948 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 209. 



of 49.2 inches iii 1861-62. The rainfalls of 

 the winters of 1850-51, 1862-63, 1863-64, 

 1870-71, 1876-77 and 1897-98 have been 

 the smallest, averaging 10.8 inches. Five 

 seasons have had an average rainfall of 

 40.89 inches, viz., 1852-53, 1861-62, 1867- 

 68, 1877-78, 1889-90. The variations in 

 winter rainfall are stated to be due pri- 

 marily to the changes in the positions of the 

 lines upon and along which the areas of 

 low pressure originate and move in their 

 course from the North Pacific Ocean into 

 the interior of the continent. 



FREQUENCY OF EAINY DAYS IN THE BRITISH 



ISLES. 



The British rainfall records for the period 

 1876-1895 have been studied by Scott, in 

 order to determine the frequency of rainy 

 .days in the British Isles ( Quart. Journ. 

 Roy. Met. Soc, Oct., 1898). Charts have 

 been drawn showing the mean monthly 

 frequency of rainfall in percentages. The 

 greatest excess of frequency is always on 

 the extreme north and west Atlantic coasts. 

 The highest figures of all are found at Dun- 

 rossness (Shetland) and at Stornoway in 

 most months, especially in the late autumn 

 and winter. In summer the figures for the 

 west of Ireland are higher. 



E. DeC. Ward. 



Harvard University. 



CUBBENT NOTES ON ANTSBOPOLOGY. 



MAN AND MONKEY. 



Under the title ' L' Homme et le Singe,' 

 the Marquis de Nadaillac, in the Revue des 

 Questions Scientifiques, October, 1898, gives 

 a thorough and searching criticism of the 

 alleged descent of man from the anthro- 

 poids. He points out forcibly how many 

 assumptions, without positive support, un- 

 derlie the general theory of evolution, and 

 especially the evolution of man from anj^ 

 known lower t3'pe. At the same time, he 

 does not pretend that our present knowledge 



is decisive, either for the negative or the 

 affirmative. "At the present time," he 

 says, " in view of what is actually known, 

 we are not prepared to deny the possibility 

 of any such theory ; but, I hasten to add, 

 we are just as little prepared to affirm it as 

 a truth." Such caution is certainlj^ in sea- 

 son, as the tendency is constant to hasty 

 conclusions. 



the NATIVE tribes OF COSTA RICA. 



An interesting contribution to the anthro- 

 pology of Costa Eica has recently been pub- 

 lished by Dr. H. Pittier {Razas Indigenas 

 de Costa Rica, 1" Contribucion, November 

 1898). He furnishes a number of anthropo- 

 metrical data of the Guatusos Indians and 

 a newly collected glossary of their language. 

 Diagrams of their feet and hands are added. 

 There are wide variations in all the phys- 

 ical measurements, illustrated by the pulse- 

 rate, which varies from 58 to 87, and by 

 the skull-form, which is dolicho-,, meso- 

 or brachy-cephalic. Dr. Pittier concludes, 

 "that it is not possible from these data, 

 which display such marked divergences, 

 to establish a definite type for the race." 

 The vocabulary is especially useful for the 

 careful study of the sounds of the language 

 which accompanies it. 



THE chronology OF AECHJSOLOGY. 



Few questions in pre-historic archaeology 

 are of greater interest than the means of de- 

 termining the positive chronology of its 

 various epochs and periods. A distinctly 

 valuable contribution to this point is one 

 by Dr. Eobert Munro in the Archceological 

 Journal, September, 1898, entitled ' The Ee- 

 lation between Archaeology, Chronology and 

 Land Oscillation in Post-glacial Times.' He 

 assumes the probabilitj^ of the astronom- 

 ical theory of glacial causation and also the 

 generally admitted opinion that the maxi- 

 mum cold in each glacial period coincided 

 with the maximum submergence of land. 

 With these as guides, he reviews the evi- 



