POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



57i 



the slightest difference of opinion with his 

 neighbor prompts him to draw his sword or 

 thrust with his spear. But, if he takes life, 

 he, or his tribe for him, has to pay a heavy 

 fine in camels. They can nearly always 

 show several wounds, and are as proud of 

 those which are behind as of those which 

 are in front. They can also survive the 

 gravest wounds, and recover quickly from 

 injuries that would surely kill a European. 

 They have quick tempers, which, when 

 aroused, are absolutely beyond control, but, 

 if they can once be got to listen to argu- 

 ments, they are easily persuaded. They are 

 great talkers, and every new plan is dis- 

 cussed for hours. The debaters sit in a cir- 

 cle, and divide themselves into parties, each 

 appointing a spokesman ; and he, holding a 

 stick in his hand, will draw intricate geo- 

 metrical designs in the sand while he holds 

 forth on the subject in discussion. They 

 are keenly sensitive to ridicule, so that, when 

 trouble occurs among them, it is only neces- 

 sary to raise a laugh against the leader of 

 the disturbance, when he will cover his face 

 and disappear from the scene. Mr. James 

 had difficulty in getting his Somauli escort 

 to submit to anything in the way of a leader. 

 They rebelled when he undertook to put 

 head-men over the guard-squads ; and only 

 the sense of a common danger when they 

 got into strange parts, and a threat to expel 

 troublesome persons from the camp, would 

 keep them in order. 



Earthquakes in China. Dr. MacGow- 

 an, in connection with a record he has 

 made of fifteen very perceptible earthquakes 

 that were observed in China last year, re- 

 marked that three classes of seismic phe- 

 nomena are distinguishable in that country, 

 an insular, a littoral, and an inland class. 

 Formosa and Hainan are both centers of 

 seismic actions which often affect the main- 

 land ; and a considerable agitation of the 

 sea has been observed in many cases of For- 

 mosan earthquakes. The Formosan earth- 

 quake of December 9th was the most vio- 

 lent one that foreigners so far have experi- 

 enced ; but the tall and slender pagoda- 

 towers that adorn all Southeastern China, 

 having stood for centuries unaffected by 

 earth-waves, afford evidence that the shocks, 

 though frequent, are harmless. Occasion- 



ally earthquakes of the littoral region are 

 followed by the appearance on the ground 

 of substances designated " white hairs " by 

 the Chinese. When Dr. MacGowan first 

 gave attention to them he thought they 

 might be acicular crystals precipitated by 

 gaseous action, but further research seems 

 to indicate that they are not mineral but 

 organic. Three foci for interior earth- 

 quakes may be indicated, two of which, 

 Szechuen and Shansi, are very far from 

 volcanoes, while shocks are often reported 

 from them as continuous for considerable 

 periods. 



A New Hot-Water Cooking Apparatus. 



Mr. Edward Atkinson has invented a new 

 process and a new apparatus for cooking, 

 which he gives to the public. The appa- 

 ratus is operated by the heat derived from 

 a common kerosene-lamp or from a gas- 

 burner. The theory of it is based upon the 

 non-conducting properties of certain mate- 

 rials with which the oyen may be jacketed 

 or incased. The inventor prefers pine- 

 wood, which he forms into a box having 

 walls from one and a half to three inches 

 thick, according to the time during which 

 heat is to be maintained within it. This is 

 lined with metal, to make it water-tight. 

 From one side or end of the box is pro- 

 jected a metallic tube, starting from near 

 the bottom, bent so as to form a rectangle, 

 and returning into the box near the top. 

 This serves the same purpose as the pipes 

 affixed to the water-back of a range. In- 

 side the lined box is put as much water as 

 is needed, and in this are inserted the cook- 

 ing-vessel or vessels, of whatever material, 

 which may or may not fill the box, pro- 

 vided about half an inch of water is left 

 between them and the metallic lining of it. 

 The whole is provided with a safety-valve 

 or open way, to let off steam if the water 

 should boil. The box and its contents, in- 

 cluding articles to be cooked, having been 

 arranged, the heat of a kerosene-lamp or 

 gas - burner is applied to the projecting 

 pipe, whence the heat is transmitted to the 

 water inside of the box. A variation in the 

 construction of the box is to have double- 

 walled linings, with a space of about half 

 an inch between the walls, through which 

 the hot water mav circulate. These metallic 



