FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



eluded position, as "the island province." 

 The old superstitions prevail there in full 

 force: "Hunters burn candles and pray to 

 the spirit of the crag they are climbing " ; a 

 black dog or white paper is a charm against 

 the evil one ; and " the drawing of ' a horse 

 rampant' is a recognized prophylactic against 

 smallpox." Until a few years ago women 

 were not allowed to climb beyond a certain 

 limit; and when the wife of one of the 

 mountaineers ventured beyond it she was 

 turned, they say, into a stone. Mr. Weston 

 had the very pillar pointed out to him. But 

 the charm is now broken, and women can 

 climb in security. It is, however, considered 

 sacrilegious to climb a mountain till proper 

 parties have been sent to the top to pray 

 the gods for good weather. The mountains 

 are ten thousand or more feet high, of vari- 

 ous geological character, and, being near the 

 sea, command peculiar views. Hodekadaka 

 is granite; Yarigstake, the highest peak 

 after Fujisan, is of brecciated porphyry; 

 and Fujisan, nearly two thousand feet 

 higher than the others, is a crater. No 

 railroad or common road enters the moun- 

 tain region, though both come near it. Mr. 

 Weston met several "pilgrim clubs" a 

 sort of Alpine clubs having a more numer- 

 ous membership and costing less than those 

 of the West. " Every year, before the sea- 

 son commences, they meet and decide by 

 ballot who shall climb the sacred mountains. 

 . . . They also stamp their alpenstocks 

 with the names of the mountains they have 

 ascended." They regard their exercise as 

 a religious one, and as they went up they 

 chanted, " May our six senses be pure, and 

 may the weather on the honorable peak be 

 fine!" 



The Longevity of Astronomers. We 



take the following from an article under the 

 above title in The Observatory. The longev- 

 ity of astronomers has often been called at- 

 tention to. The Herschels, the Cassinis, and 

 others have been notable examples. This 

 is all the more curious, as their vocation 

 necessitates late hours and constant exposure 

 to night air. The following consists, says 

 the writer of the paper, of a portion of a list 

 of the names of well-known men connected 

 with astronomy who have lived beyond the 

 allotted human span of " threescore years 



and ten." The ages are correct to within a 

 few months : 



OUL Age. 



Fontenelle, Bernard de 1757 100 



Herschel, Caroline L 1848 98 



Cassini, Count J. D 1845 97 



Sabine, Sir Edward 1883 94 



Mairan,De 1771 93 



Somerville, Mary 1872 92 



Santini, Giovanni 1877 91 



Sharpe, Abraham 1742 91 



Long, Dr. Roger 1770 90 



Airy, Sir George Biddell 1892 90 



Thales B.C. 550 90 



Humboldt, Alexander von 1859 90 



Robinson, Rev. T. R 1882 90 



Bouillaud, Ismael 1C94 89 



Rosenberger, Prof. Otto A 1890 89 



Gautier, Jean Alfred 1881 88 



Biot,J.B 1862 88 



Cassini, J. D 1712 87 



Mespier, Charles 1817 87 



Wallis, J 1703 87 



Brewster, Sir David 1868 86 



Halley, Edmund 1742 86 



Schwabe, Samuel Heinrich 1875 86 



Barlow, Peter 1862 86 



Pingre, Alexander Guy 1796 85 



Longomontanus 1647 85 



Horrebow, P 1764 85 



Whiston, William 1752 85 



Pritchard, Rev. Charles 1893 85 



Maclear, Sir Thomas 1879 85 



Hutton, Dr. Charles 1823 85 



Dick, Dr. Thomas 1857 t4 



Woolhouse, W. S. B 1893 84 



Newton, Sir Isaac 1727 84 



Le Monnier, Peter Charles 1799 84 



Herschel, Sir F. William 1822 84 



Lee,Dr. John 1866 83 



Bernouilli, Daniel 1782 82 



Troughton, Edward 1835 82 



Gibers, Dr. William 1840 82 



South, Sir James 1867 82 



Le Gendre, Jean 1883 82 



Nasmyth, James 1890 82 



Eratosthenes B. c 195 81 



Aristarchus ?B.C. 280 81 



Emerson 1882 81 



Moestlin, Michael 1631 81 



Maurolico 1575 81 



Bernouilli, John 1748 81 



Kant, Immanuel 1804 80 



Lassell, William 1880 80 



Piazzi, Joseph 1826 80 



Madler, J. H 1874 80 



De Lisle, Joseph N 1768 80 



Bacon, Roger 1294 80 



DeLaHire,P 1718 80 



Types of the Unemployed. Of forty-two 

 men in a German colony for unemployed work- 

 ingmen, described by Mr. Josiah Flynt in the 

 Atlantic Monthly, mechanics and common la- 

 borers were most numerous, while others had 



