November 5, 1886.] 



SCIEJSCii]. 



405 



the air or to change of position by the rolling of 

 the ship is that in the trunks. As the cargo is in 

 contact with the skin of the vessel, its tempera- 

 ture will never differ materially from that of the 

 sea. As the bulkheads are water-tight, or rather 

 petroleum-tight, the vessel is practically unsink- 

 able ; and, as there is scarcely any woodwork 

 about her, the risk of fire is reduced to a mini- 

 mum. The Gluckauf is provided with powerful 

 pumping appliances, so that her cargo can be 

 loaded or discharged in a single day, which is 

 another very economical feature as compared 

 with the slow process of handling casks or cases. 

 Altogether the new type of steamer admits of a 

 great reduction in the cost of oil transportation ; 

 the only drawback to the system being that such 

 a vessel can get no return cargo, being compelled 

 to make one-half of every round trip in water 

 ballast. But this is not a very important point, 

 as most of the vessels at present in the oil-trade 

 between this port and Europe bring back nothing 

 but empty oil-casks. 



THE GUADALAJARA POTTERY. 

 In a recent number of Science the editor, in 

 commenting upon the anthropological section of 

 the American association, says, "Its popularity is 

 at once a good and an evil ; its good consists in 

 attracting general attention to the variety and im- 

 portance of the problems connected with man ; its 

 evil, in that this variety and interest are apt to 

 give admittance to papers of too vague and point- 

 less a character, which have no place in the 

 sciences, and neither bring nor suggest any thing 

 new." It may be suggested, in connection with 

 these facts, and bearing upon them, that in a 

 meeting of that character, as well as in the ordi- 

 nary routine of scientific work, two distinct classes 

 of men are working together, — the collector and 

 the systematizer. From each of these an increased 

 degree of accuracy, as well as greater comprehen- 

 siveness, is demanded by the steady advance of 

 science. If we are to reconstract the history of 

 the past from a study of the present, it is espe- 

 cially necessary that the collector understand the 

 demands resulting from previous researches. 

 Nowhere in the world is better systematizing work 

 in anthropology done than in the United States ; 

 and, in order to bring about the reform hinted at 

 above, it is only necessary that the men who take 

 the field as collectors understand the wants of 

 those in charge of our great museums. Officers 

 of the army, navy, and civil service, members of 

 the consular and diplomatic corps, missionaries, 

 and private citizens, show the greatest willingness 

 to enlarge the collections in our museums ; and 



the information they desire as to how their work 

 shall be most effective should be furnished them. 



One of the rules prevailing under the new order 

 of things is, make your observations and collec- 

 tions exhaustive. When Professor Putnam, or 

 Dr. Matthews, or Mr. Holmes describes a mound, 

 a Navajo silversmith, or a savage potter, he 

 adopts the method of the anatomist at the dissect- 

 ing-table, and leaves out not a single item of 

 description. In fact, a good mechanic, with the 

 aid of one of then- monographs, can reproduce 

 the thing described. After reading such a descrip- 

 tion, if one opens a grave or a mound and finds 

 certain pottery or rude jewehy, he is in a position 

 to begin reconstructing the whole social fabric of 

 those who made them. 



The accompanying sketches have been prepared 

 for the purpose of showing the results of collect- 

 ing according to the rule mentioned. Last sum- 

 mer, in the interest of the national museum. Dr. 

 Edward Palmer visited Panteleon Panduro, the 

 noted potter of Guadalajara, Mex., and succeeded 

 in procuring samples of the clay used, in differ- 

 ent stages of preparation ; the spatulas, brushes, 

 polishers, and scrapers employed ; a model of the 

 kUn in which the pottery is fired ; and samples of 

 handiwork in various stages of finish. If the 

 tools and the objects collected were placed in the 

 hands of a skilled potter, together with the manu- 

 script description of the process of manufacture, 

 he would have no difficulty in putting himself 

 into technic sympathy wit;h Panduro. 



An excellent lesson in the history of civilization 

 is taught by this particular exhibit. You have 

 before you the hand-worked paste, the stone- 

 polisher, the rude wooden shaping and marking 

 tools of the ancient Aztec and Maya workman. 

 The open furnace, in which the ware can be 

 hardened but not glazed, cannot be much further 

 advanced than those of Panduro's ancestors. 



One interesting feature shown by the collection 

 is the fading-out of aboriginal forms and patterns, 

 and the substitution of those belonging to civilized 

 life. The modern Guadalajaran delights in statu- 

 ary, and his portraitures are astonishingly lifelike. 

 His copies of modern vessels are graceful, and 

 delicately ornamented. An amusing feature in 

 the work of the potter is that he does not model 

 en bloc, as we do, but makes his bodies, heads, 

 etc., separately, putting the parts together and 

 clothing the figure afterwards. 



In zodlogical language, this exhibit is an onto- 

 genetic study. It is the biography or Ufe-history 

 of a single operation. The collection of a hun- 

 dred such exhibits, from every part of the world, 

 and the comparison of their details, would enable 

 the philosophical ceramist to study pottery philo- 



