August 21, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



243 



Numbers 2 and 3 are living and Qua- 

 ternary, and 5-9, inclusive, are Cretaceous 

 (and Eocene) of Cooper's Catalogue. 



Through him the medical profession of the 

 west coast was first made acquainted with 

 the mode of preparation and therapeutic 

 effects of Mentel's alum.inated solution, 

 Pravoy's solution of perchloride of iron, 

 Monrel's salt and the syrup of superphosphate 

 of iron and its combinations; liquid propyl- 

 amin, an antidote for rheumatism of the 

 acute type, liquid rennet or pepsin wine for 

 gastralgia, etc., and other valuable medica- 

 ments. 



Among the plants, the virtues of which he 

 either discovered or made known to the 

 profession were yerba santa (Eriodictyon) , 

 for rheumatism, gout, etc. ; Damiana, a nerve 

 tonic and aphrodisiac; Grindelia rohusia for 

 oak or rhus poisoning and asthma, in certain 

 cases; yarrow {Achillea millifolium), which 

 he proved to be an efiicient emmenagogue; 

 canehelagua (Eryihrwa, of the West Coast), 

 a bitter tonic and antifebrile; Aspidium 

 argutum root (kidney fern), as an antidote 

 for the tapeworm; manzanita leaves (Arcto- 

 staphylos) as an antilithic kidney and bladder 

 tonic; and tincture of Kalmia latifoUa as an 

 extraordinary sedative, etc. 



In 1858, when I made his acquaintance, he 

 commenced the publication, in conjunction 

 with Dr. David Wooster, of the Pacific Med- 

 ical and Surgical Journal, which, after many 

 years of conscientious and laborious editorial 

 work, passed out of his hands into the charge 

 of other members of the profession. 



In the great struggle of the civil war for 

 the preservation of the union, he followed the 

 flag as assistant surgeon of volunteers. As a 

 physician he was skillful, quick and accurate 

 in diagnosis, prompt and resourceful in prac- 

 tise, quite free from the acquisitive instinct, 

 and like his Oakland friend. Dr. Newcomb,' 



' Dr. Wesley Neweomb, born in the state of 

 New York in 1808. He made Oakland his home 

 in 1858, where he resided for about ten years. 

 He is well known by his conchological writings, 

 especially on the land shells ( Achatinellidae ) of 

 the Hawaiian Islands, where he practised medi- 



and his old-time friend and collaborator in 

 the academy. Dr. Kellogg, from whom I have 

 largely quoted, " earnest and generous hearted, 

 ever ready to serve those who needed his serv- 

 ices without money and without price, and 

 ever ready to lend a helping hand or do a 

 kindly deed." 



I knew them well and I could relate many 

 incidents of my own knowledge, illustrative 

 of their goodness and benevolence. In the 

 twilight of old age, looking back to those days 

 of frequent and sympathetic contact, brought 

 together as we were by similarity of tastes and 

 habits of thought, memory recalls their 

 generous natures and sterling qualities, and 

 inspires the hope that these men may not be 

 altogether forgotten. 



Egbert E. C. Stearns 

 Los Angeles, Cai,. 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 

 THE GRADING OF STUDENTS 



The problem of how students should be 

 graded in order to make the results of grading 

 equitable is of interest to the psychologist both 

 as a theoretical and as a practical problem. 

 Its practical aspect must be of the greatest 

 importance to any teacher in any subject, in 

 school or college. Professor W. S. HalP pub- 

 lished a paper on this subject a few years ago, 

 the conclusion of which is that average 

 classes of students, doing honest work and 

 marked equitably, will yield results which 

 when tabulated should conform to the bi- 

 nomial curve, i. e., the number receiving 

 medium marks should far exceed the number 

 receiving high or low marks. The solution of 

 the problem, then, consists merely in the ful- 

 filment of two conditions, honesty on the part 

 of the student and equity on the part of the 

 instructor when applying the marks agreed' 

 upon by the faculty. Actually, however, the 

 problem is still far from its solution. 



cine for five years. He died in Ithaca, N. Y., on 

 January 26, 1892. See The Nautilus, Philadel- 

 phia, March, 1902. 



' " A Guide to the Equitable Grading of Stu- 

 dents," School Science and Mathematics, Smith 

 & Turton, Chicago. 



