2^0 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XVI. No. 407 



American Continent, published in the current number of the 

 " Proceedings o£ the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadel- 

 phia," I give what I believe most unprejudiced critics wiU con- 

 sider good reasons for doubting the full accuracy of Mr. DalL's 

 measurements of Mount St. Elias (and Mount Fairweather). The 

 reasons for this belief were republished by the editor of Sciencein 

 the issue of that journal of Nov. 7, and need not be restated ; but 

 I may be permitted to add that they were formulated two months 

 before the results obtained by RusseU and Kerr were made known, 

 which, unfortunately (for St. Ellas), only too clearly prove the 

 justice of my doubt, and fortify my statement that the true posi- 

 tion of St. Elias is probably " after, and not before, the Peak of 

 Orizaba." 



Dr. Dall seeks to throw discredit on my analysis of his measure- 

 ments by unfavorably criticising my work in Mexico, but I fail 

 to see the relevancy of the citation. He accuses me of being "no 

 geodesist," which I am pleased to admit; but then I am mani- 

 festly not far removed from the company of the distinguished 

 naturalist of Washington, since he also sees fit to confess that he 

 makes "no pretence to the character of a geodetic expert." 

 When, however. Dr. Dall wishes to instruct me in the value and 

 deficiencies of an aneroid barometer. I may perhaps be pardoned 

 for looking to other sources for my information ; and I would 

 recommend to my learned friend that he acquaint himself more 

 closely with the analyses of the workings of this instrument made 

 recently by German specialists. I append herewith the results of 

 various measurements made in Mexico, which speak for them- 

 selves. 



Feak of Orizaba. 



Feet. 



Humboldt (trigonometric) 17,375 



Ferrer (1796, trigonometrlo> 17,879 



Plowes, Rodrlgues, and Vigil (1877, trigonometric) 17,664 



Von Muller (trigonometric) 18,112 



Hatzel (barometric) 18,069 



Easka (mercurial barometric) 18,045 



Easka (mercurial barometric, more recent) 18,200 



Doignen(?) 18,322 



Heilprln 18,805 



Popocatepetl. 



Feet. 

 Humboldt (trigonometric, corrected to Mexican R. R. level- 

 ling) 17,590 



Glennle (barometric) 17,884 



Sonctag (trigonometric, with correction to R. R. levelling) 17,660 



Heilprln 17,583 



Ixtaccihuatl. 



Feet. 



Humboldt (trigonometric, corrected to R. R. levelling) 15,702 



Sonntag (trigonometric, corrected to R. R. levelling) 16,951 



Heilprln 16,960 



Nevada de Toluca. 



Feet. 



Humboldt (barometric, corrected to R. R. levelling) 15,038 



Height given by Garcia Cubas 15.020 



Hellprin 14,954 



The correspondences and divergences may be considered 

 "merely accidental," if it so pleases the critic; but let us contrast 

 with these Mr. Dall's " observations of a higher class" (as com- 

 pared with previous measurements): — 



Mount St. Elias. 



Feet. 



From 69 miles 19,484 



From 127 •' 18,350 



From 132 " 19,956 



From 167 " 18,033 



Russell and E6rr (1890, as reported in the daily papers) less 



than 15,000 



La P6rou36 (1786) 13-,000 



Possibly the critic will consider these " trigonometrical" results 

 as being also "merely accidental." Mr. Dall wrongly interprets 

 me when he accuses me of broadly stating that the system of 

 " extracting averages " is "delusive." What I object to is the 

 " delusive system of extracting averages." I should perhaps 

 have underscored the first word; but the context, it appears to 

 me, ought to have made my meaning clear. When four measure- 

 ments of a mountain (Mount Fairweather) give individual results 

 of 15,085,|15,247, 15,447, and 16,009 feet, I fail to.see how by any 



correct system of extracting averqges we can obtain "unanimity" 

 in the general result. It is the making of this unanimity which 

 is a delusion to me. 



The scientific world will receive with interest the publication of 

 the results of the recent expedition to Mount St. Elias, and I agree 

 with Dr. Dall that it is best to await the official publication before 

 building too high on preliminary newspaper statements. 



Angelo Heiipein, 

 Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Nov. 15. 



Stravyberries. 



It needs little proof to show^hat a a long-season strawberry is 

 more desirable than one that yields all its fruit within a week. 

 The great bearers are always among those with a long bearing 

 season. A plant, like a person, can do more work in two weeks 

 than in one. What we desire in a g(X)d variety is not only a large 

 quantity of fruit, but also a regular supply during a reasonably 

 long fruiting period. As to pollen-production, 1 do not think that 

 this is quite as heavy a tax upon the vital energies of strawberry- 

 plants as the Ohio Experiment Station tries to make us believe 

 Undoubtedly it requires some effort, but there is nothing in 

 analogy to show that the process is an exhaustive one. Nature is 

 quite lavish in the production of pollen. While it is true that 

 Haverland, Warfield, and Crescent— all imperfect-flowering vari- 

 eties — may be safely put down as our most prolific sorts, this fact 

 may be due to mere accident as much as to " division of labor." 

 I have frequently seen the perfect-flowering Sharpless, Pearl, 

 Capt. Jack, even the Wilson, and others, out-yield by a great deal 

 the best on the list of imperfect- flowering (pistillate) varieties. 

 The Long John, a perfect-flowering sort which originated here 

 twenty or more years ago, has for the past two years equalled , or 

 rather out-yielded, even the far-famed and truly wonderful Haver- 

 land. T. Greiner. 



La Salle, N.Y., Nov. 12. 



Structure of the Plesiosaurian Skull. 



In his recently published " Manual of Paleontology" (p. 1067) 

 Lydekker makes the statement, in his definition of the Lynapto- 

 sawr za?j branch, that there are "no ossifications in the sclerotic 

 of the eye," and repeats it in his yet more recent " Catalogue of 

 Fossil Reptilia." Upon this authority, I stated in my recent let- 

 ter to tcience that sclerotic plates had not been previously de- 

 scribed for this branch, including the Chelonia and Sauropierygia. 

 This is not correct, as Dr. Baur kindly informs me. He says, 

 " Sclerotic plates are present in the Testudinata, as mentioned by 

 Huxley and Hoffmann. I have found them in Pleurodira, Crypto- 

 dira, and Trionycha." 



I do not wish to say that this character, and certain other ones, 

 such as the co-ossification of the jaws, absence of parietal foramen, 

 etc., are of high classificatory value, but rather that their discovery 

 will require a revision of definitions hitherto given. 



S. W. WlLUSTON. 

 Lawrence, Ean., Nov. 12. 



AMONG THE PUBLISHERS. 



The issue of Garden and Forest for Nov. 12 opens with an 

 article on the use of the axe in plantations of ornamental trees. 

 This is followed by an illustrated account of some insect enemies 

 of fruit trees, by Professor Smith, entomologist of the New Jersey 

 Experiment Station. Celastrus articulata, a Japanese relative of 

 our climbing bitter-sweet, is described by Professor Sargent, and 

 an excellent figure of the plant accompanies the description. Mrs. 

 Treat writes instructively of evergreens in the pine barrens of New 

 Jersey; and articles on chrysanthemums, asters, and other late- 

 flowering plants, help to make the number seasonable and attrac- 

 tive to every lover of a garden. 



— The first edition of " Scientific Lectures," by Sir John Lub- 

 bock (London and New York, Macmillan), appeared in 1879. The 

 second edition, now before us, is, so far as we are able to judge, 

 but a reprint of the former. The subjects treated are flowers and 

 insects, plants and insects, the habits of ants, and an introduction 



