n 4 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



zation. 3. The fact that cannibalism is practiced, not to satisfy hun- 

 ger or gratify the taste, but only in cases regulated by law. 



Accepting the theory of a comparatively modern origin of canni- 

 balism, the question still remains, of the immediate occasion of its in- 

 troduction. Aside from the tradition already mentioned, we can im- 

 agine but three grounds on which it could have been based. Human 

 flesh may have been first eaten under stress of necessity, and found so 

 palatable that the practice was continued ; superstition may have sug- 

 gested the idea that the eating of the flesh would secure the eater 

 against the bad influence of the spirit of the eaten one ; or, the igno- 

 minious extirpation of an offender may have been considered a good 

 method of showing the general abhorrence of him. This last view, ad- 

 vocated by Marsden, seems to me most improbable, for it is unthink- 

 able that cannibalism could have come to prevail in this way among a 

 people who had not previously known it. The second view, tbat of a 

 superstitious origin, appears more probable ; and it is no real objection 

 to it that the Battas now do not know anything of such superstition, 

 for there are many other customs of which the people who practice 

 them can not give a satisfactory account. The former view seems, how- 

 ever, still more probable, for it is most reconcilable with psychological 

 laws, and agrees with the traditions. 



The region within which cannibalism prevails has been consider- 

 ably contracted within the last three years, in consequence of the ex- 

 tension of Dutch authority over Silindung and Toba ; for man-eating 

 is, of course, extinguished wherever Dutch influence prevails. The 

 heathenism of the Battas is, moreover, fast declining before the per- 

 sistent attacks of Christianity ; and Mohammedanism, with its most 

 repulsive traits, must also pass away. 



-*- 



SKETCH OF CHARLES ADOLPHE WUETZ. 



CHARLES ADOLPHE WURTZ, President of the French Acad- 

 emy of Sciences, is one of the recognized leaders of modern 

 chemistry. Much of his work is regarded as of the first importance in 

 connection with chemical theory, and he is justly considered one of| 

 the chief pioneers of modern organic chemistry. 



Professor Wurtz was born in Strasburg, November 26, 1817, and 

 was taught in his earlier studies at the Protestant Gymnasium in 

 that city. He afterward studied in the Medical Faculty of Strasburg, 

 where he was chief of the chemical department from 1839 to 1844, 

 and received his degree in 1843. He began his chemical career as an 

 assistant to Dumas. Having come to Paris, he was made preparateur 

 to the course of organic chemistry of the Faculty in 1845. He after- 



