November 15, 1889.] 



SCIENCE. 



337 



Throwing a spadeful of lime upon a cow-dung will destroy the 

 larvae which are living in it ; and, as in almost every pasture there 

 are some one or two spots where the cattle preferably congregate 

 during the heat of the day, the dung which contains most of the 

 larvje will consequently be more or less together, and easy to treat 

 at once. If the evil should increase, therefore, it will well pay a 

 stock-raiser to start a load of lime through his field occasionally, 

 particularly in May or June, as every larva killed then represents 

 the death of very many flies during August. Dr. C. V. Riley feels 

 certain that this course will be found in many cases practical and of 

 great avail, and will often be an advantage to the pasture besides. 



THE KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



The annual meeting of this society was held at Wichita. Among 

 the papers read was the following : " On Monstrosities in Flower- 

 ing Plants," by W. A. Kellerman. The author illustrated what 

 may be called extreme variations in the development of certain 

 parts of plants. These are looked upon as interesting phenomena 

 in botany, and deserve greater attention. 



E. A. Papenoe discussed oviposition in Tragidion, and showed 

 that this beetle places its egg within an elliptical case on the sur- 

 face or bark of the chestnut, oak, and other trees. The egg is oblong, 

 smooth, and dull white. The bark is not punctured, as is com- 

 monly the case with this class of beetles. Robert Hay read a paper 

 on artesian wells, in which he showed by diagrams how such wells 

 are possible, and what progress had been made in the West with 

 these wells. The relation of artesian wells to irrigation in arid 

 regions was discussed. J. T. Willard gave a brief description of 

 devices and methods used in the analysis of agricultural products. 

 He described a desiccating apparatus, a method of purifying ether, 

 and a method to prevent foaming in boiling liquids. G. H. Failyer 

 communicated the results of his work on nitric acid and ammonia 

 in rain-water. These observations have extended through more 

 than three years. The per cent is usually greater in smaller rains. 

 About three pounds and a half of nitrogen are annually added to 

 an acre of soil by the rains. But little continuous work has been 

 done in this line in this country. F. H. Snow gave the results of 

 his attempts at artificial spreading of contagious disease among 

 chinch-bugs. It has been observed that a certain fungus is present 

 where the bugs are dying in large numbers. The attempt was 

 made to propagate this disease by sending the infected bugs to 

 different parts of the State and to several other States. The result 

 has been thus far successful, and the war will be pushed next sea- 

 son with the help of a lot of infected material which is being kept 

 over. The same author showed the curve of mean daily tempera- 

 ture for twenty-one years at Lawrence, Kan. Among the interest- 

 ing facts brought out, it may be noted that the average coldest day 

 is Jan. 6 ; and the hottest day, July 15. There seems to be a re- 

 markable rise in temperature during the first ten days of April, and 

 a corresponding fall of temperature in November, thus showing a 

 more sudden change of seasons than has been observed in some 

 other States. Professor Snow has also made a discovery on the 

 method of respiration of the salamander. In its final or air-breath- 

 ing stage, a stream of water was observed passing into the mouth 

 through each nostril, the mouth being opened eight or nine times a 

 minute to allow the water to escape. Folds of mucous membrane 

 in the posterior part of the mouth appear to perform the function 

 of removing the oxygen from the inspired water. E. C. Murphy 

 gave some tests of cements manufactured in Kansas. From these 

 tests it was shown that the native cements are inferior in tensile 

 strength, compressive strength, and transverse strength, to Portland 

 cement. L. I. Blake gave the result of tests made in the physical 

 laboratory on the insulation resistance of electric wires exposed to 

 moisture. The wires were immersed in water, and daily tests were 

 made for three months. The results were shown by a series of 

 curves, and a remarkable difference in quality was observed. The 

 underwriter's wire was especially condemned. The same author 

 gave the results of experiments in telephonic communication be- 

 tween vessels at sea. W. S. Franklin presented a paper on classi- 

 fication of the sense of smell. D. B. Jennings gave the result of 

 his observations on hot winds. Though the paper is too long to 



be successfully abstracted, many interesting points were brought 

 out. This is simply a preliminary paper on the subject. " 



F. O. Marvin exhibited an isogonic chart of the State of Kansas. 

 There is shown to be an irregularity in the action of the needle in 

 several contiguous counties. E. H. S. Bailey and E. E. Slosson 

 presented a paper on the occurrence of celestite and associated 

 minerals in concretionary formations in eastern Kansas. Complete 

 analyses of the minerals will be published. E. H. S. Bailey alsa 

 called the attention of the academy to the analyses of some Kansas 

 mineral waters. Their occurrence and constituents were discussed. 

 J. R. Mead gave a resumv of his observations on the occurrence 

 of gold in Montana. L. E. Sayre gave the history and process of 

 manufacturing binding-twine. In the discussion which followed^ 

 W. A. Kellerman suggested that perhaps some common weeds, 

 like the velvet-leaf or the dogbane, might be used as a substitute 

 for the more expensive fibres now in use. F. O. Marvin gave the 

 result of a series of experiments on the second setting of cements. 

 L. E. Sayre gave some notes on albuminoids, and also exhibited a 

 novel and ingenious microscope attachment to be used to facilitate 

 field work in botany. 



At the close of the meetings an excursion was made to the salt- 

 fields of Kingman, where an opportunity was afforded to examine 

 the practical work of salt-manufacture and salt-mining. 



BOOK-REVIEWS. 



Studies in Pedagogy. By THOMAS J. MORGAN. Boston, Silver, 

 Burdett, & Co. 12°. $1.75. 

 The author of this work, who is the principal of the Rhode Island 

 State Normal School, here gives the public astatement of the views 

 on education to which his experience and reflection have led him. 

 We cannot say, however, that there is much that is new or valuable, 

 in them ; on the contrary, they are mostly of a commonplace order. 

 Mr. Morgan rightly lays sti'ess on training, or discipline, as of more 

 importance than mere instruction ; but there is nothing new in this 

 idea, and we cannot see that he has any thing striking to offer in 

 regard to methods of training. He lays great stress on the educa- 

 tion of the senses and the imagination, and even proposes to have 

 a special series of exercises for training the nose, which he char- 

 acterizes as an organ of " neglected merit and overlooked modesty."' 

 He points out the importance to the teacher of a thorough knowl- 

 edge of psychology, and also of a preliminary training ^ in 

 methods of teaching. He has a high conception of the function of 

 the teacher, and of the qualifications necessary for their perfect 

 performance. Mr. Morgan's views appear to us in the main sound 

 and true ; but they are so familiar that there seems to be no good 

 reason for writing a whole volume for the purpose of setting them 

 forth. 



Seven TJwtisand Words often Mispronounced. By WILLIAM 

 Henry P. Phyfe. New York and London, Putnam. 12°. 

 $■.25. 



The editor of this book has produced already two books on 

 pronunciation, — one "The School Pronouncer," and the other 

 " How Should I Pronounce .' " 



That every one cares to pronounce correctly goes without saying. 

 That every one, even if he may be reckoned among the well edu- 

 cated, does not necessarily know the accepted or most acceptable 

 pronunciation of our mysteriously spelled English words, is equally 

 true. But it is not always true that one seeking the recognized 

 pronunciation of a word in dispute is willing to handle his big dic- 

 tionary, even if he is so fortunate as to possess such ; and, again, it 

 not infrequently happens that the word may be a proper name, 

 and proper names are sparingly treated in even the big quartos. 



" Seven Thousand Words often Mispronounced " includes fully 

 that number of words which, through inherent difficulty or care- 

 lessness on the part of the speaker, are liable to be mispronounced, 

 with twenty-five hundred proper names. 



There are the necessary introductory chapters on the sounds of 

 the English language, — r sounds both native and adopted or im- 

 ported, as it were, from foreign tongues; it being the editor's idea 

 that the adoption of so considerable a number of foreign words into 



