SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. V. No. 127. 



Professsr Dr. J. Walther gave the only 

 physiograpliic paper of the week. He de- 

 scribed in most picturesque language the 

 present forms of the Thiiringer horst, and 

 showed how much more the form of this 

 elevated block, or liorst, of the Thiiringer 

 "Wald, is dependent upon the series of north- 

 west-southeast faults of late Tertiary to 

 recent time than upon the system of the 

 eastnortheast-westsouthwest folds of Car- 

 boniferous time. "Where, however, these 

 planed folds of the Erzinian system are res- 

 urrected by the stripping off of the Mesozoic 

 strata the forms are in great measure con- 

 trolled by the earlier made folds, as, for ex- 

 ample, in the Cambrian ridge, Lange Berg. 



Mathematical geography was also repre- 

 sented by one paper : ' The shadow cast by 

 mountains and its effect in the Alps and in 

 the mountains of middle Europe,' by Dr. K. 

 Peucker, of Vienna. The mathematical 

 calculations were too intricate for the 

 audience to follow, but the graphic diagrams, 

 illustrating the effects of varying trends 

 and elevations in different sections, were 

 followed attentively. One of the excursions 

 was to the immense plant for the manu- 

 facture of optical instruments belonging to 

 Carl Zeiss, where applied mathematics is 

 used to the great advancement of science. 

 The various delicate processes connected 

 with the grinding and polishing of the many 

 forms of lenses, as well as the foi-ging and 

 cutting of the metal portions of the instru- 

 ments, were all shown and explained. The 

 new tele-objectives for photographing at a 

 distance or in places dilBcult of approach 

 were examined, and the wonderful details 

 seen in photographs made several kilome- 

 ters distant were duly admired. The opera 

 glasses with long tubes, capable of being 

 extended in any direction in a plane at 

 right angles to the line of sight, will no 

 doubt be highly appreciated in the United 

 States, where theater hats are not as yet out 

 of date. 



The longest excursion of the week was 

 made to Weimar, where a special perform- 

 ance for the benefit of the members of the 

 Geographentag was given in the theater, 

 which is under the patronage of the Gross- 

 herzog and is closely associated with the 

 lives of Goethe and Schiller. The points 

 of historical interest in Weimar were 

 opened to the guests in the same way that 

 they had been in Jena. Among the other 

 excursions were those to the battle field of 

 Jena, to the Ilm graben, to the Saale val- 

 ley, to the glass works, as well as visits to 

 the collections in the university, the speci- 

 mens brought from various deserts by Pro- 

 fessor Walther, the zoological and other 

 University departments. Walking parties 

 in the beautiful suburbs of Jena and some 

 social gathering every evening brought the 

 workers in geography into closer touch 

 with one another. Geographers as well as 

 other men in Germany are particularly so- 

 cial and companionable after saying ' prosit ' 

 over their beer. 



Geography in Germany attracts men. 

 The average attendance at the monthly 

 meetings of the Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde 

 in Berlin is 400-600. The study of the 

 earth in its relation to man should attract 

 men ; nothing could be more natural. As 

 a science, geography should be made more 

 systematic ; scientific, but clear and simple 

 so that children may understand ; compre- 

 hensive, since man is so many-sided ; and 

 yet trimmed of all irrelevant matter. Let 

 us strive toward a high-ideal development 

 of geography in America. 



F. P. Gulliver. 

 Geogeaphisches Institut, "Wien. 



STATUS OF FOREST RESERVATION POLICY. 

 By the vote of the Senate, on May 27th, 

 adopting the conference report on the Sun- 

 dry Civil Appropriation Bill, the United 

 States government took one more forward 

 step in establishing a forest policy; the 



