POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



377 



of the pumpkin contains a large proportion 

 of nitrogen, and the seeds yield a high per- 

 centage of oil. "The presence of such 

 large amounts of oil, and of albuminous 

 matters," adds Prof. Storer, in the Bulletin 

 of the Bussy Institution, " would naturally 

 go to show that pumpkin-seeds must be a 

 highly-nutritious kind of food ; and it may 

 well be true that they are valuable for some 

 kinds of animals, when administered care- 

 fully and in moderate quantity. But it has 

 often been urged that the seeds are apt to 

 do harm to animals that have eaten them. 

 . . . There is little question that this idea 

 is to a certain extent founded in fact." 

 The dangers of using the seeds must, how- 

 ever, be both small and remote, since, as 

 the author shows, New England farmers 

 usually feed out the seeds with the flesh ; 

 still they should not be fed to milch-cows. 

 Regarding the use of these seeds as articles 

 of human food, the author quotes Pumpelly 

 as saying that the kernels are eaten by the 

 Chinese. In Egypt, too, pumpkin-seeds are 

 eaten in the same way that nuts are eaten 

 in other countries. 



Ancient Man in Japan. Prof. E. S. 

 Morse has made an important discovery in 

 the study of ancient man in this part of the 

 world, lighting on evidence of the remains 

 of prehistoric inhabitants of Niphon who 

 apparently must have antedated even the 

 Ainos. The eyes of this distinguished schol- 

 ar, possessing as they do the rare quality 

 of seeing, observed, while he was on his first 

 trip to the capital from Yokohama, one of 

 those significant shell-heaps which have 

 been found in many countries and prove the 

 high antiquity of the human race. This par- 

 ticular kjockkenmoedding is situated near 

 Omori, on the line of the railroad, and is 

 rich in evidence of a rude people that dwelt 

 in Japan at a very early age. Prof. Morse 

 has been engaged for many years in the 

 study of these mounds, as found in Maine, 

 North Carolina, and Florida. This heap, 

 which is about ten feet in thickness at its 

 greatest diameter, under a loam-deposit of 

 six feet, and half a mile from the present 

 shore of the bay, exhibits all the peculiari- 

 ties of its type, containing bone, both in 

 fragment and rudely fashioned into imple- 

 ments, and characteristic pottery. Some of 



the earthenware is curious enough, and is 

 thoroughly representative of a development 

 of the race coinciding with that of the an- 

 cient savages of America and Europe. The 

 professor has made an exhaustive study of 

 the deposit, and there seems little doubt 

 of its true character. As, however, he has 

 consented to address the Asiatic Society on 

 the subject at its approaching meeting, we 

 will not enlarge more particularly upon it at 

 present, only advising all to avail them- 

 selves of the rare opportunity to hear one 

 of the most fascinating of American lectur- 

 ers on a theme of novel and great local in- 

 terest. Tokio Times. 



Interesting Ethnological Specimens. At 



a meeting of the Natural History Section 

 of the Long Island Historical Society, Mr. 

 Elias Lewis, of Brooklyn, exhibited sev- 

 eral remarkable specimens of smoked In- 

 dian heads, brought by Mr. Ernest Morris 

 from the hitherto little known region near 

 the source of the Tapajos River, in Central 

 South America. Some account of these 

 heads was given by Mr. Lewis, and published 

 in the Brooklyn Eagle. They are ten in 

 number, and of great ethnological interest. 

 The natives seemed to well understand the 

 art of preserving them, but were exceedingly 

 unwilling that Mr. Morris should get pos- 

 session of the peculiar wood or root by the 

 smoke of which they are preserved. A piece, 

 however, was obtained and hidden by Mr. 

 Morris in his luggage. The flesh and mus- 

 cles of the smoked heads are shrunken 

 somewhat, and quite hard, but the features 

 are not distorted, and have a singularly life- 

 like appearance. All the lineaments of the 

 face are clear and well defined. Most of the 

 faces are tattooed. The hair is long, black, 

 and very thick on the scalps, and the red 

 paint with which the natives adorn them- 

 selves still remains in the hair of several of 

 the specimens. The heads are ornamented 

 with feathers, strings, and other appendages. 

 In most cases the front teeth are wanting, 

 having been knocked out previous to the 

 smoking. Mr. Morris obtained the heads 

 from the chief or principal man of one of 

 the tribes in exchange for knives and other 

 articles, and brought them away with great 

 difficulty and some risk. In a letter from 

 Mr. Morris it is stated that " the heads are 



