NOTES. 



1^7 



sensitive than silver bromide to all the less 

 refrangible rays, and also to white light ; 

 3. That the sensitiveness of the bromide to 

 the green rays is materially increased by 

 the presence of free silver nitrate ; 4. That 

 bromide and iodide of silver together are 

 more sensitive to both the gieen and the 

 red rays (and probably to all the rays) than 

 either the bromide or the iodide separate- 

 ly ; 5. That, contrary to Becquerel's theory, 

 there do not exist any rays with a special 

 exciting or a special continuing power, but 

 that all the colored rays are capable both 

 of commencing and continuing the impres- 

 sion on silver iodide and bromide. 



NOTES. 



The Acclimatization Society of Cincin- 

 nati has had printed muslin handbills offer- 

 ing a reward of ten dollars for " any infor- 

 mation that will convict persons of violat- 

 ing " in the vicinity of that city " the laws 

 framed for the protecting of birds." 



The Prussian Government offers a prize 

 of 3,000 marks (about $700) for a method 

 which will give plaster-casts the power of 

 resisting periodically repeated washings, 

 without injuring in the least the delicacy of 

 the form, or the tint of the plaster. Also a 

 prize of 10,000 marks (about $2,500) for a 

 material for making plaster-casts of art- 

 works, possessing the advantages of plaster, 

 but which, without any special preparation, 

 will not deteriorate by periodically-repeated 

 washings. The conditions of competition 

 are stated in full in the Journal of the So- 

 ciety of Arts, No. 1,177. 



From official returns published in the 

 Sanitarian, it appears that in the city of 

 Boston there occurred, in the year 1874, 

 11,717 births, whereof 6,021 were of males 

 and 5,696 of females. The proportion is as 

 one to 28.27 of population. Of the whole 

 number 54.74 per cent, were of foreign par- 

 entage by both parents ; 66.35 per cent, had 

 foreign-born fathers ; 73 per cent, were of 

 parents one or both of whom were foreign- 

 born. Of Irish parentage there was one 

 birth to 20.05 of the population ; of native, 

 one to 73.24. 



MoDoo SooDCN GooPTA is the name of 

 the first Hindoo that ever dissected a human 

 cadaver; this he did in 1836. Still not till 

 seventeen years later did scientific medicine 

 begin to find favor among the natives of 

 India. At present students in great num- 

 bers attend the medical colleges of Calcutta, 

 Madras, Bombay, Agra, and the schools of 

 Lahore and Nagpoor. 



During the whole month of June, ac- 

 cording to the Monthly^ Weather Report, 

 vessels navigating the North Atlantic were 

 in danger from ice-drift and icebergs. The 

 steamship Scandinavian, while ofi" the coast 

 of Newfoundland, on the 2'.)th of June, 

 sighted no less than 100 icebergs, many of 

 them of monstrous size. 



Captain Lawson, whose book, " Wan- 

 derings in New Guinea," is almost univer- 

 sally considered to be a work of fiction, on 

 June 22d read a paper at the London An- 

 thropological Institute on "Tbe Papuans 

 of New Guinea." Before the paper was 

 read several members urged the chairman 

 to require of the author some evidence of 

 his good faith, but the motion was over- 

 ruled, and Captain Lawson was allowed to 

 proceed. In the discussion which followed. 

 Dr. Busk and others expressed opinions ad- 

 verse to the author's credibility, and the 

 usual vote of thanks was not passed. 



The Tribune, of Salt Lake City, an- 

 nounces the discovery in North Mill Creek 

 Canon, near the line of the Utah Central 

 Eailroad, of a rich mine of mica. The belt 

 is said to be about 1,000 feet wide and 1,000 

 feet long. Sheets of mica three by four 

 inches can be obtained in abundance, and 

 development of the mines will doubtless 

 open beds from which sheets of any size can 

 be taken. 



A TRAVELER in Zanzibar states that in 

 that country ants are a great pest. They 

 move along the roads in masses so dense 

 that beasts of burden refuse to step among 

 them. If a traveler should fail to see them 

 coming in time to make his escape, he 

 soon finds them swarming about his person. 

 Sometimes, too, they ascend the trees and 

 drop on the wayfarer. 



The telegraphic cable between Anglesea 

 and Ireland was recently taken up for the 

 purpose of repairing a fault which had oc- 

 curred not far from the former island. The 

 fault was found to have been caused by 

 a minute crustacean {Limnoria terebrans), 

 which had pierced the gutta-percha cover- 

 ing of the cable. The application of cre- 

 osote seems to be the only preventive of 

 the depredations of this little creature. 



A highly-improbable story is published 

 in the English newspapers, of the discovej-y 

 in Syria of a large nmnber of villages, the 

 names of which are unknown to the geog- 

 rapher, and even to the tax-gatherer. No 

 fewer than seventy-nine of these hapless 

 hamlets, so the story runs, have been un- 

 earthed in the single district of Damascus, 

 besides about an equal number in other 

 parts of the province, by Medjeddin Effendi, 

 who has been devoting his time and ener- 

 gies to the exploration of old official regis- 



