March 30, 1888.] 



SCIENCE. 



■57 



phenomenon as simple — are clearly explained, and illustrated by 

 experiments, sometimes new, always well arranged. 



Lectures of this kind should have two objects, — to describe the 

 phenomena, and state and explain the laws governing the science 

 as fully as possible ; and to give the audience an interest in the 

 subject, and a curiosity that will lead to a further study of it. They 

 should give an impulse toward thought, with some material for 

 thinking on. So viewed, Professor Forbes has succeeded. 



The first five lectures — on potential, electric currents, mag- 

 netism, electro-magnetism, and electro-magnetic induction — are 

 extremely satisfactory : the last, on dynamo-electric machinery, 

 would have been better omitted. It does not logically continue 

 what has come before, nor is it, even considered apart from the 

 other lectures, in any way as satisfactory as they are. 



Taken as a whole, however, the lectures are to be commended 

 for the clearness of exposition, accuracy of statement, and the very 

 interesting way in which they are written. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



A Cyprus Exploration Fund has been formed in London, the 

 object of which will be to carry on archaeological researches sim- 

 ilar to those of the Palestine Exploration Fund. The committee of 

 this fund have applied to the high commissioner of Cyprus for per- 

 mission to excavate in the island. This application was supported 

 by a special resolution addressed to the secretary of state for the 

 Colonies by the trustees of the British Museum. Permission has 

 now been obtained in respect of one site, the village of Kouklia, 

 which stands on the site of the ancient Paphos ; and operations 

 have begun there, on a large scale, which promise to yield results 

 of exceptional interest, the special object in view being the great 

 temple of Venus. The work is being carried out by students of 

 the British School at Athens, under the supervision of the director, 

 Mr. Ernest Gardner, whose services, and a contribution of ^150, 

 were placed at the disposal of the Cyprus Exploration Fund by the 

 managing committee of the school. The same sum has been con- 

 tributed respectively by the University of Cambridge (from the 

 Worts Travelling Fund), the University of Oxford, and the Society 

 for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies. Individual subscriptions 

 amounting to upwards of ;£6oo have been received. 



— George S. Mackenzie, secretary of the Emin Pacha Relief 

 Committee, publishes the following news, which was sent by mail 

 from Zanzibar : " It is reported in the Bazaar here that Tippo-Tip, 

 after some delay, has sent a number of his men to Mr. Stanley's 

 camp on the Aruvimi." This news, which is published with some 

 reserve, is very gratifying, as it shows the desire of Tippo-Tip to 

 carry out the engagements he entered into with Stanley. The ar- 

 rival of Tippo's party would enable Major Barttelot to despatch 

 without delay the ammunition and reserve stores from the camp 

 of Yambuga, at the mouth of the Aruvimi, to Wadelai. Although 

 Stanley's progress was evidently not as rapid as was assumed in 

 the plan, it is not necessary to entertain serious apprehensions as 

 to the safety of his expedition. When it was stated that news of 

 Stanley would probably reach us early in March, it was assumed 

 that the steamers of the Kongo Association would visit the stations 

 at Aruvimi and Stanley Falls. The steamer ' Stanley ' was to be 

 despatched to these places under the command of Captain van der 

 Velde. Unfortunately this able officer died at Leopoldville a few 

 weeks ago, his death being announced in the latest issue of the 

 Moiivement Geographiqtie. He explored the lower Obangi and its 

 tributaries, the Itimbiri, and made an unsuccessful attempt to reach 

 the Welle, starting near the most northern point of the great bend 

 of the Kongo. His death has delayed the expedition to Stanley 

 Falls, and for this reason it is assumed that the first news of Stan- 

 ley will reach us via Zanzibar. As, however, communication be- 

 tween the Mvutan Nsige and the coast is very irregular, it is hard 

 to tell when definite and reliable news will reach us. 



— On Feb. 17 the first memorial erected to a public man in the 

 Brighton Museum was unveiled there in the shape of a marble 

 medallion portrait of the late distinguished scientist. Dr. Thomas 

 Davidson, the first chairman of the museum committee, and whose 

 lifelong study of brachiopoda won for him a foremost name in the 

 ranks of paleontologists. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 

 The Snow-Snake and the r-Sound. 



The evidence on the Southern use of the snow-snake is certainly 

 not what was expected, and, with my experience of Indian tra- 

 ditions, is not satisfactory. Passing by this, I will mention two 

 things noticed while on the reservation to-day. Many Seneca snow- 

 snakes are now made there, and these differ from the Onondaga in 

 being flat on the opposite surfaces, with the edges slightly rounded, 

 A good crust being lacking, an enterprising Indian had made a 

 gutter in the snow by the roadside, about fifty rods long, and wag 

 getting a little money by its use from a number of boys. 



I looked up the name carefully. It had been written for me, as 

 before stated, and I had somewhat hastily asked several its name 

 when last there, without noticing any discrepancy. Now, it ap- 

 peared that Mr. Hewitt was partially right ; but every man, woman, 

 and child gave it as ka-when-tah, or ka-wen-tah, changing the 

 supposed r into n uniformly, and sometimes hardening the k into 

 g. As I paid special attention to the second syllable, my own orT 

 thography stands corrected in this case, and that of Mr. Hewitt 

 also. I also corrected one other word in which I made a similar 

 error in some casual work. 



In testing the version of the Lord's Prayer given me, a second 

 time, the question is not so clear. I am not in the least troubled 

 with oioszs, and had used reasonable care, but without regard to 

 the objection now made. The first three instances in which I then 

 retained the letter may be called doubtful. I went over them again 

 with my old friend Albert Cusick, and although the letter seemed 

 there as the words were read, — and perhaps ordinary speech is 

 the true test, — yet the sound almost disappeared when each syllar 

 ble was taken by itself. In the fourth, where a clause was para-, 

 phrased rather than translated, there is less room for uncertainty. 

 The sound is fuller, and is not readily dispensed with. But for its 

 rarity elsewhere, I certainly should retain it there. 



The last test I used was with the numerals given by Schoolcraft 

 in his Onondaga vocabulary. He credits some words in it to the 

 Mohawk. I do not remember that he does these, but they are not 

 of the Onondaga language. In the first ten Onondaga numerals, r 

 does not occur. 



It is evident, of coiirse, that Zeisberger incorporated many Mo- 

 hawk words in his Onondaga lexicon, and his early study of that 

 tongue perhaps sufficiently accounts for this ; but how he could 

 have spent the time he did at Onondaga, for the sole purpose of 

 studying the language, and yet used this letter so much, and even 

 in proper names, without its partial use by the central nation, is. 

 not easily understood. 



One of the eminent authorities cited for the early disuse of the 

 letter seems merely to quote from another, but some historical 

 facts may have been overlooked. The Jesuit missions at Onondaga, 

 were abandoned late in the seventeenth century, though the mis- 

 sionaries sometimes came there very early in the eighteenth. In 

 preparing a list of historic Onondagas, I took notice of a half-cen- 

 tury of \.\i\s post-Jesuit "pmod. From 1725 to 1775,1 found the 

 names of fifty-seven Onondagas, and twenty-three of these con- 

 tained the letter r. Teyawarunte, an Onondaga sachem, was 

 speaker in 1775, as he had been long before. The year previous, 

 the Onondaga sachems had a private audience with the new Indian 

 agent. Col. Guy Johnson, and some of their distinguished men were 

 presented to him. In the names of four out of the eight mentioned, 

 is found the nominally obsolete letter. Here I leave the question. 



W. M. Beauchamp. 



Baldwinsvilie, N.Y., March 8. 



Needed — An Improved Means of attaching Microscopical 

 Objectives. 



The recent interesting discussion in Science regarding the defects 

 of existing microscopes ought to lead to practical results. While 

 the subject is under consideration, every detail ought to be passed 

 under review, or rather studied de novo, accepting no legacies of 

 the past, no matter how useful they may have been in their day, 

 provided we can find better devices. One very important thing to. 

 be considered is the means whereby objectives are to be attached 

 to the tube of the microscope. Obviously, what we need for this, 

 purpose is a device so simple it can be easily manufactured and 



