April 3, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



501 



drawn from this natural well of the desert). 

 Other relations among the plants and be- 

 tween the flora and fauna were noted, but 

 in a summary statement it must suffice to 

 indicate only a few leading lines of obser- 

 vation. 



DEMOLOGY.* 



In the course of the eai-lier expedition it 

 was found that if the plants, animals and 

 men of the desert be compared with respect 

 to individual or phj^siologic (i. e., purely 

 biotic) characters " the stationary plants 

 have suffered greatest modification, the en- 

 vironment-driven animals less, and the en- 

 vironment-molding humans least of all ;" 

 but that " when they are compared with 

 respect to collective or demotic modifica- 

 tion, it becomes manifest that the moveless 

 plants are least, the moving animals more, 

 and prevising men most profoundly modi- 

 fied."! It was found also that the collec- 

 tive modification tends through cooperation 

 to the development of a solidarity in which 

 the several organisms unconsciously or 

 semi-consciouslj^ combine against the rigor- 

 ous environment. Finally it was found that 

 there are three stages in the co5peration 

 of plants, animals and men, viz.: commu- 

 nality, in which the organisms stand to- 

 gether for mutual pi'otection yet retain un- 

 diminished individuality ; commensality, 

 in which unlike organisms unite to the end 

 that one or both species may be perpetu- 

 ated ; and agriculture, or the state in which 

 intelligent organisms (especially ants and 

 men) regulate the course of common devel- 

 opment by exclusion of the perverse. Thus 

 the earlier researches indicated not only 

 that there is a reciprocal relation between 

 biotic and demotic characters, but that, in 

 a rigorous environment, the latter charac- 



*This term is used as a synonym of sociology in 

 its widest sense, but witli still wider meaning. It 

 may be defined as the science of organizations, 

 whether spontaneous or purposive, among organisms. 



t'The Beginning of Agriculture,' op. cit., p. 374. 



ters are found among nongregarious ani- 

 mals and plants as well as among men and 

 gTCgarious animals. The researches also 

 supplemented historical records proving 

 that agriculture began in desert regions by 

 showing the manner in which intelligent 

 organisms are unavoidably forced into this 

 highest grade of cooperation by desert 

 conditions. 



During the later expedition the re- 

 searches concerning collective or demotic 

 relations were continued. The observations 

 among the Papago Indians were extended 

 not simply to the relations between the 

 human group and the sub-human assem- 

 blage, but also to the relations among the 

 individuals and sub-groups of the human as- 

 semblage. The details noted are many and 

 of a diverse character, and it must suffice at 

 present to indicate their sum. In general, 

 it was found that the continual struggle for 

 existence under adverse conditions has 

 tended to strengthen character among the 

 human units, and to render each individual 

 strong, self-reliant, resourceful, decisive, 

 just as the plants and sub-human animals 

 have been rendered long-lived and vigorous ; 

 but that this tendency toward the develop- 

 ment of individuality is accompanied by an 

 altruistic tendency under which the human 

 units are brought into sympathy and union 

 of exceptional closeness. In nomadic desert 

 life individuals and small groups are con- 

 stantly exposed to the risk of death by 

 thirst, and occasion frequently arises for 

 other individuals or sub-groups of the same 

 assemblage or tribe to relieve the sufferers, 

 and if this is done the assemblage is 

 strengthened, while if it is not done the as- 

 semblage is weakened. So also isolated 

 individuals are in danger of starvation, of 

 attack by predatory animals, of poisoning 

 by animals and plants, or of death in other 

 ways, in a larger ratio than when sevetal 

 are in company ; yet the character of the 

 country is such that hunters, warriors and 



