August 31, 1888.] 



SCIENCE. 



more primitive than another, and thus he was led to the question, 

 ' What are the characteristics of primitive language ? ' His conclu- 

 sions may or may not be correct. It is of great importance to have 

 emphasized the necessity of solving this preliminary question. 



Another fundamental problem was brought before the section by 

 Horatio Hale. Since the European origin of the Aryan race has 

 been maintained by many authors, the champions of the old doc- 

 trine of their Asiatic origin have taken a firm stand, and looked for 

 new arguments to defend their position. Max Midler's ' Biographies 

 •of Words' was written for this purpose, and Professor Hale sec- 

 onded his friend in his paper ' The Aryan Race, its Origin and 

 Character.' His main argument is that the race must have sprung 

 from one household, that, according to his theory of the origin of 

 language, must have lived in a favorable climate. Its language 

 was originally complex and highly inflected, but in course of time, 

 by mixture of races, became more simple in form. By this mixture 

 he explains the numerous languages and various races of Europe. 

 Next he dwelt upon the character of the original Aryan or his de- 

 scendants. He believed that the Iranians were pure Aryans, and 

 showed that certain of their traits may be discovered in European 

 races, while others he ascribes to the aborigines they conquered. 

 The paper was listened to with much interest, but did not excite as 

 much discussion as might have been expected. 



Horatio Hale's second paper, 'On an International Language,' 

 engrossed at once the attention of the large audience that listened to 

 it. He took up the argument of the American Philosophical So- 

 ciety, and indorsed its action in discussing the value of existing 

 international languages and of the requisites of such a language. He 

 showed the insufficiency of Volapiik ; and, in consequence of this 

 interesting paper, a motion was brought before the council of the 

 association, and adopted in the concluding meeting, to this 

 effect : — 



" Resolved, That, in the event of a congress being convened for 

 ■considering the subject of an international language for scientific 

 and other purposes, the council be authorized to appoint three 

 members of this association as delegates, with two others as sub- 

 stitutes, to attend, at their own expense, the congress on behalf of 

 the association, it being understood that no decision of the congress 

 shall be binding on the association until it has been accepted in 

 general session." 



The committee appointed by the chair consists of Prof. Horatio 

 Hale, Mr. Henshaw, and Professor McFarland. 



We will mention in this place that the committee to memorialize 

 Congress for the preservation of archseologic remains upon the 

 public domain made a voluminous report. It was agreed that it 

 would be well if the following remains of early America could be 

 preserved : Chaco Cafion, Cation De Chelly, Cafion Del Muerto, 

 and Walnut Canon, the ruin on Fossil Creek, ruins in Mancas 

 Cafion, the round towers situated on the flat valleys of the lower 

 Mancas, and the Cavate Lodges in the cinder cone, about eight 

 miles east of Flagstaff, A.T. The report continues : " Besides 

 these groups of ruins and dwellings, there are isolated remains in 

 the Territories of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, numbering 

 over forty, which demand preservation ; the pueblos which are not 

 on treaty reservations or grants, and the old Mandan and Arickaree 

 village on the Fort Berthold Indian reservation in Dakota, to be 

 preserved when they cease to be inhabited by the Indians, also cer- 

 tain burial and village sites in Alaska." 



The committee in charge of this work — Miss Alice C. Fletcher 

 and Mrs. T. E. Stevenson — have caused a bill to be introduced in 

 Congress providing for a reservation in New Mexico for the pur- 

 pose of archaeologic study. 



The important question of paleolithic man in America, which 

 C. C. Abbott had made the subject of his vice-presidential address, 

 was ably treated by Thomas Wilson, who is so thoroughly ac- 

 quainted with the paleolithic age of Europe and America. 



Attractive features of the meetings of this section were Prof. F. 

 W.Putnam's illustrated paper on the 'Serpent Mound,' and the 

 work done there during the last year ; Prof. Otis T. Mason's lecture 

 on ' Woman's Share in Primitive Industry,' which was also illus- 

 trated by lantern projections ; and Col. G. Mallery's report on 

 ' Algonkin Pictographs.' Professor Putnam's energetic action in pre- 

 serving the Serpent Mound has roused the citizens of Ohio out of 



their inactivity, and a short time since a committee of ladies has 

 been formed in Cleveland to preserve the interesting remains on 

 Fort Hill. Referring to this matter, the following resolution was 

 passed by the association : — 



" Resolved, That we heartily commend the effort of the ladies of 

 the Western Reserve to secure Fort Hill to the people of Ohio ; 

 that we appreciate highly the importance of preserving to all time, 

 in perfect condition, one of the wonderful remains of antiquity so 

 fast disappearing, and recommend to the citizens of Ohio the work 

 already begun at the Serpent Mound in that State by the citizens 

 of Massachusetts." 



Professor Mason tried to show that there are two branches of 

 civilization, one belonging to each sex, — hunting and procuring 

 food, that of man ; arts and industries, that of woman. In a very 

 instructive way he traced the influence of the latter in all branches 

 of life. Colonel Mallery's former work in the line of the study of 

 pictographs has won him so well-deserved renown, that all his 

 communications bearing upon this subject are listened to with the 

 greatest interest, as they must form the basis of all studies on the 

 development of the art of writing. 



Among ethnological and archreological subjects which were 

 brought before the meeting of the society, we will mention the im- 

 portant finds of paleolithic implements by Hilborne T.Cresson; the 

 interesting exhibit of a gold ornament from Columbia, and a jadeite 

 tablet from Guatemala, by George F. Kunz ; and Stephen D. Peet's 

 papers, in which he once more recapitulated his views on the 

 archasology of America. 



In the Section of Biology the theory of evolution occupied a 

 prominent place. The number of leading biologists present was, 

 however, not very large, and consequently the meetings of the sec- 

 tion came to an end on Monday. Dr. E. L. Sturtevant read a paper 

 which dealt principally with the limitations of evolution as influ- 

 enced by human control. He demonstrated, in the case of the 

 dandelion, the variability of the wild species and the practical iden- 

 tity between the wild forms and cultivated varieties. Prof. N. L. 

 Britton called the attention of the section to the discrepancies in 

 biological nomenclature, and urged a method to secure uniformity. 



The paper of Thomas Meehan, on ' Adaptation in the Honeysuckle 

 and Insect Visitor,' excited considerable discussion among the 

 members of the section. The views of the author on the depend- 

 ence of cross-fertilization upon the adaptation of the plant to the 

 insect were not shared generally by the other speakers. 



Mr. Burrill contended that the general fact of mutual adaptation 

 was thoroughly established, and that the adaptation toother insects 

 than the honey-bee in the honeysuckle might exist. Creative de- 

 sign or evolutionary development might form a point of discussion. 



It was doubted by Professor Riley whether observations upon 

 plants outside of their native habitat could be adduced for proving 

 or disproving the existence of adaptations between plants and in- 

 sects, the latter likely existing only in the native habitat of the plant. 



The botany of Michigan was the subject of several papers by 

 W. J. Beal, who gave a report on very interesting observations on 

 the succession of forests in northern Michigan, and compared the 

 flora of the east and west sides of that State, showing that the west 

 side contained plants of more southern distribution, while the east 

 side showed many northern plants not found on the west side. 



The Botanical Club met formally on Wednesday morning. Judge 

 David F. Day presiding, and the Rev. W. M. Beaucharnp acting as 

 secretary in Prof. V. Spaulding's absence. Judge Day's address 

 included a memorial of the lamented Asa Gray, and a committee 

 was appointed to draft resolutions on this. Steps were also taken for 

 preserving and publishing the proceedings. It was found inexpe- 

 dient to change the club into a section. On Friday the following 

 resolutions on Prof. Asa Gray were adopted by a rising vote : — 



" Resolved, That the Botanical Club of the American Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science sincerely regrets, that, meeting 

 but once a year, it should be among the last of similar associations 

 to place on record its sense of the great loss which the whole range 

 of science suffers by the death of Prof. Asa Gray. 



" Resolved, That, though among the last to contribute to the 

 wreath of sorrow with which science is everywhere crowning the 

 memory of Dr. Gray, this body takes a mournful pride in remem- 

 bering that he was one of its honored members, and that it was as 



