April 10, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



535 



stimuli and a negative reaction to strong light, 

 factors ■which may, in part, determine the noc- 

 turnal and hiding habits of this species. Un- 

 fortunately I was not favorably situated at 

 the time for an extensive study of the habits 

 and behavior of the animal, and it was, there- 

 fore, the next day preserved as a specimen. 



On account of the rarity of this species in 

 the northern part of its geographic range it 

 seems that a brief description of this specimen 

 is not amiss. The general color of the back 

 can best be described as dark bluish olive- 

 brown ; the ventral parts, labials and neck-band 

 (two scales wide) are salmon pink, being 

 slightly darker postero-ventrally and sightly 

 more yellowish on the supralabials and neck- 

 band; a series of about 40 small black spots 

 are scattered irregularly in a single midventral 

 line from the 41st to the 144th ventral plates, 

 being more numerous between the 86th and 

 144th ventral plates. The total length is 335 

 mm.; tail, 80 mm. The scutellation is as 

 follows: dorsal scale rows, 15; ventrals, 156; 

 subcaudals, 53; supralabials, 8-8; infralabials, 

 8-7; oculars, 2-2; temporals, 1-1. 



Hartley H. T. Jackson 



U. S. Department AGKicuLa?UBE 



SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS MINUS SCIENCE 



In recent years the question has much occu- 

 pied the public mind whether fraternities in 

 schools and colleges are desirable or not. 

 Those who favor the negative, often point to 

 the low scholarship of the members of fra- 

 ternities. The fraternities have reacted by 

 strenuous efforts to raise the scholarship 

 among their members. One of the national 

 organizations recently offered a loving cup to 

 that chapter in a group of universities of the 

 Middle West which would make during the 

 year the highest scholarship record. The na- 

 tional officers asked two members of the 

 faculty of the University of Missouri to select 

 the chapter. That ought to be easy. But it 

 was found impossible. To make such an 

 award, it is not sufficient to know that each 

 chapter got so many A's, B's etc., or so many 

 95's, 90's, etc., whatever the symbols may be 

 in each institution. It is absolutely necessary 



to know the frequencies of these grades in the 

 whole student body of the institution. But 

 none of these institutions, except one, could 

 furnish these data, although, without the fre- 

 quencies being known, their grades are prac- 

 tically meaningless. Here, then, we have in- 

 stitutions which are generally regarded as the 

 representatives of science. But to apply sci- 

 ence to the grades, of which they record year 

 after year thousands, and without which they 

 appear to be unable to get along, that does not 

 seem to have occurred to the administrations 

 of most of them. Their alumni look with 

 amazement upon their ailma maters which 

 can not furnish the data for the solution of so 

 simple and so proper a problem as that of 

 awarding a loving cup to a group of students 

 who have distinguished themselves by their 

 scholarship. 



Max Meyer 

 University of Missouri 



the language of the brazilun people 

 To THE Editor of Science: Regarding the 

 review of the work entitled " Fosseis Devoni- 

 anos Do Parana," published in the March 13 

 issue of Science by Dr. Chas. K. Swartz, 

 Baltimore, Md., in the last paragraph where 

 it mentions the work done by Dr. John M. 

 Clarke, for the Department of Agriculture, 

 Commerce and Industry (Geological and 

 Mineralogical), I iind a mistake in his stating 

 that the work is published in the English 

 and Spanish languages in parallel columns. 

 Mr. Swartz should have said that it is pub- 

 lished in Portuguese and English, the former 

 being the universal language of the Brazilian 

 people. 



E. Braga 



QUOTATIONS 



PROFESSORS IN COUNCIL 



In the circular letter that was sent out in 

 the spring of 1913, looking to the formation 

 of a national association of university pro- 

 fessors, the motive actuating the signers was 

 indicated in the statement that, besides his 

 interest in his specialty, the university pro-« 

 fessor is " concerned, as a member of the legis- 



