December 21, 1883.] 



SCIENCE. 



807 



youth upon the lower culture steps. He broaches a 

 very ingeniou.s theory, which seeks to include infan- 

 ticide and all sorts of torture and ordeals in a com- 

 mon category of helping the survival of tlie fittest. 

 In savagery, intimates the author, two children are 

 as many as the parents can raise: they knock the 

 surphis on the head. They subject their sons and 

 daughters to frequent vigils, fastings, fatigues, and 

 pains, mourning for tln'ni me.inwhile as dead. In- 

 deed, many die under the treatment, but the fittest 

 survive. Very many scraps of information, gathered 

 here and there, are brought within the range of the 

 author's theory. In this connection, one should not 

 fail to consult Ploss: 'Das kind in branch und sitte 



der volker.' Mr. Aurelius Krause read a paper 



upon the relationships existing among the peoples 

 of the Chukchi peninsula. Are the coast Chukchi 



and the reindeer Chukchi the same people? In 



speaking of the ' footsteps of Buda,' — a gigantic track 

 found in the ruins of the most hallowed slirine of 

 Buddhism at Gaya, in southern Bihar. — M. Griin- 

 wedel calls to mind, that in every part of the world 

 are to be found, in solid ruck, impressions made by 



the feet of gods and heroes. Gen. von Erckert 



sends to the society from Petroosk measurements of 

 the weight, length of body, and length of limbs, 

 taken from Russian peoples, — Wotjaks. Great Rus- 

 sians, Little Russi.-ins, Volga Tartars. Meshtsheraks, 

 Poles, Bashkirs, Tscheremis, and Jews. — {Zeituchr. 

 f. ethnot., XV. pt.i.) J. iv. p. [539 



The London anthropological institute. — The 

 unlimited resources of British anthropologists lead 

 one always to expect something good from the journal 

 of the institute. The first paper in the current num- 

 ber is by F. Bonney, on some customs of the aborigines 

 of the River Darling, New South Wales. Mr. Bonney 

 resided on a sheeji-range from 1SG.5 to 1880, and there- 

 fore knew the Bungyarlee and Parkungi tribes ' before 

 they were spoilt by civilization.' The aboriginal 

 population, owing to periodic droughts of great 

 severity, could never have exceeded 100 on an area of 

 2,000 O ra. Epidemics also have told upon the peo- 

 ple. There is a typical similarity among all Australian 

 aborigines; but, to a close observer, each tribe has its 

 own peculiarities. The oft-repeated statement that 

 they are the lowest type of humanity is a libel. Mr. 

 Bonney describes their parturition customs, system- 



atic infanticide, child-rearing, initiation of youth, 

 class-marriage, courtesy, charms, sucking-cure, dis- 

 eases, blood-cure, burials, and mourning. Mr. 



Tremlett writes of stone circles in Brittany, by which 

 is meant two concentric rings of rude stone masonry, 

 covered by a mound. One, called Nignol, was un- 

 doubtedly a cremation mound; since, exterior to the 

 outer circle, cinerary urns were found, as well as be- 

 tween Hie walls. The inner circle consisted almost 

 entirely of ashes and charcoal. Two others were simi- 

 larly constructed, — one at Coet-a-touse, the other .it 

 Kerbascat. The subject of group-marriage is re- 

 viewed by Jlr. C. S. Wake, and an attempt made to 

 show its origin. Tlie author assumes two fundamen- 

 tal rights, — the individual, or sexual; and the tribal, 

 or self-protective. The origin of the Australian four- 

 class division is to be sought in the separation of the 

 original m.arrying group into two grades, a parent and 



a child grade. Major H. W. Fielden exhibited a 



series of South African stone implenu'nts. The 



Rev. James Sibiee, following up the investigations of 

 Col. Garrick Mallery, U.S.A., reports a number of 

 gestures from Madagascar as a contribution to the 



study of comparative sign-language. Mr. A. W. 



Ilowitt reports some Australian beliefs, commencing 

 with a delightful paragraph or two on synonymy, 

 which we should like to quote. The superstitions 

 described relate to the physical iniiverse, the human 



individual here and hereafter, and Ghost-land. On 



the lOtli of June a special meeting w.as held at the 

 Piccadilly hall, by invitation of Mr. C. Ribeiro, who 

 exhibited five Botocudo Indians and a collection of 



implements. Mr. A. H. Keane read a paper on the 



Botocudos. Their home is the province of Espiritu 

 Santu, in Brazil; their name, probably from the Por- 

 tuguese boloque (a barrel-plug), alluding to their 

 labrets. The Tembeitera. or lip ornament, and the 

 immense ear-plugs, give rise to an extended notice of 

 the geographical distribution of these objects. The 

 Botocudos are of Guarani stock physically, although 

 of non-Guarani speech. Tlieir physical characteris- 

 tics are elaborately set forth by Mr. Ke.ane, and 

 extended references made to their culture, sexual 

 relations, dwellings, industries, tribal organization, 

 burials, religion, and language. — {Journ. anthrop. 

 iiLSt., xiii. no. ii.) j. w. p. [540 



INTELLIGENCE FROM AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC STATIONS. 



GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS. 



geological survey. 



Geology. — Mr. J. S. Diller, an assistant of Capt. 

 C. E. Dutton, who has charge of the investig.ation of 

 the volcanic rocks in the division of the Pacific, made 

 a geological reconnaissance of the Cascade Range, 

 during the early part of the season, in exploring the 

 eastern side of the range; going as far north as the 

 Dalles, and thence to Portland, finally coming down 



on the west side to Red Bluff, California. He and 

 his party travelled some twenty-five hundred miles. 

 They were unable to do any , topographical work on 

 account of the smoke, which also interfered with the 

 work of Mr. Gilbert Thompson (chief topographer 

 of the California division) in the neighborhood of 

 Mount Shasta. 



Paleontology. — During the past season Mr. 

 Charles D. Walcott received at the office, for the use 

 of the National museum collections, a series of 



