444 



NATURE 



[April?,, 1875 



" spend much of their time basking in the sun, and if the 

 sun does not yield sufficient warmth, they scoop out a 

 hole in the ground, burn in it branches and leaves of the 

 maguey, and, when properly heated, lay themselves down 

 in the place, and cover themselves with a mat or the loose 

 earth " (p. 637). 



Among the Zapotecs a very interesting art of divination 

 prevailed, and to some extent is still practised. "When 

 a woman was about to be confined, the relatives assembled 

 in the hut, and commenced to draw on the floor figures 

 of different animals, rubbing each one out as soon as it 

 was completed. This operation continued till the moment 

 of birth, and the figure that then remained sketched 

 upon the ground was called the child's tona, or second 

 self When the child grew old enough, he procured 

 the animal that represented him, and took care of 

 it, as it was believed that health and existence were 

 bound up with that of the animals ; in fact, that the 

 death of both would occur simultaneously" (p. 661). 

 To conclude the list, among the tribes of North Cali- 

 fornia, the development of the idea of current value, 

 depending partly upon the utihty and partly on the 

 scarcity of the objects circulating, is most quaintly illus- 

 trated. Their wealth consists in shell-money, called 

 alUcocliick, white deer-skins, canoes, and, indirectly, in 

 women. The shell which is the regular circulating 

 medium is white, hollow, about a quarter of an inch 

 through, and from one to two inches in length. On its 

 length depends its value. A gentleman, who writes from 

 personal observation, says : " All of the older Indians 

 have tattooed on their arms their standard of value. A 

 piece of shell corresponding in length to one of the marks 

 being worth five dollars ' Boston money,' the scale 

 gradually increases until the highest mark is reached. For 

 five perfect shells corresponding in length to this mark 

 they will readily give one hundred dollars in gold or 

 silver." White deer-skins are rare, and considered very 

 valuable, the possession of one being even said to give a 

 claim to chiefship. A scalp of the red-headed woodpecker 

 is equivalent to about five dollars, and is extensively used 

 as currency on the Klamath. Canoes are valued accor- 

 ding to their size and finish. Wives, as they must be 

 bought, are a sign of wealth, and the owner of many is 

 respected accordingly (p. 347). 



Our notice of Mr. Bancroft's first volume, consisting as 

 it does merely of condensed accounts of the appearance 

 and habits of wild tribes, is almost necessarily frag- 

 mentary. We look forward to the promised speedy pub- 

 lication of the remaining four volumes, of which the next 

 will describe the more civilised nations of Mexico and 

 Central America, the other three containing the com- 

 parison and discussion of the native languages, mytho- 

 logy, &c. When the whole work is completed, it may 

 probably lead to the ethnology of American taking a new 

 departure, and passing from its present chaotic condition 

 into a more orderly and scientific state. 



OUR BOOK SHELF 



Quclqucs Nombrcs Cliaracteristiqnes relatifs a la Tem- 

 perature de Bnixellcs. Note de M. Ern. Ouetelet, 

 6 pp. 

 This small tract briefly summarises the chief points of 

 popular interest in the climate of Brussels relating to the 



temperature. The following are the data tabulated which 

 have been calculated from observations made during the 

 forty years 1S33-1872 : — The mean temperature of the 

 year, seasons, and months ; the absolutely highest tempe- 

 rature of each summer, and lowest of each winter ; the 

 absolute maxima and miniir a of each day of the year 

 during any of the forty years ; and the mean temperature 

 of every day of the year ; together with some other points 

 of interest, such as the degree to which the temperature 

 has risen every summer and fallen every winter. Such 

 tables, if worked out for other places at which the neces- 

 sary observations have been made, could not fail to prove 

 of great general utility to horticulturists and others, parti- 

 cularly those which show not only the mean temperature 

 of any particular day of the year, but also the degree to 

 which for that day the temperature has been known in 

 the past to rise on the one hand and fall on the other. 



Some interesting points appear in connection with the 

 periods of unusually cold and warm weather which are 

 known to occur in North-western Europe at different 

 times of the year. Thus the cold weather of May is not 

 only shown in the forty years' mean temperature of the 

 days, but also in the absolute maximum temperatures 

 which have been noted on the particular days during any 

 of the forty years — the mean of these maxima of the five 

 days from the 6th to the loth May being 8o°'3, but of 

 the five days from the nth to the i6th only 77°'6. 



A Report of Microscopical and Phynological Researches 

 into the Nature of the Agent or Agents producing 

 Cholera. (Second Series.) By T. R. Lewis, M.B., and 

 D. D. Cunningham, M.B. (Calcutta: Government 

 Printing Office, 1874.) 



M ESSRS. Lewis and Cunningham are already well known 

 for their minute and valuable researches on the agencies 

 by means of which diseases are spread. The paper be- 

 fore us, which is one of the Appendices to the " Tenth 

 Annual Report of the Sanitary Commissioner with the 

 Government of India," is divided into three parts. 

 Part I. is concerned with the microscopic examination of 

 the blood, giving the results of such an examination in 

 health, in cholera, and in diseases other than cholera ; 

 part II. describes the results of experiments on the intro- 

 duction of choleraic and other organic fluids into the 

 system ; and Part III. gives an account of experiments 

 on the section of the splanchnic and mesenteric nerves. 

 In addition to a discussion of the results of the experi- 

 ments, the details of the experiments themselves are care- 

 fully arranged in a number of tables throughout the work. 

 While the experiments herein described are of high value 

 from a practical medical point of view, they cannot fail 

 to shed some light on the broader scientific question of 

 the origin of Bacteria. From the latter point of view, 

 those parts of the Report bearing on the question of the 

 existence of living organisms in the tissues of healthy 

 subjects after death, and also those portions referring to 

 the effect of heat on morbid products, are of special 

 importance. How do these organisms originate in the 

 glandular and other tissues, and why don't they develop 

 whilst the tissues are in a normal living state 'i We hope 

 that in a future Report the authors will be able to present 

 some data which will help towards a solution of these 

 questions. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 



[The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed 

 by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, 

 or to correspond ■with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. 

 No notice is taken of anonymous communications. \ 

 Ocean Waves 

 In reference to the letter in Nature, vol. xi. p. 386, respect" 

 ing the " Height of Waves," it may be noted that the data pre- 

 sented would give about 1 10 ft. for the height above the sea 



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