376 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IX. No. 219. 



ence of peneplains on this earth of shifting base 

 levels. Professor F. L. Washburn describes and 

 figures the shoulder girdle of ' A Peculiar 

 Toad,' presenting the abnormality of an extra 

 (left) fore limb. " The abundant literature on the 

 subject of the Trenton Gravels receives an ad- 

 dition from Dr. Frank Russell, who describes 

 some ' Human Remains from the Trenton 

 Gravels,' concluding that the skulls which are 

 figured are those of modern Indians, probably 

 of the Lenni Lenape. A goodly proportion of 

 Notes and Reviews fill out the number. 



The Journal of the Boston Society of Medical 

 Sciences for January comprises two parts, each 

 containing a number of excellent plates. Those 

 illustrating the articles on the ' Pathological 

 Histology of Acute Lacunar Tonsilitis,' by J. 

 L. Goodale, and the ' Character of the Cellular 

 Exudation in Acute Keratitis of the Rabbit,' by 

 W. T. Councilman, are particularly fine. Our 

 anti-vivisection friends who discredit the exist 

 ence of hydrophobia would do well to read the 

 paper by Langdon Frothingham on 'Rabies in the 

 Vicinity of Boston,' where 20 positive cases are 

 noted between March, 1897, and December, 

 1898. An interesting series of 'Observations 

 on the Effects Produced by the 6-mm. Rifle and 

 Projectile,' by H. G. Beyer, is well calculated 

 to create respect for the new Navy arm. 



The Botanical Qazette for February contains 

 the following leading articles : ' New or Little 

 Known North America Trees,' C. S. Sargent 

 ' The Ecological Relations of the Vegetation on 

 the Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan,' Henry C. 

 Cowles ; ' The Society for Plant Morphology 

 and Physiology — Columbia Meeting,' W. F. 

 Ganong. The briefer articles include : ' Notes 

 on the Maximum Thermal Death-point of Spo- 

 rotrichum Globuliferum,' B. M. Duggar; 'De- 

 scriptions of Two Willows from Central Amer- 

 ica,' W. W. Rowlee ; 'A Peculiar Case of Spore 

 Distribution,' F. L. Stevens ; 'A New Silphium,' 

 Wm. M. Canby. 



by R. S. Woodworth on the 'Accuracy of Move- 

 ment, by F. C. Spencer on the ' Origin and Per- 

 sistent Influence of Sacred Number Concepts,' 

 and by F. Boas on ' Anthropometric Charts.' 



Dr. Boas presented the results of recent in- 

 vestigations, which show that the anthropo- 

 metric charts now used in the gymnasium by 

 anthropologists are valueless as a means for es- 

 timating the development of individuals. 



Chas. B. Bliss, 



Secretary. 



ONONDAGA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



At the January meeting annual reports of 

 officers and sections were received and the fol- 

 lowing ofiicers were elected : President, John 

 Van Duyu, M.D. ; Vice-President, J. A. 

 Dakin; Secretary, P. F. Schneider ; Correspond- 

 ing Secretary, H. W. Britcher; Treasurer, Miss 

 L. W. Roberts ; Librarian, Miss V. L. Jones. 



The report of the Geological Section showed 

 considerable progress in the investigation of in- 

 teresting local problems, and cited the discov- 

 ery of a vein of quartz crystals in the Cornifer- 

 ous rock at the Onondaga Indian Reservation. 



The report of the Botanical Section included 

 new localities for several of the rarer plants of 

 the county. One plant, Glaucium glaucium, was 

 reported as new to the county, and two, Crepis 

 virens and Sanguisorba canadensis, were reported 

 as new to the State. Selaginella selaginoides 

 was also found and is probably new to the 

 State. 



The report of the Zoological Section con- 

 tained the result of feeding experiments on the 

 larvse of Diedamia inscripta. During the year 

 upwards of thirty spiders were added to the 

 list of Onondaga county species. Of these, 

 nine species had not hitherto been reported in 

 the State. 



H. W. Britcher. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADESIIES. 



SECTION OF psychology AND ANTHROPOLOGY 



OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



At the regular monthly meeting of the sec- 

 tion, on February 24th, papers were presented 



DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE, 



WHAT IS THE CAUSE OP THE SO CALLED 



TOBACCO FERMENTATION ? 



Thus far it has been generally believed that 

 the rise of temperature and the chemical changes 

 that take place when the cured tobacco leaves 

 are piled up in heaps are due to bacterial ac- 

 tion. But careful investigations of the ' fer- 



