SCIENCE. 



LN. ?. Vol. IX. No. 234. 



Totem is adopted into near kinship we merely 

 see, in the not-killing and eating, that which 

 follows naturally the rule of human kinship. 

 But if the main motive in abstaining from eat- 

 ing Totem 'is to conciliate,' then Totemism is 

 so far religious as a method of dealing with 

 superiors, for in a broad sense religion includes 

 all acts toward the superior as such. But 

 Totemism, so far as it makes the native coercive 

 to his fellow animals by force of cunning magic, 

 certainly is unreligious. 



As to Exogamy, while this may arise simi- 

 larly with abstinence from killing and eating, 

 and is thus a saving from supposed incest, as 

 Mr. Frazer says, we would also see that mar- 

 riage within a Totem group might have the 

 undesirable result of a Totem animal as oflT- 

 spring instead of a human child. Mr. Frazer 

 reports something analogous In his book on 

 Totemism (page 16) : " Bakalai think that if a 

 man were to eat his Totem the women of his 

 clan would miscarry and give birth to animals 

 of the Totem kind or die with an awful dis- 

 ease." 



It would be of interest to know whether there 

 is a Totemic instinct and whether it emerges in 

 civilized children. I think it might be found, 

 especially among street Arabs and others early 

 thrown on their own resources. As to Totem- 

 ism bearing on the domestication of animals, the 

 researches of McGee and others in the United 

 States favor domestication of animals fromcom- 

 mensalism. (Cf. also domestication of snakes as 

 ratters in the Philippines.) Totemism certainly 

 acts analogously to a limited close period by re- 

 stricting those who shall kill and eat certain food 

 animals ; but the Totemic idea of controlling by 

 spell is contrary to the idea of direct subjec- 

 tion, and would scarcely lead to it. The Totem 

 group are merely those who stay at home, and 

 by their intimate relationship weave the spells 

 by which the prey is made plenteous and con- 

 venient to the hunter. 



In Totemism and also Fetichism — which is 

 but a means to Totemic power — we see the first 

 groping of the human mind toward causal re- 

 lation and its practical application ; but so 

 grossly animistic, especially in its kinship idea, 

 as to be diflBcult of understanding by civilized 

 man with his scientific mode of thought. The 



Totemic control of nature by making oneself 

 akin, is antipodal to the depersonalizing scien- 

 tific method. Totemism is the human animal 

 fascinating his prey by kinship rite and spell. 

 HiEAM M. Stanley. 

 Lake Forest, III., May 29, 1899. 



AROUSAL OF AN INSTINCT BY TASTE ONLY. 



Editor of Science : The following observa- 

 tion is submitted on the chance that it may be 

 of use. A dead mouse was given to two kittens 

 eight weeks old. They showed no interest in it 

 from sight or smell, but as soon as they were 

 made to taste the mouse they went into a fight- 

 ing passion, which remained as long as the 

 mouse was tasted. When they were forced to 

 give up the mouse, all interest was lost and 

 could not be aroused even by smell. Yet as 

 soon as the tongue again touched the mouse 

 the kitten fell into the same passion of fight- 

 ing. One test showed marked results. Giv- 

 ing the mouse to one kitten, I held it, scratqh- 

 ing vigorously, in one hand, while with the 

 other hand I made the other kitten touch and 

 smell the mouse and finally taste it. As long 

 as the second one did not taste the mouse it 

 showed no interest, but it began to fight vig- 

 orously at the moment of tasting. As soon 

 as the first kitten was made to release its hold 

 on the mouse it at once ceased to show any 

 interest. 



E. W. Scripture. 



CVERENT NOTES ON 3IETE0B0L0GY. 

 influence of the great lakes on 

 precipitation. 

 The Meteorological Chart of the Oreat Lakes for 

 June (U. S. Weather Bureau) presents a chart 

 of the normal annual precipitation of rain and 

 snow in the drainage basins of the Great Lakes, 

 with a set of tables and a brief summary pre- 

 pared by A. J. Henry. The conclusion reached 

 as to the influence of the Lakes on precipitation 

 is as follows : With the possible exception of 

 Lake Superior, the lakes do not seem to have a 

 very marked influence on the precipitation over 

 adjacent land areas. There is more precipita- 

 tion on the south than on the north side of 

 Lakes Superior, Erie and Ontario, the differ- 



