382 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



were, three or four days after the operation, completely detached, from the 

 bone, and, notwithstanding their isolation from their original source of life, 

 the periosteum still continued to produce bone. In the third series of 

 experiments the periostea! covering was completely and at once separated 

 from the bone, and immediately inserted under the skin of the shoulder and 

 back, and still, strange to say, the periosteum produced bone. Dr. Olivier 

 found that age modified, to a certain extent, this peculiar property of the 

 periosteum; advanced age, for instance, while it diminished the property, 

 did not completely destroy it. The osseous tissue obtained in this stranjrc 

 manner he found to be real bone, similar to that of the rest of the body. 

 The result of these interesting and curious experiments goes to prove that 

 bone even can be obtained in whatever part of the body the periosteum can 

 lie introduced; and, further, that a membrane may preserve its properties, 

 notwithstanding its removal from its original seat, and transplantation to 

 another part of the econoraj*. 



VALUE OF A LIFE. 



Mr. Charles M. TVillich, of London, has published a simple rule for com- 

 puting the probable value of property in life at any age from five to sixty. 

 His formula stands thus : E= f (80 a); or, in plain words, the expectation 

 of life is equal to two-thirds of the difference between the age of the party 

 and eighty. Thus, say a man is now twenty years old. Between that age 

 and eighty there are sixty years. Two-thirds of sixty are forty; and this is 

 the sum of his expectation of life. If a man be now sixty, he will have an 

 expectation of nearly fourteen years more. By the same rule a child of five 

 has a contingent lien on life for fiftv rears. Everv one can applr the rule to 



tr / *. A 1. 



his own age Mr. YTillich's hypothesis may be as easily remembered as that 

 by Dr. Moivre in the last century, which has now become obsolete from the 

 greater accuracy of mortality tables. The results obtained by the new law 

 correspond very closely with those from Dr. Parr's English Life Table, con- 

 structed with great care from an immense mass of returns. 



POPULATION OF THE GLOBE. 



The following tables, showing the division of mankind into races, 

 branches, families, and nations, has been published by M. d'Halloy, in the 

 Proceedings of the Belgian Academy : 



I. DirisioN I.NTO RACES AND BRANCHES. 



WHITE RACE. European branch, 289.586,000 



Arameau u 50,390,000 



Scythian " 30,747,000 = 370,723,000 



YELLOW RACE. Hyperborean Branch, 160.000 



Mongolian " 7,000,000 



Sinic " 335,300.000 = 345,460,000 



BROWN RACE. Hindoo branch, 171,100,000 



Ethiopian " 8,300,000 



Malay " 25,600,000 = 205,000,000 



RED RACE. Southern " 9.200,000 



Northen " 400,000= 9,600,000 



BLACK RACE. Western " 56.000,000 



Eastern " 1,000,000= 57.000,000 



HYBRIDS, Mulattos, Zanibos, etc 12,217,000 



Total, 1,000,000,000 



