The weather vanes now gayly swing,\n        Through fire-red clouds the sun shines fair;\n      Right gay and quick to you I'll sing\n        A song that's full of dread despair.\n\n      Through fire-red clouds the sun shines fair,\n        A bird sings sweet and lures the bride;\n      Pray what concerns your dread despair\n        To maidens fair and dear beside?\n\n      A bird sings sweet and lures the bride,\n        A net for fishes there is spread;\n      A maiden fair and dear beside,\n        A sprightly maiden would I wed.\n\n      A net for fishes there is spread,\n        The moth's wings burn in bright flame hot;\n      A sprightly maiden wouldst thou wed,\n        But thee the maiden chooseth not.\n\nTHE SHA\u00cfR.--The _sha\u00efr_ is very different from the _pantun_; the\nlatter is lyric, the former epic in its nature; the _sha\u00efr_ may be\nheroic or romantic, the _pantun_ never. However, it employs the same\nmeasure as the _pantun_, but all the lines of each stanza rhyme,\ninstead of by pairs, as in the quatrains of the lyric verse. It is to\nthe _sha\u00efr_ that we must look for the really great works of Malay\npoetry, where some are bold enough to declare we may find passages of\nHomeric beauty. The most famous works of this nature are _Radin\nMantri_, _Kin Tambouhan_, and _Bidasari_. The first two of these tell\nthe story of the love of a prince of the royal house of Nigara for a\nmaiden of his mother's court. It is a beautiful tale, abounding in\nparts of striking eloquence and pathos, and the characters are strong\nand well portrayed.\n\nThe _Bidasari_ is the longest poem in the language, and typically\nMalayan. Its author is unknown, likewise the time and place of its\ncomposition. The only hint as to the writer is in the opening lines:\n\n\"... Listen to this story of the history of a king in a province of\nKambayat. A fakir has turned the narrative into a poem.\"\n\nAnd again at the conclusion, where it says:\n\n\"This poem is weak and faulty because my knowledge is imperfect. My\nheart was troubled--for that reason have I written it. I have not made\nit long, because I was sad; but I have finished it and thereby\nobtained many blessings.\"\n\nInternal evidence, however, indicates that the poem is old, of a time\nlong before the Europeans first came to the East, possibly before the\nMohammedan conquest. It shows plainly the influence of Hindu theology,\nyet in the customs and scenes described, and the mode of life and the\nmanner of thinking, it is essentially Malay, and so worthy, perhaps,\nof a somewhat extended notice.\n\n\"There was once a king, a sultan, handsome, learned, perfect; he was\nof the race of noble kings; he caused the land of merchants and\nstrangers to be swallowed up. From what people of his time say of him\nhe was a valorous prince who had never yet been thwarted. But\nto-morrow and the day after to-morrow are uncertain.\" Such is the\nbeginning of Canto I, as given in the French translation by Louis de\nBacker. The king marries, but just as joy and happiness are to be his,\na griffinlike _garuda_ sweeps down upon his land and ravages it.\nTerrified, the monarch deserts his throne, takes his royal consort and\nflees for his life. On the flight the queen gives birth to a child,\nwhich, however, must be deserted, much to the mother's grief.\n\nIn Canto II a rich merchant is introduced--a man whose goods and\ntreasures are immense, whose slaves numerous, prosperity constant, but\nwho, alas! is childless. One morning as he and his wife are walking by\nthe side of a stream they discover a boat drifting near them, and in\nit a child of such radiant beauty that they are moved to adopt it.\n\nThe lord of the region is Sultan Mengindra, whose queen is beautiful,\nbut unhappy, through constant looking forward to the day when she\nshall be displaced by some woman more beautiful than she. At last she\nhas a costly fan made, and sends out spies to offer it for sale in\nevery village and town, but not to tell its price. If they discover a\nwoman of rare beauty they are to return and notify her.\n\nIn course of time the spies come to the old merchant's home, and see\nBidasari, the handsome adopted child. After some delay she is brought\nto court, where she has to undergo much studied ill treatment from the\njealous queen. By a subterfuge the girl escapes and is then removed by\nthe merchant to a secret place in the desert.\n\nCanto III tells how Sultan Mengindra goes to hunt in the desert, and\nthere finds a sleeping beauty whom he awakens and consoles with the\nmusic of a _pantun_.\n\nIn Canto IV the story returns to the King of Kambayat. He and his\nqueen have succeeded in reaching a distant part of their kingdom, but\nthe fate of the young princess whom they so shamefully deserted\noppresses them. Finally, the king's son, stirred by his mother's\ntears, sets out to search for this sister whom he has never seen. In\nhis search he meets with Bidasari's adopted brother, who detects the\nresemblance between the young prince and his sister. Together they go\nto obtain audience of the sultan and Bidasari, who is now queen.\n\nCanto V. Convinced that the story of the prince is true, Sultan\nMengindra dissuades him from returning, but bids his minister write a\nmissive in letters of gold and dispatch it at once, with presents and\njewels, to the King of Kambayat.\n\nIn Canto VI we have the last chapter. The King of Kambayat receives\nthe letter, which, however, makes no mention of Bidasari, and at once\naccompanies the messengers to Sultan Mengindra's court. He makes his\nentry into the strange capital with becoming splendor, and is received\nwith great honor. The queen now makes herself known to her father, who\nis moved to tears. Banquets and great tournaments follow, and\nhappiness pervades the court. The king returns after a time to his own\nland, but continues as long as he lives to send gifts and goods to his\ndaughter and her royal lord.\n\n\n\n\nTHE COLORS OF FLOWERS.\n\nBY HENRI COUPIN.\n\n\nMuch might be said, from an artistic and poetic point of view,\nconcerning the colors of flowers. It is in the corolla that they\nreveal themselves in their most minute delicacy. The tints so widely\ndiffused among animals, even those of butterflies, are coarse as\ncompared with them, and the painter's palette is powerless to\nreproduce them. They run through the whole gamut of the solar\nspectrum, even to its most minute details. Some naturalists have\nstriven to establish a classification of them, and it will be\nconvenient to be acquainted with their efforts, though they are not\ndecisive and are somewhat artificial, like all classifications. We\ngive one of the most ingenious of them:\n\n                                GREEN.\n                 { Greenish-blue. | Yellow-green.  }\n                 { Blue.          | Yellow.        }\n  Cyanic series. { Blue-violet.   | Yellow-orange. } Xanthic series.\n                 { Violet.        | Orange.        }\n                 { Violet-red.    | Orange-red.    }\n                                 RED.\n\nThe type of the cyanic series is blue, and that of the xanthic series\nyellow. The first is sometimes denominated the deoxidized series, and\nthe second the oxidized, but these designations have hardly solid\nenough foundations to be preserved. De Candolle, who publishes the\ntable in his Vegetable Physiology, appends some interesting remarks to\nit.\n\nIt will be noticed by the inspection of the table that nearly all the\nflowers susceptible of changes of color, as a rule, simply go up or\ndown the scale of shades of the series to which they belong. Thus, in\nthe xanthic series the flowers of the _Nyctago jalapa_ may be yellow,\nyellow-orange, or red; those of _Rosa eglantina_ yellow-orange or\norange-red; those of nasturtium from yellow to orange; the flowers of\n_Ranunculus asiaticus_ present all the colors of red up to green;\nthose of the _Hieracium staticefolium_, and of some other yellow\n_Chicorace\u00e6_ and of some _Leguminos\u00e6_ like the lotus, become\ngreenish-yellow when dried, etc. In the cyanic series the flowers of\nmany _Boraginace\u00e6_, especially of _Lithospermum purpureo-c\u00e6ruleum_,\nvary from blue to violet-red; those of hortensia from rose to blue;\nthe ligulate flowers of the asters from blue to red or violet; those\nof the hyacinths from blue to red, etc.\n\nThere are, however, a few apparent exceptions to this rule. Thus,\nalthough the hyacinths usually vary only in the blues, reds, or\nwhite, yellowish varieties, indicating an approach to the xanthic\nseries, are sometimes found in gardens. The auricula, which is\noriginally yellow, passes to reddish-brown, to green, and to a sort of\nviolet, but never reaches pure blue; and single petals occasionally\ngive suggestions of both series in distinct parts of their surfaces.\n\nSome surprise may be felt that white does not figure in De Candolle's\ntable. This is because an absolutely white color does not seem to\nexist in any flower. The fact may be shown by placing some flowers\nsupposed to be of the purest white, like the lily, the white\ncampanula, or the wood anemone, on a leaf of clear white paper. It\nwill be found that the white of the corolla is really washed with\nyellow, blue, or orange, according to what flower is taken. If the\ntint does not appear distinct, infusions of the corollas in alcohol\nwill present tones unmistakably yellow or red, etc. White flowers are\ntherefore flowers with tints appertaining to one of De Candolle's\nseries, but albinized, as if they were etiolated. A small number of\nflowers begin white, and are subsequently colored under the action of\nlight. The _Cheiranthus chameleo_ passes from white to citron-yellow\nand a slightly violet-red; the _\u00c6nothera tetraptera_, at first white,\nbecomes rose and then almost red; the petals of the Indian tamarind\nare white the first day and yellow the second; and the corolla of the\n_Cobea scandens_ comes out greenish-white and turns to violet the\nsecond day. The most remarkable plant in this respect is _Hibiscus\nmutabilis_, which Rumph calls the hourly flower, because it starts\nwhite, turns flesh-color toward noon, and becomes red at sunset.\n\nIn his recent work on Plants and their Cosmic Media, M. Costantin has\nsome remarks concerning the precocity of various races and the tint of\ntheir flowers. Hoffmann made observations on this point for several\nyears. He remarked, as the result of eight years' observation, that\nthe common lilac with white flowers blooms on an average six days\nearlier than the normal form with purple flowers. This might be a\ncurious anomaly with no bearing, but the more we advance in the study\nof Nature the more we perceive that all phenomena, even the most\ninsignificant, deserve to be examined. Similar results have been\nobserved in varieties of radish (_Raphanus raphanistrum_) and of\nsaffron (_Crocus vernus_); in the former the white flowers expand on\nan average of sixteen days earlier than the yellow ones (twelve years\nof observation), and in the latter plant the difference is four days.\n\nThese changes of tint sometimes appear to depend on the temperature.\nThus, the white lilac was obtained by horticulturists under the\ninfluence of a temperature of between 30\u00b0 and 35\u00b0 C. We can not,\nhowever, affirm that spontaneous races with white flowers originated\nin the same way as the white lilac. It will be enough to point out a\nfew facts that may contribute to the guidance of persons who are\nseeking to learn the origin of these colored varieties. The _Papava\nalpinum_ has a very stable variety with yellow flowers, which,\naccording to Focke, has been observed in the polar regions, while the\nwhite varieties have been seen in Switzerland. The cultivation of the\nsame species at Giessen, Germany, has made it possible to obtain\nspecimens with white flowers by metamorphosis from specimens with\nyellow flowers, but it is impossible to say whether or not heat is the\nagent that produces the changes in these cases. The experiments of MM.\nSch\u00fcbela and Bonnier have shown that flowers become darker without\nchanging their color in high regions and in those near the pole; but\nthis phenomenon is one of light and not of color. Be their origin what\nit may, these white and colored forms have remarkable fixedness.\n\nIt will be observed that black does not figure in the table of the\nclassification of colors given above. Absolute black, in fact, does\nnot exist in any flower. If some parts appear black, it is only\nbecause their tint is excessively dark. The black of the petals of\n_Pelargonium triste_ and of the bean is yellow, and that of the\n_Orchis nigra_ is a brown. Apparent blacks are, moreover, extremely\nrare.\n\nThe gamut of the reds is much more varied than that of other colors.\nThe reds of the xanthic series are generally more lively-hued,\ncarnation or flame-colored; those of the cyanic series present tints\nmore nearly approaching violet. These two reds may furthermore give\nrose-colors, but a little skill will divine their origin. The rose of\nthe hydrangea inclines to blue, while that of the rose tends rather\ntoward yellow. Blue colors are the most variable, and readily pass to\nviolet and red, but most frequently to white. The most tenacious hues\nare those of yellow, and we might affirm that the bright and\nglistening yellow of the buttercup may be said never to change. The\npaler yellows change more easily, but rarely pass to anything but\nwhite. Green flowers, not being readily distinguished from the foliage\naround them, need not be specially mentioned. They are believed to be\nmuch rarer than they really are.\n\nHorticulturists are able, by cultivation, selection, and\nhybridization, to cause the colors of flowers to vary in considerable\nproportions. Not much is known of the laws of these variations,\nchiefly because gardeners who might tell botanists of them if they\nwould have not the scientific spirit. We cite here what MM. Decaisne\nand Naudin[7] say respecting the variations of the color of flowers:\n\n    [Footnote 7: Manuel de l'amateur des jardins.]\n\n\"Change in this respect is effected in two ways: sometimes there is a\nsimple discoloration, drawing the red, yellow, or blue tints of the\ncorolla toward a more or less pure white; sometimes there is a radical\nsubstitution of one color for another. Flowers in which red or blue\nare the dominant tints are most subject to turn white, but the change\nmay also be observed on some flowers that are naturally yellow, such\nas the disk of the daisy, the dahlia, and the chrysanthemum when those\nflowers suffer ligular transformation. Nothing, on the other hand, is\nmore common in our gardens than white varieties of pink or of red\nroses, lilac, scarlet runners, larkspur, purple digitalis, Canterbury\nbells, etc.--in fact, nearly all plants with lilac, rose, red, purple,\nblue, or violet flowers. There are some flowers, however, in these\ncategories the coloration of which is very persistent, and rarely\nfades perceptibly--as may be seen in the purple petunias, the hue of\nwhich does not lose its vivacity even when it is crossed with the\nwhite variety.\n\n\"The radical substitution of one color for another, whether over the\nwhole corolla or only on some of its parts, in the form of spots,\nstripes, or variegations, is also of frequent occurrence, and is one\nof the sorts of modifications which horticulturists have used with\ngreat advantage. A considerable number of 'fancy' plants derive almost\nall their importance from the facility with which the liveliest colors\nreplace one another, blend, and intermix in a thousand ways and in\nrelative proportions of which nothing is fixed, so that we can not\nfind in these collections, when they are well chosen, two plants out\nof a hundred that are exactly alike in the tone and distribution of\ntheir colors. These multicolored varieties, all the offspring of\ncultivation, are generally perpetuated true by cuttings, while the\nseedlings compensate for the uncertainty of what they will produce by\nthe certainty that they will give rise to new combinations of colors.\nThis is not the case with single-colored varieties, which, unless they\nare crossed with others, tend to perpetuate themselves through their\nseedlings. The yellow, white, and purple varieties of the\nfour-o'clock, for example, when they are pure, reproduce themselves\nconstantly; when crossed with one another they give rise to\nintermediately colored flowers, and more frequently to variegated\nones.\"\n\nMr. Hughes Gibb observed, in the mild winter of 1897-'98, that flowers\nblooming out of season were liable not to have the same color as\nregularly blooming ones.\n\nThe cactus dahlia, usually red, has put out flowers almost orange and\nwith exterior florets sometimes nearly yellow. On the other hand,\nthese dahlias have often shown a marked tendency to return to the\nsimpler form.\n\nA species of nasturtium, habitually of a bright scarlet-red, has given\nin the cold frame late flowers of a bright yellow, a red band near the\ncenter of the petals remaining the only vestige of the normal color.\nIn both cases the change of color began on the edges of the petals.\nThe flower of the myosotis, normally bright blue, has become almost\nclear rose, without the slightest trace of blue; and a pure blue phlox\nhas shown a tendency toward greenish-yellow.--_Translated for the\nPopular Science Monthly from La Nature._\n\n\n\n\nFOLKLORE OF THE ALLEGHANIES.\n\nBY FRANCES ALBERT DOUGHTY.\n\n\nThe West Virginia mountaineer lives very close to Nature, and viewed\nfrom many standpoints the relation is characterized by pleasing\namenities: juicy berries refresh him along the road; nuts drop into\nhis path; \"sang\" (ginseng), which makes one of his sources of revenue,\nreveals itself to his eye as he follows the cows to pasture; a cool\nbrook springs up to quench his thirst when weary of following the\nplow; pine knots are always within reach to make light as well as\nwarmth; mud and stones easily combine in his hand to shape a daub\nchimney; and a trough dug out of an old tree furnishes a receptacle\nthat is as good for dough at one end as for a baby at the other.\n\nOften, however, this close relation to Nature assumes a war attitude,\nfierce and uncompromising. If hungry wolves no longer howl furiously\nat the back fence after nightfall, or gnaw at the log pens which\nsecure the stock, and if panthers are seldom bold enough to spring at\na horse's flanks as a man rides along in the daytime, bears are still\nnumerous enough to devour a large number of sheep every year in spite\nof precautions, and they have a pronounced taste for sweet young corn.\nThe living wrested from the soil in the short and changeable summer\nmonths must cover the winter's need as well; it is generally so scant\nand uncertain that the mountaineer feels a chronic discouragement\ntoward agriculture as a pursuit and resource. He must depend on it,\nand yet as far back as he or his father can remember there has always\nbeen some reason why \"a good crop\" could not be made that year. The\nWest Virginian lives in a large and thinly settled game preserve, but\nthe fleet deer usually contrives to escape the hunter's chill wait in\nthe autumnal dawn, the coy wild turkey is overshy of his lure, and the\nwary trout requires a very patient rod. In the long winter deep snows\ncover the fences, groups or \"bunches\" of cows and sheep often perish\nin the drifts, and the human prisoners in their cabins, huddling\naround the wood fires, are nearly always, as they express it, \"short\nof\" some article which would be considered a necessity in the average\ncity home.\n\nThe varying, defiant, and incalculable moods and phases of Nature\nbring so many chances into the humble lot of the mountaineer that it\nis not surprising he should interpret her phenomena as having a\ndistinctly personal import. Anciently, around Olympus the talk was of\n\"omens,\" \"auguries,\" and \"fate\"; dwellers along the chain of the\nAlleghanies to-day talk of \"signs,\" \"spells,\" and \"luck,\" and these\nwords held their significance for hundreds of years in the ancestral\nstock of the first settlers in the region, most of the folklore being\ndirectly traceable to a Scotch-Irish strain of blood. The mountain\npattern taken far from cities probably differs little either mentally\nor physically from that of the colonial mountaineers. Even with the\nrailroad traversing a limited area, and the influx of summer visitors\nduring three months of the year, the only perceptible change wrought\nin the natives is a little sharpening of their wits from the barter of\nfruit and furs at the hotels in the extensive mineral-spring section.\nThe Alleghany mountaineer, ignorant, narrow-minded, honest, brave, and\nhospitable, remains what he was when the eagle soared from the\ninaccessible eyrie above his head to be chosen as the tutelary genius\nof the unconquerable young republic. The chief distinction in the\ntemperament of the sexes is that the men are frank and talkative, the\nwomen shy and uncommunicative. Beings approaching the legendary fauns\nand satyrs, clad in the skins of wild animals, are sometimes\ndiscovered by the solitary horseman in the wild mountain fastnesses;\nthey gaze at him as an apparition from a strange world, never having\nseen a village or heard a railroad whistle.\n\nThere is a curious and persistent survival of the belief in witchcraft\nthrough this mineral-spring belt in West Virginia. To draw out the\nnatives on this mysterious subject they must be approached\nsympathetically; if twitted with their credulity they will shut up\nlike clams, for with all the simplicity of the unlettered their\nintuition often arrives at a correct understanding of the estimate\nplaced upon them by more fortunate persons. When satisfied that he is\nnot expected to pose as a \"freak,\" but is met on the equal plane of\nhuman intercourse, the mountain story-teller seems to enjoy recounting\nthe traditions and beliefs of his people and their forefathers.\nLeaving himself a loophole of escape, he is very likely to finish his\nyarn with--\n\n\"'Tain't that I believe them things myself. I know they ain't nawthin'\nbut superstition; but I kin qualify that right round here, not many\nmiles away, there's people that believes in witches.\"\n\nIn a little cottage on a much-traveled thoroughfare one woman admitted\nto me with bated breath, as though not quite sure her tormentor was\ndead, that she had been bewitched. Her account was given in these\nwords:\n\n\"I kep' seein' an old woman with a cow's hoof in her hand; sometimes\nshe was by my side an' sometimes she was there on the wall. At last\nshe come up close to me, an' she was goin' to clap the cow's hoof over\nmy mouth, but I slapped at her right hard an' she went away. She ain't\nnever come again. Yes, I _know_ I was bewitched.\"\n\nA cow's hoof is a frequent accessory, and animals that are brought\ninto the magic circle are always of a domestic character, completely\nsubservient to the power of the witch.\n\nIt is noticeable that the exercise of witchcraft is generally ascribed\nto women; and that of witch mastery, the superior attribute, to men.\n\nThe form of a judicial process found favor with the Puritan\ntemperament in old Salem, although by a grim mockery the verdict was\ndecided in advance. The independent mountaineer likes to take the law\nin his own hands, as the following story illustrates:\n\n\"A farmer believed a woman was bewitching his stock. He drew a picture\nof her and set it up as a target; then he sunk a piece of silver in\nhis bullet with an awl, _that being the charm for shooting a witch_.\nHe aimed to shoot the picture through the heart, but fired a little\ntoo low. On that very day the woman herself fell flat on the ground,\nand a deep, awful hole was found in her side. From that minute she\nsuffered extreme agony, and died in a week.\"\n\nThe narrator had heard this grewsome tale from his grandmother, who\nsaid that she had seen the hole.\n\nOne of the oldest inhabitants of Monroe County is responsible for the\nensuing chronicle; he dates it in the \"forties\" of the present\ncentury:\n\n\"'Tain't so very long ago there was a woman livin' near the Sweet\nSprings who used to be always seen with a cap and bonnet on; nobody\never saw her without the cap. She was a hard, grim-lookin' monster. If\nanybody was watchin' to see her ontie her cap strings, somehow they\nnever could see any more until the clean cap was on--now that's _so_,\nthere ain't any mistake about that! When she come over here from\nBotetourt County the report followed her that she lived pretty close\nto a man whose chillun went to school, an' a calf had been in the\nhabit of attackin' 'em an' bitin' em. The father concealed himself one\nday and was watchin' to catch the calf. On that occasion it come out\nan' attacked the chillun on a bridge across a little stream o' water.\nHe ran and caught the calf and cut off his ears with a knife. They\nalways believed that _the old witch had turned herself into that\ncalf_, and so when she turned back into a woman she wore the cap to\nhide that she didn't have any ears. There was three sisters of 'em; it\nwas reported they was all witches, possessed of some uncommon art.\nJohn and Harriet had two little pet pullets they thought a good deal\nof. The cap-woman wanted 'em; they just fluttered an' fluttered till\nthey died. Her name was Nancy L----. Well, she wanted the carpenter to\nmake her a piece of furniture out of an old dirty plank she had, an'\nhe wouldn't do it. He said it was gritty and it would ruin his tools.\nThen she got mad and said, 'I'll make you suffer in the flesh for\nthat!' One day soon after that he was at his hog pen feedin' the hogs,\nwhen suddenly he was struck down perfectly helpless, so he couldn't\nspeak. He thought it was paralytic or rheumatism. In those days there\nwas an old doctor in Staunton, Augusta County, who had a kind o'\nprocess to steam people and boil 'em in a big kettle, for rheumatism.\nHe put sump'n fireproof, a paste or ointment, all over 'em, like the\nfireproof you put on buildings, an' boiled 'em an hour or two hours,\nas the case might be. The carpenter went to consult him, an' he put\nhim in a kettle that was big enough for him either to stand or sit\ndown in it; a collar was fitted tight round his neck so the hot water\ncouldn't get into his face and eyes. The boilin' didn't seem to do him\nany good. When he got home he halted about for twelve months or more.\nFirst he felt a pain in his hip, and then he felt a pain by the side\nof his knee as if it was gradually workin' down; then one day there\nwas sump'n jaggin' in the calf of his leg. He put his leg up on a\nbench and an old gentleman seen sump'n stickin' out. He took a pair of\nnippers an' ketched holt an' pulled out a big shirtin' needle. Hugh\nkept the needle as long as he lived, and he believed Nancy the old\nwitch shot him with it. He halted on that leg the balance of his days.\n_I've seen the needle_; it's God's truth!\"\n\nA spice of profanity seems to have the virtue of embalming a witch\nstory in the mountain memory. A rustic maiden who lives with her\nfamily on one of the loneliest hilltops in the Alleghanies, only to be\nreached on foot or horseback, makes this contribution to the folklore\nof the region:\n\n\"An old lady not far off had three daughters, and she was going to\nlearn 'em to be witches. They had to sit on the hearth by the fire and\ntake off their shoes and grease their heels so as to go up the\nchimney, and they were not allowed to speak. The mother was to go\nfirst and the girls were to follow. The old lady and the two foremost\nones had all got up safe, but the last girl, when she was in a narrow\nplace in the chimney, said, 'This is a d--d tight squeeze!' With that\nshe fell back and was burned up.\"\n\nThe value of silence and self-control appears to be the only touch of\nmorality in the witch logic. Manifestations of the black art\nfrequently take place by or over running water. These characteristics\nare observed in another story from the same maid of the mountain:\n\n\"Two witches were going to rob a store in the night, and they took a\nyoung man with them as a partner. They put the greased witch cap on\nhis head so he could go through the keyhole. They all started out, and\npresently they came to a river. They saw some calves in a field, and\ncaught three of 'em; they mounted the two that were heifers and the\nboy got on the steer calf. They charged him of all things not to speak\non the journey. The witches jumped the river on their calves without\nmakin' a sound, but just as he was jumping across he cried out, 'That\nwas a d--d good jump for a steer calf!' Well, they all went on, and\nwhen they got to the store they passed through the keyhole one after\nanother, the young man too. They took all the money they wanted, but\nwhen the time came to leave he couldn't get out of the keyhole,\nbecause he had spoken, and the spell was broken. He was found in the\nstore the next morning, and had to take all the punishment.\"\n\nIt is interesting to note as an offset to all these diabolic\nattributes and potencies that a firm faith exists in a beneficent\nPower back of them which under given conditions will prevail over\nevil. \"God is always stronger than the devil\" is the mountain way of\nexpressing this dependence, and there are charlatans who take\nadvantage of it by going about as \"witch masters.\" One of these died a\nfew years ago, and another farther back, an Irishman named \"Mosey,\" is\nquoted yet for his successes as \"master of all the witches and all the\ndevils.\"\n\nWhen the cows had been eating mushrooms and their milk became too\nbitter to make good butter, Mosey was sent for at once to \"cure the\nwitchcraft\" and \"take off the spell.\" He took his regular beat through\nhis part of the mountain country once in a while. An old man who\noscillates between the \"White\" and the \"Sweet,\" selling canes,\nremembers him well. He tells of one woman's experience who \"filed a\ncomplaint\" that her cow wouldn't give much milk, and that the milk\nwouldn't \"gether\" for butter.\n\n\"'Woman,' says Mosey, 'your cow's bewitched, and badly bewitched!'\n\n\"'Can you do anything for her, Mosey, and what will you charge?'\n\n\"'Yes, I can cure her if you'll pay me five dollars and give me five\npounds of butter to take home with me to burn in the fire to cap the\nclimax and burn out the spell.'\n\n\"Then he want through his enchantments over the cow, and took the\nmoney and the butter home with him. One day when he had been drinking\na little I asked him if he really burned all that butter. 'Divil a\ngrain of it did I burn; I ate it with my pertaties.' It was on that\nsame trip when Mosey was curin' the cow that a man who lived near by\nsent for him. 'I feel mighty quare, Mosey,' says he, 'an' I can't\ndescribe exactly how I do feel!' 'You're bewitched, sir,' says he,\n'and badly bewitched!' (he always used those words). 'Faith, an' I'll\ntry and cure ye! Have ye got any blue yarn about the house?' The man's\nwife went to look for some, and she came back with a hank of blue\nyarn. Mosey wound off enough of it to make a cord about the size of\nhis finger; they twisted it together, he pretending to put some\nenchantments on it, and then he told the sick man to fasten it round\nhis waist next to his skin. 'Don't you lose it on peril of your life,'\nsays he, 'or you're a dead man!' 'Peggy, get a needle and sew it on\nme!' he says to his wife, an' she done it. He gradually got well--may\nbe he'd a got well anyway. I can't vouch for that.\"\n\nWhen asked if such things were still happening, the cane-seller\nreplied:\n\n\"Not three weeks ago a woman thought her cow was bewitched because her\nbutter wouldn't gather, and she het an old horseshoe hot and dropped\nit in the churn of milk. When she churned again the butter on that\noccasion gathered, and _it was the same milk_ that was in the churn to\nburn the witch. You can put that down for June, '93.\"\n\nThe Potts Creek neighborhood is said to be a center for the witch\nsuperstition. It is also a favorite place for \"bush meetings,\" to\nwhich the natives come from a distance in their wagons with picnic\ndinners of salt-risen corn pone and sliced bacon, and there they\nlisten approvingly to fervid exhortations that are based on orthodox\nBaptist and Methodist doctrines. The West Virginia mountaineer is\nprofoundly religious in temperament, and considers that he has\nscriptural ground for a belief in witchcraft.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n     PROF. H. E. ARMSTRONG has described how, by taking incidents from\n     suitable story books, children aged respectively seven and a\n     half, ten, and twelve and a half years were set to work to test\n     the physical facts mentioned, and how, by the systematic use of\n     the balance, measuring instruments, and simple apparatus, or even\n     household utensils, a true spirit of scientific research was\n     engendered. Evidence of the good effect was exhibited in the\n     notebooks made by the children, which demonstrate clearly how\n     well the juvenile investigators have mastered the scientific\n     method of observation.\n\n\n\n\nORIGIN OF ANCIENT HINDU ASTRONOMY.\n\nBY THE COUNT GOBLET D'ALVIELLA.\n\n\nIt is manifest that India is indebted for some of its astronomy to the\nGreeks. Not that it had not astronomy and astronomers from an epoch\nanterior to the invasion of Alexander. It had, in fact, been necessary\nto make observations of the heavens in order to fix a calendar that\nwould enable the sacrifices of the Vedic ritual in connection with the\nreturn of the seasons and the revolutions of the stars to be\ncelebrated at the right dates. Further, the belief in astrology, or\nthe influence exercised by the movements of the planets on physical\nphenomena and all the events of human life, would lead, in India as\nelsewhere, to the observation and anticipation of everything relating\nto the conjunction and opposition of the heavenly bodies.\n\nThe Rig-Veda has allusions to the phases and stations of the moon. The\nstations (_nakshatras_) consisted, according to a tradition preserved\nby the Brahmans, of twenty-seven constellations (afterward\ntwenty-eight) which the moon was supposed to traverse successively in\nthe course of its sidereal revolution. A lunar zodiac and a primary\ndivision of time into months were thus obtained. The moon, moreover,\nbears in the Veda the name of month-maker (_m\u00e2sakrit_). Each station\nwas assigned a uniform length of 13\u00b0 20' on the ecliptic, and a\ndenomination, generally derived from mythology. The month, in turn,\ntook its name from the constellation that had the honor of harboring\nthe moon. Manon and the Djyotisha (a special treatise included among\nthe V\u00e9d\u00e2ngas, or commentaries on the Vedas) tell us that the year was\ncomposed of twelve months, the month of thirty days, the day of thirty\nhours, the hour of forty-eight minutes, all strictly sexagesimal\nsubdivisions, like our own measures of time. The Djyotisha also\nteaches the art of constructing a clepsydra, or water-clock.\n\nThe adjustment of the solar year to correspond with the lunar year and\nof the two with the civil year dates from this period. The month was\nstill composed of thirty days, but the solar years were grouped into\nquinquennial periods, in the middle and at the end of which the lunar\nmonth was doubled. Combining these quinquennial periods with the\nrevolutions of the planet _Brihaspati_ (Jupiter), which was calculated\nas occupying about twelve years, the Indian astronomers computed an\nastronomical cycle of sixty solar years. As the same cycle is found\nwith the Chaldeans, where, according to Berosus, it was called the\n_Sossos_, we have to inquire how far Brahmanic astronomy was\ninfluenced by the systems which were originally formed in ancient\nChaldea. The presumption of such an influence furnishes a simpler and\nmore probable hypothesis than the effort to trace the earliest\nastronomical ideas of the Hindus, as M. W. Brennand has recently\nsuggested, to a period when the ancestors of the Aryans, the Semites,\nand the Chinese were wandering together over the plateaus of central\nAsia!\n\nWe know now, from the cuneiform inscriptions, that the Chaldeans had,\nat a period far anterior to the entrance of the Aryans into India,\ninvented a double calendar, solar and lunar, with intercalary periods;\ndiscovered the proper motion of the planets; calculated the return of\neclipses; and constituted a double metrical system, decimal and\nsexagesimal; and, as was done, too, in India, had divided the\ncircumference into three hundred and sixty degrees of sixty minutes\neach. It is impossible to draw the lines exactly between the\nastronomical discoveries which the Hindus borrowed from abroad and\nthose which they drew from their own resources prior to the invasion\nof the Greeks, but we need in no case go farther than Mesopotamia for\nthe source of the borrowed data.\n\nThe ancient literature of India contains observations of the positions\nor conjunctions of some of the stars that carry us back to positive\ndates in the history of the sky. The astronomers Bailly, Colebrooke,\nand Bentley, and, more recently, M. Brennand, have found notes\nrelative to astronomical phenomena that took place in the twelfth,\nfourteenth, fifteenth, and even the twenty-first centuries B. C. Max\nM\u00fcller, however, advises prudence and reserve in accepting these\ncalculations, some of which may have been afterthoughts, and others\noffer only apparent agreements.\n\nIn any case, the advent of Buddhism, by depreciating the religious\npractices and astrological speculations of the Brahmans, contributed\nto bringing on a decline of astronomy at the very time it was taking\nits most vigorous stand among the Greeks. We learn from a passage in\nStrabo that the Pramnai regarded the Brahmans as boasters and mad\nbecause they were interested in physiology and astronomy. Now, there\nreally exists an ancient Buddhist treatise in which the predictions by\nthe Brahmans of eclipses of the sun and of the conjunctions and\noppositions of the planets, and their discussions of the appearance of\ncomets and meteors, are treated as despicable arts and lies.\n\nIt was just at this age that Hellenic culture was developed in\nnorthwest India. It held astronomy, and astrology too, in great\nesteem. The Milinda Panda mentions the royal astrologer as one of the\nprincipal functionaries of Menander. No doubt there were, among the\nGavanas (Ionians) of Taxila and Euthyd\u00eamia, minds versed in the\nknowledge of the principal cosmological systems formulated among the\nGreeks from Thales to Aristotle, and also acquainted with all the\nprogress in the physical and mathematical sciences that had been\nachieved by the Alexandrian astronomers in the last centuries before\nChrist. To comprehend the extent of the influence of Hellenic science,\nwe have only to inquire what Hindu astronomy had become again at the\ntime of the restoration of the Brahmans in the sixth century A. D.\nAryabhatta teaches the rotation of the earth around its axis;\nmaintains that the moon, naturally dark, owes its light to the rays of\nthe sun; formulates the true theory of eclipses; assigns an elliptical\nform to the planetary epicycles; and demonstrates the displacement of\nthe equinoctial and solstitial points. Var\u00e2ha-Mihira devotes himself\nespecially to astrological labors, but also has the merit of having\ncondensed into a vast encyclop\u00e6dia the _Pantcha Siddh\u00e2ntik\u00e2_, the\nprincipal astronomical treatises that were current in India. And\nBrahmazoupta is especially famous for his revision of an older\ntreatise, the _Brahma Siddh\u00e2nta_.\n\nIn the opinion of the most competent critics, these works, which are\nchiefly empirical methods of determining the positions of the stars,\nare inferior to those which the Alexandrians have left us. Yet, in\nmatters relating to the measurement of arcs and to spherical\ntrigonometry, they reveal a more advanced state of the science. It is\nimpossible to determine at what period this new astronomical science\nwas constituted in India. Some of its theories squarely betray their\nindebtedness to Greek science, as, for instance, that of the\ndisplacement of the equinoctial and solstitial points by a periodical\nvibration or tremor. We can also say as much of the solar zodiac, the\nnames of the constellations of which strikingly resemble the Greek\nnames in form as well as in significance, and the same of the names of\nthe chief planets. Other expressions are found, notably in the works\nof Var\u00e2ha-Mihira, which indicate, if not a borrowing, a contact, at\nleast, with the works of the Greek astronomy, of which Mr. Burgess\ngives a fairly complete list in his Notes on Hindu Astronomy and the\nHistory of our Knowledge of it, in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic\nSociety. Among these terms, some are Greek words which have been\nutilized in naming constellations or astronomical measures; others\nhave retained the special significations which they had in the works\nof the Alexandrian astronomers. It would certainly be an exaggeration\nto insist that the adoption of a foreign term of necessity implies the\nborrowing of the idea which it expresses. It is, nevertheless,\nprobable that the Sanskrit writers would not have made use of so many\nof these exotic denominations if the ideas they represent had already\nfound their expression in the languages of India.\n\nFurther, among the fine Sidd\u00e2ntas which Var\u00e2ha-Mihira collected and\ncondensed as including all the astronomical science of his time, there\nare two, the _Romaka_ and the _Pauli\u00e7a_, the names of which suggest\ndirectly--the first the scientific culture of the Roman world, and the\nother Paulus, a celebrated Alexandrian astronomer of the third century\nA. D.[8]\n\n    [Footnote 8: The Romaka Sidd\u00e2nta employs, as a measure of time,\n    the _Guga_ of 2,850 years or 1,040,953 days, giving a tropical\n    year of 365 days, 5 hours, 55 minutes, and 12 seconds, which is\n    exactly the figure proposed by Ptolemy and Hipparchus.--_Burgess,\n    Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society._]\n\nWe apparently find, likewise, the names of Manetho (fourth century A.\nD.) in _Manittha_ or _Manimda_; of Spensippus in _Sporedjivadja_; and\nof Ptolemy in _Asoura Maya_, whom the _Sounya Siddh\u00e2nta_ designates as\nthe founder of astronomy, and who another treatise says was born at\nRomakapouri, \"the city of the Romans.\"\n\nIn this order of ideas the natives of India have never tried to deny\ntheir sources. The Gavanas, we read in the _Garg\u00ed Samhit\u00e2_, are\nbarbarians; but this science (astrology) has been constituted by them,\nand they must be revered as saints. M. Weber affirms that a treatise\non astrology bearing their name, the _Gavana \u00c7astra_, was reputed to\nhave been written in the land of the Gavanas by the god Sourya in\nperson, when, expelled from heaven by the resentment of his divine\nrivals, he came down and was born again in the city of the Romans.[9]\n\n    [Footnote 9: The term Romakapouri does not necessarily imply the\n    city of Rome; the name was probably extended to Alexandria and\n    perhaps also to Byzantium. In other writings we find the name\n    Gavanapouri, the city of the Greeks (or Ionians), applied to\n    Alexandria.]\n\nWe find, further, that the Greek calendar appears to have survived\nHellenic domination in northern India. General Cunningham, in 1862,\nread in the inscriptions of the Indo-Scythians the names of the\nMacedonian months Artemisios and Appellaios. Since then the names of\ntwo other months of that calendar--Panemos and Daisios--have been\nfound in inscriptions in the Kharosthis character.\n\nAnother era of Grecian origin, that of the Seleucid\u00e6, seems likewise\nto have furnished the Hindus their first historical computation.[10]\nIt should be observed, in fact, that their most ancient era, that of\nthe Mauryas, dates from the year 312 B. C., or the beginning of the\nera of the Seleucid\u00e6. This had been adopted by the Grecian sovereigns\nof India, as is attested by a coin of Plato, struck in the year 166 B.\nC.\n\n    [Footnote 10: Till then, the Hindus hardly seem to have sought for\n    a common measure of time except for astronomical or mythological\n    purposes.]\n\nBeginning with the Indo-Scythians, India generally adopted the era of\nthe Cakas, which began, not, as had been long supposed, with the\nexpulsion of the Scythians, but with the coronation of their\nprincipal sovereign, Kanichka.[11] Nevertheless, the inscriptions\noffer still other historical computations, as, for instance, that of\nthe Gouptas era, which began in the year 240 of the \u00c7aka era, and that\nof Vikram\u00e2ditya, which was made to begin retrospectively fifty-six\nyears B. C. Hence arise complications of a nature to make the task of\npaleography and history no lighter.--_Translated for the Popular\nScience Monthly from Ciel et Terre (from the author's essays on\nClassical Influences on the Scientific and Literary Culture of\nIndia)._\n\n    [Footnote 11: M. Sylvain Levi has, however, lately reopened the\n    question of the initial date of this era.]\n\n\n\n\nSKETCH OF WILLIAM KEITH BROOKS.\n\n\nThe old problem of Nature _versus_ nurture that meets us in studying\nthe life history of any organism becomes especially interesting in\ndealing with the biography of men of eminence. Are their achievements\nthe inevitable expression of the natural forces innate in them at\nbirth, or the product of environmental influences, or some resultant\nof these two factors? And how much may we in each case assign to one\nfactor or to the other?\n\nThese difficult questions naturally suggest themselves in glancing at\nthe life of the subject of this sketch. Like so many men who have won\nprominence in comparatively new countries, he seemed, in an\nenvironment that had no apparent relation to his future, to grow from\ninnate tendencies toward something not suggested by the circumstances\nabout him, even to grow in opposition to the molding influences of\nthese, and to conquer them. Later, however, we find him surrounded by\ninfluences that made a particular mode of self-expression easy, if\nthey may not be said to have forced such expression. It was then that\nthe casual observer might say that the circumstances made the man;\nyet, looking backward, we can trace the initiative in the man that led\nhim into the congenial environment. A selection of proper environment\nto express Nature has been rightly claimed as a potent factor in all\norganic life; nurture, then, comes as a secondary power to mold, or\nrather to translate, the inherent power.\n\nWILLIAM KEITH BROOKS, the second son of Oliver Allen Brooks and\nEleanora Bradbury, daughter of the Rev. Phineas Kingsley, was born in\nCleveland, Ohio, in 1848. In 1877 he married Amelia Katherine,\ndaughter of Edward T. Schultz and Susan Rebecca, daughter of David L.\nMartin. He has two children.\n\nBrooks grew up amid the stimulating influences of a relatively new\ncountry, where freedom of development was not so sharply restricted\nbut that all paths of life seemed equally open to one who would work.\nAs a boy he was not one of those precocious naturalists of the common\nsort whose collecting instincts find expression in the hoarding of\ndead animals or plants rather than the neater postage stamp; names and\nauthorities, classes and species, neatly arranged mummies, were not\nhis delight. At first there seemed no sign that zo\u00f6logy would claim\nhim as a most ardent admirer. Yet he was fond of live things and their\nways, and introduced into his home that most delightful microcosm, the\nfresh-water aquarium (so much neglected in this country), in which he\ncould observe at ease the habits and slow changes of living things\nwhen their native haunts were not accessible. Such early interest in\nthe essential wonders of livingness rather than in man's artificial\nclassification of phenomena was thus prophetic of much of his later\noriginality of thought and view.\n\nHe has never forgotten how much he owes to the instruction of the\nearnest and broad-minded teachers in the public schools of Cleveland.\n\nHis college life began at Hobart, where two years left a deep\nimpression from an acquaintance with Berkeley's thought, gained in\nbrowsing in the library, and long treasured up to produce fruit in\nphilosophic views of maturer years. Then at Williams College, where\nthe notable Natural History Society was sending out its expedition\nacross South America, his love of Nature matured and specialized for\ntwo years longer, until he received the A. B. degree in 1870. It was\nWilliams also that later, in 1893, bestowed upon him the LL. D.\ndegree. For him the completion of college life was truly the\n\"commencement\" and not the finish of his intellectual training. His\nstrong trend toward pure science and abstract mental life forced him\nonward into post-graduate work. But this required funds, and America\nwas not Germany; the struggle for existence was not here so intense\nthat one might not win bread in many walks of life without special\ntraining, and parents did not need to extend the larval period of\nsupport for offspring beyond the completion of college life to gain\nfor them a place in any rank, social or intellectual. Now, a rapidly\nincreasing need for the Ph. D. degree as entrance to professional\nlife, necessitating several years of post-graduate study, often forces\nparents to take up their share in the increased burden. Then, however,\nfew were agreed as to the advisability of prolonging an unpractical\nlife devoted to study beyond what seemed the maximum limit of\nunproductive preparation for life--the day of graduation at college.\nBeyond that the young man must make his own way as best he might. The\nsubject of this sketch chose to work his way by his own unaided\nefforts into the fullest measure of academic training.\n\nThat was before the day of competition between universities, and there\nwas no temptation to go here rather than there in order to live a\nsemi-parasitic existence as scholar or fellowship holder.\n\nFirst in his father's counting house, and then at a boy's school near\nNiagara, young Brooks bravely gained the means to pursue higher\nbranches of natural history, and to devote himself to research. In the\nformer position he realized how futile for him would be a life given\nto money-getting, and he palliated the uncongenial nature of that life\nby such abstract thought as seemed useful, one immediate result of\nwhich was the invention of a mechanical device for computing interest\nand discounts in sterling money, that had considerable circulation.\nThis, though it scarcely indicated a stronger bias for mathematics\nthan for Nature study, showed a latent possibility that was not to be\ndeveloped. In the latter position, which brought him in close contact\nwith the wonders of time action, so plainly read in one of Nature's\nbooks for the blind--Niagara Falls--he found food for thought, as well\nas a deep interest in the action of young minds. Here was much\nmaterial for philosophical study of wood life too, as well as for\ngrowth of conceptions of the way to learn and to teach.\n\nFree, after serving three years, to follow his genius, Agassiz's\nromantic venture at Pennikese drew this young naturalist, as it did so\nmany of that epoch; and henceforth marine life, with its revelation of\nfundamental problems, fascinated him. Working on at Agassiz's museum,\nlearning its collections by heart, absorbing from this center of\nAmerican natural history and from its founder both stimulus and\nmethod, influenced deeply also by the unobtrusive teachings of McCrady\nand others who helped to make Cambridge the Mecca of naturalists, he\nwas already an active contributor to the discussion of problems in the\nembryology of animals when he won his Ph. D. degree in 1875.\n\nQuiet, diffident, slow to speak, leaving hasty action, too, for those\nof other constitution, with thoughtful brow and keen eye to look\noutward, as well as to regard inner thought, this young man with\nflowing beard was a noticeable person. At this time he was to be seen\nalways accompanied by his faithful \"Tige\"; for, wiser than Ulysses, he\nshared all the hardships and joys of life with this loved companion.\n\nNow he sought his true environment, and found it in the new university\nstarting in 1876--the Johns Hopkins University. There he was appointed\nFellow, an honor subsequently won by many who are well known to\nbiological science, as W. T. Sedgwick, E. B. Wilson, K. Mitsukuri, A.\nF. W. Schimper, H. H. Donaldson, H. L. Osborn, J. McKeen Cattell, H.\nH. Howell, A. T. Bruce, E. S. Lee, H. E. Nachtrieb, W. Noyes, J.\nJastrow, E. B. Mall, H. V. Wilson, C. E. Hodge, S. Watase, and T. H.\nMorgan. Like C. O. Whitman, in 1879, he did not enter upon the\nprivileges of that position, but as instructor and associate became at\nonce a guiding element in the new growth. In the freedom from old\ntraditions, from fixed conventions and routines offered by this new\nuniversity, this peculiar original mind found its best environment,\nand while the opportunity doubtless did much for the man, the man\ncertainly reacted most favorably for the welfare of the highest ideals\nof his new home.\n\nWe find him at once outspoken in emphasis of the philosophical aspect\nof animal morphology, contributing thoughts upon \"inductive reasoning\nin morphological problems,\" upon \"the relation between embryology and\nphylogeny,\" upon \"the causes of serial and bilateral symmetry,\" and\nupon the \"rhythmic nature\" of the cleavage of an egg. Yet this period\nwas also, and pre-eminently, one of acquisition of hard-earned and\ndetailed facts. The development of Pulmonates and Lamellibranchs, of\nCrustacea and of Medus\u00e6, as well as of the marvels of Salpa's life\nhistory, became absorbing studies.\n\nThis great field of the morphology of nonvertebrates could be properly\nworked only with access to the marine fauna, and at that date there\nwere few facilities for seaside study in America. A true disciple of\nLouis Agassiz, Professor Brooks saw the need of a marine laboratory,\nand devoted himself, as Dohrn did at Naples, to the accomplishment of\nan end so necessary for the advance of natural science. Encouraged by\nthe aid of a few citizens of Baltimore, in 1878 there was started an\nexperiment--\"The Chesapeake Zo\u00f6logical Laboratory,\" at Fort Wool, Va.,\nwith Professor Brooks as director. With the absolute devotion of its\ndirector to research as example, and with the liberal aid of the\ntrustees of the Johns Hopkins University, this laboratory became a\nmost important adjunct to the university and a virile center of\nzo\u00f6logical study. So great was its success as a factor in the advance\nof zo\u00f6logical knowledge that the trustees bravely continued to support\nit whenever financial disaster did not rob them of the last penny. For\neight years in the Chesapeake, or in the remoter waters of North\nCarolina, the station flourished; then, in 1886, we find the director,\nwith a few enthusiastic students, venturing in a small schooner to the\nbut little known Bahama Island, Green Turtle Cay, there to enlarge\ntheir experiences with such delightful realization of naturalists'\ndreams of the tropics as Haeckel experienced in his Journey to Ceylon.\nSubsequent annual expeditions to Nassau, the Bemini Islands, and to\nvarious parts of Jamaica served as marked eras in the lives of many\nyoung naturalists who will not soon forget the contact with life thus\nobtained.\n\nFrom these sources and from his connection with the United States Fish\nCommission, as director of the Marine Station at Woods Holl, Mass., in\n1888, Professor Brooks drew inspiration and fact for the work and\nthought by which he is so well known to the working naturalist. There\nare few great divisions of the animal kingdom that have not excited\nhis special interest and claimed his long-sustained labor upon the\nproblems they express. Like McCrady, deeply fascinated by the\n_Hydromedus\u00e6_ and their wonderful changes, many smaller papers, as\nwell as the Memoir of the Boston Society of Natural History, entitled\nThe Life History of the _Hydromedus\u00e6_ and the Origin of Alternation of\nGenerations, testify to his success in unraveling plots that thickened\nwith new discoveries.\n\nAn early interest in the mollusca, shown by his doctor's dissertation\nupon the embryology of the fresh-water mussels, printed in part in the\nProceedings of the American Association, 1875, continued to be\nexpressed in his contributions to many problems in the embryology of\nthe fresh-water Pulmonates, of Gasteropods, of Lamellibranchs, and of\nthe Squid. The Crustacea also rightly claimed a large share of the\nattention of a philosophic naturalist, bringing him face to face with\nthe rigid formulations of law which these creatures present. The\ndiscovery of the very exceptional method of cleavage in the egg of the\ndecapod Lucifer, and the demonstration of the existence of a free\nNauplius stage there (published in the Philosophical Transactions of\nthe Royal Society in 1882), marked a most important advance in the\nmorphological interpretation of all Crustacea, and brought its author\nto the first rank as an authority upon this much-studied group.\nStudying and capturing at Beaufort those phantom-like sand burrowers,\nthe Squilla, gained him an insight into and an interest in this\nstrange division of Crustacea that enabled him to undertake that\ndifficult task, the description of Stomatopods collected by the\nChallenger Expedition--a task completed in 1886. The report, published\nin such a magnificent series as only the British Government could have\nconsummated, is noticeable for the author's clear, free illustration\nof the creatures described and classified. In it we find a\nclassification of the numerous, weird, glassy larv\u00e6, agreeing with the\nclassification of the adults and marking the success of the solution\nof the problem--the reference of chance collections of various stages\nof many species to their proper places in the life history of each\nspecies.\n\nWhen the fever for ancestral trees had spread among naturalists in a\nmuch more virulent form than that endemic in Wales, and when the\nAscidians were brought into line as ancestral vertebrates, it was no\nwonder to find Professor Brooks laboring upon these interesting\ncreatures, but his work in this group started from a different point\nof view. As early as 1875, when studying in the laboratory of\nAlexander Agassiz, he contributed to the Boston Society of Natural\nHistory a description involving a most novel interpretation of the\nembryology of a remarkable Ascidian, Salpa. This form is known to many\nnot naturalists as that beautiful animal chain which is sometimes so\ncommon in the clear waters of Newport Harbor as to be dipped up in\nevery bucket of water, but more often not there at all. The female\nbuds forth male branches and gives each an egg (which is fertilized to\nform a second generation of females). There is thus no alteration of\nsexual and non-sexual generations at all; and, with characteristic\nappreciation of a paradox, Professor Brooks subsequently emphasized\nthe fact that the poet naturalist Chamisso, in discovering, in 1814,\n\"Alternation of Generations\" in Salpa, had discovered a phenomenon\nwhere it did not exist, though subsequently found common enough in\nmany other animals. With the continuity of interest so marked in him,\nthe life history of Salpa, as thus revealed, continued to be one of\nthe living thoughts in Professor Brooks's mind for a long period of\nyears, and, with the accumulation of material and results of\nresearches afforded by his summer work, culminated in the monograph\nSalpa--a quarto of nearly four hundred pages and fifty odd\nplates--published in 1893, or after nearly twenty years of sustained\ninterest in this complex problem. In this volume we find first a\ncoherent view of the intricate life history of this animal illuminated\nby such metaphors as make the necessary technicalities both readable\nand thinkable. For instance, \"A chain of Salpa may be compared to two\nchains of cars on two parallel tracks, placed so that the middle of\neach car on one track is opposite the ends of two cars of the other\ntrack, and each joined by two couplings to the car in front of it on\nits own track, and in the same way to the one behind it, and also to\nthose diagonally in front of it and behind it on the other track.\"\nAgain, in speaking of that startling process of egg development that\nmakes the embryology of Salpa one of the apparently insoluble problems\nof this branch of inquiry, he says: \"Stated in a word, the most\nremarkable peculiarity of the Salpa embryology is this: It is blocked\nout in follicular cells, which form layers and undergo foldings and\nother changes which result in an outline or model of all the general\nfeatures in the organization of the embryo. While these processes are\ngoing on the development of the blastomeres is retarded, so that they\nare carried into their final position in the embryo while still in a\nrudimentary condition. Finally, when they reach the places they are\nto occupy, they undergo rapid multiplication and growth and build up\nthe tissues of the body, while the scaffolding of follicle cells is\ntorn down and used up as food for the true embryonic cells. An\nimaginary illustration may help to make the subject clear. Suppose\nthat while carpenters are building a house of wood the brick-makers\npile clay on the boards as they are carried past, and shape the lumps\nof clay into bricks as they find them scattered through the building\nwhere they have been carried with the boards. Now, as the house of\nwood approaches completion, imagine the bricklayers build a brick\nhouse over the wooden framework and not from the bottom upward, but\nhere and there wherever the bricks are to be found, and that as fast\nas parts of the brick house are finished the wooden one is torn down.\nTo make the analogy complete we must imagine that all the structure\nwhich is removed is assimilated by the bricks, and is thus turned into\nthe substance of new bricks to carry on the construction.\"\n\nFollowing that descriptive portion of the work comes a most\ninteresting interweaving of facts gathered in wide experience with a\nscientific imagination possible only to one who had lived and thought\nin close sympathetic contact with tropical marine life. It is an\naccount of the present conditions of life along tropical shores and\nthe probable steps that led to the evolution of the innumerable\nsedentary and creeping things from the ancestral forms that floated on\nthe surface of the ocean before there were shores. Charming reading\nfor the layman, and for the specialist a broadening poetic insight\ninto life as it is and as it was when the world was young and the\npelagic forbears of the vertebrates competed with their simpler\nassociates in the annexation of the bottom as a vantage ground for the\n\"benevolent assimilation\" of later immigrants. The third portion of\nthe work follows a most commendable plan: \"Scientific controversy is\nso unprofitable that I shall try to make it as subordinate as\npossible, that the reader may devote all his attention to the life\nhistory of Salpa, without interruption at every point where my own\nobservations confirm or contradict the statements of others.\" This\nsection deals with the refutation of criticism of the author's\ninterpretations, and endeavors to harmonize the discords that in this,\nas in all complex morphological research, make progress slow though\nsurer.\n\nThe above brief references to the research work of the subject of this\nsketch would be too incomplete did we omit mention of his papers upon\nthat very interesting and extremely ancient inhabitant of the\nChesapeake, the Lingula, or of the beautifully illustrated memoir of\nthe National Academy of Sciences, describing the crania of the Lucayan\nIndians, an unfortunate race of gentle beings discovered by the\nSpaniards and treated as part of the live stock of the New World and\nsoon annihilated, leaving but a few bones, and, as Professor Brooks\ntells us, our familiar and pleasant word \"hammocks,\" as evidences of\ntheir having been.\n\nComing to maturity in the period of general acceptance of the\nDarwinian hypothesis of organic evolution, Professor Brooks was\nnaturally deeply influenced, and no one who has read his works can\ndoubt his allegiance to natural selection as a powerful factor in the\nformation of the present order of living things. In the American\nNaturalist for 1877 he published the first outlines of a provisional\nhypothesis of pangenesis that sought to \"combine the hypotheses of\nOwen, Spencer, and Darwin in such a way as to escape the objections to\nwhich each is in itself liable, and at the same time to retain all\nthat renders them valuable.\" In 1883 the same hypothesis--that\nvariations are perpetuated chiefly through the male line by special\ngemmules, and that the female is essentially conservative--was\nelaborated in book form under the title of The Law of Heredity.\n\nThenceforth, in intervals of research work, Professor Brooks has\ncontributed to various periodicals, notably the Popular Science\nMonthly, such essays upon kindred topics as spontaneously arose in his\nmind in connection with current work here and abroad. Some of these of\na general philosophical interest have been incorporated with lectures,\noriginally given to students in Baltimore, as The Foundations of\nZo\u00f6logy, brought out this year by the Macmillan Company as Volume V of\nthe Columbia University Biological Series. This, it will be noted, is\ndedicated \"To Hobart College, where I learned to study, and, I hope,\nto profit by, but not blindly to follow, the writings of that great\nthinker on the principles of science, George Berkeley,\" and its\nkeynote might be said to be difficult to hold, expressing the\nstandpoint of one who says \"The proof that there is no necessary\nantagonism between mechanical explanations of human life and belief in\nvolition and duty and moral responsibility seems to me to be very\nsimple and easy to understand.\"\n\nThough thus active in pushing forward the limit of fact and theory in\nthe domain of pure science, Professor Brooks has not shirked the duty\nthat falls to every member of society, but has labored earnestly to\nbuild a sound basis for immediate practical application of zo\u00f6logical\nresearch. In 1876 he organized a summer zo\u00f6logical laboratory for\nteachers and others in Cleveland, with the co-operation of two other\nyoung Clevelanders--A. H. Tuttle, now Professor of Biology in the\nUniversity of Virginia, and I. B. Comstock, Professor of Geology in\nthe University of Arizona.\n\nIdentifying himself with the interests of the community in which he\nhad cast his lot, he interested himself in the establishment of such\neducational influences as that of a public aquarium, and it was\nthrough no fault of the sower that the seed laboriously sown fell upon\nstony ground. In the winter of 1880 he gave a course of lectures and\nof laboratory work for teachers in the schools of Baltimore.\n\nAgain, his early studies of the development of the oyster (for which\nhe was awarded the medal of the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 d'Acclimatisation of Paris in\n1883), his discovery that the American oyster could be reared like\nfish from artificially fertilized eggs, since he found it to have a\ndifferent life history from its European fellow, led him to realize\nthe greater possibilities that awaited our oyster industries when they\nshould be based upon scientific fact. Living amid a population\ndependent to no small extent upon these industries, Professor Brooks\nthrew himself with enthusiasm into the problem of warding off the ruin\nthat comes to every enterprise expanding faster than its capital is\nreplenished, and eagerly sought the means to magnify without\ndeterioration so important a factor in the existence of the\nCommonwealth. As chairman of the Oyster Commission appointed by the\nGeneral Assembly of Maryland in 1882, he drew up the long, detailed,\nand well-illustrated report, issued in 1884, which set forth the\ncondition of the oyster beds in the Chesapeake Bay and their\ndeterioration from overwork, and suggested a legislative remedy in the\nform of a bill designed to remove this industry from that primitive,\nbarbaric stage in which our communal ownership of migrant birds and\nfish still remains, and to place it upon the secure basis of personal\nownership underlying other live-stock business. But it is difficult to\nchange the customs of centuries' standing, and prophets rarely see the\nfulfillment of their predictions. Many lectures and the issue of a\npopular book--The Oyster, 1891--were necessary labors assumed by\nProfessor Brooks before the public mind was educated to some\nappreciation of the nature of the problem, and the fruits of his\nlabors are yet to be matured and gathered.\n\nBut it is not so much by discovery of new facts or by aid to the\ncommunity in which one may chance to live that a man exerts his best\ninfluence upon mankind; rather by his success in inspiring others to\nsee whatever of good there may be in his point of view and method of\nattack upon old problems, that his followers may keep alive and\nenlarge what he stands for in the growth of civilization. As a teacher\nProfessor Brooks has exerted a powerful influence by the stimulus of\nexample in his whole-hearted devotion to research, by originality of\nsuggestion, and by his clear intuition of the essential factors in\nmorphological problems. Convinced that naturalists, like poets, are\nborn and not made--or, if so, then self-made--his teaching has been\nfree from that too easily acquired hallucination that the forcible\nintroduction of facts, and frequent extraction of words by means of\nexamination, are a possible means to the making of zo\u00f6logists, or what\nyou will to order, to be ticketed and branded as such after a fixed\nterm of the above process. Those who are strong enough to grow in the\nopen have found in him a genial sunshine, but those needing hothouse\nforcing have sometimes missed, perhaps, the care necessary to bring\nthem to a marketable state.\n\nMany who have followed his lectures will recall the clearness and\nsimplicity with which complex and puzzling questions were presented to\ntheir minds; the skull of the bony fish soon lost its terrors, while\nthe homologies of the limb bones were brought to the mind in a graphic\nway, sure to leave a deep impression. Directness and lucidity, with\nfreedom from investment of unessentials, are characteristics of his\nteaching and prominent features in his too little known Handbook of\nMarine Zo\u00f6logy, which, despite technical faults, was so original and\nhonest, so free from closet natural history, that it marked an era in\nthe advance of biological instruction. It was a direct appeal to the\nconcrete study of living animals at a time when zo\u00f6logy for students\nwas still the learning of text-books, and text-books were too often in\nspirit but modernizations of Pliny or of Aldrovandus.\n\nIt is this removal of the impeding paraphernalia of custom-bound\nauthority, and a direct, childlike communion with Nature in search of\ntruth by one's unaided labor, that this man has to offer to those who\ncome under his sway as teacher; with what success will be evident from\nthe work of those who recently united to honor his fiftieth birthday\nwith a portrait that might recall him to them as he taught them, and\nfrom the work of those who, in coming years, will enjoy the privilege\nof contact with his genius and be led to \"seek admission to the temple\nof natural knowledge naked and not ashamed, like little children.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n     FORESTRY, Professor Fernow said in his paper at the American\n     Association, is not, as it seems to be popularly believed,\n     \"Woodman, spare that tree,\" but \"Woodman, cut those trees\n     judiciously.\" The handling of a slowly maturing crop like forest\n     trees requires especial consideration of a problem quite unlike\n     any other that presents itself to the business man. The trees\n     ripen slowly, a full century often being necessary to the\n     complete development of growth. Obviously it would be inadvisable\n     to cut down the product and then wait a hundred years for further\n     income from the land; another system is necessary, where merely\n     the interest is taken, in trees which are in a condition to cut,\n     while the principal, the forest itself, remains always\n     practically intact.\n\n\n\n\nEditor's Table.\n\n\n_PRIMITIVE MAN._\n\nTwo articles contributed to the April and May numbers of the\nFortnightly Review by Mr. J. G. Frazer, the learned author of The\nGolden Bough, and more recently of a monumental edition of Pausanias,\nare worthy of the close attention of all who are interested in the\nearly history of mankind. The articles are entitled The Origin of\nTotemism, and the object of the writer is to show that on this obscure\nsubject a flood of light has been shed by the lately published\nresearches of Messrs. Spencer and Gillen into the beliefs and\npractices of the native tribes of central Australia, those tribes\nbeing perhaps the best representatives now anywhere surviving of the\nmost primitive condition of the human race. Mr. Baldwin Spencer,\nformerly a Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, is at present Professor\nof Biology in the University of Melbourne, while Mr. Gillen is a\nspecial magistrate in South Australia, charged with the protection of\nthe aborigines. In their work, Mr. Frazer observes, \"We possess for\nthe first time a full and authentic account of thoroughly primitive\nsavages living in the totem stage and practically unaffected by\nEuropean influence. Its importance,\" he adds, \"as a document of human\nhistory can, therefore, hardly be overestimated.\"\n\nEvolution, it has often been remarked, and is again remarked by the\nwriter of these articles, is an outcome of the struggle for life, and\nis rapid and vigorous or slow and feeble, according to the intensity\nof the struggle and the number and variety of the competing elements.\nAmong the great land masses of our planet Australia is the smallest;\nand, owing to this circumstance, and also to its physical\nconformation, which renders large areas unfit for the maintenance of\nlife, population has been much restricted and competition has been at\na minimum. Hence the extremely backward and undeveloped condition of\nits native tribes, a condition which enables us, as Mr. Frazer\nobserves, to detect humanity in the chrysalis stage, and mark the\nfirst blind gropings of our race after liberty and light.\n\nThe account given of these tribes contains indeed some very remarkable\ndetails. For example, \"though they suffer much from cold at night\nunder the frosty stars of the clear Australian heaven, the idea of\nusing as garments the warm furs of the wild animals they kill and eat\nhas never entered into their minds.\" They attribute the propagation of\nthe human race wholly to the action of spirits, to whom they attribute\na fecundating power, treating as wholly irrelevant to the matter any\ncontact of the sexes. The idea of natural causation seems to be one\nwhich they have no power to grasp. They believe that various results\nare dependent on special antecedent conditions, but it is a pure\nmatter of accident what they shall conceive the conditions in any case\nto be. Here we come to the origin of totemism. Heretofore totemism has\nbeen considered, broadly speaking, as the identification of themselves\nby some group of savages with a particular plant or animal or other\nmanifestation of the powers of Nature, accompanied by a complete or\npartial _taboo_, so far as the group in question is concerned, of the\nanimal or other object adopted as totem, and also by a rule\nprohibiting marriage within the group. What Messrs. Spencer and Gillen\nhave succeeded in doing has been to observe and detect the\nsignificance of certain practices of the Australian tribes which have\nnever been observed, or at least never understood, before.\n\nAt a certain time of the year, it appears, each totemistic tribe goes\nthrough elaborate ceremonies of a purely magical character for the\npurpose of promoting the growth and multiplication of the particular\nanimal or plant, if it be one useful for food, with which the tribe is\nidentified, or of antagonizing its evil effects if it be of a hurtful\ncharacter. As \"there is scarcely an object, animate or inanimate, to\nbe found in the country occupied by the natives which does not give\nits name to some totemic group of individuals,\" the general scheme of\nthings is pretty well looked after in the various ceremonies that are\npracticed by the different groups. Attention is here drawn to the\nessential difference between religion and magic, religion being an\nattempt to propitiate or conciliate the higher powers, while magic\nundertakes to coerce them. \"To the magician,\" as Mr. Frazer observes,\n\"it is a matter of indifference whether the cosmic powers are\nconscious or unconscious, spiritual or material; for in either case he\nimagines that he can force them by his enchantments to do his\nbidding.\" The ceremonies of the native Australians, as we have said,\nare wholly magical. They have the same kind of faith in their\nincantations and other strange performances that the modern man of\nscience has in the preparations he makes for a physical experiment.\nThe difference is that imagination or the crudest kind of symbolism\nhas suggested the methods of the savage, while a careful scrutiny and\ncomparison of facts has dictated those of the man of science. The\n_proprium_ of the savage mind is an utter insensibility to evidence,\nor rather a lack of all power of conceiving what evidence is, and\ntherefore a total incapacity for feeling any need of it. The\nscientific man, on the other hand, feels that he needs it every hour\nand every moment.\n\nIt may be interesting to quote the description given by Mr. Frazer,\nafter Messrs. Spencer and Gillen, of the ceremonies performed by the\nmen whose totem is the \"witchetty grub,\" a creature much prized as an\narticle of diet by the natives.\n\n\"The men of the witchetty-grub totem repair to a shallow cave in a\nravine where lies a large block of quartzite, surrounded by some small\nrounded stones. The large block represents the full-grown grub; the\nsmall stones stand for the eggs. On reaching the cave the head man of\nthe totem group begins to sing, while he taps the large block with a\nwooden trough, such as is used for scooping the earth out of burrows.\nAll the other men at the same time tap it with twigs of a particular\ngum tree, chanting the while. The burden of their song is an\ninvitation to the insect to go and lay eggs. Next, the leader takes up\none of the smaller stones, representing an egg, and strikes each man\nin the stomach with it, saying, 'You have eaten much food,' after\nwhich he butts at the man's stomach with his forehead.... Ceremonies\nof the same sort are performed at ten different places. When the round\nhas been completed the party returns home. Here, at some distance from\nthe camp, a long structure of boughs has been got ready; it is\ndesigned to represent the chrysalis from which the full-grown insect\nemerges. Into this structure the men, each with the sacred design of\nthe totem painted in red ochre and pipe clay on his body, enter and\nsing of the grub in the various stages of its development. After\nchanting thus for a while they shuffle out of the mock chrysalis one\nby one, with a gliding motion, singing all the time about the\nemergence of the real insect out of the real chrysalis, of which\ntheir own performance is clearly an imitation.\"\n\nThe Emu men have their own ceremonies, equally elaborate and quite as\nwell adapted to promote the multiplication of emus as those of the\nwitchetty-grub men to produce an abundance of witchetty grubs. The\nearnestness which is thrown into these ceremonies is beyond all\nquestion; and it seems to be clear that each totemic group in turn\ntakes up its own burden of social responsibility: each has its duty to\nthe tribe as a whole, and performs it to the best of its ability.\nThrough their united efforts, as they firmly believe, the various\nprocesses of Nature are maintained in satisfactory activity; the\nsucculent grub comes forth in due season and in reasonable quantity;\nthe emu, the kangaroo, the bandicoot, and other useful animals keep up\ntheir numbers and continue to furnish food for the community; the\nhakea flower and the manna of the mulga tree grow in normal abundance;\nthe winds blow; the streams flow; the clouds yield rain and the sun\ngoes on shining by day and the stars by night, with, on the whole, an\nadmirable regularity. A more satisfactory system it would really be\ndifficult to conceive. How absurd, not to say profane, it would be for\nany one to suggest that ceremonies which were so abundantly justified\nby results might without danger be omitted! Skepticism is indeed very\nmuch out of place in certain stages of human development.\n\nThe interesting feature, however, as Mr. Frazer holds, in the\ndescriptions given by the two Australian writers we have named is the\nproof they afford that totemism, instead of being an irrational,\nunexplainable aberration of the nascent intellect of man, was really a\nscheme for securing the greatest possible multiplicity of benefits for\nthe savage community. The whole tribe was divided into groups, and\neach group undertook to look after some function of Nature and keep it\nup to the mark. Here was a notable step in the direction of division\nof labor. How it came about that the particular animal or plant which\nwas the totem of a group became wholly or partially _taboo_ to the\ngroup is not very easily explained; but it seems not impossible that\nsome sense of tribal duty, gradually developed, kept those who were\ncredited with providing any particular food element from being\nthemselves greedy consumers of it. So far as that article was\nconcerned they may have felt themselves as sustaining somewhat the\ncharacter of hosts or entertainers of the tribe, and it may thus have\nbecome the custom that they should either not partake at all of that\nspecial thing, or partake of it only sparingly. If so, we find the\nfoundations already laid both of politeness and of morality. It is an\ninteresting question how far the notions which have been described\nhave died out of modern civilized society. That they are wholly\nextinct it would be rash to affirm. There are many traces, indeed, of\nthe surviving influence of symbolism, and here and there lingering\ntendencies toward a belief in magic are easily discoverable. Perhaps\nthe wisest of us may learn to understand ourselves a little better by\nstudying the operations of the human mind in its very earliest stages,\nbefore reason had yet shaken itself free from the random suggestions\nof sense.\n\n\n_THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY AND SCIENCE._\n\nApropos of the recent notable issue, by the Boston Public Library, of\na comprehensive Bibliography of the Anthropology and Ethnology of\nEurope, to accompany Professor Ripley's Races of Europe, the twofold\nand diversely opposed interests of a great institution of this sort\nare called to mind. On the one hand are its manifold obligations to\nthe great mass of the public, to the average reader, to the\nubiquitous novel and fiction consumer, to private clubs, and to school\nchildren. A field of activity and value in popular education is\ninvolved, scarcely secondary to that of the public schools, appealing\nto the general reader, the taxpayer, and, above all, to the\nwell-wisher for democratic political institutions and representative\ngovernment in the future. In stimulating work of this character in\nBoston, in bringing the Public Library into deserved prominence among\nthe educational institutions of the community, Mr. Herbert Putnam\nachieved great and deserved success during his administration, winning\ncommendation upon all sides.\n\nThe second aspect of public library duty is revealed by the recent\nundertaking at Boston above mentioned. It concerns the relations of\ngreat libraries to science, to original research, not to the average\nreader, but to the specialist. Instead of the purchase of twenty\ncopies of David Harum, or perhaps of A Bloodthirsty and Self-laudatory\nHistory of the Recent Spanish War, by One who killed fifty men with\nhis own hand, to meet a sudden demand on the part of readers, the\nexpenditure of perhaps an equal sum of money for some rare and costly\nwork in a foreign language, intelligible to but half a hundred men in\nthe entire city, is involved. Such obligations do not of course rest\nupon libraries of secondary size and importance. Their path of duty is\nclearly marked out for them in the interests of the public, both on\nthe score of financial ability and of demand as well. With the leading\nlibraries of the country the case is different. Our universities are\nfast taking rank with the very best in Europe. Specialists in science\nand technology, the peers of those abroad, are plentiful on every\nhand. Oftentimes their private means are as limited as their\nappreciation and ambition are great. Without these rare books--the\ntools of their trade--they are powerless. In former days they were\ndenied the opportunity for research, or else were obliged to spend\nmonths of study in Europe. We have the men and the minds here in\nAmerica now; there is every indication that the books and apparatus\nare speedily becoming available as well.\n\nThis Bibliography of the Boston Public Library is a case in point. A\ncollection of works relating to the physical history, the origins,\nmigrations, and languages of the peoples of Europe is indicated upon\nits shelves, in all probability, we venture to predict, superior to\nany single one existing in Europe. This startling statement is based\nupon several considerations familiar to any specialist. Scientific\nbook materials are of two classes. The first are the expensive and\ncompendious volumes, generally to be found in great libraries,\nalthough oftentimes the paucity of their scientific collections is\nvery surprising, especially in all that concerns the newer sciences of\nbiology, anthropology, and the like. The second order of publications,\noften rarer and scientifically more valuable than the first, are the\nscattered monographs or pamphlets published in all manner of forms and\nby societies, oftentimes ephemeral and of all degrees of eminence.\nThis second class of materials is generally richly represented in the\ncollections of the various scientific societies, especially in the\nform of reprints presented by the authors. But the great and expensive\ntomes are seldom thus presented, and the societies can seldom afford\nto purchase them. Thus it comes about that these two classes of raw\nmaterials have to be separately hunted down, being rarely found\ntogether. For example, the library of the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 d'Anthropologie at\nParis, judging by its printed catalogues, while abounding in\nscattered monographs and reprints, contains very few of the expensive\nvolumes. One must seek these, and if they be in English or German,\nvery likely in vain, in the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale.\n\nThe Public Library of the city of Boston has apparently tried an\nexperiment in this direction, and is certainly to be congratulated\nupon the result. To a very rich collection of standard works has been\nadded, by co-operation with a special investigator, a large part of\nthe _flotsam_ and _jetsam_ which is of such extreme value to the\nstudent of original sources. The library has set a worthy example of\nencouragement to research; it has offered definite proof of the\nability of our American institutions to rival their European\ncontemporaries. And a peculiarly appropriate rounding-out to the\nsuccessful career in the distinctively popular phases of\nadministration of the institution of the late librarian, Mr. Herbert\nPutnam, is afforded in this work, the last at Boston officially,\nperhaps, to bear his signature and the stamp of his approval.\n\n\n_OUR RACE TROUBLES._\n\nThe article which we publish in the present number of the Monthly,\nunder the title of The Race Problem in the United States, is a sequel\nto one which appeared in the May number entitled The Negro Question.\nBoth writers have a special acquaintance with the subject, and are\nwidely known as active workers for the elevation of the negro\nrace--Mr. Booker T. Washington, the writer of the second article,\nbeing himself one of its most distinguished representatives. While\nboth manifest abundant sympathy with the negro, and a deep sense of\nthe pressing nature of the problems to which the presence of a large\nnegro element in the population of certain of our States gives rise,\nthey virtually acknowledge that it is extremely difficult in\ndiscussing the subject to do more than present a few broad general\nviews. That there is a very bad condition of things in some of our\nSouthern States no one will dispute. The crimes which have been\ncommitted by white men, in avenging real or supposed crimes committed\nby black men, stamp a character of utter savagery on the communities\nin which they have occurred, and in which they have remained\nunpunished. At the same time there is no doubt that the existence of\nso large a negro element in the South constitutes a serious obstacle\nto the moral and intellectual as well as to the economic development\nof that part of the country, and tends to keep alive a dangerous\ncondition of public feeling. Our contributor, Dr. Curry, states\nsignificantly that he could give very impressive details on this\npoint, were it not that it would furnish altogether too unpleasant\nreading.\n\nWhat are we going to do about it? No doubt we have before us an\nillustration of the old adage, \"The fathers have eaten sour grapes,\nand the children's teeth are set on edge.\" The South had its \"peculiar\ninstitution\" for some generations, and held to it with extraordinary\ntenacity--went to war rather than give it up. Now, by the simple force\nof events, the old patriarchal and slaveholding system is broken up,\nand there the former slaves and their descendants are--emancipated\ncitizens who have their rights under the Constitution, and who\ntherefore have to be reckoned with. They can not be deported against\ntheir will; they have the same right to live in the country that any\nwhite man has.\n\nManifestly there is but one honorable way of dealing with the blacks,\nand that is to treat them with absolute justice. Upon this point we\nare in entire agreement with Mr. Booker T. Washington. If a black man\nis excluded from the suffrage on account of his ignorance, let the\nequally ignorant white man be equally excluded. We have great faith in\nthe educative effect of justice, and a firm administration of law. It\nwould at once raise the self-respect of the negro to know that what\nwas law for the white man was law for him, and _vice versa_; and\nself-respect is a sure ground for further advance. In the matter of\neducation, we hold that education for the colored race should be\nalmost wholly of a practical kind. We go further, and say that the\neducation given to white children everywhere might with great\nadvantage be much more practical than it is. The proper education for\nany individual is that which will tend to make him more efficient,\nsuccessful, and self-sufficing in the position which he is called to\noccupy. This principle, far from implying a stationary condition of\nthe individual, is precisely the one which provides best for his\nadvancement. It is the man who is thoroughly competent for the work he\nhas at any given moment to do who passes beyond that work to something\nbetter. The misery of existing systems of education is that to so\nlarge extent they educate for a hypothetical position beyond that for\nwhich an immediate preparation is necessary. The result is that the\nschools unload upon the community year by year a levy of adventurous\nyouths who at once begin to live by their wits in no very creditable\nsense, and who constitute a distinct menace to the stability of\nsociety.\n\nWe would therefore urge most earnestly upon all who take an interest\nin the education of the colored race to keep in view above all things\nthe importance and necessity of fitting the negro to take an active\npart in the practical industries of the country, and above all in\nagriculture. An education directed mainly to this end would do far\nmore to develop his intelligence than one of a more abstract and\nambitious character and would furnish a far better foundation for\nsuccess in life. Far from tying the negro down to manual occupations,\nit would prepare the way for his eventual participation in all\noccupations. But occupation for occupation, where is there one that\ncan reasonably be rated higher than the intelligent and successful\ncultivation of the soil? If the negro problem can not be solved by\ncommon sense and common honesty it can not be solved at all. Before\ngiving it up as insoluble we should make full proof of these homely\nspecifics. We have long been proclaiming that the negro is a man and a\nbrother; let us therefore treat him as such, and if we find out\nanything that is particularly good for his moral and intellectual\nimprovement, let us try a little of it ourselves. It surely will not\ndo us any harm.\n\n\n\n\nScientific Literature.\n\n\nSPECIAL BOOKS.\n\n_The Lesson of Popular Government_[12] is a fruit of thirty years'\nstudy, by Mr. _Bradford_, of certain peculiarities in the political\nworkings of our institutions. The book is not for those who consider\nit patriotic to shut their eyes to whatever is going wrong, but for\nthose whose regard for the Federal Constitution and the organization\nof our governments is only increased by the consciousness of the\nstrain to which they are exposed, and who feel strongly that while the\nprinciples of the Government and the character of the people \"are\nstill sound and reliable, some modifications and readjustments of the\nmachinery must take place, unless we are to drift through practical\nanarchy and increasing corruption to military despotism.\" For the sake\nof putting the subject in a clearer light, the three more prominent\napproaches to democratic government in modern times--those of England,\nFrance, and the United States--are studied comparatively in the former\npart of the work. The carrying on of governments in accordance with\nthe expressed wish of the people is spoken of in the beginning as the\nappearance of a new force which has changed the whole face of society,\nand points to still greater changes in the future. How it has worked\nin the three countries in which it has been in operation for a little\nmore than a century, and what it has done, are the questions which the\nauthor undertakes to answer. In England, popular government has taken\nthe form, with a powerless hereditary sovereign commanding universal\nloyalty, of a ministry responsible to a Parliament, which is directly\nresponsible to the people. In France, the executive is controlled by a\nlegislative body chosen by universal suffrage, the majority of which\nis held together by party discipline. The virtue of this government is\nundergoing a supreme test in the Dreyfus case, the right issue of\nwhich would show a greater proportional advance in true liberty and\nthe justification of popular government than has taken place in any\nother nation. In the United States, power is passing more and more\ninto Congress, a body chosen separately from the President, whose\nmembers are actuated by personal, local, and partisan motives, and\nrarely rise to the conception of broad national views or look further\nthan to the immediate present, while the nation at large and the\nExecutive are without representation such as insures the co-operation\nof the ministry and Parliament in England. In all other respects than\nappointments to office, which must be made \"in strict subordination to\nthe demands of members of his party in both Houses of Congress,\" the\nrecognized power of the Executive is confined within very narrow\nlimits. In matters of legislation he has no voice whatever beyond\ngeneral recommendations, such as are open to any citizen, and to which\nCongress pays little or no attention. In fact, that body resents\nanything like an expression of opinion from the President. The system\nis not encouraging to the filling of the office by men of the first\nrank, and men of that rank seldom reach it. The House of\nRepresentatives, meeting every two years a new body, suffers from its\nentire want of coherency and the absence of a qualified leader, and\nfalls an easy prey to the lobbyist and the boss. So, while \"there are\nstill many, perhaps the majority, of men of good character in public\nlife, the tendency is steadily downward.\" It has been customary in\nsome quarters to charge the evils we suffer upon universal suffrage,\nbut Mr. Bradford maintains that it is this which to-day is keeping up\nthe character of the Government, and that but for the restraints\nimposed by it our political condition would be a great deal worse than\nit is. Further light is sought upon the situation, and further\npictures are given of the conditions existing in comprehensive reviews\nof the State and municipal governments of the country. In considering\nproposed remedies the referendum is dismissed as tending to destroy\npersonality and diffuse responsibility even more than is done now--the\nreverse of the concentration of executive power as the only really\nindispensable part of the Government, which should be sought. The\nenforcement of this principle of executive supremacy with immediate\nresponsibility is the purpose of the book. Mr. Bradford would obtain\nthis by giving the representatives of the administrative departments\nseats in the House, with power to suggest legislation, make\nexplanations, and participate in debate. His final argument is that it\ncan not be charged that democracy is a failure; but, \"with a wholly\nnew force introduced into the world, the proper machinery for its\napplication has not yet been employed. In its nature it is reasonable,\nsound, and, on the whole, beneficent.\" Using the words of an English\nwriter, \"the failures of government in the United States are not the\nresult of democracy, but of the craftiest combination of schemes to\ndefeat the will of democracy ever devised in the world.\"\n\n    [Footnote 12: The Lesson of Popular Government. By Gamaliel\n    Bradford. New York: The Macmillan Company. Two volumes. Pp. 520\n    and 590. Price, $4.]\n\nWe have already published a fairly comprehensive review of _Richard\nSemon's In the Australian Bush_,[13] based upon the German original,\nby Prof. E. P. Evans, in the fifty-second volume of the Monthly\n(November, 1897). But little needs to be added to what Professor Evans\nhas said of the book besides announcing the appearance of the English\nedition, the translation for which was written under the author's own\nsuperintendence, and the contents of which do not differ in any\nimportant particular from the German impression. Professor Semon went\nto Australia on a special zo\u00f6logical mission, and spent two years\nthere. His purpose was the study of the wonderful Australian fauna,\nthe oviparous mammals, marsupials, and ceratodus (lungfish). These\nanimals represent forms which, with a few notable exceptions, have\nlong since become extinct in other countries, where they have to be\nstudied in such parts of their bony forms as happen to have been\npreserved in the rocks, while here they can be examined alive and in\nthe flesh--\"living fossils,\" as the author fittingly calls them, links\nbetween the present age and one of the geological periods of the past.\nHis observations on these subjects are in course of publication in a\nspecial scientific work, not quite half of which has appeared. The\npresent volume consists in the notes of travel and adventure, the\ndealing with men, the anthropological studies, and what we might call\nthe _obiter_ observations of the expedition. Almost simultaneously\nwith Professor Semon's narrative we have from the same publishers\nanother book, on _The Native Tribes of Central Australia_,[14] which\ndeals more fully, exclusively, and perhaps more expertly with the\nanthropology of a part of the Australian continent. Of the authors,\nMr. _Gillen_ has spent the greater part of the past twenty years in\nthe center of the continent, and as sub-protector of the aborigines\nhas had exceptional opportunities of coming in contact with the Arunta\ntribe; and both of them have been made fully initiated members of that\ntribe. Though both about Australia, the two books do not cover the\nsame ground. Australia is very large, and its physical conditions are\nsuch that the groups of tribes inhabiting the various regions have for\na long period of time been isolated from one another and have followed\ndifferent lines in development. Professor Semon's observations were\nmade in the Burnett district of northeastern Queensland, while those\nrecorded in the work of Spencer and Gillen were made in the very\ncenter of South Australia and of the continent. Consequently, in\nreading them we read really about different things. In addition to the\ninvestigation of various customs, such as those connected with\ninitiation and magic, special attention has been paid by Messrs.\nSpencer and Gillen to the totemic system and to matters connected with\nthe social organization of the tribes; and here again the authors\ninsist upon the differences between the groups of tribes, and that the\ncustoms of no one tribe or group can be taken as typical of Australia\ngenerally in any other sense than as broad outline. Both works deal\nwith considerable fullness with the institution of marriage among the\nAustralians, and the customs by which too close intermarriage is\nprevented. Among other subjects treated with especial fullness by\nMessrs. Spencer and Gillen are the totems, the bull-roarers, the\nIntichuma ceremonies (associated with the totems), the initiation\nceremonies, customs relative to the knocking out of teeth, traditions,\nburial and mourning, spirit individuals, medicine men and magic,\nmethods of obtaining wives, myths, clothing, weapons, implements,\ndecorative art, and names. Professor Semon formed a moderate opinion\nof the capacity of the Australians. Though coarse and heavy, their\nfaces are not bad looking and have expression. They are \"no link\nbetween monkeys and men, but human creatures through and through,\"\nthough of one of the lowest types. They have no pottery, no\nagriculture, no abstract ideas of any kind, can not count very far,\nbut are clever in learning to write, read, and draw, are experts in\nsignaling, and have their intellect and senses \"brilliantly developed\nin all directions bearing on the hunt,\" with great dexterity in the\nuse of weapons.\n\n    [Footnote 13: In the Australian Bush, and on the Coast of the\n    Coral Sea. Being the Experiences and Observations of a Naturalist\n    in Australia, New Guinea, and the Moluccas. New York: The\n    Macmillan Company. Pp. 552. Price, $6.50.]\n\n    [Footnote 14: The Native Tribes of Central Australia. By Baldwin\n    Spencer and F. J. Gillen. New York: The Macmillan Company. Pp.\n    671, with maps and plates. Price, $6.50.]\n\n\nGENERAL NOTICES.\n\nMiss _Mary H. Kingsley_ has given in her _West African Studies_[15] a\nbook marked by pungent wit and striking originality in its sketches of\nadventure and observation, and containing in the chapters devoted to\nethnology results of her personal studies. She was already known by a\nrecord of her adventures of a young Englishwoman traveling alone\nthrough some of the worst regions of West Africa, embodied in her book\nTravels in West Africa, which was published in the latter part of\n1898. The present book may be regarded, as its name implies, as the\nresult and the embodiment of the afterthoughts of that hazardous\njourney. It includes, after descriptions in which the unconventional\ndirectness of expression is much to be remarked, an account of African\ncharacteristics and a description of fishing in West Africa, chapters\nof a soberer sort on fetich, schools of fetich, witchcraft, African\nmedicine and the witch doctor, and historical and economical chapters\non Early Trade, French Discovery, Commerce, the Crown Colony System\nand some of its incidents, The Clash of Cultures, and African\nProperty. Miss Kingsley's criticisms of the present system of\nadministration being regarded as rather destructive, she endeavors to\nset forth, in a chapter entitled An Alternative Plan, \"some other way\nwherein the African colonies could be managed.\" Special attention is\ninvited by the author to two articles in the appendix to the volume by\nM. le Comte C. N. de Cardi and Mr. John Harford. We are pleased to\nnote the high appreciation which Miss Kingsley expresses of the\nanthropological work concerning west-coast tribes of our former\ncontributor, Colonel A. B. Ellis--Sir A. B. Ellis when he died.\n\n    [Footnote 15: West African Studies. By Mary H. Kingsley. New York:\n    The Macmillan Company. Pp. 633, with Map. Price, $5.]\n\nMr. _Frederick Palmer's In the Klondyke_[16] is an unpretentious book\nand free from the appearance of sensationalism, but gives a clear and\ngraphic account of the region and its ways and of the getting there at\nthe breaking up of winter. The author was at Dyea late in February,\nhaving intended to go with a Government relief expedition which had\nfound no occasion to proceed farther. Being thus left out, he\nundertook, with dogs and sledges and two companions who proved\ncongenial, the \"untried journey\" of six hundred miles over the ice\nfields of the Lewes Lakes and the ice packs of the Yukon River, which\nhad been the contemplated route of the expedition. The start was made\nabout the 18th of March, with little time to spare, because the Yukon\nwas expected to become impassable by the 20th of April. The Chilkoot\nPass was achieved in a day, and the rest of the journey was made\n\"downhill with the current of the river at the rate of eight inches to\nthe mile,\" in weather that became very variable, with now hard\nfreezing and now slush in the middle of the day. The difficulties of\nthe journey must have been formidable, with considerable suffering,\nbesides a week in a hut with the measles, but no complaint further\nthan the mention of the incidents appears in the author's story. On\nsome of the days the thermometer ranged from 10\u00b0 to 20\u00b0 below zero at\ntwo o'clock in the morning, to 80\u00b0 above at night, and the author \"had\none ear blistered by the frost and the other by the sun in the same\nday.\" The party arrived at Dawson just four days before the final\nbreak-up of the ice in the river. Accounts corresponding in temper and\nvividness with that of the journey are given of Dawson, the miners and\nmining, the history of the Klondyke mining enterprise, Klondyke types\nof character and adventure, the toils and trials and profit and losses\nof the \"Pilgrims,\" the workings of the Government, and the return home\nto civilization--which does not appear, after all, to have offered\ntranscendentally superior attractions to those who had experienced the\npleasure of adventure.\n\n    [Footnote 16: In the Klondyke, including an Account of a Winter's\n    Journey to Dawson. By Frederick Palmer. New York: Charles\n    Scribner's Sons. Pp. 218, with plates. Price, $1.50.]\n\nThe _History of Physics in its Elementary Branches_[17] has been\nprepared by Professor _Cajori_ in the belief that some attention to\nthe history of a science helps to make it attractive, and that the\ngeneral view of the development of the human intellect gained in\nreading a history on the subject is in itself stimulating and\nliberalizing. The author has had in mind Professor Ostwald's\ncharacterization of the absence of the historical sense and the want\nof knowledge of the great researches upon which the edifice of science\nrests as a defect in the present method of teaching. The subject is\ntreated by periods. In ancient times the Greeks, while displaying\nwonderful creative genius in metaphysics, literature, and art, being\nignorant of the method of experimentation, achieved relatively little\nin natural science. The Roman scientific writers were contented to\ncollect the researches of Greek professors. Except in a few instances\nthe Arabs did not distinguish themselves in original research. Writers\nin the middle ages were only commentators, and knew nothing of\npersonal investigation. The physicist of the renascence abandoned\nscholastic speculation and began to study Nature in the language of\nexperiment. The seventeenth century was a period of great experimental\nas well as theoretical activity. In the eighteenth century speculation\nwas less effectively restrained and guided by experiments. The\nnineteenth century \"has overthrown the leading theories of the\nprevious one hundred years, and has largely built anew on the older\nfoundations laid during the seventeenth century.\" The evolution of\nphysical laboratories, first for teachers and then for students, is\nthe subject of the last chapter.\n\n    [Footnote 17: A History of Physics in its Elementary Branches,\n    including the Evolution of Physical Laboratories. By Florian\n    Cajori. New York: The Macmillan Company. Pp. 322. Price, $1.60.]\n\n\"The Great Commanders Series\" of D. Appleton and Company is enriched\nby a biography of _General Sherman_,[18] whom the author, General\n_Manning F. Force_, styles \"the most picturesque figure in our civil\nwar.\" He was more than this; he was its scholar and statesman--a man\ndistinguished by the possession of high military combined with the\nbest civil qualities. Further, as General Force well says, \"his\ncharacter was absolutely pure and spotless.\" In his dealings with the\nVigilance Committee in San Francisco he assumed a position which it\nrequired courage of a much higher order than a soldier's to maintain.\nWhile comfortably situated as an honored professor in the State\nMilitary Academy of Louisiana when the Legislature passed the\nOrdinance of Secession, he had no hesitation in deciding what to do.\nHe at once gave in his resignation in a letter that is a model of\nmanliness, declaring his preference \"to maintain allegiance to the\nConstitution of the United States as long as a fragment of it\nsurvives.\" His career as a general in the civil war is described at\nlength. Through it all his foresight, seeking always to accomplish the\nmost with the least expenditure and ultimate suffering, to which his\nstrategy was adapted, is conspicuous. At this time and afterward his\nsupreme thought appears to have been as to what would best conduce to\nthe permanent good of the republic. To his military ability and\nself-effacing patriotism he added a far-seeing wisdom in council that\ncould always be relied upon. \"In his most unguarded words his\nprinciple was always clear, noble, and intensely patriotic, and his\ncareless colloquial expressions often covered a practical wisdom and\ninsight of a most striking kind.\"\n\n    [Footnote 18: General Sherman. By General Manning F. Force. New\n    York: D. Appleton and Company. Pp. 353.]\n\nIn preparing their _Text-Book of Algebra_[19] the authors, assuming\nthat mental discipline is of the first importance to every student of\nmathematics, have endeavored to present the elements of the science in\na clear and logical form, while yet keeping the needs of beginners\nconstantly in mind. Special attention is given to making clear the\nreason for every step taken; each principle is first illustrated by\nparticular examples, and then rules and suggestions for performing the\noperation are laid down. The authors have endeavored to avoid apparent\nconciseness at the expense of clearness and accuracy, and have thereby\nmade their volume somewhat larger than ordinary text-books. Features\nto which attention is called are the development of the fundamental\noperations with algebraic numbers and the concrete illustrations of\nthese operations; the use of type forms in multiplication and division\nand in factoring; the application of factoring to the solution of\nequations; the solutions of equations based upon equivalent equations\nand equivalent systems of equations; the treatment of irrational\nequations; the discussions of general problems and the interpretation\nof positive, negative, zero, intermediate, and infinite solutions of\nproblems; the treatment of inequalities and their applications; the\noutline of a discussion of irrational numbers; a brief introduction to\nimaginary and complex numbers; and the great number of graded examples\nand problems.\n\n    [Footnote 19: Text-Book of Algebra, with Exercises for Secondary\n    Schools and Colleges. By George Egbert Fisher and Isaac J.\n    Schwatt. Part I. Philadelphia: Fisher & Schwatt. Pp. 683. Price,\n    $1.25.]\n\nThe material of the _Primary Arithmetic_, Number Studies for the\nSecond, Third, and Fourth Grades, of _A. R. Hornbrook_ (American Book\nCompany), has been chosen with careful reference to the development of\nthe number sense of little children, as noticed by the author and as\nreported by many other observers. A distinctive feature of the work is\nthe use of diagrams called \"number tables,\" as a concrete basis for\nthe child's thinking while he is getting his first ideas of the facts\nof the addition and multiplication tables. In them the numbers up to\none hundred are presented in columns of tens, and so handled as to\nexhibit to the child's conception the relations of the several digits.\nBy their use he first learns the properties of ten, then of two, and\nso on of the others--not presented in regular order, but with a view\nof exhibiting special properties--and their relations to one another.\nThe method is ingenious and appears useful.\n\nThe study on _Rhode Island and the Formation of the Union_, of the\nColumbia University Series in History, Economics, and Public Law (The\nMacmillan Company, New York), was undertaken by Mr. _Frank Greene\nBates_ in order to ascertain why Rhode Island so long delayed its\nratification of the Federal Constitution. The delay seems to have been\nlargely a matter of the assertion of State rights, in which Rhode\nIsland appears at that time to have been but little, if any, behind\nSouth Carolina. Liberty \"was the presiding genius of the spiritual\nlife of the colony, and the principle of freedom of conscience was\nnever lost sight of; and this could not otherwise than heighten the\nother characteristics of the colony--individualism.\" The course\npursued was the natural outcome of the conditions of the times, the\n\"outcropping of the undying love of the people of the State for\ndemocracy and liberty, and their jealousy of all authority outside\ntheir own boundaries.\"\n\n\"No book up to recent date,\" says the author of _Pantheism, the Light\nand Hope of Modern Reason_, who signs his name _C. Amryc_, and gives\nno publisher's name, \"has treated pantheism as consistently as it\ndeserves to be treated\"; and he adds that \"it is no creed; it is a\nlogic; it makes absolutely no demand upon 'belief'; what is not\nlogical is rejected, what is logical to-day is accepted, no matter\nwhether it was unlogical a thousand years ago or will be illogical a\nthousand years hence; we are only responsible for our times.\" As\npantheism, if it is a true logic, must be applicable to all races, the\nauthor has not chosen his examples from one nation or tribe; and he\nbelieves that the views he expresses are also those of nine tenths of\nwhat is called modern science. Many topics are treated of, some of\nwhich would not at first thought be associated with an exposition of\npantheism. The matter and manner of the book are various. Parts of it\nare fairly good reading; other parts strike us as different.\n\nA book on _The Principles of Agriculture_, prepared by Prof. _L. H.\nBailey_ as a text-book for schools and rural societies, is published\nas a number of the Rural Science Series of the Macmillan Company\n($1.25). In it agriculture is treated as a business, not a science,\nbut as a business which is aided at every point by a knowledge of\nscience. \"It is on the science side that the experimenter is able to\nhelp the farmer. On the business side the farmer must rely upon\nhimself, for the person who is not a good business man can not be a\ngood farmer, however much he may know of science.\" The principle of\nthe intelligent application of knowledge is illustrated in a remark of\nthe author's about the treating of drainage. The learner is apt to\nbegin at the wrong end of his problem. In the usual method the pupil\nor reader is first instructed in methods of laying drains. \"But\ndrainage is not the unit. The real unit is texture and moisture of\nsoils--plowing, draining, green cropping, are methods of producing a\ngiven or desired result. The real subject-matter for first\nconsideration, therefore, is amelioration of soil, rather than laying\nof drains.\" Professor Bailey aims throughout this book to get at \"the\nreal subject-matter for first consideration\" in matters relating to\nsoils, the plant and crops, and the animals and stock.\n\n_Ideals and Programmes_ (C. W. Bardeen, Syracuse, N. Y., 75 cents) is\na collection of thoughtful and suggestive essays, by _Jean L. Gourdy_,\non the practical side of school life and the teaching of children. The\nauthor's ideal seems to be that the teacher should have a plan for her\nwork, preparing for it so as to have the whole course marked out on\ngeneral lines for the entire school year. Thus, her occupation should\nbe to qualify herself for doing the work right. These statements of\ngeneral principles are followed by essays on reading and plans for\nteaching, correlation as \"the headstone of the corner of successful\nteaching, geography, sand modeling, field lessons, kindergarten\ntraining, and discipline.\" The burden of the whole is by skillful\nadaptation to get the best possible out of every lesson, in which a\nliberal use of field work assists greatly, and above all to avoid the\nstiff, formal, juiceless lessons of the old style of teaching.\n\nThere have been several biographies of Faraday, most of them now out\nof print; but the life, work, methods, character, and aims of the\nman--who was \"beyond all question the greatest scientific expositor of\nhis time\"--can not be kept too constantly or too long before the minds\nof students. Welcome, therefore, is the easily accessible and\nconvenient volume _Michael Faraday: His Life and Work_, which has been\nprepared by Prof. _Sylvanus P. Thompson_, and is published by the\nMacmillan Company in their Century Science Series ($1.25). The work by\nwhich Faraday contributed so much to the advancement of knowledge is\nmade prominent, and is illustrated largely, due regard being had to\nthe limitations of the size of the book, with citations from his own\njournal and copies of his drawings.\n\nIn _American Indians_, a book second in order but first in date of\npublication of a series of \"Ethno-Geographic Readers\" (D. C. Heath &\nCo., Boston), Prof. _Frederick Starr_ has succeeded in conveying a\nlarge amount of information about our aborigines in a very small\nspace, and has done it in a clear style and a very satisfactory\nmanner. The book is intended as a reading book for boys and girls in\nschool, to whose tastes and capacity it seems well adapted; but the\nauthor will be pleased if it also interests older readers, and hopes\nit may enlarge their sympathy with our native Americans. Besides the\naccounts of the tribal divisions, general customs, manner of life,\nhouses, and institutions--which when they are counted up are found to\nbe quite numerous--it has articles on the sign language, medicine men\nand secret societies, the mounds and their builders, George Catlin and\nhis work, the cliff-dwellings and ruins of the Southwest, the tribes\nof the Northwest coast, matters of religious and mythological\nsignificance, the Aztecs, the Mayas, and the ruined cities of Yucatan\nand Central America.\n\nThe revision, for the fifth edition, of _H. Newell Martin's The Human\nBody_ (Henry Holt & Co., New York, $1.20) was undertaken by Prof.\n_George Wills Fitz_ with the idea of bringing the book into accord\nwith the late developments of physiology, of simplifying the treatment\nof some parts while expanding that of others, and of giving additional\nillustrations. Every effort has been made to avoid injuring those\nfeatures of the author's work which have contributed to making the\nbook so favorably known. The changes in the first nine chapters are\nlargely verbal; but considerable alterations and additions have been\nmade in some of the succeeding chapters. The directions for\ndemonstrations and experiments have been greatly enlarged and\ncollected into an appendix. They include the new requirements in\nanatomy, physiology, and hygiene for admission to Harvard College and\nthe Lawrence Scientific School.\n\nWe have already noticed some of _Lucy S. W. Wilson's_ excellent\nManuals on Nature Study, particularly the one intended for the\nguidance of teachers. We now have in the same line the _First Reader_\nof a series on _Nature Study in Elementary Schools_ (New York: The\nMacmillan Company, 35 cents), a book composed of original matter and\nselections which has been prepared \"with the desire of putting into\nthe hands of little children literature which shall have for their\nminds the same interest and value that really good books have for\ngrown-up people.\" But the author does not expect to accomplish this by\nmerely giving the book to the child and leaving the reading to work\nout its own effect. Each of the lessons is intended to be preceded by\na Nature lesson. During or after the reading a lesson should be given\nin the new words introduced, and afterward the lessons should be\ngrasped for the sake of thought. The lessons, which have appropriate\nillustrations from Nature, present some novel features. Among them is\nan apparent intention in the original compositions to follow the\nchild's method of thought.\n\n_The American Elementary Arithmetic_ (American Book Company) is\nintended by the author, Prof. _M. A. Bailey_, to cover the first five\nyears' work (beginning apparently very young) in the study, and is the\nfirst of a two-book series. It is divided into two parts--for the\nprimary and for the three succeeding grades. It contemplates the use\nof apparatus, consisting of paper, pasteboard, toy money, blocks, and\nsplints. The attempt is made to give every subject twice: first in\npictures, and second in the particular form of printed words.\nMathematical conceptions are presented in the first chapter in the\norder in which they are supposed to arise in the child's\nconsciousness--first, once or more, indefinitely; next, how many, by\nholding up fingers, laying down sticks, etc.; and then by words, and\nso on--all introductory work designed to develop step by step a\nmathematical vocabulary, and to form a habit of clear mathematical\nthinking. The laboratory plan is followed in the succeeding chapters.\n\nIn the _Language Lessons_ of _J. G. Park_ (American Book Company) an\narrangement of the matter is aimed at which will draw upon the student\nfor such effort as may be expected at a given stage of advancement,\nwhich will cause him to think first and then to express his thought\nwith clearness and precision. In the succeeding parts are given\nexercises on language work, with special drills upon capitalization\nand punctuation, inductive lessons in grammar, and, finally, lessons\nso graded that a student may advance very readily from them into the\nhigher work of grammar. The study is facilitated by the use of\nstriking illustrations as the basis of lessons.\n\nThe _Semi-annual Report of Schimmel and Company_ (Leipsic and New\nYork), though primarily a business document, furnishes much\ninformation about the industries in essential oils and fine chemicals,\nand concerning progress in the departments of chemical science\nrelating to these. The report for October, 1898, speaks of much\nresearch and many valuable studies as having been carried on during\nthe preceding six months in the domain of the essential oils and their\nconstitution, and of ample material for scientific reports as having\nbeen gathered.\n\n\nPUBLICATIONS RECEIVED.\n\nAgricultural Experiment Stations. Bulletins and Reports. Connecticut:\nNo. 128. Commercial Feeding Stuffs. Pp. 12; No. 129. Inspection and\nCare of Nursery Stock. By W. E. Britton. Pp. 10. Twenty-second Annual\nReport, Part II, Food Products. Pp. 120.--Cornell University: No. 165.\nRopiness in Milk and Cream. By A. R. Ward. Pp. 16; No. 166. Sugar-Beet\nInvestigations for 1898. Pp. 50; No. 167. The Construction of the\nStave Silo. By L. A. Clinton. Pp. 16.--Hatch Station, Massachusetts\nAgricultural College: No. 61. Asparagus Rust. By G. E. Stone and R. E.\nSmith. Pp. 20.--Iowa Agricultural College: No. 40. Relation of Acid\nFermentation to Butter Flavor and Aroma. Pp. 12; No. 41. New Orchard\nFruits and Shrubs. Pp. 64; No. 42. Weeds and Potato Scab. Pp. 12.--New\nHampshire Agricultural College: No. 63. Third Potato Report. By F.\nWilliam Ranes. Pp. 32; No. 64. The Forest Tent Caterpillar. By\nClarence M. Weed. Pp. 24.--New Jersey: No. 136. Field Experiments with\nNitrogenous Fertilizers. By E. B. Voorhees. Pp. 32.--New York: No. 149\n(popular edition). Will Poultry thrive on Grain Alone? By F. H. Hall\nand W. P. Wheeler. Pp. 7; No. 151 (popular edition). How Ringing\naffects Grapes. By F. H. Hall and Wendell Paddock. Pp. 4; No. 152\n(popular edition). Two Apple Pests and how to check them. By F. H.\nHall and V. H. Lane. Pp. 8; No. 153. Director's Report for 1898. By W.\nH. Jordan. Pp. 36; No. 154 (popular edition). Profitable Potato\nFertilizing. By F. H. Hall and W. H. Jordan. Pp. 2; No. 155 (popular\nedition). Sugar-Beet Success for the Season. By F. H. Hull and L. L.\nVan Slyke. Pp. 8.--Ohio: No. 100. The Home Mixing of Fertilizers. By\nC. R. Thorne. Pp. 40; No 101. Oats. By J. F. Hickman. Pp. 24; No. 102.\nTreatment for Insect Pests and Plant Diseases, etc. By W. J. Green and\nothers. Sheet; No. 103. The San Jos\u00e9 Scale Problem. By F. M. Webster.\nPp. 24. Newspaper Bulletin No. 192. Bovine Tuberculosis. Pp.\n2.--Purdue University: No. 75. The Sugar Beet. By H. A. Husten and A.\nH. Bryan. Pp. 20; No. 76. Skim Milk for Young Chickens. By W. B.\nAnderson. Pp. 8; No. 77. Field Experiments with Corn. By W. C. Latta\nand W. B. Anderson. Pp. 160.--University of Illinois. Eleventh Annual\nReport. Pp. 16; No. 84. Spraying Apple Trees. By J. C. Blair. Pp.\n36.--United States Department of Agriculture. Natural History of the\nMarias Islands, Mexico. By E. W. Nelson. Pp. 96.--West Virginia.\nNursery Hints. By L. C. Corbett. Pp. 24.\n\nBarber, Edwin Atlee. Anglo-American Pottery, Old English China with\nAmerican Views. Indianapolis, Ind.: Press of the Clay Worker. Pp. 175.\n\nBarrett, John. The Philippine Islands and America's Interests in the\nFar East. Hong-Kong. Pp. 65.\n\nBinet, Alfred. The Psychology of Reasoning. Based on Experimental\nResearches In Hypnotism. Chicago: Open Court Publishing Company. Pp.\n191. 75 cents.\n\nBridges and Framed Structures. Monthly. Vol. 1, No. 2. May, 1899.\nChicago: The D. H. Ranck Publishing Company. Pp. 92, with plates. 30\ncents.\n\nBrooks, William Keith. The Foundations of Zo\u00f6logy. New York: The\nMacmillan Company. Pp. 339. $2.50.\n\nBullen, Frank T. Idylls of the Sea. With an Introduction by J. St. Loe\nStrachey. New York: D. Appleton and Company. Pp. 286. $1.25.\n\nBulletins, Reports, Transactions, etc. American Society of Civil\nEngineers: Proceedings. Vol. XXV. No. 4. Pp. 150.--British Columbia,\nProvince of: Annual Report of the Minister of Mines to December 31,\n1898. Pp. 280, with maps.--Chicago Manual Training School (University\nof Chicago): Catalogue, 1898-'99. Pp. 20.--City of Seattle, County of\nKing, State of Washington: Report of the Chamber of Commerce. Pp.\n33.--City Library Association, Springfield, Mass.: Bibliography of\nGeographical Instruction. By W. S. Monroe. Pp. 8.--Geographical\nSociety of Washington: Presidential Address of Arnold Hague, Minutes\nfor 1897 and 1898, etc. Pp. 48.--Massachusetts Institute of\nTechnology: Annual Report of the President and Treasurer for 1898. Pp.\n96, with plates; Annual Catalogue, 1898-'99. Pp. 347.--Michigan\nCollege of Mines: Catalogue, 1896 to 1898. Pp. 192.--New York Academy\nof Natural Sciences: Annals. Vol. XI, Part III. December 1, 1898. Pp.\n230.--Ohio State University, Department of Zo\u00f6logy and Entomology, No.\n1: The Odonata of Ohio. By David S. Kellicott. Pp. 116.--United States\nDepartment of Labor: No. 21. Pp. 188.--United States Life-Saving\nService: Annual Report of Operations to June 30, 1898. Pp. 448.--Utah,\nState of: Second Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public\nInstruction, to June 30, 1898. Pp. 317, with tables.--War Department\nof the United States: Customs Tariff and Regulations for the\nPhilippine Islands. Pp. 40.\n\nBurgess, O. O. A Question of Consciousness. San Francisco. Pp. 40.\n\nCumulative Index to a Selected List of Periodicals. Third Annual\nVolume, 1898. Cleveland, Ohio: The Helman-Taylor Company. Pp. 792.\n\nComing Age, The. A Magazine of Constructive Thought. B. O. Flower and\nMrs. C. K. Reifsnider, Editors. Boston and St. Louis. Vol. I, No. 3.\nMarch, 1899. Pp. 112. 20 cents.\n\nEidlitz, Leopold. On Light. An Analysis of the Emersions of Jupiter's\nSatellite I. New York: The Knickerbocker Press. Pp. 12.\n\nElrod, M. J. The College, Past and Present. Bloomington, Ill.: The\nUniversity Press. Pp. 26.\n\nFay, Edward Allen. Marriages of the Deaf in America. Washington, D.\nC.: The Volta Bureau. Pp. 527.\n\nGardiner, Charles A. Our Right to acquire and to hold Foreign\nTerritory. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 56.\n\nInternational Express Company, New York. Chart of Express Routes over\nthe World. Sheet.\n\nInterstate Commerce Commission. Statistics of Railways in the United\nStates to June 30, 1897. Pp. 687.\n\nJacoby, Johann. The Object of the Labor Movement. Translated by\nFlorence Kelley. New York: International Publishing Company\n(International Monthly Library). Pp. 36. 5 cents.\n\nJackson, Frederick G. A Thousand Days in the Arctic. With Preface by\nAdmiral S. F. Leopold McClintock. New York: Harper & Brothers. Pp.\n940.\n\nJordan, David Starr, with Official Associates and Special\nContributors. The Fur Seals and Fur-Seal Islands of the North Pacific\nOcean. In Two Parts. Washington: Government Printing Office. Pp. 606,\nwith plates.\n\nKr\u00fcger, F. C. Theo. A Step Forward, A Treatise on Possible Social\nReform. New York: Isaac H. Blanchard & Co. Pp. 30.\n\nLucas, Fred Alexander. The Hermit Naturalist. Trenton, N. J.: William\nHibbert. Pp. 121.\n\nMcLaughin, Andrew C. A History of the American Nation. New York: D.\nAppleton and Company. Pp. 587. $1.40.\n\nMarsh, O. C. The Dinosaurs of North America. United States Geological\nSurvey. Pp. 112, with 84 plates.\n\nMarshall, Percival. Small Accumulators, How Made and Used. New York:\nSpon and Chamberlain. Pp. 78. 50 cents.\n\nMichigan Ornithological Club, The. Bulletin of, Monthly. Vol. III, No.\n1. January, 1899. Grand Rapids, Mich. 50 cents a year.\n\nMoon, Clarence B. Certain Aboriginal Mounds on the Coast of South\nCarolina. (Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of\nPhiladelphia.) Pp. 40, with plates.\n\nMoses, Alfred J. The Characters of Crystals. An Introduction to\nPractical Crystallography. New York: D. Van Nostrand Company. Pp. 211.\n$2.\n\nMunro, John. The Story of the British Race. (Library of Useful\nStories.) New York: D. Appleton and Company. Pp. 228. 40 cents.\n\nPalmer, Frederick. In the Klondyke. Including an Account of a Winter's\nJourney to Dawson. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Pp. 218. $1.50.\n\nPorter, Robert P. Industrial Cuba, Being a Study of Present Commercial\nand Industrial Conditions, etc. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Pp.\n428. $3.50.\n\nReprints. Bolin, Jacob. On Group Contests. Pp. 14.--Coulter, John M.\nNotes on the Fertilization and Embryology of Conifers. Pp. 4, with\nplates.--Grabau, Amadeus W. Moniloperid\u00e6, A New Family of Pal\u00e6ozoic\nCorals. Pp. 16, with 4 plates.--Hunter, S. J. The Coccid\u00e6 of Kansas.\nII. Pp. 12, with 6 plates.--Oliver, Charles A. The Value of Repeated\nand Differently Placed Exposures to the Roentgen Rays in determining\nthe Location of Foreign Bodies in and about the Eyeball. Pp.\n4.--Tyson, James, M. D., Philadelphia. The Uric-Acid Diathesis from a\nClinical Standpoint. Pp. 15.--Washburn, F. L. Hermaphroditism in\nOstrea Lurida. Pp. 3.\n\nThe Sanitary Home. A Magazine devoted to Foods, Hygiene, and\nUniversity Extension Work. Monthly. Fargo, North Dakota. Pp. 24. 10\ncents. $1 a year.\n\nSchimmel & Co., Leipsic and New York. Semi-annual Report (Essential\nOils, etc.). April, 1899. Pp. 68.\n\nSmith, D. T. Philosophy of Memory, and other Essays. Louisville, Ky.:\nJohn P. Morton & Co. Pp. 203.\n\nSmithsonian Institution. Crookes, William. Diamonds. Pp. 16.--Nutting,\nJ. C. Hydroida from Alaska and Puget Sound. Pp. 12, with plates.\n\nTodd, David P. Stars and Telescopes. A Handy Book of Astronomy.\nBoston: Little, Brown & Co. Pp. 419. $2.\n\nWetterstrand, Otto Georg. Hypnotism and its Application to Practical\nMedicine. Authorized Translation. By Henrik G. Petersen. New York: G.\nP. Putnam's Sons. Pp. 166.\n\nWilkensen, H. E., Acting Secretary, and French, H. A., Acting\nSecretary. An Earnest Word to Our Friends. Portland, Oregon. (Home\nMaking there.)\n\nWoodhull, John F., and Van Arsdale, M. B. Chemical Experiments. New\nYork: Henry Holt & Co. Pp. 136.\n\n\n\n\nFragments of Science.\n\n\n=The Gypsies and their Folk Tales.=--In the introduction to his\ncollection of Gypsy Folk Tales Mr. Francis H. Groome describes the\nwide dispersion of the gypsy race as extending, in Europe, from\nFinland to Sicily, and from the shores of the Bosporus to the Atlantic\nseaboard; in Asia, from Siberia to India, and from Asia Minor\n(possibly) to China; in Africa, from Egypt and Algeria to Darf\u00far and\nKordofan; and in America, from Pictou in Canada to Rio Janeiro.\nBelieving that the gypsies, originating in India, left that region at\nan unknown date very long ago, he traces their migrations in the past\nand shows that a part of the race is still very migratory, passing,\namong other routes, between Scotland and North America, and between\nSpain and Louisiana. Another migration not mentioned in his book is\nthe annual oscillation between north and south of the North American\ngypsy colony, which is growing healthily. The author finds it at\npresent quite impossible to fix the arrival of the gypsies in\nsoutheastern Europe at a thousand years before Christ or a thousand\nyears after. If the Komodromoi of the Byzantine writers were gypsies,\nthen these people must have been a recognized and familiar element of\nthe Balkan population about as early as the latter date. Gypsies pass\nfor a very cunning people, and such they are to outsiders, so that\nRomany or gypsy guile is a very common expression. Centuries of\nsuspicion and repression have taught them to arm themselves proof\nagainst confidence in strangers; but to those who become acquainted\nwith them, as Mr. Groome professes to have done and George Borrow did,\nthey present a character of simplicity and frankness. There is, as a\ngypsy woman once said to a writer in The Athen\u00e6um, \"somethin' in the\nmind of a Gorgio that shuts the Romany's mouth and opens his eyes and\nears.\" Gypsies are active transmitters of folklore, and have rich\nfunds of stories; and many believe that the folklore stories of Europe\nare traceable to Indian sources, whence they may have been transmitted\nto Europe. Mr. Groome suggests how some of these stories may have\noriginated by telling of a gypsy girl he knew who dashed off \"what was\nalmost a folk tale impromptu.\" She had been to a picnic in a\nfour-in-hand with \"a lot of real tiptop gentry,\" and \"Reia,\" she said\nto me afterward, \"I'll tell you the comicallest thing as ever was.\nWe'd pulled up to put the brake on, and there was a _puro\nhotchiwitchi_ (old hedgehog) come and looked at us through the hedge,\nlooked at me hard. I could see he'd his eye upon me. And home he'd go,\nthat old hedgehog, to his wife, and 'Missus,' he'd say, 'what d'ye\nthink? I seen a little gypsy gal just now in a coach and four horses,'\nand 'Dabla,' she'd say, 'bless us, every one now keeps a carriage.'\"\n\n=Educational Work of an Experiment Station.=--The survey of the year's\nwork of Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station in its\nefforts to \"help the farmer\" by dealing with present-day problems\nincludes mention of its investigations, related in bulletins published\nor to be published in reference to fruits, their insect and fungoid\nenemies, vegetables, flowers, sugar beets, potatoes, fertilizers,\nbeans, the dairy, veterinary science, horticulture, and plant disease.\nMuch of the work of the station can not be published, consisting as it\ndoes of correspondence, personal advice, attending meetings, making\nrecords, or the performance of special illustrative experiments at\nfarmers' homes or in neighborhoods as object lessons. \"It is a pity,\"\nthe report says, \"that every farmer in the State can not be personally\ntouched at least once in his life by the methods and the inspiration\nof a good teacher.\" The itinerant schools which were held in the early\ndays of the extension work are regarded as being most beneficial when\nthe community has been awakened by simpler and more elementary means,\nwhile the larger part of the work can be done more economically than\nby them. Yet in particular places and cases they are of greatest\nvalue, and they are still held when suitable conditions prevail.\nSpecial dairy schools, largely of the nature of practical\ndemonstrations, were held at various places. The report lays much\nstress on the importance of beginning the educational work with the\nchildren and upon the value of Nature study. More than sixteen\nthousand school children have requested and been supplied with\ninformation on the making of gardens.\n\n=Flies as Bearers of Disease.=--In estimating the relative importance\nof flies and water supply in spreading disease, Dr. M. A. Veeder\ndistinguishes between intestinal and malarial disorders. In the former\nthe infection is a bacillus of some sort, the presence of which can be\ntraced to contamination by excretions from a diseased bowel. In the\nlatter the source of infection is peculiar to marshy or stagnant\nwater, and independent of contamination from human sources. It is the\nauthor's belief that, with relatively unimportant exceptions,\nintestinal diseases are spread almost exclusively by flies and\nmalarial diseases by water, and he supports it by citations from\nrecent army experiences. Likewise, during the recent British campaign\nin Fashoda, which was most carefully planned and took place in a\nclimate that is exceptionally dry and hygienic, there was no abatement\nof typhoid fever. In the case of an outbreak of malignant dysentery\ndescribed by the author in a previous paper, taken at its height, not\na new case occurred after measures were adopted that made conveyance\nby flies impossible, although there had been fresh ones every day for\nsome time previously. Another more recent \"lively epidemic\" of typhoid\nmentioned by the author was ended in a day by measures directed\nagainst conveyance by water. \"When flies are responsible, there are\nlittle neighborhood epidemics, extending in short leaps from house to\nhouse, without reference to water supply or anything else in common.\nBut when water is at fault the disease follows its use wherever it may\ngo.... Epidemics spread by flies tend to follow the direction of\nprevailing warm winds, as though the fly, wandering outdoors after\ncontact with the source of infection, had drifted with the wind, but\nnothing of the sort is perceptible in the case of water-borne\ndisease.\"\n\n=Pottery Making and Lead Poisoning.=--The report of Professors Thorpe\nand Oliver on the subject of the employment of compounds of lead in\nthe manufacture of pottery, especially in its relation to the health\nof the work people, has just been issued as an English blue book. It\nappears that of the total male workers in the year 1898, 4.9 per cent\nbecame \"leaded,\" while of the female workers the proportion was 12.4\nper cent. It is stated that in the last six months many successful\nattempts have been made by the manufacturers to substitute a leadless\nglaze, and there seems no doubt that glazes of sufficient brilliancy,\ncovering power, and durability are now within the reach of the\nmanufacturer. The exclusion of women from certain parts of the work,\nexcept where leadless glazes are used, is advocated, and also various\nexpedients for preventing the absorption of the lead by the skin, such\nas rubber gloves or \"dipping\" tongs. Their general conclusions are as\nfollows: \"That by far the greater amount of earthenware of the class\nalready specified can be glazed without the use of lead in any form.\nIt has been demonstrated, without the slightest doubt, that the ware\nso made is in no respects inferior to that coated with lead glaze.\nThere seems no reason, therefore, why in the manufacture of this class\nof goods the operatives should still continue to be exposed to the\nevils which the use of lead glaze entails. There are, however, certain\nbranches of the pottery industry in which it would be more difficult\nto dispense with the use of lead compounds. But there is no reason\nwhy, in these cases, the lead so employed should not be in the form of\na fritted double silicate. Such a compound, if properly made, is but\nslightly attacked by even strong hydrochloric, acetic, or lactic acid.\nThere can be little doubt that, if lead must be used, the employment\nof such a compound silicate--if its use could be insured--would\ngreatly diminish the evil of lead poisoning. The use of raw lead as an\ningredient of glazing material, or as an ingredient of colors which\nhave to be subsequently fired, should be absolutely prohibited. As it\nwould be very difficult to insure that an innocuous lead glaze shall\nbe employed, we are of opinion that young persons and women should be\nexcluded from employment as dippers, dippers' assistants, ware\ncleaners after dippers, and glost placers in factories where lead\nglaze is used, and that the adult male dippers, dippers' assistants,\nware cleaners, and glost placers should be subjected to systematic\nmedical inspection. In the 1893 report the medical members of the\ncommittee expressed the opinion that 'many old factories are wholly,\nor in part, unfit in a sanitary point of view for occupation,' and\nthey suggested that 'there should be some authority to close them, or\nwhatever part of them is condemned, on the same principle as dwellings\nare declared uninhabitable.' We share this opinion and we concur in\nthe suggestion. Certain of the factories we have inspected are in the\nlast stages of dilapidation, and it appears to us to be well-nigh\nimpossible to introduce into them such rearrangements or additions as\nare required by the amended special rules.\"\n\n=The Longevity of Animals.=--The following interesting table, showing\nthe periods of maturity and the full term of life of various animals,\nwas prepared by E. D. Bell and appeared in Nature for March 23d. The\ntable was made for the purpose of demonstrating a constant relation\n(in length) between these two periods of life, which the author\nexpresses in the following formula, in which f. t. l. = full term of\nlife, and p. m. the time required to arrive at maturity:\n\n  f. t. l. = 10.5(p. m.) / [3root](p. m.), or 10.5 \u00d7 (p. m.)^{2/3}\n\nand which seems to be fairly well borne out by the table:\n\n  ----------+-----------------------------------+----------\n            |           OBSERVATIONS.           | f. t. l.\n  ANIMAL.   |-----------------+---------+-------|   by\n            |   Authority.    |  p. m.  | f.t.l | formula.\n  ----------+-----------------+---------+-------+----------\n            |                 |Mos. Yr. |  Yrs. | Years.\n  Dormouse  | Ainslie Hollis. | 3  .25  |  4-5  |  4.167\n  Guinea-pig| Flourens.       | 7  .583 |  6-7  |  7.33\n  Loprabbit:|                 |         |       |\n    Buck    | R. O. Edwards,  |         |       |\n            |  p. m.          | 9  .75  |   8   |  8.67\n    Doe     | R. O. Edwards,  |         |       |\n            |  p. m.          | 8  .667 |   8   |  8.013\n            |                 | Years.  |       |\n  Cat       | St. G. Mivart.  |   1     |  12   | 10.5\n  Cat       | J. Jennings.    |   2     |  15   | 16.67\n  Goat      | Pegler.         |   1.25  |  12   | 12.18\n  Fox       | St. G. Mivart.  |   1.5   | 13-14 | 13.76\n  Cattle    | Ainslie Hollis. |   2     |  18   | 16.67\n  Large dogs| Dalziel, p. m.  |   2     | 15-20 | 16.67\n  Eng. thor-|                 |         |       |\n   oughbred |                 |         |       |\n   horse    | Ainslie Hollis. |   4.5   |  30   | 28.62\n  Hog       | James Long.     |   5     |  30   | 30.7\n  Hippopot- |                 |         |       |\n   amus     | Chambers's      |         |       |\n            |   Encyclop\u00e6dia. |   5     |  30   | 30.7\n  Lion      | St. G. Mivart.  |   6     | 30-40 | 34.67\n  Eng. horse|                 |         |       |\n   --hunter | Blaine.         |   6.25  |  35   | 35.63\n  Arab horse| Ainslie Hollis. |   8     |  40   | 42.00\n  Camel     | Flourens.       |   8     |  40   | 42.00\n  Man       | Buffon, f. t. l.|  25     | 90-100| 89.77\n  Elephant  | Darwin.         |  30     | 100   |101.4\n  Elephant  | C. F. Holder    |         |       |\n            |   and Indian    |         |       |\n            |   hunters.      |  35     | 120   |112.35\n  ----------+-----------------+---------+-------+----------\n\n=The Manufacture of Firecrackers in China.=--There were exported from\nChina during the year ending June 30, 1897, 26,705,733 pounds of\nfirecrackers, all from the province of Kwantung. The exports, however,\nrepresent only a small portion of the number manufactured, as the use\nof the cracker is universal all over China. They are used at weddings,\nbirths, funerals, at festivals, religious and civil, and in fact on\nall occasions out of the ordinary routine. The United States consul\ngeneral at Shanghai gives the following account of the industry: There\nare no large factories; the crackers are made in small houses and in\nthe shops where they are sold. In making them only the cheapest kind\nof straw paper is used for the body of the cracker. A little finer\npaper is used for the wrapper. A piece of straw paper, nine by thirty\ninches, will make twenty-one crackers an inch and a half long and a\nquarter inch in diameter. The powder is also of the cheapest grade,\nand is made in the locality where used. It costs about six cents per\npound. For the fuse a paper (called \"leather\" in Shanghai) is used,\nwhich is imported from Japan, and is made from the inner lining of the\nbamboo. In other places a fine rice paper is used, generally stiffened\nslightly with buckwheat-flour paste, which the Chinese say adds to its\ninflammability. A strip of this paper one third of an inch wide by\nfourteen inches (a Chinese foot) long is laid on a table, and a very\nlittle powder put down the middle of it with a hollow bamboo stick. A\nquick twist of the paper makes the fuse ready for use. The straw paper\nis first rolled by hand around an iron rod, which varies in size\naccording to the size of cracker to be made. To complete the rolling a\nrude machine is used. This consists of two uprights supporting an axis\nfrom which is suspended, by two arms, a heavy piece of wood, slightly\nconvex on the lower side. There is just room between this swinging\nblock and top of the table to place the cracker. As each layer of\npaper is put on by hand, the cracker is placed on the table and the\nsuspended weight is drawn over the roll, thus tightening it until no\nmore can be passed under the weight. For the smallest \"whip\" crackers,\nthe workman uses for compression, instead of this machine, a heavy\npiece of wood fitted with a handle like that of a carpenter's plane.\nIn filling crackers, two hundred to three hundred are tightly tied\ntogether in a bunch; red clay is spread over the end of the bunch, and\nforced into the end of each cracker with a punch. While the clay is\nbeing treated a little water is sprayed on it, which makes it pack\ncloser. The powder is poured in at the other end of the cracker. With\nthe aid of an awl the edge of the paper is turned in at the upper end\nof the cracker, and the fuse is inserted through this. The long ends\nof the fuses are braided together in such a way that the crackers lie\nin two parallel rows. The braid is doubled on itself, and a large,\nquick-firing fuse inserted, and the whole is bound with a fine thread.\nThe bundle is wrapped in paper and in this shape is sent to the\nseacoast. A variety of cracker which is very popular in China is the\n\"twice-sounding\" cracker; it has two chambers, separated by a plug of\nclay, through which runs a connecting fuse. There is also a fuse\nextending from the powder in the lower chamber through the side of the\ncracker. When the cracker is to be fired, it is set on end and fire\napplied to the fuse. The powder exploding in the chamber throws the\ncracker high in the air, where the second charge is exploded by fire\nfrom the fuse extending through the plug between the two chambers. In\nthe manufacture of these the clay is first packed in with a punch to\nform the separating plug. The lower chamber is then loaded with powder\nand closed by turning over the paper at the end. The upper chamber is\nloaded and closed with clay. A hole is punched in the side of the\nlower chamber with an awl, and the fuse inserted through this opening.\n\n=An Enchanted Ravine.=--During his arch\u00e6ological researches in the\nUloa Valley, Honduras (Memoirs of Peabody Museum), Mr. George Byron\nGordon made an excursion to the wonderful enchanted ravine, _Quebrada\nEncantada_, which was famous through all the country for its weather\nwisdom. It was situated in a deep valley, and, Mr. Gordon says, \"sends\nforth a loud melodious sound which may be heard many miles away, and\nis regarded by the people of the region as an infallible sign of rain.\nIn fact, it is a regular weather bureau, with this peculiarity, that\nit is always reliable; for the sound is so modulated as to indicate by\nits pitch whether the coming storm is to be heavy or light. The amount\nof promised rain is in exact proportion to the volume of the sound,\nand thus it proclaims to the accustomed ear with unerring precision\nthe approach of a passing shower or heralds the terrific thunderstorm\nof the tropics; and this is no fiction, but a fact, which any one may\ndemonstrate for himself by going and listening to it.\" Tradition says\nthe ravine was the abode of a golden dragon, and that in former times\n\"it was lined with golden pebbles and the sands at its margin were\ngrains of gold, and it was the custom of the golden dragon to rise\noccasionally to the margin of the pool and receive the offerings that\nwere made to him by the people. If they wanted rain, they would bring\ntheir offerings and lay them on the golden sand behind the pool or\ncast them on the water; then, while all the people chanted a prayer,\nthe dragon would rise from the cave where he dwelt in the depths of\nthe pool, and take the good things that were offered him, and there\nwas never a drought or a famine in the land. Then, when the Spaniards\ncame and the people were driven from their homes, the golden pebbles\nand grains of gold disappeared, and the golden dragon, retiring into\nthe uttermost corner of his watery cavern, withdrew forever from the\nupper world. There he still lives, and, as formerly, controls the\nclouds and the winds that bring the rain. The spirits of the Indians,\ntoo, still hold their meetings of an occasional evening by their\naccustomed pool, now lost in the solitude of the forest, and it is the\nsound of their chanting that makes the voice of the ravine.\" The pool\nis formed by a cataract tumbling down the side of the mountain and\nmaking a final fall of fifty feet, and the sound of the tumbling of\nthe waters forms the basis of the pretty legend.\n\n=The Work of the Field Columbian Museum.=--Making only a selection\nfrom the numerous items of general interest in the Annual Report of\nthe Director of the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, for 1897-'98, we\nfind mentioned the fall and spring courses of nine lectures each, as\nhaving been more largely attended than ever before, hundreds of\npersons having been turned away from some of them, and in one case\nnearly a thousand. The library contains 9,003 books and 9,630\npamphlets, and has had some valuable additions, particularly in the\ndepartment of Americana. The additions to the collections include\nspecimens from Egypt, Italy (ancient Etruscan and renaissance\nVenetian), Portuguese South Africa, Pacific islands, and Alaska, the\ndepartment representing which now numbers more than ten thousand\nobjects. Valuable contributions have been received from the expedition\nof the curator of the anthropological (physical) department to\nArizona. The herbarium of the late Mr. M. S. Bebb, added to the\nbotanical department, represents much of the flora of the Western\nStates, and \"about all\" that of Illinois. Numerous other botanical\ncollections and additions to the geological and zo\u00f6logical departments\nare mentioned. Field work was prosecuted by Mr. G. A. Dorsey among the\nHopi Indians in Arizona, C. F. Millspaugh in the collection of North\nAmerican forest trees, and O. C. Farrington in the Tertiary geology of\nSouth Dakota, Nebraska, and Wyoming. Other excursions were made among\nthe zinc-lead deposits of southeast Missouri, to the Olympian\nMountains of the Northwest, to \"a point beyond which nothing unless\nprovided with wings could go,\" etc., all resulting in collections of\none kind or another. The museum was visited by 3,963 more persons than\nin the year before.\n\n=A Year at Harvard Observatory.=--The director of Harvard College\nObservatory reports the addition to the resources of the institution\nof twenty thousand dollars bequeathed by Charlotte Maria Haven, and\ntwenty-five thousand dollars by Eliza Appleton Haven, without further\nrestriction in the application of the income than that it shall be for\ndirect purposes connected with astronomical science. In these bequests\nthe legators fulfilled the wishes of their brother, Horace Appleton\nHaven, as expressed half a century ago. By the peculiar organization\nof the force of the observatory, with a single director to oversee all\nand a large force of assistants, each having a special work and many\nof them skillful only in that, an increased amount of work can be done\nfor a given expenditure, and great advantages for co-operation are\nsecured, but too much depends upon a single person--the director. In\nthe examination of the spectra of stars photographed in the Draper,\nBruce, and Bache telescopes by Mrs. Fleming, twelve new variable stars\nwere discovered by means of their bright hydrogen lines, and the\nspectra of a considerable number of other stars were determined.\nValuable results, obtained by other examiners, are mentioned. An\ninstrument has been constructed by which prismatic spectra can be\nconverted into normal spectra or any other desired change of scale can\nbe effected. By photographs obtained of stars in the vicinity of the\nnorth pole material is believed to be furnished for an accurate\ndetermination of the constants of aberration, nutation, and\nprecession. Sixteen circulars were issued during 1897-'98. When fifty\nof these circulars have been issued, a title-page and index are to be\npublished for binding.\n\n=Putting Life in the School.=--The discussion of the hygiene of\ninstruction, said Dr. G. W. Fitz, in addresses which are published in\nthe American Physical Education Review, brings us at once face to face\nwith one of the gravest problems of our educational system--the\ndepressing effect of school routine. In the search for a remedy \"the\nschool programme has been pronounced poor, and efforts have been made\nto enrich it. The work has been pronounced abstract and object lessons\nhave been introduced; uninteresting and bright colors, varied shapes,\npictures innumerable, have been rushed upon the child until he has\nbeen bewildered by the multiplicity of detail, and further exhausted\nby the demand for more discriminating attention. The fundamental\ndifficulty has been that too much has been required of the child in\nthe beginning, and the attempt at enrichment and greater variety has\nbut increased the burden.\" Children begin learning to read before they\nhave acquired experience and ideas to match the text; and \"experience\nhas shown over and over again that the child who begins to read at\neight or even ten years of age is in no wise handicapped in his later\nintellectual progress. He has the inestimable advantage of intense\ninterest, roused by his growing ability to unlock the secrets of books\nand papers after the fashion of his elders.\" Writing is taught before\nthe child has acquired the art of fine co-ordination, and the effort\ndemanded in the use of the pen \"leads to a degree of nervous\nexhaustion unapproached by any other school work.\" In arithmetic the\nchildren \"are unable to grasp the numerical relations involved, and\nthe drill, which makes it a pure exercise of memory, is necessary.\nMuch of the aversion to arithmetical problems found later is\nundoubtedly due to this disheartening primary work. Here again the\nchild who begins arithmetic at eight or ten years of age finds himself\nable to take it up quickly and has the liking for it that easy mastery\nalways gives.\" Nature work, on the other hand, \"offers wonderfully\ninteresting and valuable material for awakening the intellectual\nactivities of childhood, and while its material for study and\ndescription is unlimited, its demand upon the child may be perfectly\nadapted to his power of observation. We must remember that physical\nactivity is the supreme factor in the development of the child.\" This\nmeans spontaneous play under favorable conditions, not \"that nervously\nexhausting and deadening drill known as the Swedish gymnastics, which\n... adds fatigue to fatigue, by taking the initiative away from the\nchild and forcing him to pay constant attention to the orders of the\nteacher.\" As to discipline, \"the child is self-disciplined when he is\nheld to his work by the reflex attention of interest. This can always\nbe secured when the work is adapted to his grasp, when he has the\nsense of power which comes with easy conquest, when he is not\nexhausted by the imposition of a sequence logical to the adult mind\nbut meaningless to him, when his attention is not dulled by a demand\nfor attention continued beyond a physiological limit.\"\n\n=Beautifying the Home Grounds.=--The Horticultural Division of the\nCornell University Agricultural Experiment Station has been making\nefforts during the past few years, under the auspices of the\nagricultural extension work, to improve the surroundings of rural\nhouses, a part of which consists in the publication of bulletins\ngiving hints as to how improved conditions and simple adornments may\nbe obtained without great expense. One of these indicates as one of\nthe means of making the home attractive and \"keeping the boy on the\nfarm\" the brightening of the place with flowers. Assuming that the\nmain planting of any place should be of trees and shrubs, the flowers\nare then used as decorations. They may be thrown in freely about the\nborders of the place, but not in beds in the center of the lawn. They\nshow off better when seen against a background, which may be foliage,\na building, a rock, or a fence. \"Where to plant flowers is really more\nimportant than what to plant. In front of bushes, in the corner by the\nsteps, against the foundation of the residence or outhouse, along a\nfence or walk--these are places for flowers. A single petunia plant\nagainst a background of foliage is worth a dozen similar plants in the\ncenter of the lawn.... The open-centered yard may be a picture; the\npromiscuously planted yard may be a nursery or a forest. A little\ncolor scattered in here and there puts a finish to the picture. A dash\nof color gives spirit and character to the brook or pond, to the ledge\nof rocks, to the old stump, or to the pile of rubbish.\" The flower\ngarden, if there is one, should be at one side of the residence or at\nthe rear, \"for it is not allowable to spoil a good lawn even with\nflowers.\"\n\n\nMINOR PARAGRAPHS.\n\nOf the twelve genera and fifty species of known North American frogs\nand toads, Mr. William L. Sherwood says, in his paper in the\nProceedings of the Linn\u00e6an Society, New York, that five genera and\nfifty species are found in the vicinity of New York city. Some of\nthese are less secretive in habit than salamanders, and therefore much\nbetter known. As ponds and ditches have been drained, the aquatic\nforms have removed to greater distances from human dwellings, and only\nthe more terrestrial toad and arboreal tree frogs have remained. All\nof our species have been described, but the author believes that the\nfirst mention of the cricket frog being found in this region is in a\npaper on salamanders, read by him in 1895. The breeding habits of\nthese animals vary, but all lay their eggs in water or moist places.\nThe purely amphibious and really aquatic species are three. Of the\nother eight species, one is burrowing, five tend to be terrestrial,\ninhabiting the woods and fields, and two are arboreal. The eggs are\nlaid in gelatinous envelopes, which swell after leaving the adult. At\nthe time of hatching the young tadpole has three pairs of external\ngills, but no mouth or anal opening. Two small suckers, just back of\nwhere the mouth is to appear, enable it to cling to aquatic plants and\nprevent its dropping to the bottom of the pond and getting smothered\nin the mud. It soon develops into a tadpole, and proceeds to its\ndevelopment; but if prevented from coming to the surface of the water\nno metamorphosis takes place, and the changes are delayed by cold and\ndark.\n\nAt a meeting recently held in Berlin in behalf of a German antarctic\nexploration, Dr. von Drygalski, speaking of the scientific, practical,\nand national importance of the enterprise, said that from a\ngeographical point of view the fundamental problem attached to the\nsouth polar region--the verification or disproof of a polar\ncontinent--is still unsolved. No less important questions likewise\nawait solution with respect to the geological structure and character\nof the southern lands--so important in connection with a knowledge of\nvolcanic action and the supposed former connection of South America\nand Australia--and with respect to the conditions of inland ice. Even\nthe study of the floating ice broken away from the main mass may lead\nto important conclusions as to its mode of origin and the nature of\nthe land from which it comes. Other problems to be investigated are\nthe origin of the cold ocean currents that take their rise in the\nsouth, the conditions of the atmospheric pressure and temperature in\nthat region, and the questions relating to terrestrial magnetism,\nwhich have a very important bearing on the practice of navigation. The\npresent seems to be a particularly favorable period for the resumption\nof south polar research by reason of the unusual amount of drift ice\nwhich has within the last few years broken away from the main mass,\nand because, according to Supan, we are passing through a warmer\ntemperature period.\n\nOver and above the statistics and the bare record of facts the annual\nreports of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the\nBlind afford a continuous and growing interest to friends of suffering\nmankind in their stories of the development of mental life and\nillumination. Pupils come there blind and deaf, and apparently without\nany avenues of intelligent communication with the outer world, and are\nthere brought to full consciousness and keenness of intellect that\nwould be remarked even in many persons possessed of all their senses\nperfect from birth. The record began with Laura Bridgman, was\ncontinued with Helen Keller, and has been occupied for five or six\nyears past with the wonderful mental growth of Elizabeth Robin, Edith\nM. Thomas, and Tommy Stringer. Before Dr. Howe began with Laura\nBridgman, such things would have been deemed impossible and not to be\nthought of.\n\n\nNOTES.\n\nThe Swiss Association for the Protection of Plants, which was formed\nin Geneva in 1883, has more than 900 members, and publishes 1,500\ncopies of its bulletin, which is sent, besides the members of the\nassociation, to the libraries of foreign Alpine clubs, the press,\nbotanists, _cur\u00e9s_, and municipalities in countries harboring plants\nthat require protection. Under its care, or the influence of its work,\ngardens have been created in various places and devoted especially to\nthe cultivation of such plants as are most threatened with extinction.\nOf these are the Linnea Garden in the Valais, 5,500 feet above the\nsea; the Chanousia, founded five years ago by R. P. Chanoux, rector of\nthe Hospice of St. Bernard, 6,800 feet; and the Rambertia, at the foot\nof the Rochers de Naye, 6,500 feet above the Lake of Geneva. Lectures\nare given under the auspices of the association, and no occasion for\ninforming the public is lost. A neat chromo-poster calling attention\nto the association and its purpose has been prepared to be put up in\nrailroad stations and hotels, to which is appended a motto emphasizing\nthe importance of caring for rare plants.\n\nThe report of Heinrich Ries on the Kaolins and Fire Clays of Europe,\npublished in the reports of the Geological Survey, is based largely on\nnotes collected by the author during visits in 1897 to most of the\nimportant kaolin and clay deposits. To these such facts of importance\nconcerning the clays as have already been published have been added.\nSome manufacturers have claimed that the foreign kaolins are superior\nto the American, but the evidence, Mr. Ries says, does not seem to\nbear out the statements. Notes are added respecting the clays and\nclay-working industries in the States of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana,\nIowa, New York, and North Carolina.\n\nAccording to the report of the _Commission Internationale des\nGlaciers_ for 1897, thirty-nine out of fifty-six glaciers observed in\nSwitzerland are retreating, five are at a standstill, and twelve are\ngrowing. Of the Italian glaciers, those of the Disgrazia and Bernina\ngroups and the glaciers of Mont Canin in the Julian Alps show a marked\nretreat. Retreat seems to be almost universal in the Scandinavian\nglaciers. The report includes also information from the Caucasus,\nAltai, and Turkestan, and notes on a few glaciers in the United States\nand Mexico, concerning which we have not the particulars.\n\nIn a book on social types among the French people, M. Edmond Demolins\ntries to show that varieties of types are the products of constant\ncauses which it is possible to analyze exactly, and the most\nfundamental principle of which is the nature of the place and of the\noccupation. Thus there is a social type derived from the pastoral\noccupation; another from the cultivation of fruit trees, among which\nthe several classes determine as many modalities of the type; one is\nderived from petty gardening, and another from large farming; another\nfrom manufacturing, and another from transportation and commerce.\nClose analysis permits the detection of still more delicate shades of\ntypes of varieties in each of the categories named, whereby notable\nmodifications are produced in the same region and the same work.\n\nThe brewing industry in Germany is credited with the following output\nof beer for the year 1897-'98: Germany proper, 8,055 breweries,\nexclusive of Bavaria, W\u00fcrtemberg, Baden, and Alsace-Lorraine,\n916,000,000 gallons; Bavaria, 6,364 breweries, 351,000,000 gallons;\nW\u00fcrtemberg, 6,285 breweries, 90,000,000 gallons; Baden, 946 breweries,\n60,000,000 gallons; Alsace-Lorraine, 127 breweries, 21,230,000\ngallons--a grand total of 1,438,230,000 gallons, from the taxation of\nwhich the Government received a revenue of $22,305,150.\n\nSpeaking in his society of the Relation of Britain to Folklore,\nretiring President Alfred Nutt urged that it was the privilege of that\ncountry to enshrine in its literature the ancient customary wisdom of\nmany races, as the English system of law was itself largely derived\nfrom custom. The accidents of the geographical position and historical\ncircumstances of Britain had made it the preserver of a great body of\narchaic tradition, which it was the function of the Folklore Society\nto study and interpret.\n\nWe have to record the deaths of Dr. William Hankel, Professor of\nPhysics in the University of Leipsic; Prof. F. K. C. L. B\u00fcchner,\nauthor of the famous book, Force and Matter, at Darmstadt, Germany,\nMay 1st; Dr. Francis W. MacNamara, State Examiner of Medical Stores at\nthe India Office, London, formerly Professor of Chemistry in Calcutta\nMedical College, and later Chemical Examiner to the Government of\nIndia, March 5th, aged sixty-seven years; he was author of a number of\nbooks and papers on hygiene and medical chemistry; Jeremiah Head,\nengineer, President of the Mechanical Science Section of the British\nAssociation in 1893, and President of the British Institute of\nMechanical Engineers in 1885-'86, March 10th, aged sixty-four years;\nwho was instrumental in introducing into England important American\nimprovements in the manufacture of iron and steel; Franz Ritter von\nHanse, Austrian geologist, Intendant of the National Museum in Vienna,\nDirector of the Imperial Geological Survey in 1866, and author of the\nGeological Map of Austria, Bosnia, and Montenegro, and of geological\nbooks, March 20th, aged seventy-seven years; Surveyor Major G. C.\nWallich, March 31st, in his eighty-fourth year, and Count Abb\u00e9 F.\nCastracan, of Rome, the two oldest Fellows of the Royal Microscopical\nSociety; Dr. P. L. Ryke, of the University of Leyden, aged eighty-six\nyears; Joseph Stevens, honorary curator of the museum at Reading,\nEngland, author of arch\u00e6ological and geological papers; Dr. C.\nBrogniart, entomologist, and author of a memoir On Fossil Insects of\nthe Primary Period, at Paris; Charles L. Prince, author of papers on\nmeteorology and astronomy, at Tunbridge Wells, England, April 22d; Dr.\nWilhelm Jordan, Professor of Geometry and Geodesy at the Technical\nInstitution, Hanover, April 17th, aged fifty-seven years; Sir William\nRoberts, of the Royal College of Physicians, author of lectures and\npapers on digestion, diet, uric acid, the opium habit in India, etc.;\nProf. Karl Scheibler, chemist, at Berlin, aged seventy-two years; Dr.\nJosef Wastler, docent in geodesy at the Technical Institute in Graz;\nDr. H. A. Wahlforso, Professor of Chemistry at Helsingfors, aged sixty\nyears; and Philip Thomas Main, Fellow of St. John's College,\nCambridge, England, author of a treatise on astronomy.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes:\n\n\nWords surrounded by _ are italicized.\n\nWords surrounded by = are bold.\n\nObvious printer's errors have been repaired, other inconsistent\nspellings have been kept, including inconsistent use of hyphen (e.g.\n\"widespread\" and \"wide-spread\"), and proper names (e.g. \"Sidd\u00e2nta\" and\n\"Siddh\u00e2nta\").\n\nSome illustrations were relocated to correspond to their references in\nthe text.","title":"Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, July 1899: Volume LV, No. 3, July 1899","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":70329}