144 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



"Since the introduction of the water- 

 closet, and, I believe, as a direct conse- 

 quence of it," said Dr. G. V. Poore, at tiie 

 anniversary meeting of the Sanitary Insti- 

 tute of Great Britain, " we have had four 

 severe epidemics of cholera (a disease not 

 previously known), and enteric or typhoid 

 fever (previously almost or quite unrecog- 

 nized) has risen to the place of first impor- 

 tance among fevers in this country (Eng- 

 land). Tlie evils which have arisen from cess- 

 pools and sewers have caused an enormous 

 amount of attention to be devoted to what 

 are known as ' sanitary appliances,' ' sewer 

 constructions,' etc., and so great and so well 

 recognized are the evils of sewers that many 

 of our friends are anxious that we should be 

 compelled by act of Parliament to protect 

 ourselves from the mischief which previous 

 acts of Parliament have produced." 



The preliminary steps have been taken 

 for the organization of an Australasian Asso- 

 ciation for the Advancement of Science on 

 the same lines as the British Association. 

 The first and inaugural meeting is to be 

 held in Sydney in 1888, which will be the 

 centennial year of the foundation of the 

 colony of Is'ew South Wales. The Royal 

 Society of New South Wales, already in 

 operation, is pursuing a system of otfering 

 medals and money prizes for original re- 

 searches on scientific subjects, particularly 

 for investigations relating to Australia. 

 Four prizes are offered every year, consist- 

 ing of the society's medal and £25, to be 

 awarded for as many researches of superior 

 merit. 



A GR.vss resembling the Canadian " sweet 

 grass," but of finer texture and fragrance 

 has been discoTcred growing at Ocean 

 Beach, New Jersey, and is utilized by a 

 family of 'Indians there for making fancy 

 baskets. It is identified by Dr. Samuel 

 Lock wood with the Hicrochloa borcalis, or 

 " holy grass " of Europe, and as probably 

 the same colony which Dr. Knieskern an- 

 nounced several years ago that he had dis- 

 covered near Squan Village. As the name 

 " holy " or " sacred " grass would be without 

 significance in this country, and the fra- 

 grance of the i)lant is like that of vanilla. 

 Dr. I.oekwood suggests that it be called 

 " vanilla-grass." 



Dr. J. W. Stickler, in the " Report of 

 the New Jersey State Board of Health," 

 finds that persons who work in hat-factories 

 are subject to lung-complaints arising from 

 the inhalation of fur-dust. Silk-weaving in 

 dwelling-houses is deleterious, but ought to 

 be a healthy occupation in properly lighted, 

 heated, and ventilated factories, the hack- 

 ling of flax and jute fills the air with a dust 

 of dirt and minute fibers, leading to parox- 

 ysms of cougliing, and often to early death ; 

 and the spinning process is attended with 



similar evils. According to Dr. J. P. Davis, 

 the disorders arising from India-rubber 

 manufacturing are chiefly due to the lead- 

 compounds used in the work, accompanied 

 with heat and defective ventilation, to the 

 introduction of naphtha, and to mechanical 

 conditions. 



Biscuits appear to have been the most 

 ancient form of bread. It is not known 

 how early fermentation was introduced, 

 but it appears certain that cakes made sim- 

 ply of fiour and water preceded it. Such 

 cakes, of the Neolithic age, are found in the 

 lake-beds of Switzerland — and these are the 

 oldest surviving specimens of bread. Most 

 of the ancient peoples used biscuits on spe- 

 cial occasions, as of war and long voyages. 

 The Greeks called them arfon dipvron, or 

 bread exposed twice to the fire. The Ro- 

 mans had their panis nauiicus or capta. 

 Our word biscuit — bis, twice, and codus, 

 French atit, cooked, twice cooked, the 

 same in meaning as the Greek name, is a 

 survival from the original method of pre- 

 paring the cakes, which is no longer in use. 



Professor Emil Dp Bois-Reymonp, the 

 twentieth anniversary of whose appointment 

 as Secretary of the Academy of Sciences of 

 Berlin is celebrated this year, has had the 

 privilege of introducing a succession of fa- 

 mous representatives of science in speeches 

 which gave proof of his great ability as an 

 author. He is one of the oldest members of 

 the physico-mathematical class of the Acad- 

 emy ; the only member of older standing 

 being Chevreul, whose patent antedates his 

 seventeen years. 



The city of Nancy, in France, on the 

 21st of July, suffered the strange visitation 

 of a rain cf wood-ants. It was about five 

 o'clock in the afternoon when the " shower " 

 came up, and the insects, both winged and 

 unwinged, fell ujjon the streets and public 

 places, and on the heads of passers-by, like 

 a snow-squall, for about an hour. Most of 

 the town was literally covered with ants. 

 They are supposed to have been taken up 

 somewhere and brought to the place by the 

 strong gusts which preceded a severe storm 

 that fell upon the city during the night. 



Professor Tyndall expressed a doubt, 

 in his last Royal Institution lecture, as to 

 whether extensive reading and study had 

 not a tendency to hamper original genius ; 

 whether doctrines han(ied down for genera- 

 tions as articles of faith, which it would be 

 heresy to dispute, had not materially checked 

 the progress of science. 



Pilocarpine is an alkaloid obtained from 

 the leaves of PHocarpna primatua. It is a 

 viscous substance, giving finely-crystallized 

 salts, and has been applied to various thera- 

 peutic uses. 



