particular cases, but only to mention an impersonal criterion for showing that the generic determinations of bees in the lists cited were erroneous. At first he takes the second of my alternatives and holds that the bees differ from all of the other groups of insects, and even among plants are only comparable with the Poales. Then he changes about, makes the erroneous assumption that the bees and Lower Aculeata were more completely represented in the local list, and arrives at the mistaken conclusion that such a condition would explain the discrepancy between the averages of these insects and the others. Stevens compares Andrena with Carex. The so-called genus Andrena reminds one of the time when all of the owls were referred to Strix. It would not seem so large if the sexes were not described as distinct species. In a recent paper only 4.6 per cent. of the socalled species were described from both sexes. If one is so careless of his entomology and diction as to say species when he means sex, what is to keep him from saying subgenus or quidnunc-group instead of genus? One who ignores the fact that bees have two sexes is not competent to distinguish any genera except those based on characters common to both sexes. If you should disregard the secondary sexual characters and the habits of the females, how well could you understand the classification of the Hymenoptera in general. Small divides Carex into two subgenera and 34 what-d'ye-call-'ems-named groups with subfamily, family, ordinal and other endings. One might like to know what categories the organisms form, not how they are to be forced to fit preconceived categories. The genus seems to be regarded with superstitious reverence when it contains 34 groups of the second order. Even the analogy of the Poales is against the bees. In the Fargo flora the Poales stand 2.3 against a general average of 1.8, while in the Carlinville list the bees stand 6. 5 against an average of 1.7. Compared with the general average the bees and Lower Aculeata show a great discrepancy in both lists without regard to their percentages in the composition of them. The Coleoptera, respectively 33.7 and 10.6 per cent., approach the average in each list. In the local list the Coleoptera are quite fragmentary compared with the Diptera, but the average is about the same. The list of Rhopalocera, which is as complete as that of the bees, shows an average of 1.4 to the bees 6.5, while the Heterocera, which are quite fragmentary, average 1.2. The Bombyliidae, Conopida, Syrphide, Tachinidae and Muscidae, in which the local list is quite complete, show 1.7 while the other Diptera average 1.6. The 437 local entomophilous flowers on which insect visitors were taken average 1.6 while the 520 plants of the Fargo flora average 1.8. Although Stevens argues against small groups he says that he believes in the recognition of them, but he doubts the necessity of forcing them upon every one. The statement that neglected groups will be subdivided about like those which have been more thoroughly studied hardly involves an attempt to force small groups upon any one. You may say that a river runs south without trying to force the water on those who live down stream. CHARLES ROBERTSON CARLINVILLE, ILLINOIS GEOMORPHOLOGY TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: The letter from Professor John L. Rich in your issue of January 11, 1918, escaped my notice at the time and my attention was not drawn to it until very recently. Hence this belated reply. I agree thoroughly with Professor Rich that geomorphology has an interpretative geological value, and I admit that, for the sake of economy of space, it may be necessary sometimes to compress the geographical aspect of a geomorphological description and its geological interpretation into a single paper from which the geographer and the geologist will each attempt to pick out the points that interest him. The introduction of certain geological dates into a paper with such a double purpose is excusable, but it is the thin end of a wedge which may lead to much obscurity. The artifice of placing geological names in footnotes, where they do not break the continuity of the descriptive text, and of adding further geological information in an appendix is useful in drawing attention to the geological value of an interpretation of the physiography in a paper written primarily to explain and describe the land forms. This method I adopted in "The Physiography of the Middle Clarence Valley, New Zealand.": In the case of my paper "Block Mountains in New Zealand," to which Professor Rich refers, the age of the covering strata in Central Otago is uncertain within fairly wide limits. The statement that they are probably Oamaruian but possibly Wanganuian would not convey much definite information to American readers. When I was preparing the paper for publication the temptation to discuss the age question was strong, and I yielded to it. Realizing that the discussion would be out of place in the body of the paper I placed it in an appendix, which, however, the editor wisely omitted. This article was not written with a dual purpose. The geological significance of the land forms of Central Otago, as well as the closely related forms throughout New Zealand had already received full attention in a paper entitled "The Structure and Later Geological History of New Zealand," published in the Geological Magazine. This and "Block Mountains in New Zealand" were in preparation at the same time, the one frankly geological, the other geographical. As such the latter was intended for publication in a geographical periodical and was offered to the Royal Geographical Society, which was unable, however, to find space for it in its Journal. Biological Station on Flathead Lake the past season. During the summer of 1917 flowers bloomed luxuriantly about the station grounds, and humming-birds and butterflies visited the flowers very commonly. Rodents were present in normal numbers, but attracted no particular attention. Conditions were markedly changed during the summer of 1918. For unknown reasons the rodents became very abundant. Pine squirrels and chipmunks were everywhere present. Spermophiles appeared on the station grounds for the first time in the history of the institution. The chipmunks quickly cleared the ground of flowers and ascended to the tops of trees to strip the honeysuckle vines of their blossoms. Deprived of their natural food in this vicinity humming-birds were rarely seen and butterflies were very uncommon. Pine squirrels kept the ground under the pine trees well strewn with pine cones, but the effect of this inroad upon the pine cones was not so apparent upon other forms of life. Weasels, which were not observed about the station the preceding summer, were seen several times during 1918. Great horned owls hooted at night in the nearby tree tops. These birds had not been reported for 1917. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS G. B. CLAYCOMB QUOTATIONS THE PHYSIOLOGY OF A WORKING DAY GRADUAL reduction of the hours of labor from ten or nine to eight, and now to seven or six, must have made many people wonder whether some scientific basis might not be found for the hours which should be worked in various trades. Major A. C. Farquharson raised the matter in the discussion on the second reading of the Ministry of Health Bill. Speaking as one who had spent the greater part of his professional life in the service of the miner, he expressed his astonishment that members of the House of Commons should be so ready to put forward the idea that the number of hours a man should work day by day was to be settled by the arbitrary capricious decision of the mass. He contended that it was a scientific problem, and suggested that if science could establish that a normal man could work up to a given standard without detriment to his physical condition and without injury to his health or chance of longevity, the number of hours of a working day could be standardized. In the discussion on the bill in committee he contended that there ought to be a scientific department, working in relation with the Ministry of Health, to decide various matters of a physiological nature in relation to capital and labor, including suitable hours of work. We may point out that a large amount of scientific work had been done in this direction, some of which is summarized in the reports of the Health of Munition Workers Committee, but the subject is complex and physiology is far from having found a complete solution. It is comparatively easy to estimate the amount of energy given out in various kinds of work at various paces, but muscle fatigue is only one and probably the least important element in fatigue. There is in addition the mental element, which can not be measured, and the nervous element, which it will be possible to measure with difficulty if at all. Nervous fatigue occurs in the initiating and distributing nervous mechanisms of the brain and spinal cord, which are more quickly fatigued than the contracting muscles; consequently in the animal body the impulses to activity, springing from the brain, can not bring the muscles far towards complete fatigue before their sources are themselves fatigued and impotent. Though a tired man may refer his tiredness to the muscles, in reality the most severe bodily activity does not produce any close approach to complete fatigue of the muscles. The fatigue is of the nervous system, though its effects may be referred to the muscles. The conclusion of the committee was that the problems of industrial fatigue were primarily, and probably almost wholly, problems of fatigue in the nervous system and of its direct and indirect effects. Another complicating matter is that the human body seems to be adapted to withstand short spells of severe labor, broken by longer spells of rest; the point is illustrated by the story of a wager between two officers at the front as to the time to be taken in making equal lengths of a trench, each with an equal squad of men. One officer let his men work as they pleased, but as hard as possible. The other divided his men into three sets, to work in rotation, each set digging their hardest for five minutes and then resting for ten. The second team won easily. Another conclusion-this time in a report by Dr. H. M. Vernon to the same committee was that the hours of labor ought to be varied between wide limits according to the character of the work performed. This seems the most promising line of inquiry.British Medical Journal. 66 SCIENTIFIC BOOKS Injurious Insects and Useful Birds. By F. L. WASHBURN, M.A. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Co. Pp. xviii+453. Price $1.75. This little book is one of a series called 'Lippincott's Farm Manuals" edited by Dr. K. C. Davis, and now containing about a dozen hand-books on as many phases of agricultural practise. The author of this volume, Professor Washburn, has for many years held the positions of state entomologist of Minnesota, professor of entomology, University of Minnesota and entomologist of the Agricultural Experiment Station, consequently as an investigator and teacher he is in possession of some first-hand knowledge and is posted regarding the work of others. A list of questions at the end of each chapter shows the custom of the teacher. The book is divided into twenty-one chapters, with headings as follows: Loss to Agriculture Due to Insects and Rodents; Farm Practises to Lessen Insect and Rodent Injuries; External Structure of Insects, Orders, Metamorphosis; Collecting and Preserving Insects; Insectides and Spraying; Fumigation; Insects Injurious to the Apple; Insects Affecting the Pear and Quince; Plum, Peach and Cherry Insects; Insect Pests of Berries and Grapes; Principal Insects affecting Citrus Fruits; Insects affecting Field Crops and Pasturage; Insects affecting Truck Crops and the Vegetable Garden; Insect Enemies of Greenhouse and House Plants and of the Flower Garden; Insects affecting Shade Trees; Insects affecting Man and the Household; Insects and Insect-like Animals attacking Stock and Poultry; Mill and Elevator Insects and Mill Fumigation; Our Insect Friends; The Relations of Birds to Agriculture; Some fourfooted pests of the Farm. There are four colored plates, and 414 illustrations in the text, many of the figures are from original photographs and drawings. and the others are borrowed from various sources, due credit being given. This little volume differs from most other manuals of injurious insects in that considerable information regarding common birds and rodents may be found in the same book. Of course where so many species are treated within the limits of a small-sized volume, the account of each must necessarily be very brief. Probably the value of the work would have been enhanced by giving after each one or two references where the reader could obtain more complete information. Nevertheless the author has condensed a large amount of information in this small volume which is well printed and supplied with index. It will prove a convenient manual for all growers of plants and keepers of live stock. W. E. BRITTON AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, NEW HAVEN, CONN. ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH1 AT the meeting of the American Anthropological Association held in Baltimore, December 27, Professor J. C. Merriam, representing the National Research Council, made a formal statement of the plans of the council in regard to the organization of science, and requested an expression of opinion on the 1 Report of the Committee of the American Anthropological Association to Professor G. E. Hale, chairman of the National Research Council, Washington, D. C. part of the American Anthropological Association in regard to the position of anthropology in the work of the National Research Council. In consequence of this request and the discussion following it, the undersigned committee was appointed for the purpose of giving to the National Research Council information in regard to the work actually done by American anthropologists. A statement has been added pointing out the causes for the slow development of certain branches of anthropology. The committee has submitted a number of questions to American anthropologists and attached to this are a number of replies to our circular letter. The general tendency of the scientific work of American anthropologists may briefly be summarized as follows: It is but natural that in a country like our own, which contains the remains of a considerable number of primitive people, the historical interest in the aborigines, combined with the ease of accessibility of the remainder of the ancient tribes, should bring it about that inquiries relating to their customs, languages and physical types should dominate American anthropological research, and that theoretical work should be based very largely upon the results obtained from a study of American tribes. The methods which give the easiest results in regard to these problems are archeological, ethnographical and linguistic, and for this reason these three lines of inquiry have hitherto predominated in the research work of American anthropologists. At the same time the necessity for a broader outlook is keenly felt. The Field Museum of Natural History has included in the scope of its work Eastern Asia, Malaysia and Melanesia. Harvard University has expanded its work over Africa. The University of Pennsylvania has undertaken research work in South America, the American Museum of Natural History and the United States National Museum, in Asia, and a few other attempts of similar kind for obtaining a wider basis for research in cultural history may be noted. The field of work of American anthropologists is also in part determined by the character of the institutions that maintain anthropological work. The Bureau of American Ethnology which forms part of the Smithsonian Institution is by law restricted to work on the natives of America and the Hawaiian Islands. Most positions held by working anthropologists are museum positions, and consequently the scientific work is largely restricted to those aspects of anthropology that yield tangible specimens. University positions are on the whole of such a character that the funds necessary for the conduct of field work are not supplied by the universities, but if available at all, come from museums. Anthropologists have felt for a long time. that their work needs expansion, and many attempts have been made to free anthropological research from the restrictions dependent upon the association of anthropological work with museums on the one hand, and from those conditions that tend to give undue preponderance to work on American Indians. on the other hand. Attempts have been made particularly to direct attention to African problems, which are of importance to us on account of our large negro population, and also to investigations on racial anthropology among the white and negro populations of the United States. Work of this kind needs financial support, but all attempts have failed to interest the government institutions which command considerable funds, or private individuals, to support work of this type. There is a peculiar hesitancy in regard to undertakings of this kind, which will not be overcome until more work on a smaller scale has been done. Investigations of this description have been undertaken by American anthropologists and by educators, sociologists and medical men with anthropological leanings. Recently, biologists have also directed their attention to this subject, but methods applied and results obtained up to this time are quite unsatisfactory. Work on human paleontology is also not vigorously pursued. The difficulty of giving anthropological. research an adequate position in the scheme of the National Research Council is largely based on the fact that the humanities find no place in the general scheme of work of the Research Council. While anthropology must necessarily be based on the one hand on biological science, on the other hand it is intimately associated with the humanities. It is impossible to treat even the biological problems of anthropology without a due regard to the cultural aspect of anthropology, because the forces which determine the development of human types are to a very large extent cultural forces. The peculiar position of anthropology brings about close contact with a great many different sciences-biology, geology, paleontology, geography, psychology, history, linguistics and the whole range of humanities. Cooperation will be necessary according to the particular type of problems taken up, and anthropology will be best served by an entirely free association with different subjects, according to the need of each case. It is the opinion of the undersigned committee that the appointment of a director of anthropological work, who would have a dominating influence over organized work, would not be helpful on account of the great diversity of subject matter included in anthropology, and might prove decidedly prejudicial on account of the necessity of developing this subject in different directions. Much better results would undoubtedly be obtained by regular meetings of representative scientists, and by the appointment of a secretary who would carry out the necessary clerical work. NEW YORK CITY, March 6, 1919 FRANZ BOAS, Chairman, SPECIAL ARTICLES EGG-WEIGHT AS A CRITERION OF NUMERICAL PRODUCTION IN THE DOMESTIC FOWL1 IN connection with a study of the manner of inheritance of egg-weight in the domestic 1 Contribution 251 from the Agricultural Experiment Station of the Rhode Island State College, Kingston, R. I. |