378 



SCIENCE. 



LVol. IV., No. 89. 



the Railway convention, held in Philadelphia, Oct. 9, 

 and reciting the importance to railroads of retaining 

 this meridian. The resolution to adopt Greenwich 

 was then passed with only one dissenting vote, that 

 of San Domingo, France and Brazil not voting. 



Mr. Rutherford then introduced a resolution to 

 count longitudes in two directions from Greenwich 

 up to 180°, east longitude being plus, and west minus. 

 This was favored by the delegates from Great Britain 

 and Russia, and opposed by Commander Sampson, 

 the latter advocating the plan of counting only in 

 one direction, from 0° to 360°, as simpler. This plan 

 was also favored by the delegate from Sweden, Count 

 Lewenhaupt, who moved to adopt the fourth resolu- 

 tion of the Roman conference, counting longitude 

 continuously through the whole 360°. Pending 

 further discussion, the conference adjourned till 

 Tuesday at one o'clock. On Tuesday the discussion 

 was continued, and the resolution offered by Mr. 

 Rutherford passed by a small majority. 



SEMITIC NOTES. 



An interesting collection of oriental antiquities 

 has been brought to this country by Mr. Bernhard 

 Maimon. The collection consists of bronzes, lamps, 

 manuscripts, seals, and an Assyrian barrel-cylinder 

 with inscription. Mr. Maimon offered it for sale at 

 one thousand dollars, but, finding no purchaser for 

 the whole, he leaves the seals and cylinder in the 

 Metropolitan museum in New York, and has sold 

 the other objects to Professor Marquand of Prince- 

 ton, N.J. 



Information dated London, Sept. 2S, has been 

 received, that Dr. W. H. Ward, the leader of the 

 Wolfe expedition to Chaldaea, would set out the fol- 

 lowing week for Constantinople. Here he hopes to 

 be joined by Dr. Sterrett, who has returned to Con- 

 stantinople from his extensive tour in Asia Minor. 

 From Constantinople the party will perhaps go by 

 Alexandretta, Aleppo, and Mosul, reaching Bagdad 

 toward the close of November. The months of De- 

 cember, January, and February are those most favor- 

 able for a visit to Chaldaea; and the Wolfe party 

 expects during this time to accomplish its task. 

 During his stay in London, preparatory to his trip 

 to Chaldaea, Dr. Ward spent his time in the British 

 museum, studying the Assyrian antiquities, and 

 specially acquainting himself with those which are 

 forged. Cylinders are so valuable, that a flourishing 

 business is done in forgeries by some of the enterpris- 

 ing orientals; but the practical eye can always detect 

 traces of the forgery. Usually a mould is made from 

 a genuine cylinder, and the forgery is cast in this 

 mould. The joining of the two halves of the cast 

 cannot be successfully concealed. 



Mr. J. R. Jewett, who graduated at Harvard 

 last year, is now in Beyrout, Syria, engaged in the 

 study of modern Arabic. His favorite studies during 

 his last two college-years were the Semitic languages. 



D. G. Lyon. 



TURNER'S SAMOA. 



Samoa a hundred years ago, and long before, to- 

 gether with notes on the cults and customs of twenty- 

 three other islands in the Pacific. By George 

 Turner, LL.D., of the London missionary so- 

 ciety; with a preface by E. B. Tylor, F.R.S. 

 London, Macmillan, 1884. 16 + 395 p. 12°. 



This work was prepared under very excep- 

 tionable circumstances favorable to its value 

 and accuracy. The author published, in 1861, a 

 volume entitled ' Nineteen years in Polynesia,' 

 which was chiefly directed to narrate the intro- 

 duction of Christianity into, and the missionary 

 work in, the group of volcanic islands in Cen- 

 tral Polynesia, long known as Navigator's 

 Islands, but correctly called Samoa. In the 

 present volume he abandons the missionary 

 style, as well as its subject, and gives the 

 result of his miscellaneous researches for up- 

 wards of forty }^ears. He has clearPy ap- 

 prehended the desiderata in the presentation 

 of the results of ethnological research: i.e., he 

 has confined himself almost exclusively to the 

 detail of facts, classified so as to assist stu- 

 dents, but has left to specialists all promulga- 

 tion or advocacy of theories. The result is 

 that ver}' few works are of greater value in as- 

 sisting the studj T of comparative ethnology, or 

 in the solution of problems in physiology, 

 mythology, histoiy, and philology. 



The volume, being a repertory of an immense 

 number of details in all branches of anthro- 

 pology, affords little opportunity for such quo- 

 tation as would give any true idea of its value. 

 It must rather be regarded as a brief encyclo- 

 pedia of the various titles to which the sociolo- 

 gist, the linguist, the student of folk-lore, the 

 physiologist, and indeed all persons interested 

 in the several divisions of anthropology, can 

 turn with profit. The mythic traditions and 

 the folk-lore constitute, to the general reader, 

 perhaps the most attractive part of the work. 

 In this connection it may be proper to offer a 

 slight criticism. 



In the cosmical genealogy, an earPy charac- 

 ter is called ' Valevalenoa,' or, as translated, ' 

 ' Space.' This deity had a long-legged seat ; 

 and, after a time, ' Cloudy Heavens ' brought 

 forth a head, which fell from the heavens. 

 ' Space ' set it up on his high stool, and said 

 to it, k Be a son, be a second with me on the 

 earth.' Space started back, for all of a sud- 

 den the body of a man-child was added to the 

 head. The child was sensible, and inquired 

 who his father was. Space replied, "Your 

 father is yonder in the east, yonder in the west, 

 yonder towards the sea, yonder in the land, 



