April 26, 1906] 



NA JURE 



611 



may be noted that the lizard is one of the forms of 

 the sex-totem in South Australia. In connection with 

 children, it is interesting to note that we have in the 

 Euahlayi a variant of the Arunta belief recorded by 

 Strehlow, which has also a close connection with the 

 belief of the northern Arunta visited by Spencer and 

 Gillen. 



An important subject, on which little information 

 was previously available, is that of the yunbeai or 

 individual totem, which is usually confined to medicine 

 men, but among the Euahlayi is held to be granted 

 to their special favourites. More important still is the 

 information about Byamee. Unless Mrs. Parker's 

 evidence can be impeached on the ground of European 

 influence, it will henceforth be impossible to deny that 

 the Australians have gods and a religion. We learn 

 from this work that prayers are offered to Byamee 

 both at the Bora and at the funerals of men. 



Mrs. Parker alludes to the boomerang, and provides 

 mathematicians with another problem in the shape of 

 the performances of the boodthul, a miniature club 

 which travels further if it is thrown through the top 

 of a bush than if it has an unimpeded flight. The 

 book contains six illustrations by a native artist. 

 Mrs. Parker does not mention them, but she has in- 

 formed the present writer that the artist had no 

 European training. It may, however, be surmised 

 that he had seen European pictures. N. W. T. 



BORIC ACID AS A FOOD PRESERVATIVE.' 

 ^pHE report of the English departmental committee 

 -*■ on the use of preservatives in foods contains 

 voluminous evidence on the harmful nature of most 

 of the antiseptics employed in commerce. It was 

 issued in iqoi, and among its recommendations one 

 finds that the use of any preservative in milk should 

 be constituted a punishable offence. It, however, 

 makes an exception in the case of butter and cream, 

 which are substances taken in relatively small 

 amounts, and allowed 0-5 per cent, of boric acid in 

 the former, and 0.25 per cent, in the latter case. 



Those who have had the time to read the evidence 

 will be struck with the almost complete unanimity of 

 the medical witnesses on the harmful effects produced 

 by boric acid and its compounds. Unfortunately 

 there will always be some who disagree with the 

 majority, and it is particularly unfortunate from the 

 point of view of the public welfare that one of these 

 is Dr. Oscar Liebreich, whose opinion is on most 

 subjects entitled to careful consideration and respect. 

 The special pleading on behalf of boric acid and borax 

 contained in Dr. Liebreich's former publications are 

 repeated in the pamphlet just issued, and we fear 

 that the useful work of those who are trying to pre- 

 vent adulteration, and protect the public from those 

 tradesmen who cover their misdeeds and want of 

 cleanliness by the employment of antiseptics dangerous 

 to health, will be seriously impeded thereby. 



The question has also become an acute one in 

 America, and the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture appointed Dr. Wiley, their principal chemist, 

 to investigate the matter on a large scale by experi- 

 ments on human beings, over a long period. Dr. 

 Wiley's report was most unfavourable to the use of 

 these preservatives; the ill-health set up in the sub- 

 jects of his experiments, and the alterations in bodily 

 metabolism to which this was due, are described in 

 detail, and furnish systematic evidence on the subject 

 which confirms what was known from clinical experi- 

 ence, and to those who had experimented previously 



1 "Third Treatise on the Effects of B rax and Boric Acid on the 

 Human Sy-tem." By Dr. Osrar Licbreicb. Pp. vii + 70. (London: 

 J. and A. Churchill, 1906.) Price s s. net. 



NO. I904, VOL. 73] 



on animals. To the unprejudiced observer Dr. 

 Wiley's report settled the matter once and for all. 



The special object of Dr. Liebreich's new brochure 

 is to criticise some details in Dr. Wiley's work. 

 This is always an easy thing to do when the subjects 

 of an experiment are numerous, and in the human 

 subject in particular it is often difficult to obtain 

 precise details. Some of these, on account of the ill- 

 health set up by the drug, had to abandon the con- 

 tinuation of the observations. This obviously reduces 

 tin- number of observations, but at the same time is 

 in itself a striking piece of evidence against the con- 

 tinued use of borax and boric acid. Dr. Liebreich 

 does not dispute the ill-health of Dr. Wiley's willing 

 subjects, but he is driven to attribute this to other 

 causes, like inefficient hygienic surroundings. He 

 does not dispute the loss of body weight, but says this 

 is not bv any means always injurious. 



Those interested in this most important question 

 should of course read both sides, and one sincerely 

 trusts that in this instance the weight of a great 

 name will not be allowed to overbalance the all but 

 universal testimony of others to the contrary. 



PROF. W. F. R. WELDON, F.R.S. 



Tl 1 K 'seventies of last century may be said to have 

 witnessed the renaissance of biological studies 

 in Cambridge. It was in the year 1870, if we mistake 

 not, that Michael Foster, at the invitation of Trinity 

 College, became praslector in physiology and founded 

 the great school for which the university has since 

 been famous. Of his pupils the greatest was F. M. 

 Balfour. He very soon became the centre of a new 

 system which was thrown off, so to speak, from the 

 main body, and rapidly acquired form and influence. 



Weldon was one of the most distinguished products 

 of the zoological school which was in this way 

 established. He was the son of Mr. Walter Weldon, 

 F.R.S., the distinguished chemist, and was educated 

 at King's College, London. He entered at St. John's 

 College, Cambridge, in 1S7S, of which foundation he 

 became first a scholar and in 1S84 a fellow. After 

 taking his degree in 18S1 he at once threw himself 

 with characteristic vigour and disinterestedness into 

 zoological teaching and research. He became demon- 

 strator in comparative anatomy in 1884, and held the 

 office for one year. In 1S85 he was appointed to the 

 newly-established lectureship on the morphology of the 

 inver'tebrata, which office he held until he left Cam- 

 bridge in 1891. As .1 lecturer Weldon is not likely to be 

 forgotten by those who heard him. He was remark- 

 able for the' ease and mastery with which he handled 

 his subject, and for the earnestness and clearness of 

 his teaching. It was impossible to sit inert under him ; 

 he had the gift of compelling attention. 



Weldon's early researches wen- mainly concerned 

 with morphological problems, the study of which had 

 been so strongly stimulated by the work of Darwin. 

 In the 'sixties,' 'seventies and early 'eighties of last 

 century the hope existed that it would be possible by 

 minute morphological study actually to trace the 

 pedigrees of existing organisms and to set some com- 

 prehension of the wonders and complexities of animal 

 structure. In the 'eighties, however, with the progress 

 uf experience it began to be obvious that these hopes 

 could not be realised, that the problem could not be 

 solved by morphology, and that we must turn to other 

 sources if we wanted to progress in ideas. Weldon 

 was soon touched by the scepticism which thus arose, 

 and cast about in the latter part of his time at Cam- 

 bridge for new methods. These he saw must come 

 in part at least from an exact study of variation, and 



