SCIENCE 



Editoeial Committee : S. Nbwcomb, Mathematics ; E. S. Woodwaed, Mechanics ; E. C. Pickeeing 



Astronomy; T. C. Mendenhall, Physics; E. H. Thtjeston, Engineering; Iea Eemsen, Chemistry; 



J. Le Conte, Geology; W. M. Davis, Physiography; O. C. Maesh, Paleontology; W. K. 



Beooks, C. Haet Meeeiam, Zoology; S. H. Sctjddbb, Entomology; N. L. Beitton, 



Botany ; Heney F. Osboen, General Biology ; H. P. Bowditch, Physiology ; 



J. S. Billings, Hygiene ; J. McKeen Cattell, Psychology ; 



Daniel G. Beinton, J. W. Powell, Anthropology. 



Friday, April 16, 1897. 



CONTENTS: 

 Geoege Beuce Halsted 597 



The Great Fault and accompanying Sandstone Dikes 

 of Ute Pass, Colorado: W. O. Ceosby 604 



Exhibition in Science hy the New York Academy of 

 Sciences: Eichaed E. Dodge 607 



The Missouri Botanical Garden 610 



The Ganodonia or Primitive Edentates with Enam- 

 elled Teeth: H. F. 611 



Current Notes on Meteorology : — 



The Exploration of the A ir ; Visibility of Mountains 

 and Atmospheric Dust ; The Blue Hill Meteorolog- 

 ical Observatory : E. Dec "Waed 612 



Owrremi Notes on Anthropology : — 



The so-called ' Bow-pullers ' of Antiquity ; Fairy- 

 land; Recent Etruscology: D. G. Beinton 614 



Notes on Inorganic Chemistry: J. L. H 615 



Scientific Notes and News 616 



University and Educational News 619 



Discussion and Correspondence : — 



The Bruce Astronomical Medal: Edwaed S. 

 HoLDEN. Professor Scott's Bird Pictures; F. 

 A. Lucas. Note on a Simple 3fethod for Newton's 

 Total Reflection Experiment : F. W. McNaie 620 



Scientific Literature : — 



The Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Can- 

 ada : C. H. Hitchcock. Tables for the' Deter- 

 mination of 3Iinerals by their Physical Properties : 

 E. B. Mathews. Duhem's Traite elementaire de 

 mecanique chimique : Wildee D. Bancroft. 

 Trigonometry for Beginners : J. B. CHITTENDEN..621 



Scientific Jov,rnals .•— 



The AstrophysicalJournal. 628 



Societies and Academies : — 



The Biological Society of Washington : F. A. Lu- 

 cas. Zoological Club of the University of Chicago : 

 C. M. Child. Torrey Botanical Club : E. S. BuE- 

 GESS. Boston Society of Natural History : Sam- 

 uel Henshaw. The Academy of Science of St. 

 Louis: Wm. Teelease. Science Club of the 

 University of Wisconsin: Wm. S. Maeshall...629 



MSS. intended for publication and books, etc., intended 

 for review should be sent to the responsible editor. Prof. J. 

 McKeen Cattell, Garrison-on-Hudson, N. Y. 



SYLVESTEB. 



On Monday, March 15, 1897, in London, 

 where, September 3, 1814, he was born, 

 died the most extraordinary personage for 

 half a century in the mathematical world. 



James Joseph Sylvester was second 

 wrangler at Cambridge in 1837. When 

 we recall that Sylvester, Wm. Thomson, 

 Maxwell, Clifford, J. J. Thomson were all 

 second wranglers, we involuntarily wonder 

 if any senior wrangler except Cayley can 

 be ranked with them. 



Yet it was characteristic of Sylvester 

 that not to have been first was always bitter 

 to him. 



The man who beat him, Wm. N. 

 GrifiBn, also a Johnian, afterwards a modest 

 clergyman, was tremendously impressed by 

 Sylvester, and honored him in a treatise on 

 optics where he used Sylvester's first 

 published paper, ' Analytical development of 

 Fresnel's optical theory of crystals,' Philo- 

 sophical Magazine, 1837. 



Sylvester could not be equally generous, 

 and explicitly rated above Griffin the fourth 

 wrangler George Green, justly celebrated, 

 who died in 1841. 



Sylvester's second paper, ' On the motion 

 and rest of fluids,' Phil. Mag., 1838 and 

 1839, also seemed to point to physics. 



In 1838 he succeeded the Rev. Wm. 

 Ritchie as professor of natural philosophy 

 in University College, London. 



His unwillingness to submit to the re- 



