MISCELLANY 



24Q 



the impurities, consists of organized and 

 vegetating bodies, which, as seen with the 

 lens, are short, white threads, somewhat 

 like conferva in form, but the threads are 

 very short and perfectly white, differing in 

 these respects from the green or brown con- 

 fervoid growth of the summer months. 



The water of this pond at present ex- 

 hibits the natural balance between the ani- 

 mal and vegetable life below the surface, 

 disturbed or destroyed. Crustaceous ani- 

 malculse, common in the water usually, are 

 not to be found, while there is an extraor- 

 dinary growth of subaqueous vegetation, 

 of a low order of organized forms, emitting 

 a repulsive odor. 



The cause of this change in a large body 

 of potable water, hitherto one of the purest, 

 may be found in the excessive and pro- 

 tracted droughts of the two past seasons, 

 modifyiug the growth of subaqueous vege- 

 tation, and allowing an offensive kind to 

 predominate. And the water will, un- 

 doubtedly, recover its normal condition, 

 with the change of seasons and an in- 

 creased flow from the deep springs afford- 

 ing supplies to the pond, as it did in the 

 spring of 1866 after the former disturb- 

 ance. 



An instance of peculiar condition, caused 

 by artificial means, is that of the water in a 

 manufacturer's well, yielding an abundant 

 supply, but situated about three hundred 

 feet below a brewery, on a hill-side. In this 

 case, after the brewery had been in opera- 

 tion for two years, this well-water, quite un- 

 expectedly, developed a fungous growth of 

 enormous size and quantity. I took from 

 the water in the well several individual 

 plants, which were found floating on the 

 surface, that were each literally nearly as 

 large as a man's head, and, in the month of 

 August, they increased so rapidly as to 

 close the large iron outlet pipe, having a 

 diameter of six inches. 



These fungi, when placed in a dilute 

 alcoholic solution, in a warm room, in- 

 creased in size, producing acetic acid rap- 

 idly, and were true vinegar-plants (moth- 

 er) ; they evolved a very offensive odor 

 when decaying, and soon rendered the 

 well-water unfit for use. The source of the 

 germs of these plants was traced directly 

 *o that part of the brewery where returned 



empty ale barrels were washed and steamed 

 before being refilled, and where the drain- 

 age was not perfect, although the entire 

 floor was paved with bricks laid in mortar 

 My attention has been called to many other 

 cases of a similar nature, but to none where 

 the cause and effect were so marked as in 

 this well, the water being naturally calcare- 

 ous, hard, and free from organic matter. 

 S. Dana Hayes, in American Chemist. 



A MARKED MAN. 



A man has lately turned up in Europe, 

 whose attainments, both lingual and dermal, 

 are exciting no small amount of wonder. 

 Linguistically considered, he perhaps has 

 numerous equals, though it is said that, be- 

 sides Greek, his native tongue, he speaks 

 Arabic and Persian fluently, French, Span- 

 ish, Italian, German, and English, with vari- 

 ous degrees of ease aud accuracy. But his 

 other attractions are truly extraordinary, 

 though chiefly for their showy superficiality ; 

 in which respect, after all, he doesn't differ 

 so very much from a good many other fa- 

 mous people. The man is tattooed from 

 head to foot, there not being a square inch 

 of skin on the whole surface of his body 

 that is not covered with tattoo-marks. His 

 story is, that tattooing was inflicted on him- 

 self and two others in Chinese Tartary, as a 

 punishment for acts against the govern- 

 ment; that one of his companions died; 

 the other was made blind, and is now living 

 in Hong-Kong, while he had succeeded in 

 making his escape. The man has a fine 

 physique, and, stripped, appears as if his 

 whole body were closely enveloped in a 

 richly-woven web of Turkish stuff. Closer 

 inspection, however, resolves this appear- 

 ance into a great variety of figures, mostly 

 of plants and animals, that have been 

 pricked into the skin in colors of blue and 

 red. Altogether there are some 384 such 

 figures, representing apes, leopards, cats, 

 tigers, eagles, storks, swans, men, women, 

 elephants, lions, crocodiles, snakes, fish, 

 snails, fruit, leaves, flowers, etc., while on 

 the hands are certain inscriptions, said by 

 Prof. Miiller to belong to the language of 

 Burmah. The marking appears to have 

 been done with the juices of plants, as there 

 are no traces of enlarged lymphatics, such 

 as are often produced when tattooing is 



