836 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. II., No. 47. 



ated upon in 378 subjects, and also one containing the 

 details of l,33:i tracings obtained from the battalion 

 d'Afrique, as follows: — 



Patriotic and religious emblems ... 91 



Professional emblems 98 



Inscriptions Ill 



Military emblems 149 



Metaphorical emblems 260 



Amorous and erotic emblems .... 280 

 Fantastic, historical, and miscellaneous, 344 



1,333 

 The reader will find this one of the most entertain- 

 ing and instructive anthropological papers which 

 have appeared in a long time. — (Trans, anthvop. soc. 

 Washvvjton, ii. 40. ) J. w. p. [585 



The Mexican pulque. — " One of tlie first objects 

 to claim the attention of the conquerors of Mexico," 

 says Carl Beni, " was the magney-plant (Agave ameri- 

 cana; Mexican, neutlli). Its manifold uses and prod- 

 ucts, considered in relation to the inhabilants of that 

 region and to their manner of living, render interest- 

 ing the study of this vegetable, which is justly called 

 pianla delle meravir/Ue." De Candolle thinks that 

 the plant is of Me.^ican origin; but the place where 

 it was discovered to furnish a beverage is uncertain, 

 for traditions concerning it are intimately connected 

 with the history of the ancient peoples who occupied 

 the central plateaus of South America. According 

 to the Mexican traditions, Ixquitecatl was the first 

 to invent the method of drawing the sweet juice 

 from the maguey, and Titlacahuan used pulque to 

 intoxicate Qnelzalcoatl and to induce him to go into 

 exile. Another legend says, that in 1045 the juice 

 of the plant was introduced as a drink among the 

 royal family. Signor Beni has collected from various 

 sources the references to the uses of this celebrated 



plant, and in 1S76, while in Mexico, made some obser- 

 vations on its cultivation and uses. The following is 

 the analysis of the sap and of the fermented liquor: — 



— [Archiv. jier Vanlrop., \ni. 13.) j. w. p. [586 

 The use of mollusks. — Dr. A. T. de Roche- 

 brune has written a second memoir upon n)ollusks 

 among ancient and modern peoples, this time treat- 

 ing of shells in the sepulchres of Ecuador and New 

 Granada. The mounds of the United States furnish 

 some beautiful specimens of aboriginal art in shell, 

 and our archeologists have not been slow in taking 

 advantage of the interest clustering about these ob- 

 jects. The relative rarity of mollusks utilized by the 

 ancient inhabitants of the Peruvian coast is noticed 

 by M. Roehebrune. The farther north we go, the 

 more pronounced this poverty becomes. Indeed, the 

 following five species are all that the author has 

 found from that region : — 



1. Spondylus limbatus Sow, statuettes and neck- 



laces. 



2. Venus multicostata Sow, spangles, necklaces. 



3. Patella oUa Brod., bangles, quippus(?) beads. 



4. Oliva splendidula Sow, bangles, pendants. 



5. Fasciolaria salmo Wood, pieces for clotliing. 

 Two or three of the objects are carved witli some 



elaborateness of design. — ( Reo. d'ethnog., ii. 311.) 

 J. w. p. [587 



INTELLIGENCE FROM AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC STATIONS. 



GOVERNMENT OBGANIZATIONS. 



Geological survey, 



Comparative paleontology of the Devonian forma- 

 tion. — Prof. H. S. Williams lias recently been devot- 

 ing his attenliou especially to this formation in west- 

 ern New York, and, in a preliminary report to the 

 director, makes known some interesting facts as a 

 result of his study of the materials collected by him 

 during the jsast summer. 



In the black shales, which in New York lie between 

 beds containing Hamilton faunas below and those 

 bearing Portage faunas above, he has found Lingulas 

 indistinguishable from those of the Cleveland shales; 

 also conodont teeth identical in form with those de- 

 scribed from the same Cleveland beds, and Sporangites 

 and Palaeoniscus scales. Species, therefore, regarded 

 by Ohio geologists as characteristic of the Cleveland 

 shales (Waverly), occur together in a similar black 

 shale in New York, which there is known to underlie 

 the upper Devonian. Professor Williams says, how- 



ever, that, although the identity of the two faunas can 

 scarcely be disputed, he is not so sure that It is an 

 indication of synchronous deposition. The various 

 black shales of Ohio are more nearly continuous there 

 than in New York; and he says it is pretiy clear that 

 the intercalated sandy deposits are of a more eastern 

 origin. At the horizon of upper Devonian the sands 

 are purer and of lighter color as we go westward and 

 south-westward ; and in some of the quarries of west- 

 ern New York, sandstones very similar to the Ohio 

 Waverly stone are met with. In these sands distinct 

 quartz pebbles have been found, nearly as low as the 

 point where the first member of the typical Chemung 

 fauna is obtained, leading Professor Williams to sus- 

 pect that true conglomerates may, in some geograph- 

 ical .area, liave been contemporaneous with the early 

 Chemung fauna. He says tlie evidences are accumu- 

 lating in support of the hypothesis that the lower 

 conglomerates are the geographical representatives of 

 deposits of much finer character farther north, in 

 which the Chemung faunas appear. He meets the 



