POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



573 



among them. When the moon is edipsed, 

 they think it is bewitclied ; they regard green 

 trees as living and having souls ; and they 

 consider sickness a kind of foreign, baleful 

 clement that has intruded itself into the or- 

 ganism. Sleep is conceived to be some- 

 thing apart and independent of the body, 

 and the idea of disturbing sleep is incom- 

 prehensible to them. They think that, if 

 a man has sleep, he will keep on sleeping in 

 spite of all that can be done, but that, when 

 sleep has left him, the slightest movement 

 will arouse him. They believe in spirits of 

 the wood, and of the tree, fire, house, and 

 bath, not with the abstract, half-belief of 

 the Russian peasant, but with a full con- 

 fidence in their existence as practical reali- 

 ties. " I am convinced," says the Russian 

 oflScer, " that the Yarchan peasant is accus- 

 tomed to begin nothing without previous 

 incantations and mysterious manipulations. 

 Father Wood-Spirit is besought not to drive 

 away the squirrels during the hunt ; the 

 spirit of the bath is asked for permission to 

 go into the bathing-place ; and the Yarchan 

 is not willing to go to his bath alone for fear 

 of being troubled by the spirit. So permis- 

 sion is asked of the wood-spirit before fell- 

 ing a tree. All petitions of this kmd are 

 accompanied with peculiar symbolical for- 

 mulas. Incantations are in use for the gun, 

 in behalf of the cattle, against diseases, and 

 for every occupation of the day and hour. 

 Of course, there is little room for rational 

 medicine among such a people, and incan- 

 tations, holy water, and amulets are chiefly 

 relied upon to meet the effects of bewitch- 

 ing. A wizard's cap was formerly set up 

 on the road leading to Yarkino, to prevent 

 the entrance of plagues and witches. The 

 town clerk had it taken away, and the whole 

 community complained of the act to the oflB- 

 cial board. A wood-fire — that is, a fire that 

 has been kindled by rubbing two sticks to- 

 gether — plays an important part as a pro- 

 phylactic against infections and all kinds of 

 disease. When an epidemic breaks out, the 

 use of matches is forbidden, all fires are 

 extinguished, and a new wood-fire is kindled 

 in the street, whence all the household fires 

 must be replenished. If, while this is go- 

 ing on, any fire is ht by means of matches 

 or flints, the procedure is vitiated, and has 

 to be gone over again from the beginning. 



VIrehow on the Origin of Bronze. — 



At the recent meeting of the German An- 

 thropological Society in Treves, Profes- 

 sor Virchow spoke on the origin of the 

 bronze age. Some archaeologists supposed 

 that the composition of the bronze alloy 

 was discovered at different places and in 

 different times independently of one an- 

 other ; but against this view was the fact 

 that the composition of the bronze found 

 everywhere, from the Caucasus to the Pil- 

 lars of Hercules, is identical — nine parts of 

 copper to one of tin. Considering the ques- 

 tion of original discovery, the speaker did 

 not regard the evidence in favor of the claim 

 of the Phoenicians as strong enough to jus- 

 tify the ascription of the honor to them, 

 though they may have been active as spread- 

 ers of bronze. Hochstetter's theory that 

 the metal was the property of the whole 

 Aryan race, and had been their common 

 possession before they left their Asiatic 

 \ home, was opposed by geographical and 

 : archaeological considerations. Nevertheless, 

 '\ Professor Virchow believed that the civili- 

 ' zation of Central Europe was the develop- 

 1 ment of Arvan influence. 

 i 



! The Ideal Zoologieal Garden.— Mr. The- 

 , odore Link protests, in " The American Nat- 

 I uralist," against the usual arrangement of 

 zoological gardens. As distinguished from 

 I menageries, or " shows," the object of zoo- 

 j logical gardens, according to the constitu- 

 tions and by-laws of most of them, is the 

 ! study and dissemination of a knowledge of 

 I the natural habits of the animal kingdom. 

 I To fulfill this definition, the gardens should 

 furnish opportunities for the study, '*and 

 these the disappointed zoologist seeks in 

 vain. In fact, in this respect, the zoologi- 

 cal garden of to-day affords but few more 

 advantages than any of those traveling 

 shows that come here every season. . . . 

 I have simply found that an animal, as 

 closely confined as most of them are in zo- 

 I ological gardens, retains none of its natural 

 habits ; it only exists — a mere automaton ; 

 and even this existence is seemingly under 

 protest. Therefore this aforesaid * study and 

 dissemination of a knowledge, etc.,' is * a de- 

 lusion and a snare.' " In the zoological 

 gardens, as he conceives it, " the foremost 

 condition vrill be the rational construction 



