April 23, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



419 



Members of Sectional Council, Professor W. D. 

 Scott, Northwestern University, 1 year; Professor 

 W. S. Hunter, University of Kansas, 2 years; Dr. 

 J. E. W. Wallin, Psycho-Educational Clinic, St. 

 Liouis, 3 years; Dr. Helen T. WooEey, Vocational 

 Bureau, Cincinnati Public Schools, 4 years. 



A resolution was received from Felix Neumann, 

 secretary of the Anthropological Society of Wash- 

 ington, in reference to an open letter, entitled, 

 "Scientists as spies," written by Dr. Pranz Boas, 

 and which was published in The Nation of Decem- 

 ber 20, 1919. 



After the article in question was read and dis- 

 cussed at some length, it was regularly moved and 

 carried that ' ' Section H indorses the resolution of 

 the Anthropological Society of Washington." It 

 was further voted that a committee composed of 

 Dr. R. M. Yerkes, Dr. Ales Hrdlicka and Dr. J. E. 

 W. Wallin, take such action concerning the resolu- 

 tion as they deem appropriate. 



The following papers were presented: 



Notes on tlie variation between the right and left 

 limbs of man as observed in a small series in th« 

 dissecting laboratory: H. C. Danfokth. (By 

 title.) 



Utilization of dissecting room material for the 

 study of physical anthropology : R. T. Peekt. (By 

 title.) 



On certain variations in the form of the human 

 scapula: W. W. Graves. A large collection of 

 scapulas, both of man and of animals, were shown 

 by specimens and on the screen. Variations of 

 many sorts were pointed out. 



The occipital (supra-inionic) forsa, and its true 

 significance: A. HrdliSka. (By title.) 



Tlieories of sternal origin: P. B. Hanson. By 

 title.) 



The St. Louis group of mounds: H. M. Whel- 

 PLET. St. Louis became known as the "Mound 

 CSty," early in the nineteenth century. This was 

 due to a group of twenty-seven mounds on the 

 Mississippi River bank, near what is now the busi- 

 ness center of the city. As early as 1819, Major 

 Stephen H. Long made what was probably the first 

 map of the mound group. The twenty-six smaller 

 mounds were destroyed before 1850. The remain- 

 ing "Big Mound," which was one hundred and 

 fifty feet long and about thirty feet high, was re- 

 moved in March and April, 1869. Professor 

 Spencer Smith had recently rea-d a paper before 

 the Academy of Science of St. Louis in which he 

 gave seemingly convincing evidence that the 

 mound was a natural formation. This prevented 



the local universities and scientific organizations 

 from taking an interest in the demolition of the 

 mound. A local artist, A. J. Conant, a photog- 

 rapher, Thomas M. Easterly, and the editor of the 

 Missouri Democrat, seem to have been the only ones 

 who followed the destruction of the mound with 

 scientific interest. Conant was present daily. The 

 Missouri Democrat describes the excitement caused 

 when the workmen found at the base of the mound 

 a sepulcher over seventy- four feet long, twelve feet 

 wide and several feet high. It contained many 

 human skeletons and a large quantity of shell 

 beads. The editor said : ' ' This stunned the zealous 

 advocates of the natural formation theory. ' ' The 

 paper was illustrated with a series of slides made 

 from daguerreotypes, taken by Mr. Easterly, show- 

 ing successive stages of the work of demolition of 

 the mound. 



Notched flint hoes of St. Louis and vicinity: H. 

 M. Whelplet. The flint agricultural implements 

 of the pre-Columbian Indians are designated as 

 ' ' spades and hoes. ' ' The spades are so called be- 

 cause they somewhat resemble in shape the blade 

 of a modern iron spade. There is no evidence, 

 whatever, that these blades of flint were ever 

 hafted like our spades of to-day or employed as we 

 use spades. The word ' ' spade " is a misnomer. 

 All flint agricultural implements should be termed 

 "hoes." The hoes are divided into notched and 

 unnotched. The notched hoes form but a small 

 per cent, of the total number of flint hoea. They 

 are distributed over a much more restricted area 

 than the unnotched foi-m of hoes. Plint hoes in 

 general are found over a small section of the Miss- 

 issippi Valley. The author proposes fourteen tei-ms 

 to designate the various parts of a notched hoe. 

 Six points were considered under ' ' Standard of 

 Perfection." The term "flint" is used in the 

 popular sense. Nearly all of the notched hoes are 

 made from Union county, Illinois, chert. A few 

 are of novaculite, quarried by the Indians in the 

 same county. Occasionally, specimens were made 

 from ' ' Alton flint, ' ' from iblui^ flint balls, and 

 perhaps from St. Louis county flint. The usual 

 type of notched hoe is oval but some are triangular 

 and a few rectangular. The influence of material 

 on type was discussed and the evolution of the 

 notched from the unnotched shown by a long series 

 of successive stages of evolution. Attention was 

 given the probable methods of manufacture. The 

 author has for forty years studied the quarries and 

 work-shops. The finest implements are found in 

 St. Clair and Madison counties. 111., far from the 



