282 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XXII. No. 564 



Jesus, Hypatia, Bruno, Joan of Arc— the last mentioned 

 burned, not as a captive, but as a sorceress. 



Hence Mr. Arthur MacDonald, Specialist of the Bureau 

 of Education on the Eelations of Education to Crime, in 

 his useful handbook just published by the Bureau, entitled 

 "Abnormal Man," correctly defines ' such a man as one 

 ■whose "mental or moral characteristics are so divergent 

 from those of the ordinary person as to produce a pro- 

 nounced moral or intellectual deviation." Any such devia- 

 tion disturbs the bourgeois, offends good society, and 

 brings upon itself the condemnation of the ministers of 

 the law and the popular religion of a well-ordered com- 

 munity. The "abnormal men" include enthusiasts, re- 

 formers, men of genius, idiots and professed criminals. 

 Mr. MacDonald deals with all these misgrowths with im- 

 partial hands, and presents a great and valuable mass of 

 material for study about them, drawn from many writers 

 on sociology and anthropology. His book is, therefore, 

 an extremely useful contribution to our knowledge of 

 these curious beings. 



Extension of the Dakota Stock. 



An interesting proof of the great value of linguistics in 

 the study of ethnography is offered by the investigations 

 of various observers into the extension of the Dakota or 

 Siouan linguistic stock. 



It was Ion g supposed to be confined to the northwest, 

 with an extension to the south among the Osages. The 

 Mandans of the Missouri Kiver spoke one of its dialects, 

 and George Catlin, the artist, more than fifty years ago, 

 expressed the opinion that they had migrated westward 

 from the upper Ohio valley or farther east. But it was 

 not until Mr. Horatio Hale, by an examination of the 

 language of the tribe of Tuteloes, on the Roanoke Eiver, 

 in Viroinia, proved that they spoke a clear dialect of the 

 stock, '^that proof was at hand to show that portions of 

 them'lived in historic time on the Atlantic seaboard, and 

 •were encountered there by the doughty explorer. Captain 

 John Smith. 



There is some reason to believe that the Catawbas of 

 the Carolinas are another branch; and in his late address 

 before the Section of Anthropology of the American Asso- 

 ciation, Mr. James O. Dorsey offered evidence which 

 places beyond doubt the supposition that the Biloxis, on 

 the Gulf shore of Louisiana, are a colony of the same 

 stock. He further advances the opinion, drawn from the 

 nature of the linguistic changes which have taken place, 

 that about 1,500 years have elapsed since these and the 

 main body of the Dakotas severed their relations. 



BIRDS WHICH SING ON THE NEST. 



BY JIOKKIS GIBBS, KALAMAZOO, MICH. 



Among birds, the females do not sing, and although 

 many species have musical call-notes and agreeable tones 

 in conversation, which are shared in by both sexes, still 

 the true song is only rendered by the male bird. I am 

 sincere in saying that the lady bird talks more than her 

 mate about the house, but I will admit that when away 

 from home she is very discreet in this respect. In attend- 

 ing to her duties of incubation she is very quiet, and it is 

 sefdom that a note is heard from her while on the nest. 

 It has even been said that all birds are silent when 

 incubating, so as to avoid observation. However, although 

 most species are quiet when setting, there are a few 

 which chirp loudly when so engaged, and some even burst 

 into exuberant song. 



Few observers are aware how assiduous are the atten- 

 tions of the two birds to one another during incubation, 



and the credit which is due to the father-bird in his 

 devotion in covering the eggs in his mate's absence is not 

 allowed him. 



Of course, when a bird is heard singing on the nest we 

 know that the notes come from the male, but many young 

 observers are inclined to attribute the song to the female. 

 Another source of error in failing to identify the sex 

 occurs with those species in which the singing male 

 assumes the plumage of the female until the second or 

 third year. 



The chipping sparrow sometimes sings his chattering 

 refrain while upon the eggs. Yellow warblers are not 

 rarely heard singing from the nest, but one has to wait 

 patiently in a neighboring copse, at the piroper season, in 

 order to hear, see and be convinced. 



I have once heard the Maryland yellow-throat's song 

 from its concealed nest in the grass; in fact, I found the 

 nest, from hearing the peculiar notes, almost at my feet. 

 Several times the song of the house wren has reached me, 

 coming from the cavity where the old bird was sitting 

 solacing himself in his gloomy nesting spot. 



Once, each, I have heard the notes of the black-billed 

 cuckoo, scarlet tanager, orchard oriole, goldfinch and the 

 hermit thrush, the latter the only thrush whose song has 

 positively reached me from the nest. One would think 

 that the brown thrush, cat-bird and robin, as great sing- 

 ers, would burst forth on the nest, but it must be borne 

 in mind that these thrushes all prefer higher p)erches for 

 singing, while the hermit is a ground nester and often 

 sings on the ground. 



But of all the species which are musical while setting, 

 the warbling vireo heads the list, both for persistence and 

 for beauty of song, according to my note-book. Anyone 

 can listen to the song of the warbling vireo on the nest if 

 the trouble to find a nest with eggs in May or June is 

 taken. For when the mate takes his trick keeioing the 

 eggs warm, he cheers himself, and enlivens the surround- 

 ings by pouring forth his rippling, insjjiring melodious 

 warble. I have heard him sing from the nest in early 

 morning; in the hottest part of the day, and in the early 

 twilight, and I have heard him issue as many as twenty 

 bursts of song during one spell on the nest, and have dis- 

 covered the nest on more than one occasion by the 

 sweetly modulated tell-tale song. 



These ten species are all the birds which I have found 

 to sing while on the nest. 



— The sixth annual meeting of the Geological Society 

 of America will be called to order at 10 o'clock a. m. Wed- 

 nesday, Dec. 27, in the Hall of the Boston Society of 

 Natural Historj', corner of Boylston and Berkeley streets. 

 Prof. William H. Niles, the President of the Natural His- 

 tory Society, will welcome the Geological Society. It is 

 proposed to hold the sessions of Thursday at Harvard 

 University, in Cambridge. Titles and abstracts of papers 

 should be sent to the Secretary immediately, as it is 

 desired to issue the list of pajjers not later than Dec. 

 12. Matter for the programme distributed at the first 

 session must be in the Secretary's hands by noon of Tues- 

 day, Dec. 26. Until Dec. 22, the address of the Secre- 

 tary will be Rochester, after that date at The Thorn- 

 dike, on Bojdston street, Boston. Excellent facilities will 

 be given for use of lantern illustrations. In place of the 

 formal lecture on Wednesday evening, it is proposed to 

 hold a regular session for reading of papers. Following 

 an early adjournment there will be an ojiportunity for 

 social introductions. On Thursday evening the annual 

 dinner of the Society will be held, probably' at The Thorn- 

 dike. No special railroad rates are obtainable. "Holiday 

 rates" are given during the week on some lines. 



