July 7, 1898] 



NATURE 



2X1 



obtain in the proportions of the face of the crania after Euro- 

 pean contact may be traced to the impress made upon the indi- 

 vidual by the action of the exanthematous diseases, I remain 

 of the opinion that the interest attached to the study of the 

 human skull is not confined to attempting to limit race, but to the 

 study of the effects of nutritive and even morbid processes upon 

 the skull form." Dr. D. J. Brinton prefixes a short appreciative 

 note to the memoir, and points out that the conclusion as to the 

 influence of methods of living in producing differences between 

 crania is most important. 



" A Catalogue of Earthquakes on the Pacific Coast, 1769 

 ' 1897," by Dr. E. S. Holden, forms No. 1087 of " Smith- 

 - nian Miscellaneous Collections," vol. xxxvii. In compiling 

 this catalogue. Dr. Holden had in view the determination of 

 the general facts as to distribution of earthquake shocks, as to 

 topographic areas, as to time, intensity, &c., and also the 

 characteristics of particular shocks. The result is a history of 

 earthquakes on the Pacific Coast, the disturbances being arranged 

 chronologically and briefly discussed in an introduction. As 

 many of the earthquakes of California are very local phenomena, 

 which depend upon local causes for their production, no very 

 definite conclusions can be found with reference to them. An 

 arrangement of the shocks according to seasons shows that for 

 California, Oregon, and Washington at large, shocks occur with 

 about equal frequency in the wet and in the dry seasons. The 

 jcords indicate, however, that in San Francisco and San Jose 

 licks are more frequent in the rainy season than in the dry. 

 Dr. Holden suggests that, in any future study of California 

 earthquakes, special regions ought to be selected for examin- 

 ation, with the object of determining the origin of the local 

 shocks. The data he has obtained seem to indicate that the 

 greater number of California earthquakes have been the result 

 of faulting in underlying strata, rather than due to volcanic 

 causes directly. With regard to damage to life and property 

 caused by the earthquakes recorded, it is concluded that the 

 irthquakes of a whole century in CaHfornia have been less 

 instructive than the tornadoes or floods of a single year in other 

 parts of the States. 



We have received the Summary Report of the Geological 

 Survey of Canada for 1897, by Dr. George M. Dawson, 

 Director, and it is interesting to note that there is a great 

 and increasing demand for the Survey publications. It is, of 

 course, not surprising to learn that the report on the Yukon 

 district is practically exhausted, and that the text and maps 

 will be revised and reprinted. Gold mining was first attempted 

 in the Yukon region in 1880, and in 1887 Dr. Dawson con- 

 icted an exploration of it ; his forecast of the mining pro- 

 tects has been amply verified by the recent discoveries in the 

 / Hondike district. The work of the Survey has so increased 

 at there is great need of new, fireproof, and more spacious 

 /aarters ; but at present the economic and scientific value of 

 the collections and records does not appear to be fully appre- 

 ciated by the Canadian Parliament. A quotation is made from 

 !! article in Nature, written by a geologist who attended the 

 iceting of the British Association in Toronto, and this pointed 

 ut how well the work of the Survey is appreciated by the 

 cople for whom it is primarily intended. The results of ex- 

 jL-rimental borings carried out by the Survey in Northern 

 Alberta in search of mineral oils are duly recorded. There are 

 useful notes on the occurrence of corundum, and of observations 

 on it by Mr. W, F. Ferrier. Coal, peat-bogs, building-stones 

 and various metals come in for a share of attention, as well as 

 the soils and agricultural prospects. Various analyses and 

 assays have been made. The purely scientific aspects of 

 geology are by no means neglected, and we have accounts of 

 the igneous origin of fundamental gneiss, and of various form- 

 NO. 1497, VOL. 58] 



ations of all ages up to the glacial drifts and recent accumu 

 lations. Reports on the palseontologica work are furnished 

 by Mr, Whiteaves. During the year nineteen new maps were 

 published ; so it is evident that the Survey is prosecuted with 

 vigour and enthusiasm, and we only hope that Dr. Dawson's 

 desire for a more appropriate establishment may be granted. 



The seventeenth annual Report of the United States Geo- 

 logical Survey, recording in full the work done under the 

 direction of Mr. C. D, Walcott during the period 1895-96, has 

 lately reached us. It is divided into three parts, which are pub- 

 lished in two bulky and two smaller volumes, and together these 

 comprise Ixviii and 2998 pages of letter-press. The information, 

 as usual, is of the most varied character. There is the general 

 report of the Director ; an account of magnetic declination in 

 the United States, by Henry Gannett ; further contributions to 

 the geology of the Sierra Nevada, by H. W, Turner ; a geo- 

 logical reconnaissance in North-western Oregon, by J, S, Diller ; 

 and a discussion of the faunal relations of the Eocene and Upper 

 Cretaceous on the Pacific Coast, by T, W. Stanton. In addition 

 there are reports on the coal and lignite of Alaska, on the 

 Uintaite or Gilsonite (a variety of asphalt) in Utah ; on the 

 brick-clays of Rhode Island ; on the gold-quartz veins of 

 Nevada city ; on the geology of Silver Cliff and the Rosita 

 Hills of Colorado ; on the Tennessee phosphates ; and on 

 various underground and artesian waters. The mineral 

 statistics are full and elaborate, and it is interesting to note that 

 I Fuller's earth has been discovered in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, 

 j and South Dakota. The illustrations are many, and include 

 figures of Eocene and Upper Cretaceous MoUusca, maps, 

 sections, pictorial views, and plates showing structure of ores, 

 eruptive and metamorphic rocks. 



The following important additions to our knowledge of the 

 flora of the American continent and of Australia have reached 

 us : — Contribution No. 3 to the coastal and plain flora of 

 Yucatan, by D. C. F. Millspaugh, from the Field Columbian 

 Museum, Chicago ; Contributions from the Gray Herbarium of 

 Harvard University (No. 13), by Mr. B. L. Robinson, com- 

 prising a revision of the North American and Mexican species 

 of Mimosa (67 species), and of the North American species of 

 Neptitnia ; five instalments of Contributions to the flora of 

 Queensland, by Mr, F, M. Bailey (these, not being numbered, 

 are difhcult of reference). 



Tourists who are contemplating a visit to the north of 

 Ireland should procure a copy of the Official Guide to the 

 Belfast and Northern Counties Railway, Giant's Causeway, and 

 Antrim Coast. The volume is a handy and exceptionally 

 interesting guide-book, containing, in addition to the usual 

 information, a section upon scenery and geology in County 

 Antrim, by Prof, G. A, J. Cole, botanical notes by Mr. R. 

 Lloyd Praeger, notes on the antiquarian remains of Antrim, by 

 Mr. W, Gray, and numerous reproductions of photographs. 



The initiation ceremonies of natives of Australia have in 

 recent years received the attention of a number of anthro- 

 pologists. The latest paper upon the subject deals with the 

 initiation ceremonies of the Arunta tribe. Central Australia, and 

 is by Prof, Baldwin Spencer and Mr. F. J. Gillen. {Proceedings 

 of the Royal Society of Victoria, vol. x., issued May 1898). It 

 may be recalled that an account of the Engwurra ceremony as 

 performed by the Arunta tribe appeared in Nature a year ago 

 (vol. Ivi,, p. 136). The Engwurra is not passed through until 

 probably the native has reached the age of at least twenty-five 

 or even thirty ; but this final and impressive ceremony is 

 preceded by others, beginning at about the age of ten or twelve, 

 through which practically every Australian native has to pass 

 before he is admitted to the secrets of the tribe and regarded as 



