204 



NATURE 



[June 27, 1889 



ward. One island which is about the size of Jamaica, has a 

 fringe on one side and an extensive i)arrier on tlie other. Shells 

 and coral have been found at great heights, and there are many 

 evidences of upheaval. One small island, called Vatu Leile, 

 appears to be raised on one side and depressed on the other ; 

 the raised coast is lined with a fringe-reef, the submerged by a 

 barrier. 



In the Lau group, there are two fine barrier reefs — those of the 

 Exploring Isles and the Bukatatanoa. Inside the lagoons of 

 these and other reefs, there are an infinity of coral banks with 

 various depths of water over them, many being mushroom- 

 headed. 



The prevailing wind throughout the Fiji group is east-south- 

 east.^ Unquestionably the coral is in most vigorous growth 

 where there is the most violent surf; and no matter what the 

 current, it is in least vigorous growth on the lee or north-west side. 



I believe that it is not inconsistent with the theory put forward 

 by Mr. Darwin that, in the same group, some islands should be 

 rising and some falling at the same time , nor that an island should 

 have fallen to a certain level and have then undergone a move- 

 ment of upheaval. If this be so, there is nothing, as far as one 

 can see, in the Fiji group which disproves subsidence as the 

 origin of barrier reefs. The questions which I desire to ask are 

 these : — 



How does Dr. Guppy account for the remarkable similarity 

 in many instances in this group, between the shape of the barrier 

 reef and that of the coast of the island within it ? As examples, 

 I would point to the islands of Nairai and Ngau, and to the 

 correspondence in form between the north-east horn of the 

 barrier of the Exploring Isles and the nearest cape of Vanua 

 Mbalavu with its off-lying islets. 



In the case of the Bukatatanoaoeefs, how does he account for 

 this great rim being all much "on the' same level, except by the 

 supposition that it commenced its growth oa the same contour ? 

 or for the cleanly-cut ship channels which occur on the weather 

 side of some of the barriers, except by the supposition that. the 

 growth was originally checked by the streams from the land ? 



It is, I believe, universally admitted that there are large areas 

 of elevation — such, for instance, as the New Hebrides — and 

 corresponding areas of depression. What form, does Dr. Guppy 

 suppose, is assumed by the growing coral on the coasts of the 

 descending islands? 



Let me draw attention to Kandavu. To the north of this 

 island there is a barrier reef inclosing a chain of islands of 

 volcanic origin, and gradually decreasing height. The most 

 northerly islet, v\hich is a mere rock (now surmounted by a 

 lighthouse), stands in the centre of a circular barrier of great 

 symmetry. The highest part of Kandavu is over the western 

 end, and here there is comparatively little coral. Has not this 

 group every appearance of a range of mountains, the northern 

 half of which is sinking beneath the ocean ? There are many 

 strings of islands in Fiji and eleswhere the position and coral 

 surroundings of which seem to be accounted for only by the 

 theory of subsidence. 



Mr. Darwin did not visit Fiji ; but it is worthy of note that 

 Mr. Dana spent five months there, and enjoyed peculiar ad- 

 vantages of examination, and that he left it convinced of the 

 general truth of Mr. Darwin's theory. 



8 Ashburton Road, Southsea. W. Usborne Moore. 



Hydrophobia. 



I THINK it cannot fail to interest some of the readers of 

 Nature to know what is written "in the Talmud of old — in 

 the legends the Rabbins have told " about this baneful malady. 

 I have therefore translated a fragment preserved in this ancient 

 work, which, read through the mist of ages and wrapped in the 

 garb of expressions and ideas of a long-ago past, may be of 

 value to the antiquarian, and perhaps not wholly uninteresting 

 to the man of science. A. D. 



June II. 



" It is not permissible to give to a person bitten by a mad dog 

 from the lobe of the mad dog's liver, but Rabbi Matya, the son 

 of Hheresh, considers it permissible'" (" Mishna," "Tractate 

 Yoma," p. 83). 



_ ' The subject of hydrophobia is introduced quite incidentally, the question in 

 dispute between the "Mishna" and R. Matya being whether the patient might 

 eat of the mad dog's liver upon the fast of the Day of Atonement, and the 

 difference of opinion is in consequence of the prescribed remedy being held 

 to be only imaginary on the one side, and a real one on the part of R. 

 Matya. 



"He who is bitten by a mad dog, &c." The Rabannan have 

 learnt that there are five indications of rabies, viz. open mouth, 

 dripping saliva, elongation of ears, tail resting on buttocks, and 

 wandering along the sides of the streets. There are some who 

 add barkmg without sound. How does this come about? Rav 

 says that witches have practised their sorceries upon them, and 

 Samuel says an evil spirit has rested upon them. 



What deduction may be made from this difference of opinion ? 

 That the mad dog should be killed by means of a weapon hurled 

 from a distance, for in accordance with the view held by Samuel 

 we learn that the dog, when killed, should be despatched from 

 a distance. He who has come into contact with a mad dog by 

 the animal brushing against him is in danger, and he who has 

 been bitten by a mad dog is in peril of his life. 



" He who has come into contact, &c." What precaution 

 should he take? He should divest himself of his robes and run. 

 Rav Huna, the son of Rav Joshua, came into collision with a 

 mad dog in the street. He threw ofif his robei and ran, ex- 

 claiming, " I illustrate in my own person the Scriptural verse, 

 ' And wisdom is a source of life to those who possess her.' " 



" He who is bitten, &c." What precaution should he adopt? 

 Abaya says he should obtain the skin of a male ape and write 

 thereon, "I, so and so, the son of so and so, write upon thee, 

 ' Kanti, Kanti, Kiloroth,'"^ and those present should respond 

 "Kandi, Kandi, Kiloroth,^ the Lord, the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, 

 Amen, Amen, Selah." He should then throw off his clothes 

 and bury them in the burial-place for twelve months, after which 

 he should recover them and burn them in a furnace, scattering 

 the ashes across the roads. 



■ During these twelve months, if he should drink water he 

 should do so only through a copper tube, otherwise he might see 

 the reflection of the demon in the water held in the vessel, and 

 suffer dangerous consequences. 



It is said of Aba, the son of Matya (he is Aba, the son of 

 Menimah), that his mother made for him a tube of gold 

 ("Gemara," "Tractate Yoma," p. 84). 



■ SIR L YON PLA YFAIR ON UNIVERSITIES. 



■\X^/'E congratulate Sir Lyon Playfair on the admirable 

 * ' speech he delivered last week in the House of 

 Commons on the Scottish University Bill. It was a 

 powerful and luminous exposition of the true functions of 

 Universities, and of the duty of the State with regard to 

 the highest departments of education. 



Speaking of the fact that the adaptation of degrees in 

 Scotland had not followed the steady improvement in the 

 education of the people, Sir Lyon Playfair said : — 



" Degrees remained much as they were two or three 

 centuries ago. The University was not a technical school, 

 but a school to introduce culture into the professions. 

 Unless that culture were introduced there was no 

 justification for professional schools in the Universities. 

 The via antiqiia ought to be replaced by a via nioderna. 

 The Commission of 1878 proposed to open five gateways 

 of knowledge — the gateways of literature and philology, of 

 philosophy, of law and history, of mathematical sciences, 

 and of the natural sciences. Now there was a great 

 difference between the Universities of rich and of poor 

 countries. The Universities of poor countries must rest 

 on the professions. The rich men of Scotland went to 

 Oxford and Cambridge, whereas those who attended the 

 Scotch Universities had to earn their bread by a profes- 

 sion. Unhappily those professions were now being taught 

 without culture ; that was, with the exception of theology, 

 the men went through the technical part of their educa- 

 tion without taking a degree in arts, though there was a 

 sort of matriculation examination, which did not represent 

 a very high degree of culture. In that way the great 

 medical schools were technical schools which gave length 

 but not breadth of education. One of the greatest reforms 

 to be attained was to carry out the recommendations of 

 1878 so that, by proper courses in arts, culture might be 

 restored to the professions." 



Sir Lyon Playfair spoke as follows about the provision 



' The meaning of these words is lost. 



