New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-11-14
PAPERS ON SCIENCES.
SESSION OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY.
SUBJECTS TREATED BY PROFESSORS A. GRAHAM
BELL, AsAPH HALL AND OTHERS.


tanned about fifty members Of the Academy, and the
President called the meeting TO order He said that it
nineteen years since the National Academy Sciences
had met in Yale College. for the first meeting in New
Haven the society was in its second year only. From
that time the present had gone it's work. main
tanning cordial relations with the Government and ready
to do its duty when called upon During the year
the Government had submitted to theAcademy for nyes
tigatiOn three important questions, which had been
abored upon. The present, he said, scientific
| sion for the reading Of papers.
Professor A. Graham Bell then introduced, and read
paper A" The Formation OF a Deaf Variety OF the HUI
man Race" He said that the influence Of selection in
modifying breeds Of domestic animals marked II
this could be done in the human it would be equally
marked 1t had been supposed hitherto that except In
the OF hereditary Diseases nothing OF transmission,
or OF evolution IN the human racehad been observed But
something striking and abnormal IS going among deaf
mutes something that tending to create variety
of the human Tho Professor here quoted reports OF
various asyums and institutions for dcamues, showing
that In 50 out OF 100 deafmutes married TO
deafmutes. These reports did not give the information
whether the marriage in each between persons
COngentay deaf between those who had become deaf
by disease or between Of each kind lie believed that
! those who being cOngenltaly deaf, married
| congenitally deaf persons, were likely to have
deafmute children. The Professor presented diagrams
showing that the probabilities that those who
congcnitay deaf had in almost every instance relatives
who deafmutes also. But with regard 10 the mum
Der deaf children resulting from the marriage OF
deaf parents the facts hard to obtain, in
sequence of tho nconpleeness of the reports on the
subject.
The total number OF deafmutes in the United states
was "a ,OO0 or out OF every 1900. Though he
unable say what the proportion OF deafmute children
from the marriage of deafmute parents deafmute
parent would be- he considered it safe state that IL
would greatly exceed the proportion Of deaf children born
! BET oil
Institutions deaf-mutes did not like to marry
deafmutcs, because they afraid Of trans
hitting their defect to their offspring, and
| either did not marry at ALL only married
hearing persons After fifteen sixteen years Of
pcrcnce In the asyuns the dcafmutes to have be-
come mbucd with the idea that the progen ny would not
be affected and the result has been immense increase
in the marriage Of dcafmucs TO dcafmutcs The Pro-
fcssor said that he had discovered four generations OF
dealmute in which the deafness had actually been trans
mtcd. lie claimed that by bringing children together
In dcaf-mutc institutions and by giving them sign Ian
gulgc which was English, hut was special to deaf
mucs state OF things had been created out OF the purcst
and most philauthropc motives which tmpclcd male
deafmutcs 10 choose female dcafmutes, because they
were surrounded by them and used the same language.
Professor Bel then went into the origin Of the sign Ian
g1agc, and showed that French regarded nine
tcnt Of the gestures lie contcndcd that the dcamues
thought In tn, sign language and when they read English
book had the words in their minds their
/ sign language. This made the dcaimutcs seek each
| others society, work iu together at handi-
crafts, when they had LETT the Institutions
and meet again In societies formed for dcafmute social
intercourse. Naturally they incmarrled Then they
had city and state associations Of dclfmuts5 and
deaf mute journals and conventions. At the latter dis
coutcn'd deaf mutc had proposed 10 out West and
form settlements Of deaf muos. where they might rule
hcrOwu affairs In silent, yO.Cccss way. But IL was
shown that the majority Of the children OF deaf mutes
Tn ehp In
purely speaking persons. Tho disseminated deaf-nutcs
Of the opinion thatby act Of Congress their set
Elements, II they have them, might be restricted for
ever to dcdt!uues. Tho Professor claimed that these
conditions favorable for creating deaf variety Of
the human race and that segregation Ia childhood and
the Of foreign Ncrnacuar were the two great cle
mcut, that producing this unpleasant result Ile
thought that by breaking up the deatmuc school aud
sending their children the public schools they would
learn II not as much tho hearing Children yet enough
20 mako them enjoy life, and comprehend the English
language even to speak somewhat impcrfectly. Such
an experiment had been tried in GrcenOck Scotland and
had been perfect The deafmutcS had formed
far moro friendships among tue speaking children than
among each otncr. and lad learned undoubtedly To sup
pcmout their defects by acuter observations. The con-
cuslon Of the address was followed by marked applause.
Profo,,o W H. Brewer. OF Yale College, 10 show
the truth OF the position taken by Professor Bell and
coutra>cd his facts with regard the deaf by those IN
formed paupcr variety OF the human lie sttl fur
thcr Illustrated the subject by statements of the rise Of
new caste IN India.
Professor Bell again to say that there another
point which he would mike II had been discovered that
those who now congcnAlly deaf and had lost tho
power oi speech which they had, before disease hal
made them deaf, speedily rccalncd the power "f Ian
guacc Special instruction had been devised Tor ms
Then another phauthrnpc scheme had been for
srreatng these uncOnEcnital dcainucS FROM the con
genital draruutcs This tended 10 increase the rhpldity
with which tho conEcul dcHfnuts were 7IinA INTO
new variety, because tho element which had RETARDED
this. namely, marriage with h0nCOhgcnal mate, VAS
Major Powell stated that in hs opinion the law OF
evolution which Professor Bell was trying 10 work out
among dcaf.mutCS had been repealed for the human
Dr. scnddcr skcd Professor Bell II he could state The
proportion OF deaimuto children from nguincou+
dcafuute parents, and II there any law OH the pOut
on that point and the results bcwlldcrlng. Two
catmutrs not relatives, married IN Kentucky ana had
seven children, all of whom could hear. But again
who dcai-mutc married his cousin not deaf
mute, and they had five children all born deaf.
Professor Brewer inquired whether deatinutcs were
originally hard Of hearing or altogether deaf 1890
made hitherto but that ought TO bc. lie cited cast
where young man who was only hard OF hearing had
been educated ut an Institution Of dcafmutcs and had
learned sign language. His hearing developed as he
grew up and he could hear tho other wOrkmen Ia the shop
cOnvcrsng but DID not understand them because he ohS
President Marsh announced that 1t was time 70 adjourn
and the first paper would be considered disposed or By
this time there more than hundred persons pres
ent. besides advanced students and post graduates.
A.aph Hail. dscOycrer OF the Moons Of Mars read paper
calculations on the blackboard. When 1t covered
with figures and characters Professor Hall explained
them and showed how he obtained the unknown quanu-
ties which he had been seeking and FOR which he had tax
en- fy,scvon observation. OF the planet in the years
1870 70 and ~ lie enlarged upon the elliptic Charpc
ter saturn and upon its ring. lie said that Bcssel the
famous astronomer. had greatly oyorcstimated
the bulk of tho ring IN spite of his
! eightytwo observations. although he used hello
meter which an method OF observation. Then
The Professor dyerged Ia consideration OF Titan OF
the exterior moons this planet The maiu idea OF the
Professor WAS to measure the distances of the exterior
satellites Titan aud Japctus excluding Hyperion with
micrumCtcr from the rim or Saturn, at different times BY
fonwine this up I'm numerous observations he had OBJ
tanned ths result Ir tho suns mass be taken 10 unity,
then Saurn's mass would be l-3iS2 IL might also be
possible to estimate It from the pcrurbatiOns OF these
satellites either both, which was tho method pursued
Inv Bcnc To calculate from the pclubdtiOns OF Titan
and JapCtus both ought to give accurate result, but
would greatly increase the number Of equations 10 be
ynVlgI t,ut