January 3, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



19 



B. Fine, Prof. E. Hastings Moore, Prof. 

 Ormond Stone, Prof. Simon Newcomb, 

 Prof. Charlotte Angas Scott, Prof. Henry 

 S. White, Prof. E. W. Hyde, Prof. W. 

 Woolsey Johnson. Prof. B. O. Peirce. 

 The presidential address, delivered by Dr. 

 Hill, was entitled : ' Remarks on the Prog- 

 ress of Celestial Mechanics Since the Middle 

 of the Century.' It will be published in 

 an early number of Science. Prof. James 

 McMahon read a paper, entitled : ' Note 

 on the separation of the velocity potential 

 (expressed by functions of Laplace and 

 Bessel) into two parts, representing an out- 

 ward and an ^inward moving wave.' 



Thomas S. Fiske. 

 Columbia College. 



CUBBENT NOTES ON ANTHBOPOLOGY 

 RESEAECHES IN SOUTH AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 



From the rich field of South American 

 linguistics several valuable products have 

 lately been gleaned. 



That deserving of the first mention is the 

 narrative of a journey across the Cordillera 

 from Chili eastward, recited in the Huil- 

 liche dialect of Araucanian. It was care- 

 fully taken down by Dr. Eodolfo Lenz and 

 is printed in the 'Anales de la Universidad 

 de Chile,' Tomo XC. The text, with a 

 literal translation into Spanish, covers 22 

 pages, and is the first specimen we have, 

 not only in this dialect but in Araucanian, 

 proceeding from the unconstrained lips of 

 a native. It is a model of the manner in 

 which such a piece of work should be 

 accomplished and presented. 



The question of the Catamarcan language 

 is again attacked by S. A. Lafone Quevedo 

 in the Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica 

 Argentina, Tom. XXXIX. in an article of 

 .35 pages. He aims to demonstrate from 

 proper names that it is not Kechuan in its 

 afiinities. His arguments are drawn from 

 a full investigation of existing fi-agments of 



the tongue, and though not conclusive, 

 make an able plea. 



A careful vocabulary of the Guana, from 

 two independent sources, is published by 

 the Reale Academia die Lincei (Rome), 

 this year, the memoir being from the pen 

 of the artist traveler, Guido Boggiani. 



A short vocabulary of the Angagueda 

 dialect of the Choco obtained in June last 

 by Mr. H. G. Granger is edited with com- 

 parative words by me in the Proceedings of 

 the American Philosophical Society for 

 November. 



To these must be added a valuable con- 

 tribution on the language of the Akua 

 (Chavantes, Cherentes), by Dr. Paul Ehren- 

 reich in the Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologic, 1895, 

 Heft IV: and several vocabularies from the 

 Orinoco district, published by Dr. A. Ernst, 

 of Caracas, in the American Anthropologist 

 for October, 1895. 



THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF WOMAN. 



At the August meeting of the German 

 Society of Anthropology, at Cassel, the 

 opening address was by Dr. Waldeyer, of 

 Berlin, on ' the somatic differences of the 

 two sexes.' Its aim was particularly to 

 bring out the contrasts between woman 

 and man, with the purpose of applying 

 the results to the education and ' sphere ' 

 of woman. He argued that since a wide 

 collation of measurements and statistics 

 proves tliat she has a smaller brain, has 

 less physical strength, preserves more traits 

 of infancy and childhood in adult life, and 

 has practically in all times and places held 

 a position inferior to the man, that in our 

 schemes of social improvement these unde- 

 niable facts should be respected. The ef- 

 forts of social democrats and societj^ leaders 

 to establish entire equality between the two 

 sexes and to throw open to woman all the 

 avenues of activity enjoyed by man, he in- 

 timates, are mistaken, and will prove fail- 

 ures ; and quotes with approval the opinion 



