764 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



cated mechanism. The porpoise, being a 

 pure mammal, has a four-cavitied heart, and 

 a pair of lungs. Now, Nature has ordained 

 that he shall live in the sea ; the problem 

 is, how to keep water out of the lungs. In 

 the first place, his nose is guarded by a 

 valve placed on top of his head, and when 

 the porpoise breathes he comes to the sur- 

 face, and takes a deep inspiration. Not a 

 drop of water ever gets in. But how does 

 he work his valve, and keep the water out 

 of his lungs, when he is asleep ? The an- 

 swer to this question cannot be given yet. 

 Mr. Buckland intends to study the subject 

 when next he has a live porpoise at the 

 Brighton Aquarium. 



Reproduction of Ancient Colors.— A re- 

 markable and very beautiful shade of blue 

 is noticeable upon many of the ornaments 

 found in the tombs of Egypt. Analysis, 

 some time since, proved the color to be 

 formed by a combination of soda, sand, and 

 lime, with certain proportions of copper. 

 From these substances the ancient Egyptians 

 obtained three different products: first, a 

 peculiar kind of red, green, and blue glass ; 

 second, a brilliant enamel ; and lastly, this 

 blue color, which was used for painting. 

 By synthetic experiments, Peligot has suc- 

 ceeded in reproducing this peculiar shade of 

 blue, by heating together seventy-three 

 parts of silica, with sixteen of oxide of 

 copper, eight! of lime, and three of soda. 

 The temperature should not exceed 800° 

 Fahr., as, in such case, a valueless black 

 product is the result. 



Prof. Huxley on Female Education. — A 



lady. Miss Sophia Jex-Blake, having failed 

 to pass successfully an examination at the 

 Edinburgh University, brought the charge 

 of unfairness against the examining board. 

 One of the lady's papers, that on natu- 

 ral history, having been submitted to Prof. 

 Huxley for his opinion, he expressed his 

 full concurrence in the decision of the 

 board, so far as this paper was concerned. 

 In a letter to the Times, giving a history 

 of the alGFair, Prof. Huxley remarks as 

 follows on the question of woman's edu- 

 cation : " "Without seeing any reason to 

 believe that women are, on the average, so 

 strong physically, intellectually, or morally. 



as men, I cannot shut my eyes to the ob- 

 vious fact that many women are much bet- 

 ter endowed in all these respects than many 

 men, and I am at a loss to understand on 

 what grounds of justice or pubhc policy a 

 career which is open to the weakest and 

 most foohsh of the male sex should be 

 forcibly closed to women of vigor and ca- 

 pacity. We have heard a great deal lately 

 about the physical disabilities of women. 

 Some of these alleged impediments, no 

 doubt, are really inherent in their organiza- 

 tion, but nine-tenths of them are artificial — 

 the product of their mode of life. I believe 

 that nothing would tend so effectually to 

 get rid of these creations of idleness, weari- 

 ness, and that ' over- stimulation of the emo- 

 tions,' which, in plainer-spoken days, used 

 to be called wantonness, than a fair share 

 of healthy work, directed toward a definite 

 object, combined with an equally fair share 

 of healthy play, during the years of adoles- 

 cence ; and those who are best acquainted 

 with the acquirements of an average medi- 

 cal practitioner, will find it hardest to be- 

 lieve that the attempt to reach that stand- 

 ard is likely to prove exhausting to an or- 

 dinarily intelligent and well-educated young 

 woman." 



Do Dogs perspire? — It is frequently 

 urged, as an argument against the ordinary 

 method of muzzling dogs, that it closes the 

 mouth, and thereby prevents perspiration, 

 which, in the dog, is said to take place only 

 through the mouth. This, according to 

 Land and Water, is an error ; perspiration 

 going on through the skin, as in other 

 animals. The idea of perspiratory glands 

 in the tongue is characterized as absurd, 

 these organs being only found in the dog's 

 skin, which is abundantly supplied with 

 them. The real cruelty of the close or 

 strap muzzle is, that it hinders free respira- 

 tion, rather than free perspiration. 



New Species by Sudden Variations. — A 



paper was read by Mr. Meehan, at the 

 American Association, entitled " Change 

 by Gradual Modification not the Universal 

 Law," in which, after recounting a large 

 number of facts in botany which go to show 

 that varieties and new species are not al- 

 ways the result of imperceptible gradations, 



