August 7, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



171 



department of political economy of Cornell 

 University. " The Cost of EiEciency " was the 

 topic of a series of lectures by Mrs. Ellen H. 

 Richards, of the Institute of Technology, Bos- 

 ton, Mass. Some original work on " The 

 Digestibility of Starch as affected by Cook- 

 ing " was presented by Miss Edna D. Day, 

 professor of home economics. University of 

 Missouri; "Public Work for the Home" was 

 discussed by Miss Caroline L. Hunt ; " Some 

 Problems in the Teaching of Dietetics " were 

 presented by Miss Isabel Bevier, professor of 

 household science in the University of Illinois ; 

 " Illustrative Material for Teaching Diete- 

 tics " was the subject of a lecture by Dr. C. F. 

 Langworthy of the department of agriculture; 

 " Dairy Bacteriology " and " Some of the 

 Milk Products " were the topics treated by 

 Dean Russell, of the College of Agriculture of 

 Wisconsin, and Professor Stocking, of Cornell 

 University. Moreover, the school enjoyed the 

 privilege of a lecture by Professor L. B. 

 Mendel, Sheffield Scientific School, on " Foods 

 and Dietary Standards " and one by Professor 

 N. Zuntz, of the Royal Agricultural College, 

 of Berlin, on " Food Values." 



Another feature which added to the profit 

 and interest of the session was the fact that 

 the members were able to avail themselves of 

 the lectures given to the Graduate School in 

 Agriculture then in session at Cornell. Those 

 of particular interest to the members of the 

 Home Economics Conference were those given 

 by Professor Mendel, Dr. H. P. Armsby and 

 Professor Zuntz, on the general subject of 

 nutrition. Excursions to the hills and lakes 

 in the immediate vicinity of Ithaca con- 

 tributed much in the way of recreation and 

 pleasure. 



CAVERNS IN THE OZARK 8 

 Early in May, the department of arche- 

 ology, Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., sent 

 an expedition to Benton and Madison Coun- 

 ties, Arkansas, to explore certain caverns. 

 These had been seen by Mr. E. H. Jacobs, who 

 had been sent on a preliminary trip through 

 the White River country. Mr. Jacobs re- 

 ported more than thirty caverns in an extent 

 »f country eighty by forty miles. 



Dr. Peabody, the director, and W. K. Moore- 

 head, the curator, took the field for five weeks. 

 From Fayetteville, Ark., they examined the 

 country south and east through a region never 

 before visited by archeologists. Four caverns 

 were explored, one of these being in limestone 

 and the rest in sandstone. The largest, 

 Kelley Cavern, is about seventy meters in 

 extent, with an overhang of thirty meters. 

 The bluff is about fifteen meters high. The 

 ashes range from one to three meters in depth. 

 A force of twelve to fifteen men was employed 

 for more than two weeks in removing the 

 ashes from Kelley Cavern. 



The character of the cave material differs 

 essentially from that found on the surface 

 of the surrounding village sites. Shallow 

 metates are very numerous in the ashes of the 

 cavern, thirty-seven having been found in 

 Kelley Cavern alone. The peculiar character 

 of the artifacts of the region deserves men- 

 tion. There are no grooved axes — save one or 

 two — no celts, no slate ornaments or prob- 

 lematical forms, no grooved hammers, no 

 hematite implements, none of the spades and 

 hoes common east and north, and only two 

 pipes have been discovered in the entire 

 region. These facts present an archeological 

 problem of interest and importance to be 

 solved at some future time. 



The country is difficult of access, most of 

 the caverns lying twenty to thirty miles from 

 the railway. The elevation ranges from 1,300 

 to 1,600 or 1,700 feet. The collection brought 

 to Andover totals about 1,200 specimens. On 

 the fields throughout the entire region are 

 great quantities of chips, spaUs, hammer- 

 stones, knives and projectile points — a larger 

 quantity than either Dr. Peabody or Mr. 

 Moorehead ever saw in other portions of the 

 United States. 



Judging from the reports brought in by the 

 mountaineers, there are large numbers of 

 caverns in the region. These will be explored 

 by Phillips Academy from time to time, per- 

 mission having been secured from the Granger 

 Kelley Lumber Company which controls up- 

 wards of 30,000 acres of land in the cavern 

 country. 



