August 25, 1893.] 



SCIENCE. 



109 



of inestimable value, since it enables me to add with 

 great I'acilitj^ and perform any simple mathematical oper- 

 ation with ease and dispatch. I have only to conceive of 

 the numbers before me to be arranged in any required 

 way, as in my scheme in their positions, and they are 

 there without further ado. 



As I hinted in the beginning, my mother was the only 

 other j)erson known to me to possess this experience. 

 Hers was a conception of a circle of the numbers from 1 

 to 100, just the same as my conception of the months of 

 the year. I have repeatedly attempted to make a chart 

 of the scheme as it appears to my mind, but have found 

 it imj)ossible on account of the almost constant change of 

 j)lane and direction, and the sense of gradually increasing 

 sj)ace. I know of nothing that could have given a sug- 

 gestion of the scheme. The impression came too early to 

 have been suggested by any experience, if there had been 

 one to suggest it. 



I add this bit in the hope of further drawing out the 

 discussion of the topic, and I shall look with great inter- 

 est for further notes. Lynds Jones. 



Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. 



English Orthography. 

 A NEW orthography by J. I. T>. Hinds, in &ie)?ce for July 

 21, is cleverlj"" handled, although some slight inconsisten- 

 cies have crept in, which, I think, the author has over- 

 looked, in his ardor to reform the present method. 



English orthography is far in advance of English pro- 

 nunciation, and it is a fallacy to make orthography con- 

 form phonetically to erroneous pronunciation. 



The syllables "tion" and "sion" are pronounced "shun" 

 or "zhun," a mistake or rather a wilful corruption of 

 which no other language deriving its roots from Greek 

 and Latin, is guilty. Now if our "dictionary manufac- 

 turers" would prescribe "nati-on" and "provi-si-on" 

 (all vowels but the first short) in their next editions, pho- 

 netic orthography would not be compelled to use the 

 abominable "shun" of Josh Eillings. 



All agree that a new system of orthography (I must be 

 consistent and spell this ortho-graphy, second long) 

 should not be an abrvipt departure from the present 

 form. But in the first place let us have re-vocable in 

 |)?'e-ference (first e long) to ?'eD-ocable, baro-meters and 

 thermo-meters, as weather-meters, etc., etc. 



Ml'. Hinds suggests the letter "a" for an intermediate 

 sound of "a" as in last, and also "a" for the short sound of 

 "a" as in mat. I fail to note the difference, unless he pro- 

 nounces 'iast" (to use his system) laast. 



For the present it would, in my opinion, be pre-ferable 

 to retain the present mode of sjjelling "mate" and "note," 

 and not "maet" and "noet," not because the latter sjjelling 

 is less correct, but because the change is too radical. For 

 a like reason th, sh and s should be retained as now 

 in use. It is always necessary to consider the present 

 generation to whom such changes would be burdensome, 

 while the rising generation will naturally adopt any plan 

 we offer them. The dipthong ai as in air is unnecessary 

 as "a" followed by "re" will produce that sound as in 

 "mare," "fare," etc. The letter q may be j^jronouuced kawe, 

 and written without the "u" making "quick" go much 

 "quicker." X is used so much for Latin prefixes that it 

 must be retained for reasons mentioned. 



These few suggestions will give j^rinted and written 

 pages a more familiar look, than Mr. Hinds's orthography, 

 and easily read at sight. To show the difference between 

 the plan proposed by Mr. Hinds with the amendments I 

 offer, it is best to use the same stanza : 

 Sounds OF lEVNiNQ. 

 Swiet waas the sound, hiven oft at ievning's klose 

 Up yondui- hil the viUaj murmur rose. 



Thare as I past with kareles steps and slo 

 The mingling notes kame sofend from below 

 The swane responsiv as the milk made sung, 

 The sobur hurd that lode to miet thare yung 

 The noisi gies that gabbeld o'r the pull 

 The plaeful children just let luse from skiiel. 

 The wac-dog's vols that bade the hwispring weind, 

 Etc., etc. 

 However it is idle to write and talk without taking ac- 

 tion in this matter. Let Mr. Hinds, if he is a pedagogue, 

 call a convention of teachers through the valuable med- 

 ium of Science. Nothing but stubborn lethargy and in- 

 difference hinder the progress of reformation in this 

 branch of study. European nations are continually im- 

 proving their languages, but the English-speaking savant 

 is so perfect that he alone uses a capital "I," when writing 

 of himself. Such a character will not change his position 

 unless he receives a violent push. Frederick Krafj t. 



258 Palisade Avenue, Jersey City Heights, N. J. 



An Important Omission at the World's Fair. 



To any thoughtful student of affairs, with sufficient 

 foresight to look fifty years into the future, and who 

 realizes a few of the elementary facts regarding the ap- 

 palling destruction of our forests, a visit to the beautiful 

 Forestry Building at the World's Fair brings a sense of 

 keen disappointment. 



There is displaj^ed, in admirable order and with scien- 

 tific accuracy, nearly every fact regarding the location, 

 size, form, color and commercial value of every kind of 

 tree grown in the country, carefully painted or photo- 

 graphed specimens of leaf and blossom, and sections of 

 trees, showing girth, bark, polished and unpolished sur- 

 faces, all carefully classified and labelled, giving evidence 

 to the thousands of tourists who drift by with a casual 

 glance that a great deal of painstaking work has been 

 done, which doubtless, as a permanent museum, would be 

 of great value to the specialist, but which, with the lim- 

 ited time of a tourist, can be of little value to nine hun- 

 dred and ninety-nine out of every thousand who will see 

 it. The only general impression to be gathered from all 

 this elaborate multiplicity of detail, at the time of our 

 visit, was that the United States produced a great variety 

 of beautiful trees, some of them of enormous size, and 

 that, for aught one could see, it would always continue to 

 produce such trees in the same quantities that it had 

 done in the past. 



Nowhere was there to be found the slightest hint of 

 the fact that we are annually cutting off tivice as much tim- 

 ber as ice are producing. Not a word to call the attention 

 of the thoughtless passer-by to the importance of forests 

 to jDreserve our water-courses from alternate floods and 

 droughts, to the ruthless destruction of beautiful moun- 

 tain scenery, to the urgent necessity of setting out trees 

 on our dreary, treeless plains and barren city streets. 



"There ought to be something done about it, sure 

 enough," said a good-natured, heavy-bearded man from 

 one of the Pacific States, with whom we earnestly dis- 

 cussed the matter. "I never really thought much aboui 

 it, and of course it isn't in my line, for my business if 

 destroying trees, as I'm here representing a lumber firm 

 like most of the others who have exhibits, but I'll takt 



you to Mr. , who is in charge, and you can talk tc 



him." Mr. proved very courteous and somewha' 



interested in the matter, but didn't know what could b< 

 done about it, as his sujjerior had given no directions,! 

 "But," we protested, "it could not cost more than ten 0:1, 

 twenty dollars to put up a large placard headed: "Atteni, 

 tion! Facts that e'^-ery American citizen ought to know,! 

 and underneath in large, clear tyije, without confusing 

 figures or statistics, give a few of the most cogent fact 



