138 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY, 



regulation of the cutting of timber, to the 

 control of the practice called " rab," or of 

 cutting the new shoots and twigs of trees 

 to be burned for manure, to the prevention 

 of jungle-tires, and to the regulation of 

 pasturage by establishing blocks, or areas 

 of forest range, to which grazing may be 

 confined, while other blocks are held in re- 

 serve to be entered upon after the grass of 

 the former blocks has been consumed. The 

 restrictions are imposed only in those forests 

 which have belonged from time immemorial 

 to the Government, as well under native 

 dynasties as under British rule ; and, where 

 subordinate rights exist, they are recognized 

 and defined. Areas of jungle, of equal 

 probably of more than equal extent with 

 the forests, and ample for the general local 

 use of the natives, have been everywhere 

 marked off as belonging to the people, and 

 are accessible to them without restriction. 

 The " reserved " and " protected " forests 

 furnish first and second class timber and 

 excellent fuel. The management of the 

 Forest Department has so far been attended 

 with a considerable profit to the revenue of 

 the state. 



A New Disinfectant. When warm air 

 is forced through a hot mixture of turpen- 

 tine and water, a disinfecting substance 

 known in commerce as sanitas is produced. 

 It is an aqueous solution, characterized by 

 the presence of peroxide of hydrogen and 

 certain camphoraceous substances. With it 

 is found another substance, called sanitas- 

 oil, also containing peroxide of hydrogen, 

 which possesses a high power of oxidation. 

 According to the account given of it by 

 Mr. C. T. Kingzett, the oil promises to be- 

 come very valuable for sanitary purposes. 

 As it has been found an efficient agent for 

 the decomi)osition of so stable a substance 

 as iodide of potassium, it can hardly be 

 doubted that it will also effect the oxida- 

 tion of any animal or vegetable substances, 

 particularly those which are in course of 

 putrefactive decomposition. It has also the 

 property of being capable, after having 

 once performed its measure of oxidation, of 

 forming a new amount of active peroxide 

 of hydrogen, which may be made available 

 for further work. Several experiments, 

 made by Mr. Kingzett, prove that this oil 



is a powerful antiseptic. Beef put in wa- 

 ter containing it was kept sweet during pe- 

 riods of twenty-five and forty days ; flour 

 paste from thirty to fifty days ; the white 

 of eggs for fifty days ; wine for one hun- 

 dred days. The oil is not destined to su- 

 persede the sanitas, for it is too powerful 

 in its action to serve the purpose to which 

 the aqueous solution is applied, and is not 

 adapted to meet the same ends, but be 

 a valuable supplement to it. It may be 

 added to glycerine, oils, or ointments, when 

 they are applied to the body in cases of 

 infectious disease. It may be evaporated 

 for the fumigation of rooms which have 

 been occupied by persons suffering from 

 communicable diseases. Plane surfaces, as 

 floorings and walls, may be disinfected by 

 wiping them with a cloth or brush which 

 has been dipped in the oil ; and only a 

 small quantity of oil is necessary for this 

 purpose, for it spreads freely. It is slowly 

 volatile, and may be used as an aerial disin- 

 fectant. The emulsion in water may be 

 applied in a great many places; and sprin- 

 kled over sawdust it may be employed as 

 an effective deodorant. 



The Color-Sense among Uneivilized Peoples. 



Dr. Hugo Magnus, of Breslau, has just 

 published a work containing the results of 

 inquiries which he has made into the power 

 of uncivilized people to distinguish colors. 

 He sought to ascertain from direct evidence 

 the extent to which the color-sense already 

 exists among savages, and how great is its 

 capacity for development, and to collect the 

 terms by which they express their distinc- 

 tions of color. He prepared a set of ques- 

 tions relating to the most marked colors, 

 such as black, gray, white, red, orange, yel- 

 low, green, violet, and brown, omitting those 

 shades to distinguish which some degree of 

 education is obviously necessary, and sent 

 them to physicians, missionaries, merchants, 

 and other persons in different parts of the 

 world having intercourse with native races, 

 who seemed able to afford information on 

 the subject. As a whole, he has found that 

 the color-sense of the ruder nations is cir- 

 cumscribed by limits differing but little 

 from those which bound the same sense 

 among civilized people. In no race did he 

 find an entire absence of the faculty of 



