32 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. X. No. 232 



pounds his theories in a language full of incomprehensible cant, 

 glorying in paradoxes, flying from one topic to another at a most 

 erratic gait, and beginning and ending nowhere. The whole is 

 strongly suggestive of a semi-morbid condition of mind, and will 

 probably have a charm for minds of neurotic temperament that de- 

 lights in the apparent and exclusive possession of an un-understood 

 mystery. The redeeming point of the volume is its refusal to ally 

 itself with coarse, physical deceptions, and thus gives no oppor- 

 tunity for preying upon the liberality of the credulous. 



— The changes in the elevation of the Caspian Sea and the 

 Baltic have been discussed by Dr. Bruckner in a lecture delivered at 

 the meeting of the German Meteorological Society at Karlsruhe, 

 and by W. Seibt (' Das Mittelwasser der Ostsee bei Travemiinde '). 

 Both authors show by their separate methods that the influence of 

 the wind upon lakes has been overrated, and that the annual rain- 

 fall regulates the amount of water in lakes and seas communicating 

 with the ocean through narrow channels. The amount of water 

 carried by the Volga regulates the elevation of the surface of the 

 Caspian Sea, and the same is the case with the Black Sea and its 

 affluents. Bruckner shows that the easterly winds of May and the 

 westerly winds of July and August have an influence upon the 

 Baltic, but the thorough discussion of the gauge observations at 

 Travemiinde by W. Seibt proves that only in April, May, and Sep- 

 tember the height of the water corresponds to the direction and 

 pressure of the wind. It appears that the volume of water of the 

 Baltic is subject to periodical changes. While Briickner believes 

 that this is entirely due to the changes of the annual rainfall, Seibt 

 concludes that a periodical annual tide exists in the ocean, which 

 is observed only in seas in which the daily tide is insignificant. 



— Over 60,000,000 caterpillar-cocoons were destroyed on the 

 trees in Washington during the spring, so that the city will not suf- 

 fer from this pest this year as badly as formerly. 



— U. S. Consul Siler at Cape Town, Africa, has sent to the De- 

 partment of State an interesting report on leprosy in South Africa. 

 He says that he has recently read in American papers of the 

 existence of leprosy on the Pacific coast, with expressions of fear 

 that the disease may become general. The disease, he states, is 

 not uncommon in South Africa. 



— The sitting statue of Bowditch the navigator, executed in 1847 

 by Ball Hughes, and long one of the most celebrated monuments 

 in Mount Auburn cemetery, Cambridge, has just been replaced by 

 a new casting from the foundry of Gruet jeune of Paris, the old 

 showing some signs of injury due to defective founding. 



52', and the chord 744 feet ; the fourth quarter was not measured 

 owing to obstructions. It is therefore apparent that the figure as a 

 whole is very near a true circle. 



But the most singular fact is presented by the diameters. These, 

 as taken by careful measurements from the quarter-stations.^are 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



*♦* The atte7ition of scientijic vten is called to the advantages o/ihe co 

 colujnns o/^cl^nzE. for placing pro7nptly on record brief preliminary notices of 

 their investigations . Tiventy copies of the nutnber containing his cojmnunication 

 will be furnished free to any correspondent 071 reqjiest. 



The editor will be glad to publish any queries consonant "with the character of 

 the journal. 



Correspondents are requested to be as brief as possible. The -writer's na7ne is 

 in all cases required as proof of good faith. 



Ohio Mounds. 



Having recently made a sun'ey on behalf of the Bureau of 

 Ethnology, of some of the circles of the ancient works of Ohio, I 

 wish to call attention, by permission, to one or two facts brought to 

 light. 



This can best be done by an illustration, for which purpose the 

 ' Observatory Circle ' of the works at Newark, Licking County, is 

 selected (see ' Ancient Monuments,' by Squier and Davis, Plate 

 XXV. F.). 



Running this by means of short chords of seventy-five feet in 

 length, taking the middle line of the top of the wall, I found the 

 number to be 44, and twelve feet in addition, or the perimeter of the 

 polygon 3,312 feet. The course of each chord was taken. While 

 the variation from one to the other, if the figure were a true circle, 

 should be about 8"^ 9', it was found to vary from one to fifteen de- 

 grees. But, somewhat to my surprise, it was found that these 

 variations compensated each other in short distances, so that in 

 measuring the quarters they almost wholly disappear, the angle of the 

 first quarter being 44" 52', and its chord 747 feet ; the angle of the 

 second quarter 45°, and its chord 745 feet ; of the third quarter, 44° 



respectively 1,054 and 1,058 feet, the average of which is 1,056 feet, 

 precisely sixty-four poles, or sixteen chains. 



As there are several other circles of the size, this singular coinci- 

 dence is, to say the least, interesting. James D. Middleton. 



Youngsville, Penn., June 22. 



Waterspouts. 



Believing that every natural phenomenon, especially when un- 

 usual or little studied, is worthy of record, we have put down a few 

 notes about a series of waterspouts which passed here on Monday, 

 May 23, shortly after noon. One of us saw at one time, from an 

 elevation of about one hundred and fifty feet, as many as nine in 

 various stages of their formation ; the other, eight, at an elevation 

 of fifty feet, we being about half a mile apart ; and some persons 

 claim to have seen twelve in all. 



Alassio is situated on a bay, or rather roadstead, which is about 

 five miles from headland to headland in a straight line : from that 

 line to our villas is at least two miles. 



On the 22d there was a severe storm throughout north Italy, ex- 

 tending from Padua to Turin, accompanied by hail and frost. The 

 mountains behind Genoa, and all along the coast, were again cov- 

 ered with snow. This storm appeared to divide, and while going 

 through the mountains to the north, not seen from here, passed us 

 about three miles out at sea, at about 1 1 a.m. Then there was no 

 wind ; the sea was unusually smooth in the bay, but the line of 

 the storm was strongly marked, and the roaring of the waves was 

 distinctly heard. A little later we had a very slight shower. 



The morning of the 23d was unusually electrical, so much so as 

 to make every one feel uneasy and restless. The wind dropped, 

 and there was a dead calm. At a little after twelve we were 

 called out by our gardeners and servants, and, looking out at sea, 

 saw a long black cloud lying in a straight line across the bay, from 

 which long descending tubes — some straight, as if drawn with a 

 rule, others twisted like snakes — were moving rapidly in proces- 

 sion in a south-westerly direction. The surface of the sea boiled, 

 and the foam and spray rose many feet into the air with a loud 

 roaring plainly heard on land. In some cases, as these tubes ap- 

 proached the sea with their dangling ends, the water seemed 

 gradually to rise and meet them. In other cases the ends swayed 

 to and fro above the waves, either forming no connection with 

 them, or having already begun to break up. In nearly every case the 



