2g2 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XXII. No. 564 



summer it occurred to me to verify his conclusions. 



In the Anthropological Building was a large collec- 

 tion of "totem poles," carved implements, and drawn 

 figures from Alaska, also from California, Mexico, Cen- 

 tral America, and Peru, as well as from other parts of 

 the Americas. In many places Japan was largely 

 represented. 



There is a most striking difference between the arts 

 of the western coast and the interior of America. They 

 have something of the grotesqueness of Japan, but not 

 much other likeness. They are akin to those of ancient 

 Mexico, and would indicate that the arts and the people 

 of the western coast were of like origin; that the 

 "tote'ms" and other figures of Alaska and Vancouvre 

 are survivals of the arts of Central America and ancient 

 Mexico. P- J- Farnsworth. 



Clinton, Iowa, Nov. 12, 1893. 



On the Systematic Position of the Diptera. 



As A student of diptera, I have been interested in the 

 recent letters by Professors Packard, Smith and Eiley in 

 Science, on the systematic position of this order of insects, 

 and wish to express my entire concurrence in the views 

 presented by these gentlemen. That the diptera, or some 

 of them, are the most specialized of insects — that they 

 depart most from the primitive type of insects — seems to 

 be almost without argument; but that they therefore hold 

 the highest position among insects by no means follows. 

 Even the advocates of the supreme rank of the order have 

 never ventured to carry their conclusions to the logical 

 ultimatum, and give to the sheep-tick, or, better yet, the 

 wingless, eyeless bat-tick, the highest rank. That the 

 bat-tick is the most specialized among diptera admits of 

 no question; that it is one of the most degraded of flies is 

 equally certain. The whale and the bat are more highly 

 specialized animals than is the dog; but, nevertheless, 

 they have a very inferior rank. 



I have collected flies for years, and have necessarily 

 observed their habits somewhat closely, but I have never 



seen anything in them that might be called intelligence- 

 Man's claims to preeminence in the animal kingdom rest 

 almost wholly upon his intelligence: for the same reason, 

 preeminence among insects must be conceded to the 

 hymenoptera. S. W. Williston. 



BOOK-EEVIEWS. 



Lecons de Ghimie, aVusage des Sieves de llathematiques spe- 

 cwtes. Par Henei Gautiee, et Geoege.s Chaepy. Paris, Gau- 

 thier-ViUars et fils, Quai des Grands-Augustins 55 

 471p., Ill, 1892, 9Fr. 



We take pleasure in announcing to students of chem- 

 istry in this country the above able work of MM. Gautier 

 and Charpy, which while designed, according to its title, 

 particularly for students of mathematics is of highest in- 

 terest to all chemists. The title is misleading to Ameri- 

 can readers as the book is in no sense a volume of diffi- 

 cult and complex mathematical theories as one might sup- 

 pose but an extraordinarily clear exposition of the ground 

 work or base of chemical science, mathematical in its ex- 

 act and succinct statements. It is not wished to imply 

 that chemists should avoid mathematical because they are 

 such even though they may deal with chemical theory, but 

 it is nevertheless a fact that the mathematical training in 

 many of our colleges (we speak of special courses in 

 chemistry) has been pushed to the wall. There is a rea- 

 son for this, a doubtful one however, in the shortness of 

 the collegiate course which necessarily prevents more 

 than an introductory knowledge of chemistry even when 

 this subject is taken alone. The main diiiiculty rests in 

 the confusion of college and university and in the effort 

 to complete one's education in the four years following the 

 "high school" graduation. 



The authors aim to present the subject to students, not 

 as a mass of facts and recipes, but as a science which 

 while it may be as yet more or less imperfect is already 

 far advanced in definite form. This is particularly the 

 purpose of the first part of the book, which deals 



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