432 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 169. 



tion of equilibiium both duriug swimming and 

 at rest. More important is the fact that central 

 stimulation of the lateral nerve causes coordi- 

 nated compensating movements of the iins, ex- 

 actly similar to those caused by similar stimu- 

 lation of the acoustic nerve. In both cases a 

 reflex arc between sense-organs and locomotor 

 oi-gans exists. The inference is that the organs 

 of the lateral line are sense-oi'gaus«of equi- 

 librium analogous to the ear. These results 

 testify indirectly to the correctness of the theory 

 that the ear is a derivative of the lateral line. 

 The equilibrium function is crude in the latter, 

 more perfected and differentiated in the former. 

 The sense of hearing in vertebrates arose along 

 with the change from a water to a land exist- 

 ence, and the appearance of a papilla acustica 

 basilaris. In vertebrates above the fishes, the 

 ear appreciates all kinds of visible motion that 

 the physicist recognizes, rotary, progressive or 

 translatory and vibratory. 



Gary N. Calkins, 

 Secretary of Section. 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS. 

 The American Naturalist for February opens 

 with an article by E. C. Case, reviewing the 

 significance of certain changes in the temporal 

 region of the primitive reptilia. This is fol- 

 lowed by a paper by the late James Ellis Hum- 

 phrey on Manasseh Cutler, one of the pioneers 

 of American science, born in 1741. Professor 

 J. H. Comstock and Mr. J. G. Needham con- 

 tinue their study of the wings of insects, taking 

 up the venation. Other articles follow by Dr. F. 

 C. Kenyon on the daily and seasonal activity 

 of a hive of bees, by Dr. Erwin F. Smith on the 

 first annual meeting of the Society for Plant 

 Morphology and Physiology, and by Dr. 

 Charles E. Bessey on some characteristics of 

 the Foothill vegetation of western Nebraska. 



The contents of the April Monist are pre- 

 dominantly philosophical. The number opens 

 with an article by Professor John Dewey on 

 'Evolution and Ethics,' which seeks to correct 

 the view of the late Professor Huxley that 

 Nature is essentially unmoral. Dr. Woods 

 Hutchinson, of the University of Buffalo, writes 

 on Lebenslust, a scientific homily upon the 



nobility and righteous pleasure of being alive ; 

 E. E. Constance Jones discusses ' An Aspect of 

 Attention;' Professor C. Lombroso seeks to 

 substantiate his theory of the degeneracy of 

 genius by considering certain ' Regressive Phe- 

 nomena in Evolution,' while Professor Ferdi- 

 nand Hiippe, of Prague, discusses in a long 

 contribution, and in the light of a special phil- 

 osophical theory, the ' Causes of Infectious 

 Diseases,' attacking the prevailing views of 

 Virchow, Pasteur and Koch. Finally, in a dis- 

 quisition entitled ' The Unmateriality of Soul 

 and God,' Dr. Paul Carus attempts to banish 

 the metaphysical materialistic notion of sub- 

 stance from the domains of psychology and 

 theology. 



The Atlantic Monthly for April contains an 

 article by Professor George H. Darwin which 

 analyzes the relations of the earth to the moon 

 and the solar system, the tidal phenomena 

 produced by the moon which react upon it in 

 turn, and details the prospective future history 

 of the two bodies down to the times when they 

 will revolve in unison, and our days and months 

 will be of the same duration. Mr. John Muir 

 continues his articles upon Government Parks 

 with a description of the Yellowstone. Dr. Mc- 

 Gee contributes a vivid description, in part 

 based on personal experience of the five stages 

 of thirst in the desert. 



NEW BOOKS. 



Evolution individuelle et herSditS. Felix Le 



Dantec. Paris, Alcan. 1898. Pp. 308. 



Practical Electricity and Magnetism. John 

 Henderson. London, New York and Bom- 

 bay, Longmans, Green & Co. 1898. Pp. sv-|- 

 388. 



Birds of Village and Field. Florence A. Mer- 

 RIAM. Boston and New York, Houghton, 

 Mifain & Co. 1898. Pp. vi+406. $2.00. 



A Laboratory Manual in Practical Botany. 

 Charles H. Clark. New York, The Amer- 

 ican Book Company. Pp. 271. 96 cents. 



The Story of Life in the Seas. Sidney T. Hick- 

 son. New York, D. Appleton & Co. 1898. 

 Pp. 173. 40 cents. 



