456 



NA TURE 



{March 19, 1885 



for original papers of real importance ; but the task of 

 recording progress, of acting as the historians of science, 

 is rightly declined by societies which aim at advance 

 rather than at retrospect. Hence this most important 

 function can be best discharged by these great Associa- 

 tions, and it will always suffice to save them from de- 

 generating into scientific camp-meetings or picnics. 



The Sections in the American Association are equally 

 numerous with those in the British at the present time, 

 though differently arranged. Mathematics and Physics 

 are divided, Geology and Geography united ; Histology 

 and Microscopy form a section separate from Biology. 

 We doubt the advantages of the union in the second 

 case, and of the separation in the third. That no address 

 is printed in this volume, and that the only record of the 

 proceedings of the Section of Histology and Microscopy 

 is the statement that, although some meetings took place, 

 no papers were read before it, seems an indication that, 

 as in Britain, its subjects might safely be merged in 

 Biology, the latter Section having the power of temporary 

 subdivision. 



In another respect too the 'American "differs from the 

 British Association. In the latter the delivery of an address 

 is the first official act of its President, in the former it is 

 the last. The address at Minneapolis was delivered by 

 Principal (now Sir William) Dawson, and is characterised 

 by the scientific caution and literary ability of its author. 

 It gives a critical sketch of the results of geology, more 

 especially with reference to the development of the earlier 

 rocks and to the evolution of living creatures. In regard 

 to the former, Sir W. Dawson inclines to drawing a 

 marked line of separation between the Lower Laurentian 

 or Ottawa gneiss of Sir W. Logan and the Middle Lau- 

 rentian or the Grenville series of the same, which is 

 characterised by beds of limestone and dolomite, " quartz- 

 ite, quartzose gneisses, and even pebble beds," besides 

 graphite, iron ore, and the debatable eozoon, which Sir 

 W. Dawson considers as indicating the existence of land 

 surfaces of the fundamental gneiss. The L'pper Laurentian 

 or Norian series is noticed with due caution, though it 

 is regarded as decidedly younger than the preceding 

 formation. The Huronian, Montalban, and Taconian 

 (Lower Taconic of Emmons) are next mentioned, but the 

 author, though inclining to the views of Dr. Sterry Hunt 

 as to their order of succession, forbears to dogmatise as 

 to their precise relations either mutually or with " certain 

 doubtful deposits around Lake Superior." With regard 

 to the development of life, he is decidedly adverse to the 

 evolution school among biologists, but is not able to add 

 anything material to the familiar arguments of its 

 opponents. The address concludes with a brief notice of 

 some of the obscure markings, variously referred by 

 palaeontologists to alga;, protozoa, and tracks of various 

 animals, and with a critical sketch of the theories relating 

 to the Glacial Epoch, in which he expresses himself as 

 opposed to the extreme views of the former extension 

 of land-ice and its erosive action which are favoured by- 

 some geologists. 



Two other papers are given as " read in General Ses- 

 sions," which we presume may be regarded as in some 

 respect analogous with the evening discourses at the British 

 meetings. The one by Dr. Sterry Hunt, "On a Classifi- 

 cation of the Natural Sciences,'' is printed in abstract 



only ; the other, by Prof. E. D. Cope, entitled " The 

 Evidence for Evolution in the History of the Extinct 

 Mammalia," is an extremely able and temperate sketch 

 of the views antagonistic to those entertained by the 

 retiring President. " The German Survey of the Northern 

 Heavens" forms the subject of an interesting address by 

 Prof. W. A. Rogers, who presided over the section of 

 Mathematics and Astronomy, and Prof. H. A. Rowland deli- 

 vered a " Plea for Pure Science " to the section of Physics. 

 Both these sections received a considerable number of 

 communications. The section of Chemistry does not 

 appear to have had a special address, and the number of 

 papers read before it was not large. The same may be 

 said of the Mechanical Section, in which only seven 

 papers are recorded as read. Prof. Hitchcock, in the 

 section of Geology and Geography, took the " Early 

 History of the North American Continent" as the subject 

 of his address, in which he favours the idea that the bulk 

 of the early crystalline rocks are of igneous origin, being 

 metamorphosed volcanic rocks or tuffs. Ice and its 

 leavings form the subject of a large proportion of the 

 papers read before this section. More than one of these 

 is of much interest, especially that by Mr. W. Upham 

 on the Minnesota Valley in the Ice Age. Messrs. 

 H. C. Bolton and A. A. Julien describe " The Singing 

 Beach of Manchester, Mass.," noticing in the course 

 of the paper the sonorous sand in the Island of 

 Eigg (Hebrides), as well as others on record. It re- 

 sults from their observations that the sound is due to 

 the grains, which are not rounded, but have flat and 

 angular surfaces. It is, we think, undoubtedly a vibration 

 phenomenon. We are acquainted (probably the fact is 

 common) with a small screw-tap in a lavatory, which is 

 loudly sonorous when a certain amount of water is 

 allowed to issue, but silent in other positions. Prof. W. J. 

 Beal,inaddressing the Section of Biology,dealswith "Agri- 

 culture, its Needs and Opportunities ; " and the Section 

 received a considerable number of interesting communica- 

 tions. Dr. Franklin B. Hough addressed the Economic 

 Section on the method of statistics, and the address of 

 Mr. E. B. Elliott, delivered to the same Section at the 

 preceding Montreal meeting, is printed in this volume. 

 This Section does not appear to receive nearly so many 

 communications as the corresponding one of the British 

 Association. The address of Prof. O. T. Mason to the 

 Section of Anthropology deals with the scope and value 

 of anthropological studies, and a considerable number of 

 interesting papers were read. Those relating to mound- 

 building may be of service to European archaeologists as 

 offering suggestions which may help in the interpretation 

 of some of the earthworks in the Old World. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 



The Editor does not hold himselj responsible for opinions expressnt 

 by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, 

 or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscript:. 

 No notice is taken of anonymous communications. 

 [ The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters 

 as slwrt as possible. The pressure on his space is so great 

 that it is impossible otherwise to insure the appearance even 

 of communications containing interesting and novel facts.] 

 On the Terminology of the Mathematical Theory of 



Elasticity 

 Tin: late Dr. Todhunter left, in an incomplete state, a valu- 

 able "History of the Mathematical Theories of Elasticity," 



