264 



SCIENCE. 



[V, 



X. Nil. 251 



the two kinds are formed side by side, and neutralize each other in 

 the solution ; or it may even be, that, as is the case with truly inac- 

 tive tartaric acid, there is a true neutralization within the molecule 

 itself. Which of these hypotheses is correct is a question for fur- 

 ther work to decide. 



— GaiUard's ' French for Young Folks ' (New York, Werner) is 

 constructed on a sound pedagogic plan, has numerous and good 

 illustrations, and is nicely gotten up. It devotes special attention 

 to the subject of French pronunciation, and gives some very prac- 

 tical directions on the subject. We only question whether the intro- 

 ductory chapters do not employ too many long words to be easily 

 comprehended by the beginner. 



— The Fish Commission steamer ' Albatross ' left Washington 

 last week on her extended cruise to the Pacific coast. The voyage 

 was arranged by the late Professor Baird, and is now being carried 

 out by his successor, Mr. G. Brown Goode, the new commissioner. 

 The ' Albatross ' has been engaged for several years in the deep- 

 sea work of the Fish Commission in the Atlantic, the results ob- 

 tained being of great economic and scientific value. There has 

 come a demand from the Pacific coast for similar work there, where 

 the fisheries have not been developed to any extent, little being 

 known of the number or character of the food-fishes of that coast. 

 To hunt out the food-fishes, locate their habitats, and to develop 

 the resources of the great Pacific, is the task before the ' Albatross,' 

 which is thoroughly equipped for the scientific work. The scien- 

 tific party aboard will consist of Prof. Leslie A. Lee of Bowdoin, who 

 goes as chief naturalist ; Mr. Thomas Lee, who has been engaged 

 on the deep-sea work of the commission for a long time ; and Mr. 

 C. H. Townsend, who has just returned from an expedition to 

 Central America. The ' Albatross ' is officered and manned by 

 the navy, and is under the command of Lieut.-Com. Zera L. Tan- 

 ner. The ' Albatross ' will reach California next May. Stops will 

 be made en roicte, which will delay the voyage somewhat, the time 

 being occupied by the scientists in making shore-collections. The 

 ship goes out without any definite period fixed as to its return, but 

 it is not probable the vessel will be seen in the Atlantic again for 

 three or four years. It is deemed important to carry on investiga- 

 tions not only in the latitude of California, but off the Alaska coast. 

 The ship will touch frequently at ports on the Pacific coast, and be 

 in constant communication with the Fish Commission. It is prob- 

 able, too, that from time to time other scientists will join her for 

 the purpose of doing special work. The scientific outfit of the 

 vessel is declared by those who have examined it to be the best 

 that was ever put aboard a vessel. 



— Dr. Cohn, oculist at Breslau, has invented a new apparatus for 

 testing the eyesight of children. This is a matter which is scarcely 

 attended to at all in this country. Periodical tests have shown that 

 there is much more small mischief in the eyes of young students 

 than is generally supposed, which can easily be stopped if the neces- 

 sary precautions are taken in time. Dr. Cohn's invention con- 

 sists of a white board twenty-five centimetres square, to which are 

 fastened six rows of hooks, shaped thus i=, one centimetre square. 

 He who possesses a normal eyesight will be able to tell, at a dis- 

 tance of six metres in ordinary daylight, in which direction — up- 

 wards, downwards, to the right, or to the left — the hooks, which 

 are painted of different colors, are turned. Pupils who cannot do 

 this injure their eyes by constantly looking at the blackboard. The 

 same board may be used to determine whether the ordinary day- 

 light is sufficient for the rooms. As soon as the teacher cannot 

 distinguish the direction of the hooks at a distance of six metres 

 without straining his eyes, the gas ought to be lighted at once. 



— In the December number of Harper's is an article by Mr. 

 George F. Kunz, the gem expert of Messrs. Tiffany & Co., on the 

 precious stones of America. Mr. Kunz makes it clear that the al- 

 leged recent discoveries of diamonds in Kentucky amounts to noth- 

 ing ; but sapphires, spinels, crystals of topaz, beryls, garnets the 

 finest in the world, tourmalines, amethysts, and turquoises are ob- 

 tained in several localities in considerable profusion. The striking 

 feature of the article is the lithographed page of these gems, contain- 

 ing a diamond, Manchester, Va. ; sapphire, Helena, Montana ; sap- 

 phire, Franklin, N.C. ; topaz. Crystal Peak, Col. ; emerald, Stony 

 Point, N.C. ; aquamarine, Stoneham, Me. ; beryl (golden-colored). 



Litchfield, Conn.; garnets (cut and natural), Gallup, N.M. ; peridot, 

 Gallup, N.M. ; tourmaline, Mount Mica, Paris, Me. ; tourmaline 

 (green with red centre), Paris, Me. ; lithia emerald (hiddenite). 

 Stony Point, N.C. ; amethyst. Stow, Me. ; cairngorm stone, Pike's 

 Peak, Col.; turquoise, Nevada ; arrow-points of obsidian, carnelian, 

 and agatized wood, Oregon ; pearl, Paterson, N.J. To produce 

 this plate, fully twenty impressions were required, and we believe 

 this was the first colored plate ever published in Harper s. 



— At a special meeting of the Board of Regents of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution held Nov. 18, Prof. S. P. Langley was elected 

 secretary of the institution, to succeed the late Prof. S. F. Baird. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



• ,* The attention, of scientific men is called to the advantages of the correspondence 

 columns o/^clEUce. for placing promfilly on record brief preliminary notices of 

 their investigations. Twenty copies of the nujuber containing his communication 

 will be furnished free to any correspondent 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 faith . 



Cheyenne. 



In the note published in your issue of Nov. 11, I made an un- 

 accountable mistake, and wish to correct it. The Cheyennes are 

 the 'cut-arms,' and in the sign-langaage are designated by drawing 

 the hand, in imitation of a knife, across the biceps of the arm. It 

 is the Pawnees whose sign is wolf-ears made with thumb and fore- 

 finger. 



Your types say loo-yah erroneously for loo-hah. 



The French trappers told me a legend of the Sioux to the effect that 

 once in holding a council, they were disturbed by the noisy play of 

 the children, and moved over to another creek to hold the council 

 in quiet. In attempting to overtake their parents, the children took 

 the back track on which the village had lately come in. They kept 

 going, and the boys and girls grew up and intermarried, and be- 

 came another tribe, the Cheyennes. The Sioux call themselves 

 Lah-ko-ta (the t strongly dental), not Dakota, meaning ' cut- 

 throats,' the sign being the open hand drawn edgewise across the 

 throat. Geo. Wilson. 



Lexington, Mo., Nov. 15. 



The ' Act of God ' and the Railway-Company. 



Returning from New York Nov. 12, the train was crowded 

 with passengers. At the forward end of the car was a large stove 

 full of red-hot coals. This stove had no guard, nor hardly any 

 thing to prevent it from upsetting. A slight collision would have 

 emptied the contents of the stove, and probably several people 

 would have been burned to death. Would Mr. Appleton Morgan 

 consider such an affair an ' Act of God' ? Asaph Hall. 



Washington, Nov. 19. 



Changes in Indian Languages. 



I OBSERVE a blunder I made in attributing the word qiiisquis 

 (' a hog ') to Schoolcraft instead of Zeisberger, in my communica- 

 tion on changes in Indian languages, in Science of Nov. i8. The 

 Onondagas now pronounce it kweaskzveas, almost in four syllables, 

 and with a resemblance to a hog's melodious note. I may add that 

 the Onondagas divide ' Hiawatha,' a name of their own, differently 

 from many white people. It is pronounced by them ' Hi-a-wat-ha.' 

 ' Onondaga ' they sound like the whites in talking with them, but 

 retain the old broad sound among themselves. 



W. M. Beauchamp. 



Baldwinsville, N.Y., Nov. 19. 



Natural History Notes on Alaska. 

 In my ' Natural History Notes on Alaska,' forming Part III. of 

 the ' Report of the Cruise of the Steamer " Corwin " in the Arctic 

 Ocean in 1885,' which has recently been published as Ex. Doc. 153, 

 Forty-ninth Congress, second session, I notice two plates of fishes, 

 and one plate representing a plant. I desire to say that I never 

 saw these plates before they appeared in this sketch, nor can I ex- 

 plain how they came to be inserted in it. I disclaim all responsi- 

 bility for the plates, and I do not indorse them. They are inaccu- 

 rate, and absurd pictures of what they purport to represent. 



Chas. H. Townsend. 



Washington, Nov. 20. 



