SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XII. No. 295 



organisms, and it is possible that one or the other of these is the 

 deadly microbe which he has so long been in search of ; but he is 

 not at present in a position to make a definite claim with reference 

 to any one of them. Some of these germs were exhibited to the 

 association ; and Dr. Sternberg stated that since his return from 

 Havana he had been continuously engaged in the study of these 

 various microbes, and that the material which he had brought with 

 him would fully occupy his time for some months to come. 

 Consumption among the Indians. 

 At the same meeting. Dr. W. Matthews of the Army Medical 

 Museum read a paper entitled ' Further Contributions to the Study 

 of Consumption among the Indians.' Before a meeting of this so- 

 ciety, held in Philadelphia two years ago. Dr. Matthews presented 

 a paper on this subject, in which he brought forward statistical 

 evidence to show that consumption increases among Indians under 

 the influence of civilization, i.e., under a compulsory endeavor to 

 accustom themselves to the food and habits of an alien and more 

 advanced race, and that climate has very little to do with this 

 increase. The Indian race, which is native to the climate, suffers 

 more from consumption than the white and colored races, which 

 have only recently appeared on the western continent. As a rule, 

 too (to which there are some exceptions), the tribes that live in the 

 Eastern States, and have been longest under the influence of civili- 

 zation, suffer most from consumption and allied diseases. In the 

 present paper the author brings out much additional evidence to 

 strengthen the conclusions of his first paper, and endeavors to dis- 

 cover the causes of this consumptive tendency among Indians. He 

 believes that the disease with them is usually complicated with 

 scrofula, in short that it is scrofulous phthisis, and that in studying 

 it we must seek for the causes of scrofula. Chief among these is 

 improper and badly cooked food. Other causes are bad 'dwellings 

 and insufficient clothing. Still it is strange that the colored popu- 

 lation, who are often as badly housed and fed as the Indians, are 

 more healthy. This is partly accounted for by difference of dis- 

 position, the Ethiopians being the more light-hearted race. Much 

 of the difference, too, arises from the fact that all Ethiopians, 

 whether rich or poor, fair or dark, are placed by statisticians under 

 the head of ' colored ; ' while people of Indian descent, who live 

 among whites, and sever their tribal relations, are classed as whites, 

 only the poorer and less prosperous remaining on the Indian cen- 

 sus-rolls. 



Cerebral Localization. 



The most brilliant meeting of the congress proper was that of 

 Wednesday evening, when one of the most interesting subjects in 

 medical science, cerebral localization, was discussed by several of 

 the most distinguished specialists of the world. Dr. Charles K. 

 Mills of Philadelphia, the professor of diseases of the mind and 

 nervous system in the Philadelphia Polyclinic and College for 

 Graduates in Medicine, opened the discussion, the topic being 

 ' Cerebral Localization in its Practical Relations.' He was followed 

 by Dr. Roswell Park, professor of surgery in the Buffalo Medical 

 College. Both of these gentlemen read papers, which were dis- 

 cussed by Dr. David Ferrier and Mr. Victor Horsley of London. 

 England, Dr. W. W. Keen of Philadelphia, and Dr. Robert F. 

 Weir of New York City. Diagrams were displayed on the wall, 

 and by their aid the various speakers pointed out the brain-centres. 

 Dr. Ferrier, one of the original discoverers of brain-centres, 

 claimed that they were distinct areas, while Mr. Horsley was of 

 the opinion that they overlapped. Dr. Mills's paper was an ex- 

 haustive one, describing the results of the latest modern discov- 

 eries. Dr. Park covered about the same ground, and his paper 

 was regarded as a masterly exposition of the subject. 

 Distinguished Guests. 



The congress was notable for the distinguished guests of several 

 of the constituent societies who were present and participated. 

 Among these guests. Dr. Frederick von Esmarch of Kiel, Ger- 

 many, was probably the most distinguished. He was accompanied 

 by his wife and son, the former being Princess Caroline Christian 

 Augusta Emily Henrietta Elizabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Souder- 

 burg-Augustenburg. She is aunt of the Empress of Germany. 

 Dr. von Esmarch is director of the surgical clinic in Kiel. During 

 the Franco-Prussian war he was a surgeon on the staff of the Em- 



peror, and is recognized as one of the leading surgeons of the 

 world. He is a voluminous writer, and nearly all of his works re- 

 late to the antiseptic treatment. He has endeavored to ameliorate 

 the horrors of war by the introduction of improved sanitary meas- 

 ures in the treatment of the wounded, and also by suggestions in 

 case of sudden accident. He first suggested the method of artifi- 

 cial bloodless operations, which was generally adopted. He has 

 received honors abroad and at home, and wears decorations of the 

 highest order. 



Among the other foreign guests were Dr. David Ferner of Lon- 

 don, England, one of the leading medical writers of the day, joint 

 editor of Gitys Forensic Medicine, professor in King's College, and 

 phj'sician in King's College Hospital ; Dr. Victor Alexander Haden 

 Norsley of University College and Brown Institute. England ; Dr. W. 

 M. Graily Hewitt of London, England, a distinguished author and 

 professor ; Dr. Lawson Tail of Birmingham, England, president of 

 the Birmingham Philosophical Societ)', and author of ' Diseases of 

 Women,' a recognized text-book for students and practitioners; 

 Sir Spencer Wells of London, England, surgeon to the Queen's 

 household, and an extensive writer on medical subjects ; Sir An- 

 drew Clark, also of London, president of the London Medical So- 

 ciety ; Sir William MacCormac, author of ' Notes and Recollec- 

 tions of an Ambulance Surgeon,' which has been translated into 

 several continental languages ; Dr. William O. Priestly of London, 

 a voluminous contributor to medical Uterature; Dr. William Ord of 

 London, a physician and lecturer of high rank ; Dr. Thomas Bryant 

 of London, lecturer on surgery in Guy's Hospital ; Dr. Reginald 

 Harrison of Liverpool, England ; and Dr. Arthur E. Durham of 

 London, England. Several of these distinguished guests, by invi- 

 tation, read papers or joined in the discussions. 



In every respect the congress was successful. It contributed to 

 the advancement of the highest medical science, and has furnished 

 a stimulus for future work. 



MAJOR POWELL'S REPORT. 



Operations of the National Survey. — Yellowstone Park. — Atlantic 

 Coast Work. — Archtean Geology. — Glacial Geology. — Appala- 

 chian Division ; Classification of Soils. 



Operations of the National Survey during the Year ending 

 June 30, 1888. 



Director Powell of the United States Geological Survey has 

 completed his report for the last fiscal year, and Sept. 6 transmitted 

 it to the secretary of the interior. There will probably be several 

 months' delay in the publication of it, owing to the lack of facilities 

 in the Government Printing-Office ; but the Washington corre- 

 spondent of Scie?ice has been permitted to make the following full 

 extracts and summary from the manuscript copy. This is the first 

 publication of this report. 



In the topographic department an area of 52,062 square miles was 

 surveyed during the year. In regard to the scale on which the 

 topographic maps are made, the director says, " In the earlier work 

 of the Geological Survey it was contemplated that a large part of 

 the general topographic map should be projected upon a scale of 

 four miles to the inch. . . . Tfie last two years, however, have brought 

 great improvements in the methods of work, in the instruments 

 and appliances, and, above all, in the skill and efficiency gained by 

 the topographers through experience and zealous emulation. The 

 cost of the work per unit of area upon any given scale has greatly 

 diminished, the quality and accuracy of the work has been much 

 improved, and the rapidity with which a given grade of work may 

 be accomplished has increased. At the same time the demand for 

 maps of greater detail, and upon a larger scale than four miles to 

 the inch, has been rapidly growing, not merely for scientific pur- 

 poses, but far more for economic purposes. 



" The general utility of a map two miles to the inch is, for all 

 purposes, many times greater than that of a map four miles to the 

 inch ; and a further increase of utility follows from increasing the 

 scale to one mile to the inch. ... It has therefore become practically 

 imperative to enlarge the scales in some regions, while the original 

 four-mile scale is still adhered to in the regions of high mountains 

 and arid plains and plateaus. The increased cost which (other 

 things being equal) necessarily attends the production of larger 



