FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



43 1 



ale pots and mugs of traditional and origi- 

 nal designs ; terra-cotta vases ; and first ex- 

 hibited articles of higher artistic merit at 

 Paris in 1S67. It showed a magnificent col- 

 lection at Vienna in 1873, and its exhibit at 

 Philadelphia in 18*76 was one of the marked 

 features of our Centennial. The chief styles 

 of its work are the ornamental salt-glazed 

 stoneware known as Doulton ware, and 

 the underglaze-painted earthenware called 

 " Lambeth faience." Sir George Birdwood 

 ascribes as the great merit of Sir Henry's 

 life work his adherence to the two principles 

 of making, as far as possible, every piece in- 

 tended for decoration on the wheel, and of 

 giving the utmost scope to the designer into 



whose hands the piece fell for ornamentation. 

 Four hundred designers, mostly women, and 

 some of them real artists, are engaged at the 

 potteries, and each has her way and signs 

 her name to her work ; so that " Sir Henry 

 Doulton succeeded in creating a most prolific 

 school, or rather several schools, of English 

 pottery, the influence of which has been 

 felt in the revival of the ceramic arts in all 

 the countries of the Old World" — where 

 they had been demoralized by the use of 

 machinery ; and through the influence of his 

 example, working since 1871, the United 

 Kingdom now produces " the most artistic 

 commercial pottery of any country in the 

 world." 



MINOR PARAGRAPHS. 



A little over a year ago Professor Fraser 

 published the results of some researches 

 which showed that the bile of several ani- 

 mals possessed antidotal properties against 

 serpents' venom, and against the toxines of 

 such diseases as diphtheria and tetanus, and 

 that the bile of venomous serpents is an anti- 

 dote to tbeir venom. The results from an 

 extension of these first experiments have 

 been recently published in the British Medi- 

 cal Journal. The most important conclusions 

 are as follows : The bile of venomous serpents 

 is the most powerful antidote to venom, and 

 is closely followed in efficiency by the bile of 

 innocuous serpents. Regarding the antidotal 

 power of bile on the toxines of disease, Pro- 

 fessor Fraser found that the bile of venomous 

 serpents had more antidotal power than that 

 of the majority of the other animals exam- 

 ined. It is curious that among the non-ven- 

 omous animals the rabbit's bile is the most 

 powerful in antidotal properties. 



Three ways are mentioned by Prof. W. 

 A. Herdman in which disease may be com- 

 municated through oysters to the consumer ; 

 viz., by the presence in the animal of inor- 

 ganic, usually metallic, poison ; or of organic 

 poison ; or of a pathological organism or 

 definite disease germ. From experiments in 

 the inoculation and disinfection of oysters, 

 it was found that all traces of these organ- 

 isms could be removed by proper washing. 

 Good currents passing the beds are an im- 

 portant factor in keeping the oyster healthy, 

 and make it possible for the animal to absorb 



large quantities of sewage and dispose of it. 

 The effect of this is to purify the water; but 

 in the sifting process, while the sewage is 

 passing through, the animal retains disease 

 germs, and may pass them on to the con- 

 sumer. Oysters should therefore be given 

 an opportunity to purify themselves, as is 

 done in France, where they are kept for a 

 time in clean tanks before being sent to 

 market. Oysters may be effectively washed 

 in fresh water. Sea water is unfavorable 

 to disease germs. Greenness in oysters is 

 caused by food administered to improve 

 their quality ; by the presence of copper ; 

 and in some American oysters by an inflamed 

 condition of the mantle. Green spots are 

 also produced by wandering cells getting 

 under the epithelium. These cells are 

 loaded with granules which give a copper 

 reaction. 



The most interesting result of the mas- 

 sacre and sack of Benin, the Saturday Re- 

 view says, was the capture of a large series 

 of brass plaques, statuettes, box lids, pipes, 

 etc., which have been brought to England. 

 The various articles are all castings, and 

 their elaborate ornamentation bespeaks for 

 their makers great skill in metal working. 

 Most African tribes have smiths who hammer 

 pieces of brass rod and wire into simple or- 

 naments ; but these Benin brasses represent 

 a stage of metal working far more advanced 

 than anything recorded for the native races 

 of Africa. Nothing like them is being made 

 by any negro race at present, and nothing is 



