236 



SCIENCE, 



[YoL. YI., No. 136. 



Of meats, pork and mutton are the cheapest, and 

 veal the dearest. Of fish, mackerel is cheapest. 

 Eggs generally sell at their full food value. Wheat- 

 flour, oat-meal, and beans are the cheapest forms of 

 vegetable food. 



In the ensuing discussion, attention was called by 

 several speakers, including the author of the paper, 

 to the fact that chemistry alone cannot measure the 

 nutritive value of the food, and to the j;reat impor- 

 tance of those nervous and other influences which 

 play such an important part in nutrition. Some very 

 interesting statements were also made by the presi- 

 dent of the section, regarding the dietaries of the 

 working-classes and their cost. 



Next followed a paper by Dr. C. Y. Riley, upon the 

 probability of injury by locusts (grasshoppers) in the 

 immediate future. A certain periodicity has un- 

 doubtedly been established in the visitations of these 

 insects, a period of about eleven years, on the aver- 

 age, elapsing between the times of serious damage. 

 At present, considerable apprehension exists, based 

 upon knowledge of somewhat serious injury by 

 locusts, in California, Montana, and Dakota. A 

 large part of this damage has been done by local (non- 

 migiatory) species; but the migratory species are also 

 rather numerous, and we are probably at the begin- 

 ning of a period of increase. To what extent this 

 increase may go, depends considerably upon the cli- 

 matic conditions during the present summer and 

 autumn: but it is probable, that, even in the most un- 

 favorable case, the damage will never reach the pro- 

 portions which it did in 1873-77; for the advance of 

 civilization since that time will prevent the massing 

 of the insects in such enormous bodies as was then 

 possible. 



This paper was followed by another, by the same 

 author, upon a new method of destroying locusts by 

 the use of poison-bait composed of bran, sugar, ar- 

 senic, and water, which has been used successfully in 

 California, and promises to be valuable in some 

 cases. 



The afternoon session was opened by a paper from 

 Mr. C. Reemelin, upon city government. After a 

 lengthy historical review of the history of city gov- 

 ernments, its failures and mistakes, the question 

 of remedies was taken up. These must be chiefly 

 sought in constitutional reform. Of special sugges- 

 tions may be mentioned, the strengthening of the 

 executive power, and its committal to one responsi- 

 ble head; supervision of city expenditures by state 

 authority; a state city council of from four to ten 

 delegates from each state, for consultation upon 

 common interests; and reform in municipal taxation. 

 In the discussion which followed, special stress was 

 laid upon the fact, that in a democracy good gov- 

 ernment depends ultimately upon the individual 

 citizen; and Mr. Reemelin's paper was criticised as 

 leaning too much towards purely legislative remedies. 



Following this, a paper was read by the president 

 of the section, Mr. Edward Atkinson, upon insurance 

 against loss by fire. In all systems of fire-insurance, 

 the losses are paid from the premiums ; that is, by the 

 assured. Consequently, while .at first sight it may 



not seem to be to the interest of the assured to take 

 special precautions against loss by fire, it really is so; 

 since the greater the risk of loss, the greater the 

 premium he must pay. The speaker described the 

 workings of an insurance company of which he is 

 president, which aims to prevent loss by fire by a 

 system of inspection. The system is applicable only 

 to large manufacturing and like establishments 

 where strict care and rigid inspection are possible. 

 Before insuring, the owner is required to conform 

 to certain requirements regarding construction of 

 buildings, provision of fire-apparatus, etc. After he 

 is insured, regular periodic inspection by the experts 

 of the company is made, and any dangerous condi- 

 tions must be remedied. In case of persistent re- 

 fusal to comply with the recommendations of the 

 company, the policy is cancelled. About the usual 

 rate of premium is charged; and the excess of pre- 

 miums over losses, amounting to a considerable 

 proportion, is returned to the policy-holders. The 

 interest upon the premiums paid in has nearly paid 

 the running expenses of the company; and the sav- 

 ing in cost of insurance during the last thirty years, 

 at five per cent compound interest, equals the total 

 combustible value of the property insured. 



An interesting discussion followed upon methods 

 of construction of slow-burning buildings, automatic 

 appliances for extinguishing fires, etc. 



The morning session of Aug. 28 was opened by an 

 exercise illustrating a method of teaching elementary 

 science in grammar schools by Mrs. Ellen H. Richards 

 of Boston. The method is designed to lead children 

 to observe and think for themselves, and was very 

 successfully illustrated with a class of children from 

 the Ann-Arbor schools. 



Following this was a paper on the present status 

 and future prospects of silk-culture in the United 

 States, by Dr. C. Y. Riley. Silk-culture has been 

 practised in this country for half a century; but the 

 industry is far from being established, these trials 

 having only shown that silk can be raised over three- 

 fourths of the United States if there is a market for 

 the cocoons. At present this is largely lacking, all 

 attempts to manufacture so-called 'raw' (reeled) silk 

 in this country having proved financial failures. The 

 writer advocated a protective duty upon ' raw ' silk 

 to encourage the production of cocoons in the United 

 States. The raising of silk he holds to be an indus- 

 try best carried on as a domestic industry on a small 

 scale, and as adapted especially for the many women 

 and children who cannot readily find any other pro- 

 ductive employment. The profits he estimates at 

 $15 to $25 for the season for a family of three persons 

 with cocoons at $1 per pound. 



In the discussion of the paper some of Dr. Riley's 

 conclusions were questioned by Mr. Atkinson, who 

 maintained that the establishment of silk-culture in 

 the United States is not desirable. There is no lack 

 of employment for labor in the United States, as the 

 high rate of wages shows ; and the fact that the mak- 

 ing of reeled silk has been unprofitable, shows that 

 capital can be better employed. Silk-culture is a 

 handicraft simply, and has always been carried on by 



