FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



137 



but always first ascends to the ceiling. The 

 universal testimony of medical men is to the 

 effect that no harm, and much good, results 

 from this practice. One effect is that pa- 

 tients accustom themselves to living at a 

 lower temperature without noticing it. At 

 Davos, Leysin, and Falkenstein there are 

 covered terraces or long, sheltered corridors, 

 open on one side to the air and protected 

 from wind, where a large number of phthisic- 

 al patients in various stages of disease re- 

 cline on couches for the greatest part of the 

 day in all weathers. In the winter there is 

 no heating apparatus, and warmth is kept 

 up by fur clothing and abundant covering. 



Requisites of a Public Mnsenm. " If 



public libraries, why not public museums ? " 

 asked Prof. E. S. Morse in the Atlantic 

 Monthly a year ago. Having discussed the 

 subject in a general way, he comes to the 

 application : " First and foremost, then, the 

 town museum should illustrate the natural 

 products of the immediate region. By natu- 

 ral products is meant, of course, the animals, 

 plants, rocks, and minerals found in the 

 county, or possibly in the State; for a 

 county collection would require but a few 

 extralimital forms to compass the State. 

 Second, a general collection of similar ma- 

 terial from elsewhere, to show the relation 

 of the county to the rest of the world. 

 Anatomical, physiological, and morphological 

 series should next find place in such a mu- 

 seum. The minor factors of natural selec- 

 tion, such as protective, alluring, and warn- 

 ing coloration, mimicry, etc., should be il- 

 lustrated, as far as possible, from collections 

 made in the immediate neighborhood. And, 

 finally, a series of forms to show the phy- 

 logenetic development of the animal king- 

 dom should in some way be given. Such a 

 series would require large floor space, and 

 the solution of many perplexing problems as 

 to form of cases and methods of display. 

 Yet a scheme of this sort must ultimately be 

 devised." Such an idea has been attained 

 in part by the Peabody Academy of Science 

 in Salem, the collections of which comprise, 

 first, a remarkable series of the animals and 

 plants, rocks, minerals, and archaeological 

 specimens collected in the county of Essex, 

 which are continually increasing as new 

 forms are added ; an epitome collection of 



the animal kingdom, brought from all parts 

 of the world ; and an ethnological collection, 

 arranged by countries. These collections 

 are all fully and clearly labeled. At close 

 intervals throughout the entire collection 

 special colored labels are displayed, calling 

 attention by title and shelf number to books 

 in the public library referring to the immedi- 

 ate groups. Courses of lectures are given 

 in the Academy Hall every year, which are 

 practically free to the public. 



Life in Balocbistan. An interesfng lec- 

 ture on the northern Balochis, a hill tiibe of 

 Balochistan on the northwestern frontier of 

 India, was recently read before the Indian 

 Section of the Society of Arts by Mr. Oswald 

 U. Yates, a gentleman who, while engaged 

 in Government work, spent seventeen years 

 in the neighborhood of these people and 

 gave much of his time to a study of their 

 language, history, and customs. The Balo- 

 chis are Mohammedans, but not very assidu- 

 ous votaries ; none have been converted to 

 Christianity, however. They are probably a 

 mixture of Kurd and Arab. Their language 

 is quite similar to Persian so much so that 

 Pottinger, who visited Balochistan in 1 830, 

 and who was familiar with Persian, could 

 after a few weeks understand most of what 

 was said to him. In order to be a respected 

 citizen, a Balochi must have long, curly 

 black hair, the longer the better ; and a long 

 beard is also considered desirable. They 

 are very superstitious. On certain days they 

 believe it is bad luck to go in certain direc- 

 tions ; they are guided in this by a rhyme, 

 which translated is : 

 " On the 1st and 11th I will not go east. 



On the 5th and 15th I will not go west. 



On the 3d and 13th I will not go south. 



On the 7th and 17th I will not go north." 

 They augur coming events from an ex- 

 amination of the lines on the shoulder blade 

 of a newly killed goat. Goats are also made 

 use of in discovering the sites of disused 

 wells, this, however, is not peculiar to the 

 Balochis. Their method of irrigating is 

 rather unique. " Before the commencement 

 of the rains, the fields are inclosed by lofty 

 embankments, varying in height from three 

 to ten feet, and inside these banks (called 

 lathandi) the water from the hill torrents is 

 admitted ; when one is full the next is filled. 



