C|)c popular Science 0tXas 
AND 
BOSTON JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY. 
Volume XXV. 
BOSTON, FEBRUARY, 1891. 
NUMBEB 2. 
CONTEXTS. 
Familiar Soienok. — Contenta of au AiicieiU 
Eomau Tomb 17 
Evolution and the Vegetation of the Prime- 
val World 17 
leological Developmeut — Use of Fossils in 
Greology 19 
corpious ., 20 
lodes of Collecting Specimens of the Mor- 
phologies of Fresh and Sea^Water ... 20 
Bcientific Brevities ..'.'. 21 
Laboratory Notes 21 
"ractical llecipes 21 
IE OuT-DooK WOKLU.— Selected Reports of 
Chapters 22 
Some Methods of Trapping Small Mammals 24 
Press Notices of Our Chapters 24 
Original Observations 24 
Editokial. — Artificial Rubles 25 
An Extraordinary Project 26 
Paris Letter 26 
Something About Pepper 27 
Meteorology, for December, 1890, with Re- 
view of the Vear 28 
Astronomical Phenomena for February, 1891 28 
Questions and Answers 29 
Ijiterary Notes 29 
Mkdicink and Phakmacy. — The Composition 
of Koch's Lymph 29 
Monthly Summary of Medical Progress . . 30 
F'uBLisHEKs' Coi,[;mn 32 
with an onyx engraved in relief with the word 
Filetus — probably the name of her lover. Another 
very interesting ring contained a piece of red 
jasper engraved in intaglio, with two clasped 
hands holding in their fingers some stalks of 
ripened wheat. This was doubtless the engage- 
ment ring of the Roman maiden, the wheat being 
an allusion to the ancient rite of marriage by con- 
farreatio. Two other rings — or bangles, as we 
should call them — were found in the coffin, to one 
of which was attached a miniature key, while the 
other was composed of two separate circles jomed 
together into a single ring. A brooch is orna- 
mented with au amethyst engraved with a classi- 
cal group referring to Apollo and Diana. Two 
fine chains depend from the brooch, to the ends 
of which are attached two miniature ivy leaves. 
Other ornaments found were an amber hairpin, 
two small combs, two earrings, a necklace, and 
two metallic min-ors, these last being objects of 
value in those ancient days. 
familial" (§cieRee. 
( ONTENTS OF AN ANCIENT ROMAN TOMB. 
During some recent excavations in Rome, in 
I be ancient gardens of Doniitian, a coffin was dis- 
covered, which, from its contents, has proved one 
of the most interesting ever brought to light. It 
i-ontained the remains of a young girl, — Creperela 
Tryphaena by name, according to the inscription, 
— and a bas-relief on the cotHn represents her 
■sleeping upon a bier with her head inclined to the 
li'ft shoulder. An older woman is represented 
-itting at the feet of the bier, while at the head 
-lands a yoimg man in an attitiidi' of mourning. 
By a fortunate accident the coffin seems to have 
been filled with water from "an inileflnite period, 
which has aided greatly in the preservation of the 
remains. The head is still covered with long, fine 
hair, which has perfectly resisted decay. This 
resistance of hair to decay is very characteristic ; 
and in a museum at York, England, there is a 
mass of liuniim hair still coiled in a classical knot, 
and held in place by pins of jet, from the neigh- 
boring deposits at Whitby, all the rest of the body 
of the ancient Roman woman having crumbled to 
dust. York was an important British-Roman set- 
tlement, and tliis interesting relic is doubtless of 
approximately the same age as that of the Roman 
maiden described above. 
It is evident from the contents of the coffin of 
Crepereia Tryphaena that she was betrothed, 
probably to the youth represented in the bas- 
relief. A crown of myrtle leaves, sacred to 
Venus, was found at her head, fastened by a 
silver clasp, very much oxidized, from which fact 
we may assume that the metal was an impure 
alloy. Several goW rings were also found; one 
«Bt with a piece of dark colored glass: another 
Tlie Roman historj', as we read it, is a sad record 
of war, bloodshed, and crime, but the great mass 
of people must have lived out their lives as at 
present, with little reference to the quarrels of 
emperors, generals, and politicians; and when 
Crepereia Tryphaena passed away the brightness 
went out of the world of her Roman lover, as It 
has in the succeeding centuries and doubtless will 
for ages to come. It seems almost a sacrilege to 
display the ornaments and treasures of this poor 
girl to public view, but those who are interested 
wUl find tliem in the Capitoline Museum at Rome, 
together with many other relies of that wonderful 
ancient civilization. 
The accompanying engraving is reproduced 
from one published in La Nature. 
OF 
Perhaps the most remarkable object of all was 
the wooden doll, which had evidently been laid in 
the coffin as a souvenir of the childhood of the 
maiden. It is about a foot in height, carved with 
considerable artistic skill, and, very curiously, the 
joints are articulated, just as may be seen in cer- 
tain dolls of the present day. The hair is repre- 
sented as arranged in a classical knot, and the 
features are said to resemble those of the Empress 
Faustina. 
Such a discovery as this I'euderi the life of the 
Romans much more real t6 us thiiu all the viliius, 
or statues, or records 6t battled they* have l*ift. 
[Original lu Popclak Science News.] 
^VOLUTION AND THE VEGET-VITON 
THE PRIMEVAL WORLD. 
BY SAMUEL BKAZIKK. 
As early as September, 1855, Mr. xVlfred Russel 
Wallace, of England, published an essay on the 
law which has regulated the introduction of new 
.•■pecies. Other minds were thinking in the same 
direction. But, tliough Mr. Wallace, as well as 
Mr. Darwin, had discovered the law of natural 
selection, it was left to the latter to expound its 
universal and immensely important apiilications. 
Probably no discovery in the scientific world has 
done more to Influence modern thought. Mr. 
Darwhi's work wan followed by the publication 
of Herbert Speneer't views, and others also pro- 
pounded what is known as the doctrine of evolu- 
tion. The doctrines of evolution and natural 
selection are closely associated, though distinct. 
Between the head of the animal kingdom, man, 
and the lowest form of animal life, and between a 
forest tree and the lowest form of vegetable life, 
imperceptible gradation exists. If we turn from 
space to tune,— from the living organisms which 
our earth contains to<lay, to those which preceded 
them during the countless ages of the past,— the 
same gradation is observable. Geology discloses 
tlie fact that complex structures existed when the 
recent formations were deposited, while simpler 
structures have left tludr testimony in the most 
ancient rocks. .Vdmittiug certain breaks in the 
line of continuity, tins may be regarded as the 
general fact which geology teaches. 
Wliat is meant by evolution V Every living f onn 
becomes what it is by virtue of two forces, or 
rather two sets of forces : tliose of inheritance, 
and tliose of its environment. Au animal inherits 
certain peculiarities of structure and habit, which 
fit it to live in a certain habitat and subsist upon a 
certain kind of food. But, within certain limits, 
it has the power to change its habits and also its 
structure, in obedience to external influences. A 
carnivorous animal learns to live on vegetables; 
and, slowly, a land animal becomes amphibious, 
or takes to the water alt ogether. The influence of 
education may render a liunuiu being who inherits 
a small braiii intellectually superior to another 
who tuhcritp " '»""" brain. Animals and plants 
