first to try to verify the references given at the end, in which they will fail, and second to read 'Vivisection: a statement in behalf of Science,' published in the issue of this JOURNAL for March 20, 1896, and endorsed by President Eliot, of Harvard University, and the late Francis A. Walker, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.-ED. SCIENCE.]

ASTRONOMICAL NOTES.

REPORTS OF OBSERVATORIES.

THE annual reports of three of the most active observatories of the world are at hand.

for

1. Report of Her Majesty's Astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope for the year 1897.-The astrophotographic telescope was used chart plates, catalogue plates, variables, and with a 20-degree prism for a spectroscopic survey of stars to 3 magnitude. The transit circle was used for stars needed for the measurement of plates to complete the Cape zones, -40° to -52°. 9,000 standard stars will be included in this area. The 7-inch equatorial has been chiefly used to look up discrepancies in the photographic plates and in checking missing stars. Among the results obtained was the confirmation of the large proper motion of 9" in the star which Kapteyn had detected on the plates. The heliometer was used chiefly in triangulation of comparison stars for observations of planets at opposition. Preparations were making for the mounting of the new McLean telescope, constructed by Grubb, and the new transit circle by Troughton and Simms. The computations were chiefly upon the meridian observations of former years, and upon heliometer observations for parallax. Dr. Gill has eleven regular assistants and computers, with other computers occasionally employed. The observatory carries on an extensive system of time signals, and the geodetic survey of South Africa will be under the direction of the government astronomer.

2. Report of the Superintendent of the U. S. Naval Observatory for the year ending June 30, 1898. The 26-inch equatorial has been used for micrometric observations of the faint comets, satellites, close doubles and the diameters of

Venus and Mercury. The 12-inch telescope has been similarly used for asteroids and comets. The 9-inch transit has been used for sun, moon, planets and certain stars. The new 6-inch steel transit is in process of erection. The 5inch altazimuth has been used as a zenith telescope and as a vertical circle. The opinion is expressed that declinations can be obtained with greater accuracy by this instrument than by a meridian circle. The astronomical work has been materially lessened by the detachment of line officers for active service in the recent war, necessitating the care of nautical instruments, chronometers and time service by the astronomical staff. This report goes into minute detail regarding the work of the Observatory, even mentioning such minor matters as the mounting of a new thermometer, and the repairing of the wooden cases of clocks, the glue in which had deteriorated. The Nautical Almanac has been under the care of the Astro nomical Director, Professor Harkness. The chief publication has been the Catalogue of Stars from observations made from 1866-1891, prepared by Professor Eastman.

3. Fifty-third annual report of the Director of the Astronomical Observatory of Harvard College, for year ending September 30, 1898.-The 15-inch equatorial has been used for photometric observations chiefly of variables. The 6-inch equatorial has been used for observations of variables by the method of eye estimates. The meridian circle has been used to complete the observations for the southern zone-9°50′ to-14°10'. The meridian photometer has been devoted to the reobservation of the stars in the Harvard Photometry and other stars fainter than those in that catalogue. The 8-inch and 11-inch photographic telescope, working under the Henry Draper Memorial, have obtained more than 3,000 plates. Their study has resulted in various discoveries, such as twelve variables, stars of peculiar spectra, one spectroscopic binary, one spectrum of a meteor with five bright lines, one spectrum of the aurora with four bright lines. At Arequipa, Peru, more than 2,400 plates have been made with the 8-inch, 13-inch and 24-inch telescopes. Professor Bailey's study of variables in clusters has revealed 509 variables in 20 clusters; the light

curves of 125 variables in Centauri have been obtained.

Among other matters discussed by Professor Pickering in his report is the organization of the Observatory. The Harvard College Observatory is not, like many other observatories, divided into departments each under an astronomer of high grade. The Director himself is in immediate charge of all the departments, in many cases making a daily inspection and planning the work in detail. The assistants

become skilful each in a particular work, and three or four times as many can be employed at a given expenditure as under the departmental system. The report mentions the advantages and disadvantages of each plan and advises that the plan in operation at Harvard should continue to be followed in one large observatory. The corps of assistants at Harvard and at the Southern Station, in Peru, includes forty persons.

THE PLANET DQ.

THIS planet has been named Eros. The As tronomical Journal and Circular 36 of the Harvard Observatory contain the gratifying announcement that numerous observations of the planet have been found on the Harvard plates in 1894 and 1896. In 1894 the planet was at its most favorable position for observation, and of the 7th magnitude when nearest. Observations have been found extending for more than four months, making it possible to determine an accurate orbit for that opposition alone. Dr. Chandler has undertaken the rigid discussion of all available data, and will bring the calculation down to the 1900 opposition, so that the observations then to be made will be under the best knowledge of the theory of the planet's motion.

This research has justified the policy of Professor Pickering in having the whole sky photographed at frequent intervals. That the plates thus accumulating contain a vast amount of material which the future needs of astronomy will utilize is quite evident. That many new facts can be obtained from their examination is shown by the discovery during the search for the planet Eros of two variables and two stars which are not in the Durchmusterung catalogue,

besides observations of asteroids previously discovered.

WINSLOW UPTON. BROWN UNIVERSITY, January 27, 1899.

NOTES ON PHYSICS.

SOME RECENT INVESTIGATIONS UPON THE BECQUEREL RAYS.

RUTHERFORD (Phil. Mag., Jan., 1899), in an important and interesting paper, shows experimentally that in a mass of gas exposed to the radiation from uranium, thorium or their compounds the following statements hold good:

1. Charged carriers produced through the volume of gas.

2. Ionization proportional to the intensity of the radiation and the pressure.

3. Absorption of the radiation proportional to pressure.

4. Existence of a saturation current; i. e., a current passing through the ionized gas, whose magnitude is such that all of the carriers produced by the radiation reach the electrodes.

5. Rate of combination of the ions proportional to the square of the number present. 6. Partial separation of positive and negative ions.

7. Disturbance of potential gradient under certain conditions between two plates exposed to the radiation.

It is also shown that the radiation given off by both uranium and thorium is complex, consisting of two varieties which the author calls a and ẞ respectively; ß being the one of greater penetrative power, whiie a is the one chiefly instrumental in causing ionization in gases. The intensity of the a radiation seems to depend chiefly upon the amount of surface of the uranium, while the radiation depends upon the thickness of the layer.

In Wied. Ann., No. 12, for 1898, Elster and Geitel give an account of a research undertaken by them to test the validity of two suppositions which have been made as to the cause of the Becquerel rays. Madame Curie (Comptes Rendus, CXVI., p. 1101) has suggested that the continuous radiation from uranium, thorium and their compounds may be explained by supposing all space to be filled with a sort of modified Röntgen radiation which possesses the power

of penetrating ordinary media to a much higher degree than the usual X-rays, and that in attempting to traverse substances having high atomic weights, like uranium and thorium, a portion of the incident energy is transformed into radiation having the power of affecting photographic plates, ionizing gases, etc. Elster and Geitel have tested this by examining the intensity of the uranium radiation by both the electrical and photographic methods, the apparatus being placed first upon the surface of the earth and then several hundred meters underground in a mine, their idea being that the intensity of the radiation incident upon the uranium would be weakened by passing through the overlying mass of earth. No difference was found in the intensity of the uranium radiations under the two conditions.

To test the hypothesis of Crookes as to the radiation being caused by a transformation by the uranium of a portion of the kinetic energy of the molecules of air, the intensity of the radiation emitted by the uranium when in a vacuum was compared with that emitted when the metal was in the air. No difference was found.

The results of this work are hence unfavorable to either hypothesis.

M. and Mme. Curie have shown (Comptes Rendus, CXXVII., p. 175) that in pitchblende there is a substance similar in properties to bismuth, but which is strongly radio-active, and for it they have proposed the name Polonium. In Comptes Rendus, CXXVII., p. 1255, they give an account of their more recent researches in which they have been associated with M. G. Bémont upon this subject. They are led to the conclusion that there is still another new substance present, similar in properties to pure barium, but whose chloride is about nine hundred times as active as that of uranium. The new substance, provisionally called Radium, is distinguished by a hitherto unknown line in its A. ST.C. D. spectrum.

BOTANICAL NOTES. SARGENT'S SILVA OF NORTH AMERICA. THE appearance of Volume XII. of this magnificent work again directs attention to what

will, for all time, be a monument to both author and publishers. Eight years ago the first volume appeared, and at more or less regular intervals the succeeding volumes, until the present one, which was originally designed to be the last. In these volumes we have 620 plates, thus more than making good the promise of author and publishers of fifty plates per volume. We have now the pleasant announcement by the publishers that, "as it has been found impracticable to include in this twelfth volume of Professor Sargent's great work the general index to the entire work, a thirteenth volume containing this index, together with descriptions and illustrations of recently discovered species, and such corrections of the original volumes as recent explorations have made necessary will be sent to subscribers without change as soon as ready."

The present volume includes descriptions and plates of Larix (3 species), Picea (7 species), Tsuga (4 species), Pseudotsuga (2 species) and Abies (10 species). We shall look with great interest for the appearance of the supplementary volume.

COMMENDABLE FREE-SEED DISTRIBUTION.

AT last the United States Department of Agriculture has made a free distribution of seeds, which must commend itself to every scientific botanist or horticulturist in the country. We refer to the distribution to colleges of the sets of Economic Seeds,' prepared in the Seed Laboratory of the Division of Botany, by the lamented Gilbert H. Hicks, under the direction of Frederick V. Coville. The set as issued consists of five centuries, each enclosed in a shallow tray-like box, which is divided into rectangular spaces, each large enough to contain the seed-tubes. Each tube is numbered and labeled, and on the lid of the tray is an alphabetical list of all the species arranged under their appropriate families. It is a pleasure to note, moreover, that the most scrupulous care has been taken to secure accuracy in the nomenclature, which is of the strictly modern school, including double citation of authors and the uniform decapitalization of specific names. This distribution is a worthy and commendable labor of the National Department of Agriculture, and it reflects great credit upon the officers

who are responsible for its inception and successful execution.

THE STUDY OF IOWA SEDGES.

IN a recent bulletin of the Laboratories of Natural History of the State University of Iowa, Mr. R. I. Cratty contributes a valuable paper upon the sedges of Iowa.

The list includes the results of about thirty years of work by Iowa botanists, and brings together data relating to ten genera and one hundred and fourteen species. With regard to the nature of the sedge flora of Iowa, the author says that it is "characteristically Eastern and corresponds quite closely with that of the bordering States, and, though lying just east of the Great Plains, but one species, Carex stenophylla Wahl., has yet been found which does not occur east of the Mississippi River. The richest portion of the State in sedges is that bordering on this great waterway. This may be accounted for partly because of the greater diversity of soil, surface, woodland and prairie in that region, and partly because the natural agencies for the distribution of seeds and the greater rainfall combine to favor that portion of the State."

NORTH AMERICAN SEAWEEDS. WITH the distribution of the eleventh fascicle of Phytotheca Boreali-Americana by Messrs. Collins, Holden and Setchell there comes the announcement of a new series, to consist of larger specimens, including such plants as Nereocystis, Laminaria, Fucus, Agarum, Dictyoneuron, etc. The fascicles of this series will be designated by letters, A, B, C, etc., and the specimens numbered with Roman numerals, I., II., III., etc., so as to avoid confusion with the other series. Moreover, the fascicles of the new series will contain twenty-five numbers each, instead of fifty, as in the old series. There will thus be two series running side by side, and the announcement is made that either one may be subscribed for separately or both may be taken simultaneously.

ARTHUR AND HOLWAY'S RUSTS. FOUR years ago Dr. J. C. Arthur and Mr. E. W. D. Holway issued fascicle I of a distribution of specimens and figures of the Rusts under the

CURRENT NOTES ON ANTHROPOLOGY. COURSES AT THE ÉCOLE D'ANTHROPOLOGIE. THE following courses, public and gratuitous, are given this winter at the School of Anthropology, Paris: (1) Prehistoric anthropology : its general principles and methods (Professor Capitan). (2) Zoological anthropology: Origin of man (Professor Mahoudeau). (3) Ethnography and Linguistics: French language and culture in the 12th and 13th centuries (Professor Lefèvre). (4) Ethnology: The Basques and Aquitanians (Professor Hervé). (5) Biological Anthropology: The struggle for life (Professor Laborde). (6) Anthropological Geography: America (Professor Schrader). (7) Physiological Anthropology : The sexes (Professor Manouvrier). (8) Sociology: China (Professor Letourneau). An extra course on North Africa will be given by Professor Zaborowski. There are two lectures a day on five days of the week.

THE MEANING OF 'RACE.'

THAT much abused word, 'race,' has been the stumbling-block of many writers. Anthropologists try to make it a zoological term, connoting certain identical physical features. How far this is from general acceptance is illustrated in the presidential address of Mr. Alfred Nutt before the Folk-lore Society. He says: ،، Outside the record of history, of literature, of art, of systematized thought, the word 'race' is, for me, void of meaning. When I speak of 'race' I have in mind a community which for a definite number of centuries has manifested itself in clearly defined products of the mind-has set

upon the universal human material of speculation and fancy its special stamp and impress. Such a manifestation is by no means necessarily conditioned by blood-kinship."

It is to be regretted that such a divergence of opinion as to the proper signification of this word exists in two branches of the same science. Does it not show the necessity of an improved terminology?

:

THE EXTINCTION OF THE POLYNESIAN.

A HUNDRED years ago the Hawaiian Islands were said to have had 400,000 native population; now 30,000 is a high estimate. The same fearful diminution has been going on through Polynesia. Dr. Tautain has recently studied its causes in the Marquesas Islands L'Anthropologie, 1898, No. 4). The principal are the following (1) Leprosy, which leads to impotence and sterility; (2) tuberculosis, which is eminently contagious and destructive; (3) syphilis, which is less marked than might be supposed; (4) licentiousness, the consequences of which are very visible in developing metritis and sterility or abortion. This last is the most injurious of all the causes, and Dr. Tautain places it as the principal factor in leading to diminished natality. The total absence of sexual morality operates in many directions to undermine the viability of the race.

D. G. BRINTON.

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MEETING OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY.

AT a recent meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Marine Biological Laboratory, held at Columbia University, the report of the Treas. urer showed that the funds of the institution were in a satisfactory condition. Professor S. F. Clarke, of Williams College, very generously contributed $400 to defray the expenses of certain necessary alterations and repairs in and about the laboratory buildings, and a rising vote of thanks was given, as an expression of the gratitude of the Board for the very acceptable gift.

The following minute relative to the death of Professor Peck, the Assistant Director, was unanimously adopted:

"The Trustees of the Marine Biological Laboratory have heard with profound sorrow of the death of their colleague, Professor James I. Peck, of Williams College. They wish to record their appreciation of the invaluable service which he rendered to the Marine Biological Laboratory, and especially to express their high regard for the generous and unfailing way in which as Assistant Director he devoted himself to the maintenance and development of the Laboratory. They feel the deepest sympathy with Williams College and with his family in the loss which both have sustained."

By special vote the Board expressed itself as favorable to the establishment of more intimate relations between the Laboratory and the Zoo

logical Bulletin. Circulars explaining these relations, and announcements for the forthcoming season, will be issued to members of the Corporation, and to others interested, at an early date.

The election of an Assistant Director was referred to a committee with power, and since the meeting Dr. Ulric Dahlgren, of Princeton University, for three years one of the instructors at Woods Holl in the department of invertebrate zoology, has been appointed to the position. H. C. BUMPUS, Secretary.

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. PRESIDENT J. G. SCHURMAN and Professor Dean C. Worcester arrived at Vancouver on January 30th, and immediately embarked on the steamship 'Empress of Japan' on their way to the Philippines.

PROFESSOR D. T. MACDOUGAL, of the University of Minnesota, has been appointed to be director of the laboratories of the New York York Botanical Garden. He will enter upon the duties of the new position next July, by which time it is believed the new museum building will be ready for occupancy. laboratory system occupies the greater portion of the upper floor, connecting with the library rooms and the herbarium.

The

PROFESSOR G. H. DARWIN has been elected President of the Royal Astronomical Society, London.

PROFESSOR MENDELEJEV, of St. Petersburg, has been elected a correspondent in the Section