August 7, 1914] 



SCIENCE 



203 



extinct forms, such as tlie giant Teratornis, 

 may indicate some antiquity for the human 

 being, or may indicate comparatively late per- 

 sistence of birds or mammals now extinct in 

 this region. 



5. Measured in terms of years, it is not pos- 

 sible to give a definite estimate of the age of 

 the skeleton from pit ten. It may suffice to 

 state that this person did not live in the period 

 of the lov;f-browed. Neanderthal, Pleistocene 

 man of Europe. It belongs to the distinctly 

 modern stage of evolution. It does not neces- 

 sarily belong to the present historic period, but 

 can not be considered as having antedated it 

 by many thousands of years. The age of this 

 specimen may perhaps be measured in thou- 

 sands of years, but probably not in tens of 

 thousands. 



6. The study of the remains at pit ten is a 

 problem similar to that presented by the oc- 

 currence of an arrowhead found in a compara- 

 tively recent asphalt deposit encountered in 

 the University of California excavations of 

 1912. The arrowhead was found embedded in 

 a deposit somewhat similar to that in pit ten, 

 and the fauna associated with it was in general 

 of Recent aspect. 



7. The final summing up of all evidence 

 relative to the antiquity of the Rancho La 

 Brea skeleton will depend on a' very detailed 

 and exhaustive study of the typical Pleisto- 

 cene Rancho La Brea fauna, of the fauna 

 from the later tar deposits like that of pit ten, 

 and of the existing fauna of California. No 

 one of these three factors is, as yet, satisfac- 

 torily known. Until they are aU known, the 

 last word on this subject can not be vsritten. 

 The significance of this statement day seem 

 larger when reinforced by the remark that the 

 skeletons of a large percentage of our living 

 species have never yet been carefully studied 

 in the way in which this work must be done 

 for use in investigations such as those con- 

 cerned in this problem. 



Prom whatever point of view this specimen 

 is considered, it is well worth exhaustive sci- 

 entific investigation. John C. Merriam 



University of California, 

 June 11, 1914 



THE 12-INCH BEFLECTING TELESCOPE 

 FOB CANADA 



Some eight months ago the Canadian gov- 

 ernment entered into contracts for the con- 

 struction of a 72-inch reflecting telescope, with 

 the J. A. Brashear Company for the optical 

 parts and the Warner and Swasey Company 

 for the mounting. This telescope, which will 

 bo considerably larger than any in use, will be 

 of the most modern type and will be used prin- 

 cipally in the determination of stellar radial 

 velocities. The progressive policy of the Ca- 

 nadian government in the encouragement of 

 scientific research, as evidenced by the order 

 for this magnificent instrument has now been 

 rendered doubly effective by authorizing at a 

 very considerable additional expense, the total 

 outlay being upward of $200,000, its installa- 

 tion in the best astronomical location in the 

 dominion. 



Investigations have been in progress for up- 

 wards of a year at five places, representative 

 of different climatic conditions in the coun- 

 try. The region around Victoria, B. C, so 

 much excelled all the others, including Ottawa, 

 in the two most important particulars, the 

 " seeing " or steadiness and quality of defini- 

 tion, and the small daily temperature varia- 

 tion, while being at least equal in other quali- 

 fications, that it was strongly recommended to 

 the government by the chief astronomer as the 

 site for the telescope. The government of the 

 province of British Columbia, on being ap- 

 proached for help towards the additional cost 

 of location away from Ottawa, generously con- 

 tributed $10,000 for the purchase of the neces- 

 sary land and agreed to build a road, which 

 will cost about $20,000, to the chosen site which 

 is at the summit of Saanich Hill, altitude 732 

 feet, about eight miles north of Victoria. 



Immediately on the decision of the domin- 

 ion government in favor of this site, fifty acres 

 of land were purchased around the summit of 

 the hill, and arrangements were concluded for 

 the construction of the road this fall. This 

 road will be upwards of a mile and a half in 

 length, leading from the main road and the 

 electric railway at the foot of the hill by a 7 

 per cent, grade to the summit. 



