Apeil 2, 1897.] 



SGIENGE. 



551 



eluding a very aberrant mode of formation of 

 the mesoblast and the coelome. We are fully 

 entitled to say that by the details of its very 

 earliest development and of its blastocyst Tar- 

 sius is more closely related to man and the 

 monkeys than it is to any other known mammal. 

 And that the gulf separating Tarsius from the 

 Lemurs on this head is far wider than that 

 separating it from many Insectivores. This 

 may be inconvenient for paleontologists, but 

 none the less it remains a stubborn fact. And 

 a fact of all the more primary importance be- 

 cause we must recognize that the influence of 

 external agencies on the gradual modification of 

 teeth and of limbs is certainly more direct than 

 that which is brought to bear upon these very 

 early and very hidden and intricate processes 

 that occur inside the uterus in a most delicate 

 vesicle that is hardly visible to the naked eye. 



These few words of protest against an obvious 

 misrepresentation may suffice. A full account 

 both of the early development and of the 

 placentation of Tarsius is in preparation ; to 

 this I may be allowed to refer those who might 

 desire a fuller account of the various points 

 above alluded to. 



A. A. W. HUBEECHT. 



Utbecht, March 8, 1897. 



THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY. 



To THE Editor of Science : Professor Rus- 

 sell's discussion (Science, March 19) of the ex- 

 pediency of starting an independent Journal of 

 School Oeography, instead of consolidating the 

 existing geographical journals into a single 

 publication under the joint management of the 

 various geographical societies in this country, 

 affords a very pretty basis for divided opinions. 

 To my mind there is no probability at present 

 that the American Geographical Society, the Na- 

 tional Geographic Society, the Appalachian 

 Mountain Club, the Geographical Society of 

 Philadelphia, the Geographical Society of the 

 Pacific, and the Sierra Club of California will 

 merge their interests and journals into a single 

 American Journal of Geography. However at- 

 tractive such an ideal may be, it does not ac- 

 cord with the usual run of human nature. 

 Local and individual effort, manifested not 

 only in the maintenance of local societies, but 



in the publication of more or less local journals, 

 is likely to be the course of geographical events 

 for many years to come. 



Improvement of the existing geographical 

 journals is probably a matter that their respec- 

 tive editors have warmly at heart, and I believe 

 that they are all agreed as to the first step 

 towards such improvement ; namely, an in- 

 crease in the number of geographers among 

 their members. Several different methods may 

 be effective in promoting this increase. The 

 societies offer various attractive opportunities 

 to members, in the way of libraries, lectures, 

 excursions and so on. This promotes member- 

 ship, and among increasing members it is fair 

 to suppose that there will be an increasing num- 

 ber of geographers. Quite another method 

 looks to the production of a larger crop of 

 geographers, when the children of to-day shall 

 reach manhood and womanhood. This method is 

 of slow action, but, if it acts at all, it is sure. 

 It tries to strengthen the future crop by careful 

 cultivation of geography during school years. 

 This is, along with other objects, one of the 

 chief ends of the promoters of the Journal of 

 School Geography. It is an end that cannot be 

 attained by Professor Russell's plan, for the ex- 

 pense of such a journal as he proposes would 

 put it entirely out of reach of schools and 

 teachers. Moreover, in the present condition 

 of geography and of teachers of geography in 

 the schools of this country, there is no reason 

 for disguising the fact that a general journal of 

 geography, however ably edited and however 

 well supplied with ' studies for students,' could 

 not possibly attain the circulation among school 

 teachers that may be attained by a special 

 journal of school geography, directly and 

 wholly prepared for teachers' use. 



It is worth noticing that the systematic en- 

 couragement and development of geography in 

 the schools has never been a leading feature of 

 any geographical society in this country. The 

 American Geographical Society, with a large 

 membership and a rich library, has had no in- 

 fluence worth mentioning on the teaching of 

 geography in the schools of New York ; it has 

 never (unless within the last year or two) tried 

 to exert such an influence ; it has been con- 

 ducted with apparent entire indifference to the 



