The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-08-24
The savnns nj Salem, Mass.


The members of the American Science As
sociation have not yet presented any solution
Of the Salem witchcraft, although satisfac-
tory solution of that ancient mystery might be
desirable, If, as may be inferred from the ex-
traordinary spread of modern spiritualism in
New England, many of Its hardest ngnum-
vitae heads, as well as some of its weakest,
still adhere to superstitions which wrought
mischief and death in the days of Cotton
Mather and his contemporaries.
A brief enumeration of the subjects which
engaged the attention of the sacans at Salem
on the third day of their meeting will suffice
to indicate, however, that the range of their
inquiries is sufficiently wide and interesting.
These subjects comprised the arctic winds, the
longevity of American ships, the values of the
standard monetary units In which United States
securities are quoted in certain European
commercial centres, Euclid's assumption
relative to parallels, the Boston Dry Dock,
tide observations, the laws Of the DETECTION Of
beams, tested by experiment; the chemistry
of copper, the velocity of the electric current
over telegraph wires, an improved method of
observing meteoric showers, planetary inau-
ence on rainfall and temperature, new
method Of producing, by the electric spark,
figures similar to those of Lichtenberg, for
mula for computing the axial rotation of any
primary planet, the theory of the composition
of forces, ETHEREAL mediums, the trichiaaa
spiralis-which, or something like it, Is to be
found, according to Agassiz, not only in pork,
but in fish, flesh and fowl, so that to escape
from such little creatures we must abstain from
all food, or insist upon its being properly
cooked-the glands In acacia and cassia, the
Importance of visual education, the valley of
the Amazon, the mineral resources Of China,
which, Notwithstanding ages Of dense popu-
lation, yet remain to be developed; embry-
onic characters in American salamanders, the
metamorphosis Of Siredon into Amblystoma,
American phyllopod crustaoea, the migrations
of Indian tribes, the discovery Of the remains
of the horse among the ancient ruins Of Gen.
trail America, physical geography among the
aborigines of North America, the distribution
Of the aborigines Of Alaska and adjacent Ter
ritories, and, finally, the position Of scientific
investigation in the community.
This last subject was eloqusntly treated by
Professor Gould, of Cambridge, who enlarged
upon the opposition from theological sources
to science and upon the serious dangers that
threaten it at present in our community. Pro-
lessor Gould asserted that shat man is no
loyal follower of science who bases her claim to
support upon immediate practical utility,
which is the distinguishing trait of the Ameri-
can mind" But, while we would not in the
least detract from the claims of pure science
to recognition and encouragement, we must
remind the learned professor that the demand
for immediate utility, to which he alludes as a
trait of the American mind, is inevitable in
the actual condition of new people absorbed
in building up an empire on this vast Cont
nent. What we urgently need and what we
are daily obtaining is the increase of the
manifold applications Of science. Meanwhile,
let the sauans at Salem devote themselves as
zealously as they please to the discovery and
calculation Of the abstruse principles on which
those practical applications depend.