SCIENCE. 
139 
such a primitive home. Of burial mounds there were sev- 
eral different kinds. 
But comparatively few of the mounds contained valuable 
relics. In many of the mounds nothing at all of interest 
was found. It is an error to think that the ancient people 
always buried with the dead his personal effects. 
He had, however, taken from mounds pipes, some of 
which are very peculiar, many kinds of sea shells, stone, 
copper and other ornaments, but seldom any weapons. 
Some of the copper ornaments shown were very curious 
and ingeniously made ; among them were copper turtles, 
closely resembling the living animals, and large pipes of 
stone that represented the human figure in various positions. 
The speaker gave illustrations of mounds in which it would 
seem that sometimes on the death of their rulers a number 
of slaves or subjects were buried with him. 
Mr. McAdams concludes from his explorations that the 
burial mounds show at least two distinct classes of people 
differing from our present indians. 
The mound builders of the low lands of Illinois, like 
those of Ohio, were characterized by their peculiar pipes 
with the crescent base, the stem being a part of the base. 
The potter makers, such as made the peculiar pottery of 
the region, were a different people, and imitated nature in 
their pottery, just as the mound builder did with his pipes. 
He had specimens on exhibition, and many illustrations 
showing this peculiar pottery representing men, animals, 
birds, fishes, shells and other things. The pottery makers’ 
pipes were very unlike the mound builders’, and were made 
for the insertion of a stem, the orifice generally being 
funnel shaped. 
The speaker gave a spirited illustration of the great 
Temple mound, of Cohokia, opposite the mouth of the 
Missouri river, and describes it as a place of worship. This 
mound is go feet high. In the vicinity of this great mound 
were numerous flat square mounds called platforms. These 
platform mounds are usually ten or twelve feet high, and so 
large as often to contain on the summit farm-houses, with 
the out-buildings. In digging cellars, wells, etc., in these 
mounds, many relics were found ; of these Mr. McAdams 
has a large collection. The speaker closed by describing 
a hitherto unknown earthwork, circular in form, one mile in 
circumference at the mouth of the Illinois river. Although 
the mounds occur in such great numbers and magnitude 
this seems to be the only earthwork in the region. Mr. 
McAdams expects to still prosecute his researches in this 
interesting locality. 
DETERMINATION OF THE COMPARATIVE DI- 
MENSIONS OF ULTIMATE MOLECULES; 
AND DEDUCTION OF THE SPECIFIC PROP- 
ERTIES OF SUBSTANCES. 
By Prof. W. N. Norton. 
In this paper a detailed exposition is given of the mechan- 
ical constitution of an ultimate molecule, the conditions of 
dynamical equilibrium are definitely stated, and several 
formulas investigated, representing its diverse mechanical 
features. From these definite mathematical expressions are 
deduced the general mechanical, physical, and chemical pro- 
perties of substances. These are then employed in a detailed 
discussion of the properties of special substances. In this dis- 
cussion the fundamental assumption is made that the atoms 
of different substances may differ in density, as well as in 
weight or mass. From this point of view it becomes possi- 
ble to derive the comparative dimensions, and all the special 
features of the ultimate molecules of substances, from their 
molecular volumes and tenacities or co-officients of elasticity, 
as experimentally determined. The results of the numeri- 
cal computations for a large variety of substances, from hy- 
drogen to bismuth, are given in tables, and also represented 
graphically, and comparisons made with experimental re- 
sults. 
Chemical transformations are attributed to an effective 
force of electric tension developed by the contact of dissem- 
ilar molecules. An electro-motive force thus comes into 
play, determining an electric movement from one set of 
molecules to the other, and bringing them into approximate 
correspondence. The comparative values of the forces of 
electric tension, as well as of the electro-motive force, given 
in the tables, serve to make known the chemical relations of 
the substances considered. The chemical effects of heat are 
incidentally considered. 
The entire discussion comprised in this and former papers 
may be epitomized as follows : 
1 — It has been shown that the mechanical laws and rela- 
tions of bodies may be deduced from one general molecular 
formula; and that from their atomic weights, and certain com- 
parative densities assigned to their atoms, may be derived 
definite expressions representative of the various properties 
of special substances. 
2 — We see that the deverse phenomena of Inanimate 
Nature are but different consequences of variations or ine- 
qualities of ethereal tension, produced by ethereal waves ; 
and that, contemplated from the highest point of view, they 
may be conceived to result from the operation of one 
primary form of force on one primordial form of matter. 
The publication of the papers read before the recent 
meeting of this Association will be continued in our next 
issue, September 18th. 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 
[The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed 
by his correspondents. No notice is taken of anonymous communi- 
cations . ,] 
When a publishing house prints a date at the foot of a 
title page it is not always a guarantee to the public that the 
matter of the book has a connection with the date. In a 
play, a novel, or even a history, the date of a new edition 
only suggests that some class of readers desires another 
form of the work. Bnt when the subject of the publication 
is of such a character as to require additions in the'progress 
of events, it is necessary to enlarge, remodel, or amend the 
contents, to suit the advance of knowledge and the public 
need. This is generally announced on the production of a 
new book. Its advertisement, if not made in the preface, 
is invariably embodied in a date appended to the title page. 
In fact, so general has this custom become, that I do not 
think any one, who takes up a new book of this kind for 
the first time, would neglect to cast his eye upon the date 
of publication. 
The other day, looking over the well filled shelves of 
Messrs. Appleton & Co., I picked up a book of this pro- 
gressive class, to whose pages I have turned with pleasure 
duiing many years, for amusement and instruction. Its con- 
cise statement of the advances in physical science had always 
struck me as most complete. I purchased the book 
(Arnot’s Elements of Physics) for old aquaintance sake, 
and, on reaching my library, looked through its familiar 
pages for the latest discoveries; but imagine my disgust, to 
find that the edition of 1880 made no mention of Telephone, 
Motograph or Phonograph, three applications of science 
which will make the last decade one of the most brilliant 
of the century. 
This may not be a commercial, but it is surely a scientific 
fraud. D. O. Farrow. 
What constitutes an artificial mineral water is an im- 
portant question to the consumer, for obvious reasons, and 
to the importer it is a serious matter, as commercial rivalry 
and custom duties have forced its consideration upon them 
and the authorities. Trouble has been caused in other 
countries, also, for want of a proper definition, and it has 
given rise to a German imperial decree in which a solution 
of the difficulty is attempted. This decree, reads as fol- 
lows : “Under artificial mineral waters are included not 
only imitations of certain mineral waters as they occur in 
nature, but also is understood such other artificially 
prepared solutions of mineral substances as represent 
mineral waters, without corresponding in their chemical 
composition to natural waters.” 
