June 6, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



911 



tion is subjoined. The sample examined fell 

 on board of the Alesandro del BuenOj a ves- 

 sel distant at the time about one hundred 

 miles from the scene of the disaster at St. 

 Pierre. 



Silica 53.34% 



Sesqui-oxides of iron and alumin- 

 ium 30.68" 



Calcium oxide 10.47 " 



Magnesium oxide 4.12 " 



Sulphur 0.17 " 



Phosphorus trace 



The powder is highly magnetic ; in all proba- 

 bility some of the iron present is magnetite. 



F. G. WlEOHMANN. 

 THE SUBDERMAL MITE OCCURRING AMONG BIRDS. 



To THE Editor of Science : The interesting 

 observations of Mr. Beebe (Science, May 9, 

 1902) require some additions, since the only 

 author to whom he has referred gives by no 

 means a complete statement regarding the 

 character or occurrence of the mite. A form 

 very similar if not identical with this has been 

 reported a number of times : H. Garman, 1884, 

 Leidy, 1890, and Kellicott, 1892, have noted 

 its occurrence in various hosts in America, 

 and it has been studied carefully by several 

 investigators in Europe. In a paper pub- 

 lished in Psyche (Volume VIII., pp. 95- 

 100) I have given a discussion of the genus 

 and its life history, together with a full bibli- 

 ography up to that date. 



' It is probable that the mites found by Mr. 

 Beebe are simply stages in the life history of 

 some of the plumicolous sarcoptids. It may 

 be seriously doubted whether the inferences 

 dravsm from Mr. Beebe's observations, that 

 these mites were the cause of death of the 

 birds noted are sufficiently well grounded. 

 Certainly similar stages occur frequently in 

 pigeons without apparently affecting their 

 vitality and I should also doubt that the treat- 

 ment advocated by Mr. Beebe would be likely 

 to yield the results desired. It is altogether 

 probable that a reduction in the number of 

 feather mites would be accompanied by a re- 

 duction in the number of these subdermal 



larvEe, but the view of Megnin is well known 

 whereby the plumicolous sarcoptids are to be 

 grouped as symbionts rather than as parasites 

 by virtue of the assistance they afford to the 

 host in keeping the surface of the skin and 

 feathers free from debris. 



Henry B. Ward. 



an interesting invitation. 



It is not long ago that there were people 

 who maintained very stoutly that there ex- 

 isted an irrepressible conflict between religion 

 and science. Undoubtedly there have been 

 and there will continue to be conflicts between 

 sciolism and religiosity. Men who are pos- 

 sessed of scientific truth, but lack religious 

 or theological information of high order, may 

 in time to come, as they have in times past, 

 imagine that their views are antagonistic to 

 religion; and conversely men possessed of 

 religious truth or half truths will no doubt 

 arise in the future, as they have in the past, 

 who will aver that the knowledge which they 

 have is in conflict with scientific propositions 

 held by others. People who see only one side 

 of a subject are given to logomachy, and if 

 they are Scotch, or Scotch-Irish, to heated 

 controversy. They cannot help it. In the 

 end neither religion nor science suffer much 

 from the squabbles which their disputatious 

 tempers create. 



It is a pleasing incident in connection with 

 the coming meeting of the American Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science, that 

 on March 24, 1902, the Federation of 

 Churches of Pittsburgh, Allegheny and vicin- 

 ity, held a meeting and adopted unanimously 

 the following resolutions: 



"Inasmuch as all truth is one and is divine 

 and inasmuch as all organizations for its con- 

 servation and propagation are kindred, the 

 Federation of Churches of Pittsburgh, Alle- 

 gheny and vicinity records its pleasure in the 

 fact that the A. A. A. S. is to hold its an- 

 niversary in Pittsburgh this year. 



"In behalf of the Churches we desire a large 

 and representative meeting here of the Seers 

 and Prophets of Science. 



"In behalf of those interested in the ad- 



