November 7, I'^go] 



bClENCE. 



259 



from tiie resources of the physical laboratory. The first two 

 rooms will be separated by a hall from the latter two. The 

 equipment, apparatus, etc., may be delayed in consequence of the 

 present severe tax upon the resources of the university, but special 

 researches will be pi'oseouted with the aid of adapted apparatus 

 kindly loaned from the very complete collections of the depart- 

 ments of physics and biology. The design is to encourage serious 

 endeavor and stimulate interest in the outlying questions of the 

 sciences, principally among post-graduates. Private facilities will 

 be given whenever possible fur experiments in psychomelry and 

 psychophysics. It is hoped that the work may be expanded to 

 inclui'e problems in medical and abnormal psychology, since the 

 city and provincial institutions present abundant facilities; but 

 nothing in this line has been projected as yet. During the past 

 year the students of the department have formed a psychological 

 society for discussion and presentation of papers, conducted en- 

 tirely by themselves. The object of the society is breadth of 

 information rather than new work. They treat psychological 

 questions, however, quite apart from speculative philosophy. The 

 library was totally destroyed by the fire; but the new collection is 

 growing rapidly, especially in this department, owing to the nota- 

 ble generosity of friends at home and abroad. In another year 

 it will probably be more complete in psychological publications 

 than before. The teaching force is at present Professor J. Mark 

 Baldwin and a fellow. After next year Professor J. G. Hume is 

 to assume his duties, and a post graduate scholarship in philoso- 

 phy is to be established in iiiemory of the late Professor Young. 

 Thus four, at least, will be the ofiScial in charge. The following 

 are the subjects of researches now in progress: "Beginnings of 

 Voluntary Movement in Childhood,' " Sense of Effort," " Recog- 

 nition," together with special topics for Professor Baldwin's pro- 

 posed volume on " Feeling and Will." 



— Following the appropriation and authority of Congress for its 

 action, the Mississippi River Commission, after about a year of 

 suspended business, held its first meeting of the present fiscal year 

 at the Army Building in New York£!ity, at which all the mem- 

 bers of the board were present, beginning on the morning of Oct. 

 1, and continuing until the afternoon of the 4th. The first days 

 of the session were given to the public hearing of parties inter- 

 ested in the protection and improvement of the Mississippi River, 

 represented by the State engineers, and organized bodies of citi- 

 zens, mainly from the lower sections of the river, together with a 

 more general discussion by other parties of the commercial and 

 economic questions relating to the entire valley. The latter part 

 of the time was given, in private session, to the direct business of 

 the commission, in allotting the appropriation made by Congress 

 — three million two hundred thousand dollars — to the various 

 -works of protection and improvement on the river. Since the 

 first organization of the commission, some changes have taken 

 place in its personnel, and it now consists of the following mem- 

 bers: Col. Cyrus B. Comstock, Corps of Engineers, president 

 (Army Building, New York City); Lieut. Col. Charles R. Suter, 

 Corps of Engineers, U.S.A. (St. Louis, Mo.); B. M. Harrod. civil 

 engineer (New Orleans, La ); Hon. Robert S. Taylor (Fort Wayne, 

 Ind.); Major Oswald H. Ernst, Corps of Engineers, U.S.A (War 

 Department, Washington, D.C.); Henry Flad, civil engineer (St. 

 Louis, Mo.); Professor Henry L. Whiting (U. S. Coast and Geo- 

 detic Survey, Washington, D.C.); Capt. Carl F. Palfrey, Corps of 

 Engineers, U.S.A., secretary of the commission (with main office 

 at St. Louis, Mo.). The next meeting is to be held on board the 

 government steamer "Mississippi" at St. Loui^, whence the 

 commissioners will proceed on an inspection of the river, and the 

 parties carrying on the various works along its coui'se between 

 Oairo and the Head of the Passes. 



— A valuable contribution to the subject of atmospheric elec- 

 tricity has been lately made by Professor L. Weber, who, in ex- 

 periments at Breslau, used a sensitive, earth-connected galvanom- 

 ■eter, instead of the electroscope in Exner's method, as we learn 

 from Nature of Oct. 9. Using Exner's metallic rod and flame, he 

 found that the currents %vere extremely small, about a micro- 

 milliampere (or the thousand-millionth part of an ampere). They 

 were increased with a longer rod and bigger flame; but much 



better results were got with a kite or captive balloon. The edge 

 of the kite was coated with silver paper, and the tail was formed 

 with tassels of the paper. A line of fine steel wire was used, and 

 about twelve feet at the upper end were of non-conducting string. 

 Experiments were made on twelve cloudless days. Taking the 

 intensities of current as ordinates, and the heights to which 

 the kite (or balloon) rose as abscissae, the curve of intensity had 

 its convex side to the axis of abscissae. On but few days was the 

 current negative, this effect being probably due, the author thinks, 

 to dust charged with negative electricity which it gave to the line. 

 This might neutralize some of the positive electricity set flowing 

 in the wire by the earth's induction. Professor Weber considers 

 that any experiments on the earth's surface with short conductors 

 can at best give relative values, and determine periodical changes. 

 His values differ not inconsiderably from Exner's. At a height 

 of 350 metres (1,166 feet) the potential was found to be 96,400 

 volts; and, assuming a regular increase of potential with height, 

 the fall of potential would here be 375 volts. The potential of the 

 earth is estimated at the enormous value of 1,720 . 10° volts. Sup- 

 posing the volt to be about the electro-motive force of a Daniell 

 element, a huge battery of this number of elements would be 

 needed to produce the earth's potential ; the zinc pole being con- 

 nected with earth, and the copper led into space. Professor 

 Weber considers the question of possible electric; repulsion from 

 the earth, and is led to some instructive remarks on rain-particles, 

 clouds, etc. Some vei-y interesting effects were obtained from 

 thunder-clouds; but for these and other matters we would lefer 

 the reader to the original (an account of these researches appears 

 in Humboldt for September). 



— Naturalists will read with interest a paper in Humboldt i or 

 September, in which Professor Forel of Ziirich gives the results of 

 a visit he paid to Tunis and eastern Algeria, chiefly to observe 

 the ants there. Looking from a ship at the dreary gray wastes, 

 and the large date-palm oasis of Gabes, according to Nature, one 

 fancies all animal life must be concentrated under the palms. But 

 really there is very little of it there, and hardly any thing singular; 

 while the sand of the desert contains, round each of tbe poor, 

 small, sparse plants, a host of beetles and other insects, many of 

 them with striking adaptations and peculiarities. Some live on 

 excrement of camels, asses, etc.; some on the plants; aud some 

 prey on other animals, big and small. In one ant-hill he found 

 that several ants had a small brown object clinging to the lower 

 part of an antenna; in some eases, one on either antenna. On 

 examination, this fell off, and was found to be a small beetle, whicE 

 evidently clings there as guest. It has tufts of hair, which are 

 probably licked by the ant. The host did not seem to trouble 

 itself about this little creature, which, by its odd post, is enabled 

 to accompany the ant in its wanderings and changes of abode. 

 Professor Forel remarks on the peaceful character of the ants in 

 that region. With few exceptions they avoid fighting, and only 

 one ant was found capable of piercing the human skin. 



— The phenomenon of globular lightning was imitated by M. 

 Plante, it will be remembered, with his secondary batteries. It has 

 been shown by Herr von Lepel, as we learn from Nature of Oct. 

 16, that this can also be done with so-called statical electricity, 

 obtained from an influence machine. Two thin brass-wire points 

 from the poles of a powerful machine being held at a certain dis 

 tance from the opposite sides of an insulated plate of mica, ebonite, 

 glass, or the like, there appear small red luminous balls, which 

 move about, now quickly, now slowly, and are sometimes still. 

 Even better effects were had with a glass or paper disk which had 

 been sprayed with paraflBne. Small particles of liquid or dust 

 seem to be the carriers of the light. A slight air-current makes 

 the spherules disappear with hissing noise. These spherules, the 

 author remarks, are phenomena of weak tension : an increase of 

 the tension gives a rose spark-discharge. Various intei'esting 

 analogies with globular lightning are traced. 



— In Science of last week, p. 248, first column, 30th line, 

 "efferent sensations" should read "afferent sensations;" 21st 

 line, "Memories of movements" should read "Memories of 

 movement;" 32d line, "afferent feeling" should read "effei'ent; 

 feeling." 



