Ano;nst i6, 1877] 



NATURE 



329 



probably : secondary action since after large doses the vaso- 

 motor cenire becomes involved, 



3. In ascending the chinoline series, the physiological action 

 changes ir character, tlie lower members seeming to affect the 

 sensory eicephalic centres and the reflex centres of the cord, 

 destroying voluntary and reflex movement ; the higher members 

 seeming b affect chiefly the motor centres, cauing violent 

 convulsiois, and afterwards paralysis. 



4. Spejking of these series of bodies, the mere knowledge of 

 the consti'uent elements of a body is no guide to its physiological 

 action. 



5. Speaking of these series of bodies, the base, and not the 

 acid with which it may happen to be united, determines within 

 slight limits, the physiological character of the compound. 



6. The anion of methyl, ethyl, amyl, and allyl with chinoline 

 does not entirely change its characteristic mode of action, but 

 their presence causes a tendency to ?pasm and convulsion. Also 

 in the case of the pyridine and picoline substitution compounds, 

 increase cf molecular complexity and weight does not indeed 

 entirely change the mode of action of the simpler compound, but 

 is always attended by a tendency to spasm and convulsion. 



7. WhcTi the bases of the pyridine series are doubled by 

 condensation, producing polymers such as dipyridine, "Sic, they 

 not only become more active physiologically, but the mode of 

 action of the condensation product differs from that of the simpler 

 base. 



Saturday was entirely taken up by excursions into the 

 surrounding counties, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Derbyshire. 



Througliout the week facilities were given to members of the 

 Association to visit the various hospitals, libraries, manufactories, 

 and buildings of interest in the town and neighbourhood. 



OUli BOOK SHELF 



Jainisjit ; or, the Early Faith of Asoka. By E. Thomas, 



F.R.S. (London : Ttiibner and Co., 1877.) 



This is a book which will be of great interest to 

 orientalists and students of the science of religion and is 

 likely to occasion a good deal of controversy. It em- 

 bodies two articles published by the author in the 

 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, the first of which 

 endeavours to show that the Greek monograms on 

 Bactrian coins represent dates, the hundreds being 

 omitted in imitation of the Hindu loka kala, or as when 

 we write '77 for 1S77. The dates, Mr. Thomas thinks, 

 refer to the Seleucid era (B.C. 312), and we are therefore 

 able to place the Indo-Scythian dynasty of Kanishka, 

 whose monuments at JMathura have recently been dis- 

 covered, from B c. 2 to A.D. 87. The second article 

 challenges the usual opinion that jainism is a late corrupt 

 form of Buddhism and seeks to prove that Buddhism 

 itself was originally a Jainist sect and that Asoka, the 

 Constantinc of India, was a Jainist before he was a 

 Buddhist. His grandfather, Chandra Gupta or Sandra- 

 cottus, is claimed by the Jainists, and their claim is 

 supported by the testimony of Megasthenes ; according 

 to Abul Fazl, Asoka himself introduced Jainism into 

 Kashmir, and the gradual passage of his belief from 

 Jainism to Buddhism may be detected in his rock and 

 pillar edicts. The Bhabra edict, late in his reign, first 

 contains positive Buddhism, and his earlier Jainist title 

 oi Dcvanaiiipiya or " beloved of the gods," is dropped as 

 incompatible with a creed which denied the existence of 

 any God at all. The Mahawanso has allowed a reference 

 to " the twenty-four supreme Buddhos " — the number of 

 the Jainist samts — to remain in its text, and the symbols 

 of the Buddhas are borrowed from their Jainist proto- 

 types. The existence of Jainism at the begmning of the 

 Christian era is proved by the recent discoveries at 

 Mathura, where the figures are nude as among the 

 Jainists, not clothed as among the Buddhists, and the 

 Kanishka coins lately found at Peshawar are further 

 evidence of Saivism and the worship of many deities, 

 Indian, Persian, Greek, and; even Roman, but not of 

 atheistic Buddhism. It may be added that Mr. Thomas 



believes that in these Kanishka coins we have evidence 

 of the soldiers of Crassus having been settled in the 

 extreme north-west of India. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 



[Till Editor does not hold hi7nself responsible for opinions expressed 

 by his correspotidents. Neither can he undertake to return, 

 or to correspond 'cinth the writers of, rejected manuscripts. 

 No notice is taken of anonymous communications. 



The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters as 

 short as possible. The pressure on his space is so great that it 

 is impossible otherwise to ensure the appearance even of com' 

 munieations containing interesting and novel facts.'\ 



Rainbow Reflected from Water 



On Monday last, August 6, at 7 P.M., I was standing at the 

 end of Eastbourne Pier looking towards the sea. Behind me 

 the sun was low on the horizon but shilling brightly, overhead 

 and out to sea rain was falling from somewhat broken masses of 

 clouds. In front a brilliant rainbow formed a complete semi- 

 circle, the two ends apparently resting on the sea, and outside 

 the principal bow the secondary arc was shining with consider- 

 able intensity. The sea was calm, but its surface was by no 

 means glassy, being ruffled over with minute wavelets. Reflected 

 from the surface of the sea, and extending in a broken curved 

 line from the extremities of the rainbow nearly up to the pier, 

 was a complete reproduction of the colours in the sky ; the 

 reflection, bearing in mind the ruffled surface of the water, being 

 perfect. Not only were the colours of the primary bow repro- 

 duced, but a faint reflection of the secondary bow could be 

 detected, whilst the dark space between the two bows, and the 

 luminous haze which always extends for some distance from the 

 concave edge of the primaiy bow, were distinctly reproduced. 



The intensity of the reflected image was, as near as I could 

 judge, one-fourth that of the actual bow. Near the horizon 

 when the real and reflected arcs seemed to touch, there was a 

 decided displacement of the colours, as if the diameter of the 

 reflected bow was somewhat less than that of the original. In 

 other words, the reflected red was not accurately in line with the 

 red in the real bow, but appeared to line with the yellow, 

 whilst the yellow of the reflected arc seemed a continuation of 

 the green in the actual rainbow. 



I regret that I had no polarising apparatus with me. 



August 8 William Crookes 



Science Lectures in London 



It has occurred to me, while reading some lectures given in 

 Glasgow and Manchester, that were such lectures given in 

 London during the winter months, they would confer a great 

 boon upon a large number of people. 



Perhaps, Sir, if you were to propose such a thing through the 

 medium of your valuable paper, some might be found to bring 

 about such a result, as I believe no difficulty would be found 

 in forming a society such as the Glasgow Science Lecture 

 Association. 



I hope some abler pen will be found to take up the subject. 



Heme Hill, August 7 L. Jeans 



Strange Dream Phenomenon 

 I HAVE just experienced almost as remarkable a coincidence 

 as those adduced by Sir W. Hamilton to prove the activity of 

 consciousness even in sleep. 



I had not been to rest for forty-one hours, and was overcome 

 by sleep while in the act of writing a short diary I am in the 

 habit of keeping. During the time I was asleep, I dreamed of 

 some houss property in Brighton, a dream purely fictitious and 

 very remote from anything I had previously thought of. 

 Awakening in a short time (scarcely a minute), I found myself 

 still writing ; and on further examination I discovered that I had, 

 following the current of my thoughts, written .as much of my 

 dream as lime had allowed. J. Vincent Elsden 



Edelweiss 



As an old Alpine man, let me say that JEdelweiss is not 

 localised in any part of the Alps ; I have found plenty of it at 

 far less altitudes than the natives sometimes try and make awe- 

 stricken tourists believe. 



