5S 



NA rURE 



[Nov: 1.8, 1886 



pulsations in man at various periods of life, and at difterent 

 levels, from the level of the sea up to 4000 feet above sea-level, 

 was brought under review, and was followed by a computation 

 of the average woriv performed by the heart in a healthy adult 

 nian. The work was traced out by the minute, the hour, and 

 the day, and was shown to equal the feat of raising 5 tons 4 cwt. 

 one foot per hour, or 125 tons in twenty-four hours. The excess 

 of this work under alcohol in varying quantities formed a corol- 

 lary to the history of the work of the heart, Parkes's calculation 

 showing an excess of 24 foot-tons from the imbibition of eight 

 fluid ounces of alcohol. The facts relating to the work of the 

 heart by the weight of work accomplished was supplemented by 

 a new calculation, in which the course of calculation was 

 explained by mileage. Presuming that the blood was thrown 

 out of the heart at each pulsation in the proportion of 69 strokes 

 per minute, and at the assumed force of 9 feet, the mileage of 

 the blood through the body might be taken at 207 yards per 

 minute, 7 miles per hour, 168 miles per d.iy, 61,320 miles per 

 year, or 5,150,880 miles in a lifetime of eighty-four years. The 

 number of beats of the heart in the same long life would reach 

 the grand total of 2,869,776,000. 



A METEOR of unusual splendour was seen from the O.vford 

 Road, Banbury, on Tuesday, November 2, at about 8.5 p.m. 

 The fall became visible at about mid-distance between zenith 

 and horizon in a direction west by north. At first the meteor 

 burned with a faint, apparently reddish, light, but when a third 

 of its path had been passed, it burst into an intense blue flame, 

 and, increasing in brilliancy during the next third of its course, 

 it finally died away before reaching the horizon, leaving behind 

 it a long red trail distinguishable for several seconds afterwards. 

 The fall was at an angle of 60°, and during the middle third of 

 the flight the flame was of such intensity as to light up the 

 surrounding country. 



Referring to a paper at the Paris Geographical Society by 

 Dr. Hamy on " The Interpretation of one of the Monuments at 

 Copan, Honduras," in whicli an inference is drawn as to early 

 Chinese intercourse with America, Dr. W. H. Dall, writing to 

 Science, states his belief that the very wide hypothesis thus 

 broached, and which in one form or another has had a certain 

 currency for more than a century, rests upon a totally insufficient 

 foundation. That wrecked Japanese, and possibly Chinese, 

 from time to time were cast on the shores of America, is beyond 

 question. But there is every reason to believe that the wrecked 

 people were (l) nearly always males, and incapable of colon- 

 ising ; (2) were either killed or enslaved by the Americans in 

 accordance with a general usage ; and (3) that neither in arts 

 nor language have they left any appreciable trace on American 

 anthropology. "The statement of Brooks, that the Japanese 

 and Aleuts could communicate without an interpreter, is true to 

 this extent. I was present when the aforesaid Japanese, three 

 males, were brought to the port of Unala-IiKa, and toolc pains 

 to inquire into the assertion which w as made to me at the time. 

 I found that the communications were wliolly by signs, and not 

 by spoken language, as the Aleuts could not understand a word 

 of Japanese without its accompanying signs. Secondly, Brooks, 

 who was long Consul in Japan, infoi med me that he had particu- 

 larly searched into the matter of the voy,age to Fu-sang, and that 

 he had conclusive evidence that the vo) age which actually took 

 place was to the well-known and still existing province of Fu- 

 sang in Korea (see Griffis' work), and had no connection what- 

 ever with America. Lastly, the mere presence of two simple 

 curved lines on a circular stone, taken by itself, proves notliing 

 as to their meaning, and still less that they had any connection 

 with the Chinese symbol." Dr. Dall concludes by stating 

 that such unbridled hypotheses are tiie "curse of anthropology." 

 ' We have received a fresh instahnent of the very valuable 

 work emanating from the firm of Eduard Trewendt, Breslaui 



the now well-known " Encyclopiedia of Natural Sciences," 

 namely, Nos. 48 and 49 of the first part, and 37 and 38 of the 

 second part. These four numbers deal with three different 

 branches of science. No. 48 of the first part is botanical, a con- 

 tinuation of Drude's masterly work, "Systematic and Geo- 

 graphical Arrangement of the Phanerogam'," copiously illus- 

 trated with woodcuts, as was tlie earlier portion of the same 

 publication. No. 49 of the "Alphabetical .Manual of Zoology, 

 Anthropology, and Ethnology,'' takes the reader from " Land- 

 schaf" to " Lithodina." Of the abundant materi.il embraced in 

 this compass may be particularly mentioned " Landschnecken," 

 by E. von Martens ; " Larven," by Dr. Griesbach ; two espe- 

 cially interesting contributions, " Larynx," by von Mojsi ovics, 

 and " La Tene-Zeit," by Mehlis ; treatises by Jaeger on "Life, 

 and its Conditions, Phenomena, and Stimulation":, &c. ," as also 

 "Linsen," and "Lippen," liy Dewitz. Nos. 18 and 19 of the 

 second part belong to the " Alphabetical Manual of Chemistry, ' 

 containing the papers — Furfurangruppe (conclusion), Gahrung, 

 Galle, Gallium, Gehirn, Gerberei, Gerbsauren or Gerbstoffe, 

 Germanium, Glas, Glycerin, Glycidsauren, Glycocoll, Glyco- 

 side. .\s of most general interest in this list of articles may be 

 specially cited "Glycoside," by Prof. Oskar Jacobsen, of which 

 the firm is preparing a separate impression ; as also " Gahrung," 

 by Tollens ; and "Glas," by Engler. The newly- discovered 

 ' ■ Germanium " is treated by the editor, Herr Ladenburg him- 

 self. In Prof. Liebrich's contribution, "Gehirn," we have a 

 valuable paper on this subject by a recogni.-ed authority. 



Two remarkable specimens of deformed fish were taken froni 

 a rearing-pond at Delaford this week, and brought to the South 

 Kensington Aquarium. One is a trout about three years old, 

 whose tail is bent to such an extreme that it stands at right angles 

 with the body of the fisb. Its mode of progress is laboured, 

 and its appearance is very peculiar. The other specimen is an 

 ordinary stickleback, measuring 4 inches in length, wliose body 

 is swollen through dropsy to the extent of i inch in diameter. 

 At first sight its appearance is similar to a young mouse, and it 

 requires close inspection to grasp the fact that it is a fish. It 

 moves very slowly, with great expenditure of force, the weight 

 of the contorted body being considerable. 



TitERE has been a great demand for the German carp lately 

 imported into this country by the Marquess of Exeter and others 

 for the purpose of acclimatisation in this country, and a numer- 

 ously expressed desire to stock waters that are useless for the 

 purpose of maintaining other fish than carp has been made for 

 the German species. 



The operations in connection with the new Observatory and 

 Marine Fish-Culture Station .at Lochbuie, Isle of Mull, to be 

 established under the auspices of the National Fish Culture 

 Association, are to be commenced forthwith. At a meeting of 

 the Council, held last week, it was arranged to form ponds for 

 the prop.agation of lobsters, and to make certain observations 

 upon marine fauna. The details of the scheme were placed in 

 the hands of a special scientific committee. 



We have received from Messrs. Home, Thomthwaite, and 

 Wood, opticians, a map of the moon, 12 inches in diameter, 

 mounted on good stout cardboard, represented as she appears 

 when viewed through a telescope with an astronomical eye- 

 piece. This will 1 e a very useful companion and guide for 

 those amateurs who are studying the lunar surface ; it can be 

 conveniently held in the hand while observations are being 

 made. About 300 craters and walled plains are marked very 

 clearly, and the names of the different seas are given in larger 

 letters. At the back is added a short description of some of 

 the chief features. 



