402 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S Vol. V. No. 114. 



your point; but, consideriug the context, I am 

 sorry you were not careful to prevent indefinite 

 surmises by hasty readers. It may be remarked, 

 also, that our librarian would gladly have 

 furnished you still better proof that the book in 

 question was in Texas. 



It is my desire merely to explain that I wrote 

 out the book hurriedly and partly from lecture 

 notes made long before, and that the little rhe- 

 torical flourish (so acutely identified by you) 

 somehow got incorporated without any con- 

 sciousness, on my part, of its origin. If you 

 will glance at the foot note on page 78 you will 

 see that I was compelled once to quote : 'From 

 note made long ago ; exact reference lost.' 



It only remains for me to correct the over- 

 sight so foreign to my principles and practice, 

 and to have the Errata page changed at once so 

 as to contain the following statement : 



On page 92 read single quotation marks about the 

 latter part of the last sentence of section 130 (after 

 accept), and subjoin the foot note : An arraignment 

 of algebraists on account of their abuses of infinite 

 series, by A. Sandeman {Pelicoteiics, 1868, Preface, p. 

 9. ), which, though no longer deserved in that regard, 

 is appropriate to widely prevailing ideas of the in- 

 finitesimal calculus. ' ' 



It may be proper to add in conclusion that 

 when I made the notes for my class lectures I 

 had not the remotest intention of ever working 

 up the matter for publication, and that this cir- 

 cumstance (though it would by no means excuse 

 general carelessness) may explain how I acci- 

 dentally omitted in this instance the citation 

 for a rhetorical phrase that struck my fancy. 

 Yours respectfully, 



Aethue, Lefevee. 



Austin, Texas, February 17, 1897. 



EBDUCED BATES OP POSTAGE ON SPECIMENS OF 



NATUEAL HISTOEY IN THE INTEENA- 



TIONAL MAILS — AN APPEAL. 



Undee the present regulations of the Univer- 

 sal Postal Union specimens of Natural History 

 are admitted to the mails of the Union only at 

 letter rates — five cents for each half-ounce or 

 fraction thereof. 



At the International Congress of Zoology, 

 held at Leyden, Holland, in September, 1895, 

 Dr. Chas. Wardell Stiles, official delegate of 



the United States government, offered resolu- 

 tions, which were subsequently adopted, that 

 the Swiss government be requested, through its 

 delegate to the Congress of Zoology, to propose 

 to the next International Postal Congress an 

 amendment to the regulations thereof whereby 

 specimens of natural history shall be carried 

 in the mails of the Universal Postal Union at 

 the rates for samples of merchandise ; that an 

 apjDeal should be addressed to all the delegates 

 and members of the Congress of Zoology to 

 bring this amendment to the notice of their re- 

 spective governments, so that those govern- 

 ments should instruct their delegates to the 

 Postal Congress to act favorably upon the 

 same ; that copies of these resolutions be sent 

 by the Secretary of the Congress of Zoology to 

 all governments forming part of the Universal 

 Postal Union and which were not represented 

 at the Congress of Zoology. 



In accordance with these resolutions Dr. 

 Stiles suggested to the Committee of the 

 Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 

 having the subject of postage on natural his- 

 tory specimens in charge, that, although it is 

 probable that the United States government 

 will vote in favor of the proposed amendment, 

 the cause will be helped by the Academy 

 adopting resolutions in favor of this proposed 

 amendment and requesting the Postmaster- 

 General at Washington to instruct our Ameri- 

 can delegates to vote for the same. 



This the Academy has done, but other Ameri- 

 can scientific bodies should join in the work, 

 adopt similar resolutions and send them to our 

 Postmaster-General that he may know that the 

 students of natural history in the United States 

 eagerly desire such a reduction in postage rates. 

 The next International Postal Congress meets 

 at Washington on the 5th of May next. The 

 purpose of this article is to urge all those who 

 read it to use such means and influence as may 

 be at their command to help in the accomplish- 

 ment of this end. 



For the guidance of those who will aid in the 

 manner suggested, a translation of the original 

 French text of the amendment referred to is as 

 follows: 



"Amendment to Article XIX. (samples) 4, 

 of the Regulations of Details and Order. 



