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but on our own coast, where the fish - and wings are small, the vibration is so rapid, that, at the usual distance, one cannot well distinguish the motion.

Viewing the question from an engineering standpoint, the problem resolves itself into a simple calculation, the only element of error being in the correctness of observation: for the flight of the fish can only be observed from the deck of a vessel, and the direction of the creature's flight must, at best, be an approximation. The mean of a large number of observations, however, should give a result very close to the truth. Though the flying-fish usually starts directly to windward, it seldom continues in that direction; and, because of this erratic flight, the observation is still more difficult.

The opinion of the naturalists was that the creature projected itself out of the water with great velocity,

sent a greater projected area of wing to the direction of its flight, and therefore its motion would be retarded in a greater ratio than that of a fired projectile having a constant plane of resistance. Artillerists, both on land and sea, are satisfied that they can distinguish the retardation of a cannon-shot: indeed, I doubt if one can be found who would question it; and yet seafaring men are positive the flight of flying-fish is uniform.

A school of flying-fish will keep together in the air quite as well as a flock of ducks. As nearly as one can judge from looking at them, they move at the same velocity. Now, if they continue to move at equal velocity, and do not flap their wings, it follows that they must have projected themselves from the water with equal velocity, and that there must be a constant ratio between the area of their wings and

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mosphere, to retard its forward velocity. Its motion of translation would essentially be uniformly retarded. As its velocity diminished, it would be obliged to alter the angle of its wings, in order to preserve its horizontal line of flight; and this movement would pre

Mean 3.958 2.1458 12.447 5.318 17.765 2.833

1 Specimen identified by Dr. Tarlton H. Bean.

The writer was fortunate enough to observe a flying-fish (on the 9th of April, 1886) moving in a direction apparently parallel to that of the ship, and the shi with equal velocity. By means of a Casella anemometer the velocity of the wind across the ship's deck was found to be 13.6 feet per second, and its direction was 20 degrees from ahead.

Referring to fig. 2, b represents the ship; c, the fish; and a, the angle of the wind. The true velocity of the fish through the air was then 13.6 × cos a = 12.78 feet per second.

Let us take, for example, a specimen whose wings and weights would be a mean between the three specimens recorded.

144

Let A represent the area of its wings in square feet 175 = 0.1234; V, its velocity in feet per second = 12.78; A', the projected area of the wings; W, the weight of a cubic foot of air in pounds = 0.075.

In experiments with flying-machines (R. C. Buel, in Appleton's Cyclopaedia of mechanics, vol. i. p. 53), it has been ascertained that an angle of 54° 10" is the most advantageous angle at which the vanes can be placed (these vanes are similar to the wing-fins of a flying-fish). Therefore A' = A X sin 54°10′ = of a square foot, nearly.

V2 A' W

2 g

The force with which the air will be pressed downward, or, what is equivalent, the lifting-power of these wings moving at V velocity, will be Substituting the numericals above recorded, we have (12.78)2x0.1x0.075-0.0190507 pounds, or about 0.17 the weight of the fish in question.

0.019 1

9

64.3

The method of catching flying-fish on board the Albatross affords a means of observing some of their motions. When our submarine (Edison's) lamp is lowered a few inches below the surface of the water, these fish often approach it gradually. On such occasions they invariably have their pectorals and ventrals extended, but do not appear to use them as organs of locomotion: on becoming alarmed, they close these fins, and dart forward suddenly. The brilliancy of the electric light, no doubt, dazzles their eyes greatly, for they do not appear to see objects near them, and, when alarmed by the splash of the scoop-net, dart right forward by use of the caudal fin. Mr. Nye, quickly perceiving this habit, takes advantage of it by plunging the net directly in front of the fish, which he almost invariably catches. On one occasion a fish turned in its flight, and projected itself several feet vertically into the air, very close to the side of the ship, working its wings vigorously, which was distinctly seen by several people on deck. G. W. BAIRD.

Passed Assistant Engineer, U.S.N.

Washington, June 24.

An Indian snake-dance.

I have received a clipping from the New York Commercial advertiser containing a letter from a Mr. Trumble in reference to the article on the 'snakedance' of the Moki Indians of Arizona (Science, vii. June 4). Mr. Trumble mentions the occurrence of similar performances among several Central and South American tribes, and discusses at some length the antidotes used. This feature was only touched upon in my paper for the reason that Dr. H. C. Yarrow of the army, who attended the dance at Wolpi for the special purpose of identifying the species of

snakes used, and of determining whether they had been rendered innocuous, was present at the reading of the paper, and was kind enough to discuss it at some length. Perhaps the interest in the question would justify a few remarks on that phase of the subject. Dr. Yarrow identified four species of snakes, only one of which, however, was poisonous,

the spotted rattlesnake, or Crotalus confluentus. He descended into the snake kiva on the eve of the dance, and there examined the snakes which were to be used on the morrow. At his request a large rattlesnake, selected by himself, was held up for his examination by one of the Indians, and, upon prying its mouth open, he found the fangs intact and of large size. I may add, that, at the conclusion of the 1883 snake-dance, two rattlesnakes were captured, and sent to the national museum. They were examined soon after their arrival by Dr. S. Weir Mitchell of Philadelphia, who found them in perfect order: their fangs had not been disturbed, and the poison-sacks were intact and full of venom.

The snakes used in the dance undergo a very complicated course of treatment in the kiva where they are confined prior to their appearance in public. They are washed repeatedly in various kinds of 'medicine-water,' and are frequently handled or stroked with a downward, squeezing movement of the hand. Whether such treatment prolonged over a period of five or six days is sufficient to render innocuous a robust rattlesnake, is an open question. Both Captain Bourke in his book, and Dr. Yarrow in his remarks, mention seeing a large rattlesnake brought in from the fields on the day of the dance. These, at least, must have been capable of inflicting fatal wounds.

The Indians have the greatest confidence in the means they use to secure immunity. Dr. Yarrow, in an interview he had with the high priest soon after the dance, showed the old man a hypodermic syringe and a solution of permanganate of potassium, which he had brought along to use in case of necessity, and explained to him their use. The old man replied, "No doubt my brother's medicine is good, but we are quite satisfied with our own." The performers are very seldom bitten: I observed but one instance at Wolpi, none at Mashongnavi. Others, however, record two other instances at Wolpi, which escaped my attention: in both of these cases the bite was inflicted by non-venomous serpents. As the number of snakes used at that dance was about

eighty, this is not a very high percentage. I am of the opinion that the Mokis rely on the previous treatment of the snakes, on their charms and incantations, rather than on any after-treatment of themselves. As Dr. Yarrow remarked, a snake which had been repeatedly handled, and had discovered that no injury was intended, would become comparatively tame, and this would account for the behavior of the snakes during the dance. In the hands of the dancers, they seem numbed and lifeless, and it was only when dropped rudely on the ground from the mouths of the dancers that they showed any disposition to fight.

The knowledge of the composition of the liquids used by the Mokis is confined to one man, a high priest; even the members of the order are ignorant of it: but, to provide against the loss of the secret, the knowledge is shared with an old woman of the tribe. The high priest keeps this knowledge to himself until he is, or thinks he is, on his death-bed; he then communicates it to the successor whom he had previously selected, and to whom he had already taught all the other rights and ceremonies pertaining to the dance.

The various liquids or 'medicine-waters' are not procurable by those not in the order, as they are very jealously guarded. Wiki, the high snakepriest, in an interview held after the dances at a ranch in the neighborhood, was quite communicative for a while, but, when this subject was approached, became very much agitated. He said, that, were he to reveal the secret of the preparation of these liquids, his life would be the penalty. Dr. Yarrow succeeded, however, in obtaining a bottle of the liquid used after the dance, and it is now in the army medical museum.

It should be mentioned that these liquids are not looked upon by the Indians as antidotes. The liquid taken after the dance has no direct bearing on the question of poison. In reply to Dr. Yarrow's question as to the object of this ceremony (the vomiting after the dance), Wiki told him that "the presence of the snake between the lips of the dancer caused a profuse flow of saliva, which the dancer was necessarily obliged to swallow, and that if he did not get rid of this saliva, which was poisonous, his stomach would swell up and burst," - an operation, it is hardly necessary to say, which never occurred from this cause; and the account must have been derived, therefore, from some source outside the facts of the

case.

Mr. Trumble speaks of gorging on the part of the participants in the dance; he also says the snakes are fed until they become inert, and finds in these practices a partial preventive of evil effects from snake-bite.

Neither of these apply to the Moki dances. The performers go into the dance after four days of what is practically fasting (they eat but one meal each day); and the snakes themselves, so far as I could learn, are given nothing whatever to eat. It is true that in Wiki's accounts the phrase, “and I bathed him, and gave him to drink of the liquid," occurs; but the giving of drink is metaphorical, and consists of sprinkling the snake with the liquid by means of a feather.

I think the study of the rites pertaining to serpentworship, as they occur among the lower races of mankind, would throw much light on the serpentsymbolism which prevailed among quite highly civilized people; the Egyptians, for example: but our knowledge of the early phases of this form of worship is rather meager. Perhaps the tribes mentioned by Mr. Trumble may supply some of the needed information.

A writer in Harper's weekly (March 25, 1882), quoted by Captain Bourke, gives an account of a performance very similar to the Moki dance, but occurring among some Central American tribes. In this ceremony each performer has his own particular snake, which he has previously trained, and with which he performs various feats. This, however, is jugglery, an element which is entirely lacking in the Moki performances. On this point I cannot do better than to quote Dr. Yarrow's closing remarks: "I went to Wolpi expecting to find a good deal of humbug about the snake-dance; I came away convinced of the earnestness and fair dealing of the people, and without a doubt that they fully believed that their ceremonies would bring about the desired result."

I think Mr. Trumble is mistaken about the effects of curari; but the word has been applied to so many different varieties of poison, that it has come to have a rather vague meaning. Curarine, the active principle of curari, is said to cause paralysis of the motor nerves, and it has been used in medicine as an antidote for strychnine and as a remedy in hydrophobia and in tetanus. But this part of the subject I must leave for those better qualified for the discussion. The subject has excited much interest; and many eminent investigators, from the days of Sir Walter Raleigh (who published his account in 1595) down to the present time, have given it their attention. Probably the most complete account is that published by Dr. S. Weir Mitchell and Dr. W. A. Hammond in the latter's 'Physiological memoirs,' 1863.

There is a point in Mr. Trumble's letter which seems to deserve special attention: this is the use, by Indians, of antidotes against poisons. To the savage there is no unknown: every thing is explained; and this explanation is always the most simple, the most direct, and, as a rule, the most superficial, that could be applied. The savage can no more realize the physical causes of phenomena than he can the laws which govern the solar system. Instances of this are furnished in abundance by the Moki myths; but they need not be quoted here, as they occur in all tribes, and can be found in any work treating on mythologic philosophy. The inability to realize the facts of physical causation, the grandest which have yet been discovered by man, is not confined to savages, however, but is present, in a greater or less degree, in what we are accustomed to call the highest civilization. It follows, then, that poison as a physical cause of death is a conception which is beyond the ken of the savage mind, and such is actually the case. Poison, when it is conceived of at all by savages, - and this conception is rarer than is generally believed, - is not thought of as a substance containing in itself its fatal properties, but as being endowed with them by some outside power, - either human, as in witchcraft, or else supernatural. The antidote to poison as thus conceived consists of an appeal to the same powers which produced the poison, or, in other words, to charms, or prayers, or incantations.

COSMOS MINDEL EFF.

Prehensile-tailed salamanders.

It is not well to be hasty in accepting the idea that the tail of the salamanders is of so little value to them that they might get along quite as well without it. Observation proves the organ to be of constant use in pushing, when the animal makes its way among weeds, grass, rocks, or other obstructions. It is the main dependence of such as swim; and of climbing species its importance as a support and a lever is very manifest. Those suggested are general uses, common to all tailed batrachians. Particular species have the tail still more specialized. It is to some extent an organ for grasping in the long-tailed terrestrial species. A frequent practice of the 'spotted salamander, Amblystoma punctatum, when taken up, is to curl the tail around the fingers or hand to prevent falling. Suspended thus, hanging head downward, it will again and again try to regain footing rather than drop. Peculiar serpentine curves, and the motions of the very flexible tip, often give the tail of this species the appearance of feeling about for something, on its own account. The curves are so irregular at times, that the organ appears as if broken in several places. When at rest, some individuals have the habit of curling the tail closely against the body in a flat coil. Its capabilities are best seen in slender specimens, in which the tail is less thick and clumsy. Very likely Amblystoma jeffersonianum, and species of similar build, have the organ similar in sensitiveness and utility. Amblystoma mavortium, however, is lower in rank, and has the tail better adapted for swimming or pushing, as in other more aquatic forms. S. GARMAN.

Cambridge, Mass., June 27.

Association of official agricultural chemists.

The next meeting of this association will begin Thursday, Aug. 26, in the library of the Department of agriculture. All agricultural chemists holding official positions under the national or state governments, in agricultural colleges or experiment-stations, are entitled to membership. All other chemists interested in any way in the analysis of fertilizers or food-products are invited to attend the meeting, to present papers and take part in the discussion.

One of the chief objects of the association is to secure uniformity in methods of analysis employed. The attainment of such uniformity is of little less value than accuracy, in work of this kind.

I take this method of calling the attention of the chemists of the country, who are not members of the association, to the coming meeting.

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I have read with pleasure the paper referred to by Mr. Gilbert in his letter (Science, vol. vii. p. 571). His method seems to have shown, as clearly as could be without direct experiment, that the wind had the effect of lowering the barometer-readings in the building on Mount Washington. This direct evidence, if needed. has, I think, been supplied by the observations on Blue Hill, where it has been noticed, not only that the barometer in the building suddenly falls if the wind-velocity suddenly increases, but that during high winds the pressure in the building can be varied at will by merely opening and closing an aperture in the top of the building.

It does not seem unsafe, then, to draw one or two conclusions from these facts. In Loomis's tenth paper (Amer. journ. sc., January, 1879), from an examination of a large number of storms, he arrives at the remarkable conclusion that "the low centre at the height of Mount Washington sometimes lags behind the low centre at the surface of the earth, apparently as much as two hundred miles." Mount Washington is only about one mile high; and if we draw two lines, - one to represent the earth's surface, and the other the storm-axis, - and make them diverge only one division in two hundred in length, the two lines will appear to the eye almost parallel. Such an inclination of the storm-axis seems incredible, and renders it probable that the apparent lagging was due to some other cause. Loomis shows, in this same paper, that the occurrence of high winds

on Mount Washington from any easterly quarter is exceedingly rare; and in his eleventh paper he says, "In a majority of those cases in which an area of low barometer passes ever New England, attended by the usual system of circulating winds at the surface stations, this system of circulating winds does not extend to the height of six thousand feet." The effect of the indraught below only makes itself felt at the height of Mount Washington in front of storms by lessening the velocity of the prevailing westerly current, and in the rear of storms by increasing the velocity of this current.

This at once suggests that the apparent lagging of the storm-axis, or rather of the time of minimum pressure, on Mount Washington, is due to a mechanical effect of the wind on the observatory.

Mr. Gilbert has shown in his paper (pp. 531-533), from a series of observations, that wind-velocities of forty miles per hour from the north-west had the effect of lowering the pressure in the observatory on Mount Washington as much as eight-hundredths of an inch; wind-velocities of fifty miles, as much as thirteen-hundredths of an inch; and he estimated that wind-velocities of one hundred miles would lower it as much as half an inch. This equals any of the effects found by Loomis, and gives a plausible reason why the minimum pressure should occur later on Mount Washington than at sea-level. The same explanation applies to the lagging of the times of maximum pressure, since Loomis has shown in his second paper (Amer. journ. sc., January, 1875) that the wind-velocities are larger in front than in the rear of maximum pressures.

Loomis also found that there was a lagging of the diurnal curves of pressure on Mount Washington and other mountains. He says in his tenth paper, "At the base of Mount Washington the principal maximum occurs at 8.30 A.M., but on the summit it does not occur until noon, being a retardation of three hours and a half."

Mr. Gilbert shows, on p. 526 of his paper, that from June 26 to June 28, 1873, some element on Mount Washington, which was undoubtedly the pressure, went through a diurnal variation coincident with the wind-velocity. During this time the wind each day reached a maximum near midnight, and a minimum near noon. This is a normal feature on high mountains; and if an increased windvelocity tends, by a mechanical action on the building, to make the barometer read lower, it is readily seen that the pressure would tend to be lowest near midnight, and highest near mid-day. If, now, a double diurnal oscillation due to other causes be superposed on this, the chief maximum would occur much nearer noon than at lower stations, where the action of the wind is in the opposite direction.

The variations in the wind's velocity may not be the only cause of the phenomena considered in this letter. Loomis thinks that the wind-directions, and Ley that the upper cloud-motions, indicate a lagging of the storm-axis; and it seems probable that the expanding and contracting of the air from heat and cold have something to do with the occurrence of the chief maximum on mountains near noon, and in the lagging of the minimum pressure in storms; but the variations in the wind-velocity are undoubtedly an important factor, and it is very desirable that its influence might be eliminated.

Blue Hill meteor, observ., June 28.

H. HELM CLAYTON.

FRIDAY, JULY 2, 1886.

ECONOMICS AND JURISPRUDENCE.

MR. INGRAM, in his excellent article upon political economy in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, states as a characteristic feature of the historical school of economists, that they recognize a close relation to exist between economics and jurisprudence. "The point," he says (and this he takes from Dr. Adolph Wagner of the University of Berlin), "upon which all turns, is the old question of the relation of the individual to the community. Whoever, with the older juristic and political philosophy and national economy, places the individual in the centre, comes necessarily to the untenable results which, in the economic field, the physiocratic and Smithian school of free competition has set up. Wagner, on the contrary, investigates before every thing else the conditions of economic life of the community, and, in subordination to this, determines the sphere of the economic freedom of the individual." It is my purpose in what follows to expand somewhat the view thus expressed, and to show why it is impossible for the economist to arrive at just conclusions in economic matters unless he consciously allows his thought to be influenced by a keen appreciation of the science of jurisprudence, as also of the juridical structure of the society to which his attention is addressed.

It may avoid some misapprehension if we state clearly at the outset what is meant by the terms * jurisprudence' and 'economics.' In the science of jurisprudence it is common to consider the legal structure of society, that phrase being used in its broadest sense. It might indeed be said that this science builds the framework of society, were there not danger of pressing the metaphor so far as to give rise to the conception of a purely mechanical arrangement in human relations. Questions of government, if they do not pertain to administration or to pure politics, find treatment under jurisprudence, as also do established customs which grant personal rights and liberties, and established laws which determine the nature of property. Or, to state the matter concisely, the material out of which a science of jurisprudence is formulated is, 1°, "the essential institutions of human society, by the use of which the objects of that society are carried out through the medium of government;" 2°, the established

opinions of society, expressed in law, by which rights and duties, liberties and limitations, are determined for individual members of society.

Economics, on the other hand, deals with industrial activity. It has to do with men, with corporations, and with governments as industrial agents. It may, indeed, be properly defined as the science of industrial society; and one obtains for the first time a clear view of its general bearing when he discerns its subordinate relation to the science of society as a whole. The material out of which this science is built includes, 1°, the economic nature of man, to which all industrial activity may be traced; 2°, the material surroundings of men, to whose physical laws their industrial activity will in the long-run conform; 3°, the legal structure of society, which conditions the exercise of such industrial rights as are granted. None of these factors may be disregarded by the economist, if he would arrive at correct conclusions respecting the industrial actions of men; and the 'lego-historic' facts, although they may vary from time to time, are of as much importance while they last as the permanent facts of nature. Throughout the entire history of the world, until the dawn of what we technically term 'modern times, the form of undertakership was dependent on the political structure of society. We observe property rights to have developed from communal to personal ownership; and with each step in this direction there has been a corresponding development of industrial methods. It has frequently been pointed out that personal liberty, and the freedom of action that it implies, were necessary to the realization of the industrial organization with which we are now familiar. And it is not too much to say that the economic character of man itself has been modified by means of the hereditary transmission of habits first contracted through the pressure of changes in the social structure; for, as the stroke of the shuttle is limited by the framework of the loom, so the industrial movements of men are bound by the liberties of law and of custom, and, to carry the metaphor a step further, the industrial weaving of society is largely determined by its legal structure.

If the analysis thus suggested be correct, one cannot disregard the close relation that exists between economics and jurisprudence. Both branches of thought are part of the larger study of society, and neither can be satisfactorily pur

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