68 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. X. No. 235 



in many colleg-es, when he says (p. 149), " Elementary studies are 

 not maturing- studies : they do not make the fibre of a student firm. 

 To studies of a solidifying- sort the last years should be devoted. 

 I should like to forbid seniors to take any elementary study what- 

 ever, and to forbid juniors all except philosophy, political economy, 

 history, fine arts, Sanscrit, Hebrew, and law. Under such a rule, 

 we should graduate more men who would be first-rate at some- 

 thing ; and a man who is first-rate at something is generally pretty 

 good at any thing." 



Professor Palmer's forceful thinking is interpreted by a lucid 

 style, which adds greatly to its charm. No one interested in our 

 American colleges can afiford to leave the book unread. 



N. M. B. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



The ' Bibliography of the Eskimo Language,' by James C. 

 Pilling, is the first of a series of bibliographies of American languages 

 which will be published as bulletins of the Bureau of Ethnology. 

 A few years ago Mr. Pilling published a bibliography of North 

 American languages, of which a limited number of copies were 

 printed. The material has so rapidly increased in the hands of the 

 author as to make a revised edition desirable. We consider the 

 new form of the publication a great improvement, as the division of 

 the material according to linguistic stocks makes the volumes 

 handier. The arrangement of the material is alphabetic, both the 

 names of the authors and the titles of the works being given. Thus 

 the finding of any desired material is made very easy. Particularly 

 valuable are the cross-references given under the heading 

 of ' Greenland,' ' Aleut,' and other localities or tribes, and those 

 under the heading of 'grammar' and 'vocabulary,' as they con- 

 tain all material on these subjects. Mr. Pilling has comprised in his 

 bibliography, books which contain only occasional remarks on 

 Eskimo dialects in the text, though no connected accounts of the 

 language are given. This made the compilation very difficult, as 

 the material of this kind is scattered over an enormous literature. 

 Notwithstanding this difficulty, Mr. Pilling has succeeded in bring- 

 ing together an enormous amount of material. We do not think 

 that many works of great importance are omitted, though the num- 

 ber of works containing remarks on Eskimo dialects might be 

 considerably enlarged. We miss the important vocabulary of 

 Rev. Gaste from Chesterfield Inlet, which was published by 

 Petitot. Furthermore, the earliest records of the Eskimo language 

 are older than Pilling states. In the description of the second 

 voyage of Martin Frobisher, which was published in 1577, we find 

 the name of a chief, ' Catchoe,' mentioned. In the ' Second Voyage 

 attempted by Master John Davis, with others, for the Discovery of 

 the North-west Passage, in anno 1586,' which was published in 

 Hakluyt's, ' Principall Navigations,' 1 589, a brief vocabulary is given. 

 But these are slight defects which are unavoidable in a bibliography. 

 The work will be indispensable for the student of Arctic ethnology 

 and philology. 



— The following is a list of the United States Coast and Geo- 

 detic Survey parties in the field, or assigned to field-duty, for the 

 present season : Prof. George Davidson, primary triangulation in 

 southern California, and in charge of work on Pacific coast ; C. O. 

 Boutelle, reconnaissance for triangulation to furnish points for 

 State survey, Minnesota ; H. L. Whiting, directing work of State 

 survey, Massachusetts, and survey of Vineyard Sound, etc. ; A. F. 

 Rodgers, physical hydrography, San Diego Bay, and topography 

 south coast of California ; G. A. Fairfield, transcontinental triangu- 

 lation in Indiana ; J. S. Lawson, primary triangulation in California ; 

 C. Rockwell, topographical reconnaissance, coast of Oregon ; W. 

 H. Dennis, topographical reconnaissance, Long Island Sound ; A. 

 T. Mosman, transcontinental triangulation in Ohio ; J. W. Donn, 

 topography. District of Columbia ; C. H. Boyd, triangulation, coast 

 of Maine ; Charles Hosmer, topography, coast of Maine ; C. T. 

 lardella, topography. Long Island ; R. E. Halter, in charge Mag- 

 netic Observatory, Los Angeles, Cal. ; Gershom Bradford, triangu- 

 lation in Massachusetts, furnishing points for State survey ; H. L. 

 Marindin, physical hydrography. New York Bay ; William Eine- 

 beck, transcontinental triangulation in Utah ; F. W. Perkins, re- 

 connaissance for triangulation in Indiana ; J. J. Gilbert, triangula- 



tion and topography, Washington Territory; Stehman Forney, 

 topography, southern California; O. H. Tittmann, triangulation, 

 coast of Maine; F. D. Granger, transcontinental triangulation, 

 Kansas ; Edwin Smith, telegraphic longitudes, Western States ; 

 Eugene Ellicott, topography, coast of Maine ; E. F. Dickins, tri- 

 angulation and topography, coast of Oregon ; W. I. Vinal, survey 

 Vineyard Sound, etc. ; J. F. Pratt, triangulation and topography, 

 Washington Territory; J. B. Baylor, magnetic work. Northern 

 States ; C. H. Sinclair, telegraphic longitudes, Western States ; C. 

 H. Van Orden, triangulation, Massachusetts ; W. C. Hodgkins, 

 topography. District of Columbia; R. A. Marr, re-survey Vineyard 

 Sound ; J. E. McGrath, levelling New York harbor ; E. L. Taney, 

 re-survey Vineyard Sound, etc. ; J. H. Gray, topography, coast of 

 Maine. Prof. George Davidson is just completing a new edition 

 of the ' Pacific Coast Pilot ' (to include the coasts of California, 

 Oregon, and Washington Territory), about eight hundred pages of 

 which have been received at the Coast Survey office, ready for the 

 printer. 



— The cable informs us that a letter from Emin Pacha dated 

 Feb. 10, 1887, has been received. It seems that the attitude of 

 King Mwanga towards Emin is far more friendly than some time 

 ago, for Emin says that he hopes to make his retreat from his 

 province by way of Unyoro. If he shall have succeeded in doing 

 so, Stanley will be too late ; but it is more probable that Emin, on 

 hearing of Stanley's expedition in Unyoro or Uganda, will stay on 

 the Mvutan Nsige, and await his arrival, or will try to meet him. 



— We learn from The Athenmitm that the government of India 

 have undertaken a topographical survey of the native states of 

 Travancore, Pudukota, and Cochin. The last survey was made 

 seventy years ago. Some of the mountainous tracts of Travancore 

 and Cochin are still absolutely blank, so that there will be much 

 original work to be done. 



— Professor Helmholtz, says The Athenceiun, has been appointed 

 president of the Kuratorhim of the Physical and Technical Im- 

 perial Institute, which is to be opened at Beriin in 1888. Dr. 

 Werner Siemens, who laid the foundation of the institute by his 

 liberal gift, and Dr. Forster, the director of the Berlin Observatory, 

 will also be curators. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



*^i* The attention of scientific men is called to the advantages o/the correspondence 

 columns of^clKUCK/or placing pro7nptly on record brief preliminary notices of 

 their investig;ations, Tiuettty copies of the number containing his communication 

 will be furnished free to any corresponde7it on request. 



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 name is 

 in all cases required as proof of good /aith. 



Temperance-Teaching. 



My attention has been called to the article on temperance, in 

 Science of July 29. As evidence that I have given the subject some 

 thought, I enclose you a copy of questions used last April in the 

 schools of my county, in which no reference is made to stimulants 

 or narcotics. I am inclined to think that constant reference to these 

 subjects may tempt some of that age to a trial, in order to satisfy 

 themselves if the sensation is as represented. General Grant says, 

 " I know from my own experience, that, when I was at West Point, 

 the fact that tobacco in every form was prohibited, and the mere 

 possession of the weed severely punished, made the majority of the 

 cadets, myself included, try to acquire the habit of using it." 



Jno. Terhune. 



Hackensack, N.J., Aug. i. 



Audubon's Grave. 



The Audubon matter stands about thus : the great ornithologist 

 is buried in an old family vault, not in the best order, at the extreme 

 south-west corner of Trinity Cemetery. Only the name ' Audubon ' 

 over the door gives any indication. 



Some street alterations are to be made ere long, which -will cut 

 close to this vault. An offer has been made by the trustees of the 

 cemeter)', and accepted by the Audubon family, to remove the re- 

 mains, and place them in a plot (granted for the purpose) at the 

 head of Audubon Avenue. The movement now proposed is to 

 raise funds among the ornithologists for a worthy monument to 

 mark the spot. The orphan grand-daughters are not able to do 



