with a moist layer above it, with the result that the rocks along a part of the line of contact would have their melting point lowered, and would take up water in combination, tending to increase in bulk, and forming a mass having many of the properties of ordinary lavas. The swelling of the mass at a line of weakness would tend to fracture the superincumbent rocks. The relief of pressure so obtained would set free large quantities of the occluded gases and vapors, and these would bring with them rock materials in a solid and molten state. A close analogy occurs in the case of a bottle of soda water when the cork is taken out, the sudden liberation of the gas in solution driving part of the water out of the bottle. Thus volcanic lava, so far from being a material distributed as a continuous layer in all parts of the earth, is a special product of regions which have just undergone profound geological changes, and the significance of this in relation

to the geographical distribution of active volcanoes is very great. Again, it becomes evident that the depths at which centers of activity-i. e., "pockets" of swelling or expanding material-are developed may vary considerably, and we are able to account for the fact that volcanoes near one another may be quite independent, while others, more distant, may act sympathetically. Finally, lavas may originate in rocks of widely different constitution-from crystalline rocks to the carboniferous clays which produce anorthite lavas. The indispensable factor, the tendency to increase in volume, may of course be supplied by other substances than water, as, for example, by chlorides, like masses of rock-salt, which would explain the emanations from exceptional volcanoes, like those of Hawaii, where the place of water vapor is taken by hydrochloric acid or by sulphates or combustible carbon compounds.

THE FOUNDER OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

ORD

has been received that James

WOR Smithson, the founder of the

Smithsonian Institution, must be turned out of his grave in Genoa, Italy, to make room for a quarry.

Smithson died at Genoa in 1829, and was buried in a small and isolated British cemetery on the heights of San Benigno. The cemetery is under the care of the British consul at Genoa, but the land belongs to the Italian Government. Near by is a quarry, from which the city gets the stone for its works. Much more stone is now needed for the extensive harbor improvements which have been begun, and hence all the graves in the cemetery must be removed.

Smithson left his entire estate of over half a million dollars to "the United States of America to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men."

The princely legacy came as a surprise to the United States. He had never visited this country, nor had he any American friends or, as far as we know, any correspondents across the ocean. His plan was unique and has given the United States a scientific institution such as no other nation in the world possesses. Today the institution which bears Smithson's name, in addition to the income of the Smithsonian fund proper, which amounts to about $30,000

yearly, has charge of the expenditure each year of $450,000. Exploration and all branches of geographical science have been generously encouraged and assisted by the institution during the half century of its existence.

The nation to whom he was so generous ought to insist in honoring the memory of their great benefactor by bringing him to this country and giving him a permanent resting place in the grounds of the institution which he founded. It would be base ingratitude on our part to bury him again in Genoa, in another cemetery, where, as time goes on and the city grows, he will be again disturbed. We should place him where he may rest in peace, not for another seventy-five or one hundred years, but for as long time as the great nation lives in which he showed such complete confidence and respect.

GAZETTEER OF THE PHILIPPINES

"PRONOUNCING Gazetteer and A "PRONOUNCING Gazetteer and Geographical Dictionary of the Philippine Islands" has been prepared by the Bureau of Insular Affairs of the War Department, and issued as Senate Document No. 280, Fifty-seventh Congress, first session.

The gazetteer proper contains 264 pages, including the index, while the geographical dictionary occupies 668 pages, exclusive of the maps, charts, and illustrations.

The work contains the most recent and authoritative information, from official and other sources, concerning the islands, relative to their geography, physical features, areas, communications, population, towns, resources, wealth, products, industries, commerce, finance, social economy, natural history, military occupation, and civil government, followed by an alphabetically arranged descriptive list of the islands, provinces, districts, pueblos, cities, towns, mountains, volcanoes, rivers,

seas, straits, gulfs, bays, lakes, capes, light-houses, and other mapped objects and places to the number of 10.300.

The work is so extremely valuable that it is unfortunate the edition is so limited that only a few copies can be obtained by the public. Persons who are unable to obtain a copy from a Senator or Representative may purchase one from the Superintendent of Public Documents, Washington, D. C., for $1.75.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CUBA

IN a nuas been made of the

N a previous number of this Maga

very complete telegraph system constructed in Cuba by the U. S. Signal Corps since the Spanish-American war.* The system was turned over to the Cuban government when the United States withdrew from the island.

Another important work was completed recently when the railroad was opened that binds together the ends of the island. An English-American syndicate built the line. H. I. Davies, writing in The Scientific American,† has this to say of its value:

The railroad is of standard gage, and its bridges are of steel and masonry; its equipment will be similar to that of the best American railways, and it is intended to run through sleeping cars between Havana and Santiago de Cuba, a distance of nearly 900 miles.

Along the main line are to be found great areas of land of the richest description, well watered and in most cases well wooded, suitable for sugar cane, tobacco, Indian corn, cotton, coffee, cacao, and all of the fruits of the tropical and sub-tropical regions. Other districts are peculiarly adapted to cattle;

* See NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, P. 407, December, 1902; also report of the Chief Signal Officer, Gen. A. W. Greely, for 1902, pp. 11-17.

† January 24, 1903.

cattle do well everywhere, for the everywhere, for the grasses are luxuriant and highly nutritious, and there is usually an abundance of water. Around the coast are to be found many excellent harbors, and it is reported and believed that the unexplored part of the island contains much hidden mineral wealth.

The interior, which is sparsely populated, is comparatively level, and largely covered with hardwood timber, and while the soil of the different districts is generally of extraordinary fertility, some places are more desirable than others, both in this respect and in regard to healthfulness. For the tropics, the climate is a tolerable one, and the island will soon be rendered more healthy by foreign irrigation, drainage, and an improved system of sanitation. The northern employes of the Cuba company have as a rule been free from

Courtesy of The Scientific American

illness of any kind, notwithstanding their employment on railway construction under conditions not always favorable to health. Unlike many of the West India islands, Cuba is entirely free from poisonous reptiles, and has fewer mosquito and similar pests than any other southern regions.

There are no obtainable government lands in Cuba; practically all of the lands are held by individuals, and in the eastern half of the island they are usually held in large areas. No systematic land survey has yet been made, and the large tracts are mostly in irregular forms and their boundaries are difficult to define and trace; land titles in the unoccupied and in the newly settled parts of Cuba are in many cases defective and need investigation, though the government has recently taken steps toward the perfection of titles.

certain trees stop because of excess of water in the soil, and so on, is depriving the term of its fixed and definite value.

While on the subject of Professor Russell's note, I may be permitted to suggest further that the lower limit of tree growth in many parts of the West is determined by temperature rather than aridity, though in some cases aridity is the controlling factor. To avoid misinterpretation, it may be well to call attention to the self-evident fact that the temperature along the lower limit of timber on our western mountains is not, of course, too high for all tree growth, but too high for the particular kind or kinds of trees which flourish in that particular region. Thus the lower limits of the yellow pine and of the several species of juniper and nut pine are determined by definite temperatures. Other kinds of trees flourish at higher temperatures, but these trees have not access to the region.

C. HART MERRIAM.

BUREAU OF FORESTRY

TH HE work begun in 1902 by the Bureau of Forestry to check the advance of the sand dunes along the southeastern coast of the United States and in other sections of the country is being continued this year.

In southern Virginia and northern North Carolina a chain of immense sand dunes stretches north and south along the coast. These dunes are moving slowly landward, and within the last few years have become dangerous to the United States life-saving stations and to private property of large value. Some time ago, at the request of a number of private owners, the Bureau made an examination of a district in

Currituck County, N. C., and began work at one point to fix the drifting sand sufficiently to permit forest planting. In coöperation with the owners of

the land, board fences and other structures were erected to alter the course of the most threatening dunes. The work was so successful that last spring the ground was in condition for the planting of beach grass, which is being used temporarily as a cover. With a fair growth of grass this season, forest planting on from 30 to 50 acres may be begun this year. The forest, besides protecting the buildings, will yield a much-needed supply of fuel. At other points in the same district, which extends 30 miles along the coast, the Bureau is now giving similar aid.*

An investigation is also being made of the dunes formed by the drift sand along the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon. The dunes are destroying valuable orchards and rich agricultural lands. They form serious hindrances to transportation along the lines of the Northern Pacific Railway and the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company. After a careful examination the Bureau will attempt to devise methods for controlling the movement of the sand. The Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company is assisting in the investigation.

ARGENTINA-CHILE BOUNDARY

AWARD

HE decision rendered in the Ar

gentina-Chile boundary dispute by King Edward VII is in the nature of a compromise. Argentina receives. about 15,600 square miles of the disputed territory and Chile about 21,000. The area acquired by Argentina is the more fertile and valuable agriculturally and includes the upper valleys of several rivers flowing into the Pacific. Chile gains a large area of forest country and many square miles of upland, where large flocks of sheep can roam. The results of this dispute have been the

*See "Report of the Forester for 1902," by Gifford Pinchot. Pp. 135.