48 
NATURE 
[May 19, 1870 
them came a Celtic, and finally a Gothic invasion. As Scandina- 
vian archeology grew into a science, and the remains discovered 
were seen to fail into a stone, a bronze, and an iron series, the 
three groups collected were, in obedience to the previously exist- 
ing historic theory, respectively labelled Finnish, Celtic, and 
Scandinavian. Now, it happened that the first ‘vo obviously 
prehistoric skulls found in Scandinavia were of the round type, 
on which circumstance a learned person (Retzius, if I remember 
rightly), jumped—in characteristic nineteenth-century style—to 
the conclusion that the whole dolmen race was round-skulled. 
Never was a more monstrous generalisation built on a miserable 
collection of two particulars. There are known to exist in mu- 
seums about £0 skulls attributed to dolmen men, some of which 
are, perhaps, of questionable origin. ‘These crania are of every 
conceivable type, being, in fact, identical with modern church- 
yard skulls. No one pretends that their form is short, or 
Celtic, or Finnic ; and some authorities allege that they are 
mostly long. These facts are notorious enough in the North. 
They were ventilated atthe late Copenhagen Archzological 
Congress, and it was not denied on any side that the stone age 
skulls would suit modern Danes and Swedes. The short skulled 
stone man is in fact gone the way of the basilisk and the Vital 
Force, and it is time for him to take his departure from the 
authoritative scientific teaching of Great Britain. 
Professor Huxley appears to believe that the Northern Bronze, 
or Iron Man, was long skulled. Although this view is quite un- 
supported by facts, it may be backed by an argument from the 
domain of the Higher Criticism. In the Museum of Rosenberg are 
casts of the so-called Gold Horns, the originals of which precious 
runic articles were stolen nearly 70 years ago. One of these 
horns bears the inscription—‘‘ Ek hleva gastim holtingam horna 
Favido, which every runologist can read easily enough. But no two 
runologists agree even approximately in their versions, so that no 
date can be given to the horns from inferences built on the style of 
the inscription. However, Professor Steenstrup has pointed out 
that some figures of men engraved on the horns have heads of a 
longish appearance, which conclusive fact tells in favour of 
Professor Huxley’s dolicephalous doctrine, although some 
learned Danes consider that the skulls represented on the horns 
were obviously Oriental and not Scandinavian. 
According to the highest Copenhagen authorities, there is no 
ground whatever for the assertion that modern Scandinavian 
skulls are of the long type. It is equally incorrect to say that 
Scandinavians are fair-haired and blue-eyed 
Copenhagen G, STRACHEY_ 
The Anglo-Saxon Conquest 
In an interesting paper, quoted at p. 661 of NarurE, Prof. 
Rolleston dwells upon the proportion of short-lived maie skele- 
tons, found in Anglo-Saxon interments, as contrasted with the 
older character of the Romano-British interments, deducing there- 
from a conclusion as to their respective longevity. The writer 
appears to have forgotten that the youth of Romano-Britain had 
for many generations been forcibly expatriated— drafted abroad 
to feed the armies of Imperial Rome. A, HALL 
Analogy of Colour and Music 
Mr. W. S. OKELY accuses me of having criticised his letter 
**far too hastily,” and writes that he does #o¢ compare the dia- 
meters of Newton's rings with one another, but their cwées. On 
referring to his letter in NATuRE for Feb. 10, I read as 
follows :—‘‘ Professor Zannotti, of Naples, gives for the da- 
meters of the rings from red to red, the cube-roots of the 
numbers I, $, $, 4%, % #; 1%. 4. The intervals between these, 
taken successively, are 2, 18, 4°, 2, 4, 48, 2.” Your readers 
can now judge whether my failure to apprehend Mr. Okely’s 
measures was due to my undue haste or his obscurity of expres- 
sion. When Mr. Okely speaks of my ‘‘ doubting the accuracy ” 
of Professor Zannotti and M. Biot, he is drawing entirely on his 
own imagination ; what I did doubt was the value of the deduc- 
tions drawn by Mr. Okely from their figures. I sow doubt his 
power of distinguishing between external facts and those 
evolved from his own moral consciousness. 
Trin. Coll. Cambridge, May 4 SEDLEY TAYLOR 
Colour of the Sky 
Your correspondent ‘‘H. A. N.” will find some interesting re- 
marks on the blueness of the sky in Professor Tyndall’s “Glaciers 
of the Alps” (p. 257, &c.), and one or two additional notes in 
my ‘‘ Alpine Regions,” p. 150. With regard to the colour of 
the sky at great heights, I can inform him that in fine weather 
the blue becomes deeper as one ascends, as has been noticed by 
many persons accustomed to mountain climbing. The most 
striking instance that I have seen was during an ascent of Monte 
Rosa, 15,217 feet. On this occasion the colour was so deep as 
almost to approach a black, as deep as or deeper than the richest 
hues of Gentiana acaulis. This intensity of colour was only very 
conspicuous during the last few hundred feet of the ascent ; and 
in expeditions to mountains of nearly the same height I have not 
often seen it approached, never surpassed. Mr. Hincliff in his 
“Summer Months among the Alps,” p. 111, calls attention to the 
same phenomenon on Monte Rosa, and very appositely quotes 
Shelley : 
The sun's unclouded orb 
Rolled through the black concave. 
T. G. BoNNEY 
The Royal Society 
I CANNOT but think that the list of candidates recommended 
by the Council for election into the Royal Society published in 
your last number will be read by the outside world with con- 
siderable surprise. I look in vain in it for the names of two men, 
at least, of world-wide reputation, and well known as no mere 
dilettanti in their respective sciences, who were among the candi- 
dates, while the names of others are found there, which are on 
everybody’s lips with the thought, What have they done to 
merit the scientific distinction which is looked on by every lover 
of science “as almost an opening of the gates of paradise? Is it 
possible for us outsiders to learn anything of the considerations 
which govern the election ? Nor AN F.R.S. 
The Origin of Species and of Languages 
ALTHOUGH the origin of languages. is due, doubtless, to the 
gradual variation, selection, and combination of a few primary 
sounds, partly emotional, partly imitative ; yet the process differs 
essentially from the Darwinian in one all-important respect— 
that it is carried on by the countless efforts of vational beings. 
No irrational animal, though capable of uttering emotional 
sounds that are quite intelligible to its fellows, and though in 
some instances capable of imitating both natural and articulate 
sounds in a remarkable degree, has ever formed a language, 
simply because it wants reason. Therefore the analogy, in so 
far asit really holds, seems to tell against the Darwinian theory, 
in as far as that ascribes the origin of species to veasom/ess varia- 
tion and selection. 
To me this seems a most important consideration. 
not trespass further on your space. 
Stirling 
But I can- 
WILLIAM TAYLOR 
TAUNTON COLLEGE SCHOOL 
aes educational scheme which occupied much of the 
late Lord Taunton’s attention during the last years 
of his life, but of which he only saw the beginning, has 
now come into practical working. Under ordinary cir- 
cumstances the development of an ancient Grammar 
School into a modern Public School would merely pass as 
one of the now frequent symptoms of advance in English 
higher education. Thus the removal of Bishop Fox’s 
foundation (A.D. 1522) to a fine range of buildings outside 
Taunton, would hardly demand notice here. Our readers, 
however, whose attention was taken by Mr. Tuckwell’s 
paper on Science Teaching in Schools (NATURE, No. 1), 
will see that the application of his system on a much 
enlarged scale is likely to affect considerably the position 
of science in the West of England, While calling public 
attention to the admirable educational arrangements of 
this particular school, we wish to remark on science 
teaching in schools in general, with regard to two points 
which we observe to be often misconceived by the very 
teachers and parents whom they especially concern. 
First, as to the amount of other work displaced by the 
introduction of Physical Science as one of the regular 
parts of the school course. In the mediaeval system, 
