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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Antiquity of Man in America. The dis- 

 coveries that are constantly being made in 

 this country are proving that man existed 

 on this continent as far back in geological 

 time as on the European Continent; and it 

 even seems that America, really the Old 

 World geologically, will soon prove to be 

 the birthplace of the earliest race of man. 

 One of the late and important discoveries is 

 that by Mr. E. L. Berthoud, which is given 

 in full, with a map, in the " Proceedings of 

 the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences for 

 1872," p. 46. Mr. Berthoud there reports 

 the discovery of ancient fireplaces, rude 

 stone monuments, and implements of stone 

 in great number and variety, in several 

 places along Crow Creek, in Colorado, and 

 also on several other rivers in the vicinity. 

 These fireplaces indicate several ancient 

 sites of an unknown race differing entirely 

 from the mound-builders and the present 

 Indians, while the shells and other fossils 

 found with the remains make it quite cer- 

 tain that the deposit in which the ancient 

 sites are found is as old as the Pliocene, 

 and perhaps as the Miocene. As the fossil 

 shells found with the relics of man are of 

 estuary forms, and, as the sites of the an- 

 cient towns are on extended points of land 

 and at the base of the ridges or bluffs, Mr. 

 Berthoud thinks the evidence is strongly in 

 favor of the locations having been near 

 some ancient fresh-water lake, whose ves- 

 tiges the present topography of the region 

 favors. American Naturalist. 



Effects of Coal-Gas on Plants. Some of 



our readers will remember that, in Philadel- 

 phia, a few years ago, a florist, Mr. Thomas 

 Robertson, had his plants destroyed by gas 

 escaping from the street mains. He applied 

 to the city for damages, but judge and jury 

 decided that coal-gas would not injure plants. 

 Since that time reports have been given of ex- 

 periments by some learned Frenchman, who 

 also decided that no injury resulted, and now 

 it is said experiments have recently been 

 made in Berlin to ascertain the effect of coal- 

 gas upon the roots of trees exposed to its 

 influence. Three trees were selected, two 

 limes and a maple, and, after seventy days, 

 the gas was cut off, to see whether the trees 

 which had become blasted would recover. 

 One of the lime-trees again put forth foliage, 



but exhibited evidences of ill health, while 

 the remaining two trees were killed. That 

 part of the earth which was compacted 

 around the roots appeared to transmit most 

 rapidly the poison of the gas. We suppose 

 there i3 no one who has had any unbiassed 

 experience in the matter but knows that 

 coal-gas will destroy plants in the manner 

 stated. Those who have had eo experience 

 had better take care to guard against it. 

 Gardener's Monthly. 



Cromlechs in Algeria. The Cromlechs 

 (dolmens) of Algeria was the subject of an 

 address made by General Faidherbe at the 

 Brussels International Congress. He consid- 

 ers these structures to be simply sepulchral 

 monuments, and, after examining five or six 

 thousand of them, maintains that the dol- 

 mens of Africa and of Europe were all con- 

 structed by the same race during their emi- 

 gration from the shores of the Baltic to the 

 southern coast of the Mediterranean. The 

 author does not, however, attempt to ex- 

 plain the existence *of these monuments in 

 other countries Hindostan, for instance, 

 and America. In Africa, he says, cromlechs 

 are called tombs of the idolaters the idol- 

 aters being neither Romans, nor Christians, 

 nor Phoenicians, but some antique race. He 

 regards the Berbers as the descendants of 

 the primitive dolmen - builders. Certain 

 Egyptian monuments tell of invasions of 

 Lower Egypt 1,500 years before our era 

 by blond tribes from the West. The bones 

 found in the cromlechs are those of a large 

 and dolichocephalous race. General Faid- 

 herbe gives the average stature (including 

 the women) at 1.65 or 1.74 metre, while the 

 average stature of French carabineers is 

 only 1.65 metre. He did not find a single 

 brachycephalous skull. The profiles indi- 

 cated great intelligence. The Egyptian 

 documents already referred to call the in- 

 vaders Tamahu, which must have come 

 from the invaders' own language, as it is not 

 Egyptian. The Tuaregs of the present day 

 may be regarded as the best representatives 

 of the Tamahus. They are of lofty stature, 

 have blue eyes, and cling to the custom of 

 bearing long swords, to be wielded by both 

 hands. In Soudan, on the banks of the 

 Niger, dwells a negro tribe ruled by a royal 

 family (Masas), who are of rather fair com- 



