A NOTE ON THE APPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD TO LITERATURE.

BY C. MICHENER, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.

PEOPLE have lately begun to study literary products inductively; but that study has been almost entirely systematic. Words, sentences, paragraphs, figures of speech, etc., are counted and classified, and from the results obtained some slight conclusions are drawn as to the development of style. This is undoubtedly good work. But it is easy work and perhaps it is on that account that we so readily see that it is good.

In the present paper I wish to propose something more difficult. I wish to indicate the use of a science as a tool in the study of literary products scientifically. The history of any science is a story of development by stages, each successive stage of advance caused by the application of another department of science to the investigation of the one in question, for example, mathematics to electricity.

Literature is a product of the mind, and its use and purpose are by and for the mind. Is it not then intimately connected with psychology, and should not an investigation and comparison of the facts of each be of benefit in determining the laws of each?

Let us take, for example, that exceedingly important part of most literary products, Plot. As an outline for the study of plot (not to be confounded, of course, with plot content), I would propose the following:

(A.) The psycholgical bases of plot. Here the main part of the work is to be done. The exceedingly delicate mental phenomena included loosely under such terms as attention and interest are to be investigated by experiments as wide in range as possible; and from all this should result facts enough for the construction of the ideal plot and the determination of its structure. might call

This we

The typical plot, that is, plot stripped of all accidental factors and limitations. The next step would be to consider the various

adaptive modifications which this typical plot would undergo when subjected to the restraints and environment of the various great classes of literary products; and our investigations under the first head, and I think I may say such investigation only, will enable us to understand the differentiation. We should thus be led to consider the plot of the lyric, the epic, the drama, the novel, etc.

B. The temporal development of plot. Here we should commence from the other end as it were, and from the existing literary products trace the growth of plot from its beginning to the present; and from these records obtain the history of the development of those mental functions which plot presupposes. This second division is the natural and necessary complement and check of the first and should be as useful to psychology in this department and, in an analogous way, as paleontology is to zoology or botany.

That the method here outlined is merely tentative I confess. It would, of course, be severely limited and the conclusions impaired by any limitation in the range of experiments under the first head; and in the present state of scientific psychology to be at all possible, the method would have to be materially modified to produce any result at all. I have, however, in this present note, only attempted to be suggestive, not conclusive.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

A Case of Protective Mimicry.

THIS morning, as I was passing a small apricot tree standing in my yard, my attention was arrested by what appeared to be a short stub of a branch, about 1 inches long, projecting from the side of the tree about 20 inches from the ground. Having recently pruned the tree carefully, I wondered how I had happened to leave that stub, and at once applied my pocket-knife to remove it. Much to my surprise, I found that the supposed stub of a branch was a moth attached by its head to the side of the tree. The accompanying sketch represents its appearance.

The grayish-brown mottled color of the closed wings of the moth matched the color of the bark completely, and the angle

made by the axis of its body with the tree was such as a branch would naturally make. It was attached with its ventral surface uppermost, and the extremity of the abdomen, which projected beyond the closed wings, was nearly white, as seen from above, thus imitating very perfectly the central woody portion of the broken branch. Having turned the moth over in my attempt to remove the supposed branch, it assumed the natural position of such insects on the side of the tree, but upon returning a half-hour later I found it again in the position shown in the figure. Several

As every additional find in reference to the Maya manuscripts is of interest to some of the readers of Science, I submit the following item.

In the bottom line, Pl. 46, Dresden Codex, is the glyph shown

in Fig. 1, which, as all students of these Codices admit, is the symbol for the Maya month Kayab. Here it is without the appendage which sometimes accompanies it. In Fig. 2, from the bottom line of the Dresden Codex, Plate 61, the form is more complete, and the appendage is present.

The signification given by Perez to the name of this month is "singing," from the Maya word Kay, "to sing, to warble," but a study of the symbol leads to quite a different interpretation. According to the interpretation heretofore given by me (American Anthropologist, July, 1893, p. 246) the character in the upper right-hand corner of the glyph has b as its chief phonetic element,

which is also one of the consonant sounds of the word Kayab, and the appendage is the month determinative. But I was unable at the time the article referred to was written to indicate the portion of the symbol denoting the k' element. A more thorough examination, as given in Fig. 2, has called my attention to the fact that in the left portion and general form we have precisely the symbol for Aac (Ac, Ak), the "turtle," as given in the upper division of Plate 17, Cortesian Codex. Following this interpretation, the true name of the month is Acyab or Akyab, which, for the sake of euphony, has been changed to Kayab. The derivation, according to this interpretation, will be from Ac or Ak, "turtle," and Yab or Yaab, "many, abundant, plentiful." Adding the month determinative, we obtain as the full signification, "The month when turtles abound." Whether or not turtles are most abundant on the coast of Yucatan during the month of June I am unable to say. The only evidence I have at hand relating to the subject is found in Mrs. LePlongeon's charming little work, "Here and There in Yucatan." In this she describes a trip along the coast in June, at which time turtle catching was in progress and attended with great success, the fishermen's pens being full. Dr. Schellbas (Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 1892) notices the resemblance of this character to the turtle symbol.

This apparently furnishes, at least, a straw pointing in the direction I have been moving in my study of the Maya hieroglyphs. CYRUS THOMAS.

Washington, D.C., July 15.

Historical Statements in Century Dictionary Contradicted by Other Authorities.

Napier's rods (or bones), a contrivance commonly attributed to John Napier (1550-1617), but in fact described in the Arithmetic of Oronce Finée (1532).-Century Dictionary under rod.

Die erste Beschreibung gab Nefer in seiner Rabdologia (Edinburg, 1617).-Vorlesungen über Geschichte der Mathematik, von Moritz Cantor, zweiter Band, Seite 660.

The earliest known writers on the subject (magic squares) were Arabians, among whom these squares were used as amulets.Century Dictionary. under magic.

The earliest known writer on the subject was Emanuel Moscopulus, a Greek, who lived in the fourth or fifth century, and whose manuscript is preserved in the National Library at Paris. -Encyclopedia Britannica, under magic squares.

These seem to me to be contradictions. I should be glad to see the truth in regard to these historical facts plainly set forth by a reader of Science. GEO. A. MILLER.

Eureka College, Eureka, Ill., July 24.

The Cambojan Khmers.

OWING to some irregularity in the postal delivery I have only just received Science for June 9. else I should have sooner asked leave to put in a claim of priority in connection with Dr. Maurel's new views regarding the "Aryan" origin of the Khmers, referred to by Dr. Brinton in that issue. Personally I avoid the expression "Aryan or Indo-European stock" as confusing and applicable far more to linguistic than to ethnical groups. But if "Caucasian," used in Blumenbach's sense, be substituted for

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Aryan" Dr. Brinton will find, by consulting the Transactions of the British Association for 1879, that fourteen years ago I conclusively showed that the Khmers should be grouped not with the surrounding Mongolic, but with the Caucasic division of mankind. In the "Monograph on the Relations of the Indo-Chinese and Inter-Oceanic Races and Languages," read before the association, and again before the Anthropological Institute and printed in the journal of that society for February, 1880, and issued separately by Trübner at same date, I argued generally that "both of the great Asiatic types conventionally known as Caucasian and Mongolian, have from prehistoric times occupied the Indo-Chinese peninsula," and particularly that here the Caucasic stock is represented by the widespread Khmer group, that is to say, the Cambojans proper, the Kuys or Khmerdom ("original Khmers"), as the Cambojans call them, the Stiengs, Charays, Chams and many others, some still in the tribal state, some long civilized or semi-civilized. It is the civilized that mainly engage Dr. Maurel's attention, and that he rightly regards as Aryans (read Caucasians), but wrongly supposes to have migrated in comparatively recent times from India to Indo-China, "bringing with them the Aryan culture of that country as proved by the stately ruins of Ang-Kok (read Ongkor-Vaht)." There was no such migration "probably about the third or fourth century of the Christian era," for the Khmers are not recent arrivals, but the true aborigines, as shown by the presence of the Khmerdom and the kindred wild tribes, and also by their untoned polysyllabic speech, radically distinct both from the Indo-Chinese toned monosyllabic group and from the Indic (Sanscritic) branch of the Aryan, but closely allied to the untoned polysyllabic Malayo-Polynesian linguistic family.

This point, which I think I have established to the satisfaction of most ethnologists and philologists (Professor Sayce amongst others), is of far-reaching consequence. It affords the solution of the extremely difficult problem connected with the presence of Logan's "Indonesians," my Caucasians, side by side or intermin

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GERMANIA

NEW METHOD OF PROTECTING BUILDINGS FROM LIGHTNING. SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE HOUSE! Lightning Destroys. Shall it be Your House or a Pound of Copper?

PROTECTION FROM LIGHTNING.

What is the Problem?

IN seeking a means of protection from lightning-discharges, we have in view two objects, the one the prevention of damage to buildings, and the other the prevention of lujury to life. In order to destroy a building in whole or in part, It is necessary that work should be done; that is, as physicists express It, energy is required. Just before the lightning-discharge takes place, the energy capable of doing the damage which we seek to prevent exists in the column of air extending from the cloud to the earth in some form that makes it capable of appearing as what we call electricity. We will therefore call it electrical energy. What this electrical energy is, it is not necessary for us to consider in this place; but that it exists there can be no doubt, as it manifests itself in the destruction of buildings. The problem that we have to deal with, therefore, is the conversion of this energy into some other form, and the accomplishment of this in such a way as shall result in the least injury to property and life.

Why Have the Old Rods Failed?

When lightning-rods were first proposed, the science of energetics was entirely undeveloped; that is to say, in the middle of the last century scientific men had not come to recognize the fact that the different forms of energy heat, electricity, mechanical power, etc.- were convertible one Into the other, and that each could produce just so much of each of the other forms, and no more. The doctrine of the conservation and correlation of energy was first clearly worked out in the early part of this century. There were, however, some facts known in regard to electricity a hundred and forty years ago; and among these were the attracting power of points for an electric spark, and the conducting power of metals. Lightning-rods were therefore introduced with the idea that the electricity existing in the lightning-discharge could be conveyed around the building which it was proposed to protect, and that the building would thus be saved.

The question as to dissipation of the energy involved was entirely ignored, naturally; and from that time to this, in spite of the best endeavors of those Interested, lightning-rods constructed in accordance with Franklin's principle have not furnished satisfactory protection. The reason for this is apparent when it is considered that the electrical energy existing in the atmosphere before the discharge, or, more exactly, in the column of dielectric from the cloud to the earth, above referred to, reaches its maximum value on the surface of the conductors that chance to be within the column of dielectric; so that the greatest display of energy will be on the surface of the very lightningrods that were meant to protect, and damage results, as so often proves to be the case.

It will be understood, of course, that this display of energy on the surface of the old lightning-rods is aided by their being more or less insulated from the earth, but in any event the very existence of such & mass of metal as an old lightning-rod can only tend to produce a disastrous dissipation of electrical energy upon its surface,-"to draw the lightning," as it is so commonly put.

Is there a Better Means of Protection?

Having cleared our minds, therefore, of any idea of conducting electricity, and keeping clearly in view the fact that in providing protection against lightning we must furnish some means by which the electrical energy may be harmlessly dissipated, the question arises, "Can an improved form be given to the rod so that it shall aid in this dissipation?"

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As the electrical energy involved manifests itself on the surface of conductors, the improved rod should be metallic; but, instead of making a large rod, suppose that we make it comparatively small in size, so that the tal amount of metal running from the top of the house to some point a little below the foundations shall not exceed one pound. Suppose, again, that we introduce numerous insulating joints in this rod. We shall then have a rod that experience shows will be readily destroyed-will be readily dissipated when a discharge takes place; an 1 it will be evident, that, so far as the electrical energy is consumed in doing this, there will be the less to do other damage. The only point that remains to be proved as to the utility of such a rod is to show that the dissipation of such a conductor does not tend to injure other bodles in its immediate vicinity. On this point I can only say that I have found no case where such a conductor (for instance, a bell wire) has been dissipated, even if resting against a plastered wall, where there has been any material damage done to surrounding objects.

Of course, it is readily understood that such an explosion cannot take place in a confined space without the rupture of the walls (the wire cannot be boarded over); but in every case that I have found recorded this dissipation takes place just as gunpowder burns when spread on a board. The objects against which the conductor rests may be stained, but they are not shattered, I would therefore make clear this distinction between the action of electrical energy when dissipated on the surface of a large conductor and when dissipated on the surface of a comparatively small or easily dissipated conductor. When dissipated on the surface of a large conductor, a conductor so strong as to resist the explosive effect,-damage results to objects around. When dissipated on the surface of a small conductor, the conductor goes, but the other objects around are saved

A Typical Case of the Action of a Small Conductor. Franklin, in a letter to Collinson read before the London Royal Society, Dec. 18, 1755, describing the partial destruction by lightning of a church-tower at Newbury, Mass., wrote, "Near the bell was fixed an iron hammer to strike the hours; and from the tail of the hammer a wire went down through a small gimlet-hole in the floor that the bell stood upon, and through a second floor in like manner; then horizontally under and near the plastered ceiling of that second floor, till it came near a plastered wall; then down by the side of that wall to a clock, which stood about twenty feet below the bell. The wire was not bigger than a common knitting needle. The spire was split all to piece by the lightning, and the parts flung in all directions over the square in which the church stood, so that nothing remained above the bell. The lightring passed between the hammer and the clock in the above-mentioned wire without hurting either of the floors, or having any effect upon them (except making the gimlet-holes, through which the wire passed, a little bigger), and without hurting the plastered wall, or any part of the building, so far as the aforesaid wire and the pendulum-wire of the clock extended; which latter wire was about the thickness of a goose-quill. From the end of the pendulum, down quite to the ground, the building was exceedingly rent and damaged.... No part of the aforementioned long, small wire, between the clock and the hammer, could be found, except about two inches that hung to the tail of the hammer, and about as much that was fastened to the clock; the rest being exploded, and its particles dissipated in smoke and alr, as gunpowder is by common fire, and had only left a black smutty track on the plastering, three or four inches broad, darkest in the middle, and fainter towards the edges, all along the ceiling, under which it passed, and down the wall. ' One hundred feet of the Hodges Patent Lightning Dispeller (made under patents of N. D. C. Hodges, Editor of Science) will be mailed, postpaid, to any address, on receipt of five dollars ($5).

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