September 16, 1898.] 



SCIENCE. 



365 



Lines of Work in Government Forestry,' 

 by Giflbrd Pincbot ; ' Tbe Forestry Condi- 

 tions of Washington State,' by Henry Gan- 

 nett ; ' Tbe Five Civilized Tribes and tbe 

 Topographic Survey of Indian Territory,' 

 by Charles H. Fitch; 'The Bitter Eoot 

 Forest Eeserve,' bj' Eichard U. Goode. 



On motion of Mr. Hyde, the following 

 resolution was adopted : 



" Whereas, throuah the increasing consumption 

 of forest products, the destruction of forests and the 

 vast extension of means of transportation, questions 

 hitherto of restricted bearing are rapidly assuming 

 grave international importance, and 



"Whereas, the National Forest Association of 

 Germany has undertaken to collect throughout the 

 ■world forest information and statistics of commercial 

 importance. 



' 'Besolved, That the National Geographic Society ex- 

 press its deep sense of the value to mankind of the 

 work thus hegun, and pledge its countenance and 

 support to the investigation, and 



" Eesolved, That a committee of three be appointed 

 by the Chair to communicate these resolutions to the 

 National Forest Association of Germany, and to take 

 such other steps as may be necessary to carry them 

 into effect." 



In conformity with the resolution, the 

 Chair appointed Mr. Gifford Pincbot, of 

 Washington, Chairman, and Messrs. Wil- 

 liam H. Brewer, of New Haven, and Arnold 

 Hague, of Washington, as a committee to 

 take requisite action on behalf of the Na- 

 tional Geographic Society. 



_^_^_^ W JM 



CURRENT NOTES ON ANTHROPOLOGY. 

 THE CASTINGS FEOM BENIN. 



When the English captured the city of 

 Benin last year they found and sent to the 

 British Museum some three hundred re- 

 markable bronze castings. These present 

 animal and human figures with various 

 ornaments in relief, the line strong and the 

 workmanship of singular beauty. 



The origin of this work has greatly 

 puzzled ethnologists. Carlsen (Globus, 

 1897, No. 20) and Mr. C. H. Eead, of the 

 British Museum, think they are the work of 



some European bronze founders who settled 

 in the sixteenth century. Mr. H. Ling 

 Eoth (Reliquary and Illustrated Archceologist, 

 July, 1898) attacks this position with 

 some good arguments, but closes his paper 

 with the negative decision that " the ques- 

 tion of the origin of this Bini art remains 

 unsolved." 



CEANIOLOGICAL INFORMATION DESIRED. 



Dr. Mies, whose address is ' Schilder- 

 gasse, 21, Cologne, Germany,' has issued a 

 leaflet requesting particulars as to the 

 greatest breadth of normal adult skulls. 

 Those who can furnish him such informa- 

 tion should apply for his leaflet, which is 

 ruled and numbered so that the measure- 

 ments can be entered in the bi'iefest and 

 most perspicuous manner. 



ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE UPPER PARAGUAY. 



For an American ethnologist it is as 

 agreeable to discover a new linguistic stock 

 as it is for the zoologist to discover a new 

 genus of mammals. This good fortune hap- 

 pened to Mr. Guido Boggiani on the river 

 Paraguay. He obtained a vocabulary from 

 a tribe called Guanas (a Guarani term 

 meaning ' fine people' and applied to vari- 

 ous tribes), living near the river about lat. 

 23° south. It turned out entirely different 

 from any other known tongue. He pro- 

 poses for it the name ' Ennima stock.' After 

 comparing its words with those of all the 

 stocks anywhere near it, I find no affinities 

 except a few, and these doubtful, with some 

 of the Tsoneca dialects of Patagonia. 



The position of the Ennima as well as 

 the other tribes on the upper Paraguay are 

 described and figured by Mr. Boggiani 

 in an article in the Boletin of the Argen- 

 tine Geographical Institute, Vol. XVIII. , 

 1898. 



MOTIVES OF SUICIDE. 



In Globus, July 16th, Dr. Eichard Lasch 

 refers to such motives for suicide as love, 



