Obvious Objection Research Articles

Economic Viewpoint: The Dangers of “Reaganomics”

After four years of steady output growth, and with the prospect of even faster growth this year, capacity constraints are emerging and inflation has doubled from the low point of May 1983. But unemployment has not fallen and some commentators are still calling for fiscal expansion. The ranks of the expansionists have been swollen by the signs of economic slowdown in the US, which have prompted the OECD to call for “an international configuration of policy‐settings conducive to a performance that is both sustainable and adequate”. The noted US‐based economist Rudiger Dornbusch has also called for a fiscal expansion worth about £5bn as part of a general plan to expand borrowing in Europe while the US cuts its deficit. The obvious objection to such a policy prescription is that it would be inflationary. However proponents of reflation are now careful to couch their expansionary fiscal policies in an anti‐inflation framework of tight monetary discipline.In this Economic Viewpoint we take issue with this prescription. We show that there are good theoretical reasons why the combination of tight monetary policy and fiscal expansion will always produce high interest rates and an uncompetitive exchange rate, and we show how this happened to Japan in the mid‐1970s as well as to the UK in 1980 and to the US at the present time. Our examination of these earlier episodes suggests that, although this policy mix is generally successful in boosting consumption and containing inflation, its longer‐term effects on investment and net trade are adverse. Even in a large, relatively‐closed economy these adverse consequences mean that the policies have sooner or later to be reversed. In a small open economy this reversal will happen sooner rather than later.

American Labor and the Catholic Church, 1919-1950

Thirty years ago political scientist Marc Karson proposed that the features which most obviously distinguish the American labor movement from its Euro pean counterparts?the weakness of socialist ideas and the refusal of trade unions to support a labor party?can in considerable part be explained by the influence of the Catholic Church on trade unionists. Karson was concerned with the years 1900 to 1918, when advocates of a party dedicated to the pursuit of socialism conquered the British labor movement. During that period, Karson showed, American church leaders not only denounced socialism, but organized a committee of Catholic trade unionists to combat the doctrine. Churchmen openly threatened to pull their pa rishioners out of the American Federation of Labor if ever succumbed to the so cialist temptation?an awesome threat if could be realized, since roughly half the membership of A.F. of L. unions consisted of Catholics. Clerical pressure, Karson maintained, strengthened the hand of conservative A.F. of L. leaders like Samuel Gompers, John Mitchell, Frank Morrison, and Matthew Woll, all of whom enjoyed good relations with Peter Dietz of Ohio, the priest who led the fed eration's Catholic bloc. As Florence Thorne, Gomper's long-time assistant, told Karson in 1948, the reason American labor never divided into Catholic and social ist or communist wings, like continental European labor movements, was that an tisocialist agitation made the American Federation of Labor safe for Catholicism.1 Karson had his finger on something, but his argument and evidence were deeply flawed. Although Karson's thesis was intended to prove a comparative point, he did not reply to the obvious objection about the progress of socialism and communism in Catholic lands like France and Italy, other than to remark that it may be . . . that those countries would today be completely Socialist or Com munist had the Catholic Church not worked resolutely against that develop ment.2 Karson similarly overlooked the positive side of the church's labor activ ity: its urban missions, its charities, its support for minimum-wage legislation (like

Berkeleyv.Locke on Primary Qualities

Locke was once supposed to have argued that since the colours, sounds, odours, and other ‘secondary’ qualities things appear to have can vary greatly according to the state and position of the observer, it follows that our ideas of the ‘secondary’ qualities of things do not ‘resemble’ anything existing in the objects themselves. And Berkeley has been credited with the obvious objection that similar facts about the ‘relativity’ of our perception of ‘primary’ qualities show that they do not ‘resemble’ anything existing in the objects either, so that both ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ qualities exist only ‘in the mind’. The falsity of this view of Locke has been amply demonstrated in recent years, but no corresponding revision has been made in what remains the standard interpretation of Berkeley's criticisms of Locke. His objections therefore appear to be based on misunderstanding and to be irrelevant to what is now seen to be Locke's actual view and his reasons for holding it. I think this account of Berkeley, like the old view of Locke, is a purely fictional chapter in the history of philosophy, and in this paper I try to show that Berkeley's criticisms involve no misunderstanding and amount to a direct denial of the view Locke actually held.

The Art of the Possible

In an article published a decade ago, R. K. Elliott1 attacked the then orthodoxy which denied that the truth of what poetry asserts is relevant to its aesthetic value. Mr Elliott took Professor Isenberg, a protagonist of the 'no-truth theory', to be arguing that experienced readers do, as a matter of fact, evaluate works of literature on the assumption that the truth of the propositions they contain is irrelevant to their aesthetic value and that this 'delineates the actual structure of our experience of poetry'. Elliott's arguments have been influential enough to merit our taking another look at them. Their force depends essentially upon his treatment of certain examples, examples which are intended to show that there exists poetry whose aesthetic effect depends upon the truth of what it asserts. I shall argue that Elliott mishandles his examples. This will not, of course, justify the theory but it will remove an obstacle to a necessary transfiguration of it. Elliott's initial objection is that poetry often simply states the truth. 'Perhaps the most obvious objection to the no-truth theory is that it cannot accommodate an activity which critics unhesitatingly accept as poetic, that of stating neatly, economically and elegantly what is the case' (p. 8o). As an example he quotes Pope's couplet

Descartes: A Study of His Philosophy (review)

210 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY on that other thing, then it would depend on that thing for more than its existence. But what is there besides its existence? Only its non-existence. (177) If B (consisting of one or more members) is the cause of A and is itself caused,, then A cannot depend completely on B for B itself is a per aliud existent. Thus there must be a per se existent. Unfortunately none of Bobik's arguments appear to meet the most obvious objection to Aquinas' proof. It would appear quite possible that each finite thing depends for its existence on various other interdependent finite things. Each thing taken alone would be a per aliud existent and none would be per se existent. To ask what causes the existence of this entire "'block" of interdependent causes might simply be nonsense. It might make sense to ask for the causes of any particular thing, but not for the cause of the entire "block." In Bobik's terms the B upon which A depends might ultimately be everything, and to ask whether B itself is a per aliud or a per se existent might be like asking whether an army has blue or brown eyes. My final criticism concerns a linguistic distinction frequently used by Bobik as a basis for metaphysical assertions. He distinguishes between predicates which can be applied to a subject using the verb "to be" and those which use the verb "to have." For example, we say, "Socrates is a man," but, "Socrates has humanity." While "man" may be used to designate the "whole" individual, "humanity" refers to what Bobik calls the "formal part" of the individual, i.e., the quality which makes him to be a man (94). The distinction between the use of the verb "to be" or "to have" in the application of a predicate to a subject could conceivably be of some metaphysical interest. However, Bobik seems to misuse the distinction and to create proper usages in order to make a metaphysical point. In one case he asserts that the term "entity" expresses the formal content of being and is the equivalent of "beingness." In support of this point he remarks that one can say, "Socrates is a being," while the proper locution in regard to "entity" is "Socrates has entity" (199-200). The problem is that it would appear that the locutions "Socrates has being" and "Socrates is an entity" are equally correct. In fact, the expression "Socrates is an entity" seems much less peculiar than "Socrates has entity." The same criterion is later used to support the claim that whereas "being" signifies as a "whole," "existence" signifies as a "part" (206). Once again the fact that the expression "Socrates has being" is a legitimate expression is not pointed out, although it would seem to demand some qualifications to the distinctions which Bobik is attempting to establish on linguistic grounds. In spite of these objections I must reiterate that I think Bobik's book is quite useful and at times insightful. In general, it is perhaps unhappy that although he escapes the insularity of medieval scholarship he seems unaquainted with the many contemporary discussions of the problem of predication with which On Being and Essence is largely concerned. BRUCE GAP,SIDE McGill University Descartes: A Study o[ His Philosophy. By Anthony Kenny. (New York: Random House, 1968. Pp. vii+242) According to its preface, this book is designed to be an aid for students. Yet it is not at all an introduction for beginners. It does not offer a comfortable survey of Cartesian BOOK REVIEWS 211 thought; on the contrary, it might rather be called a study of the difficulties and problems of Descartes' philosophy. There may be some doubt, however, if all these problems and difficulties are inherent in Descartes' own thought; perhaps, some of them should better be attributed to what Anthony Kenny supposes to be the thought of Descartes. Above all, Kenny deals with questions of Cartesian epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind. He usually refers to the "Meditationes de prima philosophia," without however neglecting any other important text. The subjects he treats---Cartesian doubt, "Cogito, ergo sum," the Ontological...

Using the Free Market to Resolve the Balance of Payments Problem

ISCUSSIONS of U. S. policy with respect to international payments tend to be dominated by our immediate balance of payments difficulties. I should like today to approach the question from a different, and I hope more constructive, direction. Let us begin by asking ourselves not merely how we can get out of our present difficulties but instead how we can fashion our international payments system so that it will best serve our needs for the long pull; how we can solve not merely this balance of payments problem but the balance of payments problem. A shocking, and indeed, disgraceful feature of the present situation is the extent to which our frantic search for expedients to stave off balance of payments pressures has led us, on the one hand, to sacrifice major national objectives; and, on the other, to give enormous power to officials of foreign governments to affect what should be purely domestic matters. Foreign payments amount to only some 5 % of our total national income. Yet they have become a major factor in nearly every national policy. I believe that a system of floating exchange rates would solve the balance of payments problem for the United States far more effectively than our present arrangements. Such a system would use the flexibility and efficiency of the free market to harmonize our small foreign trade sector with both the rest of our massive economy and the rest of the world; it would reduce problems of foreign payments to their proper dimensions and remove them as a major consideration in governmental policy about domestic matters and as a major preoccupation in international political negotiations; it would foster our national objectives rather than be an obstacle to their attainment. To indicate the basis for this conclusion, let us consider the national objective with which our payments system is most directly connected: the promotion of a healthy and balanced growth of world trade, carried on, so far as possible, by private individuals and private enterprises with minimum intervention by governments. This has been a major objective of our whole postwar international economic policy, most recently expressed in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Success would knit the free world more closely together, and, by fostering the international division of labor, raise standards of living throughout the world, including the United States. Suppose that we succeed in negotiating far-reaching reciprocal reductions in tariffs and other trade barriers with the common market and other countries.' Such reductions will expand trade in general but clearly will have different effects on different industries. The demand for the products of some will expand, for others contract. This is a phenomenon we are familiar with from our internal development. The capacity of our free enterprise system to adapt quickly and efficiently to such shifts, whether produced by changes in technology or tastes, has been a major source of our economic growth. The only additional element introduced by international trade is the fact that different currencies are involved, and this is where the payment mechanism comes in; its function is to keep this fact from being an additional source of disturbance. An all around lowering of tariffs would tend to increase both our expenditures and our receipts in foreign currencies. There is no way of knowing in advance which increase would tend to be the greater and hence no way of knowing whether the initial effect would be toward a surplus or deficit in our balance of payments. What is clear is that we cannot hope to succeed in the objective of expanding world trade unless we can readily adjust to either outcome.2 Suppose then that the initial effect is to increase our expenditures on imports more than our receipts from exports. How could we adjust to this outcome? One method of adjustment is to draw on reserves or borrow from abroad to finance the excess increase in imports. The obvious objection to this method is that it is only a temporary device, and hence can be relied on only when the disturbance is temporary. But that is not the major objection. Even if we had very large reserves or could borrow large amounts from abroad, so that we could continue this expedient for many years, it is a most undesirable one. We can see why if we look at physical rather than financial magnitudes. The physical counterpart to the financial deficit is a reduction of employment in industries competing with imports that is larger than the concurrent expansion of employment in export industries. So long as the financial deficit continues, the assumed tariff reductions Milton Friedman, one of the country's foremost economists, is Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. 1. Footnotes appear at end of article.

Preferences and the Common Good

Previous articleNext article No AccessDiscussionPreferences and the Common GoodB. M. BarryB. M. Barry Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Ethics Volume 72, Number 2Jan., 1962 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/291390 Views: 4Total views on this site Copyright 1962 University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Investment policies for expanding businesses optimal in a long‐run sense

AbstractAn entrepeneur has a given initial fortune and faces the following situation: during any time period he may invest various amounts of his available fortune in various alternatives (differing from interval to interval) and keep the remainder of his money as a reserve fund; The alternatives materialize and pay off according to a probability distribution in which occurrences in different time intervals are independent. We analyze the problem of finding the investment policies (that is, the division of funds during every time interval between the investment alternatives and the reserve) that will make the long‐run growth of the entrepeneur's fortune as rapid as possible.

International Theory and Historical Explanation

International Theory and Historical Explanation

Communism and Islam

M /[Y purpose here is to try to see how far Islam and Communism are compatible-how far, that is, Islam predisposes those who have been brought up in it to accept or to reject the Communist teaching. I shall not attempt to examine Communist infiltration and propaganda in Islamic countries or the degree of their success or failurethat is a task calling for professional skills and sources of information other than those which are at my disposal. Rather shall I try to consider what qualities or tendencies exist in Islam, in Islamic civilization and society, which might either facilitate or impede the advance of Communism. The obvious objection will no -doubt at once be raised that Islam is after all a religion based on revelation, belief in which is clearly incompatible with Marxist ideology. That is undoubtedly true, and the same could be said with equal truth of Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant Christianity, of Judaism, or any other religion worthy of the name. Nevertheless, that doctrinal incompatibility has not prevented many former followers of these religions from becoming Communists. No doubt, the devout and pious Muslim theologian who has studied and understands the implications of dialectical materialism will reject that creed, but such a combination of circumstances is not of common occurrence, nor likely to be of far-reaching significance. The question before us should rather be put thus: in the present competition between the Western democracies and Soviet Communism for the support of the Islamic world, what factors or qualities are there in Islamic tradition, or in the present state of Islamic society and opinion, which might prepare the intellectually and politically active groups to embrace Communist principles and methods of government, and the rest to accept them? Before proceeding any further I feel that a writer on a subject of this nature owes his reader some definition of his own political attitude. Let me confess right away that I lack one qualification which nowadays is generally accepted as-conferring both authority and respectability-I am not an ex-Communist. I can however plead as an extenuating circumstance that I grew up in a generation which was deeply affected by what was happening in Russia, and which felt, generally speaking, that, with all the brutalities and crimes of the Russian revolution, it nevertheless represented something valuable and significant for humanity-'bliss was it in that dawn to be alive'-and I am therefore perhaps able to understand something of the attraction as well as of the repulsion of the Communist creed. Of my own political attitude let me say this, that I believe that

Surface activity following administration of radioactive phosphorus.

Soon after radioactive phosphorus became available for medical research, it was found that the uptake following administration to animals or man is greater and more rapid in metabolically active tissue, such as regenerating liver, bone marrow, spleen, and malignant tumors, that eventually it becomes widely distributed, with its greatest concentration in bone, and that the labeled phosphorus is retained longer in neoplastic tissues than in equally active normal tissues (5, 6, 11). The radiophosphorus was found in higher concentration in the nuclei of normal or neoplastic cells than in the cytoplasm (1, 21, 22), and within the nuclei most of the p32 was in the nucleoprotein (16). It was concluded that the higher specific activity and turnover in tumor tissue was related to increased mitotic activity. By assaying weighed amounts of tissue, it was shown that the uptake in neoplastic breast tissue was two to seven times that in normal breast tissue, while lymph nodes with metastases were three to four times more active than normal nodes (7). Studies were extended to the measurement of activity on the surface of the skin, and it was reported that one case of melanoma and two cases of mycosis fungoides showed increased activity over the involved areas, compared to normal areas (15). LowBeer and his co-workers (13), carrying out systematic surface measurements of beta activity after administration of P32, reported increased surface activity over a limited number of a wide variety of superficial and subcutaneous lesions, both neoplastic and inflammatory. In a series of 41 malignant breast tumors subsequently reported (17), they found at least 25 per cent higher activity over the involved breast than over the normal, following intravenous administration of P32. These results suggested the possibility of a simple technic for differentiating benign from malignant breast tumors, and for determining the existence of lymph node metastases. It seemed possible that, after a suitable period following the administration of radiophosphorus, one could measure the beta activity on the skin compared to an uninvolved area, and thus diagnose a malignant process. An obvious objection is that the very short range of the P32 beta particles in tissue may make the observed activity dependent on the thickness of the overlying tissues. Nevertheless, because of the simplicity and rapidity of the suggested technic, the present study was undertaken to evaluate its diagnostic possibilities for superficial lesions. Attention has been limited to superficial lesions, since it is virtually impossible to detect by surface observations beta activity arising at a depth of more than 5 mm. Selection of Cases This report presents the results of surface measurement of beta activity on 30 patients (see Tables I and II). For the study of surface activity over lymph nodes, patients were selected with obvious superficial lymph node metastases, axillary or supraclavicular, or both.

The Chorus of Alcman'sPartheneion

The irregular division of vv. 35 sqq. between two semi-choruses seems to bo widely accepted and approved.2 I wish first to discuss the obvious objection that such an irregular division is unparalleled in a strophic chorus,3 and secondly to show that the reasons advanced for the division are themselves insufficient.

A Paper on the SIGNIFICANCE OF ELECTROCARDIOGRAMS OF THE LOW-VOLTAGE VARIETY

Of recent years there has been a good deal of controversy on the significance of the low-voltage electrocardiogram. Some authorities consider that such tracings indicate changes in the heart muscle, whilst others deny that their occurrence is of any special significance. Review of the, Literature The literature on the subject is not large. Almost vvithout exception, tracings showing low-voltage changes in all three leads have alone been considered. Sprague and White1 analysed fifty-seven cases, all curves having an excursion of not more than 5 mm. either side of the base-line. They found that the arteriosclerotic group Was the commonest (thirty-four cases), ten of these having definite occlusion of the % coronary arteries. Ten cases belonged to the hypothyroid group. The remaining thirteen included three cases in which syphilitic infection had been a~ marked feature. Finally, it was definitely stated that low-voltage curves were not found with normal hearts. Willius and Killins2 examined a large number of electro cardiograms, taking the same standard as above. They found low-voltage curves occurring in only 0.3 per of all cases, but those showing associated graphic changes were excluded. Of the 140 cases ultimately studied, 32 per cent, had cardiac disease as the predominant feature. Of the remaining 68 per cent., the largest number occurred in patients with either diabetes or chronic nephritis. Burnett and Piltz3 comment on the acceptance of a 5-mm. deflection as a standard for low-voltage curves, and suggest that excursions of a somewhat greater ampli tude should be included in this category. They con sider a number of cases that show deflections up to 8 mm., stating., however, that the smaller the excursion the greater its significance, especially in leads I and II. They conclude that the occurrence of low-voltage curves, even in the absence of demonstrable cardiac changes, may be considered as extremely suggestive of cardiac disease. Speckman and Rich4 record a study of fifty cases, forty-nine of which showed clinical evidence of heart disease. The standard adopted was that the total deflec tion of the QRS complex did not exceed 5 mm. in any of the three leads. They state that the occurrence of such low-voltage changes is of serious prognostic import. Arteriosclerosis, with or without hypertension, was the chief aetiological factor. The total deaths recorded were thirty-six. Thirty-two of these patients died within six months of the time the first electrocardiogram showing low voltage changes had been taken. Post-mortem examina tions were performed on fourteen of the cases ; ten of these showed some degree of sclerosis in the coronary arteries. On microscopical examination an abnormal myocardium was discovered in every case, some degree of fibrosis being the most usual finding. Criteria of Present Investigation Our work was undertaken in an attempt to determine two factors : (a) whether a low-voltage curve has any clinical significance, and (?>) whether this significance (i; existing) varies in any way according to the lead in whiciy it occurs. All electrocardiograms examined were taken with stan dard instruments supplied by the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company, Ltd. ; immersion electrodes were used, except in the case of a few bed-ridden patients, where Kohn electrodes were substituted. The standard usually accepted for a low-vol tage electro cardiogram is an excursion of not more than 5 mm. eithei side of the base line. There appears to be, however, an obvious objection to such a standard. For example., an electrocardiogram showing an R wave 4 mm. high and an S wave 4 mm. in depth, would fall into this category, whereas one having an R wave 6 mm. in height and no S wave would not, although it seems reasonable to con sider that the.latter tracing belongs more correctly to the low-voltage variety :than the former. After consideration, it was agreed to include only such cases as showed 7 mm. or less between the top of the R wave and the bottom of the S wave. Should the tracing show only one of these waves, its height or depth must be 7 mm. or less. Type of Case The cases examined fall into two main categories: (1) those in which electrocardiograms show low-vol tage tracings in leads I or II (or both) ; and (2) those in which el ctrocardiograms show definite low-voltage tracings in all leads. It was found that over 10 per cent, of electro cardiograms show low-vol tage curyes in lead III. It is obvious, therefore, that this condition is quite common, and cannot be considered abnormal. The other two classes of case will now be considered separately.

A Rapid Hydrogen Electrode Method for Determination of Hydrogen Ion Concentrations in Bacterial Cultures or in other Turbid or Colored Solutions

Recently the determination of hydrogen ion concentrations has come into such general use in biologic work that the question often arises as to the choice of-a method for this purpose. The colorimetric method has proven suitable for most routine bacteriologic work, and has the advantage of yielding a large number of determinations in a given period of time. Its limitations however are noteworthy. In general, it does not permit of more than a fair degree of accuracy especially for colored or turbid solutions; for opaque solutions it cannot be used; when large percentages of or are in solution, its results are not dependable because of the so-called salt and protein errors of indicators; and the preparation of the standard solutions, in which one is required to assemble a great number of calibrated burets, pipets, bottles, etc., and to recrystalize, dry to constant weight and accurately weigh a number of reagents, many of which are difficult to obtain, makes it a cumbersome method. On the other hand, the extreme accuracy possible by the hydrogen electrode method, with potentiometer and constant temperature device, is seldom required in biologic investigation. Moreover, the cost of such equipment is prohibitive for many laboratories. More simplified outfits are described in texts on physical chemistry, but the obvious objection to them is the relatively enormous amount of time consumed in saturating the solution with hydrogen gas. This difficulty is obviated by observing the principle suggested by Hasselbach1 in which the solution and gas are brought into equilibrium in a few minutes by shaking in a closed vessel.

High-School Students' Descriptions of Their Methods of Study

Before we can modify the study-habits of high-school students it is first necessary to get from them some statement of their habits as they actually are. As a means of arriving at such a statement the questionnaire has been frequently used. The disadvantage of this method of investigation is that such questions must be, of necessity, leading questions. By careful questioning, a pupil can be led to discover that he has a whole category of study-habits which he uses or might use on some occasion or other. Conclusions based on such methods may give an entirely erroneous impression of the methods of study which are actually used from day to day. Another method of investigation attempts to have the pupil describe the method by which he prepares a given assignment, and thus to have him reproduce, spontaneously and without taking his cue from anyone else, his methods of study in a specific instance. The obvious objection to this second method is that high-school pupils are not'keen in their analyses of their own habits and mental processes. However, such descriptions do afford an insight into the more regularly established habits. By this method the process which is repeated from day to day is almost sure to be commented on by the pupil. More exceptional methods will probably not be mentioned. If a given pupil has habits of study sufficiently characteristic to differentiate him from others they will very likely appear. Following this second method of investigation, all the pupils of the high school, which includes also, in part, pupils of the seventh and eighth grades, were given the following exercise for the same period in the day: With your assignment for the next period before you, (i) Describe point by point the different things you will do in preparing it; (2) Give the general topic with which your assignment deals; (3) Grade; (4) Any special device which you 673

II. On the comparative morphology of the leaf in the vascular cryptogams and gymnosperms

Eichler, in his dissertation on the development of the leaf, defined the primordial leaf as the young leaf before internal differentiation or external distinction of parts; and further pointed out that subsequently two parts of it may be distinguished—the foliar base (blattgrund) which gives rise to the sheath and the stipules, if present, and the upper leaf (oberblatt) which developes into the simple branched lamina. The petiole is also, according to Eichler, derived from the upper leaf, though Goebel describes it as being intercalated between the two parts. The first part of the present paper is devoted to a discussion of this mode of treatment of the leaf. In accordance with the views clearly expressed by Sachs and others, the terms stem and leaf are to be regarded only as expressions denoting certain relationships of the parts of the shoot ; the leaf is essentially an outgrowth from the stem. If this proposition be accepted, the same mode of morphological treatment ought to be applied to both. Now, in the treatment of the shoot as a whole, priority of importance is always attached to the mode of origin, and sequence of appearance of the several parts, while subsequent changes of conformation and disturbance of their arrangement, resulting from peculiarities of the distribution and localisation of growth, are regarded as of but secondary importance. In treating of the leaf, however, this principle is not kept in view. The very distinction of foliar base and upper leaf is chiefly based upon results of intercalary growth which would be regarded as but of secondary importance in treating of the shoot at large. One of the objects of the investigations detailed in this paper was to ascertain, by comparative study of the lower forms, whether there is sufficient ground for this inconsistency of treatment. It is further pointed out that, though this treatment is not open to obvious objection in the case of simple leaves, in branched leaves the parts thus distinguished are not morphologically co-ordinate. On dividing the leaf into foliar base and upper leaf, a distinction is drawn between the lower part of the axis (so to speak) of the leaf and the whole of its upper branch system—a distinction which might be compared with that of the bole of a forest tree below the lowest branches from the whole of the upper part of the trunk with its branches of all orders; such a distinction would not lead to a true knowledge of the morphology of the tree, or of the relation of its parts one to another. It is found that a comparative study of the leaf of the lower vascular plants does not justify the continuance of this inconsistency in the method of treatment of axis and leaf, but rather that the leaves of the lower forms lend themselves to a consistent treatment throughout their length as branch systems. As we rise in the scale, the main axis of the branch system becomes gradually more differentiated as a supporting organ, distinct from the members of higher order which it bears, while the assimilating function chiefly devolves upon its flattened branches. This being the case, this axis must be recognised by a distinct term: the name phyllopodium is proposed to designate the main axis of the leaf exclusive of its branches (pinnæ); thus the relation of the pinna to the phyllopodium is similar to that of the leaf to the axis. Three parts of the phyllopodium may be distinguished in complicated leaves, but this distinction is only to be drawn where a difference really exists; the basal portion may be called the hypopodium , and coincides with Eichler’s “blattgrund; ”the mesopodium is the equivalent of the petiole; the third part, or epipodium , differs from the “oberblatt" of Eichler in including only the upper part of the phyllopodium, exclusive of its branches . This method of treatment of the leaf is consistent with the treatment of the stem, while the parts severally distinguished are morphologically co-ordinate. As above stated, this method is amply borne out, and shown to be a natural one, by the study of the development of leaves in the lower vascular plants.

Measuring Earthquakes

I.—METHODS IT is difficult to define the word earthquake in terms A which will not cover cases to which the name is inappropriate. To say that an earthquake is a local disturbance of the earth's crust, propagated by the elasticity of the crust to neighbouring portions, is true, but the definition does not exclude, on the one hand, such tremors of the soil as are set up by the rumbling of a carriage, by the tread of a foot, or even by the chirp of a grasshopper, nor, on the other, those slow elastic yieldings which result from changes of atmospheric pressure, from the rise and fall of the tides, and perhaps from many other causes. One writer, in his definition of the word, limits the name earthquake to disturbances whose causes are unknown—a course open to the obvious objection that if the study of earthquakes ever advanced so far as to make the causes perfectly intelligible we should, by definition, be left with no earthquakes to study. It must be admitted, however, that in the present state of seismology this objection has no force, for in assigning an origin to any disturbance likely to be called an earthquake, we have, so far, been able to do little more than guess at possibilities. The more practicable task of determining what, at any one point within the disturbed area, the motions of the ground during an earthquake exactly are has lately received much attention, and in this department of seismology distinct progress has been made.