FEBRUARY 22, 1884.] 
“They say there is an echo here.’ The manuscript 
eopies of this music were loaned by the college library. 
— The American ornithologists’ union, with the 
enthusiasm of new institutions, has taken up the 
English sparrow question in an energetic and scien- 
tific way. A committee of the association has issued 
a circular asking answers to a series of twenty-eight 
questions. The value of the replies, especially to 
the later questions, will vary exceedingly; and we 
should judge it exceedingly difficult to assign them 
their proper relative value. Nevertheless, the general 
conclusion the committee will reach as to whether 
the bird is, on the whole, injurious or beneficial to 
agriculture, will not be likely to be disputed. The 
committee has divided the field among its members, 
Mr. Montague Chamberlain of St. John taking the 
British provinces; Mr. N. C. Brown of Portland, the 
three northern New-England states; Mr. H. A. Pur- 
die, the other New-England states; Mr. E. P. Bick- 
nell of New York, New York and the Western states ; 
and the chairman, Dr. J. B. Holder of New York, 
the Southern and Middle states. The committee in- 
tends to construct a map of the present geographical 
distribution of the sparrow; and any volunteer infor- 
mation by those not reached by the circular will be 
gladly received by the chairman, who may be ad- 
dressed at the American museum of natural history, 
New York. The authorities in Bermuda already 
offer bounties for the destruction of the sparrow, 
although heavy penalties are laid on the destruction 
of other birds on that lonely island. 
— The sixth Saturday lecture of the Washington 
course was delivered on Feb. 9, in the lecture-room 
of the ‘National museum, by Capt. C. E. Dutton, 
U.S. A., on ‘The Hawaiian Islands and people.’ 
Capt. Dutton visited the islands two years ago, in the 
interest of the Geological survey, to study the volcanic 
phenomena there for purposes of comparison with 
the region of extinct volcanoes in the western part of 
our own continent. His lecture was devoted in large 
part to a discussion of the geology of the Hawaiian 
group. An audience of about eight hundred was 
present. Mr. H. C. Burchard, director of the Mint, 
occupied the chair; and at the close a vote of thanks 
was moved by Major J. W. Powell. 
— The Fish-commission steamer Albatross, now 
eruising in the Caribbean in behalf of the Hydro- 
graphic office, arrived at St. Thomas, Jan. 17, after a 
seven-days’ voyage from Norfolk, and, after coaling, 
started on the 24th for Curacoa, where she was due 
on the 14th of February. While at St. Thomas, the 
naturalists of the ship made considerable collections 
of birds and shallow-water invertebrates. 
— Mr. F. W. True, curator of mammals in the 
National museum, is now at the British museum, 
studying the types of cetaceans, and especially of the 
Delphinidae, with the view of settling some impor- 
tant questions in the nomenclature and relations of 
the North-American forms. It is probable that his 
studies will demonstrate the identity of many of 
our Atlantic species, described as distinct by Agas- 
SCIENCE. 
239 
siz, Cope, and others, with long-known European 
forms. 
— At the November meeting of the Society of bib- 
lical archaeology, London, Mr. Budge of the British 
museum read a paper on the fourth tablet of the 
series of cuneiform texts relating to creation. Mr. 
Rassam has recently found a large Babylonian frag- 
ment of this fourth tablet. The language of the 
tablet is vigorous, and, like that of many of the cune- 
iform hymns, approaches in dignity the majestic roll 
of the Hebrew psalms. The deepest interest in con- 
nection with the tablet is the apparent acquaintance 
‘with rhyme and rhythm. Mr. Budge does not give 
enough of the original to aid us in testing this sub- 
ject, but what he does give is favorable to the supposi- 
tion. A peculiar kind of alliteration in the Babylonian 
cuneiform writing is already familiar. The fragment 
of a hymn on pp. 15 and 16 of Mr. T. G. Pinches’ 
‘Texts in the Babylonian wedge-writing’ is divided 
into stanzas of five lines each, and the same sylla- 
ble begins each line of the stanza. There are five 
lines beginning with ar, five with ba, five with 
su, ete. 
— The London papers are now discussing the de- 
sirability of opening the various museums of that city 
in the evening, for the benefit of that large class who 
have no command of their time during the day. The 
Globe is filled with letters on the subject. This dis- 
cussion is called forth by the rumor that a bill will 
be presented in Parliament at the next term, for the 
opening of several of the more important art-galleries, 
museums, etc., after business-hours. South Kensing- 
ton museum, and the Museum of practical geology, 
are now open from ten A.M. to ten P.M. on Saturdays, 
Mondays, and Tuesdays. There is no doubt but that 
these evening sessions are very useful, especially to 
that great and intelligent class of persons who do not 
belong to the group of ‘workingmen’ as that word 
is generally understood, but who, nevertheless, earn 
their living by work during the day, and have only the 
evening in which to gain information and widen their 
mental horizon. Many of our own cities would be 
greatly benefited if the museums and art-gallery could 
be opened in the evening. : 
—It has been the feeling for some time past in 
Germany, that that country should have a meteoro- 
logical society. The want of this has been met by 
the publications of the Austrian society; but now that 
meteorology is making such rapid strides, and so 
many are becoming interested in it, there is much 
reason for the recent move made by the German 
meteorologists. 
On Noy. 18, 1883, the following well-known con- 
tributors to our knowledge of this science met at 
Hamburg to ground a ‘Deutsche meteorologische 
gesellschaft:’ Assman, van Bebber, vo. nBezold, Bor- 
gen, Bornstein, von Danckelman, Dinklage, Eber- 
mayer, Hellmann, Honsell, Karsten, Klein, Koch, 
Koppen, Krebs, Mittrich, Neumayer, von Schroder, 
Schreiber, Sprung, Thilenius, Zoppritz. Many others 
sent letters expressing their intention to give aid to 
the project. The first general meeting of the society 
