352 



SCIENCE. 



knows what he insinuated. This the critic did indeed 

 know ! In view of the inconsistency between the text 

 of his article, and the dementi of his first rejoinder, he 

 considered himself jusiitied in insinua'ing that Dr. 

 Mason had come to recognize that one of his views was 

 untenable, and preferred to deny having entertained that 

 view to admitting its errors publicly. If I have misin- 

 terpreted Dr. Mason's paper, I fail to see it even now, 

 for the doctor fails to answer my question : What other 

 than the size of the cells and their nuclei, does Dr. 

 Mason refer to when he speaks of a structure univer- 

 sally admitted to be motor ?" Until he answers this, I 

 would suggest that further correspondence on this head 

 is a waste of the space in your periodical, and that de- 

 mands for " customary regrets " are premature. I am 

 as willing now as I have been throughout not only to 

 withdraw my original stricture, but also the statements 

 that have grown out of the controversy, if Dr. Mason 

 can explain this passage and those with which it is as- 

 sociated, differently from my interpretation, and the 

 meaning evident on their face. 



Such an explanation should, however, avoid the incon- 

 gruity existing between the text of Dr. Mason's article and 

 the explanation he now gives of his real intention in 

 polemicizing against Stieda, which I must confess I have 

 not been able to assimilate. Dr. Mason might also answer 

 this question. Why has he, if his " three brief articles" 

 relate throughout to reptiles, and Batrachians referred to 

 the bat as bearing out his theory, and why has he incor- 

 porated an explanation as his own, which I published two 

 years before, without even mentioning my name, or 

 that of some one else who may have anticipated me ? 



My publication was certainly known to Dr. Mason, and 

 he cannot fall back upon the flimsy excuse that it was a 

 "preliminary" communication, and had nothing to do 

 with his subject. If the explanation was worth while in- 

 corporating in Dr. Mason's paper, it was worth while 

 giving its author credit for it, just as it was worthwhile 

 referring to the author of the Iguana article by name, 

 if it was worth Dr. Mason's while to offer suggestions 

 in a patronizing way, which were altogether unneces- 

 sary as a matter of instruction, and as which they seem 

 intended to appear. 



I consider this subject closed, as far as I am concerned, 

 until such time as the main question here repeated, is 

 properly answered. E. C. Spitzka. 



New York, 130 E. 50th Street, July 19, 1881. 



NOTES. 



The Ckemiker Zeitung states that all the English and 

 French professors at the University of Yeddo, Japan, have 

 been dismissed, and their places filled with Germans. The 

 Japanese Minister of Public Instruction is a German pro- 

 fessor. The Chinese are about establishing a German 

 University at Pekin. These facts should be duly weighed 

 by those who still doubt the superiority of German research 

 over English cram and examinations ! 



According to M. A. Gaudry the Permian reptiles of 

 France diminish the vast interval which exists at present 

 between the reptiles and the monotrematous mammals. 



The ferment which M. Bechamp supposed he had dis- 

 covered in chalk has been traced, by MM. Chamberland 

 and Roux, to an experimental error., 



METEOROLOGICAL REPORT FOR NEW YORK CITY FOR THE WEEK ENDING JULY 16, 1881. 

 Latitude 40 45' 58" N.; Longitude 73 57' 58 W.; height from ground, 53 feet ; above the sea, 97 feet ; by self-record- 

 ing instruments. 



BAROMETER. 



THERMOMETERS. 



JULY. 



MEAN FOR 

 THE DAV. 



MAXIMUM. 



MINIMUM. 



MEAN. 



MAXIMUM. 



MINIMUM. 



maxi'm 



Reduced 

 to 



Freezing. 



Reduced 

 to 



Freezing. 



Time. 



Reduced 

 to 



Freezing. 



Time. 



Dry 

 Bulb. 



Wet 

 Bulb. 



Dry 

 Bulb. 



Time. 



Wet 

 Bulb. 



Time. 



Dry 

 Bulb. 



Time. 



Wet 

 Bulb. 



Time. 



In Sun. 



Sunday, 10.. 

 Monday, xi.. 

 Tuesday, 12.. 

 Wednesday, 13 . 

 Thursday, 14.. 

 Fiiday, 15.. 

 Saturday, 16.. 



30.044 

 29.943 

 29.955 

 29.805 

 29.889 

 30.002 

 29.801 



30.094 

 29.996 

 30.000 

 29.900 

 29.976 

 30.022 

 29.984 



9 a. m. 

 12 p. m. 



9 a. m. 



a. m. 

 12 p. m. 



9 a. m. 



a. m. 



29.982 

 29.900 

 29.000 



29-744 

 29.794 

 29.976 

 29.618 



12 p. m. 



2 p. m 

 12 p. m. 



6 p. m 



a. m. 



a. m. 

 12 p. m 



72.6 

 72.0 

 69.7 

 79.6 

 80 

 76.3 

 78.6 



68.6 

 69.3 

 65.7 

 73-6 

 7i-3 

 69.7 

 71.6 



82 

 80 

 76 

 90 

 86 

 82 

 83 



4 p. m. 

 11 a. m. 

 4 P- m, 

 4 P- m. 

 3 P- m - 

 3 P- m. 

 3 P- m - 



74 

 74 

 70 

 80 

 74 

 72 

 73 



4 p. m. 

 xx a. m. 



5 P- m- 

 4 p m. 



2 p. m. 

 1 p. m. 



3 p. m. 



66 

 65 

 63 

 68 

 75 



T 

 69 



4 a. m. 

 12 p. in. 



4 a. m. 

 3 a. m. 

 6 a. m. 



12 p. m. 



5 a. m. 



65 

 63 

 62 

 66 

 69 

 67 

 67 



4 a. m. 

 12 p. m. 



5 a. m. 

 3 a. m. 



6 a. m. 

 6 p. m. 

 5 a. m. 



104. 

 129. 

 131. 

 I3S- 

 143- 

 138. 

 134- 



Mean for the week 29.920 inches. 



Maximum for the week at 9 am., July 10th 30 094 " 



Minimum " at 12 pm., " 16th 29.618 " 



Range 476 " 



Dry. Wet. 



Mean for the week.. * 75.5 degrees 69.9 degrees. 



Maximum for the week, at 4 pm. 13th 90. " at 4 pm 13th, 80. 

 Minimum " " 4 am. 12th 63. " at 5 am 12th, 62. " 

 Range " " 27. " 18. " 



WIND 



HYGROMETER. 



PORCE OF VAPOR. 



Sunday, 10 s. 



Monday, 11. s. v 



Tuesday, i8.IC.llt 

 Wednesday, 13. s. s. w. w. s. w 



Thursday, 14. n. w. In. n.w. 



Friday, 15. e. n. e. e. s. e. 



Saturday, 16. s. w. s. w. 



RELATIVE 

 HUMIDITY. 



£ 



6 



i 



B 



B 



rt 



0. 



d 



rt 



a. 



fx 



a 







tx 



tt 



•577 



.704 



.668 



84 



73 



.668 



■799 



.591 



85 



86 



• 5'6 



.604 



.622 



83 



72 



.644 



.836 



.787 



85 



65 



.601 



.691 



.664 



65 



57 



.568 



.677 



.666 



68 



66 



■655 



.677 



•7.7 



8x 



60 



CLOUDS. 



RAIN AND SNOW. 



CLEAR, 

 OVFRCAST, 



85 IO 

 O 



9 cu. 



DEPTH OF RAIN AND SNOW 

 IN INCHES. 



Time 



of 

 Begin- 



ing. 



2 cir. cu. 3 cir. 

 10 10 

 5 cu. 



5 cu. 



003 cu. 



_ 13 cir. cu. 8 cu. 

 6 cir.cu 9 cir. s. o 



1 cir. ocir. cu. o 



o. 15 pm 

 10 pm 



Time 



of 

 End- 



ing. 



2.00 pm 

 11.30" ! 

 5.00 pm 



Dura- 

 tion, 

 h. m. 



'•45 

 1.30 



< o 



Distance traveled during the week 841 miles. 



Maximum force nji lbs. 



Total amount of water for the week 12 inch. 



Duration of rain 4 hours 15 minutes. 



DANIEL DRAPER, Ph. D. 

 Director Meteorological Observatory of the Department of Public Parks, New York. 



