December 26, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



1033 



I know practically nothing at first-hand of 

 German school-boys. But I am sure that the 

 natural history interest was more general in 

 my time at Oxford than it was among the 

 German students I met at Leipzig. On Ger- 

 man walking tours I have often been aston- 

 ished at the ignorance of natural objects 

 shown by my German companions; while my 

 experience in England has always been that 

 some one in the party knew the birds, some 

 one the insects, some one the plants, some 

 one the fossils — and that the rest were thirsty 

 for information. 



So I have been accustomed to regard an in- 

 terest in natural history as the birthright of 

 the English child. If this is mere insular 

 prejudice, I must give it up; if it has the 

 basis in fact that I think it has, I hope that 

 Professor Packard will retract his ' even.' 

 We owe a great deal to Germany; but — 

 natural history! 



On the general subject of nature study I 

 may, pej-haps, be allowed to say that — so far 

 as I have followed the rather voluminous 

 literature — it seems to have three dangers. 

 The first is that, in striving for sympathy 

 with nature, we run into sentimentality. The 

 second is that, in avoiding fairy tales, we run 

 into something ten times worse — if indeed 

 fairy tales are bad at all; I mean, a pseudo- 

 psychology of the lower animals. And the 

 third is that, in trying to be exceedingly 

 simple, we become exceedingly inaccurate. 



E. B. TiTCHENER. 



Cornell UNi\Ti:EsiTT. 



TREE TRUNKS FOUND WITH MASTODON REMAINS. 



While excavating the bones of a mastodon 

 near Newburgh, N. Y., as mentioned in Sci- 

 ence, October 10, 1903, there were found lar^e 

 numbers of tree trunks both m the muck and 

 in the marl lying beneath it. In many in- 

 stances the mastodon bones were found resting 

 on these trees. While most of the trees were 

 so rotten that it was possible to obtain only 

 small fragments, several were recovered in 

 lengths of two feet and over; and one in par- 

 ticular possesses curious interest, and some 

 idea of its probable species would be welcomed 

 by the writer. The tree was lying three feet 



below the surface, in muck, and was very soft 

 and spongy; and not only on the surface, but 

 clear through, was of a dark brown color, 

 almost that of the muck, and perhaps colored 

 by the muck. Its scientific interest rests upon 

 the fact that in section it is polygonal, while 

 the flat faces of the trunk that make up the 

 polygon vary in number from fourteen to 

 sixteen, some of the faces merging into one 

 another at various points along the trunk. 

 This piece of the tree is about three feet 

 long, and when first dug out, about two 

 months ago, was nearly nine inches thick at 

 one end and six at the other; but it has 

 shrunlv on drying out, until now it measures 

 five and three inches, respectively. No other 

 pieces of this tree were found, although the 

 adjoining layers of muck were carefully dug 

 over and examined, in hopes of obtaining 

 more of it. 



With one exception, all the other tree 

 trunks found were smaller than this one, few 

 measuring more than five inches at the butt. 

 Some were easily recognized as spruce and 

 red cedar, and were in a fair state of preserva- 

 tion, except that when dry the large amount 

 of shrinkage caused them to crumble unless 

 carefully handled. Several trees showed while 

 still wet the marks of the teeth of animals, 

 and it has been surmised that this was the 

 work of beavers. When dried, however, the 

 tooth marks are much less distinct, and their 

 study is thus rendered more difficult. 



Eeginald Gordon. 



the CARNEGIE INSTITUTION. 



The Carnegie Institution shall devote itself 

 essentially to the following subjects : 



1st. To moralize scientific men. 



2d. To protect investigators settled in 

 countries where proper means be wanting. 



3d. To depurate science. How to facilitate 

 that. 



4th. To advance science by a selection of 

 studies. 



1st. To moralize scientific men. 



Secure priority of several important re- 

 searches. Depurate the habits of both insti- 

 tutions and societies. Protect real scientists 

 against upstarts, meddlers, courtiers and 



