492 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. lil. No. 65. 



In the whole course for teachers, if the mat- 

 ter, method and the scientific spirit be kept in 

 mind, the teachers go to their work with a 

 liking for it which is not gained otherwise. A 

 course in geography for teachers and children 

 along the lines suggested above has been planned 

 and is now in operation in the Teachers' Col- 

 lege, New York City, and though it is in its 

 first year of operation the result is very pleas- 

 ing, and the promise for future good results is 

 most encouraging. The constantly increasing 

 interest, as well as understanding, of the chil- 

 dren shows that the conception that physical 

 geography can not be profitably given to young 

 children, is erroneous. If it is given in a way 

 to arouse them to thought it becomes a means 

 of drill that is of great service, and that de- 

 velops more of their powers than if they were 

 simply required to do a lot of memorizing of 

 description and location, without any scientific 

 underlying thread connecting the various topics 

 considered. 



Experiments imitative of Glacial Esker and Sand- 

 Plain Formation. By C. W. Doesby. 

 A preliminary account was given of a series 

 of experiments performed under the direction 

 of Mr. T. A. Jaggar in the Laboratory of Ex- 

 perimental Geology. The object of the experi- 

 ments is to reproduce in miniature the condi- 

 tions of delta deposition at the mouth of a sub- 

 glacial cavern, with a view to systematic study 

 of the conditions that govern the form of deltas, 

 the arrangement of bedding in cross-section, 

 the development of lobate margins and the in- 

 fluence of variations in stream velocity, coarse- 

 ness of material and water level. The appa- 

 ratus used consists of a tin half-tube whose 

 cross-section has the form of an inverted IT, and 

 this is longitudinally bent into somewhat ser- 

 pentine form, to imitate a subglacial stream 

 cavern; a funnel soldered at its upper end sup- 

 plies load, and a rubber tube from the hydrant 

 supplies the current. Thin sheet lead is bent 

 over this apparatus to represent roughly the form 

 of a glacier front, and the whole is arranged in 

 a large square tank. On starting the current, 

 sand, fine gravel and mixtures of sand with 

 plaster are fed into the funnel and are deposited 

 in a fan delta at the cavern's mouth. The 



structures obtained may be photographed at 

 any stage, and at the end of each experiment 

 the imitation cavei-n is removed to show the de- 

 posit that represents the feeding esker. On 

 slicing the deltas horizontally and vertically the 

 progressive stages of growth are beautifully 

 shown by the white plaster layers, and in this 

 way migration of the lobes and of the frontal 

 scarp of the delta, as well as the arrangement 

 of cross-bedding, back-set beds, etc., may be 

 traced. An attempt with ice is in preparation, 

 to test the effect of the melting away of the ice 

 on the resultant forms. 



The results of these experiments will be of- 

 fered for publication in the near future, prob- 

 ably in the Journal of Geology. 



T. A. Jaggar, Jb., 

 Recording Secretary. 



NEW BOOKS. 

 The Life and Letters of George John Romanes. 



Written and edited by his wife. London, 



New York and Bombay, Longmans, Green & 



Co. 1896. Pp. viii+360. 

 Grundriss der Erystallographie. Dr. Gottlob 



Lenck. Jena, Gustav Fischer. 1896. Pp. 



vi+252. M. 9. 

 Elements of Botany. J. Y. Bergen. Boston 



and London, Ginn & Co. 1896. Pp. v+57. 

 Voice Building and Tone Placing. Holbrook 



Curtis. New York, D. Appleton & Co. 



1896. Pp. xii + 215. $2.00. 

 The Whence and Whither of Man. John M. 



Tyler. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 



1896. Pp. xv+312. $1.75. 

 The Dynamo. S. E. Bottonb. London, Swan, 



Sonuenschein & Co., Lim.; New York, Mac- 



millan & Co. Pp. 116. 90 cents. 

 Transactions of the American Climatological Asso- 

 ciation for 1S93. Vol. XL Philadelphia, Pa., 



printed for the Association. 1895. Pp. xv-f 



266. 

 Experiments in General Chemistry and Notes on 



Qualitative Analysis. Charles R. Sanger. 



St. Louis. 1896. Pp. 49. 

 Laboratory Experiments in General Chemistry. 



Charles R. Sanger. St. Louis. 1896. 



Pp. 59. 



