7H 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



raatic system words, sentences, and treatises 

 on various subjects. In proportion as it 

 was applied to connected and lengthy com- 

 positions, its processes became more recon- 

 dite, curious, and difficult of interpretation 

 impossible without considerable knowl- 

 edge of the spoken language The study of 

 it has, however, been pursued with what Dr. 

 Brinton calls marked and gratifying results, 

 by Mrs. Zelie Nuttall Pinart. This lady, the 

 author says, " has unraveled a number of 

 the pages of the 'Vienna Codex,' and sev- 

 eral of the monolithic inscriptions which 

 have been handed down from ancient Mexi- 

 co. With commendable caution she has 

 refrained from publishing her results until 

 they could be presented supported by such 

 proofs that they can not be questioned ; but 

 from a personal examination of them I do 

 not hesitate to say that they will be found 

 to come up to the highest standard of scien- 

 tific requirements." 



An Incident in School Discipline. An 



instructive incident in the administration of 

 school discipline is related by T. C. Earns, 

 in the " Southwestern Journal of Educa- 

 tion." The subject was a boy naturally of 

 good impulses, but who had conceived the 

 idea of the existence of antagonism be- 

 tween teacher and pupil. It was agreed 

 that he must be whipped for a serious 

 breach of the order of the school which he 

 had committed. He assuming a defiant at- 

 titude toward the teacher, the latter re- 

 plied to him: "No; if you do not comply 

 willingly, I will not whip you, Sam. There 

 will be no contest between us; but, as you 

 will not be subject to the rules which you 

 agreed to obey when you entered school, 

 you can not stay here longer, and I will 

 write a note explaining all to your mother, 

 which yoil will please to carry to her." 

 This having been said pleasantly, the teach- 

 er sat down to write the note, while the 

 boy waited and reflected. The note made a 

 pleasant mention of Sam's good traits, and 

 expressed regret that his failure to comply 

 with some of the regulations of the school 

 made it necessary to dismiss him. The 

 boy was given it, but hesitated to start 

 away, and said, " I am not going to take 

 this to my mother." The teacher answered 

 that if Sam did not want to take the note, 



he would send it by a carrier, or drop it in 

 the mail, " But I thought you would prefer 

 to carry it in person, and have something to 

 say in your own behalf." Sam made an- 

 other effort to start, but appeared to be 

 overcome, and, walking up to the teacher, 

 extended his hand, and said, " Whip me I 

 can't stand this ! " The teacher, of course, 

 would not whip him then, nor would he 

 send the note to the boy's mother, but say- 

 ing that all that had passed should rest be- 

 tween the two, added, "Only be sure that 

 your conduct is all right for the future." 

 " New light," says the teacher, " seemed to 

 dawn upon Sam. This was a new experi- 

 ence for him. I nodded assent, and he 

 passed out again. It was but a moment, 

 when a head was again protruded at the 

 door, and a choking voice uttered the words, 

 ' Much obliged to you.' I never had any 

 more trouble with Sam." The boy was 

 conquered by just and manly treatment. 

 When the spirit of antagonism had been 

 removed, he had nothing left to stand upon, 

 and his self-respect forced him to be a man 

 in return. 



Ptomaines in Stale Milk. The evidence 

 of the development of ptomaines in stale 

 milk accumulates, and it is becoming more 

 and more probable that the instances of 

 poison-sickness which occasionally occur 

 after partaking certain creams, or ices, or 

 cheeses, may be traced to this source. Dr. 

 II. II. Firth reports, upon the examination 

 of some milk to which his attention was 

 called as having occasioned sickness, that 

 after the evaporation of an ethereal extract 

 from the filtrate, a moist, semi-crystallized 

 residue was left. It had a " mawkish, sick- 

 ly odor," and a strongly pungent taste when 

 put on the tongue. Taking some of it care- 

 fully himself, he was soon afterward con- 

 scious of nausea and dryness of the fauces, 

 and then of headache. Die gave all the re- 

 maining residue to a dog. The dog was 

 within fifteen minutes purging, vomiting, and 

 obviously ill. It gradually recovered, but, 

 being afterward killed, its stomach and in- 

 testines were found to contain a serous and 

 frothy fluid, but quite free of congestion or 

 inflammatory action. Fresh milk when test- 

 ed did not yield any substance having a tox- 

 ic action. But of stoppered bottles of milk 



