574 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



ting apart for each hill-tribe its allotted 

 station on the coast is not always sover- 

 eign for the avoidance of collisions. The 

 people of the southeast peninsula make 

 long voyages to the west of the Gulf of 

 Papua for sago, in strange craft composed 

 of several canoes lashed together, with a 

 house at each end. Each village or district 

 often has its trade-specialty, as, for exam- 

 ple, for pottery, or for canoes, or shell or 

 other ornaments. Salt is in great demand, 

 especially in the interior, whither sea-water 

 is sometimes carried in hollowed bamboos ; 

 or salt is obtained by burning the roots of 

 trees which have grown in the salt water. 

 The people in most parts are skilled agri- 

 culturists, and grow, generally with the 

 help of artificial irrigation, all the usual 

 plants of tropical Pacific culture, most of 

 which with probably the traditions of sci- 

 entific agriculture seem to be of Asiatic 

 origin. Any one may clear and cultivate a 

 piece of land within the territory of his 

 tribe, but they have a strong sense of pro- 

 prietorship, even of the fruit-trees in the 

 forest, and of the fish in their own streams, 

 or their own tract of coast. The social and 

 political organization of the people is quite 

 rudimentary. The chiefs have but little 

 power. Important matters are settled by 

 the assembly, and, otherwise, every man, 

 beyond conforming to certain established 

 customs, is a law to himself. 



How to live One Hundred Tears. How 



to live a century and grow old gracefully are 

 discussed in a pamphlet under that title 

 recently published by Dr. J. M. Peebles, 

 who appears to have faith in the practi- 

 cability of both his propositions. Success 

 depends upon many elements, among the 

 most tangible of which are air, sleep, food 

 and drinks, and clothing. We must breathe 

 pure air, and breathe deeply ; not be afraid 

 of night-air, and get as much of our air out- 

 of-doors as we can. As to sleep, " I say," 

 says Dr. Peebles, " to my friends and pa- 

 tients, ' get up ; get up at five o'clock in the 

 morning ' ; and I set them the example. If 

 they want more sleep I say, ' take it ; take 

 all you want ; take eight hours ; take nine 

 hours ; take ten hours, if you choose ; but 

 take them in the early hours of night rather 

 than by daylight. Don't insult Nature.' If 



you get angry, take a bath and go to bed 

 and sleep ; if the world abuses you, take 

 extra sleep ; if you are dyspeptic and dis- 

 contented, take a long, sound sleep, and, 

 waking, you will find that all the world 

 is smiling." For diet, the vegetarian and 

 farinaceous system is recommended. For 

 drink, water, which should also be applied 

 freely and frequently outside, while intoxi- 

 cating liquors, tea, coffee, etc., are best left 

 alone. The clothing should always be ar- 

 ranged with a view to protection against 

 variations of heat and cold, and with no 

 other, and should not be allowed to impede 

 any of the functions or movements of the 

 body. Dr. Peebles thinks that there may 

 be good in medicines, notwithstanding all 

 that is urged against their use by many 

 writers on hygiene, and says : " If there 

 were no pre-natal weaknesses, no transmit- 

 ted blood-poisons or hereditary tendencies ; 

 if there were no sudden climatic changes ; 

 if there were no violations of the physical, 

 mental, and moral laws of God, medicines 

 would be quite unnecessary. But, as ra- 

 tional, practical men, we must take human 

 beings precisely as we find them ; and we 

 find many of them wretchedly begotten, 

 badly cared for in infancy, unwisely trained 

 in childhood, wickedly tempted in youth, and 

 in manhood frequently exposed to winds, 

 pelting storms, and the low malarial lands 

 of the Western prairies. Thus conditioned, 

 human ills, aches and pains and diseases 

 are absolutely unavoidable, and accordingly 

 remedies medicinal remedies carefully 

 selected and wisely administered, are posi- 

 tive necessities." Finally : " Exercise char- 

 ity toward all, control your passions, govern 

 your appetites. Develop and manifest a 

 sweet and peaceful spirit. Carefully observe 

 the rules of health ; . . . and, with a fair 

 constitution to start with on the journey of 

 life, you may easily live a full century." 



Do Insulated Conductors attract Light- 

 ning ? A house in Neufchatel, Switzerland, 

 was struck by lightning and burned last sum- 

 mer ; and it was suggested that the electric 

 stroke had been invited by a lot of old iron 

 that was stored in the attic. M. Calladon, 

 speaking in the French Academy of Sciences 

 of this suggestion, remarked that the mere 

 presence of metal, without communication 



