88 SCIENCE. 
at the highest temperature given. Column (7) is interest- 
ing as showing the extreme difficulty there is in securing 
reliable results in work of this kind. At the lowest 
temperature this gives .29™™ higher than (2); at 50° they 
agree, and at go° column (7) is .76™™ lower than (2), and 
.36™™ lower than (6). It seems to me the work has now 
been narrowed within pretty small limits, and but little 
more is needed to give us an absolute standard of values 
of this important element, which enters into so many 
discussions in meteorology. I hope shortly to obtain 
values from Professor Kahlbaum at very much lower 
temperatures. 
CURIOUS IROQUOIS POTTERY: 
BY W. M. BEAUCHAMP, BALDWINSVILLE, N. Y. 
THE common earthenware of the North is well known, 
and its styles of ornament are simple. Incised lines, rows 
of dots, notches either pinched or cut, impressions of 
corn or grass, small circles made by a hollow bone, are 
among these, but there are others which are almost unique. 
Hough speaks of rude attempts at human faces in pottery 
along the St. Lawrence River, and these appear in a more 
distinct manner on some Mohawk and Onondaga sites. 
On these they occur from about a.D. 1600 to 1640, 
apparently reaching their proper territory at the time of 
the migration of these two nations, which may have been 
a little before the earlier date here given. 
The earliest hint of such attempts which I have seen in 
New York is in the arrangement of three dots to repre- 
sent the eyes and mouth. Such examples occur in Jeffer- 
son County, N. Y., and in one of these the elliptical and 
horizontal indentations are placed inside four lines, 
arranged asa diamond, at the lower angle of the vessel. 
The point of the diamond forms the chin. In a similar 
one the boundary lines form a pentagon, with the apex 
above. Still another has a horizontal line for the chin, 
as in the last, and mostly the same general form. About 
this are lines and notches, and the three circular impres- 
sions were formed by a hollow bone. I have a pottery 
rim much like these, said to be from asmall burial mound 
near Columbus, Ohio. In this, however; the small 
elliptic indentations have their longest diameter vertical. 
There are no distinct bounding lines, though two lines 
run parallel with the notched rim, and the general decora- 
tion is of vertical and diagonal lines. 
In the more advanced types the body and limbs, when 
present, are almost always made of raised bars of clay, 
which are crossed by grooves. Rarely these bars appear 
without human faces. In the Canadian Institute Report, 
1891, fig. 2, is the representation of a fine vessel from 
Lanark County, Canada, which has several such bars 
symmetrically arranged. I picked up a rim on the 
Seneca River, N. Y., which had two such raised bars, 
placed vertically and rising so far above the rim as to be 
continued within. ‘They are each two inches long. 
On one of the two early Mohawk sites I know of no 
earthenware of this description, though the general style 
is very bold. On the other I found a fragment of the 
largest figure that I have yet seen. It was broken 
through part of the angle, and though the body was gone 
its impress remained. One arm is nearly perfect and is 
3.5 inches long. The vessel was ornamented with lines 
and notches, and this was continued below the projection. 
Usually this class of pottery has no ornament on the 
lower part. I figured a very elaborate specimen from the 
same early site. The face reached the top of the angle, 
and the feet to the lower edge of the projecting top. 
The limbs were less conventional in arrangement than 
usual, and there were many parallel and intersecting lines. 
Vol. XXIII. No. 576 
The figure was but slightly raised, and may not have been 
made like the others. No European articles have been 
found on this site except two long and cylindrical brass 
beads. 
A site in a like elevated position near the same stream 
is a little more recent, containing iron articles, copper 
saws of Mohawk make, unfinished bone combs, etc., and 
it is several miles nearer the river. It yields fragments 
of many of these vessels. In one the angle is low, and 
the small face is close to the rim. ‘There is a curious 
arrangement of dots and lines. Another has a large face, 
with general ornaments of lines and notches. The most 
curious one I have seen came from this spot. ‘The figure 
is rather large, and while one extended arm has the left 
hand raised, the other has the right hand turned down. 
Fingers and toes are also represented, and the general 
surface has some incised lines. Another with a small 
face and body has circles for eyes, with a raised surface 
in the centre of each. 
On astill later site a few miles east of this I found an 
angle of a vessel with a projecting head above the level 
of the rim. ‘The face is round and flattened, with very 
wide eyes and mouth, suggesting an ape. The body 
forms a single bar with the usual cross indentations, and 
lines slope away from it on either side. Ihave seen noth- 
ing like it. In the same place I found another fragment, 
one arm and part of the body remaining, and on these 
were deeper notches than usual, of an elliptic form. The 
face was broken off from another. It was placed below a 
dotted angular rim, and the body was slight. In this one 
lines of dots represented the arms instead of bars. Still 
another preserved the face and body, the latter in two 
vertical lines, whereas it is usually in one. At asite not far 
from this the face at the angle of a broken vessel was broken 
off, and the legs reached only to the edge of the upper pro- 
jection., ‘he body of this was .also double, and the arms 
were nearly perpendicular, but not symmetrically arranged. 
‘hey had fingers. All these were from the north side of 
the river. 
I have a figure of but one onthe south side, and think 
the early clan there made few or none. ‘This one had a 
curious face andbody. ‘Three circular dots represented 
the eyes, and the shoulders were distinctly rounded. Of 
a few Mohawk specimens I made no figures. 
The Onondaga forms are remarkable inthe frequent 
occurrence of the detached faces, especially on their 
earliest site. The range in time isabout the same as the 
Mohawk, and all have been found within a distance of six 
miles except one specimen. The detached faces are of 
many sizes and features, but a broad, good natured face 
was quite a favorite. Usually the face is placed squarely 
on the vessel, but sometimes it has an oblique position. 
One hasa large nose and projecting forehead, and this, like 
most of the others, is from the site occupied about 300 
years ago. Excepting one already noted this has the only 
example of the perpendicular raised bars which I have 
seen here unconnected with heads. Among the Mohawk 
specimens the legs usually end with the projecting upper 
part. Here they often extend below. One of this kind 
has the arms represented by lines of dots. A face below 
a notched rim shows traces of arms but no body or legs. 
The parallel legs of another are over two inches long. 
One round face has a broad body, which has no lines across 
it, but they may have been wornaway. Another body is 
very broad and has lines; the extremely short incurved 
legs end in long toes in this example. 
Several miles southwest of this is the next site in point 
of time. One fragment has a very high angle, with the 
head, body and arms on the upper part, which is decorated 
with lines and dots. Two slender legs appear on the 
sharply receding lower part, Another has a twisted face 
