NOTES. 



2 55 



stone," in shape " like a soda-water bottle 

 with the bulb flattened. It is a very effec- 

 tive weapon,'' he adds, " in a hand-to-hand 

 fight, being so sharp that a man's skull 

 may be split at one blow with it." The 

 Michigan specimen is 1(5^- inches long. It 

 is 2f- inches wide for 11 inches ; then it ta- 

 pers to 1^- inch, but again widens to 2 inch- 

 es at the end, thus forming a terminal knob. 

 The edges are beautifully wrought, and are 

 as sharp now as most of the polished stone 

 axes and celts. In the vast collection of 

 relics of American aborigines at Philadel- 

 phia Dr. Abbott finds no other specimen of 

 the form here described, and it is pre- 

 sumable that this weapon was one seldom 

 fashioned in North America. 



NOTES. 



A meeting of persons interested in the 

 formation of a Metrological Society was 

 lately held in Boston, which resulted in the 

 organization of the "American Metric Bu- 

 reau." Arrangements were made to secure 

 a large list ol' honorary or life members, 

 and to solicit subscriptions to supply teach- 

 ers with metric apparatus at half-price. 

 The assessment for 1876 was fixed at $2.50. 

 The list of directors is as follows : Samuel 

 W. Mason, J. P. Putnam, Prof. W. F. 

 Bradbury, Dr. Edward Wigglesworth, Mel- 

 vil Dewey, Prof. William Watson, Dr. H. 

 P. Bowditch, S. S. Greene, Nathan Apple- 

 ton, and Prof. K. S. Pennell. 



In the Paris School of Mines is a labo- 

 ratory, founded in 1845, for analyzing gra- 

 tuitously any substances presented. Last 

 year 767 analyses were made at this labo- 

 ratory, chiefly of minerals and manures. A 

 laboratory for the gratuitous analysis of 

 medicines and articles of food would be a 

 very useful institution in our American 

 cities. 



Cremation of the dead is now fairly 

 established in Saxe-Gotha. In a recent sit- 

 ting of the town council, it was decided to 

 erect the necessary apparatus in the new 

 cemetery. Cremation is to take place only 

 in accordance with the clearly expressed 

 wish of the deceased, and under permit from 

 the proper medical officer. The ashes are 

 to be gathered in urns, to be preserved by 

 the family of the deceased, or set up in a 

 hall in the cemetery. 



In one of the monthly reports of the 

 Department of Agriculture, it is stated that 



in Livingston County, Illinois, the planting 

 of trees in groves and shelter-belts, and for 

 ornamental purposes, is now very general. 

 The black-walnut is the favorite tree for 

 profit and ease of cultivation ; but elm, soft 

 maple, willow, Cottonwood, European larch, 

 and ash, are common, while evergreens are 

 popular for ornamental purposes, and occa- 

 sionally are planted in groves and shelter- 

 belts. 



At the Agricultural Congress in Phila- 

 delphia, resolutions were ottered by Prof. 

 C. V. Riley, and unanimously adopted, in 

 favor of government action for the sup- 

 pression of the Rocky Mountains locust- 

 plague. In the opinion of the Congress, the 

 national Legislature owes it to the people 

 of the West to take this matter into con- 

 sideration, and the United States are called 

 upon to follow the example of other nations 

 under like circumstances, and appoint a 

 special commission for the thorough inves- 

 tigation of the subject. 



In a work on the "Voices of Animals," 

 by Landois, additional evidence is collected 

 of the universality of vocal sounds among 

 the lower animals, including the Mollusca. 

 The author considers it to be indisputable 

 that ants possess a vocal speech, by which 

 they are enabled to exercise those higher 

 mental faculties to which they owe their 

 high social organization. 



The University of Michigan had last 

 year 101 female students, distributed as fol- 

 lows : Medicine, 37 ; law, 2 ; homoeopathy, 

 2 ; literature, 60. " The experience of the 

 past year," writes the president of the uni- 

 versity in his annual report, " confirms the 

 opinion we have been led to form by the 

 experience of former years, that women 

 who come here in good health are able to 

 complete our collegiate or professional 

 course of study without detriment to their 

 health." 



Prof. Maurice Schiff, of Florence, has 

 demonstrated that the non-edible mush- 

 rooms, " toadstools," contain a common 

 poison, muscarine, and that its effects are 

 counteracted by either atropine or daturine. 

 Italian apothecaries now keep these drugs 

 in the rural districts, where the consump- 

 tion of the non-edible fungi is apt to occur. 

 The hint is worthy of attention every- 

 where. 



It has been affirmed that not less than 

 four per cent, of all the coal-laden vessels 

 that have left English ports during the last 

 five years, for destinations south of the 

 equator, have suffered either total or partial 

 loss by the spontaneous ignition of their 

 cargoes. 



