7 i8 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



all their lives, and which they have found it 

 to be impossible to get rid of." This defect 

 may account for some of the accidents that 

 occur on railways and shipping. 



Mexican Leather. A report of the Bel- 

 gian minister in Mexico shows that the ex- 

 port of leathers from that country is in- 

 creasing, and on account of the favorable 

 Conditions for cattle-raising that exist there 

 is likely to continue to advance. The trade 

 is just now suffering from the careless and 

 defective manner in which the hides are 

 treated before shipment. The trade in alli- 

 gator-skins is capable of great development, 

 and promises all the elements of a lucrative 

 industry, because alligators or caymans are 

 abundant in all the lagoons and cost nothing. 

 Nearly all the parts of this animal are used. 

 The teeth are made up, in conjunction with 

 gold, into ornaments and articles of jewelry, 

 which find a ready sale ; medical properties 

 are ascribed to the oil, and it is highly ap- 

 preciated for the manufacture of soap ; but 

 the most important part is the skin, which 

 is very strong and handsomely marked, and 

 is used for shoes, bags, and fancy articles. 

 The skin of the iguana also has a value, but 

 is less consistent than that of the cayman. 



Mesopotamian Peoples. The population 

 of southern Mesopotamia is divided by Dr. B. 

 Moritz into three classes. The Bedouins of 

 the desert live in dwellings made of black 

 goat's hair, possess " wonderfully large " 

 herds of sheep and camels, and pursue cat- 

 tle-lifting as a national sport. The second 

 class the dwellers along the rivers and 

 canals form the settled agricultural ele- 

 ment, and, although enjoying the smallest 

 area of country, are the most numerous 

 class of the population. They live in reed 

 huts, which are a cross between the tent of 

 the nomads and the permanent house. At 

 the time of the great inundations they fre- 

 quently leave their abodes and seek other 

 places of residence, where the conditions as 

 regards the waters are more favorable. 

 Many also proceed in the summer into the 

 desert, and only return in the winter to at 

 tend to their fields. Rice, barley, and wheat 

 are cultivated. Rotten fish forms also a 

 chief article of food. The third class of 

 the population are the inhabitants of the 



marshes, whose sole employment is the past- 

 uring of their buffaloes. They are human 

 amphibia, who, like their cattle, subsist on 

 the lower parts of the reeds and rushes, 

 and, as a rule, wear only a felt cap, stiff 

 with dirt, on their heads ; they are other- 

 wise generally unclothed. They live in lit- 

 tle rush huts which are frequently situated 

 in an impenetrable morass. Their civiliza- 

 tion is an indescribably low one. 



Cultivation of Lemons in Sicily. The 



ever-bearing lemon of Sicily, according to 

 the consular reports, produces blossoms and 

 lemons every month in the year. Lemons 

 are known as true and bastard. The " true " 

 lemon is produced by the April and May 

 blossoms, the " bastard " by the irregular 

 blooms of February, March, June, and July, 

 which depend upon the rainfall or regular 

 irrigation and the intensity of the heat. 

 The true lemon requires nine months from 

 May to January to reach maturity. A first 

 harvest of fruit takes place in November, 

 when the lemons are green-colored and not 

 fully ripe. These are the most highly prized 

 and can be kept in the warehouses till 

 March, and sometimes May, when they are 

 shipped. A second lot is harvested in De- 

 cember and January, but these must be 

 shipped within three weeks. The fruit of 

 the third harvest, which occurs in March 

 and April, is shipped at once, and enjoys 

 the beuefit of the high spring prices. The 

 bastard lemons may be known by the pecul- 

 iarities in their size and appearance. They 

 are hard, rich in acid, and seedless ; will re- 

 main on the tree a year, and sell well in 

 summer ; and some will remain on the trees 

 for eighteen months. Four times more 

 lemons than oranges are raised in Sicily, and 

 the cultivation is thirty per cent more profit- 

 able. 



Parasites of Ilospitals. The Abuse of a 

 Great Charity is the title of a paper by Dr. 

 George M. Gould on the greed with which 

 the advantages of gratuitous hospital prac- 

 tice are sought bv outdoor patients who are 

 able to pay for treatment but are willing to 

 "get something for nothing." Among the 

 baneful results of the abuse arc counted 

 the encouragement of pauperism, depend- 

 ence, and deceit in a large class already too 



