544 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXI. No. 797 



fox that " clin-n-g, clin-n-g-ed like a scared 

 buzz-saw," and wise old Eparka, the sea-par- 

 rot, all Tinder his keen eyes. He was there as 

 the special correspondent of the great news- 

 paper " Beneficent Science " which is pub- 

 lished for the amusing, informing and guiding 

 of all the men and women of the world. But 

 the story moved no man nor woman; that is 

 moved none to action. Or rather it did not 

 move the needed many to compel the action 

 that is necessary if the few Matkas and Kotiks 

 that are left are not to be the last of their 

 kind. 



So now the story is reprinted in such form 

 that it is to be offered to the children of the 

 land to see if perhaps they may not feel more 

 and do more than their fathers. It is a well- 

 illustrated, simply told true tale, at once 

 charming and pathetic, fascinating in its reve- 

 lation of the wonderful ways of a child-bear- 

 ing and child-teaching wild animal of the 

 mist-wrapped islands of the north, appealing 

 to every chord of sympathy and rousing to 

 every instinct of antagonism for brutal 

 cruelty. V. L. K. 



Laboratory Manual of First Year Science for 



Secondary Schools. By Eussell and Kelly. 



New York, Henry Holt & Co. 1909. Pp. 



163. 



This book gives the first printed account of 

 the rather famous Springfield course in gen- 

 eral science introduced five years ago by Dr. 

 Thomas M. Balliet and Wm. Orr, then re- 

 spectively superintendent and principal of 

 high school, at Springfield, Mass.; now, re- 

 spectively, dean of the school of pedagogy, 

 New York University, and deputy commis- 

 sioner of education of the state of Massachu- 

 setts. The authors have developed this course 

 in great fidelity to the ideas and suggestions 

 of their superior officers. 



The purpose of the course is twofold: " (1) 

 To give the pupil a broad general view of the 

 whole field of science, (2) to explain to the 

 pupil his every-day environment." 



The work as it is conducted in Springfield 

 is in a large measure informational, with 

 abundant experimental illustration to make 



the knowledge real. The lecture by the 

 teacher, and the investigation by the pupils 

 of matters to be found outside of the school, 

 are the most effective features of the course. 



The course is required of all first-year high- 

 school students (those who have visited the 

 school know that it would be easier to require 

 than to prevent their taking it). 



The course is flexible and changes from year 

 to year and is, after all, a " method of in- 

 struction " rather than a " course of study." 

 Such topics are treated as the following: 



Reading of gas meters, water meters, elec- 

 tric meters, reading of water pressure and 

 steam pressure gauges, water tests, charcoal 

 filters, litmus tests, removal of stains, coal tar 

 dyes, food tests, heating and ventilation, uses 

 of the electric magnet, constellations, standard 

 time, weather reports, candle power of light, 

 cost of lights, germination of seeds, leaves, 

 mould, building stones, ores. 



John F. Woodhull 



Columbia Univeesitt 



SPECIAL ARTICLES 



^ PULSATIONS IN SCYPHOMEDUS^ DEPRIVED OF 

 THEIR MARGINAL ORGANS 



While working at the Harpswell Labora- 

 tory, I found that the two Scyphozoa so com- 

 mon on the coast of Maine, Aurelia flavidula 

 and Oyanea arctica, responded differently to 

 operations on the marginal organs. The 

 European species of these two genera have 

 been studied by Eimer and Romanes, with re- 

 spect to this point and these two men were 

 unable to agree as to the behavior of the ani- 

 mals with excised marginal organs. Mayer has 

 stated that Aurelia (he does not specify the 

 species) is temporarily paralyzed when the 

 marginal organs are excised and this agrees 

 with my observations. Eimer, too, reached a 

 similar conclusion, but Romanes's experiments 

 led him to state that, while many specimens 

 did regain their pulsations, although always 

 irregular and obviously different from those 

 of a normal specimen, yet the greater majority 

 remained quiescent. 



Romanes failed to be as explicit in his 

 statements concerning the behavior of these 



