718 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XIV. No. 358. 



hibited by law, custom or prejudice the 

 basis for social amalgamation is wanting ; 

 the inter-marriage of superior and inferior 

 races results in an offspring inferior to the 

 lowest of the united races. It is possible, 

 however, through artificial selection, to 

 unite the best elements of each race and 

 hence raise the standard of the lower race. 

 The variation in results from the inter- 

 marriage of widely differentiated races as 

 observed in the characteristics of the off- 

 spring. 



It must be observed then, first, that a 

 perfect social union is not possible between 

 races that cannot intermarry ; second, that 

 intermarriage is not probable among 

 widely divergent races if once included in 

 the same social system ; third, that inter- 

 marriage is not desirable between widely 

 divergent races because controlled by lower 

 sentiments and usually practiced by the 

 lower elements, thus leading to degenera- 

 tion ; fourth, that race prejudice, so far as 

 it prevents the union of widely divergent 

 races, is good rather than evil. When dif- 

 ferent races, widely separated as to origin 

 or widely divergent in culture, live under 

 the same government, each must have its 

 place ; a government founded on justice 

 must protect the weaker race and preserve 

 its rights ; examples from studies of the 

 social and political status of the African 

 race in America ; examples from studies of 

 the social and political status of the Amer- 

 ican Indians; a plea for a more careful 

 study of races as a basis for socialization 

 and a means for procuring rational legisla- 

 tion. 



Discussion : Butler pointed out the ne- 

 cessity of understanding the psychic stand- 

 point of a people in order to understand 

 the influences of race or culture. McGee 

 emphasized the invigorating influences of 

 tolood-blending when the stocks are not too 

 greatly diverse, as shown, for example, by 

 the British and American peoples, and then 



mentioned culture as a factor of paramount 

 importance in ethnic and demotic develop- 

 ment. This paper was also discussed by 

 Russell and Dorsey. 



3. ' The Anthropological Collections of 

 Yale University Museum ' : George Grant 

 MacCurdy. 



An abridged statement relative to the 

 size and character of the collections which, 

 it is hoped, may be of service to students 

 making a comparative study of museums of 

 anthropology. They comprise from 15,000 

 to 18,000 specimens representing geograph- 

 ically thirty-six states and territories, Ha- 

 waii and the Philippines, besides forty 

 foreign countries. The greater part of the 

 material is archeological. The antiquities 

 from Central America alone number over 

 3,000, including fifty-three gold ornaments 

 from the Province of Chiriqui. The col- 

 lection of Missouri pottery, more than 1,000 

 pieces in all, is one of the largest and best 

 in the country. A representative series 

 from the Quaternary and cavern deposits 

 of western Europe, the Swiss Lake Dwell- 

 ings, and the shell heaps and dolmens of 

 Scandinavia has recently been installed. 

 In respect to physical anthropology, the 

 museum possesses several hundred crania, 

 chiefly Amerindian, Hawaiian and New 

 Guineaian. 



4. ' Report on Work recently done by 

 the Department of Anthropology, Field 

 Columbian Museum': by the curator, 

 George A. Dorsey. 



Discussion : J. Walter Fewkes. 



5. ' Political and Social Conditions in the 

 Hawaiian Islands ' : David Starr Jordan. 



6. * Notes on Criminal Anthropology ' : 

 Amos W. Butler. A study of the individ- 

 ual family characteristics of inmates of 

 the Indiana Reformatory. The results of 

 four years of operation of the indetermin- 

 ate sentence and parole law in that State. 



7. ' The Nature of Sun Worship ' : J. 

 Walter Fewkes. 



