The Washington herald., 1913-11-16
WORK OF SCIENTISTS
EMBRACED IN REPORT
Bird Life, leebergs, Aviation, and
Polar Research Contained in
Smithsonian Publication.
AMUNDSEN TELLS OF TRIP

The Smithsonian report for 1912 has just
been issued by the Government Printing
Once. II has the usual general appendix
containing a select series Of scientific
essays of special value TO teacher and
all others engaged in the diffusion of
knowledge. The new volume contains
thlrty-eight separate papers, each of
which deals with some important phase
of science.
Among these papers. one of the most
entertaining is by Mr.. c. v. Boys on
experiments with soap bubbles, in which
the subject is treated both from an
artistic and a scientific point OF view.
The original article was a lecture de-
liyered before the French Physical So
ciety and was given with some hestita-
ton by the author, who feared that its
seemingly slight scientific value rendered
ii scarcely presentable before so learned
a body. Nevertheless. Mr. Boys sue
ceeds in demonstrating several physical
laws and principles by his bubbles;
namely, tension. capiilarity, rigi6ity.
viscosity. mobility. reflection. &C
Those singular birds of the antarctic
region, the Penguins. are well described
and depicted by DR.. L. Gain. of the
Charcot Expedition.
'Icebergs and Their Location In Navi-
cation" is the title of a paper by Prof.
Howard 7. Barnes, of McGill Univer-
sity, Montreal, Canada
An article of interest to quite another
circle Of readers is one by Willy Pastor
on the music of primitive peoples and
the beginnings of European music. He
shows what a world of meaning a saw
age can put into the simple beating Of
a drum. and explains the difference be-
A. - w.rhs s,I, L.
most concerned with the quality of a
tone and very small intervals. and
European music which gets its effect
from a succession of tones and the use
of very large intervals He also deals
with the origin of this European poly
phonic music.
Mr.. S. Zaborowski, of the School Of
Anthropology in Paris, writes Of the
slave population in ancient Greece. From
it one is enabled to obtain very good
idea of the social ana economic condi-
tions which prevailed IN ancient Greece
during the height OF the slave trafhc,
which was instrumental in effecting a
decline in the efficiency and productive
ness of her citizens. Slaves were en-
ployed at such low rates and were secured
in SC many ways that every one owned
at least one or two who were made to
perform all the household and industrial
work, leaving the citizen owners to spend
their time in idleness and luxury. II
was for this reason that nearly all
Greeks maintained an arfstocratic atti-
tude toward life.
Mr.. w. ]. Humphreys, professor of
meteorological physics in the United
States Weather Bureau, contributes an
original article which will be of interest
and Of practical value 10 aviators and
students of mechanical flight. This Is an
illustrated, paper entitled Holes in the
Air." which means, the author tells us.
the various places in the atmosphere
where the conditions. SO rar as flying is
concerned. very much resemble actual
holes or vacuities Actual holes could not
exist, however, since the ar surrounding
such places would rush in and I'LL them
with a velocity of about 80 miles an hour
at ordinary temperatures, and the avia-
tor could never get into such hole pro-
vided II did exist.
An account of the expedition to the
south pole is given by the eminent ex-
plorer, Roald Amundsen. This report is
exceedingly entertaining covering, as ii
does, such a notable exploit, and pre-
senting the events and achievements OF
the little band Of explorers in thrilling
manner.