20 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. V., No. 100. 



lectures are by S. Newcomb, Mathematics and edu- 

 cation; J. Rendel Harris, On the study of ancient 

 manuscripts; W. K. Brooks, The zoological signifi- 

 cance of education; M. Warren, Application of the 

 historical method to the study of Latin; R. T. Ely, 

 Educational value of political economy; M. Bloom- 

 field, Method of comparative philology as pursued 

 to-day; E. M. Hartwell, Physical training in Ameri- 

 can colleges ; A. M. Elliott, Methods in the study of 

 modern languages; W. E. Story, Methods of teach- 

 ing arithmetic; T. Craig, Mathematical teaching in 

 France. 



— A statue of Claude Bernard is to be placed a' 

 the top of the grand staircase of the College de France. 

 It will be the work of Guillaume, whose sketch 

 plaster was erected on the site intended for the work 

 when completed. 



— Professional paper xiv. of the signal-service, en- 

 titled " Charts of relative storm frequency for a por- 

 tion of the northern hemisphere," by John P. Finley, 

 is just issued. It gives one annual and twelve month- 

 ly charts, which show the " distribution of tracks of 

 centres of barometric minima over North America, 

 the North Atlantic, and Europe," based on observa- 

 tions of the last twenty years. The annual chart, for 

 example, explains at a glance why the region around 

 our great lakes has so much more variable a climate 

 than that of central Europe. With us, every rectangle 

 bounded by two and a half degrees of latitude and 

 longitude, from Minnesota to Maine, is visited by 

 from twelve to fifteen storm-centres a year-; France 

 and central Germany have less than three on corre- 

 sponding areas; even Great Britain and most of Nor- 

 way have not more than six. The chief appreciation 

 of the paper will be found, however, among navi- 

 gators of the North Atlantic, as the principal object 

 sought was the study of Atlantic storm-tracks, whose 

 relative frequency is now shown graphically for the 

 part of the ocean most commonly traversed. The 

 execution of the maps by the signal-ofhce lithogra- 

 phers is by no means satisfactory. 



— The second annual convention of the Modern 

 language association of America was held at Colum- 

 bia college on the 29th and 30th of December. The 

 modern pedagogic claims on instructors are fairly 

 recognized by the titles of papers which were read, 

 and of the subjects which came up for discussion, 

 some of which were the following: How far may 

 the latest scientific results be embodied in the text- 

 book ? by Prof. H. C. G. Brandt of Hamilton college; 

 The modern language question, by Prof. A. M. Elliott 

 of Johns Hopkins university; What place has Old 

 English philology in our elementary schools ? by Prof. 

 Francis B. Gummere of New Bedford, Mass. ; Would 

 it be desirable to allow the substitution of one mod- 

 ern in place of one ancient language for admission 

 to college ? What amount of modern language study 

 should be regarded as an equivalent for Greek? The 

 extent to which purely scientific grammar should 

 enter the instruction of ordinary college classes; A 

 uniform pronunciation of Latin ought to be adopted 

 in American colleges, and the Roman recommended. 



— The January Century contains an article on the 

 National museum from the pen of Mr. Ernest Inger- 

 soll, admirably illustrated. Our readers will be very 

 much interested in it. We wish that some modifica- 

 tions might have been made in the introductory sen- 

 tences, which seem to us to do scant justice to the 

 past. Mr. Ingersoll develops the grandeur of the 

 scheme of the museum with lavish hand; and it 

 would appear as if, were the plan to be carried out in 

 detail, the District of Columbia would not be large 

 enough to hold the museum. 



— A special despatch to the Philadelphia Times 

 from Washington, condemning the report of the 

 National academy of sciences concerning the re- 

 organization of the different scientific bureaus of the 

 government, and endeavoring to set forth the cer- 

 tainty of Mr. Cleveland's antagonism to the govern- 

 ment scientific surveys when he shall have become 

 installed as president, has given occasion to an ex- 

 cellent reply in the Times for Dec. 21, from Mr. 

 Charles A. Ashburner of the Geological survey of 

 Pennsylvania, in which he says that the views ex- 

 pressed by Gov. Cleveland in his veto of the ap- 

 propriations for the New- York state survey last 

 year " do not necessarily indicate his position in 

 regard to the appropriations Which shall be made by 

 congress during his term of office for the support of 

 the geological survey. If he shall view this matter 

 from a practical business stand-point, he will no doubt 

 conclude, as others have who thoroughly understand 

 the subject, that the results of the U. S. geological 

 survey are of immediate practical importance, and 

 that such government surveys in the past have had 

 much to do with the great material advancement of 

 the states. The importance of geology as an aid to 

 the discovery, exploration, and exploitation of min- 

 eral deposits is acknowledged by intelligent persons ; 

 and there is scarcely a civilized government that does 

 not recognize the fact by giving liberal appropriations 

 in support of official geological surveys or by govern- 

 ment aid to special geological investigation." 



— Prof. Pliny E. Chase of Haverford college, Penn- 

 sylvania, who for several years past has been publish- 

 ing in the Transactions of the American philosophical 

 society the result of his, to say the least, recondite 

 researches on the cosmic influences of harmonic 

 waves, has lately prepared a small work, in two 

 parts, on the 'Elements of meteorology' (Philadel- 

 phia, Porter & Coates, without date). Although one 

 of the objects in view in its preparation was to pro- 

 vide a 'simple introductory text-book,' we cannot 

 find that this has been realized. Even on the pages 

 devoted to subjects that may be called orthodox, logi- 

 cal arrangement, precise definition, and sufficient 

 explanation are wanting; while other pages, whose 

 topics are, again to say the least, very heterodox, do 

 not seem to us to furnish suitable material for the 

 use of teachers in common schools. It is an un- 

 pleasant task to condemn a book, but justice to our 

 readers requires that this one should be characterized 

 as not representing the generally approved principles 

 of meteorology of the present day. 



