September 17, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



273 



1639 to Galileo's death in 1642. In 1639 

 Viviani was seventeen years old. 



No account by Galileo himself is to be 

 found in the Edizione Nazionale of his works, 

 if the elaborate index is to be trusted. Further 

 as Garland, " Geschichte der Physik," p. 316, 

 1913, points out, Galileo in his treatise " De 

 Motu," which dates from the time of his 

 readership in the University of Pisa, cites ex- 

 periment from a high tower as proving that 

 wood at the beginning of its fall moves more 

 rapidly than lead, but that a little later the 

 lead will pass the wood and will precede the 

 wood by a great space. Galileo further states, 

 " and on this I have made experiment fre- 

 quently."* 



Eenieri (born in 1606, knew Galileo from 

 1633 to 1642 and during that time wrote Gali- 

 leo at least sixty letters) wrote a letter to 

 Galileo dated March 13, 1641," in which he 

 gives an account of some experiments per- 

 formed by Renieri from the leaning tower of 

 Pisa. Renieri dropped a sphere of wood and 

 one of lead the same size; on reaching the 

 ground the lead was three " braccia " ahead of 

 the wood. He also dropped a cannon ball and 

 a musket ball and on reaching the ground the 

 cannon ball was a palm ahead. Renieri makes 

 no reference to Galileo's experiments, which is 

 difficult to explain except on the ground that 

 he had never heard of them. 



Realizing the slippery nature of historical 

 deduction, I draw no conclusion except this, 

 that we do not know exactly what experiment 

 Galileo performed from the leaning tower. 



EdW. a. PAKTRroGE 



West Philadelphia High School 



the booming lizard of australia 



In July, 1913, I was hunting in the Cove's 

 River Ranges with two companions — Andrew 

 and John Duncan, of Megalong. We found 

 a black-and-yellow banded monitor lizard 

 about five feet long concealed in a crevice 

 on the face of a wall. We had no intention of 

 injuring him, but out of mischief Andrew 



i Op. Ed. Naz. I., 334. 



5 Op. di. Gal. Ed.- Naz., 18, p. 305. 



Duncan suggested that we should make him 

 yell. I was sceptical, but both men assured 

 me that the lizard could, and would yell tmder 

 persuasion. On condition that there should 

 be no cruelty, I consented to a demonstration. 

 They laughed at the idea of cruelty. Andrew 

 picked up a stick and began poking the reptile 

 in the ribs and tickling him under the arm. 

 It stood it for a while, merely squirming 

 closer down in the crevice, then, having had 

 enough of it, blew himself out and emitted a 

 most comically doleful bellow that could be 

 heard several himdred yards away. This he 

 did repeatedly until we had laughed ourselves 

 tired. It was funny, on looking back after 

 we had gone fifty yards, to see the lizard stick 

 his head around the corner to make sure that 

 we had really departed. 



I have had for the last four years at my 

 hunting-box on the Naltai River, a tame 

 monitor whom I have called " Joseph " on 

 account of his coat of many colors, and who 

 is the interesting companion of my solitude — 

 and incidentally keeps the snakes away. 

 With the above in my mind, I experimented 

 on him. I found him camped under the 

 bench beneath the window, and irritated him 

 with the end of a stick. He did as the other 

 had done — filled himself with wind and then 

 emitted it in a prolonged bellowing groan. 

 By the way, our " bookbook owl " does much 

 the same thing. He fills himself nearly to 

 bursting in a succession of gasps, and then 

 says " Hoo-hoo hoo " till he has no more 

 breath, then fills up again. 



Walter H. Bone 



linnjsan societt of new sodth wales, 

 Sydney 



QUOTATIONS 



THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION 



The British Association begins its annual 

 meeting at Cardiff to-day. Our correspond- 

 ents report that the increase in railway fares 

 has not reduced the attendance below that of 

 a fair average, and that the arrangements 

 made for the housing of the visitors and the 

 accommodation of the sectional meetings are 

 excellent. By a useful innovation the daily 



