some other scheme, and in the latter alternative to make specific recommendations for consideration by Parliament." The members of the Commission are: Lord Emmott, Lord Southwark, Lord Faber, Lord Ashton of Hyde, Lord Leverhulme, Sir Richard Vassar VassarSmith, Bt., Sir Joseph Larmor, Kt., Sir George Croydon Marks, Kt., Sir Alfred William Watson, Kt., Mr. John Westerman Cawston, C.B., Deputy Master and Controller of the Royal Mint; Mr. Sydney Armitage Smith, Mr. Charles Godfrey, headmaster, Royal Naval College, Osborne; Mr. James Bell, Mr. Joseph Burn, Mr. Harold Cox, Mr. George Hayhurst, Mr. Theodore McKenna, Mr. Geoffrey Marks, Mr. James Francis Mason, Mr. Abert Smith, Mr. George Murray Smith and Mr. Gilbert Christopher Vyle. Lord Southwark moved the second reading of his Coinage (Decimal System) Bill in the House of Lords on June 4. He said it had the support of Chambers of Commerce, the Institute of Bankers, the Decimal Association, and many scientific societies. Lord Hylton, for the government, offered a joint committee of both Houses, and the debate was adjourned. Early in July Lord Hylton, in reply to a question by Lord Southwark, announced the forthcoming appointment of this Royal Commission. The Treasury announces that, pending the appointment of a secretary to the Commission, communications may be addressed to "The Royal Commission on Decimal Coinage, Treasury Chambers, London, S.W. 1." A SPECIAL diploma course for the training of merchants in the woolen and worsted industry has been introduced at Leeds University, according to a report received from Consul Percival Gassett. The course includes work in textiles, economics and languages. It is proposed to use the fine equipment of the clothworkers' department of the university in giving the student knowledge of the materials, whether wools, tops, yarns, or fabrics, with which he is to deal, in order that he may learn intelligently the best means of producing goods to meet the requirements of each particular market. As for economics, it is intended to include not only economic geography, but also industrial history and accountancy with, if possible, lectures by leaders of the industry dealing with the special features of the larger commercial life. The language training will be so designed that while the literature of the various countries will not be overlooked, opportunity will be given for acquiring technical knowledge of the languages essential to particular industries. The following is the plan as approved by the university council: First year: Textiles, economic geography, a modern foreign language, and accountancy (prescribed subjects); and one of the following subjects: A second modern language, mathematics, European history, and industrial history. Second year: Textiles, economics, two modern foreign languages, and accountancy. Third year: To be spent at some colonial or foreign university or institution of university rank. THE objects sought by Brazil in establishing state zootechnic stations in Amazonas, Para, Maranhao, Ceara, Piauhy, Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas, Sergipi, Espirite Santo, Parana, Goyaz and Matto Grosso are thus given in the order of the Minister of Agriculture quoted in the New York Evening Post authorizing such stations: (1) Acclimation and immunization of imported animals. (2) The breeding of pure-bred bovines, swine, goats and sheep. (3) The breeding of crossbred horses of native stock with Arabic, English or English-Arabic types when possible. (4) The selection of domestic types of animals, in respective states. (5) The raising of breeding animals, to be loaned upon a reasonable fee to farmers and breeders in the state. The zootechnic stations are obliged to possess: (a) An area of not less than 200 hectares (489 acres), of which 150 (371 acres) must be artificial pastures and 50 (123 acres) cultivated with forage; (b) proper installation, such as stables, cattle dips and similar apparatus; (c) a stock of not less than 3 horses, 8 bovines and 12 sheep and goats of such breeds as the Bureau of Animal Industry may direct. The zootechnic stations will be supervised by the director of the Bureau of Animal Industry. To obtain government assistance, documents must be presented showing the existence of suitable lands and other facilities to maintain such establishments. UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATIONAL Ir is planned to build a hospital on the campus of the University of Washington, Seattle, to cost a million dollars and which is to form the nucleus for a medical department of the university. WILLIAM P. BROOKS, Ph.D., director of the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station, has resigned his position. Dr. Brooks has been connected with the Massachusetts Agricultural College since 1889, previous to which he was professor of agriculture for twelve years in the Imperial College of Japan. He will continue in the service of the experiment station as consulting agriculturist. PROFESSOR W. C. SABINE, acting director of the Jefferson Physical Laboratory of Harvard University, has retired and is succeeded by Professor Edwin H. Hall. DR. PAUL F. GAEHR, of the department of physics at Wells College, has been appointed acting professor at Cornell University, where he will assist in the Students' Army Training Corps two days a week. E. C. AUCHTER, associate professor of horticulture at the University of West Virginia, has been employed by the Maryland State College to head the department of horticulture. ROBERT O. CALDWELL, Ph.D. (Princeton, '18) formerly professor of physics at Geneva College, has accepted a position as assistant professor of physics at West Virginia University. THE following appointments have been made at Marquette School of Medicine: Mrs. Paul M. Smith, M.A. (Wisconsin), formerly assistant in botany at University of Wisconsin, as instructor in bacteriology. Mr. C. A. Hills, M.A., formerly instructor in physiology at the University of Kansas, now in charge of laboratory work in physiology and pharmacology, as instructor. Mr. A. H. Hersch, M.A., formerly instructor in biology at the Kansas State Agricultural College, as instructor in the department of anatomy and biology. DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE MR. ABBOT'S THEORY OF THE PYRHELIO METER TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: Referring to Mr. Abbot's open letter to me, published in SCIENCE, June 21, 1918, I should like to make a few remarks. The important points can be taken as two, which require attention. 1. The first is that my research ranks as an "interesting speculation" without "quantitative value." After adapting the Boyle-GayLussac Law, P=PRT, to atmospheric physics, the computations proceed by using only the standard formulas of thermodynamics, kinetic theory of gases, and electron physics; the checks are always complete and numerous; the results are in full agreement with observational data, so that Mr. Abbot's statement implies that these laws have no application in free atmospheres, which few will admit. The results have succeeded in clearing up a long series of heretofore unsolved problems, circulation, thermal data of various types from the adiabatic strata to the top of the various atmospheres, the origin of atmospheric electricity and magnetism, the thermodynamic environment of several spectra in the sun, and the end is not in sight. The Planck theory of radiation, the Bohr origin of spectrum lines, and the electron-atomic data are already seen from a new point of view. There are few computations whose data interpenetrate and are supported by so many distinct series of physical laws as are these, and the evidence is that they form the basis for future developments in atmospheric physics. 2. The second point is that Mr. Abbot reiterates this argument: that his well-known method of discussing the pyrheliometric observations must be correct, because it produces the same solar constant, 1.94 92. cal./cm,2 min., when repeated many times at many stations. If the method is erroneous it can not be made valid by repetition. It will be recalled that Professor Langley deduced from his bolometer studies about 3.00 calories; that Angström and others obtained 4.00 calories, and those were common results for some years. Mr. Abbot reduced the value to 1.94 calories, relying solely upon the pyrheliometer, and at the same time recognized that the ordinates of the bolometric spectrum indicate a solar temperature of about 7000° A., the pyrheliometer requiring only 5800° A. He passed over this wide discrepancy by assuming that the sun does not radiate as a black body. This is the critical point. The Poynting equation of equilibrium asserts that the surface flux of radiation over a given volume sustains a certain volume density whose temperature is T. This equation has been applied by me in detail to the earth's atmosphere, so that in ten distinct integrations the volume density from the sea level to the vanishing plane amounts to 3.98 calories; it has been applied in the sun's atmosphere with the result that the solar radiation originates in a deep isothermal layer at the temperature 7655°. It is, therefore, black radiation, of an equivalent value of 5.85 calories; using Abbot's coefficients of transmission for several spectrum lines, from the center to the limb, this is depleted by 1.87 calories, thus agreeing with the terrestrial data and the bolometer. This result destroys Abbot's theory, and renders his pryheliometric method useless. It is not difficult to understand the source of Mr. Abbot's error. He relies upon the Bouquer Formula of depletion, and, indeed, substitutes this for the Poynting Theorem, which is erroneous. When there is lack of equilibrium between the surface flux and the volume density, there is a product of free heat, dQcdT, while the temperature is changing. The pyrheliometer works on this change of temperature alone, omits to register the stored potentials and inner energy within the metals, glass, mercury, these last being very difficult to follow. In short, Abbot's theory identifies the surface flux of radiation with this free heat, and it follows that it does not manifest the entire radiation received. For these reasons I have abandoned Abbot's methods and substituted those found in my Treatise on the Sun's Radiation." It may be noted that the pyrheliometer is a very inefficient apparatus for atmospheric studies, because it is unable to eliminate the depletions due to the effects of vapor, dust and even molecular scattering in the higher levels. Applying certain correcting ordinates, the stations at Cordoba-Pilar, 438 meters, and at La Quiaca, 3465 meters, are working together within 0.02 calories, and they follow the solar variations as indicated by the sun-spots, prominences, magnetic field and the meteorological data in Argentina. It is imperative that Mr. Abbot should abandon his unfortunate pyrheliometer method, which is flatly contradicted by a very extensive series of data, in favor of the results which are clearly indicated by his admirable observations with the bolometer. FRANK H. BIGELOW FIREFLIES FLASHING IN UNISON TO THE EDITOR OF SCIENCE: In SCIENCE for July 26, 1918, there appears an article on "Fireflies Flashing in Unison," by Edward S. Morse. Confirming his statement and that of other observers that fireflies do at times synchronize their flashes I beg to relate an instance that occurred on the evening of May 4, 1918, on the Benguet road. At that time I was a passenger on the auto-stage run by the Philippine government between the railroad station at Mangaldan and Baguio. As the stage rounded one of the numerous curves on the grade there appeared on our left, apparently in motion, a ghostly incandescence which came and went in regularly repeated flashes and intervals of darkness. The appearance was uncanny and was plainly visible to all the passengers in the stage. We did not at first realize its cause but soon attributed it to fireflies. As I have said the light was apparently in motion, but I am inclined to believe that the insects which caused it were not in continuous flight but were congregated (as is frequently the case in the Philippines) about some tree standing SCIENTIFIC BOOKS The Passing of the Great Race. By MADISON GRANT. New York, Charles Scribner's Sons. 1918. Pp. 296. It is rare that an author of a scientific work which is not a text-book has the pleasure of seeing a second edition within two years. Mr. Madison Grant's recent success is sufficiently justified, since he has written both boldly and attractively, and has produced a work of solid merit. Even the title, "The Passing of the Great Race," is of the sort to make a popular appeal, for there always seems to be an eagerness to read of some horrible future in store for mankind. Hence the success of books on degeneracy, race suicide, cessation of intellectual evolution, disgenic influence of war, and the elaborations of obvious pessimism-books and articles usually written by persons blind to the complexity of the problems and to the optimistic significance of facts and arguments on the other side. Mr. Grant believes in the inborn value of the Nordic race, that tall, fair-haired, longheaded breed which started from the shores of the Baltic some three thousand years ago, formed the ruling classes in Greece, Rome, northern Italy, Spain, northern France, England and parts of the British Isles, and then, in the southern countries, passed away either through its inability to stand the climate in competition with brunette types, or through dilution and pollution of its blood by mixture with inferior peoples. The present reviewer accepts, in the main, this racial theory of European historical anthropology. This theory rests upon two chief factors. The first is that so well elaborated by Mr. Grant in his book, namely, that it is supported by the facts of history. In other words, if we start with an extreme "hereditarian" hypothesis as to the special value of the Nordic race, we do write a good ethnological and anthropological history of European and Asiatic culture. The broad panoramic changes are systematically and reasonably explained by such an hypothesis. There is no shifting about-something relying on a theory and then having constantly to resort to some involved explanation because the theory has failed to work. In all this Mr. Grant's book is admirable; but it is open to criticism at the hands of opponents. The author rarely if ever discusses disputed points. For instance, he alludes frequently to the fact that in all European literature and art, the heroes, saints and madonnas have always been depicted as blondes, but he ignores the fact that its significance has often been questioned. In this matter, antagonists to the doctrines of heredity and to the native superiority of the blonde race usually say that the blonde type was admired because of its rarity. How is this to be answered? It is an affair of the author, not the reviewer. In the last pages of his book, Mr. Grant gives a bibliography; but nowhere does he insert a footnote or give a reference to the sources of his information. While this may in some slight degree make the text more readable, it is a great pity that a reader can not more easily trace to their origins or further investigate many of the interesting and novel statements met with in this provocative book. The second good reason for believing in the importance of inborn native mental differences, and consequently in the truth of most of what Mr. Grant asserts, is that there is a mass of carefully finished statistical research on the problem of human heredity which tends to support the whole theory of race as against environment. If adult human differences within a single family and within a single class are largely the result of pre-formed differences in the chromosomes of the primary germ cells, then there is at least a good hypothesis that the same is true for racial differences. However, it requires further proof in the case of race, since the children of the same families have a comparatively uniform environment, but different races necessarily carry with them each to some extent its own peculiar milieu We can not in our present knowledge assert how far this goes. Certainly races and indeed nations can be at least temporarily modified by an education and training imposed in the interests of, and by the will of, a very few persons, as for instance, Germany during the last half century. This factor of leadership in the rise and decline of races is generally overlooked by Mr. Grant, as is the problem of the formation of upper classes. Mr. Grant fears that the Nordic race is passing away. There is much to be said in substantiation for this unpleasing prospect, and if there is much to be said, certainly Mr. Grant has said it. The present reviewer does not take such a gloomy view. There are internal forces silently and continuously working towards the improvement, not of the whole race, but of a part of it, and this part tends further to improve with its own improvement. Some of the tendencies or correlations working towards melioration are assortative mating (i. e., tendency of like to mate with like), general truth as far as results at present indicate of desirable traits within an individual to be correlated with other desirable traits, general tendency of long-lived people with a tough resistance to leave more offspring than the average, besides other recently discovered correlations bringing an encouraging outlook. There are some of the phases of human evolution that ought to be more generally recognized and incorporated into all discussions on the rise and decline of races and of nations. In spite of such criticism, "The Passing of the Great Race" is an interesting and valu able pioneer attempt at an interpretation of history in terms of race. The origins and migrations of the three primary European races, Nordic, Alpine and Mediterranean, are here instructively and graphically portrayed. The colored charts make it easy to grasp the outlines of the author's theory. This is a book that will do much to widen the rapidly expanding interest in eugenics and help to dis seminate the ever-growing conviction among scientific men of the supreme importance of heredity. FREDERICK ADAMS WOODS War Bread. By ALONZO E. TAYLOR. New York, The Macmillan Co. 1918. Almost since the outbreak of the war Dr. Taylor has been engaged in the study of the food problem, at first in Germany in the interest of British prisoners in German camps, then in Holland, making a survey of Dutch food resources, and he has later served as chief scientific adviser of the Food Administration of Washington and has made frequent trips to Europe. This little book, presenting as it does the cereal situation of the Allied countries in the spring of 1918, bids fair to become a classic. Reading it, one can realize how a fortunate wheat crop this year will allow us to send wheat to Europe directly without involving the increased number of ships necessary to transport it from far-away Australia or the Argentine. The book clearly shows how failure to conserve wheat plays into the hands of the enemy and tells of the methods employed for its conservation. GRAHAM LUSK A STUDY OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION THE Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has just issued its Eleventh Bulletin, A study of Engineering Education, which has been in process of development during the past four years in cooperation with the joint committee on engineering education of the national engineering societies. Engineering education was established on a large scale only fifty years ago on the basis of the experience of foreign countries, particularly France. Since then, applied science has made marvelous progress, and in order to meet that progress, the original curricula of the schools have been modified here and there and from time to time in a haphazard way. The result is that modern engineering curricula lack coherence and unity and have for a number of years been the object of criticism by the engineering profession. |