Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 33.djvu/877

Rh and Astronomy, G. C. Comstock, of Madison, Wis.; B. Physics, E. L. Nichols, of Ithaca, N. Y.; C. Chemistry, Edward Hart, of Easton. Pa.; D. Mechanical Science and Engineering, James E. Denton, of Hoboken, N. J.; E. Geology and Geography, John C. Branner, of Little Rock, Ark.; F. Biology, Amos W. Butler, of Brookville, Ind.; H. Anthropology, W. M. Beauchamp, of Baldwinville, N. J.; I. Economic Science and Statistics, J. R. Dodge, of Washington, D. C. Treasurer—William Lilly, of Mauch Chunk, Pa. Auditors—Henry Wheatland, of Salem, Mass.; Thomas Meehan, of Germantown, Pa. The Secretary announced the selection of the following committees, and their election followed: On Chemistry Teaching—W. H. Seaman, William L. Dudley, W. H. Wiley, W. O. Atwater, and W. A. Noyes. On Water Analysis—G. C. Caldwell, J. W. Langley, J. A. Myers, W. P. Mason, R. B. Warder, and W. H. Seaman. On Organization of a National Chemical Society—A. B. Prescott, Alfred Springer, and Edward Hart. Dr. A. B. Prescott was appointed substitute for Dr. Scudder on the Committee on Indexing Chemical Literature. The next meeting was appointed to be held in Toronto, on the last Wednesday of August, 1889.

Metamorphosis of Caddis-Flies.—Mr. J. H. Comstock has had the opportunity of observing a caddis-fly—in his aquarium—leave the water and take its first flight. "It swam to the surface of the water repeatedly," he says, in the "American Naturalist," "using its long mesothoracic legs. When swimming, these legs were extended at right angles to the body, like a pair of oars. The insect was unable to crawl up the vertical side of the aquarium, and, after clinging to it for a short time, it would lose its hold and sink back to the bottom. After watching it for a time, I lifted it from the water by means of a stick. At this time its wings were in the form of pads, which were but little, if any, larger than the wing-pads of the pupa, as shown by the cast pupa-skin found floating on the water. The instant the creature was free from the water, its wings expanded to their full size, and immediately it flew away several feet. In my efforts to catch the insect, I found that it had perfect use of its wings, although they were so recently expanded. The time required for the insect to expand its wings and take its first flight was scarcely more than one second; it was certainly less than two. As these insects normally emerge from rapidly flowing streams which dart over rocks, it is evident that if much time were required for the wings to become fit for use—as is the case with most other insects—the wave succeeding that which swept them from the water would sweep them back again and destroy them."

Some Laws of Heredity.—In a course of anthropological lectures at the South Kensington Institution, Mr. Francis Galton laid down, as a measurement of the influence of heredity, that each child inherits, on an average, one fourth of the personal peculiarities of each parent; one sixteenth of those of each grandparent, etc.; and that, if the previous ancestry are left out of account, the influence of each parent is raised to one third. From these laws, schemes of children, grandchildren, nephews, etc., can be constructed, though the particular place of any individual in any such scheme can not be predicted. Family likenesses and family differences; the stability of type in a population; the silent transmisiontransmission [sic] of ancestral characteristics, and blended and mutually exclusive heritage, were illustrated by the metaphor of vegetation on two islands spreading over adjacent islets. The lecturer spoke approvingly of the measures adopted to promote higher physical culture by the establishment of special departments at Amherst and Harvard Colleges, and of the attention paid to the subject elsewhere. The purpose of the lectures was to discuss the influences that tend to produce the aggregate of the most favorable conditions for healthy and happy existences.

Hispaniolan Smokers.—The aborigines of Hispaniola, or Hayti, had a powder, cohoba, the smoke of which they inhaled through their noses. It was probably a preparation of tobacco. Oviedo (1526) describes the smoking of it through the nose, thus: "The instrument with which they inhaled the smoke was a forked hollow tube about a palm in length, and of the thickness of a little finger, well polished, well made, all of one piece. They inhaled the smoke as long