510 



THE POPULAR SCIEXCE MONTHLY. 



plained the action of the southeastern and 

 northeastern trade-winds, and argued that, 

 if large junks started from the coast of 

 Peru and kept before the wind, they would 

 in all probability strike the southern coast 

 of China. America is geologically the oldest 

 continent ; if so, why not the first peopled ? 

 When in the development of America her 

 progress was sufficient to facilitate emigra- 

 tion, why may she not have given a popu- 

 lation to Asia? If the primitive races of 

 this continent have died out and their me- 

 morials crumbled away, this is a strong ar- 

 gument in favor of the antiquity of the 

 human race here : in more recent Asia traces 

 stUl remain of original races. 



Respiration and Versification. The 



natural rate of respiration is from sixteen 

 to twenty-four breaths per minute, the aver- 

 age being twenty. To this fact Dr. Oliver 

 Wendell Holmes attributes the favor in 

 which the octosyllabic verse is held : that 

 Terse, more exactly than any other, follows 

 the natural rhythm of respiration. Experi- 

 ments with the poetry of Scott, Longfellow, 

 and Tennyson, show that an average of 

 twenty lines will be read in a minute, so 

 that one respiration will suffice for each 

 line. It is, in fact, so easy of articulation, 

 that it is apt to run into a sing-song. The 

 twelve-syllable line of Drayton's " Polyol- 

 bion" is pronounced almost intolerable, on 

 account of its "intensely unphysiological 

 construction," Dr. Holmes's conclusion is, 

 that nothing in poetry or in vocal music 

 is popular that is not calculated with strict 

 reference to the respiratory functions. 



Diseases of Artisans. The diseases in- 

 cident to the following of vaj-ious trades are 

 considered in detail by a German physician. 

 Dr. Hirt, in his work " Diseases of Artisans." 

 The effects produced by the inhalation of 

 certain gases are discussed by the author 

 in the second division of his work. With 

 regard to carbonic acid he confirms previous 

 observations of the acute affections pro- 

 duced by it, but he does not find the slight- 

 est evidence in favor of chronic intoxication 

 by the constant inhalation of small quan- 

 tities of the gas. In the processes of beer- 

 brewing, wine-making, distilling and yeast- 

 making, considerable quantities of carbonic 

 acid are given off, but, wherever the venti- 



lation is good, no injurious effects are pro- 

 duced. He appears to have no doubt of the 

 occurrence of chronic poisoning by the 

 action of sulphuretted hydrogen. The symp- 

 toms are general weakness, depression and 

 usually total loss of appetite, combined with 

 a feeling of weight on the stomach: the 

 tongue is furred. Bisulphide of carbon, ob- 

 tained by passing sulphur-fumes over burn- 

 ing coal, and subsequent distillation, is now 

 much used as a solvent of India-rubber. It 

 produces chronic poisoning. The symptoms 

 are, at first, evening headache, and pains in 

 the limbs ; sometimes intellectual excite- 

 ment ; often cramps, difficulty of breathing, 

 and increased frequency of the heart's 

 action. After some weeks or months fol- 

 lows a period of depression, heaviness, in- 

 sensibility of some parts of the skin, dimi- 

 nution of sight, and in some cases of hear- 

 ing. The bad-smelling gases and effluvia 

 given off from putrefying animal substances 

 are said to be innocuous. The trades ex- 

 posed to such emanations are tanners, soap- 

 boilers, candle-makers, etc. Workmen get 

 accustomed to the fumes of turpentine, and 

 then such fumes appear to have no injurious 

 effects. 



NOTES. 



Errata. In the article entitled "Ab- 

 sorption of Water by growing Grain," on 

 page 380 of present volume, for "1,796 

 grammes," read " l.'/Oe gramme," and for 

 "two-fifths of an acre," read "2.5 acres." 



We note the formation of three new as- 

 sociations for the study of natural science, 

 viz. : the Lyceum of Natural Sciences, at 

 San Diego, California ; the Natural History 

 Club, of Vineland, New Jersey ; and the 

 Nebraska Association for the Advancement 

 of Science, at North Platte, Nebraska. 



Admiral Sherard Osborn', of the Brit- 

 ish Navy, who died on May 6th, in the fifty- 

 fourth year of his age, first gained distinc- 

 tinction in the expedition which sailed to 

 the polar regions in search of Franklin in 

 1849. Again, in 1852, he commanded a 

 vessel which took part in a second expedi- 

 tion on the same errand. 



A TiRtJLENT disease of the lungs, bear- 

 ing some resemblance to the epizootic which 

 appeared in the United States about two 

 years ago, broke out among the horses at 

 Hull, England, last March. The malady is 

 described as very infectious, and as having 

 carried off a large number of animals. 



