558 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLV. No. 1170 



value of a unit in a higher position is always 

 20 times the value of a unit in the next 

 lower position, except in the case of the 

 third place, where its value is only 18 times 

 that of the second place. 



In historical research and elsewhere, the 

 mathematician seeks cordial cooperation 

 with other scientists, and he regrets that 

 the confusion of tongues, resembling the ex- 

 periences at the tower of Babel, is making 

 it more and more difficult to understand 

 each other. In the case of scientists this 

 confusion is mainly due to a rapid growth 

 of language in various directions. May we 

 not hope that as many theories which were 

 supposed to be distinct suddenly exhibited 

 profound connections, so also this extensive 

 language will tend towards unity and sim- 

 plicity as we see more clearly the funda- 

 mental underlying principles. Science 

 knows no bounds in method or in subject- 

 matter and the artificial limitations set 

 by man for his own convenience in making 

 a start must break down before the onward 

 march of truth. All science is a unit and 

 all scientific investigators should be in- 

 spired by their common interests. 



G. A. MttJiKR 

 Univeesity or Iujnois 



SCIENTIFIC EVENTS 



FORESTRY ORGANIZATION FOR THE WAR 



A " FORESTRY regiment," made up of for- 

 esters, practical woodsmen, loggers, portable 

 sawmill operators and others experienced in 

 lumbering operations, for service in France, 

 will, it is announced, be raised immediately. 

 The Forest Service, at the request of the War 

 Department, will prepare plans for the organi- 

 zation and equipment of the force and will aid 

 in securing suitable men. The regiment will 

 form a unit of the Engineer Corps now being 

 recruited to be sent abroad as soon as it can 

 be organized and equipped. 



The organization of this regiment is the 

 result of a suggestion made by the British 



Commission. Similar forces have been raised 

 in Canada and are rendering valuable services. 

 The object of the American forestry regi- 

 ment, it is said, will be to convert available 

 timber into material suitable for bridges, rail- 

 roads, trenches and other construction work 

 with the least possible waste. At the same 

 time the cutting will be done under the super- 

 vision of technical experts in cooperation with 

 the French foresters. In this way the perma- 

 nent damage to the forests incident to furnish- 

 ing the imperatively needed timber, it is hoped, 

 will be kept as small as possible. 



The regiment will be organized in units 

 capable of handling all kinds of woods work 

 and will include a number of portable saw- 

 mill outfits. It will be officered by trained 

 foresters and expert lumbermen who are thor- 

 oughly familiar with producing and deliver- 

 ing lumber. It will carry complete equipment 

 for all kinds of woods work. The classes of 

 men desired comprise axemen, teamsters, tie- 

 cutters, millwrights, saw-filers, sawyers, porta- 

 ble sawmill men, farriers, blacksmiths, lumber- 

 jacks, cooks and carpenters, as well as motor- 

 cycle and motor-truck operators. As rapidly 

 as enlistments are secured, the men will be 

 assembled at six central points, which have 

 already been designated. 



EXPEDITIONS OF THE SMITHSONIAN 

 INSTITUTION 



A LETTER from Mr. H. C. Raven recounts 

 the collection of many kinds of wild rats, 

 shrews, bats, squirrels, etc., made in the East 

 India Islands. The first shipment received at 

 the National Museum included 319 mammals 

 and about 300 birds. Mr. Haven recently ex- 

 plored the central part of Borneo, thence work- 

 ing southward by cart and pack train, and is 

 now supposed to be in the southern part of the 

 island. Another collection of miscellaneous 

 matter just received from Mr. Haven includes 

 ethnological specimens, mammals, birds, also 

 reptiles, shells and insects. 



Mr. Arthur deC. Sowerby, who has been ex- 

 ploring in China for the National Museum, 

 has not been very successful owing to the con- 

 ditions there, but managed to visit Shanghai 

 and several places on the lower Yangtze. A 



