500 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



beliefs, traditions, institutions? In 

 short, what are the data which, when 

 authentically presented, will serve as 

 the basis for generalizations respecting 

 the attributes and nature of man ? 



We publish, in the present number 

 of the Monthly, an interesting ethno- 

 logical sketch of tbe Calmucks of the 

 Volga. It is translated from the Eus- 

 sian, and is derived from the work of 

 Nebalsine, who resided for a long time 

 at Astrakhan, at the mouth of the Vol- 

 ga, on the Caspian Sea, and he was em- 

 ployed at the " Court of Domains," by 

 which these singular people are gov- 

 erned. At this place he had opportu- 

 nity to study them carefully and in- 

 timately. No Mongol or Turkish race 

 presents such characteristic traits as 

 the Calmucks. They display the per- 

 sistence of race character in a remark- 

 able degree; answering exactly to tbe 

 description given of them by Jornan- 

 dez thirteen centuries ago, when, under 

 the name of Huns, they devastated 

 Southern Europe. Chambers describes 

 the Calmuck as short in stature, with 

 broad shoulders, a large head, small 

 black eyes, always appearing to be 

 half shut, and slanting downward tow- 

 ard the nose, which is flat with wide nos- 

 trils, hair black, coarse, and straight, 

 complexion deeply swarthy, while his 

 ugliness is the index of the purity of 

 his descent. The beliefs of the Cal- 

 mucks, as represented in the article, 

 form an instructive comment on the 

 dogma of the "wisdom of the East." 



It is not to be supposed, however, 

 that the wisdom of the West would at 

 all approve the life of these restless 

 nomadic vagrants. They would be 

 told to settle down somewhere, change 

 their religion, go to work, build school- 

 houses, and make money, like good 

 Christians. It is, however, probable 

 that the Calmucks would not be with- 

 out a reply. A traveller, who had 

 studied their customs, made this signifi- 

 cant statement : " If it could be pro- 

 posed to all the academies of Europe 



to point out the best means to convert 

 those enormous and sterile deserts, 

 which are completely lost for agricul- 

 ture, into habitable and productive 

 lands, they would with difficulty find a 

 more practical solution of this problem, 

 than that actually put in operation by 

 the Calmucks themselves. In fact, 

 with these poor herbs, so thin and so 

 arid, which they find in these enor- 

 nous wastes burnt up by the sun, the 

 Calmucks nourish millions of horses, 

 cows, goats, sheep, and camels, and 

 transform these sterile districts into a 

 true and rich source of wealth to Eus- 

 sia. By making a great trade of wool, 

 hair, fat, skins, and pelts, the Calmucks 

 contribute to furnish illumination and 

 defence against cold to a great portion 

 of the northern provinces of the em- 

 pire. In this particular, the economic 

 part played by the Calmucks is very 

 important." 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



Theory of Heat. By J. Clerk Maxwell, 

 M. A., F. R. S. D. Appleton & Co. 



It is only recently that the general pub- 

 lie has been admitted to a knowledge of the 

 researches which are carried on by the lead- 

 ing physicists of the world. Perhaps an 

 educator would consider the desire of the 

 public to be so admitted one of the most en- 

 couraging signs of the times, and he un- 

 doubtedly would hail the fellowship of the 

 scientists and their audiences as a good omen. 

 It is a very interesting phenomenon which 

 we are now called upon, almost daily, to 

 witness this affiliation of the student and 

 the public ; and it has many good features, 

 as well as some bad ones. Among the good 

 there are the obvious ones of the acquisi- 

 tion of mere knowledge, of the acquaintance 

 with the rigid and exacting logic of the 

 physicists, of the perception of the real beau- 

 ty in the order and harmony of Nature, 

 and the familiarity with daring thought 

 which stops short of wild speculation, and 

 displays that poise of intellect which is a 

 striking characteristic of the modern 

 school. And, so far, we have noticed only 



