64 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



the duration of siicli ruiiiH when protected from vandalism eitlier l)y iuaccesHibility, 

 as in this case, or by such legislative or executive action as is frequently contemplated 

 by governmental authorities. The detailed measurements and comparisons will be 

 incorporated in a later report. During the same triji Dr. Fewkes discovered a num- 

 ber of additional ruins including those of cavate dwellings located in the softer layers 

 of heterogeneous vi)lcanic deposit. Some of his observations throw useful light on 

 the methods of excavating such deposits employed by the aborigines, as well as on 

 their general modes of life. 



During the autumn it was ascertained that Dr. A. E. Jenks, of the University of 

 Wisconsin, was engaged in a study of the wild-rice industry of the al)origines, and it 

 was thought well to take advantage of the opportunity to systendze and place on per- 

 manent record the considerable body of material l)rought together through his 

 researches. Accordingly provision w'as n:iade to have Dr. Jenks visit various locali- 

 ties in Wisconsin and Minnesota in which the wild-rice industry is still carried for- 

 ward by the Indians; and provision was also made for photographing the various 

 operations connected with the harvesting, preserving, and cooking of the produce. 

 The inquiry derives importance jirimarily from the large use of wild rice among the 

 aboriginal tribes and incidentally from the possible utility of the product iii enlight- 

 ened agriculture. The world is indebted to the natives of the Western Hemisphere 

 for several important commodities. Among these corn, i. e., maize, occuj^iies the first 

 place; others are the turkey, two or three varieties of beans, certain squashes, besides 

 the remarkal)le paratriptic tobacco, whose use has spread throughout the world since 

 the time of Raleigh; and there are indications that the wild rice {Zizdnia) of the 

 region of glacial lakes may constitute a notable addition to the list. Led to the subject 

 by the work of the Bureau, the Department of Agriculture has instituted inquiries 

 concerning the extent of the wild rice area and concerning the possibilities of utiliza- 

 tion of the resource. Dr. Jenks' memoir is incorporated in the Nineteenth Annual 

 Report. 



WORK IN SOCIOLOGY. 



Except when occupied in field work, the Director c(jntinued the synthetic study of 

 demotic activities, and during the year he completed the preliminary outline of the 

 activities expressed in institutions. The science of institutions is commonly desig- 

 nated sociology, after Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, and other European writers; 

 and though the term is sometimes loosely used it fairly meets the requirements of scien- 

 tific exposition. The branch of knowledge which it is used to designate is one of the 

 five coordinate sciences (esthetology, technology, sociology, philology, and sophi- 

 ology) constituting demonomy, or the system of knowledge pertaining to the human 

 activities. Viewed in its activital aspect, sociology combines several subordinate 

 branches. The first of these is statistics (sometimes called demograjihy), which deals 

 with the units of social organization; the second is economics, which deals espe- 

 cially with the forces and values involved in, or controlled by, human organization. 

 The third branch of sociology is civics, which may be defined as the science of meth- 

 ods in governmental action, or in the regulation of the conduct of associates — methods 

 which have for their normal objects peace, equity, equality, liberty, and charity 

 among the associates. The means of attaining these ends in primitive society have 

 been ascertained almost wholly through the researches in American ethnology; they 

 have been indicated in a brief outline of regimentation appended to an earlier report. 

 The fourth branch of sociology may be noted as histories; it deals with the methods 

 adopted for the maintenance and perpetuation of social organization. Coordinate 

 with these branches is the science of ethics, which deals with the ideal bases and the 

 practical ol)jects of associate organization. Tlie ethics of primitive life have been 

 ascertained almost wholly through observation among the aborigines of America; the 

 ethical relations existing among the tribesmen have been a revelation to students; 

 and no line of ethnologic inquiry' has yielded richer results than that pertaining to 



