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860 not so much to the subjects that should be included, as to the terms under which they should be described and classified. It was further decided, without dissent, that in judging whether a publication is to be considered a contribution to science suitable for entry in the catalogue, regard should be had to its contents, irrespective of the channel through which it is published." The importance of this rule was emphasized by several German delegates, some of whom pointed out that trade journals, and even a daily paper which was named, often contain scientific articles of great value. Those who are diposeddisposed [sic] to ridicule "newspaper science" must hereafter qualify their flings. Regard is to be had first in the catalogue to the requirements of scientific investigators; entries are to be both by subjects and by authors' names; the catalogue is to be issued by a central bureau to be located in London, with the Royal Society advising, and in English, with authors' names and titles in their own language; and to be begun January 1, 1900. The English (including American) element was influential in the conference, and none of the delegates had more force in its deliberations than the American representatives, Prof. Simon Newcomb and Dr. J. S. Billings. The American department of the catalogue will be under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, and an appropriation of ten thousand dollars is asked from Congress to carry on the work.

A Musical Experiment.—A somewhat interesting musical experiment was recently made by Prof. E. E. Slosson, of the University of Wyoming. Twenty-two persons—seven men and fifteen women—each provided with paper and writing materials, were given a pianoforte concert, and at the expiration of each piece were requested to write down the impressions received from the music. Only one of the twenty-two was a professional musician. The pieces played were: a, Chopin funeral march (sonata, op. 35); b, S. F. Powell nocturne, Hope (op. 4, No. 1; c, S. F. Powell nocturne, Solicitude (op. 3, No. 2); d, Handel's aria, He was Despised and Rejected of Men (The Messiah); e, Chopin nocturne (op. 15); and f, Schubert, Liszt Serenade. The conclusions drawn, from an examination of the answers returned, seemed to show that music has a somewhat definite emotional content, and that impression of this is received by the average listener, but with varying intensity. The formal content seems to be furnished entirely by the mood, associations, or temperament of the individual. A great difference exists both in the capacity of individuals to receive definite impressions and of composers to convey them. To overcome a strong individual mood requires music of extremely strong expressiveness.

Ice Caves.—Three principal forms in which ice enduring all the year round is found are mentioned by Mr. Edwin Swift Balch in his paper on Ice Caves and the Causes of Subterranean Ice: glaciers, ice gorges, and ice caves. Glaciers are formed from the winter snows, which by their own weight, and melting and regelation, have accumulated into a mass of ice. Ice gorges or gullies occur in fissures or ravines, at an altitude greatly below the general snow line of the district, where the winter snow is sufficiently protected from the sun to endure as snow or ice through the summer months. The author has, for instance, found lumps of ice in King's Ravine, on Mount Adams, in the White Mountains, among the big bowlders, late in September. The ice in such gullies is formed in the same manner as that of glaciers, or that on ponds and rivers, by the cold of winter and the melting of the snows. Ice caves are roofed, and the ice is formed directly within them, and is not, except perhaps near the entrance, solidified snow. The roof, while not admitting the winter snow, is a protection against warm summer rains, and cuts off radiation—acting as a protector against heat, and tempering the cold. The caves vary greatly in their positions, shapes, and sizes. They are found in various parts of Europe, Asia, and America, mostly in the smaller ranges or in the outliers of the snowy ranges, generally in limestone and occasionally in basaltic formations. Many are found in the Jura, a few in Switzerland, a few in the Italian Alps, a number in the eastern Alps; there are some in Hungary, several in Russia, one on the Peak of Teneriffe, several in Siberia, one in Kunduz in central Asia, one in Japan, and one in Korea. Twenty-nine places are mentioned