600 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXIX. No. 745 



tion was made by Mr. C. H. Robinson of a number 

 of pieces of pottery, principally from Alamakee 

 County, Iowa. Afterward the president of the 

 society introduced Mr. Charles F. Warren, of the 

 Bureau of Labor, who delivei-ed a lecture of pop- 

 ular character on " Mexico, Its People and Cus- 

 toms," illustrated by colored slides. In the course 

 of this lecture Mr. Warren touched upon the 

 cathedrals, public buildings, gardens, markets and 

 characteristic customs in Mexico, Cuernavaca, 

 Puebla, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Oajaca and 

 other places, gave some fine views of the ruins 

 of Mitla, and some superb examples of Mexican 

 scenery. Finally a word was added regarding the 

 passing of the old Mexican life and the coming 

 of the new under President Diaz. 



The 431st regular meeting of the society, March 

 16, 1909, was devoted to an address by Professor 

 William H. Holmes, chief of the Bureau of Amer- 

 ican Ethnology, on " Outlines of South American 

 Anthropology." Professor Holmes had just re- 

 turned from the Pan-American scientific congress 

 at Santiago, Chile, which he attended as special 

 representative of the Smithsonian Institution. 



He introduced his remarks by a brief sketch of 

 the congress itself, and illustrated the journey by 

 numerous water-color drawings. An outline of 

 the geological development of the South American 

 continent and the evidence of the presence of man 

 during the Tertiary and Quaternary times were 

 given. The tribes of the great Andean highland 

 and their remarkable culture were described, and 

 contrasted with the peoples and cultures of the 

 lowlands. The wonderful progress made by the 

 Inoas, Aymaras and Chimus was illustrated by a 

 large number of lantern slides. 



Mr. W. E. Safford, of the Bureau of Agricul- 

 ture, added some particulars gathered during his 

 own sojourn in South America. 



John R. Swanton, 



Secretary 



THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



The 662d meeting was held on March 13, 1909, 

 Vice-president Wead in the chair. 



The following paper was read by invitation : 



Balloon Voyages and the Use of Air Currents: 

 Mr. H. H. Clatton, Meteorologist of the Blue 

 Hill Observatory. 



The balloon was invented about one hundred 

 and twenty-five years ago, and at first was of 

 scientific interest only, being early employed by 

 the English for meteorological obser^'ations. The 



Germans were the next to make use of it for 

 similar investigations. 



The use of sounding balloons equipped with 

 self-recording instruments, the methods and the 

 results obtained with them over land and ocean 

 areas in different regions of the globe, were dis- 

 cussed at some length. The results show that in 

 the upper regions in temperate zones the trend 

 of the air currents is easterly, while in the equa- 

 torial regions they are to the westward. In all 

 the regions of the globe so far investigated inver- 

 sion of temperature takes place at an altitude of 

 nine miles or so; this occurs at all times of the 

 night as well as the day, and the inversion is 

 found to be somewhat more marked in the equa- 

 torial regions than elsewhere. 



An interesting account was given of the voyage 

 of the successful balloon in the Gordon Bennett 

 international balloon race from St. Louis in 1904, 

 in which the speaker was one of the invited par- 

 ticipants. It was pointed out how the knowledge 

 of the circulation of the upper layers of the air 

 was utilized in making this balloon voyage of 

 forty hours' duration to the Atlantic coast. A 

 number of lantern slides were exhibited illus- 

 trating this voyage, and two subsequent ones 

 which the speaker had made. It was the speaker's 

 belief that the knowledge of air currents is des- 

 tined to play an important part in the ballooning 

 of the future. R. L. Fabis, 



Secretary 



THE ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTrFIC SOCIETY OF THE 

 UNIVEESITY OF NORTH CAKOLINA 



The 181st meeting of the Elisha Mitchell Scien- 

 tific Society was held in the main lecture hall of 

 Chemistry Hall, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., February 9, 

 1909. 



Professor W. C. Coker described a visit to 

 Luther Burbank in his California home, illus- 

 trating his address with lantern slides and numer- 

 ous arpecimens of Burbank's productions. 



The I82d meeting was held in the main lecture 

 hall of Chemistry Hall, Tuesday, March 9, 1909, 

 7:30 P.M. The program was as follows: 



Professor D. H. Dolley: "The Pathological 

 Cytology of Surgical Shock: I., Preliminary Com- 

 munication — The Alterations occurring in the 

 Purkinje Cells of the Cerebellum." 



Professor A. H. Patterson: "Exhibition of a 

 Series of New Vacuum Tubes." 



AxviN S. Whebleb, 

 Recording Secretary 



