P OP ULAR MIS CELL ANY. 



569 



fragments of meteorites than any other per- 

 son, he has never discovered anything like 

 organic remains in any of them. Besides, 

 he adds, " the well-known chemical composi- 

 tion of these bodies is averse to the exig- 

 ence of any auch remains as are spoken of 

 by Professor Hahn. Were these remains 

 present, we should discover carbonate of 

 lime in their interior. The two or three 

 that have any carbonate of lime were dis- 

 covered and analyzed by myself, and in 

 those cases the carbonate of lime was an 

 accidental constituent of incrustation de- 

 posited on the surface after their fall. In 

 the microscopic examination of the polished 

 plates of meteorites the two predominating 

 minerals, enstatite and bronzite, will, by their 

 fissures and forms, sometimes remind one 

 of vegetable and other organic forms, but 

 the merest tyro of an observer will trace 

 here nothing but a rare resemblance. And, 

 furthermore, the very igneous nature of 

 these minerals precludes the possibility of 

 organic remains, even in terrestrial miner- 

 als of a similar kind. Professor Hawes, of 

 the Smithsonian Institution, who is familiar 

 with lithological microscopical researches in 

 Germany, agrees with Professor Smith, de- 

 scribes Professor Hahn as an observer whose 

 " imagination has run wild with him," and 

 regards his observations as not entitled to 

 credit. 



Obituary. American science has lost 

 during the last month two of its most dis- 

 tinguished names. Lewis H. Morgan, the 

 anthropologist, died at his home in Roches- 

 ter, New York, December 17th, of a com- 

 plication of disorders, from which he had 

 suffered for several months, at the age of 

 sixty-three years. We have recently (No- 

 vember, 1880) given a sketch of his life 

 and his principal investigations and writ- 

 ings. His fame has been growing and the 

 influence of his ideas extending for many 

 years ; and it has long been usual to see 

 him quoted as an authority whose views 

 were entitled to the highest respect, even 

 when dissented from, in the anthropological 

 discussions of all nations. Professor John 

 William Draper, M. D., LL. D., died at Hast- 

 ings-on-the-IIudson, January 4th. He was 

 born near Liverpool, England, Hay 5, 1811, 

 came to the United States in 1833, was 



graduated in medicine at the University of 

 Pennsylvania in 1836, and began the con- 

 nection as professor with the University of 

 the City of New York in 1839, which he 

 maintained till the end of his life. He as- 

 sisted in founding the medical department 

 of the university in 1841. He was closely 

 identified with the progress of chemical 

 science in the United States, particularly in 

 connection with the investigation of the 

 chemical action of light, and of the tem- 

 perature of incandescence, and in the early 

 history and development of photography. 

 His most noteworthy works were his trea- 

 tise " On the Forces which produce the Or- 

 ganization of Plants," which marked an 

 epoch in this branch of investigation, and 

 his " History of the Intellectual Develop- 

 ment of Europe," which has been translated 

 into nine languages. He also published 

 books on " Human Physiology, Statical and 

 Dynamical ; or the Conditions and Course 

 of the Life of Man," "Thoughts on the 

 Future Civil Policy of America," the "His- 

 tory of the American Civil War," and a 

 " History of the Conflict between Religion 

 and Science," all of which have made their 

 mark ; and text-books in chemistry and 

 natural history. A fuller account of Pro- 

 fessor Draper's life and works is given in 

 the "Popular Science Monthly" for Janu- 

 ary, 1874, and frequent references to his 

 later labors may be found in subsequent 

 volumes. 



Influence of the Electric Light on Plant- 

 Life. M. P. P. Deherain has just published 

 the results of the experiments he conducted 

 during the Exposition of Electricity at Paris, 

 on the influence of the electric light upon 

 vegetation. A conservatory was built with- 

 in the palace, in which plants were disposed 

 in four groups, each receiving a different 

 treatment. One group was deprived of the 

 light of day and was exposed to the electric 

 light all the time ; another had the dif- 

 fused daylight, weakened by having to pass 

 through the glass roofs of the Exhibition 

 Palace, by day, and the electric light at 

 night ; a third group had only the diluted 

 daylight by day and was left in the dark at 

 night ; and the fourth group, kept during 

 the day in a shaded garden-bed, and was 

 taken into the conservatory and exposed to 



