346 
NATURE 
[ Fed. 9, 1882 
year old, and has become so strong that it attempts to 
break its cage, the time for the ceremony is deemed to 
have come, and the great event of an Aino’s life is about 
to take place. He first addresses long prayers to the 
gods and to the relations of the bear asking pardon for 
what he is about to do, and pleading that from the time 
the animal came into his possession he has showered 
favours on him, and has maintained him as long as pos- 
sible; but he is poor, the bear is growing large, and he 
finds it impossible to support him any longer. He has 
therefore no resource but to slay him; and for this act, 
which is forced on him by inevitable necessity, he prays 
for forgiveness. 
On arriving at the scene of the ceremony the visitor 
found about thirty persons, chiefly residents of the place, 
assembled, and dressed in ;their gala costumes, which 
consisted chiefly of old Japanese brocaded garments. 
From the commencement to the end sa/é played almost 
as prominent a part as the bear himself. The guests sat 
around the fire-place in the centre of the host's hut, and 
an offering was first made to the god of fire. This was 
done in this wise. The Ainos, who were all seated, raised 
their left hands, holding a drinking vessel, to their fore- 
heads, while the palm of the right was also elevated 
slightly. A small stick lying across the cup was then 
dipped in the saéé and the contents sprinkled on the floor 
to the fire-god, the stick being then waved three or four 
times over the cup. A formula was uttered by each 
person present, and the saéé drank in long draughts, the 
stick being meanwhile employed in holding up the 
moustache. A similar ceremony then took place in front 
of the bear’s cage. ‘This was followed by a dance around 
the cage by the women and girls. Offerings of drink 
were then made as before to other gods, and finally the 
bear was taken out of his cage by three young men 
specially selected for the purpose. The animal was 
killed by pressing the throat firmly against a large block 
of wood. The body was then cleaned, and placed neatly 
on a mat, food and drink being laid before it, and orna- 
ments of various kinds being placed on its ears, mouth, 
&c. Mats were spread around the bear, the guests took 
their seats on them, and the drinking commenced. This 
continued for some time, until the Ainos sank in a state 
of helpless intoxication on their mats. The women in 
another part of the village meantime amused themselves 
with various dances, which Dr. Scheube describes at 
length. 
The following day, as a rule, the debauch is continued. 
The body of the bear is then cut up in such a manner 
that the hide remains attached to the head. The blood 
was collected in vessels and drank by the men. The 
liver was cut out and eaten raw; the rest of the flesh 
was distributed amongst the partakers of the feast. The 
writer states that although hardened in a certain sense to 
the sight of blood, he could not look without horror on 
the sight of the drunken crowd with their faces and bodies 
smeared with blood. The skull of the bear—stuffed with 
charms—is placed ina sacred place on the east side of 
the house, and the mouth is filled with bamboo-leaves. 
It is then always preserved and venerated as a sacred 
object. 
NOTES 
Mr. WILLIAM BowMAN, LL.D., F.R.S., has been elected 
Honorary Secretary of the Royal Institution, and Dr. Warren De 
La Rue, F.R.S., Manager. 
ON Monday the Royal Commissioners on Technical Educa- 
tion—Mr, B, Samuelson, M.P., Mr. Woodall, M.P., Prof. 
Roscoe, Mr, P. Magnus, Mr. Swire Smith, and Mr. Redgrave, 
secretary—yvisited Liverpool to inquire into technical science 
teaching. They met atthe Free Library, and were furnished 
with information concerning its working by Sir James Picton, 
They afterwards visited several of the Board schools, and in the 
eveuing some of the science classes. 
Dr. P. L. ScLarer, the Secretary of the Zoological Socie’y, 
will give the first of a course of four lectures on the Geogra- 
phical Distribution of Animals, on Thursday next, Febraary 16, 
and Mr. W. Watkiss Lloyd the first of a course of four lectures 
on the Iliad and the Odyssey, on Saturday, February 18, at 
the Royal Institution. 
AT the comparatively early age of fifty-two years Major Sir 
William Palliser, C.B., M.P., died very suddenly from heart 
disease on Saturday afternoon. Sir William Palliser was uni- 
versally known through the projectiles that bear his name, and 
for many practical applications of science in both offensive and 
defensive armament. 
KONiIG’s great tonometer is, we observe, announced for sale. 
It would be a great pity if the opportunity of acquiring this 
magnificent and absolutely unique collection of standard tuning- 
forks for the nation were thrown away. The collection was one 
of the finest things exhibited in Philadelphia, where it still lies, 
the project to purchase it for the University of Pennsylvania 
having fallen through, If it cannot be acquired for the national 
collection, of which a nucleus exists at South Kensington, surely 
it might be thought worth while to purchase it for either the 
Cavendish or the Clarendon Laboratory. But the nation that 
can give two thousand pounds for the plaster cast of the porch 
of a Spanish church can surely afford to buy the masterpiece of 
the master-maker of modern acoustical instruments, especially at 
the moderate price asked, 
Upon the Island of Euboea fossil human remains are reported 
to have been recently discovered. The Greek Government has 
had the objects in question conveyed to Athens, where their 
scientific examination is now ordered. 
THE February number of the Deutsche Rundschau will con- 
tain an article by Prof. Hickel, of Jena, the celebrated evolu- 
tionist, on his scientific researches in India, where he has been 
travelling since last autumn and still is. 
IMPORTANT steps have been taken towards the execution of the 
French Metropolitan Railway, the principal technical difficulty 
being the crossing of the Seine. The first line to be constructed 
will originate from St, Cloud, and have its terminus at Vin- 
cennes. Its underground run will begin at the rue de Rome ; 
other stations will be at the Opera, Bourse, Arts-et-Meétiers, 
Place de la République, and Place de la Bastille. The track 
from the Place de la République to the Place de la Bastille is 
not yet decided upon, owing to the difficulty of crossing the 
Canal St. Martin’s. The work will commence with the 
opening of a new street in the most densely-crowded part of 
Central Paris. 
A ‘*GEOGRAPHISCHE GESELLSCHAFT” was founded last 
month in the University town of Jena, under the presidency of 
Dr. Schmid, one of the professors. Their Mittheilungen is to 
be a quarterly one, and is to chronicle the geographical and 
ethnological researches of missionaries. The first part is to 
appear towards the end of March. These societies are springing 
up all over France so fast that their very names slip one’s 
memory, but in this country we are still content with one, no 
| more having been heard of the feeble attempt made to start a 
Commercial Geographical Society at Manchester. 
From the Colonies and Jndia we learn that valuable and im- 
portant discoveries of copper and iron ore have been made at 
es 
