May 21, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



827 



The Nation and the Waterways : Professor Lewis 



M. Hatjpt, of Philadelphia. 



A philosophical discussion of the relation of 

 the states and the national government in relation 

 to the waterways of the country, in which it was 

 pointed out that the lack of a proper distinction 

 between local, state and national improvements 

 has led the government to assume jurisdiction 

 over all waterways and has thus retarded the sym- 

 metrical development of the trunk lines in con- 

 nection with their feeders by the inability to sys- 

 tematically exclude all these works at the same 

 time. The remedy must lie in the restriction of 

 the governmental control to the strictly interstate 

 waterways or trunk lines and principal harbors, 

 while the states should charter, as in times past, 

 local corporations to develop their own internal 

 avenues of trade and power, as has been so satis- 

 factorily done in relation to the overland high- 

 ways of commerce and is still the practise in 

 New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and other 

 states. 



Why America should Reexplore Wilkes Land: 



Edwin Swift Baich, of Philadelphia. 



Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, U.S.N., first an- 

 nounced to the world in 1840 the existence of a 

 great Antarctic continent, along whose shores he 

 sailed for a distance of 1,500 miles. This coast 

 is known as Wilkes Land. It has not been visited 

 again. Sir James Clark Ross, R.N., Sir Clements 

 R. Markham, ex-pres. R.G.S., and Captain Robert 

 F. Scott, R.N., neither of whom has been there, 

 declare emphatically that Wilkes Land does not 

 exist and should be expurgated from the charts. 

 It should, therefore, be looked on as a patriotic 

 duty for America to verify Wilkes's discovery and 

 get a more careful chart of its shores. 



Many of the early discoveries in West Ant- 

 arctica were made by American sealers, by Swain, 

 Palmer, Pendleton, Morrell and Smiley. Now all 

 their discoveries are being verified and enlarged 

 by men of other nations. The same thing will 

 happen with Wilkes's discoveries in East Ant- 

 arctica, if America will not wake up. An expedi- 

 tion to verify Wilkes's discoveries would cost per- 

 haps $100,000; and the best way to start it might 

 be by forming an Antarctic committee, composed 

 of representative scientists and explorers, who 

 would take hold of and push this matter. 



At the conclusion of the reading of Mr. Balch's 

 paper the society adopted the following resolution, 

 presented by Rear-Admiral Geo. W. Melville, Mr. 

 Henry G. Bryant and Mr. E. S. Balch : 



Whebeas: The United States in former years 

 made many brilliant discoveries in the Antarctic, 

 including the continent of Antarctica by Charles 

 Wilkes, and 



Whereas: The United States have not taken 

 any part in the recent scientific explorations of 

 the South Polar region; therefore be it 



Resolved, That the American Philosophical So- 

 ciety requests the cooperation of the scientific and 

 geographical societies of the United States, to 

 urge on the navy of the United States and through 

 the general government, that it do make sufficient 

 appropriations to fit a government vessel to thor- 

 oughly explore and survey the coast of Wilkes 

 Land, and other parts of Antarctica. 

 The Volcanic Formation of Java: Heney G. 



Beyant, of Philadelphia. 



An account of Mr. Bryant's explorations of the 

 volcanic formations of the island of Java, illus- 

 trated by photographs taken by the author. 

 Machines and Engineering in the Renaissance and 



in Classical Antiquity: Professor Cheistiait 



HiJxsEN, of Rome. 



A description of the methods and engines em- 

 ployed in moving great weights and performing 

 otner engineering feats that excite our admiration 

 in the works of antiquity. A precursor of the 

 automobile, a " walking chair," was described, 

 that was operated by man power. The illustra- 

 tions were drawn from contemporary sources, the 

 earlier from monuments and carvings and the 

 later from prints and drawings, and in many 

 cases contemporary descriptions were cited. 



The Brains of Two White Philosophers and of 



Two Oisoure Negroes: Professor Btjbt G. 



WiLDEE, of Ithaca, N. Y. 



The brains of Chauncey Wright and of James 

 Edward Oliver were compared with the brains of 

 two obscure negroes, one a mulatto, the other 

 black. The very unusual gyral simplicity of 

 Wright and the mulatto may have a physiologic 

 significance. The black's brain is comparable 

 with Oliver's and is considerably larger than that 

 of a late prominent politician. These and other 

 paradoxes exemplify the importance of securing 

 a large collection of human brains, especially of 

 educated people, for study and comparison. 



In discussion. Professor E. A. Spitzka empha- 

 sized the need of more material and stated that 

 the average negro brain is smaller than the 

 average Caucasian. 

 Some Conditions Modifying the Interpretation of 



Human Brain Weight Records: Dr. H. H. 



Donaldson, of Philadelphia. 



