Vol. XXIV. No. 5.] 
POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 
73 
Slje Popular Science I^ews. 
BOSTON, MAY i, 1890. 
AUSTIN p. NICHOLS, S.B FMtor. 
WILLIAM J. ROLFE, Litt.D., . AsBocmte gtlitor. 
In an interesting paper, recently published 
■)y Dr. D. G. Brinton, upon the origin of the 
Semitic races, — including the Syrians, Assy- 
rians, and Jews, — he takes the ground that 
jthe Asiatic Semites were immigrants, not 
fdirectly from Europe, but along the southern 
or African shore of the Mediterranean, from 
some region near its western extremity ; and, 
as the younger and more active students of 
Aryan ethnology have accepted the theory 
that the Ar3an stock originated in Europe 
and appeared in Asia only as immigrants, 
therefore both the great divisions of the white 
sub-species of man originated on or near the 
North Atlantic coast of the eastern continent. 
Dr. Brinton claims that a proper translation 
of the first chapter of Genesis would indicate 
the belief of the Jews that the garden of 
Eden and the place of their origin was to the 
wcjr/warrf of Palestine, and offers many other 
strong arguments in support of his novel 
theory. Dr. Brinton's views are questioned 
by Prof. MoRiiis Jasthow, who is inclined 
to favor the northeastern coast of Africa, in 
the vicinity of what is now Egypt, as the 
cradle of the Semitic race. 
A woKD of caution should be given photo- 
graphic amateurs in regard to the use of com- 
pound "flash-powders." These frequently 
contain such substances as chlorate of potash, 
picric acid, etc., which form highly explosive 
compounds when mixed with magnesium 
powder. Serious accidents have occurred 
from their use, and the best and safest way to 
obtain a flash-light, is to burn only pure mag- 
nesium powder in some one of the many 
excellent lamps constructed for that purpose. 
In addition to their safety, much better pic- 
tures can be obtained in this way. The eyes 
should be shielded as much as possible from 
the light, as the intensity and suddenness of 
the flash cannot but have a inore or less inju- 
rious etfect. The best results in photograph- 
ing interiors and groups can usually be ob- 
tained by holding the lamp to one side of the 
camera, some distance above the floor, so as 
to throw the shadows downward. 
It is a well-known fact that, in ancient 
times, the Phoenicians had numerous settle- 
ments on the southern coast of England. An 
interesting discovery has recently been made, 
in a little village in Devonshire, of some 
direct descendants of these ancient colonists. 
For many centuries a family by the name of 
Ballhatchet has resided on a farm known as 
Ballford, or Baal's ford. The family name is 
evidently a corruption of Baal-Akhed. Imme- 
diately above the farm rises a hill, which is 
known to this day as Baal-Tor, or rock of 
Baal. The last male survivor of the family, 
Mr. Thomas Ballhatchet, is seventy-four 
years of age, and is said to have a facial 
type quite distinct from that of the natives of 
Cornwall and Devon, and distinctly of a 
Levantine character. The long survival of 
this name of the Phoenician deity is very 
interesting, and it is quite possible that the 
present Mr. Ballhatchet is a direct descendant 
of an ancient Phoenician priest of Baal, 
whose temple formerly stood upon the ground 
now occupied by his farm buildings. 
The fact that, in pre-historic times, the use 
of bronze was, apparently, not preceded by 
the use of unalloyed copper for making uten- 
sils and implements, has always been a puzzle 
to archaeologists. In America, the native 
copper from the Lake Superior region was 
extensively used, but the ancient inhabitants 
of the old world seem to have passed at once 
from the age of stone to that of bronze — a 
metal requiring considerable skill to produce, 
while the tin ore necessary for its manufacture 
only occurs in a few localities difficult of 
access. Although archaeologists agree that 
the use of unalloyed copper for arms and 
utensils preceded that of bronze, the date of 
the introduction of the alloy of copper and 
tin has never been satisfactorily settled ; but 
M. Bekthelot has recently made an analy- 
sis of metal found in the sceptre of Pepi I., 
an Egyptian king who reigned some thirty- 
five or forty centuries before the Christian 
era, and finds it to consist of pure copper, 
from which he comes to the conclusion, based 
upon this and other proof, that the art of 
bronze manufacture has not been known, at 
the longest, for more than from fifty to sixty 
centuries. 
A SOCIETY of Faith Curists in Brooklyn, 
who failed to report cases of contagious dis- 
ease, or to provide proper medical attendance 
for their sick, recently found themselves in 
trouble with the authorities of that city, who 
attempted to compel them to act in a more 
rational and humane manner. The society 
held a special meeting to consider the subject, 
and finally sent a committee to the coroner, 
announced a change in their beliefs, and said 
that, in the future, they would call upon 
doctors to attend the cases of sickness occur- 
ring among them. It is gratifying to learn 
that this preposterous delusion is becoming a 
thing of the past, and, in some of its mani- 
festations, it seems a proper matter for legal 
interference. Of course the law has no right 
to compel an adult to submit to any kind of 
medical treatment that he does not desire, 
but when little children, or persons rendered 
feeble by disease, are allowed to suffer and die 
by reason of the ignorant fanaticism of their 
natural protectors, the local authorities may 
properly come to their aid, and compel such 
measures to be taken for their relief as the 
general experience of mankind has shown to 
be of service in such cases. 
A SINGLE book valued at $26,350 is some- 
thing of a curiosity, but such a volume has 
recently been exhibited and offered for sale in 
this city b}' the well-known London book- 
seller, Mr. Qiiaritch. It is a copy of the 
Psalterium cum Ca>ific/s, and is printed on 
vellum. It was printed in 1459, by Fust and 
Schoefler, the direct successors of Gutenburg. 
It is the second book ever printed with a 
date, and the costliest book ever sold, as well 
as one of the most beautiful. The typogra- 
phy and mechanical executian is remarkable, 
considering the early date at which it was 
published, and would compare favorably 
with the best work of modern printers. Only 
eight copies are known to be in existence. 
«♦► 
The next half century will undoubtedly 
witness a remarkable increase in the exten- 
sion of the railroad systems of the world. 
Only a few hundred miles remain to be built 
to complete a direct line between Europe and 
India, and, if it were not for political consid- 
erations, it would have already been finished. 
China will undoubtedly build connecting 
lines, and the Russians have already com- 
menced the construction of a line across 
Siberia to the Pacific Ocean. In this coun- 
try, a railroad running south from Mexico, 
through the Isthmus of Panama, and connect- 
ing with the already existing South American 
systems to Rio Janeiro and Buenos Ayres, 
will undoubtedly be built in the near future, 
and it has even been proposed to build a 
road northward through Alaska to Behring's 
Straits, and down through Siberia on the 
other side, connecting with the Russian lines. 
If this line should ever be constructed, a pas- 
senger might travel from New York to 
London "without change of cars," and only 
two short ferriages across Behring's Straits 
and the English Channel, and the earth 
would then be completely encircled with an 
iron highway, except for the passage of the 
Atlantic Ocean. There seems to be no pos- 
sible way to cross that stormy bit of water, 
except by steamship or sailing vessel, and we 
presume travellers to Europe will be obliged 
for many years to come to content themselves 
with the indifferent accommodations offered 
by the various lines of Atlantic steamships. 
Those interested in astronomy will have 
an opportunity to observe a total eclipse of 
the sun under fiivorable conditions, in the 
year 1900. It will occur in the early morning 
of May 27th, and will be visible from Vir- 
ginia to Louisiana. It is to be hoped that the 
" clerk of the weather" will be in good humor 
and provide better weather than the observers 
of recent eclipses have been favored with. 
