156 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 



present his statistics in scientific form. 

 What nonsense to talk of the laws of de- 

 creased natality as ' a penalty inflicted for 

 the sin of the people' (p. 32)! Or to at- 

 tribute the greater fvjcundity of our foreign- 

 born population to ' the watchful protection 

 of the Roman Catholic Church' (p. 25), 

 in face of the facts that a large percentage 

 of the foreign-born are not Catholics, and 

 in France, where 95 per cent, of the jDopu- 

 lation are Catholic, the decrease of natality 

 is more striking than in any other country ! 

 The topic must be studied in a very differ- 

 ent spirit from this in order to reach re- 

 sults worth anything. 



MEXICAN FLUTES. 



A CONTRIBUTION by Professor Kollmann, 

 of Basel, to the Bastian Festschrift should be 

 mentioned, though it is a little late to refer 

 to it. 



The subject is a portion of the collection of 

 Mexican antiquities brought to Basel about 

 1837 by Lucas Vischer. It includes a num- 

 ber of flutes and whistling jars of pottery, 

 not materially unlike quantities of others 

 in various museums. Professor Kollmann 

 describes and figures them, speaks of their 

 employment in religious and other cere- 

 monies, and speculates as to their origin, 

 seemingly leaning toward an 'Asiatic ' sug- 

 gestion. He is in error in supposing the 

 flute was confined to the aborignes of Mex- 

 ico and Central Ameria. It was known to 

 the Indians of Florida and elsewhere. 



D. G. Beinton. 



University of Pennsylvania. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 



THE MARYLAND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



We learn from an article in the Baltimore Su7i 

 that the work of the Maryland Geological Sur- 

 vey, which is being carried on under the direc- 

 tion of Professor William Bullock Clark, of the 

 Johns Hopkins University, State Geologist, is 

 being pushed with vigor in several sections of 



the State. A large area will be thoroughly sur- 

 veyed during the present summer. At the 

 same time the results of the previous work are 

 being rapidly brought together for publication, 

 and the second volume of the Survey Reports, 

 much elaborated over earlier plans, will shortly 

 appear. 



The topographic work which is being carried 

 on under an act of the last Legislature, in 

 coopei'ation with the United States Geological 

 Survey is making rapid strides in the moun- 

 tainous portions of western Maryland and Gai-- 

 rett and Alleghany counties, and will be com- 

 pleted before the close of the field season. The 

 geological work proper is being carried on at 

 the present time in sections of western, south- 

 ern and northern Maryland. A party of sev- 

 eral geologists, under the direction of Dr. G. B. 

 Shattuck, is studying the later Tertiary forma- 

 tions, with their marls, clays and gravels, in 

 the southern counties, while associated with 

 them during most of the season has been Dr. 

 R. M. Bagg in a study of the earlier Tertiary of 

 Anne Arundel and Pi-ince George's counties. 

 Mr. A. Bibbins is engaged in the study of the 

 clays and iron carbonate deposits of the oldcj- 

 coastal plain formations in Cecil and Harford 

 counties, and their extension beyond the limit 

 of the State. 



The geology of the Piedmont belt is under , 

 the direction of Dr. E. B. Mathews, who has 

 had associated with him in the study of the dis- 

 tribution of the basic eruptive rocks in the 

 northern counties, especially Cecil, Harford 

 and Baltimore, Dr. A. G. Leonard, who will 

 spend the summer in tracing the distribution of 

 these rocks across the State. 



The geology of western Maryland, which is 

 under the charge of Dr. Charles S. Prosser, is 

 being investigated by him and Messrs. O'Harra, 

 McLaughlin and Rowe, who have already 

 nearly completed their work in this district. 

 The magnetic survey of the State is being car- 

 ried on under the direction of Dr. L. A. Bauer. 



The new highway division of the Survey es- 

 tablished by an act of the last Legislature is 

 under the charge of Dr. H. F. Reid, who has 

 associated with him Mr. A. N. Johnson as high- 

 way expert. These gentlemen, in conjunction 

 with Professor Clark, have visited various sec- 



