Sept. i6, 1875] 



NATURE 



437 



reasonable to presume that these marks are records, not 

 merely ornamental lines, and if records, of children born ? 

 Such a carved stone, once proudly worn by an Indian 

 of high rank, if broken, as this has been, would naturally 

 be preserved ; and that it is but the half of such an one, 

 as seen in Fig i, is proved by the fact of a hole being 

 drilled in the lower corners, as shown by the dotted lines ; 

 a hole that became of no use when the specimen was 

 broken, or at least was less well placed than that sub- 

 sequently drilled in order to suspend the rehc as an 

 ornament, as an ear-ring, or addition to a necklace, as 

 previously suggested. 



The traces, as they really are now, of the graves of our 

 aborigines occasionally contain a single specimen of the 

 above- figured relic. So far as I have been able to 

 examine these graves, such relics are never associated 

 with the stone axes and spear-heads characterising the 

 graves of adult males, but simply with other forms of 

 stone ornaments, and a single small mortar and pestle, 

 or earthenware vase. In one instance the "brooding 

 bird " was so placed with reference to the narrow strip of 

 discoloured earth that marked where the body had been 

 laid, as to show conclusively that the relic was attached to 

 the hair, as shown in Fig. i. 



If we examine a series of these relics, it will be at once 

 seen that every one has holes drilled at the lower corners. 

 Such specimens could only be worn upon the top ot the 

 head, without being upside down, as would necessarily be 

 the case had they been suspended. It must, too, be borne 

 in mind that these relics are nowhere very abundant, but 

 on the other hand, nowhere unknown north of Mexico. 

 Had they been knife-handles, as suggested by School- 

 craft, or corn-huskers, as suggested by various writers, 

 certainly they would be much more abundant than they 

 really are. Indeed, in considering them as ornaments for 

 married women, I am forced, in consideration of the 

 scanty number that have been collected, to restrict them 

 to women prominent in their tribes, the wives of kings, 

 chiefs, and eminent warriors. If this be true, then the 

 eight birth-records on Fig. 2 are those of " Indian 

 princes," it may be. I must admit, however, that this 

 broken specimen is the only one that I have seen having 

 like marks cut upon it ; but such record marks, as I 

 believe them to be, are quite common upon other forms 

 of stone ornaments, particularly those stone tablets and 

 crescents that I have elsewhere (Smithson. Ann. Rep. for 

 1874) called " breast-plates." 



These facts considered, I think that the suggestion of 

 Mr. Gillman, based upon information received from an 

 aged Indian, truly explains what this much-discussed rehc 

 truly is — an ornament for married women, an emblem of 

 maternity. Charles C. Abbott 



Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.A. 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION 

 REPORTS. 

 Report of the Committee on Luminous Meteors, by Mr. James 

 Glaisher. — The report related, as usual, to meteors doubly 

 observed, and to aerolites, the portion having reference to the 

 latter being the more interesting, as the falls of aerolites which 

 have been placed on record since the last report were more tlian 

 ordinarily numerous and interesting. A mass of meteoric iron fell 

 on Aug. 24, 1873, at Maysville, California, and is one of the veiy 

 few metallic irons the actual descent of which has been wit- 

 nessed. In the following month a number of meteorites fell near 

 Khairpur, in the Punjaub ; and it is also related that in the 

 month of December, when the British army halted on the banks 

 of the Prah, an aerolite fell in the market-place of Coomassie, 

 and was regarded by the native population as a portent of evil. 

 On the 14th and 20th of May, 1874, aerolites fell at Castalia, in 

 North Carolina. The last stone-fall of the past year took place 

 near Iowa city on the 12th of February, 1875, and of this 

 meteorite also special analyses were made in the United States, 

 of which some unforeseen results were lately announced by their 



author, Mr. A. W. Wright. In England no detonating meteor 

 has been observed this year ; and the brightest meteor recorded 

 since the last report occurred on the ist of September last, taking 

 its course over the north of England, or Scotland, where clouded 

 skies must have prevailed, as hs flash was like that of lightning. 

 Other bright meteors occurred on the 2nd and l6th of September, 

 nth of October, 17th of December, 9th of March, I2th of April, 

 and and and 4th of May in this year. A meteor burst wi'h a 

 loud detonation over Paris and its neighbourhood nn the lOth of 

 February ; it was of great size and brilliancy, and left a cloud- 

 like streak of light on its track for more than half an hour. No 

 duplicate observation of it was obtained in England. Another 

 fireball fell at Orleans on the 9th of March, and of this two 

 good observations appeared to have been obtained in England, 

 which may assist to determine its real height. During the 

 annual meteor showers of the past year very unfavourable 

 weather generally prevailed for recording meteor tracks, and few 

 meteors were seen on those nights when the usual expectations 

 of their appearance were entertained. A thorough examination 

 of all the observations collected by the committee since the pub- 

 lication of the Meteor Adas in 1867, with the view of extending 

 and correcting the list of general and occasional meteoric showers 

 which it embraced, has been continued with satisfactory results 

 under the direction of Mr. Greg. The report also contained a 

 rhumi of the contents of the recent publications on the subject 

 of meteoric astronomy. Mr. Glaisher remarked that the report 

 was the result of considerable labour performed by Prof. A. S. 

 Herschel, but he pointed out that the work of properly treating 

 meteor observations had now become so great as to be beyond 

 the power of the Association to grapple with, and alluded with 

 satisfaction to the arrangements being carried out by M. Le- 

 verrier. A discussion took place on the connection of comets 

 and meteors, in the course of which Sir William Thomson said 

 that there was nothing to justify the assertion that the mass of 

 comets was so small as was sometimes supposed, and he con- 

 sidered there was good evidence for beheving that the comet's 

 tail was really a train of meteors. 



The Report of the Committee on Britiih Rainfall, by Mr. G. J. 

 Symons, began by giving an epitome of the rainfall work done 

 in connection with the British Association during the last fourteen 

 years. It then referred to the steps taken after the meeting at 

 Belfast to obtain additional stations in Ireland, which were so 

 successful that the committee received 190 offers of assistance. 

 The acceptance of all these offers would have involved an ex- 

 penditure far beyond the funds at the disposal of the committee, 

 and they were therefore reluctantly compelled to make a careful 

 selection, resulting, however, in the establishment of sixty-six 

 stations, many of them in localities of extreme importance. In 

 the past fifteen years the number of stations had been raised from 

 241 to nearly 2,000. The influence of size and shape on the 

 indications of rain gauges had been experimentally examined, 

 and also the effect of height above ground. The laws which 

 regulate the seasonal distribution of rainfall had been to a certain 

 extent .ascertained. The secular variation of annual fall had 

 been approximately determined. A code of rules had been 

 drawn up for observers. Nearly 250 stations have been started 

 at the cost of the Association, and 629 stations have been visited, 

 and the gauges examined by the secretary. They had obtained 

 and supported observations on mountain tops, and places difficult 

 of access where no observations had been made, in Cumber- 

 land, Westmoreland, Wales, and Scotland, and also an extensive 

 series in Ireland. When the works actually in hand are com- 

 pleted, they will furnish an index to all the observations hitherto 

 made. 



The committee appointed to examine and report upon the 

 reflective powers of silver, gold, platinum, and speculum metal 

 did not present any report, but was reappointed at its own 

 request, with the addition of Prof. Ball. 



Owing to the absence of Col. Babbage in India, the committee 

 for estimating the cost of Mr. Babbage's analytical engine had 

 not met, but it requested to be reappointed. No report was re- 

 ceived from the committee for the determination of the mechani- 

 cal equivalent of heat, but it was stated that Prof. Joule's experi- 

 ments were making good progress. The committee on teaching 

 physics in schools was reappointed. Also the committee for 

 considering the possibility of improving the methods of instruc- 

 tion in elementary geometry was reappointed, with the addidon 

 of Prof. Henrici and Mr, J. W. L. Glaisher, and requested to 

 consider the syllabus of the Association for the improvement of 

 geometrical teaching, and to report thereon. 



Mr. W. C. Roberts read a note from the committee which had 



