The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1880-11-19

bones in churches in Rome, and in many
rural chapels in Switzerland and the Ty-
rol, labeled ssHere lies the bones of our
beloved daughter" etc., are simply hor-
rible. Ii the dead are to be sepulchred
and preserved to await resurrection to
new life, commend us to the cloister
system of Bologna. The open area
which is surrounded by all these
galleries and cloisters is reserved for
the burial of the poor, and burned
to make room for new corners, the ashes
being deposited in urns and placed un-
der the open porticos. This seems bar
barous, indeed, when compared with the
care taken of the bodies of the rich; but
il is no worse than the custom at Pere le
Chaise of evicting the tenants of rented
graves who are in arrears for rent, and
tumbling them into common trenches
outside the city; or the Spanish custom
of stripping the dead before casting
them into pit with qu1cklime to hasten
decomposition; or even the practice of
the Parrees, of Persia, who deposit the
bodies of their dead at the summit of
tall towers that the birds of prey may
pick the flesh from the bones, which
then drop through the gratings into the
dead charnel pit beneath. Surely there
is some better, wiser, more economical,
and more philosophical, as well as more
natural and agreeable method of dispos-
:ng of the dead than any of those yet
p4acticed upon this changing and alter
sting footstool of the Almighty by His
darkened and cropping children
Turning from this subject, by an easy
transition we are reminded of the COM
ing meeting of the savants of the world
who are investigating the history of the
dead past by study of the inscriptions
written by nature upon her rocks and
minerals, preserved in her strata, and re-
vealed by the upheaval of her earth
quakes, the eternal corrosion of the ele-
ments by the constant action of frost and
snow, by the ever changing yet sure and
consistent action of her laws. The sec
ond international congress of geologists
is to be held at Bologna during the COM
ing year. The first congress was held at
Paris in 1878. One of the main objects
of the conference is to devise method
for the unifcation of geological names
and figures, and the formation of some
identical geological nomenclature. It is
also proposed to establish an information
al system of colors and figures adapted to
the representation of geological maps.
All scientists and philosophers, and OBJ
servers of the laws of nature, will
appreciate this movement, and be struck
with its magnitude and importance.
and the great advantages it will give to
united and systematic scientific re-
search. A common system which scien
tific men of all nations and all Ian
guages can understand will render the
dissemination of newly-discovered facts
and phenomena easy, and increase the
interest and expedite the discoveries of
philosophic men throughout the world.
Prizes are offered for the best methods,
the first prize being five thousand francs,
and all plans should be sent before May
/, 1881. Committees will report on Jan.
1, 1882. It is desirable that essays and
communications should, as far as possi
BILE, be written in French, that being the
common diplomatic and scientific Ian
guage, and better known and understood
than any other. Correspondence should
be addressed to Prof. M. j. Capelline,
President of the Association. It is de-
sired and expected that scientific men of
the United States will contribute their
mature thought upon this subject, and
be present and participate in the delib-
erations of this most important congress.
FERNANDO JONES.