ete Pe 
eure 
SEPTEMBER 21, 1916] 
1910, ix. (1), No. 20, p. 7, pl..4, f. 6) records and figures 
a cowrie found in the Serpent Mound, Ontario. It is 
a regular C, moneta, ana it is suggested that ‘this 
is probably one from the Hudson Bay Company’s 
stock.”’ - eae ; 
But these suggestions entirely ignore the uses made 
of the cowrie in America. If Columbus and the Hud- 
_ son Bay Company really introduced C. moneta, as these 
speculations demand, are we to assume that they also 
instructed the Indians in certain remarkable cere- 
monials practised with this shell in Africa, India, and 
China? Is there any reason for believing that Colum- 
bus was even aware of such uses, and if he were, 
that he should have had the foresight to take C. 
- moneta with him, and have devoted the limited time 
he spent in America in teaching the natives some of 
the lesser-known elements of Indian and Chinese 
beliefs ? 
The money-cowrie is, and has been for centuries, 
a sacred object among the Ojibwa and Menomini 
Indians, and is made use of in initiation ceremonies 
of the Grand Medicine Society (see Hoffman, Bureau 
of Ethnology, 7th Annual Report, 1885-86 (1891), and 
r4th Annual Report, 1892-93 (1896); also Nature, 
January 27, 1916, for abstract of paper by the writer). 
The tradition among the Indians is that the original 
sacred shell came through a particular hero-god, who 
acted as intermediary between the Great Unknown 
and the Indians, and founded their Medicine Society. 
The initiation ceremonies consist of much dancing 
and the shooting forward by the medicine men of their 
medicine bags containing the sacred cowries. Mystic 
powers are attributed to the shells, and it is firmly 
believed that if they be swallowed by the medicine 
man, all he is obliged to do tu transfer his power to 
the medicine bag is to breathe on it, the mysterious 
power and influence being then transmitted by merely 
thrusting the bag towards the desired object or person. 
At initiation ceremonies the magic influence is shot 
at the candidate’s breast, and the cowrie—the symbol 
of life—is supposed to enter his heart; he becomes 
unconscious and falls forward on his face. The chief 
medicine man then raises the candidate’s head slightly 
from the ground, and a sacred cowrie drops from the 
candidate’s mouth. 
The same shells are used apparently at baptismal 
ceremonies of the Ojibwa (see Greenwood, *‘ Curiosities 
of Savage Life”), There is the same dancing and 
shooting forward of the medicine bags, and after much 
facial contortion each medicine man spits out two 
shells. 
The essential part of these ceremonies is the sup- 
posed death and survival of the candidate, and it is 
remarkable how closely the prevailing idea of the 
cowries being connected in some strange manner with 
resurrection and resuscitation agrees with the ancient 
Chinese belief as evidenced in the ceremonial use of 
money-cowries in obsequies of the dead. In_pre- 
Christian and later times cowries were used in China, 
in association with rice, for stuffing the mouth of the 
dead. Wild rice, it might be added, also enters into 
the ritual of Ojibwa and Menomini ceremonies. 
Manchester Museum. J. Witrrip Jackson. 
Notice of Possible Suspension of the Rules of Nomen- 
clature in the Gases of Holothuria, 1758, vs. 
Physalia, 1801, and Bohadschia, 1833, vs. Holo- 
thuria, 1791. 
In accordance with the requirements prescribed by 
the International Congress of Zoology, notice to the 
zoological profession is hereby given that on or about 
October 1, 1917, the undersigned proposes to recom- 
NO. 2447, VoL. 98] 
NATURE 
49 
i 
| mend to the International Commission’ on Zoological 
Nomenclature that the rules be suspended in the follow- 
ing cases :— 
Holothuria, Linn., 1758 (type physalis), vs. Physalia, 
Lamarck, 1801 (type pelagica). The effect of suspen- 
sion will be to retain Physalia as generic name for the 
Portuguese man-of-war. 
Bohadschia, Jaeger, 1833, vs. Holothuria, Bruguiére, 
1791. The effect of suspension will be to retain Holo- 
thuria for the sea cucumbers. 
The motion for suspension includes the following 
points :— 
(1) Suspend the rules in the case of the generic 
names in question. 
(2) Permanently reject Holothuria, 1758, type 
physalis. 
(3) Validate Physalia, 1801, type pelagica (syn. 
physalis, 1758). 
(4) Accept Holothuria as dating from Bruguiére, 
1791, despite the existence of Holothuria, 1758 (if 
rejected). - 
(5) Said suspension is not to be construed as in- 
validating any specific name. 
The grounds for suspension will be :—(a) A strict 
application of the rules in these cases will result in 
greater confusion than uniformity, because (b) the 
cases, involve a transfer of generic names, almost 
universally accepted in the sense given above since 
1791 (for Holothuria) and since 1801 (for Physalia), to 
genera in other groups in connection with which they 
have been used by only a very few authors during 
more than 100 years. 
The undersigned cordially invites zoologists to com- 
municate, not later than September 1, 1917, to him 
or to any other member of the Commission, eithe- 
their approval or disapproval of the proposed action. 
C. W. Stizzs, 
Secretary to Commission. 
Office of Secretary to International Commission on 
Zoological Nomenclature, Smithsonian Institu- 
tion, Washington, D.C. 
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH. 
eS first report of the Advisory Council of the 
Committee of the Privy Council for Scientific 
and Industrial Research was published in full 
abstract in the issue of Nature for September 7, 
and has probably already been read by all who 
are interested in this important matter. It will 
therefore be unnecessary to refer in detail to the 
contents of the report, but it is essential to con- 
‘sider it in its broad aspects and thoughtfully to 
estimate its bearing as a contribution to the sub- 
ject of much discussion and contention in the 
past two years. 
One feature of the report is the degree to which 
it repeats much that has been said and written by 
| British scientific men, engineers, and practical 
; manufacturers in the public discussions which have 
| taken place on this subject during the past twenty- 
five months or more, but without carrying the 
matter forward by the prescription of practicable 
remedies for recognised defects. The arguments 
for and against various actions are weighed with 
an_air of detachment which gives to it rather the’ 
character of an interesting essay than the authori- 
tative decisions of a committee possessing execu- 
tive power. The public has, without doubt, looked 
