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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



vius, and which is the product of former 

 eruptions; the latter, however, cor tains a 

 larger relative proportion of iron, and the 

 grains show a water-worn appearance under 

 the microscope. Neither of the Vesuvian 

 specimens contains titanium, which is found 

 in the magnetic iron-sand of New Zealand, 

 which has most likely been ejected from the 

 great volcano of Mount Egmont. 



Transfusion of 151 (tod. Dr. Aveling re- 

 ports in the Lancet a case where life was 

 saved by the transfusion of blood, by what 

 is known as the " immediate " method. The 

 patient was a lady dying from hiemorrhage. 

 Her pulse had become imperceptible both 

 at the wrist and in the temporal arteries ; the 

 heart's action was very feeble, and steadily 

 growing more so ; she was insensible, with 

 dilated pupils that refused to contract on 

 the approach of a light; the extremities were 

 cold, and the lips and face blanched. Blood 

 was pumped, by means of a suitable ap- 

 paratus, directly from a vein in the arm of a 

 man, into a vein of the lady's arm, without 

 exposure to the air, and in a duly-regulated 

 stream. Some eight ounces of blood were 

 thus transfused. As the operation pro- 

 ceeded, the pulse at the wrist became per- 

 ceptible, the lips less blanched, and warmth 

 returned to the hands. In a few hours con- 

 sciousness returned, the patient took nourish- 

 ment, and afterward fully recovered. 



Habits of the Opossum. We gather from 

 the American Naturalist, for September, the 

 following interesting particulars concerning 

 the habits of the opossum : The animal is 

 widely distributed in the United States. It 

 dwells in hollow logs, stumps, and in holes 

 at the roots of trees, does not burrow, but 

 takes possession of holes that it finds ready 

 made. Into these it will carry leaves using 

 its tail for the purpose and provide itself 

 with a comfortable bed, when bad weather 

 threatens. It does not hibernate, but hunts 

 its food at all seasons, is slow of foo^, and 

 not very wild. It will eat bacon, dry beef, 

 carrion, any kind of fowl, rabbits, any sort 

 of small game, almost all the insects, and 

 fruits of every variety, being especially fond 

 of muskmelons ; and is eaten in turn by 

 many people, the flesh being considered de- 



licious. This has a flavor resembling that 

 of the flesh of the young hog, but is sweeter 

 and less gross. Negroes and others are ex- 

 ceedingly fond of it ; dogs, however, hold a 

 very different opinion, and will sooner starve 

 than consume it. The animal is habitually 

 incautious, and when attacked seems to pos- 

 sess little power of resistance ; literally suf- 

 fering itself to be eaten alive by the turkey- 

 buzzards, while it lies on its side and pro- 

 tests against the proceeding by a succession 

 of grunts. Exceedingly tenacious of life, it 

 will survive a vigorous crunching by the 

 dogs, when it seems as though every bone 

 in its body had been cracked. Although 

 sometimes found concealed under the floors 

 of houses and out-buildings, it refuses to be 

 domesticated, and is believed to dwell but a 

 short time in any one place. 



Dr. Carpenter against Materialism. Dr. 



Carpenter, having been charged with at- 

 tacking the philosophy of Profs. Huxley 

 and Tyndall in his late address, replies, in 

 a letter to tbe London Echo, as follows : 



"Nothing was further from my inten- 

 tion than either to give a theological turn 

 to my address, or to make any attack upon 

 the philosophy of my two valued friends, 

 whom I believe to be, in regard to most, if 

 not all, of the philosophical questions I 

 have treated, at one with me. 



" But I did set myself to combat a mode 

 of thought on scientific subjects which I 

 know to be very prevalent among half- 

 educated scientific men, who have never 

 studied the constitution and working of 

 their own minds, and which has been car- 

 ried out most fully by a certain school of 

 (so-called) Nature Philosophers in Ger- 

 many. Of the tenets of this school, a 

 small work by Dr. Buchner, entitled 

 'Kraft und Stoff' Force and Matter 

 which has run through many editions, and 

 has been translated into French, may be 

 considered an exponent. The tenets are 

 (I write from recollection, not having the 

 book at hand) somewhat as follows : 



" 1. That we know, and can know, 

 nothing of the external save matter, and 

 the laws of matter. 



" 2. That these ' laws ' are fixed, un- 

 changeable, and self-acting. 



" 3. That there is consequently no ne- 



