570 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. V. No. 119. 



Recently it has been found that malt if in- 

 oculated with a particular ferment from the 

 skin of the grape wiU be converted into 

 wine, the ferment used giving rise to the for- 

 mation of characteristic ethers, so it is cer- 

 tainly not beyond the limits of possibilities 

 that in the near future American beer after 

 a voyage to France may return as excellent 

 champagne. When we discover too a germ 

 (as had been done recently) that converts 

 starch into cellulose, we are almost led to 

 wonder if it might not be possible to pro- 

 duce cotton in a culture flask if the parti- 

 cular germs were supplied with nutritious 

 food and a sufficient amount of carbon di- 

 oxide, oxygen and water. 



The flavor of many lucious fruits and 

 foods is due to the products either directly 

 or indirectly of one or more of these useful 

 bacteria, and on the other hand similar 

 germs play an important and as yet un- 

 known role in the formation of poisonous 

 alkaloids. 



Many bacteria form beautifully colored 

 substances, reds, yellows, blues, greens and 

 delicate shades which the art of man has 

 not been able to imitate and the nature of 

 which he has not yet learned. These, too, 

 are only hiding their secrets with a thin veil 

 which investigation will soon withdraw. 



But it is not only in simple industrial 

 processes that the products of germs are 

 important. Man's very existence, while 

 menaced on the one hand by a few germs, 

 is on the other dependent upon their activ- 

 ity. The germs which in the soil produce 

 nitrous and nitric acid and ammonia, and 

 aid their assimilation by the plants, those 

 which facilitate the decomposition of phos- 



phates and bring the phosphorous, a so nec- 

 essary constituent for the life of plants and 

 animals into an available form, and those 

 which aid in the destruction of dead vege- 

 table and animal matter, play a very valu- 

 able and but little appreciated part in the 

 continuance of the life and well-being of 

 man. 



There are many other ways in which the 

 products of these dreaded microscopic cells 

 are useful, but all, a very insignificant num- 

 ber of which we have mentioned, are only 

 waiting man's bidding to become valuable 

 subjects, and to show that, as has been in- 

 stanced in the history of nations, conquered 

 people often make the best and wisest citi- 

 zens. 



E. A. DE ScHWEHSriTZ. 



Washington, D. C. 



THE GROWTH OF CHILDREN. 

 In the years 1891 and 1892 I collected 

 statistics on the growth of children in Wor- 

 cester, Mass., mainly with a view to investi- 

 gating individual growth. Although it was 

 not possible, as was my original intention, 

 to continue the series through a number of 

 years, some results of interest have been 

 obtained. The measurements were taken 

 partly by myself, partly by fellows and 

 students of Clark University. I am in- 

 debted to Dr. G. M. West for many of the 

 measurements . 



. The stature of the same children was 

 measured in May, 1891, and in May, 1892. 

 The average annual increases and the vari- 

 ability of the amount of growth (the mean 

 of the squares of individual variations) for 

 these intervals were as follows : 



AvEKAGE Increases in Stature of Children Between the Following Years {em.). 



5 and 6 6 and 7 7 and 8 8 and 9 9 and 10 10 and 11 11 and 12 12 and 18 IS and 14 14 and 15 15 and 16 

 Boys 6.55 5.70 5.37 4.89 5.10 5.02 4.99 5.91 7.88 6.23 5.64 

 GiriB 5.75 5.90 5.70 5.50 5.97 6.17 6.98 6.71 5.44 3.34 



Variability of Annual Growth. 



Boys ±0.68 ±0.86 ±0.96 ±1.03 ±0.88 ±1.26 ±1.86 ±2.39 ±2.91 ±3.46 



Girls ±0.88 ±0.98 ±1.10 ±0.97 ±1.23 ±1.85 ±1.89 ±2.06 ±2.89 ±2.71 



