April 14, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



541 



coast along the Channel of Tartary as far 

 as Okhotsk Sea. ISTo evidence whatever 

 could be found to indicate a former 

 population different from the present. 

 The swift current and high waves 

 keep the gravel and sand of the beach 

 continually shifting. It was possibly 

 for this reason that so little was found on 

 the shores. Not a worked flint -was seen. 

 There were hundreds of fragments of pot- 

 terj', about thirty polished stone hatchets 

 or scrapers, some notched sinkers and a few 

 other stones, showing marks of use or at- 

 tempts at shaping. Above the water-line, 

 grass and weeds grow so abundantly that 

 the ground is hidden. In the few places, 

 where vertical exposi^res of the banks oc- 

 curred, every foot was carefully examined ; 

 but there was not a fragment of potterj^ a 

 piece of charcoal, or any other evidence of 

 human occupation, to be seen below the 

 sod. This is true of all terraces, whether 

 subject to overflow or not. The natives 

 say the ' old people ' (meaning thereby their 

 predecessors, without regard to time) used 

 the polished stone implements. Now bet- 

 ter utensils can be had from the Russians. 

 Most of the pottery is Manchurian, as is 

 proved by its marking or decoration. The 

 remains of a Chinese town may be seen in 

 the woods at Tj'r ; three inscribed monu- 

 ments formerly stood near here. The in- 

 scriptions have been deciphered, and prove 

 to be Manchurian. 



There are no shell-heaps, of course, be- 

 cause no shells ; no mounds ; no stone 

 graves ; no graves, except modern ones, 

 with any mark to show their existence. 



"When a Gilyak house is abandoned, it 

 soon goes to decay. The earth piled 

 around the base is increased in amount by 

 that falling upon it from the walls, and 

 when the wood all decays there is left an 

 embankment surrounding a depression. If 

 the roof-timbers hold for a year or two, the 

 earth is washed off and adds to the em- 



bankment ; if this dirt falls directly down- 

 ward, it lessens the depth of the depression. 



In the entire region examined, these 

 abandoned house-pits was found. In some, 

 part of the timbers were still in their proper 

 position. In others the timbers were all 

 more or less decayed. In still others no 

 trace of wood remained. Step by step could 

 be traced the gradation from the house just 

 deserted to the house-pit covered with moss 

 and turf to an equal thickness with that on 

 every side, and overgrown with pine trees 

 up to thirty inches in diameter — as large as 

 any observed along the river. All are con- 

 structed in the same way, and several which 

 were trenched across showed the stone flues 

 just as they are made at present. 



There may be ancient remains here yet 

 to be discovered ; but so far none have been 

 found which maj' not be properly attributed 

 to the present native tribes, or to the Man- 

 churiaus, who until recently owned this 

 territory. 



Gerard Fowke. 



ON BIOLOGICAL TEXT-BOOKS AAW TEACHERS 

 A GENERAL indictment against text- books 

 may be drawn, to the effect that, like the 

 teachers who are usually their authors, they 

 proceed on the assumption that all who pass 

 through their sphere of influence are to be- 

 come specialists in that particular depart- 

 ment of knowledge. This tendency carries 

 its own redudio ad ahsurdmn and is the cause 

 of frequent revolutions in ' methods of teach- 

 ing. ' A new phase of the subject, a new 

 standpoint from which to present it, is at 

 first tentatively added or partially substi- 

 tuted for the old course of study, with 

 noticeably excellent results. Not realizing 

 that the improvement is secured by the 

 introduction of moderation, balance and 

 sanity into the work of instruction, the in- 

 ference is at once drawn that still more 

 startling effects are possible through further 

 progress in the direction whence the light 



