482 



SCIEJS'CE. 



LVoL. VIII., No. 199 



— Volume xxi. of the ' EncylopaediaBritaimica,' 

 which has just been issued, contains several dis- 

 tinctively philosophical articles. They are ' Rous- 

 seau,' by George Saintsbury ; 'Scepticism.' by 

 Andrew Seth ; ' Schelling,' by Professor Adam- 

 son ; ' Schleiermacher,' by Rev. J. F. Smith ; 

 'Scholasticism,' by Andrew Seth; and 'Schopen- 

 hauer,' by Prof. William Wallace. 



— Every once in a while some new hint is dropped 

 concerning the forthcoming biography of Darwin 

 by his son. The last is that Professor Huxley will 

 contribute a chapter, and that the book will bear 

 strong testimony to the influence exercised by Sir 

 Charles Lyell over Darwin. 



— Professor Tyndall's stay in Switzerland has 

 greatly benefited his health, and he now intends 

 to deliver the Christmas lectures at the Royal 

 institution in London himself. 



— Dr. Kohler has been succeeded as director of 

 the German school at Athens by Dr. Peters, late 

 professor of archeology at the University of 

 Prague. 



— The programme of the Aristotelian society of 

 London for the winter is unusually interesting. 

 Mr. Shadworth Hodgson opened the year's work 

 with an address on the re-organization of philos- 

 ophy. Other papers will treat of Malebranche, 

 Leibnitz, Lotze, T. H. Green, Hegel's ' Philosophie 

 des rechts,' and the Augustinian philosophy. 

 Dr. Cattell of Leipzig will give an account of some 

 recent psycho-physical researches. The ancient 

 distinction of logic, physic, and etliic, the relation 

 of language to thought, the distinction of fact 

 and right, and the theory of motion, will be 

 treated by other members of the society ; and the 

 session will be closed by Dr. Bain, ' On the ulti- 

 mate questions of philosophy.' 



— A new encyclopaedia of education is being 

 prepared in England under the editorship of Mr. 

 A, Sonnenschein and Rev. E. D. Price. 



— Capt. R. L. Pythian, U.S.N. , was ordered 

 to duty on Nov. 14, as superintendent of the naval 

 observatory at Washington. Commander A. D. 

 Brown, who has been acting as superintendent, 

 will continue on duty at the observatory as assist- 

 tant superintendent. 



— Herbert H. Smith, who has been collecting 

 natural history specimens in South America for 

 several years, left Rio de Janeiro for this country 

 over a month ago upon a sailing-vessel. He 

 brings with him enormous collections. 



— The number of those who are now invalids 

 as the result of the war is said to be 265,854, the 

 total number of soldiers having been about one 

 million and a quarter. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



The s-windler at work again. 



I ENCLOSE for the benefit of others a letter from 

 a swindler in the west, addressed to me, over the 

 very well forged signature of Charles D. Walcott, 

 U. S. N. M. (national museuna at Washington), dated 

 simply ' Cook co. Normal, Nov. 7, 1886.' Chicago is 

 in Cook county, HI. It requested the immediate 

 despatch of a set of geological reports to Prof. George 

 Wells Litz. of the Cook county (III.) normal school, 

 and his colleague, Professor Parker. 



Cook CO. Normal, Nov. 7, 1886. 

 Prof. John P. Lesley. 



Dear Sir, — Will you kindly send to Prof. George 

 Wells Litz, of the Cook county (111.) normal school, a 

 complete set of the reports of the second geological 

 survey of Pennsylvania. I am indebted to him, and 

 to his colleague Professor Parker, for a most delight- 

 ful Sunday, and wish to place him and his friend in 

 the way of getting literature at present inaccessible 

 to them. 



An early compliance with this request will be con- 

 sidered a great favor, and one to be soon repaid by 

 your friend, Cecarles D. Walcott, U.S.N.M. 



Mr. Walcott informs me by letter, after seeing the 

 above letter, that he had tried to trace the rascal, 

 but thus far without success. The fellow has ob- 

 tained, under various false pretences, quantities of 

 specimens, books, and sometimes money, from east- 

 ern geologists. J. P. Lesley. 



Effect of electric light on plant-growth. 



" The light from an electric-lamp tower in Daven- 

 port, lo., falls full upon a flower-garden about one 

 hundred feet away ; and during the past sum- 

 mer the owner has observed that lilies which have 

 usually bloomed only in the day have opened in 

 the night, and that morning-glories have unclosed 

 their blossoms as soon as the electric light fell on 

 them." 



The above item, which originally appeared in the 

 Democrat of this city, and has gone the rounds of 

 thepress, has a substantial basis of fact. The 'Jenney' 

 system of electric lighting was introduced into this 

 city early this past spring, and across the street 

 from the residence of Mr. Henry W. Kerker is situ- 

 ated one of its towers. This tower is 125 feet high, ' 

 and contains five arc lights, each of 2,000 candle- 

 power. During the past summer, Mr. Kerker's at- 

 tention was attracted to the singular effect these 

 lights produced upon some day-lilies blooming in his 

 garden. These flowers closed as night came on, but, 

 as soon as the electric lamps were started up, they 

 re-opened, and while the lights were in operation 

 continued in full bloom. As the street is about 80 

 feet wide, the lights were distant some 200 feet from 

 the flowers. Other similar observations here are re- 

 ported, but, as they are less accurately vijrified, I 

 pass them for the present without special mention. 



Chas. E. Putnam., 

 Davenport, Ic, Nov. 19. 



Milk-sickness. 

 This disease seems to have received but little at- 

 tention from the medical fraternity, probably on 

 account of the supposition that its ravages are cir- 

 cumscribed to the area within the confines of its 

 origination ; yet it is presumed that such is not th& 



