DECEMBER 1, 1899.] 
among the larger members of the Felidee than 
among the slow moving, inoffensive and her- 
bivorous Edentates. Consequently if there be 
any truth whatever in these tales or traditions 
they probably refer to this large cat. Dr. Roth 
has referred these cat remains to Ameghino’s 
species, retaining the specific name of Listai 
proposed by Ameghino. He rejects the generic 
name of Neomylodon, which would then clearly 
be a misnomer and substitutes the Indian name 
of Iemisch by which, according to Ameghino, the 
animal is known among the Indians. Two ob- 
jections may be offered to this generic name, 
first its barbarous origin, which though not ab- 
solutely prohibited by rules governing the for- 
mation of such names should nevertheless be 
discouraged, and second, the material upon 
which it is based has not been shown to be dis- 
tinct from either Smylodon or Felis. 
In Jemisch Listai we have an instance in Zoo- 
logical Science, which if not unique, it surely 
ought to be, of a species in which the original 
type may be fairly said to consist of traditions, 
collected among an entirely uncivilized people. 
For it is upon these Indian tales that the de- 
scription given by Dr. Ameghino not only as to 
the habits but also as to the color, number and 
character of the toes on each foot, size of head, 
length and prehensile nature of tail, etc., are 
based. 
Regarding the existence of such traditions 
among the Indians of Patagonia, I can only say 
that during the three years spent by myself 
there, during which I was frequently thrown 
among the southern Indians, I learned of no 
such traditions from the Indians themselves. If 
any such traditions exist among them, they 
certainly have not engendered that feeling of 
terror and fear of this animal as pictured by 
Ameghino, for I have frequently camped with 
the Indians in regions said by Ameghino to be 
the traditional or reported haunts of Iemisch, 
and have never observed them to take any 
special care for themselves or their horses, 
leaving the latter loose, picketed and hobbled 
in great numbers night and day alike. 
From a study of the cave and the condition in 
which the remains were found, Dr. Hauthal 
concludes that man and all the other animals of 
which associated remains were found, coéxisted 
SCIENCE. 
815 
here during an interglacial period and that these 
caves were occupied as habitations by the men 
who shared them with certain domesticated 
animals among which was the large Edentate, 
Grypotherium domesticum. This opinion is also 
shared by Dr. Roth and less strongly, if I mis- 
take not, by Dr. Nitsche who discusses the 
material from an archzologic standpoint. 
The papers are extremely interesting ‘and are 
important not only for the light they throw on 
the nature of the ‘ Mysterious Mammal of Pata- 
gonia,’ but also for the additional evidence af- 
forded of the existence of representatives of the 
Pampean fauna in comparatively very recent 
times. We may expect further explorations of 
these cave deposits to bring to light additional 
remains and perhaps establish their correlation 
with deposits in the north. 
J. B. HATCHER. 
Balti- 
1899. 
Maryland Weather Service. Volume I. 
more, Md., The John Hopkins Press. 
4to. Pp. 566. Charts LIV. Figs. 61. 
If the succeeding volumes of the Maryland 
State Weather Service are kept up to the stand- 
ard and size of the first volume, and if the 
scheme of work outlined in the present publica- 
tion is followed out, it is safe to say that a new 
era has opened for climatology in this country. 
That this rich promise for the future will be 
fulfilled no one can doubt who knows the men 
in charge of, and interested in the Maryland 
Weather Service, and who appreciates the 
peculiarly favorable position which this service 
occupies, carried on as it is under the joint 
auspices of the Johns Hopkins University and 
of the United States Weather Bureau. 
The Director of the Service is Professor 
William B. Clark, of Johns Hopkins Uni- 
versity, whose special interest in geology 
has never caused him to neglect the scientific 
study of meteorology. The Secretary and 
Treasurer is Professor Milton Whitney, Chief 
of the Division of Soils of the Department 
of Agriculture, who represents the Mary- 
land Agricultural College, and is well known 
in connection with his work on the rela- 
tions of soils to climate and crops. The 
Meteorologist in charge is Mr. F. J. Walz, of 
the United States Weather Bureau, who is 
