70 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XI. No. 262 



ence, which is numerically most important. Mr. Linderfelt's little 

 volume presents the subject in an equally attractive though some- 

 what different manner, being based upon a German work by Pro- 

 fessor Kirchhoff of the University of Halle. Each book contains a 

 copious vocabulary, besides exercises in reading and translation. 



Management of Accumulators. By Sir David Salomons. 3d 

 ed. New York, Van Nostrand. 16". 



In the last few years it has been recognized that the treatment 

 of secondary batteries has as much to do with their life and econ- 

 omy as the method of manufacture, especially in the ' grid ' type 

 of cell now generally used. No one has had more experience in the 

 use of storage cells than Sir D. Salomons, and what he tells us is 

 of great value to those who work with them. 



The present edition of the ' Management of Accumulators ' is 

 much larger than the two previous editions, the principal increase 

 being in the chapters on installation. The book is in no sense a 

 treatise on accumulators: it gives but a bare and incomplete de- 

 scription of the chemical actions that take place, and does not at- 

 tempt to describe any form of battery other than the grid type of 

 the E. R. S. Company's pattern. Instead of this, it gives explicit 

 directions for the care of batteries and the installation of an isolated 

 lighting plant, and it gives estimates of the cost of installation un- 

 der various conditions. The least satisfactory chapter — that on 

 engines, dynamos, and electric motors — fortunately is the easiest 

 dispensed with. 



This book will be valuable to all those who have to do with 

 storage batteries : it will possibly be out of date in a couple of 

 years. The storage battery is being constantly changed and de- 

 veloped, but in the mean time it will have done a good work, and 

 it is to be hoped, that, when the practice changes. Sir David will 

 write a new book. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



The annual winter meeting of the Department of Superintend- 

 ence of the National Educational Association was held in the 

 hall of the Franklin School, Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, 

 Wednesday, and Thursday of this week. An excellent programme 

 had been prepared by President Dougherty, and the number of dis- 

 tinguished educators who delivered addresses was unusually large. 

 The most important topics treated were, ' How and to What 

 Extent can Manual Training be ingrafted on our System of Public 

 Schools,' ' by Charies H. Ham of Chicago, Superintendent MacAlis- 

 ter of Philadelphia, Superintendent Marble of Worcester, President 

 Nicholas Murray Butler of New York, Superintendent Powell of 

 Washington, and Dr. Belfield of Chicago ; ' How can the Qualifica- 

 tions of Teachers be determined ? ' by State Superintendents Draper 

 of New York, Higbee of Pennsylvania, Finger of North Carolina, 

 Kiehle of Minnesota, Easton of Louisiana. President Eliot of 

 Harvard read a paper on the second day of the meeting. 



— The October number of the Monthly Weather Review con- 

 tains an interesting discussion by E. B. Garriott on the movements 

 of high-barometer areas over the North Atlantic Ocean, founded 

 on the daily weather-charts for 1885. In the Weather Rcvieiv for 

 July, 1887, it was shown that a cyclone's movement depends upon 

 its position with reference to anticyclonic areas, and that during 

 periods of high barometric pressure over mid-ocean north of the 

 40th parallel, storm areas do not follow the usual east-north-east 

 course to European waters, but pursue a more northerly track, or 

 ■ disperse. In order to study the course of cyclones more closely 

 than has been done heretofore, this investigation was carried on, and 

 resulted in the discovery of the following facts. There exists al- 

 most continually an area of high barometric pressure south of the 

 40th parallel, and one of low barometric pressure farther north. 

 Upon advancing from the American coast, areas of low barometer 

 appear to move towards the region of low barometer, and areas of 

 high pressure are apparently attracted to the region of maxima. 

 The latter show a far greater degree of uniformity of movement 

 than the cyclonic areas, their course and velocity being seldom in- 

 fluenced by the cyclonic areas that may precede or follow them. 

 About ninety per cent of these anticyclones pursue a south-of-east 



course from the American coast, and. upon advancing to the vicin- 

 ity of the 6oth meridian, lose their individuality and become a part 

 of the great anticyclonic system of that region. The average time 

 occupied by the anticyclones of 1885 in advancing from the 90th 

 meridian to the coast was about one and one-half days, this rate of 

 progression being considerably greater than the average velocity of 

 cyclonic areas over that region. As soon as an anticyclone 

 is absorbed by the great anticyclonic system, the latter extends 

 considerably westward, and therefore a cyclone closely following 

 the passage of a high-barometer area takes an abnormal northerly 

 course ; and, on the other hand, the greater the period which exists 

 between the advance of the areas from the coast-line, the greater 

 will be the likelihood of the low-pressure area pursuing a normal 

 path over the ocean. As in the normal movement of cyclonic and 

 anticyclonic areas the latter more frequently closely follow and ac- 

 celerate the forward motion of the former upon passing from the 

 coast, they materially contribute to the greater rapidity of their ad- 

 vance over the ocean. The thorough study of the normal movements 

 of anticyclonic areas over the continent and the western portion of 

 the ocean, and of the relations which exist between high and low 

 barometer areas attending their passage from the coast, will proba- 

 bly enable us to determine with a considerable degree of accuracy 

 the course of cyclones across the Atlantic Ocean. 



— It has been generally accepted that the translation of 

 the name of ' Kongo ' is ' the country of leopards,' the root ko 

 meaning ' the country,' and ni;o ' leopard.' J. Janko.in the January 

 number of Peiennann's Mitieilungen, shows that this translation 

 is not satisfactory, as, according to the rules of the Bantu language, 

 these two words cannot be combined into the word ' Kongo.' He 

 discusses the various forms of this word as found among the tribes 

 of the Lower Kongo, — the Bakongo, who live on the river from its 

 mouth to Stanley Pool ; the Bateke, who occupy the regions be- 

 tween the Kuango and Kongo, and the Kongo and Alima ; the 

 Babuma, north-west of the last tribe ; and the Bayanzi, between 

 Leopold Lake and the Kongo. The Bakongo name of the river is 

 ' Kongo,' that used by the Bateke is ' Songo,' and the Bayanzi say 

 ' Kongo.' All these names are dialectic variations of the same word, 

 the k of one dialect becoming r and s in the others. The meaning 

 of the word in the Bayanzi dialect is ' spear,' and accordingly Jankd 

 explains the name of Bakongo as ' the man with the spear ; ' the 

 name of the river, as ' fast as a spear.' If this translation should 

 be correct, it seems more probable that the name of the river was 

 derived from that of the tribe. Janko remarks incidentally that the 

 root ku infers a motion, and that it is contained in the names of 

 numerous rivers, such as Kuilu, Kunene, Kuango, Kuanza, which 

 therefore must not be spelled Kwilu, Kwango, etc. It seems prob- 

 able that the same root may be contained in the word ' Kongo,' 

 and that the meaning ' spear,' which is, according to Janko, confined 

 to the Bayanzi, is also derived from this root. 



— In controlling the movements of domestic animals by the 

 voice, besides words of ordinary import, man uses a variety of 

 peculiar terms, calls, and inarticulate sounds, — not to include 

 whistling, — which vary in different localities. In driving yoked 

 cattle and harnessed horses, teamsters cry 'get up.' 'click click' 

 (tongue against teeth), 'gee,' 'haw,' 'whoa,' 'whoosh,' 'back,' 

 etc., in English-speaking countries ; ' arre,' ' arri,' 'jiih,' ' gio,' etc., 

 in European countries. In the United .States 'gee' directs the 

 animals away from the driver, hence to the right ; but in England 

 the same term has the opposite effect, because the driver walks on 

 the right-hand side of his team. In Virginia, mule-drivers gee the 

 animals with the cry ' hep-yee-ee-a.' In Norfolk, England, 

 ' whoosh-wo ; ' in France, 'hue' and ' huhaut ; ' in Germany, 

 ' hott ' and ' hotte ; ' in some parts of Russia ' haita,' — serve the 

 same purpose. To direct animals to the left, another series of 

 terms is used. In calling cattle in the field, the following cries are" 

 used in the localities given : 'boss, boss,' ' sake, sake ' (Connecti- 

 cut); 'coo, coo' (Virginia); ' sook. sook.' also ' sookey ' (Mary- 

 land); 'sookow' (Alabama); 'tlofi, tloii' (Russia); and for calling 

 horses, ' kope, kope,' (Maryland and Alabama); for calling sheep, 

 'konanny' (Maryland); for calling hogs, ' chee-00-00 ' (Virginia). 

 Mr. H. Carrington Bolton is desirous of collecting words and ex- 

 pressions (oaths excepted) used in addressing domesticated ani- 



