SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XIII. No. 313 



any harbor among all islands of the South Pacific. Here ves- 

 sels of any size can lie at anchor, secure from every wind, all the 

 year round. It is well adapted as a coaling station or for refitting 

 and repairing ships, and affords, moreover, plentiful supplies of 

 timber, food, and water. 



Upolu, and to some extent Tutuila, have attracted a considerable 

 number of American and European capitalists, the latter mostly 

 Germans ; and a large portion of the land has passed into the 

 hands of foreign residents, who number about three hundred. The 

 bulk of the foreign trade belongs to the successors of the famous 

 Hamburg firm of J. C. Godefroy & Son. Cotton, cocoanuts, and 

 bread-fruit are cultivated for export ; and maize, sugar, coffee, etc., 

 for^local consumption. Copra (dried cocoanuts) is the most im- 

 portant article of trade. In 1881 the planters had about 1,800 

 laborers from the Line Islands, New Britain, New Hebrides, etc., 

 the Samoans being too independent to hire themselves out. 



under the protection of German guns. Tamasese is, of course, as 

 much of a puppet in the hands of the Europeans as Malietoa has 

 always been. The conflict between the native parties has reference 

 not so much to whether the one or the other person be king, as to 

 the question of whether Germany or England-America shall retain 

 the upper hand. 



HEALTH MATTERS. 

 Poisonous Milk. 



Professor L. P. Kinnicutt of the Worcester (Mass.) Polytech- 

 nic Institute reports to the Boston Medical and Sii7-gical Jourjial 

 five cases of poisoning by milk in which, upon chemical analysis, he 

 found tyrotoxicon. 



The milk was in a pint beer-bottle with patent rubber stopper, 

 and appeared and tasted perfectly fresh and good. After carrying 

 it to the laboratorv, it was allowed to remain in the tightly stop- 



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Among the natives of these islands dissensions have always been 

 raging, and the European traders did not fail to take advantage of 

 their internal wars. In i860 the firm of Godefroy, which at that 

 time encountered no considerable competition in the Pacific, stood 

 on the side of Malietoa, a chief belonging to one of the most dis- 

 tinguished families of Samoa. Although Malietoa was never in 

 reality ruler over the whole group of islands, he assuredly had the 

 expectation of the first place in the country, and the royal title was 

 formerly willingly given him. 



Throughout the next twenty years, which passed with continu- 

 ous dissensions among the natives, the Europeans who had gradu- 

 ally settled in Samoa, Germans, Englishmen, and Americans, found 

 abundant opportunity to meddle in the quarrels of the inhabitants, 

 which they did accordingly in the fullest measure. They sought, 

 by taking sides with or against Malietoa, to strengthen respect for 

 their nations, and thereby increase their commerce. Since Malie- 

 toa was influenced principally by Americans, the German Com- 

 mercial and Plantation Society, who had originally supported 

 him, took the opposing side, and in 1887 helped Tamasese to de- 

 throne his old adversary. Before the recent uprising, a German, 

 Tamasese's prime minister, was in reality possessor of all power, 



pered bottle for one week before it was examined. The milk had' 

 by that time decomposed, separating into two layers. It was fil- 

 tered through thick Swedish filter-paper, the filtrate neutralized' 

 with a dilute solution of sodium hydrate, placed in a separating- 

 funnel, and shaken thoroughly with ether. A thick emulsion 

 formed, and it was only after four days, and by the use of various 

 mechanical means, that a separation could be effected. The ether 

 solution was allowed to evaporate at the ordinary temperature, and 

 the residue carefully tested. Re-actions were obtained which agreed 

 perfectly with those given by Vaughan (Journal of Analytical 

 Chemistry, vol. i. pp. 25 and 281) for tyrotoxicon. There is there- 

 fore no doubt that the poisonous action of the milk was caused by 

 the same poison that Vaughan found in the various cases cited by 

 him. 



A visit to the dairy from which the milk was obtained was made, 

 and it was found that the herd consisted of fifteen Jersey cows, all 

 in the best condition, well fed and cared for. The dairy supplies 

 about forty families with milk, and the milk of all the cows is mixed 

 together before subdividing it into the various portions ; and as 

 only one family out of the forty supplied with the milk, as far as 

 can be found out, suffered from any poisonous effect, it proves that 



