Marcu 28, 1907 | 
molecule of extraordinary lability. The first product 
of such polymerisation, which might be, as the author 
suggests, the aldehyde of aspartic acid, would further 
condense so as to. form a body having the formula 
ascribed by Liberkuhn to the simplest protein. This 
substance, ‘‘ primitive peptone,’’ by polymerisation 
of two molecules might form albumoses, and by the 
union of three molecules might form albumen. 
Although the facts brought together by the author 
are interesting, and although we must grant the 
possibility of aldehyde groups existing in some parts 
of the protein molecule, and perhaps being responsible 
for some of the chemical interactions which occur 
in the living cell, the new facts brought forward are 
too trivial effectively to modify our opinion on the 
structure of the protein molecule, which is based on 
the solid work of Fischer and his pupils. 
La Découverte de l’Anneau de Saturne par Huygens. 
By Jean Mascart. Pp. 58. (Paris: Gauthier- 
Villars, 1907). Price 2 frances. 
In this small volume of 58 pages M. Mascart tells the 
history of the discovery of Saturn’s rings from the 
time of Galileo’s dramatic anagram concerning the 
altissimam planetam, and his subsequent tragic dis- 
appointment and ‘despair, to the time when, after 
many questionings and discussions, Huygens finally 
established his accepted theory. This history is most 
interesting, and includes a number of extracts from 
Huygens’s corespondence on the subject, showing us 
how he had to fight for the acceptance of his theory 
and then had to fight again for the vindication of his 
priority in the matter. The numerous reproductions 
of original drawings by Gassendi, Hélvétius, Riccioli, 
Huygens, Wallis, and others give an additional 
interest to the work, which is concluded by a lucid 
recapitulation of the later theories, such as that of 
Otto Struve, and discoveries concerning Saturn’s 
unique appendage. View Grom kere 
German Science Reader. Part i. Mathematics, 
Physics, and Chemistry. Compiled by C. R. Dow. 
Pp. 85. (London: J. M. Dent and Co., 1906.) 
Price 2s. 
Twenty pages of this boolk are devoted to mathe- 
matics, twenty-three to physics, nineteen to chem- 
istry, and the remainder to a vocabulary of words 
not usually found in elementary class-books of 
German. The mathematical portion is a synopsis of 
principles of mathematics with enunciations of 
problems, while the two remaining sections consist 
of definitions and descriptions of some physical and 
chemical properties of matter. Any student of science 
who has an elementary knowledge of the German 
language should be able to read the book with the 
aid of the vocabulary, and the task would be more 
to his taste than reading or translating Grimm’s or 
Andersen’s fairy-tales. No grammatical rules are 
given, as instruction in these is assumed to have 
been obtained in an earlier course. 
Céruse et Blanc de Zinc. By M. G. Petit. Pp. 154. 
Préparation mécanique des Minerais. Résumé 
pratique. By. F. Rigaud. (Paris: Gauthier- 
Villars and Masson et Cie., n.d.) 
Boru these volumes are publications in the now 
well-known ‘‘ Encyclopédie Scientifique des Aide- 
Mémoire.’”’? The first deals with the preparation and 
use in painting of white lead and zinc white re- 
spectively. The second book provides a_ practical 
account of the various processes in use for the 
mechanical preparation of ores by separating them 
from their stony matrix. 
NO. 1952, VOL. 75] 
NATURE 
599 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 
[The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions 
expressed by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake 
to return, or to correspond with the writers of, rejected 
manuscripts intended for this or any other part of NaTURE. 
No notice is taken of anonymous communications.] 
The Ballot-Box. 
In reference to the weight-judging competition, Mr. 
Galton says that ‘‘ the average competitor was probably 
as well fitted for making a just estimate of the dressed 
weight of the ox as an average voter is of judging the 
merits of most political issues on which he votes.’’ ‘lhese 
competitions are very popular in Cornwall; but I do not 
think that Mr. Galton at all realises how large a_per- 
centage of the voters—the great majority, I should suspect 
—are butchers, farmers, or men otherwise occupied with 
cattle. To these men the ability to estimate the meat- 
equivalent weight of a living animal is an essential part 
of their business; and, as an instance of their training, I 
may mention that one of the butchers here has a son 
under thirteen years of age who is an adept at this work, 
and is already, I am told, one of the best weight-judges in 
the district. This boy has been trained to it by his 
father, and already surpasses his instructor. Moreover, 
many of the competitors doubtlessly compete frequently, 
compare notes afterwards, and correct future estimates 
by past experience. Now the point of all this is that, in 
so far as this state of things prevails, we have to deal 
with, not a vox populi, but a vox expertorum. I am 
afraid that the majority of such competitors know far 
more of their business, are far better trained, and are 
better fitted to form a judgment, than are the majority 
of voters of any party, and of either the uneducated or the 
so-called ‘‘ educated ’’ classes. I heartily wish that the 
case were otherwise. 
“6 
F. H. Perry-Coste. 
Polperro, Cornwall, March 21. 
I INFERRED that many non-experts were among the com- 
petitors, (1) because they were too numerous (about 800) 
to be mostly experts; (2) because of the abnormally wide 
vagaries of judgment at either end of the scale; (3) because 
of the prevalence of a sporting imstinct, such as leads 
persons who know little about horses to bet on races. But 
I have no facts whereby to test the truth of my inference. 
It would be of service in future competitions if a line 
headed ‘‘ Occupation’? were inserted in the cards, after 
those for the address. Francis GALton. 
Mr. Hooker, in Nature of March 21, seems not to 
have quite appreciated my principal contention in_ the 
letters ‘‘ One Vote, One Value’’ and ‘‘ Vox Populi of 
February 28 and March 7 respectively. It was to show 
that the verdict given by the ballot-box must be the 
Median estimate, because every other estimate is condemned 
in advance by a majority of the voters. This being the case, 
I examined the votes in a particular instance according 
to the most appropriate method for dealing with medians, 
quartiles, &c. I had no intention of trespassing into the 
technical and much-discussed question of the relative 
merits of the Median and of the several kinds of Mean, 
and beg to be excused from not doing so now except in 
two particulars. First, that it may not be sufficiently 
realised that the suppression of any one value in a series 
can only make the difference of one half-place to the 
median, whereas if the series be small it may make a great 
difference to the mean; consequently, I think my pro- 
posal that juries should openly adopt the median when 
estimating damages, and councils when estimating money 
grants, has independent merits of its own, besides being 
in strict accordance with the true theory of the ballot-box. 
Secondly, Mr. Hooker’s approximate calculation from my 
scanty list of figures, of what the mean would be of all 
the figures, proves to be singularly correct; he makes it 
1196 lb. (which is the mean of the deviates at poemetiiae 
95°), whereas it should have been 1197 Ib. This 
shows well that a small orderly sample is as useful for 
calculating means as a very much larger random sample, 
” 
