Oct. 31, 1884.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



371 



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" THE TRUTH ABOUT KOCH'S CHOLERA GERM." 



[1482] — The able and brilliant expose of " official " science in 

 Ciermany by Professor Ray Lankester in the Pali Mall Gazette of 

 October G {Pall Hall Budget, October 10) is worthy of special note. 



Dr. Robert Koch, as an official scientist, makes a " dogmatic " 

 declaration to the effect that a certain micro-organism is the 

 specific organism that is the immediate exciting cause of cholera. 

 A " dogmatic " declaration this, because the chain of causation 

 involved in the question has not been displayed in the only recog- 

 nised efficient manner, that is by the "culture test." Professor 

 Lankester delivers judgment thus ; — " The pressure upon him [Koch] 

 urging him to announce a definite result was irresistible. He has 

 formulated such a result on the most flimsy grounds ; his Govern- 

 ment has rewarded him, and for some time official science in Ger- 

 many will not dare to expose the worthlessness of his theory." 

 Has ever before the " endowment " of scientific research faced such 

 a crushing, even damning, indictment ? A scientist having a 

 grand record of able work done yields, according to Professor 

 Lankester, to the "irresistible" pressure of the string-holders of 

 the endowment-purse, under whose c^gis he has elected to work, 

 and formulates on flimsy grounds, and at a critical moment, a 

 theory having possibly momentous social and international bearings. 

 This is indeed serious, but worse follows. The debasing cegis of 

 the endowment-purse is irresistible, according to Professor Lan- 

 kester ; for he himself does not believe there is a single fearlessly 

 honest " official " biological microscopist in all Germany. He 

 writes : — " For some time official science in Germany will not dare 

 to expose the worthlessness of his [Koch's] theory." The implica- 

 vion is, indeed, damning to all endowment of research. The impli- 

 cation being that whenever an " official " scientist formulates a 

 theory on flimsy grounds all other " official " scientists of the same 

 nation will not " dare " to expose the worthlessness of such theory. 



Whether Professor Lankester's case against Dr. Koch be good or 

 (as for many good reasons may be hoped) bad does not affect this 

 matter of the debasing tendency of endowments. For, obviously, 

 his case depends on his knowledge of the tone and tendency of mind 

 amongst European " official scientists," nearly as much as on facts. 

 And few Englishmen are better positioned than he to have snch 

 knowledge. 



Somewhat oddly, in the midst of this tremendous indictment of 

 endowment of research, there are sandwiched three numbered 

 paragraphs that read best if the whole article be viewed as an 

 elaborately, solemn, cynical joke. In the first paragraph. State 

 authorities are actually advised to undertake the study of the rela- 

 tions of bacteria to disease ! The second paragraph contains a 

 congratulation (that reads beautifully from the cynical joke point 

 of view) that the Indian Government is actually " officially " inves- 

 tigating the cholera germ matter. And the third paragraph, a 

 (comically cynical) warning to all on the "flimsy" "official" 

 theory of Dr. Koch. But, read seriously, these three paragraphs 

 have no logical connection with the rest of the article, so they may 

 be taken for what they are worth. 



Fred. W. Foster. 



IfIND AND BKAIX. 

 [1483] — Mr. Peppin is not satisfied with my answer, which, in 

 fact, had reference only to Mr. Peppin's assertion that Biichner 

 mistook cause for effect. But clearly, Mr. Peppin's letter (1467) 



shows his own uncertainty whether the thought produces the vibra- 

 tions, or the vibrations thought; in fact, he puts to myself the 

 tiucstion he had previously decided. The simile I adduced cannot, 

 and was not meant to be, "absolutely" true. But it appears to me 

 that in the case of transmission of light to the prism and sound to 

 the ear, the process in both cases is purely mechanical. Further 

 the effect of the transmission of these vibrations is in both case 

 intangible ; or does Mr. Peppin consider colour something material, 

 that can be weighed or measured ? 



Whence comes the power of the brain to transform sound into 

 thought — exactly whence the power of a prism to transform light 

 into colours comes from ; it is their innate property — in fact, it is 

 their nature to. 



In the case of the lecture, I should say that its influence, i.e., the 

 thoughts produced in our brain through the vibrations caused by 

 the sound of speech from the will, which is certainly not indepen- 

 dent of it. F. W. H. 



THE LUXAE ECLIPSE. 



[1484] — Allow me to corroborate the testimony of M. de Boe, 

 given in Captain Noble's letter (1451). While watching the eclipse 

 through an SJ in. Calrer's reflector, I observed a peaked appearance 

 exactly at the spot and the stage marked in his diagram. In my case 

 also there was surely no illusion, since four of us all saw it dis- 

 tinctly, and it was noticeable with a smaller hand-telescope as weU 

 as with the larger. TTas the moon on the horizon of the Cordilleras 

 at that moment ? A rough calculation which I made at the time 

 seemed to show that the shadow of part of the ocean was then 

 being cast upon her, but I suppose I was wrong. Can the appear- 

 ance have been due to any peculiarity in the atmosphere on the 

 horizon .' 



1 should have described the colour during totality as dusky 

 ashen-grey, rather than phosphorescent green. 



Liphook, Hants, Oct. 21. C. W. Leadbeater. 



[The calculation of the position of the Cordilleras was seemingly 

 made by M. de Bot; himself, whose mathematical attainments are 

 quite equal to his observational powers. I have no time to recom- 

 pute it. — Ed.]. 



[1-185] — After reading what you say in a recent number, it occurs 

 to me to say that in the " dirty white " of the moon's disc during 

 totality, there was, as seen here, I think, a faint taint of green, 

 but I know nothing to compare it to, except a sodden poultice of 

 flour ' 



I asked Dr. Copeland, of Dunecht, what he saw, and he replies 

 that he and his assistant were too busy watching " occnltations 

 during the total phase to permit of studying the colour of the 

 moon. 1 only recollect that about the end of totality the moon's 

 limb was of a lovely primrose colour, and that many of the 

 markings were visible." I did not see this. Wm. Millar. 



THE RECENT ECLIPSE— y AQUIL^— THE AFTERGLOW. 



[1486] — Premising that I and two friends here — we all three 

 obtain our own copy of Knowledge, and are therefore entitled to 

 three votes — shall be verj- glad to read an account in your columns 

 of a graphic method of predicting eclipses, I would say that we in 

 Tonbridge saw the last eclipse splendidly. The points we noticed 

 were : — 



1. The dark aspect of the moon during totality. 



2. The sharp termination of the umbra of the earth's shadow. 

 The constellation Aqnila is very full of interest to the amateur 



observer, but what is the colour of 7 Aquila? ? We consider it to be 

 a dark red, but it is not marked as snch in your new " Star Atlas." 

 Our telescope was a very good achromatic, but, after neglect for 

 some time, it is anything but a good achromatic now. Would such 

 a defect in the telescope be sufficient to account for the red colotir ? 

 We anxiously await the new maps announced in the last edition of 

 Kxowlehge. 



As I write, the brilliant colours of the sunset attract my atten- 

 tion. They have changed from pink to red ; thence to a brighter 

 golden colour, and then pink again. E. A. TiNDALL. 



[7 Aqnila; is yellow. — Ed.] 



MAY-FLIES. 



[1487] — With great interest I read Mr. Butler'spaper on the above. 

 In spite of their short period of existence, 1 have, when fishing, ob- 

 served these ffies settle upon my coat and there shed their skins 

 completely, i.e., covering of wings included. At the close of the 

 day I have been plentifully sprinkled with these whitish cast-off 

 ' coverings. Is not this an exceptionul peculiarity with respect to 

 these flies ? F. W. Halfpenny. 



