426 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the tenth century. The sign for the earth, 

 $ , a globe surmounted by a cross, indicat- 

 ing its Christian origin, may be traced to 

 about the sixth century. Of the recently 

 discovered planets, the sign for Uranus, JJ[, 

 is a modification of the initial H of Herschel ; 

 and that for Neptune, f , is derived from 

 the trident of the sea-god. The attempt to 

 give similar symbols to the smaller planets 

 was abandoned after they began to be too 

 numerous to be distinguished in this manner. 



Obesity and its Treatment. According 

 to the observations published by M. de 

 Saint-Germain, in the "Union Medicale," 

 the great danger to be feared from obesity 

 lies in the direction of lesions of the heart. 

 Considerable differences exist relative to 

 the influences of sex on the liability to the 

 affliction, but M. de Saint-Germain believes 

 that women are the more liable to it, and 

 that in proportion as they are addicted to 

 alcoholism, prostitution, or inactivity. It 

 may be developed at any age, even as early 

 as two years ; M. Hillairet recently exhib- 

 ited at the Academy of Medicine a little 

 girl six years old who was wonderfully fat. 

 Among the causes of obesity are mentioned 

 excess of food and of alcoholic drinks, too 

 much sleep, and occasionally marriage. Wid- 

 owhood, which makes men fat, appears to 

 have the contrary effect on women. M. 

 de Saint-Germain illustrates his method of 

 treatment by citing the example of one of 

 his best friends who was most probably 

 himself. Having grown to the weight of 

 two hundred and thirty pounds, he tried to 

 train himself down by the regulation meth- 

 od of treatment, and in six weeks lost twen- 

 ty-nine pounds and all his strength. He 

 then stopped, recovered his weight and his 

 health, and suffered no particular change for 

 eight years. Then he took to horseback- 

 riding, gymnastics, and fencing, varying his 

 exercises occasionally, but always keeping 

 them up actively, in the early morning hours. 

 To these he added a severe regimen ; no 

 breakfast after his fatiguing exercises, but 

 a cigar to sooth the stomach. Later a 

 breakfast of two boiled eggs, a cutlet with 

 salad and fruit, coffee without sugar or 

 spirit, no bread or wine, but water or tea 

 without sugar to drink ; for dinner, no soup, 



a plate of meat, a dish of green vegetables, 

 fruit, no bread or wine ; no dining in the 

 city ; absolute self restraint. The result was 

 a fall of his weight to two hundred and 

 twelve pounds, and increased vigor. 



An Ideal Jelly-Fish. 



A jelly-fish swam in a tropical sea, 



And he said : "This world it consists of ME ; 



There's nothing above and nothing below 



That a jelly-fish ever can possibly know, 



Since the highest reach we can boast of, sight, 



Is only the vaguest sense of light ; 



And we've got, for the final lest of things, 



To trust to the news which one feeling 



brings. 

 Now all that I learn from the sense of touch, 

 Is the fact of my feelings viewed as such ; 

 But to think these have an external cause 

 Is an inference clear against logical laws : 

 Again, to suppose, as I've hitherto done, 

 There are other jelly-fish under the sun, 

 Is a poor assumption that can't be backed 

 By a jot of proof or a single fact : 

 In short, like Fichte, I very much doubt 

 If there's anything else at all without ; 

 And so I've come to the plain conclusion, 

 If the question be only set free from confu- 

 sion, 

 That the universe centers solely in me, 

 And if I were not then nothing would be ! " 

 Just then a shark, who was passing by, 

 Gobbled him up in the twink of an eye, 

 And he died with a few convulsive twists, 

 But, somehow the universe still exists ! 



Grant Allen. 



Reciprocal Parasitism. M. Maxime Cor- 

 nu has taken notice of a prolongation of the 

 vegetative activity of the chlorophyl-cells 

 occurring under the influence of a parasite. 

 M. Schwendener has affirmed that lichens 

 are really fungoid parasites on algse, which 

 they envelop with their filaments and at the 

 expense of which they live ; and his view 

 has been confirmed by the investigations of 

 Rees, Bornet, and Stahl. The principal ar- 

 gument which has been opposed to this 

 theory is based on the difficulty of explain- 

 ing how the alga continues to live, grow, 

 multiply, and even acquire new vigor, in- 

 stead of perishing in the toils of the para- 

 site. M. Van Tieghem supposes, to explain 



