September 13, 1889.] 



SCIENCE. 



movement has received an additional impetus from the generosity 

 of the Marquis of Ripon, Mr. J. G. Talboi, M.P., Mr. F. D. Mo- 

 catta, the Rector of Exeter, and other donors, who offered scholar- 

 ships, lately awarded, to enable poorer students to attend the sum- 

 mer meeting at O.xford. 



— Some curious facts bearing on the morale of the lower ani- 

 mals are given by a correspondent of the Revue Scientifique. One 

 source of animal sociability is a permanent sexual friendliness, 

 making individuals mutually agreeable. Thus in stables without 

 stalls, it is desirable to put animals of opposite sex next each other, 

 to avoid injuries. A mare may be safely put into a field containing 

 a horse unknown to it, but if two unacquainted horses be thus put 

 together they will fight. A stallion, indeed, will sometimes get in- 

 jury from an unknown mare put into a field with it. Again, the 

 authority of the oldest and strongest in a group of males often 

 favors sociability. In the Spanish ganaderias, a horseman will 

 lead about a numerous troop of bulls, by means of five or six bulls 

 who obey him and maintain order. In the Madrid circus the wri- 

 ter saw three of these animals bring to its stall a vicious bull which 

 had ripped up five or six horses and mortally wounded an espada. 

 They made a slight movement of the horns, and the creature, after 

 a little hesitation, turned and followed them. Once more, when 

 flocks of wild ducks and geese have to go long distances, they 

 form a triangle to cleave the air more easily, and the most coura- 

 geous bird takes the position at the forward angle. As this is a 

 very fatiguing post, another bird, ere long, takes the place of the 

 exhausted leader. Thus they place their available strength at the 

 service of the society. 



— A recent number of the Cknta Review contains a paper by 

 Dr. Macgowan on the alleged avenging habits of the cobra in In- 

 dian and Chinese folk-lore. The belief in India is that a wounded 

 cobra which escapes will sooner or later revenge itself on the man 

 who has caused the injury, wherever he may go or whatever he 

 may do. Dr. Macgowan says that this belief is prevalent in Indo- 

 China and China as well as in India. But in China there is also a 

 strong prejudice against killing the cobra, lest its spirit should 

 haunt the slayer ever after. Cobras, therefore, are shunned rather 

 than pursued and attacked. Popular stories of the dire conse- 

 quences of slaying them keep up the superstition. A high official 

 who had killed one died soon afterwards of some mysterious dis- 

 ease, and the death is attributed to the slain snake ; again, the 

 spirit of the snake enters into possession of its slayer, and employs 

 the vocal organs of the latter in uttering imprecations on himself 

 until death mercifully removes him. Dr. Macgowan gives a large 

 number of stories of this character. A number of others refer to 

 the retribution on snake-killers after their own deaths. Gratitude, 

 as well as vindictiveness, is ascribed to snakes, of which some 

 characteristic stories are given. In conclusion. Dr. Macgowan ob- 

 serves that the recently established vernacular press in China fur- 

 nishes inexhaustible stores of folk-lore. " Paragraphs describing 

 popular superstitions, impossible occurrences, monstrosities, and so 

 forth, constitute a great portion of their matter." In regard to 

 snakes, the marvel is that any are killed at all in China, so many 

 dreadful punishments are supposed to overtake their destroyers ; 

 and, indeed, it is considered a work meriting favor here and here- 

 after to purchase captured snakes and liberate them. Neverthe- 

 less, poisonous snakes are not numerous in China, probably because 

 their presence is inconvenient to Chinese farmers, and they are 

 therefore destroyed,, folk-lore notwithstanding. 



— The following practical suggestions, based on results of ex- 

 periments at the Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station, are 

 offered by Professor W. C. Latta, in the hope that their applica- 

 tion would result advantageously on a very large proportion of the 

 wheat farms of Indiana, (i) Sow less wheat ; grow more grass, 

 and better live stock. (2) Select a hardy, prolific wheat, adapted 

 to your soil, and stick to it. Give it good treatment and it will not 

 " run out." Sow not less than six pecks of sound seed to the acre. 

 (3) Plough wheat ground early, and harrow immediately after 

 ploughing. You can thus more easily and more thoroughly pulverize 

 the soil. (4) If ground breaks up cloddy, use heavy roll alternating 

 with some form of harrow or cultivator that will bring clods to sur- 



face. (5) If manure or fertilizers are used, mix thoroughly with 

 soil in every case. Use only rotted manure, if any, and apply after 

 plowing. Reserve the fresh manure for the corn crop. (6) Before 

 trving a fertilizer, get the experience and advice of farmers whose 

 soils are similar to your own. (7; Test the untried brands care- 

 fully, in a small way, before deciding upon their extensive use. 

 This is the best course, for the reason that even the highest grades 

 often act very differently on different soils. (8) Adopt a rotation 

 of crops suited to your soil and needs. It will increase the yield 

 and improve the quality of your crops, enable you to take better 

 care of your live stock, prevent serious insect depredations and 

 fungous diseases, improve your soil and make it more lasting, and 

 put money in" your pocket. (9) Bear in mind that soils and climate 

 vary greatly in different localities, and that these potent factors in 

 crop production will very materially affect the results of your work. 

 Therefore, study your local conditions, and intelligently apply the 

 lessons of this bulletin only so far as they may be suited to your 

 needs and surroundings. 



— Information has reached us that Mr. Julien of Brussels, the 

 inventor of the Julien electric traction system in operation on the 

 Fourth Avenue street railway in this city, has been awarded a gold 

 medal at the Paris Exposition, for his storage batteries, over com- 

 petitors from all parts of the world. This is of importance, being 

 confirmatory of the awards obtained by him for his batteries and 

 system of storage battery traction at Antwerp in 1885, by the inter- 

 national congress appointed by the government to report as to the 

 best manner of propulsion of tram cars; and also at Paris in 1886, 

 and at Brussels in 1888, when the Leopold cross was presented 

 him for his invention. 



— Russia is organizing a system of technical schools of a very 

 complete form. The schools are of three classes, lower and middle 

 technical schools, and upper, or, as they are so called, trade 

 schools. The first consist of three divisions, for mechanics, 

 chemists, and builders respectively, and the instruction is strictly 

 technical and manual. The second class is intended for as- 

 sistant engineers and architects, foremen builders, 'and agricul- 

 tural bailiffs. The courses of study cover four years, and the stu- 

 dents must have completed their primary education before entering 

 the schools. The subjects of study are drawing, mechanics, ap- 

 plied mathematics, and practical exercises bearing on the industry 

 to be followed. These middle schools are divided into five kinds, 

 technical schools of a general character, schools of chemistry, 

 schools of agriculture, schools of architecture, and schools of 

 mines. Some schools combine two or more of these functions, 

 that of Nijni-Novgorod, for instance, two ; that of Moscow, 

 three ; that of Krasnovodsk also two, agriculture and mining. 

 None of the courses are simply fanciful, all are practical. For 

 instance, in the school of architecture the time will not be 

 spent in sketching Pantheons or designing triumphal arches, 

 but in planning dwellings of a moderate cost, which shall be 

 sound and durable, well warmed and ventilated, well drained, 

 comfortable, and pleasant to live in. The superior trade schools 

 are intended to produce skilled and intelligent workmen in wood 

 and metal. The minister of instruction calculates that the cost of 

 maintenance of a lower school will be about ten thousand dollars per 

 annum, that of a middle school foarteen thousand five hundred dollars, 

 and that of a trade school about six thousand seven hundred dollars. 



— An interesting correspondence has been published between 

 the Magdeburgh Fire Insurance Company and Dr. Stephan, head 

 of the German postal and telegraphic service, respecting the rela- 

 tion between the telephone and the electric fluid, from which it ap- 

 pears that, contrary to the general belief, experience in Germany 

 goes to show that a telephone network rather acts as a protection 

 against lightning than otherwise. For instance, in Hamburg, dur- 

 ing the period from 1885 to 1S88, there was only one case of light- 

 ning in the heart of the city, where the net is very dense, but many 

 others in the suburbs where there is no telephone. In Berlin and 

 other German towns, as well as in Copenhagen, similar experiences 

 are reported. Dr. Stephan, however, points out that the imperial 

 telephone network is being laid with every care, and that the num- 

 ber of lightning conductors is very large. 



