December 5, 1884.] 



SCIENCE. 



519 



supplied in Baltimore, will have more than a merely 

 local interest. 



The students and instructors of the university 

 whose work naturally inclines them to out-of-door 

 explorations are associated in what is known as the 

 Naturalists' field-club; and it was decided by the 

 members of this club, that a map on a scale of a 

 mile to the inch, covering an area twenty-five miles 

 square, with the city-hall of Baltimore as its central 

 point, would amply supply all present needs. The 

 difficulties in the way of the construction of such a 

 map were, however, considerable. The cartographic 

 materials already existing were very fragmental, and 

 varied much in their form, scale, and reliability, while 

 the great cost of a new survey of so large an area 

 was out of the question. Mr. Albert L. Webster, 

 however, who had had four years' experience as topog- 

 rapher on the U. S. geological survey, submitted a 

 plan to the trustees of the university, which met 

 with their hearty approval. 



All maps, of whatsoever kind, relating to the area 

 in question, were collected and carefully compared, 

 the most accurate of them being reduced to a uniform 

 scale. A drawing on the scale of two inches to a 

 mile was then commenced, upon which, however, 

 only the most reliable material — the work of the 

 U. S. coast-survey, which covered about one-third of 

 the entire area — was incorporated. The remainder 

 of this drawing was left blank, with the intention of 

 placing upon it in future only such material as is up 

 to the standard of the coast-survey work. For the 

 remaining two-thirds of the area a tracing was made 

 from the best existing sources, and the two together 

 (drawing and tracing) reduced one-half, and photo- 

 lithographed. The present published map, therefore, 

 is on a scale of one mile to an inch, and represents 

 the best existing information relating to the vicinity 

 of Baltimore. It is, however, not in any way to be 

 regarded as complete or final, but only as the first 

 step toward the attainment of a really good repre- 

 sentation of the region. It is doubtless faulty in 

 many particulars, and is certainly very deficient in 

 showing no topography. With a view to its improve- 

 ment, any suggestions relating to either details or the 

 general character of the map, as well as any infor- 

 mation regarding accurately determined elevations 

 within the area, are earnestly solicited from all per- 

 sons who may make use of it. In this way it is 

 hoped that the map may be a constant growth, im- 

 proving year by year through the criticism and sug- 

 gestions of those interested in it. 



After the original drawing has once been made, the 

 cost of embodying improvements and publishing suc- 

 cessive editions is not large, and may easily be de- 

 frayed by the sale, at a moderate price, of the printed 

 copies. The Baltimore maps, cut into sections and 

 mounted on linen, folding into a pocket-case, are sold 

 at a dollar each. 



These details are given in the hope of eliciting 

 suggestions, or of inciting similar clubs, in other cities 

 where a good map is as much needed as in Baltimore, 

 to start the development of something of the same 

 kind. 



THE NEW-YORK AGRICULTURAL STA- 

 TION. 



Second annual report of the board of control of the 

 New- York agricultural experiment-station for the 

 year 1883, with the reports of the director and offi- 

 cers. Albany, Weed, Parsons, fy Co.,pr., 1884. 

 279 p. 8°. 



In the space at our command it is impossi- 

 ble to make any adequate review of the large 

 amount of valuable work which we find in the 

 New- York report. In general it ma}' be said 

 that it partakes of the characters of both the 

 classes of experiments spoken of in our com- 

 ments on p. 509. Some of it lies on the 

 border-land between the two, yielding results 

 of more or less immediate value to both science 

 and practice. We include here such experi- 

 ments as those upon methods of cutting seed- 

 potatoes ; the influence of depth, and distance 

 apart, of planting, upon the crop ; the effects 

 of mulching, cultivation, root-pruning, and the 

 like. Others are more distinctively scientific 

 in their aim, such as the lysimeter observa- 

 tions, the notes on Irybridization in maize, the 

 experiments upon the influence of food upon 

 milk and butter production, etc. 



Perhaps the most noteworthy portion of the 

 report is its proposed method of classification 

 of artificial varieties of plants for purposes of 

 identification. This method is based on the 

 belief, confirmed by two 3'ears ' observations, 

 that those portions of the plant for whose 

 sake it is especially cultivated are compara- 

 tively constant in form within the same variety, 

 under the circumstances of cultivation, while 

 the agriculturally unimportant parts may show 

 considerable variations. For example : the 

 roots of any particular variety of beet will 

 show comparatively little variation, while the 

 tops may present very considerable differences. 

 Artificial selection has here impressed certain 

 desired qualities upon the root, but paid little 

 or no attention to the tops. 



Proceeding upon this belief, it is proposed 

 to base the classification in ' agricultural bota- 

 ny ' upon the agriculturally important part of 

 the plant. Thus all root-crops would be united 

 into one class, irrespective of their ordinary 

 botanical relationships, this class to be sub- 

 divided into smaller groups in accordance 

 with the form of the root. 



Such a method of classification for a par- 

 ticular purpose would appear to be legitimate. 

 Its final justification is to be sought in its 

 success, and of this it is too early to judge 

 When the observations shall have been ex- 

 tended over a term of years, and the constancy 



