556 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. I., iSTo. 19. 



An ingenious set of comparisons leads tlie author 

 up to tlie ratio of the occurrence of each set of color- 

 terms to tlie entire eleven hundred. " His perceptions 

 of color are clearest and strongest in the middle of the 

 spectrum ; even in his sensuous imagination, he is 

 temperate and reserved, avoiding the extremes of 

 sensation, and dwelling by preference upon the mean 

 terms, the media via of visual perception." 



Prof. Price draws attention to the striking co- 

 incidence of scientific accuracy with prophetic genius 

 in the phrase of Virgil, Mille coloribus arcuin {Eel, 

 V. 609), and the discovery of Hubert (Rood, p. 40), 



that in the solar spectrum the unaided eye may dis- 

 tinguish a thousand colors. The following terms 

 are traced to their origin, and their fundamental 

 idea fixed : ruber, rutilus, sanguineus, cruentus, 

 sandix, minium, ferrugo, roseus, viridis, vitreus, 

 hyalus, igneus, spadix, flavus, fulvus, croceus, lu- 

 teus, aurum, cereus, pallidus, lividus, caeruleus, pur- 

 pareus, puniceus, murex, ostrum, albus, candidus, 

 niveus, argenteus, lacteus, marmoreus, decolor, 

 canus, glaucus, ater, niger, fuscus, fumeus, pullus, 

 piceus. — [Ainer.Journ. phil.,Y. 1.) o. T. M. [1102 



INTELLiaUNCi: FROM AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC STATIONS. 



GOVERNMENT OBGANIZATIONS. 



Smithsonian institntion. 



Explorations in Louisiana, — Capt. K. W. Shufeldt, 

 medical corps U. S. A., has, since October last, as- 

 sisted by grants from the Smithsonian institution, 

 been exploring the country in the vicinity of the city 

 of New Orleans, La. The collection that this officer 

 has made has just been forwarded to the institution 

 at Washington. It consists of some three thousand 

 specimens of very interesting forms of the represen- 

 tative vertebrates and invertebrates of that region, 

 besides the contents of the Indian shell-mound situ- 

 ated in the rear of Carrolton, — an antiquity suspected 

 to exist by Foster, from reports he had heard when 

 •engaged in his explorations in that locality. Among 

 the vertebrates, some very uncommon forms of bats 

 have been forwarded, and six or seven specimens of 

 the rare Bascanium anthicum, and one of the Aspi- 

 donectes asper, the soft-shelled turtle, so eagerly 

 sought after by collectors. Of the fish. Dr. T. H. 

 Bean, curator of the department of fishes at the 

 Smithsonian institution, says, " Two of the determi- 

 nations are uncertain. The examples of Lepomis 

 32410 and 32419 are so small that I cannot be sure 

 what they are, the lower pharyngeals being little de- 

 veloped, and with incomplete dentition; .32412, 32414, 

 and 32420 agree with the published descriptions of 

 Zygonecles chrysotles Giinth., but they may represent 

 a species quite distinct from that. I will try to get 

 fuller information about Giinther's types through 

 some one of my friends who will visit the British 

 museum next summer. The species called Mollienesia 

 latipinna would be regarded as M. lineolata by our 

 friends, .lordan and Gilbert; but I think your series 

 will prove that lineolata is not distinct from latipinna; 

 and, as latipinna is the older name, we should use it. 



"The lot of Elassoma zonatum (32423 = No. 108) 

 is the largest and finest ever known in this museum, 

 and there is no probability that any collector has se- 

 •cured a better series. The range of variation is great- 

 ly extended by them, and a new locality is found. O. 

 P. Hay had the species from Mississippi; it is known, 

 also, from Alabama, Texas, and South Illinois." 



Dr. Shufeldt will work this material up for pub- 

 lication by the Smithsonian institution as soon as 

 the opportunity offers. 



STATE INSTITUTIONS. 

 State university of Kansas, Lawrence. 

 Weather report for May. — This month had the lar- 

 gest rainfall, the greatest aggregate wind-velocity, and, 

 with one exception (1882), the lowest mean tempera- 

 ture, recorded in any May of our sixteen years' obser- 



vations. The light white frost of the 22d did no 

 damage to vegetation, and the growing crops are in 

 prime condition at the close of the month. 



Mean temperature, 62.t)5°, which is 4.08° below the 

 average May temperature. The highest temperature 

 was 91°, on the 2d ; the lowest was 39°, on the 22d ; 

 monthly range, 52°: mean temperature at 7 A.M., 

 56.19°; at 2 p.m., 71.13°; at 9 p.m., 60.45°. 



Rainfall, 7.63 inches, which is 3.56 inches above , 

 the May average. There were five thunder-showers. 

 Hail accompanied the rain of the 13th without dam- 

 age at this station. On the 13th the rainfall was 

 three and one-half inches, which daily register has 

 been but twice exceeded in the past sixteen years. 

 Of this amount, two inches fell in one hour and three- 

 quarters, from 3.45 to 5.30 p.m. The entire rainfall 

 for the five months of 1883 now completed has been 

 14.07 inches, which is 2.25 inches above the average 

 for the same period in the past fifteen years. 



Mean cloudiness, 47.63% of the sky, the month be- 

 ing 1.75 % clearer than usual. Number of clear days 

 (less than one-third cloudy), 11; entirely clear, 3; 

 half-clear (from one to two thirds cloudy), 14; cloudy 

 (more than two-thirds), 6; entirely cloudy, 3; mean 

 cloudiness at 7 a.m., 46.77%;- at 2'p.m., 58.45%; at 9 

 p.m., 39.68%. 



Wind: N.W., 25 times; S.E., 20 times; S.W., 16 

 times; S., 14 times; N.E., 13 times; W., 3 times; N., 

 twice. The entire distance travelled by the wind was 

 15,661 miles, which is 3,334 miles above the May av- 

 erage. This gives a mean daily velocity of 505 miles, 

 and a mean hourly velocity of 21.04 miles. The high- 

 est velocity was 60 miles an hour, on the 13th. 



Mean height of barometer, 29.010 inches ; at 7 a.m., 

 29.017 inches; at 2 p.m., 28.989 inches; at 9 p.m., 

 29.029 inches; maximum 29.355 inches, on the 5th; 

 minimum, 28.496 inches, .on the 13th; range, 0.859 

 inch. 



Kelative humidity: mean for month, 64.5; at 7 a.m., 

 75.3; at 2 p.m., 4.5.9; at 9 p.m., 72.3; greatest, 100, on 

 13th; least, 14, on the 9th. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 

 The American association for the advancement 

 of science will hold its thirty-second annual meet- 

 ing at Minneapolis, Minn., Aug. 15 and following 

 days. The president-elect is Prof. C. A. Young of 

 Princeton, and the following is the list of the general 

 officers of the meeting: section A (Mathematics 

 and astronomy), vice-president, W. A. Rogers of 

 Canibridge; secretary, W. W. Johnson of Annapo- 



