210 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 28. 



by people who did not know tlieir own ages; but 

 probably only a small part of it is due to that cause, 

 at least in the more intelligent portions of the popula- 

 tion. In so intelligent a state as Rhode Island, for 

 inst.ince, we find for the years 29, 30, 31, the numbers 

 3,965, 6,5.50, 3,112; which'is not much. better than in 

 the aggregate of the United States. How much is 

 due to guessing by relatives, servants, masters, etc., 

 and especially to suggestions and guesses by the 

 census-gatherers themselves, — who, of course, do 

 not regard the exact ages as important, and most 

 of whom have probably no strong views on the 

 subject of the 'personal equation,' — no one can 

 tell, but probably very much more than to peo- 

 ple's ignorance of their own ages. An examination 

 and comparison of the original note-bool\S of the 

 various census-takers would furnish materials for an 

 interesting exercise, if nothing more, in statistical re- 

 search, and might reveal approximately the extent to 

 which the personal qualities of the census-takers has 

 affected the result; while a comparison of the table 

 with well-established tables of mortality might enable 

 us to estimate the force of the tendency to under- 

 state age which would doubtless be found to exist. 

 The whole thing makes a very pretty problem, and 

 serves to illustrate in a rather gross and exaggerated 

 way the complexity of statistical investigations. 



— We learn from Nature that a meeting which 

 may have an important result upon science and art 

 instruction in England has been inaugurated at 

 Manchester. An association has been established to 

 effect the general advancement of the profession of 

 science and art teaching by securing improvements 

 in the schemes of study, and the establishment of 

 satisfactory relations between teachers and the Sci- 

 ence and art department, the city and guilds of 

 London institute, and other public authorities. It 

 proposes also to collect such information as may be 

 of service to teachers professionally; and it will en- ^ 

 deavor, by constant watchfulness, to advance the 

 status and material interests of science and art 

 teachers in all directions. The president of tlie new 

 association is Professor Huxley, and the vice-presi- 

 dents are Dr. H. E. Roscoe, Mr. Norman Lockyer, Pro- 

 fessor Boyd Dawkins, Professor Garagee, Professor 

 Ayrton, Professor Silvanus Thompson, Dr. John 

 Watts, Mr. S. Leigh-Gregson, Mr. John Angell, Mr. 

 W. Lockett Agnew, Mr. C. M. Foden, and Mr. J. H. 

 Reynolds. Mr. W. E. Crowther, of the Technical 

 school and mechanic's institution, Manchester, is 

 the honorary secretary; and all communications 

 should be addressed to him, especially by those who 

 are desirous of forming affiliated unions in other 

 districts. We believe that branches are already 

 being established at Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Liver- 

 pool. 



— The attorney-general of the United States has 

 approved the title to the proposed site of the fish- 

 commission establishments at Wood's Holl, Mass.; 

 and the contracts for the work on the breakwater, 

 pier, and basin, will, it is expected, soon be made. 



— King's Dictionary of Boston, after the manner 

 of Dickens's Dictionary of London, has recently 



been published. Edwin M. Bacon is the editor. A 

 short introduction is written by George E. Ellis, D.D. 

 The brief notices of the libraries and scientific asso- 

 ciations of Boston are satisfactory, and well brought 

 down to date. 



— For the last two years a couple of buck moun- 

 tain sheep have been running with the flock of Mr. 

 Bailey of Bull Run Basin, Nevada; and there are now 

 between twenty and thirty half-breed lambs in the 

 lot. According to the Tuscarora mining news, they 

 are mostly covered with hair, although there is some 

 wool amongst it. They carry their heads higli, like 

 the wild sheep, but are as easily herded aa those of 

 pure domestic blood. They are of no value for shear- 

 ing, but are said to make excellent mutton. 



— The subsidence of land in the Clieshire salt-dis- 

 tricts of Englaad is again becoming alarming. The 

 bed of the river Weaver has widened out below North- 

 wich, forming a lake of about two miles square, called 

 the Flashes. Crater-like holes suddenly fall in, form- 

 ing in a day or two deep ponds of saltish water. In 

 one instance, two years ago, the river itself flowed 

 backwards into the subsidence for the space of two 

 minutes, filling up several old rock-salt mines in the 

 neighborhood: from these the water is now pumped, 

 and used as brine. Land-owners in the neighborhood 

 brought a bill into Parliament during the session of 

 1882, to obtain compensation for the damage done by 

 the salt-works; but it was argued that subsidence 

 would occur by natural filtration, even if the brine 

 were unworked, and the bill was thrown out. 



— Mr. Albert Marth, F.R.A.S., has succeeded Dr. 

 W. Doberek as astronomer at Col. Cooper's observa- 

 tory, Markree, Ireland. 



RECENT BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS. 



Albert-Levy. I^-es nouveautes de la science. Paris, Ha- 

 cluUe, 1883. 192 p. 18°. 



Alvarez, Llanos, C. Electricidad estatica. Madrid, Ubr. 

 mililay, 1883. 238 p., illustr. 8°. 



Bell, A. Melville. Visible-speech reader for the nursery and 

 primary school. Cambridge, i7n£^, 18S3. . 4+52 p. 16°. 



Bernimolin, H. Catolosues des plantes apontanies et 

 cuUivees du Tournaisis, avec indication des localites oil on lea 

 rencontre. Touruai, Vmseur-Delmie, 1883. 133 p. 12°. 



Berlnger, A. Kritische veraleichung der eleklrisclien 

 krafUibertragung mit den gebrauchlichsten mcchanischen kraft- 

 Ubertraguugssysteraen. Berlin, 1883. 8°. 



Brandza, D. Prodromal florei romane ean enumevatiunca 

 plantelor pana astade cunoscute in Moldova si Valachia. Bu- 

 curesci, 1883. ,652 p. 8". 



Bureau, Th. Technologic des matieres textiles. Gand, 

 1883. 235 p., 17 pi. et flgurea. mUogr. 4°. 



Carney, J. B. Biologic cellulaire; etude corapar^e de la 

 cellule dan.s les deux regncs, au triple point de vue anatomique, 

 cbimique el physiologique. Licrre, 1883. illustr. 8°. 



Centralbureau dereuropiiischon LMadnu-ssung. Verhand- 

 lungen dervom 11 bis zuin 15 .Sepn-rabir. issj, im lla:n.' v.'rei- 

 nigten permanenten commission der europaisclun gr uliiu7<suMg, 

 redigirt von den schrit'lfUhren A. Uirscli. und T)i. vo i Oppolzer, 

 zugleich mit dem generalbericlil fiir die .j^ihre 1831 und 1882. 

 Bel-lin, Rnmer. 1883. 6+15S p., 2 maps. 4°. 



Cervera Bachiller, J. Creencias y supersticioncs, tradi- 

 ciones, leyendas, consejas, histori.as misticas y preocupaciones 

 populares" de todos los siglos y de lodes los pueblos. Madrid, 

 impr. Rim, 18S3. 304 p. 8°. 



Chamberland, C. Lc charbon et la vaccination charbon- 

 neuse d'apres lea travaux reccnts de M. Pasteur. Paris, 1883. 

 324 p. S°. 



