58 



SCIEN'CJE, 



[Vol. VIII., No. 180 



made sufficient progress in the study of the morphol- 

 ogy of the Trochilidae to have detected the error m 

 question. If there be such a person he has not up 

 to the present time communicated the results of his 

 studies to the world. 



As soon as the error was clear to me, I immediately 

 made a full series of corrected drawings, which, 

 with additional notes upon the subject, are now lu 

 the hands of Dr. Sclater, the editor of the Proceed- 

 ings of the Zoological society. 



It pains me far more that the plates of such an 

 elegant publication as the Proceedings of the Zoolo- 

 gical society is, should be marred, even to the shght- 

 est degree, through any error of mine, than I regard 

 how that error may reflect or affect myself. For- 

 tunately, in the present instance it in no way alters 

 the conclusions arrived at, and so far as I am aware 

 there are but few, if any anatomists, who have not 

 at one time or another been equally unfortunate. 

 Even Huxley's famous ' Anatomy of vertebrates ' 

 seems to fulfil a useful end, notwithstanding the fact, 

 that this eminent biologist contends on the 322d 

 page of that work, in describing the stomach of a 

 ruminant, and referring to the mucous membrane of 

 the reticulum, says "it is raised up into a great 

 number of folds, which cross one another at right 

 angles, and, in this way, enclose a multitude of 

 hexagonal-sided cells." Still this statement would 

 make no one believe that few people living could 

 render a better description of the digestive appara- 

 tus of a ruminant than Professor Huxley. 



E. W. Shufeldt. 

 Fort Wingate, N. Max., July 3. 



Barometer exposure. 



The discussion concerning this subject has thus far 

 had regard mainly to the use of the mercurial barom- 

 eter and for meteorological purposes. Possibly 

 light may be shed on the general subject by a few 

 observations made in the field with an aneroid. 

 From the nature of its construction it yields more 

 quickly to rapid oscillations of atmospheric pressure. 

 Moreover, field-work presents greater variety of con- 

 ditions of exposure, and is consequently more sug- 

 gestive of the controlling circumstance in any 

 anomaly. 



The following observations derived from experi- 

 ence, upon the western prairies of the Mississippi 

 valley, may not be without value in this connection. 



1. In gustj?^ winds the index of the barometer 

 oscillates very perceptibly to each gust. A variation 

 of .01 of an inch has been observed. 



2. In steady wind the barometer reads very differ- 

 ently, according as it is held to the windward or lee- 

 ward of the body. In a wind which I cannot char- 

 acterize more definitely than as a stiff breeze, I have 

 noted in such relations a difference of .02 of an inch, 

 the barometer being about three feet above the level 

 surface. When desiring accurate readings in a 

 strong wind, the mean between the windward and 

 leeward readings should be taken, and, if the wind 

 be gusty, the maximum reading in each case. 



3. Upon flat-topped buttes I have found the 

 barometer indicating considerably less pressure in 

 the calm just back of the windward edge than in the 

 wind at the edge. 



Such buttes offer an inviting field for experimenta- 

 tion on this subject. They are often quite sym- 

 metrical, frequently have horizontal strata running 

 through them to serve as convenient planes of refer- 



ence, and are not infrequently isolated upon an ex- 

 tensive plane. 



Attention to barometer exposure is evidently as 

 important to hypsometry as to meteorology. 



^ J. E. Todd. 



Tabor college, Tabor, lo., July 3. 



A bright meteor. 



Last evening at fifteen minutes past eight o'clock 

 a meteor of unusual size was observed. Its ap- 

 parent size was, by rough estimate, six times that of 

 Venus at its (Venus') brightest ; and that, though it 

 was quite near the moon, which was past its first 

 quarter. Its altitude was about 30°, and azimuth 

 perhaps S. 10" W., and its motion downward and 

 eastward at about 50*^ from the horizon. 



Its disappearance was with a slight scattering of 

 fragments, but no explosion was heard. 



S. H. Brackett. 

 St. Johnsbury, Vt., July 12. 



Inoculation for the prevention of yellew-fever. 



It is generally understood among educated people 

 in Eio de Janeiro that all persons are not equally 

 liable to attacks of yeUow-fever. I believe I am 

 safe in saying that but few native Brazilians die of 

 it, the greatest number of deaths being among the 

 following ; newly arrived foreigners, and especially 

 those who live in the poorer quarters of the city, or 

 who lead dissolute lives, sailors, and persons of a 

 lymphatic temperament. If there is any foundation 

 for these popular theories, might it not be possible for 

 an observant person to inoculate seven thousand in- 

 dividuals from the same or similar localities in Rio 

 de Janeiro without running an average risk or fairly 

 testing the system employed ? 



The efficacy of Dr. Freire's inoculation against 

 yellow-fever can scarcely be considered as having 

 been put to a fair test, therefore, until something is 

 known of the persons inoculated, their nationality, 

 time of residence in Eio de Janeiro, temperament, 

 occupation, circumstances, and personal habits. 



John C. Branner. 

 Indiana university, Bloomington, Ind. 



Bird-killing sparrows. 



So much has been said of late for and against the 

 English sparrow, that the following note may not 

 be uninteresting as evidence. 



Quite recently, upon the Capitol grounds, I ob- 

 served a sparrow in the act of slowly killing a brown 

 humming-bird. When discovered, it had seized the 

 struggling victim in its talons, and was picking it 

 vigorously about the head. Whenever disturbed, it 

 caught the neck of its fluttering prey in its bill, and, 

 after flying a few feet, alighted, and renewed its 

 bloody work. At first I supposed the victim to be a 

 sphinx moth ; but, although every attempt to release 

 the captive was futile, the identity of the humming- 

 bird was unmistakable. Soon the first sparrow was 

 joined by another, and then the scene of murder 

 was carried into a copse beyond the reach of my 

 observation. 



To those who attribute the destruction of our 

 American birds entirely to the demand for wings for 

 ladies' hats, as well as to those who deny the quar- 

 relsome habits of the sparrow, this piece of infor- 

 hiation may be of value. C. D. White. 



National museum. 



