358 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. VII., No. 167 



heliograph, or any other signalling apparatus, to 

 the reproduction at distant points of some kinds 

 of drawings, has been recently contrived by Mr. 

 Alexander Glen of England, and is described in 

 the London Illustrated news of March 20. It 

 seems likely to be of some utility in military 

 operations, as it is especially suitable for the trans- 

 mission of small maps or plans of a locality. 

 The design to be transmitted is drawn on ruled 

 paper, divided into little squares by vertical and 

 horizontal lines. The operator at the transmitting- 

 station can thus indicate by alphabetical letters to 

 the receiver any point on the paper falling in the 

 centre of any square ; the person at the receiving- 

 station will apply his pencil to that point, and will 

 then be directed to the next point, drawing a line 

 with the pencil, and so on to form a complete out- 

 line-drawing. Patches of shading, of the several 

 darker or lighter tints shown in a separate diagram, 

 may be put in by special directions. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF INDIAN LANGUAGES. 



Many years since, the present director of the 

 bureau of ethnology became interested in Indian 

 tribes of the west, and began to study their lan- 

 guages. The study of the spoken language from 

 the mouths of the speakers naturally led to the 

 study of books containing accounts of languages 

 no longer spoken, or spoken by people not person- 

 ally visited. As books began to be studied, the 

 desire and the need of examining more books 

 relating to the subject were felt to be necessary 

 for the solution of the problems involved. A card- 

 catalogue was therefore begun, of the books, 

 pamphlets, magazine and other articles, manu- 

 scripts, etc., which were needful for an exhaustive 

 study of the relationships of the native tribes as 

 based upon language. This catalogue grew and 

 grew. How great it was or is destined to become, 

 if absolutely completed and perfected, no one yet 

 knows. 



Every lover of systematic, complete, and ac- 

 curate work owes a debt of thankfulness to the 

 bureau of ethnology and the compiler of this 

 formidable volume; and he owes this debt, not 

 because the work is complete (for it is still incom- 

 plete), and not because it is free from inaccuracies 

 (for there are inaccuracies, though these are 

 neither important nor numerous), but he is xniU>- 

 ful for this monument of systematic, thorough- 

 going research, and for a persistent devotion to a 

 lofty ideal of bibliographic work. Had a less 

 lofty ideal of completeness or excellence been set 



Proo/she etx of a bibliography of the languages of the 

 North American Indians. By Jamks Conhtantikk PlLLIHO. 

 Washington, Government, 1HH. r ). 117.1 p. 4°. 



up, the book would have been beyond all criti- 

 cism. The very excellence of the ideal affords 

 ground, and the only ground, for the friendly 

 criticism we beg to offer. 



The titlepage of this printed but unpublished 

 book is, and is intended to be, a standing invita- 

 tion to criticism from all competent judges. We 

 say printed but not published, since a manuscript 

 note informs us, ' one hundred copies printed,' and 

 the printed titlepage informs us that these one 

 hundred volumes are ' distributed only to collabo- 

 rators,' and also that they are ' proof-sheets.' 



It is the fulness of the present catalogue, the 

 time and labor spent upon it, the bibliographic 

 spirit which pervades it, taken together with the 

 titlepage, that bring into the strongest relief the 

 perfect ideal in the authors mind, and at the same 

 time his clear perception of the mode, and the 

 only mode, for the attainment of this ideal. The 

 author has set before him, and kept steadily in 

 view, the purpose, first, of hunting up every scrap 

 of published, printed, and even manuscript infor- 

 mation in existence, relating to the subject ; 

 second, of recording a description of each work so 

 full and so complete that it need never be re- 

 corded more fully or more completely ; third, of 

 telling where each work catalogued may be found ; 

 fourth, of giving a clear notion of what the 

 document is, and what it contains relative to his 

 subject, telling where, within the work cited, the 

 linguistic material is to be found ; and, lastly, of 

 so putting the whole together that whoever has 

 occasion to use this bibliography may learn all 

 that he needs or cares to know about any book 

 catalogued, and its contents, without actually see- 

 ing it at all. 



The value of any work so broadly conceived 

 and so fully executed as this, can hardly be over- 

 stated. With the great increase of knowledge in 

 all directions, it is absolutely essential to progress 

 that the fields to be investigated be first system- 

 atically mapped out, to the end that seeming new 

 discoveries maybe new, and not rediscoveries, and 

 that energy be not, through ignorance, wasted in 

 repeating work already well done. The sciences 

 are now advanced to that state, that further satis- 

 factory progress is only to be made by ascertain- 

 ing what has already been done. To tlii-' end, 

 and to so exhibit the work already accomplished 

 in any line, is the work of the bibliographer. 

 The general outline of the proposed plan of the 

 bibliography is here shown, and the opinions of 

 competent judges as to its merits and defects are 

 respectfully solicited with a view to their use in 

 the finished book or books, if hooks should be 

 found necessary to contain the material which shall 

 constitute the work. 



