"we find the same state of things. The British producer fails to understand the importance of pure knowledge; be despises and disbelieves a knowledge of principles, and imagines that the only thing he need know is the application of those principles to his own particular work. In his eyes practice is everything, knowledge for its own sake, knowledge of principle, is nothing; as if there could be any value at all in practices unless he knows the reasons on which they rest. Our producers are like students who cram for an examination by getting up 'tips,' instead of getting up sound knowledge of the subject. The present cry for technical education is itself, to a large extent, only a new example, in an exaggerated form, of the same vicious idea. So far as it leads people to suppose that success in production or in life is to be gained from a knowledge of technique—of methods, of processes, of manipulation—instead of impressing upon them that all these are wholly unimportant and useless in comparisionwith a real education in the subject concerned, and a knowledge of the principles on which the technique is founded, its effect will be wholly bad. The idea that there are short practical cuts to just so much knowledge, and no more, as we need for the particular job in hand, is one which, if adopted, would demoralize our education to its root, as in diametrical opposition to the whole tenor of the evidence which has been collected in Germany and other countries."
A Jadeite Adze from Mexico.—Mr. George F. Kunz exhibited at the American Association a jadeite adze found at Oaxaca, Mexico, about twenty years ago, which was remarkable for its extraordinary size, and for the peculiar character and excellence of the working exhibited in so hard a material. It is 101316 inches long, 6 inches wide, 458 inches thick, weighs 229·3 oz. troy, and is light grayish green, with streams of an almost emerald green on the back. In style of ornamentation it closely resembled a gigantic adze of granite which is mentioned by A. Chavero in his "Mexico al Través de los Siglos," and it has almost an exact counterpart in the aventurine quartz adze now forming a part of the Christy collection at the British Museum. It, however, differs from these objects in having no ornamentation on the forehead, and in having in addition three dull markings on each ear, one under each eye, and one near each hand, which could serve no other purpose than to hold thin flakes or films of gold, of which, however, no trace can now be seen. The adze is, from all appearance, the result of the shaping of a bowlder, for it presents evidences of weathered surfaces. The lapidary's work on this piece is perhaps equal to any that has ever been found, and the polish has not been surpassed. It is an interesting fact that, notwithstanding this adze is one of the finest objects which its Mexican owners possessed, they desired to "extend" the material; and for that purpose made three attempts to remove pieces from the object. Enough has been cut from the back of the adze to equal, perhaps, one eighth of the entire weight. The appearance of the cuts gives support to the supposition that the cutting was done with a string and some abrasive. The author had previously described in the "American Journal of Science" for July, 1882, a sapphire pebble found in a brook at Oaxaca. If the people were acquainted with this mineral, we can more readily understand how they were able to work so hard a substance as jadeite. So far as the author was able to understand, no similar object of such magnitude and equal archæological interest exists. The Humboldt celt, the Leyden plate, the Vienna adze, and the adze in the Ethnological Museum at Dresden, can hardly compare with it.
The Name of America.—Evidence is accumulating that the name of America is indigenous to our continent, and not borrowed from the name of an early navigator, as the world till now has supposed. M. Jules Marcou has found it in the name of a range of mountains in Central America—the Amerique range—and also in that of a tribe of Indians living upon it—the Ameriques. A more careful and thorough study of the subject has been made by Mr."Thomas de St. Bris," whose pamphlet. Discovery of the Origin of the Name of America, can be obtained by addressing P. O. Box No. 1853, New York city, or from the American News Company. It appears from his investigations—the sources of which he names and are nearly
