OCTOBEE 15, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



521 



height in the great earthquake of 1905. 

 Oeologists believed that the whole mass of the 

 Himalayas and Tibet was being pushed south 

 and wrinkling up a new range out of the allu- 

 vial plain. The survey authorities had re- 

 cently laid down six lines of bench marks 

 which would be observed every ten years. 

 Mr. B. F. E. Keeling, representing the Sur- 

 vey of Egypt, announced that the Egyptian 

 government had recently purchased a plat- 

 inum iridium standard from the same batch 

 as the international meters, which would be 

 the standard of length for Egypt; and that 

 they hoped to begin gravity observations next 

 spring with the pendulums belonging to the 

 South Kensington Museum which Captain 

 Scott took to the Antarctic. Mr. W. F. King, 

 presenting the report from Canada, an- 

 nounced that his government had recently 

 decided in favor of making the main triangu- 

 lation of Canada not merely sufficient for 

 topographical purposes, but of the highest 

 possible accuracy, and that the department 

 would henceforth be known as the Geodetic 

 Survey of Canada. Mr. Nakano (Japan) de- 

 scribed methods by which he had been suc- 

 cessful in determining difFerences of longi- 

 tude by the use of wireless telegraphy. Pro- 

 fessor Foerster (Berlin) announced that the 

 Bureau of Weights and Measures at Breteuil 

 would shortly undertake a definite compari- 

 son between the stability of wires and of 

 tapes of Suvar. M. Poincare announced that 

 arrangements had been made to send a signal 

 each day at noon by wireless telegraphy from 

 the Eiffel Tower. This signal will be avail- 

 able for shipping in the Atlantic and the 

 Mediterranean, for the determination of 

 longitude. Dr. Hehnert (chief of the Central 

 Bureau) announced the program of work 

 of the Central Bureau for the next three 

 years. It included further researches on the 

 variation of latitude, deviations of the verti- 

 cal along the 48th parallel, new reduction of 

 the observations of gravity over the ocean, a 

 general comparison of observations of lati- 

 tude and deviation of vertical throughout the 

 world, and a continuation of the observation 

 of lunar earth tides. Sir George Darwin, 



presenting the report of the Eigidity of the 

 Earth Commission, asked the association to 

 adopt a resolution approving of the grant of 

 £100 annually to enable observations to be 

 made by Dr. Hecher's method in the deep 

 silver mines of Przbram, in Hungary, and 

 asking the cooperation of the International 

 Seismological Association. 



Harlan I. Smith, of the department of an- 

 thropology of the American Museum of Nat- 

 ural History, has returned from a three 

 months' trip along the northwest coast of 

 America from Seattle to Skagway. He re- 

 sumed his archeological reconnoissance of the 

 coast, carrying it northward from Alert Bay 

 near the northern end of Vancouver Island to 

 a point on the Chilkat River, about twenty-five 

 miles above Haines. The following sites were 

 located: an ancient village site about four 

 miles above the mouth of the Bella Coola 

 Eiver; shell heaps in the vicinity of Old Mat- 

 lankatla and Prince Rupert, and both north 

 and south of Port Simpson; a village site at 

 the old eulichon fishing ground on the north 

 side of Nass River a few miles above Kinco- 

 lith; petroglyphs near Wrangel, and several 

 village sites along the Chilkat River, between 

 Haines and Klukwan. Over three hundred 

 photographs, of which one hundred ninety-two 

 were on 6J X 8i plates, were taken to show as 

 completely as possible all the phases of Indian 

 life met with on the trip at Victoria, North 

 Saanich, Alert Bay, Rivers Inlet, Bella Coola. 

 Port Simpson, along Nass River, at Wrangel 

 and along the Stickine, Iskut and Chilkat 

 Rivers. Photographic prints illustrating eth- 

 nological conditions were also purchased 

 wherever possible. Among the ethnological 

 objects seen the few not already represented 

 in the museum collection were purchased. 

 Two Bella Coola totem poles were secured in 

 order that they may be preserved as ethnolog- 

 ical specimens and may lend artistic effect to 

 the Northwest Coast Hall in the museum. 

 Arrangements were made to secure other poles 

 from the various areas of the northwest coast 

 culture for the same purpose. Mr. Will S. 

 Taylor, a mural artist, the other member of 

 the expedition, made color studies in oil of the 



