SCIENCE. 



139 



such a primitive home. Of burial mounds there were sev- 

 eral different kinds. 



But comparatively few of the mounds contained valuable 

 relics. In many of the mounds nothing at all of interest 

 was found. It is an error to think that the ancient people 

 always buried with the dead his personal effects. 



He had, however, taken from mounds pipes, some of 

 which are very peculiar, many kinds of sea shells, stone, 

 copper and other ornaments, but seldom any weapons. 

 Some of the copper ornaments shown were very curious 

 and ingeniously made ; among them were copper turtles, 

 closely resembling the living animals, and large pipes of 

 stone that represented the human figure in various positions. 

 The speaker gave illustrations of mounds in which it would 

 seem that sometimes on the death of their rulers a number 

 of slaves or subjects were buried with him. 



Mr. McAdams concludes from his explorations that the 

 burial mounds show at least two distinct classes of people 

 differing from our present indians. 



The mound builders of the low lands of Illinois, like 

 those of Ohio, were characterized by their 'peculiar pipes 

 with the crescent base, the stem being a part of the base. 



The potter makers, such as made the peculiar pottery of 

 the region, were a different people, and imitated nature in 

 their pottery, just as the mound builder did with his pipes. 

 He had specimens on exhibition, and many illustrations 

 showing this peculiar pottery representing men, animals, 

 birds, fishes, shells and other things. The pottery makers' 

 pipes were very unlike the mound builders', and were made 

 for the insertion of a stem, the orifice generally being 

 funnel shaped. 



The speaker gave a spirited illustration of the great 

 Temple mound, of Cohokia, opposite the mouth of the 

 Missouri river, and describes it as a place of worship. This 

 mound is 90 feet high. In the vicinity of this great mound 

 were numerous flat square mounds called platforms. These 

 platform mounds are usually ten or twelve feet high, and so 

 large as often to contain on the summit farm-houses, with 

 the out-buildings. In digging cellars, wells, etc., in these 

 mounds, many relics were found ; of these Mr. McAdams 

 has a large collection. The speaker closed by describing 

 a hitherto unknown earthwork, circular in form, one mile in 

 circumference at the mouth of the Illinois river. Although 

 the mounds occur in such great numbers and magnitude 

 this seems to be the only earthwork in the region. Mr. 

 McAdams expects to still prosecute his researches in this 

 interesting locality. 



DETERMINATION OF THE COMPARATIVE DI- 

 MENSIONS OF ULTIMATE MOLECULES; 

 AND DEDUCTION OF THE SPECIFIC PROP- 

 ERTIES OF SUBSTANCES. 



By Prof. W. N. Norton. 



In this paper a detailed exposition is given of the mechan- 

 ical constitution of an ultimate molecule, the conditions of 

 dynamical equilibrium are definitely stated, and several 

 formulas investigated, representing its diverse mechanical 

 features. From these definite mathematical expressions are 

 deduced the general mechanical, physical, and chemical pro- 

 perties of substances. These are then employed in a detailed 

 discussion of the properties of special substances. In this dis- 

 cussion the fundamental assumption is made that the atoms 

 of different substances may differ in density, as well as in 

 weight or mass. From this point of view it becomes possi- 

 ble to derive the comparative dimensions, and all the special 

 features of the ultimate molecules of substances, from their 

 molecular volumes and tenacities or co-officients of elasticity, 

 as experimentally determined. The results of the numeri- 

 cal computations for a large variety of substances, from hy- 

 drogen to bismuth, are given in tables, and also represented 

 graphically, and comparisons made with experimental re- 

 sults. 



Chemical transformations are attributed to an effective 

 force of electric tension developed by the contact of dissem- 

 ilar molecules. An electro-motive force thus comes into 

 play, determining an electric movement from one set of 

 molecules to the other, and bringing them into approximate 



correspondence. The comparative values of the forces of 

 electric tension, as well as of the electro-motive force, given 

 in the tables, serve to make known the chemical relations of 

 the substances considered. The chemical effects of heat are 

 incidentally considered. 



The entire discussion comprised in this and former papers 

 may be epitomized as follows : 



1 — It has been shown that the mechanical laws and rela- 

 tions of bodies may be deduced from one general molecular 

 formula; and that from their atomic weights, and certain com- 

 parative densities assigned to their atoms, may be derived 

 definite expressions representative of the various properties 

 of special substances. 



2 — We see that the deverse phenomena of Inanimate 

 Nature are but different consequences of variations or ine- 

 qualities of ethereal tension, produced by ethereal waves ; 

 and that, contemplated from the highest point of view, they 

 may be conceived to result from the operation of one 

 primary form of force on one primordial form of matter. 



The publication of the papers read before the recent 

 meeting of this Association will be continued in our next 

 issue, September 18th. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 



[ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed 

 by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous communi- 

 cations.} 



When a publishing house prints a date at the foot of a 

 title page it is not always a guarantee to the public that the 

 matter of the book has a connection with the date. In a 

 play, a novel, or even a history, the date of a new edition 

 only suggests that some class of readers desires another 

 form of the work. Bnt when the subject of the publication 

 is of such a character as to require additions in the progress 

 of events, it is necessary to enlarge, remodel, or amend the 

 contents, to suit the advance of knowledge and the public 

 need. This is generally announced on the production of a 

 new book. Its advertisement, if not made in the preface, 

 is invariably embodied in a date appended to the title page. 

 In fact, so general has this custom become, that I do not 

 think any one, who takes up a new book of this kind for 

 the first time, would neglect to cast his eye upon the date 

 of publication. 



The other day, looking over the well filled shelves of 

 Messrs. Appleton & Co., I picked up a book of this pro- 

 gressive class, to whose pages I have turned with pleasure 

 duiing many years, for amusement and instruction. Its con- 

 cise statement of the advances in physical science had always 

 struck me as most complete. I purchased the book 

 (Arnot's Elements of Physics) for old aquaintance sake, 

 and, on reaching my library, looked through its familiar 

 pages for the latest discoveries; but imagine my disgust, to 

 find that the edition of 1880 made no mention of Telephone, 

 Motograph or Phonograph, three applications of science 

 which will make the last decade one of the most brilliant 

 of the century. 



This may not be a commercial, but it is surely a scientific 

 fraud. D. O. Farrow. 



What constitutes an artificial mineral water is an im- 

 portant question to the consumer, for obvious reasons, and 

 to the importer it is a serious matter, as commercial rivalry 

 and custom duties have forced its consideration upon them 

 and the authorities. Trouble has been caused in other 

 countries, also, for want of a proper definition, and it has 

 given rise to a German imperial decree in which a solution 

 of the difficulty is attempted. This decree, reads as fol- 

 lows : " Under artificial mineral waters are included not 

 only imitations of certain mineral waters as they occur in 

 nature, but also is understood such other artificially 

 prepared solutions of mineral substances as represent 

 mineral waters, without corresponding in their chemical 

 composition to natural waters." 



