May 21, 1897.] 



SCmNGE. 



797 



A special bibliography is given for each im- 

 portant volcanic district, followed by a 

 brief summary of events, with frequent 

 historical review. From an abundance of 

 material the following may be noted : 

 Falcon island in the Friendly (Tonga) 

 islands (20° 20' S.lat.; 175° 20' W. long), 

 was first noted as a shoal in 1867. In 

 1877 smoke was seen ascending from the 

 sea surface over the shoal. In October, 

 1885, an island had been formed 3,700 

 meters long and 75 meters high. At this 

 time a terrific eruption was in progress, 

 enormous clouds of constantly changing 

 form rising over the island ; earthquakes 

 were felt on the neighboring islands and 

 thundering sounds were heard on the 

 southernmost island of the Fiji group, 325 

 kilometers away. In 1886 the island was 

 estimated as 2,600 meters long and 50 

 meters high ; in 1887 the height was 90 

 meters. In 1889 the length and breath 

 ■were 2,040 and 1,630 meters; the height 

 was 47 meters. The adjacent sea bottom 

 ■was 1,800 meters deep. The island con- 

 •sisted of ashes and has subsequently been 

 greatly reduced by wave action. In 1892 

 its height was only eight meters, and its 

 disappearance may be soon expected. 



LIMESTONE EANGE OF THE KLONTHAL, 

 SWITZERLAND. 



Dr. Carl Burckhardt, a pupil of Heim's, 

 icontributes the 35th number of the Beitrage 

 zur Geologischen Karte der Schweiz (Mono- 

 graphic der Kreideketten zwischen Klon- 

 thal, Sihl und Linth ; Bern, 1896, 205 p., 

 maps and plates). It concerns a small dis- 

 trict in which the structural features of 

 successive eastward portions are, as it 

 were, out of joint with each other ; this be- 

 ing explained as the effect of a folding and 

 shearing on north-south lines, oblique to 

 another folding on roughly east- west lines. 

 Most of the report is given to stratigraphy ; 

 the later pages treat Oberfltichengeologie, but 



less thoroughly than could be wished. A 

 more detailed analysis of drainage lines 

 might serve to determine the relative date 

 of the two systems of folding, which is left 

 in doubt. A characteristic feature of the 

 work is a number diagrammatic views, 

 drawn from nature by the author in a style 

 closely resembling that of his master. 



W. M. Davis. 



Haevaed Univeesity. 



CURRENT NOTES ON ANTHROPOLOGY. 

 NOTES ON AMERICAN CERAMICS. 



The device of the potter's wheel was un- 

 known in either ISTorth or South America. 

 A substitute for it is described as still in 

 use among the Araucanians of Chili. It is 

 a convex dish which is moved backward 

 and forward on a smooth stone. Revolving 

 in it, the clay is moulded to a symmetrically 

 circular form. (Globus, Feb. 20.) 



A cylindrical mug, with a handle, quite 

 like a German ' Bierseidel,' was manu- 

 factured by the ancient Araucanians, as the 

 same authority tells us ; and it is singular 

 how exactly this form recurs in the pottery 

 of the Cliff-dwellers. Numerous examples 

 are in the Museum of the University of 

 Pennsylvania. 



Intentional glazing was probably nowhere 

 developed into a branch of ceramic art on 

 this continent ; but partially glazed speci- 

 mens, of ancient date, are not unusual in 

 Central American collections. Examples 

 are in the Museum just mentioned. They 

 seem to be accidental, owing to an abun- 

 dance of siliceous matter in the clay. 



THE RACIAL GEOGRAPHY OF EUROPE. 



The series of articles on this subject by 

 Professor "W. Z. Ripley, in the Popular Sci- 

 ence Monthly, deserves the attention of all 

 readers interested in questions of modern 

 anthropology. The Europeans of to-day 

 offer a peculiarly complicated problem, ow- 

 ing to the extensive crossings to which all 



