July 23, 1886.] 



8Cie]sc:e. 



73 



in the work. Difficult analyses should be made 

 by specialists. Each title in the bibliography 

 should be confined as closely as possible to a single 

 subject, even to the extent of entering the several 

 chapters of the vpork as separate titles whenever 

 they treat of distinct subjects. The whole work 

 may be integrated under its own title by giving 

 the list of its chapters in the analysis of the work 

 itself. 



Aside from its cost, the principal difficulty 

 in the preparation of a bibliography like that de- 

 scribed lies in getting any person or jjersons to 

 undertake the labor and responsibility of writing 

 or editing the work. The magnitude of the task 

 is apparent. If, however, the work can be issued 

 as a current bibliography, with no regard to the 

 order of titles or the connection of subjects, mak- 

 ing use only of such material as may be available 

 at the time, and attaching to each title a current 

 number to serve for reference from an index, no 

 editor need feel oppressed with the magnitude of 

 his task. Whatever is done will be a step in the 

 right direction ; and the work may, if need be, 

 temporarily be abandoned, without a loss in value 

 of what has already been accomplished. It is 

 only necessary that the titles of chapters and 

 articles be given accurately, and that the analyti- 

 cal references be made fully ; while the rest may 

 be left to others who for their own purposes will 

 make indexes to take the place of any special 

 analyses of contents. 



The publishing section was duly organized 

 before final adjournment, and this move on the 

 part of the association is of the first impor- 

 tance. The section will begin at once the publica- 

 tion of indexes to scientific and other essays, and 

 prosecute whatever work may be found practica- 

 ble in the line of co-operative bibliography. 



The association were handsomely received and 

 entertained by the mayor, the Hon. Emil Wallber, 

 and citizens of Milvpaukee ; and the success of 

 the meeting was largely secured through the ex- 

 ertions of Mr. K. A, Liaderfelt of the Milwaukee 

 public library. On Monday, the 12th, the associa- 

 tion left Milwaukee for an eight-day excursion in 

 northern Wisconsin. 



The officers elected for the ensuing year are, 

 president. Dr. Poole ; vice-presidents, Mr. Spofford 

 (Library of congi-ess), Judge Mellen Chamberlain 

 (Boston public library), and Mr. W. E. Foster 

 (Providence public library) ; secretary. Prof. Mel- 

 vil Dewey ; assistant secretary, Mr. Richardson ; 

 treasurer, Mr. Carr of Grand Rapids. 



At the conclusion of its last session, the associa- 

 tion was adjourned to meet at the Thousand 

 Islands, in the second week of September, 1887. 



David P. Todd. 



HONOLULU LETTER. 



The Sandwich or Hawaiian Islands, situated 

 about 2,000 miles to the south-west of San Fran- 

 cisco, are commonly reckoned at twelve in num- 

 ber, foiu- of them ranging from 500 to 3,950 

 square miles in area, and the entire grouj) amount- 

 ing to 6,040 square miles. On examining a good 

 chart of the Pacific Ocean, one finds a row of 

 small islands and shoals having the same trend 

 with, and being really a north-westerly extension 

 of, the Hawaiian group. There are fourteen of 

 these in addition to those usually styled the Sand- 

 wich Islands, twelve of which are claimed by the 

 Hawaiians, while the two most remote belong to 

 the United States, and are known as Midway and 

 Ocean Islands. The U. S. government is said to 

 have expended $100,000 in improving the harbor 

 of Midway Island, and coal is stored here also 

 for the benefit of our war vessels and Japanese 

 steamers. It would appear that this harbor has 

 not answered expectations, and consequently 

 negotiations have been commenced with reference 

 to the cession to the United States of certain 

 privileges at the Pearl Harbor district near Hono- 

 lulu. 



Two diverse theories meet us in the attempt to 

 explain the origin of this extensive chain, be- 

 tween the meridians of 154° 30' and 180°, and 

 1,725 miles in length. They are cones rising from 

 a submarine plateau 16,000 to 18,000 feet below the 

 surface. One view is that they are of volcanic 

 origin, commencing as submarine volcanoes, and 

 built up of their own ejecta, even to the height of 

 14,000 feet above the sea-level. The smaller ones 

 are atolls, and are usually encircled by coral reefs ; 

 so that, after their original volcanic start, they 

 must have been submerged for the accumulation 

 of the organic growth. The other view ascribes 

 their origin to an enormous subsidence, the several 

 islands being supposed to be the summits of moun- 

 tains, the apices of an ancient continent, capped 

 by coral growth. If these were once a continent, 

 we understand why the flora should be so much 

 diversified, since the plants would be driven to 

 the uplands by the gradual subsidence. In the 

 same way it is easy to see how the Hawaiians 

 themselves might have made their way here from 

 the East Indies. The Hawaiian government has 

 established a genealogical bureau at an annual cost 

 of $5,000, which devotes much attention to the 

 early continental condition of the kingdom, as well 

 as the study of the ancestors of the royal family. 



Wallace accepts the former of these theories, 

 and finds, from a study of the plants and animals, 

 affinities with America, New Zealand, and Aus- 

 tralia, the relation to the first being the most re- 



