THE NUMBER OF BROODS OF THE IMPORTED

ELM-LEAF BEETLE.

BY C. V. RILEY.

AT the meeting of the Entomological Club of the A.A. A.S. in Washington last autumn, Professor John B. Smith, it will be remembered, gave some interesting observations on this beetle, made at New Brunswick, N.J. As the somewhat astonishing result of his observations, he stated that there was but one annual generation, and that the beetles actually went into hibernating quarters early in August. Professor Smith's statements were so emphatic, and evidently based on such careful observations, that they could not very well be gainsaid, but as they conflicted with my observations on the species in the latitude of Washington, for which I have recorded two generations, and exceptionally a third, I was anxious the present season to go over the ground again, still more carefully than in the past, and, by rearing in confinement the first generation of larvæ from the first eggs hatched, to thus verify, in a manner which could leave no possible doubt, the facts which I had previously recorded.

In this brief note, I desire simply to state that at the present time (June 30) I have eggs laid by the second brood of beetles, i.e., the beetles obtained from larvæ which were feeding during the month of May and early part of June, thus proving, in the most positive manner, that in the latitude of Washington there are at least two broods, and that the second brood of larvæ will be feeding during July.

The following from the Appendix to the second edition of Bulletin 6, Division of Entomology, Department of Agriculture, October, 1891, will bear repeating in this connection: One statement in the life-history of the Imported ElmLeaf Beetle, as given in the preceding pages, may have to be corrected in the light of the observations of the past six years, and that is in reference to the number of annual generations. Like other leaf-beetles, this insect occupies an extended time in oviposition. The eggs appear to develop slowly in the ovaries, and a single female will deposit a number of the characteristic little yellow batches. This fact, taken in connection with the retardation of certain individ uals of a generation, results in an inextricable confusion of broods. Adult beetles, pupæ, larvæ in all stages, and eggs, will be found upon trees at the same time, in Washington, during the months of June, July, August, and even later. From this fact it is almost impossible to estimate the number of annual generations without the most careful breedingcage experiments. There is no evidence that the facts upon record are based upon such careful experiments. Glover, in the annual report of this department for 1867, page 62, says: After becoming pupæ, in a few days the skin of the back splits open and the perfect insect crawls forth, furnished with wings, by means of which it is enabled to fly to other trees and deposit its eggs, thus spreading the nuisance to every elm in the neighborhood; or it may' ascend some tree and lay the eggs for a second generation, which destroys the second crop of leaves, frequently so enfeebling or exhausting the tree that it is unable to recover and eventually perishes.' Again, in the Annual Report for 1870, page 73, he says: The perfect beetles appear in a few days and immediately fly up into the tree to lay their eggs for a second generation, which frequently destroys every leaf on the tree.'

"The European records seem strangely silent upon this point. In the articles by Leinweber and Frauenfeld, referred to upon page 6, there is no indication of the number of gen

erations, but it may be inferred that only one, namely, that of June and July, has been under observation. Heeger, however (loc. cit., p. 114), says that 'under favorable circumstances there are three to four generations during the whole summer. Toward the end of August the insect ceases feeding and retires-partly as larvæ and partly as beetles— to winter rest under fallen leaves, in the cracks of bark, holes in the trunks of the trees, and in the ground itself.' This observation was made near Vienna.

"Our statement upon page 8 was a general one, based upon the observations in August. This state of affairs may probably hold in more northern regions, but in Washington it is safe to say that there are two generations, because, as just stated, newly developed beetles (the progeny of those which hibernate) appear in early June. These lay eggs, and, in fact, egg-laying may continue until the end of September, and larvæ have actually been found by Mr. Pergande in October."

THE REPTILIAN RATTLE.

BY S. GARMAN.

AMONG the specimens secured by Dr. Georg Baur, in his explorations of the Galapagos Islands, there are a number of large lizards of the genera Conolophus and Amblyrhynchus, which exhibit certain peculiarities in the spines of the dorsal crest. Externally each of the spines resembles the rattle of a small rattlesnake. The likeness was evidently brought about by causes similar to those through which the rattle was originated. In a measure, these spines confirm my statement of the evolution of that organ as published in 1888 (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., viii., 259). Figures 1-4, herewith, represent a couple of the nuchal spines in a lateral aspect and views, side and front, of one of the dorsal spines of the Galapagos lizard, Conolophus subcristatus. On making a longitudinal section of any of these spines they are seen to be wholly dermal and to contain neither bones nor muscles. Their epiderm is a little thicker than that of the scales on the flanks. It is apparent that for a time, after hatching, growth of the skin was rapid and regular. The spines developed during this period were subpyramidal; they tapered so much, on back as on neck, that the slough came off readily and was lost. A periodic growth was taken on in later stages, and, the spines having become more elongate, a slight constriction was formed around the base, from folding the skin by bending the spine from side to side. Becoming still more elongate, the foldings meanwhile increasing in extent and depth, a stage was finally reached which, mayhap aided by shrinkage, retained the epiderm of the spine in place as a cap after the general slough was cast. Thus one thickness after another was added to the covering of the spine, each of the older being shoved farther up, by growth, so as to expose below it a band of the newer cuticle. The folded lower edge, the collar, of the cap rested in a basal groove or furrow, and prevented displacement. Each cap was closely applied to that beneath it, and the spine as a whole was solid. Outwardly the spines resemble rattles; internally the caps rest one upon another too closely to rattle.

The tip of the tail of the common snake ends in a spine somewhat like that in the crest of the lizard. It differs in containing a bone, the end of the vertebral column. Sloughing is similar in the two cases, a slight variation only being induced on account of the included vertebra. On most snakes the spine tapers greatly, and the cap is carried off in

the slough. On a few there are constrictions and ridges around the cap, that recall those on the spines of the lizard. As it happens, those marked in this manner are the nearest living allies of the rattlesnakes. In the paper on the Evolution of the Rattle, above cited, the copperhead, Ancistrodon (Fig. 5), was brought forward as most nearly representing the ancestor of the smaller rattlesnakes, Sistrurus; and the bushmaster, Lachesis (Fig. 6), of northern South America, was suggested as the most likely for the large rattlers, Crotalus. These forms were pointed out as so nearly approximating a condition from which the possession of a rattle was a necessary consequence that we might at any time expect to find individuals on which the caps were mechanically retained. My conclusions in regard to the inception of the rattle seem to be indirectly confirmed by what obtains on the lizards. This will be the more apparent if it is borne in mind that the present development of the rattle (Figs. 7–9) embraces much that is a consequence of its

use.

The greater part of the shortening-forward in the extremity of the tail, of the compacting and consolidation of the posterior vertebræ, with the enlargement of the cap to include them, and much of the development of the caudal muscles must be eliminated before one can realize the primary condition of the rattle, a condition which was, no doubt, but a little advanced upon that now existing in Ancistrodon and Lachesis, as sketched in Figs. 5 and 6. Mus. Comp. Zool., Cambridge, Mass.

OPPOSITION OF MARS.

BY EDGAR L. LARKIN.

THE Coming opposition of Mars will be of interest to astronomers throughout the world; and extensive preparations are being made to observe it. The face of the god of war is sure to be watched, drawn, and photographed with more care than ever before. And the most perfect spectroscopes made will be turned on his ruddy disk. The sun, earth,

and Mars will be on the same straight line nearly, on Aug. 3 at 13 h. 13 m., or at 1 h. 13 m. A.M., Aug. 4, 1892. The time of the opposition will be favorable for observation, since the earth passes its aphelion on July 1, while Mars does not pass his perihelion until Sept, 7. That is, the earth will be 34 days only past the time when at its greatest distance from the sun; and Mars but 35 days from its nearest approach. If these dates could coincide-opposition take place when the earth is at a maximum and Mars at a minimum distance from the sun - then would the earth and Mars be at a minimum distance from each other, or 33,864,000 miles; in which computation a solar parallax of 8.8" and a mean distance of Mars of 141,500,000 miles were employed. However, since the opposition will occur midway between, it is probable that, at the moment of the nearest approach of the two planets, they will be distant about 35,500,000 miles.

The last opposition favorable for close observation was on Sept. 5, 1877; at which approach, Prosessor Asaph Hall discovered two minute moons in revolution around our neighboring world. This important discovery is best given in Professor Hall's own language: "The sweep around the planet was repeated several times on the night of Aug. 11, and at half-past two o'clock I found a faint object on the following side and a little north of the planet, which afterwards proved to be the outer satellite. On Aug. 16 the object was found again on the following side of the planet. On Aug. 17, while watching for the outer satellite, I discovered the inner one." Perhaps this optical discovery reveals the power of modern telescopes in a manner more impressive than any other, thus: "The outer one was seen with the telescope at a distance from the earth of 7,000,000 times its diameter. The proportion would be that of a ball two inches in diameter viewed at a distance equal to that between the cities of Boston and New York" (Newcomb and Holden, "Astronomy," p. 338).

These moons were seen with the 26-inch glass at Washington; but now a 36-inch telescope is in waiting for Mars, and none can predict what will be discovered. The satellites are estimated to be 6 and 7 miles in diameter; and they have a most rapid motion. It is well to note some of the facts about these bodies that served a great purpose, in sweeping away that mythology of astronomy, the nebular hypothesis. Distances from centre of Mars: Deimos, 14,600 miles; Phobos, 5,800 miles. Times of revolution: Deimos, 30 h. 18 m.; Phobos, 7 h. 39 m. But it requires 24 h. 37 m. for Mars to turn on its axis, which divided by 7 h. 39 m. equals 3.22; that is, the inhabitants of Mars have 3.22 months of Phobos every day. This moon rises in the west and passes through a phase in 1 h. 55 m. Deimos is 130 h. 37 m. from rising to rising, or 65 h. 18 m. from rising to setting. Its gain over the rotation of Mars is 3° 24' per hour, hence it requires 106 hours to gain a whole revolution, which, added to the diurnal rotation of the planet, gives the 130 h. 37 m. But 65 h. 18 m. equals 2.155 months of Deimos; therefore the other satellite passes more than two full sets of phases while above the martial horizon, with plenty of eclipses beside.

The main interest in the next opposition rests in the hope that an accurate map of Mars can be made, or that good photographs can be secured, or that the spectroscope may make further revelations concerning the absorption of solar rays by its atmosphere, or that the lines due to the vapor of water may be seen to better advantage, if possible, than at the last. Professor C. A. Young, "Astronomy," p. 337, says: "The probability is that its density is considerably less than that of our own atmosphere. Dr. Huggins has found with

the spectroscope unequivocal evidence of the presence of aqueous vapor."

The idea that water exists on Mars is supported by the fact that white patches are seen on the poles, and that these vary in size with variations of inclination of the axis toward the sun. The white area is now well seen at this observatory on one of the poles. So rapid has been the advance in celestial photography, and in spectroscopy, and also in the size of telescopic objectives during the last 15 years, that without doubt much additional knowledge of Mars will be gained in August.

Knox College Observatory, Galesburg, Ill., July 1.

CROSS-FERTILIZING AND HYBRIDIZING.

THE following excellent suggestions are from the eminent horticulturist, Professor T. J. Burrill, of the Illinois experiment station. The subject is one calling for the cooperation of farmers and fruit growers everywhere with the experiment stations, for where nature has laid the foundation for improvement by giving us such a wild seedling as the Concord grape, that should be made the basis for further work.

Cross-fertilizing and hybridizing have been carried on to some extent, both for the effects of crossing and for the purpose of producing, if possible, new varieties of value. A number of crosses have been made in the apple, as for instance, between Ben Davis and Grimes, Ben Davis and Minkler, or Ben Davis and Duchess, with a view of getting something that will bear like the Ben Davis, but have the better quality of Grimes or Minkler, having the keeping quality of Ben Davis and the hardiness of tree of the Duchess. Different varieties of strawberries have been crossed, and plants are growing from the crossed seed. Blackberry varieties have been crossed, seeds planted, and plants are growing. Raspberries have been crossed - black varieties together, red varieties together, black with red, and blackberries with raspberries. We have now ready for planting more than a quart of seed from crossed raspberry and blackberry, or from selected varieties.

Results are problematical, but there is certainly great room for improvement in our blackberries and raspberries. There is entirely too much seed for the amount of flesh. When we consider that our apples originated from a crab in no way superior to many of our own native wild crabs, and the excellence that has been developed by cultivation and selection, what may we not expect from our raspberries and blackberries, which are so much better naturally? We have only begun with the raspberry and blackberry group of plants. I believe none of the blackberries or dewberries now cultivated are the result of growing plants from seed, but that all are the result of propagating natural seedlings, and it is not at all certain that we have yet the best of the wild varieties. Most of our raspberries are the result of chance.

During the past three seasons some work has been done in the line of crossing and selecting corn. The results seem to indicate that corn grown from crossing two distinct varieties will be larger than the average of the kinds crossed, or where the parents are nearly equal in value. To be sure, nothing has yet been reported in that line, though there would seem to have been abundant time for seedlings to have been grown. If the results of our crosses in corn are to serve as an index, we might expect to find in a second or third generation fruit of the Vinifera type on vines of the

Labrusca. There is a great difference in the susceptibility of fruits to the influence of man. Our grapes have had more time spent on them, extending over a longer period, than have our strawberries; yet the results from grapes are hardly to be compared with the results from strawberries.

A small start has been made in the growth of nuts. The attempts at improvement heretofore have been confined almost exclusively to the pecan and chestnut. Attempts at improvement by growing seedlings from the best native trees have usually been a disappointment, because the seedlings have been inferior to the tree from which seed was taken, just as 999 of every 1,000 seedlings grown from the Concord grape have been so inferior to the parent as to be unworthy of general distribution. But it must be remembered that while there are comparatively few chances for improvement by growing seedlings there are none from simply budding or grafting.

The filbert and walnut of Europe are too tender for our climate. Why may not our hazel-nut and walnut be improved so as to take their places, and be made valuable crops for the rough lands along our streams?

NOTES AND NEWS.

AN interesting feature has been added to the first United States Food Exhibition, to be held at Madison Square Garden, New York, in October next, in the way of a national exhibit of dairy products. This department will be in charge of Professor James Cheesman, who represented the dairy interests of the United States at the late Paris Exposition. Professor Cheesman has a wide reputation as a dairy expert and as an authority on all matters pertaining to the dairy interests. This part of the exposition promises to be one of its most popular features.

The Journal de Colmar of June 19 says: The president of the committee entrusted with the erection of a monument to Hirn has received a letter from the maire of Strasburg, in which he makes the following statement: "I have the pleasure of announcing that, upon the receipt of your letter of the 23d, relative to the participation of the city of Strasburg in the erection of a monument to M. G. A. Hirn, the municipal council has determined to contribute to this work the sum of 800 marks. I have ordered this amount to be credited to you, and it may be obtained from the municipal collector, who will transfer it to the treasurer of the committee, M. Baer. I trust that the example of Strasburg will find many imitators."

-Cornell University closed the college year 1891-2 on June 16, conferring above 300 degrees, of which about one-half were in scientific and technical courses, and a large number of which were the higher degrees. The graduating class was the largest in the history of the University, and is said to have been the strongest. The year terminates the connection of a number of the members of the faculty with the university, and this fact and the anticipated growth for the coming year will render it necessary to appoint a still larger number of new professors and instructors. The indications, judging from the numbers entering at the June examinations, are said to point to an entering class in September of not far from 500, and of probably fifteen or twenty per cent more in the upper classes and as graduate students, making a probable total of about 1,600 in all departments and classes. Sibley College, with its special and graduate schools and departments in mechanical engineering, will prepare for a total of 625 students, a hundred more than in 1891-2. In addition to new appointments already made, it is expected that professorships will be filled in geology, chemistry, and possibly one or two other subjects; also a number of assistant professorships and many instructorships in all departments, including physics, engineering, and mechanic arts. The appointments in scientific departments are usually such as demand familiarity with laboratory instruction, especially in electricity and mechanics.

A Geographical Exhibition, we learn from the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, will be opened this summer at Moscow, in connection with the two International Congresses of Prehistoric Archæology and Anthropology, which are to be held in the ancient Russian capital. The General Staff will exhibit a collection of all the maps, descriptions, and surveys made by Russian travellers in Central Asia, China, and Korea, which are deposited in the Topographical Department of the General Staff and the Scientific Military Committee. They will show also the recently-published maps, based upon surveys in the Empire and adjacent countries. A catalogue of these works is now in preparation.

- The degree of M.A. was conferred, honoris causa, upon Professor Edward Sylvester Morse at the recent Harvard commencement. Professor Morse was born in Portland, Me., in 1838. When but thirteen years of age he began to form a collection of minerals and shells. His first occupation was as a mechanical draughtsman at the Portland locomotive works. Afterward he made drawings on wood for a Boston concern. In 1852 he began a course of study under Agassiz at the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge. In 1866 he founded the American Naturalist, now published in Philadelphia. In 1868 he was made a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1871 Bowdoin College gave him the degree of doctor of philosophy. In 1874 Harvard elected him to a university lectureship, and he was also chosen vice-president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, of which association he afterward became president. While studying marine zoology in Japan he accepted a professorship in the Imperial University at Tokio. He made several other visits to Japan, and formed a collection which was recently sold to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Professor Morse is also the inventor of numerous ingenious appliances for both scientific and domestic uses.

- The British consul in Hainan, in his last report, says, according to Nature, that during the past year he has made two journeys in that island, one to certain prominent hills near Hoihow, known as the "Hummocks," which lie fifteen miles to the west, on the road to Ch'eng mai, the other a gunboat cruise to Hansui Bay. The people at both these places, and presumably all along the north-west coast, though believing themselves Chinese, speak a language which is not only not Chinese, but has a large percentage of the words exactly similar to Siamese, Shan, Laos, or Muong. The type of the people, too, is decidedly Shan, without the typical Chinese almond eye. At one time (1,000 years ago) the Ai-lau or Nan-chau Empire of the Thai race extended from Yun-nan to the sea, and the modern Muongs of Tonquin, like the Shans of the Kwangsi province, the ancestors of both of which tribes belonged to that empire, probably sent colonies over to Hainan; or the Chinese generals may have sent prisoners of war over. It is certain that some, at least, of the unlettered, but by no means uncivilized, tribes in the central parts of Hainan speak a type of language which is totally different from that spoken by the Shan-speaking tribes of the north-west coast. Yet the Chinese indiscriminately call all the non-Chinese Hainan dialects the Li language. The subject, Mr. Parker says, is one of great interest, well worth the attention of travellers. It was his intention to pursue the inquiry when making a commercial tour of inspection round the island, but his transfer to another post compels him to abandon his scheme.

-The latest researches of the Finnish expedition to the Kola Peninsula will modify, as we learn from Nature, the position of the line which now represents on our maps the northern limits of tree-vegetation in that part of Northern Europe. The northern limit of coniferous forests follows a sinuous line which crosses the peninsula from the north-west to the south east. But it now appears that birch penetrates much farther north than the coniferous trees, and that birch forests or groves may be considered as constituting a separate outer zone which fringes the former. The northern limits of birch groves are represented by a very broken line, as they penetrate most of the valleys, almost down to the sea-shore; so that the tundras not only occupy but a narrow space along the sea-coast, but they are also broken by the extensions of

birch forests down the valleys. As to the tundras which have been shown of late in the interior of the peninsula, and have been marked on Drude's map in Berghaus's atlas, the Finnish explorers remark that the treeless spaces on the Ponoi are not tundras but extensive marshes, the vegetation of which belongs to the forest region. The Arctic or tundra vegetation is thus limited to a narrow and irregular zone along the coast, and to a few elevated points in the interior of the peninsula, like the Khibin tundras, or the Luyavrurt (1,120 metres high). The conifer forests, whose northern limit offers much fewer sinuosities than the northern limit of birch growths, consist of fir and Scotch fir; sometimes the former and sometimes the latter extending up to the northern border of the coniferous zone.

A sealed bottle containing a paper requesting the finder to report the place and date of discovery was thrown into the sea at Coatham Pier, Redcar, by Mr. T. M. Follow, on Oct. 8, 1891. On April 12, 1892, according to the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, the bottle was picked up by a fisherman off the island of Hjelmesö, in the extreme north of Norway. The bottle had been immersed for six months, and the shortest distance between the two points is 1,400 miles. This observation confirms the general set of the currents from the east coast of Britain, at first south easterly and then northerly along the continental coast, as shown in Mohn's map of surface drift in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea in Petermann's "Ergänzungsheft," No. 79, for 1885.

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- The Russian Official Messenger (April 22) announces that the Ministry of Domains has decided to make, next summer, the following explorations in Caucasia: (1) The exploration of the mineral springs of the Eastern Caucasus having now been completed, to carry out a similar work in Central and West Transcaucasia; namely, the mineral waters of Khvedur, Uravel, Tsikuban, Platen, and others, in the governments of Tiflis and Kutais, and in the Chernomorsk District; (2) to continue the systematic geological exploration of the government of Tiflis, especially of the valleys of the Yora and the Alazan in Kahetia, and their mineral resources, in view of the projected construction of a railway in Kahetia; and (3) as the detailed study of the Apsheron naphtha region was terminated last year, and the map of the region is ready, to complete the exploration of the Caspian coast naphtha region, and to explore the nickel ores of Dagbestan. The geologist, Simonovich, and the mining officers, Konshin, Barbot-deMarny, and Gavriloff, are commissioned for this purpose, while M. Rughevich is commissioned to explore the naphtha region along the new Petrovsk branch of the Vladikavkaz Railway, which yielded last year 15,000 tons of naphtha, and promises 'to become an important centre of naphtha industry.

- Professor Elihu Thomson, the inventor of the ThomsonHouston Electric Company, contributes an entertaining, scientific, and thoughtful paper on Future Electrical Development," to the July New England Magazine. He explains the possibilities of electricity, in all the public and private conveniences of life, and gives practical examples of its application to manufactures, rapid transit, and domestic offices, such as cooking, ironing, heating, gardening, raising fruit and vegetables, etc.

- Macmillan & Co. announce the issue of a new and extensively revised edition of Mr. Bryce's American Commonwealth." It is to be expected that this new edition will take notice of the many important changes which have occurred since the work was first issued. It is to be copyrighted in America. The same publishers have already issued more than half of Stephen's "Dictionary of Biography," one volume of which is published quarterly. Thirty out of a total of fifty volumes have appeared so far, and the enterprise is so well in hand that there will be no break in the publication of the remaining parts. The work when completed will contain at least thirty thousand articles by writers of acknowledged eminence in their several departments. The memoirs are the result of personal research, and much information has been obtained from sources that have not before been utilized. It has been the aim of the editors to omit nothing of importance and to supply full, accurate, and concise biographies, excluding, of course, those of persons still living.

Communications will be welcomed from any quarter. Abstracts of scientific papers are solicited, and one hundred copies of the issue containing such will be mailed the author on request in advance. Rejected manuscripts will be returned to the authors only when the requisite amount of postage accompanies the manuscript. Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenticated by the name and address of the writer; not necessarily for publication, but as a guaranty of good faith. We do not hold ourselves responsible for any view or opinions expressed in the communications of our correspondents. Attention is called to the "Wants" column. It is invaluable to those who use it in soliciting information or seeking new positions. The name and address of applicants should be given in full, so that answers will go direct to them. The "Exchange" column is likewise open.

For Advertising Rates apply to HENRY F. TAYLOR, 47 Lafayette Place, New York.

ON THE UNCERTAINTY OF CONCLUSIONS.1

BY T. C. MENDENHALL.

ABOUT seven years ago, on the morning of a cold day in winter, a rough-looking, scantily-dressed man was observed to leave a freight car, which was standing upon a side-track near a small country town, and make his way rapidly into the fields and woods beyond.

From his appearance it was evident that he belonged to that vast army of tramps which is never in need of mobilization and which carries upon its muster-rolls many who possess most of the virtues of the good and none of the vices of the bad, having lost only the power of further resistance against continued antagonism and unfriendly environment.

The behavior of this man excited no comment, and his existence was remembered a few hours later only because of the discovery of the body of a stranger, who had evidently been murdered, on the floor of the car which he had been seen to leave. Pursuit followed immediately, and capture within a day or two. One or two clever detectives interested themselves in finding evidence of his guilt, and within a few days had prepared a case which lacked little in the detail of its elaboration or in its artistic finish.

It was proved that two strangers were seen in the suburbs of the town at a late hour on the previous night, although they were not together. The prisoner was identified beyond doubt as the man who hastily left the car in the morning. The murderer had left no means of identification except a small piece of muslin, evidently torn from the sleeve of his shirt, and which was stained with the blood of his victim. On the arrest of the prisoner one or two blood stains were found upon his clothing, and, what was more convincing than all else, the bit of sleeve found in the car fitted exactly into the place in his own garment, from which it must have been torn in the struggle which preceded the crime.

1 Address as retiring president, delivered Jan. 20, 1892, before the Philosophical Society of Washington.

66

While all of this evidence might be classified as circumstantial," it was so complete and satisfactory that no jury could be expected to entertain serious doubt as to the guilt of the prisoner, and, in spite of his protestations of innocence, a sentence to life imprisonment was in accord with the judgment of the general public.

Only a few weeks since this man was set free and declared to be innocent of the crime for which he had already served seven years at hard labor, the misleading character of the evidence on which he was convicted having been exposed through the voluntary confession of the real criminal. The facts thus brought out were, briefly, as follows:

There were three men in the case. The first, who was afterward murdered, slept upon the floor of the car when the second, the real murderer, entered it. In the dark he stumbled over the sleeping man, who awoke and immediately attacked him. The quarrel did not last long, the original occupant being left dead upon the floor of the car while the murderer quickly made his escape, leaving the village and neighborhood behind him as far and as fast as possible. An hour or two later the third man, seeking shelter and sleep, finds his way into the car, and dropping on the floor, is soon in a deep slumber. He awakes at break of day to find that a dead man has been his companion, and to see that his own sleeve is smeared with the blood of the victim. Alarmed by this discovery, and realizing in some degree the perilous position in which he is thus placed, he tears off the stained portion of his garment, and, hastily leaving the car, he flees from the scene as rapidly as possible.

Nothing can be more simple or more satisfactory than this account of the affair, and yet nothing is more natural than that he should be accused of the crime and brought to trial. The evidence against him was convincing, and it was all absolutely true. It was not strange, therefore, that his conviction and imprisonment should follow.

It will doubtless appear to many that the foregoing is too closely allied to the sensational to serve fitly as an introduction to an address prepared for a society of philosophers, and I am ready to acknowledge the apparent validity of the criticism. I am led to its selection, however, because it is an account of an actual occurrence, which illustrates in a manner not to be misunderstood a not unrecognized proposition to a brief exposition and partial development of which I ask your attention this evening. This proposition is that, in the treatment of many questions with which we are confronted in this world, our premises may be absolutely true and our logical processes apparently unassailable and yet our conclusions very much in error.

No department of human knowledge or region of mental activity will fail to yield ample illustration and proof of this proposition. An astonishingly large number of debatable questions present themselves to the human intellect. Many of them are conceded to be of such a nature that differences of opinion concerning them must continue, perhaps, indefinitely.

But there is a very large and a very important class of problems, the solution of which is apparently not impossible and often seemingly easy, regarding which the most diverse views are most persistently held by persons not differing greatly in intelligence or intellectual training.

Men whose business it is to weigh evidence and to reach correct conclusions, in spite of inadequacy of information and perversion of logic, constitute no exception to this statement, but, on the contrary, furnish many of its most notable illus trations.