MISCELLANY 



761 



instances of late years of the manner in 

 which what the Lord-Chancellor describes 

 as a ' perpetual trust ' has hampered, in- 

 stead of fostering, the development of the 

 future. It is not merely that so much 

 mocey has been wasted, but obsolete rules 

 and exploded systems have been a lasting 

 obstacle to the growth of thought and to 

 the intelligent adaptation of new genera- 

 tions to new necessities. The law of mort- 

 main has not been sufficient to avert this 

 danger, and great institutions like our uni- 

 versities and public schools have from time 

 to time come to a dead-lock. Being estab- 

 lished with no other dominant object in 

 view than that of perpetuating the systems 

 of the past, a troublesome outcry has always 

 been raised when it has become necessary 

 to adapt them to the present." 



Diffasion of fholcra. Pettonkofer's the- 

 ory of the spread of cholera namely, that 

 it depends on geological and hydrological 

 conditions receives confirmation from 

 the researches of Dr. Decaisne, one of the 

 foremost hygienists of France. In a com- 

 munication to the Academic des Sciences, 

 Dr. Decaisne calls attention to the fact that 

 the cities of Lyons and Versailles have al- 

 ways been in a great measure proof against 

 this disease, though the country round about 

 has again and again been ravaged by it. 

 Paris, on the contrary, has often suffered 

 severely from cholera. In 1832 Lyons en- 

 tirely escaped the visitation of the epidem- 

 ic, which ravaged all the rest of the coun- 

 tr}-. Again, in 1835, Lyons was not attacked 

 by the cholera in its advance up the Rhone. 

 In 1849 it made its appearance in one of 

 the barracks, and a few cases occurred in 

 the neighborhood ; but three weeks later it 

 had disappeared. In the autumn of 1853 

 the cholera prevailed in the department of 

 Drome; there was an outbreak at Lyons, 

 the number of cases being 400, with 196 

 deaths. In 1865 there were only a few 

 sporadic cases. 



According to Pcttenkofer's theory, the 

 immunity of Lyons is explained partly by 

 the constitution of the soil, but this expla- 

 nation applies only to those quarters of the 

 town which overlie the granite rock, either 

 directly, or with a bed of clay interposed. 

 All those portions of the city which rest on 



the alluvium owe their immunity to peculiar 

 conditions of the underground water. The 

 two instances mentioned above of outbreaks 

 of the cholera in Lyons coincide with periods 

 of exceptional drought, when organic matter, 

 which is usually submerged, underwent de- 

 composition by the action of the air. But 

 those portions of the city which owe their 

 salubrity to the physical constitution of the 

 soil have always enjoyed immunity. As for 

 the city of Versailles, the conditions there 

 are analogous to those found at Lyons. But 

 Paris rests on Eocene Tertiary formations 

 which are pei-meable and dry conditions 

 which are favorable to the dissemination of 

 cholera, 



Coal-Deposits ia New lork State. In a 



recent popular lecture on the subject of 

 coal, given under the auspices of the Buffa- 

 lo Society of Natural Sciences, Prof. A. R. 

 Grote speaks as follows of the prospects of 

 finding coal within the limits of the State 

 of New York : " Though coal exists in 

 small quantities in the earth below the car- 

 boniferous formation, it will not pay to mine 

 it. The Mareellus shale, for instance, is so 

 charged with bitumen that it can be burnt. 

 A great deal of money has been wasted in 

 this State in searching for coal in formations 

 where it could not be found. More money, 

 a thousand times over, has been frittered 

 away than would pay for a new scientific 

 survey of the State, which is so much need- 

 ed. Instead of consulting scientific men, 

 geologists, people have dug vainly, and 

 wasted time, labor, and money. Within the 

 borders of our State we have no carbonif- 

 erous formations, except a bare outcrop- 

 ping, in the southwestern part, of conglom- 

 erate belonging to the series. No coal ex- 

 ists in this State in any quantity." 



Observations on tbc Hiigrations of Birds. 



With a view to ascertain the conditions 

 governing the migrations of birds and certain 

 other periodical phenomena, the natural-his- 

 tory editor of Forest and Stream invites the 

 attention of observers throughout the coun- 

 try to the subject, and suggests that each 

 one keep a record of his observations. The 

 points to be specially ol)served are the fol- 

 lowing: 1. Whether each species of birds 

 'is resident throughout the year, is a sum- 



