630 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VII. No. 175. 



THE SMITHSOJTIAIf REPORT FOR 1S95. 



This report, which has just been issued, 

 contains two lengthy articles of unusual 

 value to the student of American anthro- 

 pology. 



The first is by Dr. Franz Boas, on ' The 

 Social Organization and Secret Societies of 

 the Kwakiutl Indians.' It covers 430 

 pages, is abundantly illustrated, and the 

 material, personally collected by the author, 

 is presented with care and accuracy. Many 

 songs are given, with the original text, an 

 interlinear translation and the accompanj'- 

 ing music. It is a contribution of rare 

 worth to our knowledge of aboriginal 

 thought. 



The second article, of 230 pages, is by 

 Dr. Walter J. Hoffman, on ' The Graphic 

 Art of the Eskimos.' This is a subject on 

 which the author has been collecting for 

 many years, and his descriptions seem to 

 be exhaustive. The illustrations are abun- 

 dant and beautiful, and the development 

 and connections of the Eskimoan cultures 

 are set forth with detail. 



D. G. Brixton. 



Univkksity of Peknstlvania. 



NOTES ON INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. 

 The Chemical JS^'ews for April 1st contains 

 a paper read bj' Professor Andrew Graj' 

 and Professor J. J. Dobbie before the Royal 

 Society 'Ou the Connection between the 

 Electrical Properties and the Chemical 

 Composition of Glass.' Previous experi- 

 ments had shown that resistance in flint 

 glass was greater than in potash- and soda- 

 lime glass. Two of the glasses in the pres- 

 ent series were specially made flint glasses 

 with verj' high content of lead. Previously 

 a glass M'ith 40.5% lead oxid showed specific 

 resistance of 8,400 x 10'" ohms. Of the new 

 glasses, one with lead oxid 42.14% gave a 

 resistance too high to measure, but certain- 

 ly over 18,000 X 10'" ohms at 130°, while 

 one with 46.6% lead oxid gave above 



35,000x10"' ohms at all temperatures to 

 135°. A barium crown glass, which was 

 a borosilicate of barium and aluminum 

 showed a specific resistance above 59,000 x 

 10'" ohms up to 140°. A 'Jena' glass, 

 which is essentially a borosilicate of zinc, 

 sodium and magnesium, showed a resist- 

 ance of 596.5 X 10'" at 43° and 0.2 x 10'" at 

 140°. This low resistance was to be antici- 

 pated from the high percentage of soda, but 

 the very high resistance of the barium glass 

 was unexpected, as this glass might have 

 been supposed to resemble a lime glass 

 rather than a lead glass. While it is pos- 

 sible this may be influenced by the boric 

 acid present, it may also prove true that 

 the resistance is rather aflected by the high 

 atomic weight of the barium. The ' Jena ' 

 glass showed very considerable polarization 

 effects, and the same was true of the lead 

 glass, while the barium glass showed little 

 or no sign of polarization. 



The same number of the Chemical News 

 contains an article by P. Truchot, taken 

 from the Hevue iiencrale des sciences on the 

 occurrence of thorite, monazite and zircon. 

 The monazite in western North Carolina is 

 richest in thorium and occurs in sands 

 from a coarse mica rock. The monazite 

 crystals are plainlj' seen disseminated in 

 the rock. When the rock contains gold 

 the monazite constitutes a very valuable 

 bj'-product. Monazite is found in Idaho, 

 where it is one of the original constituents 

 of Idaho granite. Sands from the lakes of 

 Idaho City have yielded, after washing, 

 monazite sand containing 70% monazite. 

 The European supply comes almost exclu- 

 sively from the sea-shore sand in southern 

 Bahia, Brazil. The sand is loaded directly 

 and with very little expense on board ships. 

 It contains 4 or 5 per cent, of thoria. De- 

 posits of monazite are also found in Canada 

 (Yilleueuve mine, Ottawa), in several dif- 

 ferent States of Brazil, and in several other 

 countries of South America. Zircon is 



