622 



Science. 



I Vol. II., No. 37. 



of the fire-department, r-l ring a bell there 

 This >YOuld be the sip-al for the man on watch 

 to repeat the wan^^gs simultaneously through 



, i-_„'Oireuits as desirable. 

 IS many J'^c^ 

 ' . .Jains to indicate the way in which the 



. ,.c^ is to be broken by the wind. The cir- 

 ^l*" of telegraph-poles from the south-south- 

 "west to the west points would contain about flftj' 

 poles. On cvciy one of these the wire would 

 run first to an insulator, then to an iron hori- 

 zontal axis screwed into the side of the post. 

 On this axis a piece of board one foot square 

 ■can revolve freely. An iron rod projects be- 

 low this board, and from the lower end of it a 

 small wire goes to a pin in the telegraph-pole. 

 This pin is connected by wire to a second in- 

 sulator. From this the line goes to the next 

 pole, and so on. The circuit ordinaril}' passes 

 to the first insulator, thence to the iron rod, 

 thence down the iron rod to the thin wire, 

 through the pin and to the second insulator, 

 and so to the next telegraph-pole. The thin 

 wire is a necessar3' part of the circuit. It is 

 so made that it will break when the pressure 

 of the wind on the square board is fifty pounds. 

 The apparatus for each post is tested practi- 

 call3- before it is set up. This can be done at 

 any time in a simple manner. Whenever any 

 single one of these boards is subjected to the 

 pi'essure of fifty pounds, its wire will be rup- 

 tured, and the circuit will be broken, thus 

 sending the necessaiy w^arning along the whole 

 line. 



I have made one such indicator, which is 

 connected with a small bell in this observatory. 

 The wire is arranged so that it breaks at a 

 wind-velocity of about ten miles per hour, 

 and it works in a perfectlj^ successful manner. 

 The extension of the sj'stem for the protec- 

 tion of a small town is a simple matter. For 

 a large city a more expensive system would 

 have to be provided, as the wires between 

 poles should be carried underground to pro- 

 tect them from the chance of disturbance. 



I need not enlarge on the details of the 

 scheme, since they can be worked out by any 

 one who is at all familiar with electrical con- 

 structions. I believe that I have considered 

 all the practical difficulties, and that there are 

 none of any importance. It is a veiy simple 

 matter to provide for the inspection of the 

 line, bells, etc., so as not to interfere with the 

 working of the sj-stem, and so that false 

 alarms will not be given. 



The point I wish to emphasize is, that a prac- 

 tical and cheap sj-stem of local warnings can 

 be had, and that it ought to be considered bj^ 

 those who live in districts subject to tornadoes. 



The particular manner in which the above- 

 described device is to be cmplo3-ed is a question 

 to be settled by the particular circumstances of 

 each case. I have onl3- described the simplest 

 and clieapest form, but this has been proved 

 by trial to be efficient. 



I maj- just mention, that, by employing a 

 spring balance to hold the board in position, 

 it is possible to provide an indicator which 

 will break the circuit at any desired velocity 

 of wind. 



To any one who has seen the effects of a 

 tornado, or even to one who has simply read 

 that in this year alone several hundreds of 

 lives have been lost from their violence, it will 

 appear that the question of erecting systems 

 for local warnings ouglit to be seriously' consid- 

 ered hy persons living in exposed regions. 



Edward S. Holden. 



THE WILD TRIBES OF LUZON. 



AVhen the Malays took possession of the 

 Philippines, they either found there, or were 

 soon joined bj-, Japanese, Chinese, Siamese, 

 Javanese, and Dyaks from Borneo and Celebes, 

 all waging war against the Papuans, who had 

 gone there from the south-east, if they were 

 not aborigines. Under these circumstances, 

 we should expect to find the present natives a 

 very mixed race, who have received different 

 names, according to the predominating charac- 

 ters in each locality. There is no unanimitj- of 

 opinion among those who have studied the 

 people in their own homes, and I think it im- 

 possible wholly- to unravel the tangled skeiii of 

 races. The following is what, from my obser- 

 vation and i-eading, I think a fair approxima- 

 tion to the truth. 



The name of Igorrote has been applied to 

 almost every wild tribe except the Negritos. I 

 agree with Dr. Semper that it should be re- 

 stricted to those of northern Luzon, who are 

 hybrids of Japanese and Chinese with the 

 Indians, differing somewhat in features and 

 customs, according to the principal admixture. 



In the Igorrote the stature is small, with 

 well-developed form, indicating great strength 

 with little sjmmetiy ; color ver3' dark; ej-es 

 oblique ; hair long, and, in the women, combed 

 in Chinese fashion ; nose flat, lips thick, mouth 

 large, and cheeks wide. Houses mere huts, 

 on the ground or raised on posts, shaped like 

 a beehive, with furniture of the rudest descrip- 

 tion, — arms, hatchets, lances, daggers, bows 

 and arrows, frequentlj- poisoned, of bamboo, 

 and shields. Their presence would be ac- 

 counted for as the descendants of the army of 



