June I, 1876] 



NA TURE 



109 



and a half in length, which must be wielded, much like 

 the large ancient swords, with two hands.^ 



Slmg-stones are also in use in time of war. The prin- 

 cipal weapon of warfare, however, is the above-mentioned 

 chadga, which is dangerous up to a range of from thirty-five 

 to forty paces. The arrows can scarcely be considered dan- 

 gerous above fifty paces range, because they are too light. 

 In war time, and in hog-hunting, the tips of the spears 

 and arrows are rubbed with a red earth, but the Papuans 

 in' this neighbourhood do not poison their arrows. 



Regarding the dress and ornaments of the Papuans : 

 the sole article of clothing of the men is the nial, a kind 

 of cloth prepared from the bark of trees, having a length 

 of more than three yards and a breadth of about a quar- 

 ter of a yard. This article of dress is manufactured in a 

 way similar to that of the tapas of the Polynesians ; the 

 outer layer of bark is detached, and then beaten with a 

 piece of wood upon a stone until it becomes soft and 

 supple, after which it is dyed with a red earth. It is 

 worn thus : one end having been held fast on the belly, 

 at the navel, the cloth is passed between the legs, and 

 then carried several times round the waist, the end being 

 finally tied with the first end in a knot at the back. As 

 much traction is exercised upon the part which is pushed 

 between the legs, the anterior end comes to hang down in 

 front. The corresponding dress of the females, also 

 called mal, consists of fringes about half a yard long, 

 fastened to a girdle, which hangs down in thick clus- 

 ters as far as the knees, and does not embarrass the 

 movements of the body. This garment is generally dyed 

 in black and red horizontal stripes. In some villages the 

 mal of the girls up to the time of marriage consists of a 

 girdle, to which two bunches of dyed bast are attached, 

 one hanging down in front, the other over the middle of 

 the buttocks ; and when they sit down they carefully 

 pull the hinder and longer bunch between the legs. These 

 young ladies also carry on either side of their buttocks orna- 

 ments of shells and coloured fruit-stones. Besides the mal, 

 the Papuans possess long and broad pieces of cloth, simi- 

 larly prepared, which they wear over the shoulders in the 

 night and early morning, as a protection against cold. 



The ever-constant companions of the Papuan are his 

 jai)ibi and his gun. The former is a small bag carried 

 round the neck, containing tobacco and various small 

 articles ; while in the latter, which is larger, and is slung 

 over the left shoulder, he carries a box of quicklime for 

 betel-chewing, his jarur, schiliupa, and kai, shells, and 

 bamboo boxes containmg red and black dyes, and other 

 necessaries. These bags are woven out of variously 

 coloured threads, and ornamented with shells. 



The men carry on the upper arm, above the biceps, 

 bracelets called sagiu, artfully woven out of bark or grass, 

 and ornamented with shells. Stuck in such a ring the 

 dongan is carried. Similar rings, or "bangles" — samba- 

 sagiu—axe worn above the calves. A highly prized orna- 

 ment, worn hanging from the neck over the breast, is the 

 buVra, wild boar's tusk. 



The men also wear broad earrings of turtle-shell or of 

 wood, or in default of these, pieces of bamboo, longish 

 stones, or flowers. The women have two kinds of ear- 

 rings. From either ear-lobe hangs one or several rings ; 

 or from the upper edge of one ear there passes a cord 

 across the forehead to the corresponding part of the other 

 ear, while from either extremity of the cord a bundle of 

 white dogs' teeth hangs down on the side of the neck. 

 The women also have two bags — nangcli-gun — which are 

 much larger than those of the men, and are carried on the 

 back, slung by a band round the forehead. In one of these 

 fruit is brought daily from the plantations into the villages, 

 while in the other the newborn children, or else young pet 

 pigs or puppies, are carried. J . C. Galton 



{To ^<? continued.) 



' Could these not be used, like similar weapons employed by certai n tribes 

 in the "heart of Africa," for parrying blows ?— J. C G. 



THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY, 

 CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.'- 



T^HE Report of the Museum of 'Comparative Zoology 

 ■*• for the past year, which has just reached this 

 country, is of great interest, as it gives us an account of the 

 way in which the supporters of this noble Institution have 

 endeavoured to meet the blow it suffered by the premature 

 death of its founder. The Penikese School of Natural 

 History succumbed, we know, after a faint struggle, but it 

 does not at all appear that the Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology is likely to follow its example. A fund of 260,600 

 dollars has been raised by public subscription, as a 

 memorial to Aeassiz, which is to be devoted to the com- 

 pletion and endowment of the Museum, and the State of 

 Massachusetts has granted a further sum of 50,000 

 dollars to the like object. As more than the amount, 

 stated to be necessary for the purpose has thus been 

 received we trust there can be no doubt that the desired 

 object will be attained, and the buildmg finished and its 

 staff endowed according to the plans formed by the late 

 Professor Agassiz. 



The geneial work of the assistants in the Museum of 

 Comparative Zoology during the past year, has we are told, 

 "as usual consisted mainly in preparing materials for exhibi- 

 tion, and packing the duplicate collections for exchange." 

 The late Professor Agassiz accumulated, as is well known, 

 enormous masses of specimens of every class in alcohol. 

 But the present Report says : — 



" The great difficulty of preserving alcoholic collections, 

 the unpleasant nature, and enormous expense of the work 

 make it imperative, not only for storage, but still more 

 for exhibition purposes, that they should be restricted to 

 a minimum, and limited, as far as possible, to those 

 classes where no other mode of preservation is practicable. 

 The constantly increasing facilities of travel, the compara- 

 tive economy with which fresh specimens can be studied, 

 the superiority of such work (with proper appliances) to 

 that of the Museum, the daily increasing number of 

 workers who are able, on the sea-shore or in the field, to 

 produce results unattainable by Museum study alone, 

 show that the time has come when large collections must 

 naturally be supplemented by zoological stations. These, 

 when once established at properly selected localities, will 

 enable Museums to dispense with much that is now 

 exceedingly costly. They will become, for certain depart- 

 ments at least, chiefly depositories where the record of 

 work done at the stations — the archives of natural science, 

 so to speak — will be preserved ; so that, while their use- 

 fulness for the general instruction of the public and of our 

 higher institutions will not be diminished, they must 

 hereafter be useful to the original investigator in a some- 

 what more limited field." 



There can be no doubt of the sagacity of these remarks. 

 They should be well considered by the supporters of the 

 Aquariums now springing up in every direction, which 

 might easily be so arranged as to be useful also as Zoolo- 

 gical Stations like that at Naples. 



The most important addition made to the collection at 

 Cambridge in 1875, appears to have been that formed by 

 Mr. Alexander Agassiz during his expedition to Peru and 

 Bolivia. This, we are told contains a ''fair representa- 

 tion of the Fauna of the high plateau in which Lake 

 Titicaca is situated." A preliminary account of the 

 materials collected is now being published in the "Museum 

 Bulletin." The fishes and reptiles will be described by 

 Mr. German, the fossils by Prof. O. A. Derby, the Crus- 

 tacea by Mr. Faxon, the birds and mammals by Mr. 

 Allen, and Mr. Agassiz hopes, himself, to be able to give a 

 short account of the physical geography and geology of the 

 district. 



* Annual Report of the Trustees of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 

 at Harvard College, in Cambridge : together with the Report of the Cutator 

 to the Committee of the Museum, for 1873. Boston, i876. 



