original surface there was found the principal part of the skeleton, considerably scattered about, but with the skull nearly intact and with unbroken tusks. The bones lay on a bed of clay, broken slate, gravel and water-worn pebbles. This was probed to a depth of ten feet without finding bottom. The right fore leg of the skeleton was missing, but was later found in another pothole 60 feet farther up stream and at least 25 feet higher. Hall thought that the potholes were of glacial or preglacial origin, but I am assured by Professor Fairchild that they have been drilled since the Wisconsin ice sheet abandoned that vicinity. When the ice began to withdraw, the region was depressed about 350 feet below its present level, as a result of which the site of Cohoes was covered with a thick deposit of sand and clay. As the land slowly emerged, the old Mohawk River (Fairchild's Iromohawk) cut through the estuary deposits and finally reached the underlying Hudson slates. Then under the action of strong currents the drilling of the potholes began. The land had then risen, as Professor Fairchild writes, at least 150 feet. At the same time the stream bed was being worn down into the rock and the falls were moving up stream past the potholes. When the mastodon entered the pothole this had long before ceased being cut; for, as already stated, it had became filled to a depth of at least 10 feet with rock débris. It had quite certainly been abandoned by the river waters, except at times of flood. How now did the mastodon get into that hole? Hall concluded that it had been frozen up in the glacial ice and had been dropped part in one pothole, part in the other. But when those potholes were ready for occupation as a tomb for the mastodon, there was no part of the general glacial sheet from which the cadaver could have reached Cohoes. As a recently dead body it might indeed have been floated down the Mohawk; but the animal could as well have lived and died at Cohoes. We may fairly assume that it had only recently died and was lying on the flood plain not far above the potholes. No disarticulated

bones could ever have been distributed as this skeleton was. The bones must, perhaps without exception, have been held together by the ligaments and probably much of the flesh remained. At this moment the river rose and swept the flood plain, carrying the cadaver over the potholes. First the right leg became detached and was swept into the upper one of the two holes; then the remainder of the body was carried on and dropped into the second hole. Here the swirling waters either at once or during subsequent floods scattered the skeleton somewhat. As time went on, all sorts of materials were borne into the potholes during freshets. Possibly some trees growing on their margins fell into them. At any rate, they finally becanie filled up.

It appears quite certain that when the Cohoes mastodon was buried the deposition of marine sediments in the Champlain and the upper St. Lawrence valleys had largely taken place and the Champlain epoch, about the last leaf of the last chapter of the Pleistocene, had nearly ended. Did mastodons end their career at this stage of geological history or did they continue on into the Recent epoch? It may be impossible to determine this. If they did continue to exist, it might be supposed that remains of them might be found in deposits of marl and muck overlying the Champlain deposits along Lake Champlain, and the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers; but the writer has not learned of any such cases. At any rate, the close of the Pleistocene or the beginning of the Recent became an insalubrious time for this species, a mighty race which can be traced back possibly to the Pliocene and which had weathered the vicissitudes of four or five glacial periods, At approximately the same time there perished two species of elephants, the giant beaver (Castoroides), the moose (Cervalces), and perhaps other great animals. O. P. HAY

U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM

HUMAN FLYING

TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: While engaged in some scientific research, my attention was

called to an editorial article with the above caption, in the American Journal of Mining, April 25, 1868, Vol. V., p. 264, which later became the well-known Engineering and Mining Journal. A comparison of what is accomplished now with the scientific view of that day, a little over fifty years ago, may prove interesting to the readers of SCIENCE.

In part, the article states:

Inventors have puzzled their minds for ages to compass the problem of air navigation by machines or by flying men; and but little advance has been made. . . . It would of course be absurd to affirm that anything could not be done, in this age of the world; but while this feat may be accomplished to an extent "enough to say so," we are incredulous of any practical benefit of the thing to man. The force which a man is able to expend in rapid ascension of heights, even 'with the firm earth under his feet, is very small; and we have never seen any principle elucidated which was able by apparatus to increase his power or lessen his gravity in proportion to it.

...

The balloon remains; but that, if used, presents such a surface to the atmosphere that it can not be accurately guided without, by means of steamboilers or other weighty machinery, storing up power for propulsion, in a manner of itself too cumbrous and heavy for successful navigation.

So that, whether it is for his own personal flight through the air or the management of a great atmospheric ship, man seems to be hemmed in on every side by almost insuperable natural difficulties. And besides, even were all this obviated, who would run the risk of accidents at a great height above the earth, beyond the reach of helpbut not of gravitation? It is an interesting problem, and may result in pretty scientific toys; but for real helpfulness to humanity we see but little in Aeronautics.

Taking the vast change that has been worked out in the life time of many of us, does it not afford encouragement to our young people to endeavor to solve the many problems lying before them, ere the next fifty years shall pass?

M. E. WADSWORTH, Dean Emeritus

SCHOOL OF MINES,
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

KEEPING STEP

TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: Sound travels about 1,060 feet per second at 0° C., or 265 feet in one fourth second. The soldier next the drummer steps with the drumbeat, the soldier 265 feet in the rear is one fourth second late and has his foot in the air when the foot of the front man is on the ground. This is because they march at 120 steps per minute (2 steps per second), which gives one half a step in one fourth second. Hence the soldier who hears the signal one fourth second late will fall one half step behind. I have seen this in columns turning into Victoria Street from Westminster Cathedral, at Lancaster Gate or Holloway Road, on Salisbury Plain, etc.

When tired out or on rough roads soldiers left to themselves do not keep step; but it is a remarkable fact that the only time they keep perfect step is when they are without sound signals. If the drum begins they lose perfect step at once and the feet are seen to strike the ground in receding waves as the sound passes down the line. If the drum stops, the men in two or three seconds get into perfect step again, and go with a sway and swing absent at other times. The French term it rapport or esprit du corps. Is there a mutual subconscious force passing between the men? In a short brochure of experiments in such matters to be found at public libraries I have suggested an explanation. Is it the right one? I should be glad to hear from American observers of the pheWALTER MOORE COLEMAN,

nomena.

Fellow of the Physical Society of London HARSTON, CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND

QUOTATIONS

THE ORGANIZATION OF RESEARCH IN
GREAT BRITAIN

IN a paper on the state organization of research, read at a recent meeting of the Royal Society of Arts, Sir Frank Heath, K.C.B., Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, succeeded in compressing into a few pages a lucid amount of the work of his department. His characterization of research in general is, so far as it goes, excellent, and ought to be taken to heart by the

public, but the treatment of a vast and complex subject which approves itself to one thoughtful man can not be expected to satisfy all his readers. If, then, we dwell upon points of disagreement, we are not the less conscious that Sir Frank's paper compares favorably with the lucubrations of most administrators.

In the earlier part of his paper he emphasized the novelty of the departure made by the government in 1915, and, without the assertion in so many words, rather implied that our government has handled the problem of national research with more courage and on more satisfactory lines than did that of the Germans. While we agree that the course followed here since 1915 was the best in the circumstances, we are emphatically of opinion that this is only true in consequence of past errors; that the idea inspiring the memorandum of v. Humboldt, quoted by Sir Frank Heath, is correct, and that the system of the German government was in principle thoroughly sound.

The German ruling caste appreciated the importance of scientific knowledge a century before ours, and conceived that the best way to foster research was to create a number of adequately equipped university departments; they believed that the multiplication of opportunities for disinterested investigation would lead to the production of trained minds capable, in Sir Frank Heath's words, "of extending the powers and capacities of man in relation to the world in which he lives." They had their reward; all that scientific ingenuity and foresight could do to safeguard the Teutonic hegemony was done there was no need of hasty improvisations. The German state system has perished in scenes of death and disaster, but of the many crimes and blunders committed by its makers, the neglect of science is not one. In this country, generations of neglect have compelled us to adopt in our hour of need an expedient which would not have found a single defender if proposed as a normal method of evolution. The courage of the government in 1915, which Sir Frank Heath extols, was the courage of despair; we could not then, we can not now, escape the

penalty of a hundred years' sloth. It is too late to build from the ground on the German model, but we need not pretend that we have discovered for ourselves a better model, but should, with humble and contrite hearts, try gradually to improve our temporary structure into something like a real university system, keeping it free from such defects and abuses as in Germany that system revealed in practise; of these the worst was the prostitution of scientific appointments and scholarly reputations to the uses of political propaganda. -British Medical Journal.

SCIENTIFIC BOOKS

Bastardierung als Ursache der Apogamie im Pflanzenreich. Eine Hypothese zur experimenteller Vererbungs- und Abstammungslehre. By ALFRED ERNST, professor of botany in Zürich. Jena, Fischer. 1918. Pp. 650, with 172 figures and 2 plates.

The ultimate practical aim of the theory of mutation is avowedly to discover the means of producing new qualities in plants and animals at will and in arbitrarily chosen directions. Some investigators assume that one of the chief causes of mutation is to be looked for in crossing, whereas others think that crosses are far too rare in nature to have had any appreciable effect in the production of species, except for the polymorphous genera. Obviously the best way to decide between these two opinions is to study the influence of hybridizing on the origin of a new character. The author of this book has attacked this problem from a special side, proposing to try to induce a definite character, viz., apogamy, or the production of seeds and spores without fecundation, by means of artificial crosses. The book does not bring any new results, but a collection and discussion of the facts, available for the choice of the material and the method of experimentation to be used.

From this point of view it may be commended to the student of rich questions. It gives a full description of all known cases of apogamy, including algae and fungi on one hand, Marsilia, Antennaria, Alchemilla and

Hieracium on the other. The doubling of chromosomes, the terminology of parthenogenesis, the nucellar embryos, the lessened fertility and many other effects of hybridizing, as well as those of vegetative propagation are extensively dealt with. From this survey the author concludes that Chara crinita seems to afford the best material for further studies and gives an ample review of the mode of propagation of this algæ.

It is a dioecious plant, which has a parthenogenetic variety. The latter has been described by Alexander Braun as early as 1856 and since by numerous authors. The species is rather rare; in some stations it is found without the variety but in the larger number of localities only the apogamous form occurs. In some, however, both grow together, indicating the possibility of a repeated origin of the variety from the dioecious type. Moreover it is shown that the differences between the two types are of such a kind, that they can not have originated slowly and gradually but must be assumed to be due to a sudden change (p. 104). This is the well-known way in which in other cases mutations are seen to arise. The probable difficulties of the intended investigation are then amply discussed. To these the reviewer might add the objection that it is a species which has already produced an apogamous form, and probably more than once and which therefore may be expected to repeat the mutation from time to time, even without the aid of experimental interference. Furthermore, the experience with the evening primrose has shown that mutations occur in crossed progeny as well as in pure lines and the research of Baur on Antirhinum and of Morgan on Drosophila have amply confirmed this result. Among hybrid progenies they seem to be more numerous, but only in consequence of the fact that such cultures usually embrace many thousands of individuals more than are kept in the pure stocks. The same will be the case in the cultures of chara crinita and the expected occurrence of apogamous mutations in hybrid families can, therefore, not be regarded as a proof of their origin by means of hybridization.

THE toxic action of a sample of "mustard gas "sent us by Major H. C. Bradley, of the Chemical Warfare Service, has been investigated on a number of typical marine organisms, including various swimming larvæ (seaurchin, starfish, squid, the annelids Nereis and Arenicola), the developing eggs of seaurchin and star-fish, the spermatozoa of seaurchin and starfish, and young and adult fish (Fundulus). The most satisfactory objects for experimentation have proved to be the developing eggs of the starfish (Asterias forbesii), and most of our work has been carried out with this material. Changes in the rate and character of cleavage in the eggs after treatment with "mustard," the production of abnormalities of form and structure in the larvæ, and the degree of ciliary activity, furnish a very delicate index of toxic action. Valuable information has also been obtained with Arenicola larvæ and with small fish (Fundulus).

In the experiments with fertilized starfish eggs we have investigated the influence of solutions of the "mustard gas" in sea-water upon the cleavage and early development (up to the gastrula stage). The procedure chiefly employed was as follows: A small quantity of the "mustard gas " (ca. 5 grams) was shaken vigorously with one liter of sea-water in a

1 This preliminary report in its present form was sent to the Medical Section, Chemical Warfare Service, September, 1918. A more detailed account of these experiments will be published in the near future.

2-liter glass-stoppered bottle. After the finely divided undissolved oil had settled, the clear liquid from the middle of the solution was drawn off, and the action of this saturated solution upon the recently fertilized mature eggs was tested, using varying dilutions (e. g., 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 saturated) and varying times of exposure (from one fourth minute to an hour or more). The eggs were exposed to the solutions in glass-stoppered bottles, and at intervals portions were transferred by pipette to dishes of normal sea-water; this water was changed when the eggs had settled. The subsequent course of cleavage and development, as compared with that of untreated "control" eggs, was carefully studied.

The toxicity of "mustard" solutions prepared in the above manner is not constant but decreases with standing, and the more rapidly the higher the temperature. Solutions made at room temperature (20-24°) always prove strongly toxic if used immediately after preparation; if used later the toxic action is less marked, the decline of toxicity being rapid in the first hour and more gradual later. This decline is due to the progressive hydrolysis of the "mustard," which breaks down rapidly in aqueous solution, yielding HCl and residual compounds of low toxicity. The toxicity of a "mustard" solution two days old, in which the acid freed is neutralized by NaOH, is not more than one fiftieth of that of the freshly prepared solution, as measured by the comparative times of exposure required to produce a definite impairment of development or a definite proportion of dead eggs in a given time. The attenuation of toxicity, as thus shown by the physiological action of the solution, exhibits a general parallelism with the production of HCl, as measured by titration (with dibromocresolsulphonephthalein as indicator). The essential toxic action is thus due to the undecomposed "mustard" in the solution. This conclusion was confirmed by experiments in which the hydrolysis of the compound was retarded by cold. The oil was shaken with ice cold sea-water (below 3°), the solution was filtered free from the residual undissolved crystals of "mustard" (which is

solid at this temperature), and the cold saturated solution thus obtained was kept at 0° (surrounded by ice in the refrigerator). The toxic action of a portion of the solution kept thus cold and brought to room temperature immediately before adding the eggs was compared with that of portions which brought to room temperature and allowed to stand for varying times (e. g., 1/4 hour, 1/2 hour, 3 hours, 24 hours) before using. In all cases solutions which were kept cold until just before using were decidedly the most toxic, 15 minutes' exposure to room temperature reduces toxicity by about one half, and 30 minutes by two thirds or three quarters. The decline in toxicity is thus at first rapid, then more gradual; the same is true of the production of acid as shown by titration. The reaction is apparently mono-molecular.

Our experiments favor the following conception of the mode of action of "mustard " upon the living cell. The undecomposed "mustard gas" is slightly soluble in water (according to our titrations of completely hydrolyzed solution to the extent of ca. .05 per cent.). This dissolved "mustard" readily penetrates the cell, presumably because of its high lipoid-water partition-coefficient, and collects in relatively high concentration in the organic solvents of the protoplasm (celllipoids, fats, etc.). In this situation it serves as a reservoir of toxic material which continually enters solution in the aqueous phases of the protoplasm and is continually being there decomposed. Since by its hydrolytic decomposition it yields acid, the dissolved

mustard" acts destructively on the protoplasm as soon as the available buffer compounds (which normally prevent protoplasmic hyper-acidity) are exhausted. The destructive action is thus due primarily to the HCI freed by hydrolysis. The other decomposition-products are only slightly toxic; this we have shown experimentally by comparing the action of partially or wholly hydrolyzed solutions of the "mustard," from which the acid was removed by neutralization with NaOH, with that of the unneutralized solution. The latter solution is always by far the more toxic;