July 11, 1884.] 



SCIENCE, 



33 



nation was proved to be, with the exception of slight 

 extraneous matter, almost perfectly pure glucose. 



The presence of glucose in honey is well known; 

 but a crystallization or separation such as here de- 

 scribed appears unknown, in this district at least, 

 and possibly in others as well. Therefore it is that 

 I deem this of sufficient moment to lay before your 

 readers. A few other facts are pertinent. The bees 

 in whose hive the glucose was found have never been 

 artificially fed, nor has any special attention been 

 paid to promote an increase in the yield of honey. 

 Nevertheless, the yield from the hive containing the 

 powder has exceeded, by almost three times, that of 

 any previous year. A sample of the honey will be 

 furnished me, when I propose determining the relative 

 quantity of glucose contained in it, thinking that by 

 that means some light may be thrown on this appar- 

 ently unique occurrence. " Simon Flexner. 



Louisville, June 18. 



[All honey contains glucose and cellulose in about 

 equal proportions. It is not uncommon for honey to 

 granulate or crystallize in the comb. This crystal- 

 lization often occurs when the cells are but partly 

 full of honey, so that the granulated sugar only occu- 

 pies a part of the cell. If such combs are placed in 

 a hive, the bees will add honey, and produce the 

 phenomenon noticed, and described above. There is 

 nothing remarkable or very exceptional in this occur- 

 rence, though it occurs so rarely that it is not strange 

 that most apiarists have failed to observe it. — Ed.] 



North-eastern and north-western Indian 

 implements. 



In reply to a note contained in Science, iii. 701, I 

 beg leave to explain that Dr. Abbott misapprehends 

 the object of the paper there discussed, my point of 

 view therein having been that of an observer simply, 

 not that of a critic. The particular puk-gah-mah- 

 gun in question received description and illustration 

 in virtue of the definite facts, that it represents the 

 stone age of the north-west, that it is a well finished 

 and mounted typical weapon, that it is of known tribal 

 origin and of ascertained uses, and that, finally, it has 

 an interesting and assured history. If my brief no- 

 tice of this weapon ignored the diversity of figure 

 found among objects of the war-club pattern, it was 

 partly because I had undertaken to present my notes 

 in a condensed form, and partly, also, because I be- 

 lieved such modification of common type generally 

 understood by those who would be likely to honor me 

 with a reading. I venture in this place to append 

 one or two statements which may, perhaps, have the 

 effect to place matters in a clear light. 



The Ojibwas of Ked Lake originally descended 

 thither from Rainy Lake, their primary point of 

 departure having been the ' Great Ojibwa,' or Lake 

 Superior, where their tribe claims to have been cen- 

 tralized for ages. The Red-Lakers agree that they 

 effected settlement here about a century ago, after a 

 desperate struggle of long duration with the Sioux, 

 who then inhabited the region; and they impute 

 their eventual success, not so much to superior prow- 

 ess, as to the fact that the Ojibwas fought with weap- 

 ons procured from French traders at the north, while 

 the more isolated Sioux were restricted to war imple- 

 ments of their own manufacture. The Red Lake 

 band continued in the stone age, so far as their do- 

 mestic furnishings were concerned, long after they 

 had discarded their tribal weapons of stone and bone. 

 As they are by no means addicted to nice culinary dis- 

 tinctions, it occurred to me, in the course of investi- 



gation, that the bone-breakers, being adapted to deal 

 an effective blow, might, at the early day preceding 

 contact with white traders, have served their owners 

 the double purpose of utensil and weapon ; that, in 

 short, the objects used only within historic times for 

 breaking up the bones of game might likewise have 

 been employed prior to such time in dealings with 

 their foe. This conjecture determined the particu- 

 lar line of inquiry which I followed in questioning 

 the natives, and which was without positive results 

 always. The matter would be unworthy of mention 

 here, except for the purpose of correcting a miscon- 

 struction. Fraxc E. Babbitt. 



What's in a name ? 



It is a pleasant diversion to note the correspondences 

 between people's names and occupations. Here, for 

 instance, are the Meisels, German lithographers ; and 

 meissel is the German word for chisel, a cutting in- 

 strument. Wagner, the inventor of the palace-car, 

 learned the wagon-maker's trade, and subsequently 

 built his railroad-wagon; while his rival, George Pull- 

 man, justifies his name by pulling his fellow-men 

 about the world in very sumptuous railroad-coaches. 

 Turning to the New- York directory, you see, that, 

 out of the 204 Wagners there set down, 10 are in some 

 way concerned with the making or sale of wagons. 

 Out of 132 Carpenters, 17 are either carpenters or 

 builders, or dealers in wagon-materials. Of 1,174 

 Schmids, Smidts, Schmiedes, Schmidts, Schmitts, 

 and Smiths in New York, 202 are men who use edged 

 tools for the cutting of wood or iron, including black- 

 smiths, goldsmiths, cabinet-makers, carpenters, etc. : 

 a large number, not included in the 202, are shoe- 

 makers and tailors; but these can hardly be called 

 smiths or artificers. 



In the Boston directory, out of 336 Clarks (only a 

 small fraction of the whole), 63 are either store-clerks 

 or religious clerics, or engaged in pen-work of some 

 kind. There are 420 Schneiders (or cutters) in New 

 York, and 29 of them are tailors; but of the 91 

 Sneiders, Sniders, and Snyders, there is not one tailor, 

 and only two cutters of any sort ; namely, a cap-maker 

 and a dressmaker. It would seem that the Sniders, 

 in mixing English blood with their own, and trying 

 new fortunes in foreign lands, had got farther away 

 from the instincts of the original trade that gave 

 their German ancestors their name. It certainly 

 seems that it is safe, looking at the data given, to 

 assume that the hereditary tendencies denoted by 

 the name are in many cases marvellously persistent. 

 I have no doubt, that, notwithstanding the continual 

 mingling of new blood (by marriage) with that of 

 each class of tradesmen, we should yet find, if we 

 could know the bent of mind of all members of the 

 class, that the ancestral preferences and aptitudes 

 exist in some degree in each and all. It is to be re- 

 membered, that, in the case of such names as Car- 

 penter and Schneider, there would be a more or less 

 strong disinclination for the owners to engage respec- 

 tively in carpentry and tailoring, owing to the dislike 

 of having to endure the lifelong punning on their 

 names. 



All that can be shown is, that, in the case of a 

 certain number (say, one-sixth) of the members of 

 a family or clan, the ancestral occupation reveals its 

 pristine attraction. But the exceptions are notable. 

 Thackeray's ancestors, according to Bardsley, were 

 thatchers (thack, thatch, hence the thacker, and the 

 last modified into the thackery, the thackeray, i.e., 

 the thatcher). Shakeshaft, Shakspeare. Breakspear, 

 from their prowess in battle ; Spencer, he who has 

 charge of the spence, or buttery; Whittier, from 



