SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XXI. No. 535 



account, returning, however, in a couple of days gaunt, thin and 

 lame. Having been well fed and recovering their spirits and 

 strength, they would again betake themselves to the desert, to 

 return again to their master's bouse, worn and thin. These 

 hounds, if left to themselves, would have soon perished, while 

 the collie would have been successful in the struggle for exist- 

 ence. 



Anything but a pleasing picture is drawn of the struggle the 

 new settler has with Nature in his new home. Animals, birds, 

 insects, and even inanimate forces are all arrayed against him, 

 but the author considers even the severity of the struggle con- 

 ducive to the well-being of the individual concerned. "The 

 man," he says, ' ' who finishes his course by a fall from his horse, 

 or is swept away and drowned when fording a swollen stream, 

 has, in most cases, spent a happier life than he who dies of apo- 

 plexy in the counting-house or dining room ; or who, finding 

 that end which seemed so infinitely beautiful to Leigh Hunt 

 (which to me seems so unutterably hateful), drops his white face 

 upon the open book before him. Certainly he has been less 

 world-weary, and has never heen heard to whine and snivel 

 about the vanity of all things." 



An interesting account of leaf-cutting ants is given (pp. 138- 

 143), and the bird-music of South America is stoutly defended 

 and favorably compared to that of Europe. He says: ''The 

 bird language of the English wood or orchard, made up in most 

 part of melodious tones, may be compared to a band composed 

 entirely of small wind instruments with a limited range of sound 

 and which produces no storms of noise, eccentric flights and vio- 

 lent contrasts, nor anything to startle a listener — a sweet but 

 somewhat tame performance. The South American forest has 

 more the character of an orchestra, in which a countless number 

 of varied instruments take part in a performance in which there 

 are many noisy discords, while the tender, spiritual tones heard 

 at intervals seem, by contrast, infinitely sweet and precious.'' 



Two of the chapters deal with "Sight in Savages" and 

 "Eyes." These have many points of interest which cannot be 

 referred to in detail here. The one on the " Plains of Patagonia " 

 deals with that peculiar topic of why certain scenes, inherently 

 not pleasing or attractive, withal impress themselves upon the 

 mind with wonderful vividness and are always recalled with 

 pleasure. The plains are not possessed of great scenic attrac- 

 tions, for "Everyvfhere through the light, gray mould, gray as 

 ashes and formed by the ashes of myriads of dead trees, where 

 the wind had blown on it, or the rain had washed it away, the 

 underlying yell'ow sand appeared, and the old ocean-polished 

 pebbles, dull red, and gray, and green, and yellow." From 

 an elevation " On every side it stretched away in great undula- 

 tions: but the undulations were wild and irregular; the hills 

 were rounded and cone-shaped, they were solitary and in groups 

 and ranges; some sloped gently, others were ridge-like and 

 stretched away in league-long terraces, with other terraces be- 

 yond, and all alike were clothed in the gray everlasting thorny 

 vegetation." There is, also, a striking lack of animal life. "All 

 day the silence seemed grateful, it was very perfect, very pro- 

 found. There were no insects, and the only bird-sound — a fee- 

 ble chirp of alarm emitted by a small skulking wren-like species 

 — was not heard oftener than two or three times an hour. The 

 only sounds as I rode were the muffled hoof -strokes of my horse, 

 scratching of twigs against my boat or saddle flap, and the low 

 panting of the dog. And it seemed to be a relief to escape even 

 from these sounds when I dismounted and sat down: for in a few 

 moments the dog would stretch his head out on his paws and go 

 to sleep, and then there would be no sound, not even the rustle 

 of a leaf. For unless the wind blows strong there is no fluttering 

 motion and no whisper in the small stiff undeciduous leaves, and 

 the bushes stand unmoving as if carved out of stone." Day after 

 day he was drawn to these dreary wastes and the peculiar state 

 of mind seemingly induced by them is thus described: "Dur- 

 ing those solitary days it was a rare thing for any thought to 

 cross my mind : animal forms did not cross my vision or bird- 

 voices assail my hearing more rarely. In that novel state of 

 mind I was in, thought had become impossible. Elsewhere I 

 had always been able to think most freely on horseback; and on 



the pampas, even in the most lonely places, my mind was always 

 most active when I travelled at a swinging gallop. This was 

 doubtless habit; but now, with a horse under me, I had become 

 incapable of reflection; my mind had suddenly transformed 

 itself from a thinking machine into a machine for some other 

 unknown purpose. To think was like setting in motion a noisy 

 engine in my brain and there was something there which bade 

 me be still, and I was forced to obey. My state was one of sus- 

 pense and watchfulness ; yet I had no expectation of meeting 

 with an adventure and felt as free from apprehension as 

 I feel now when silting in a room in London. The change in 

 me was just as great and wonderful as if I had changed my 

 identity for that of another man or animal; but at the time I was 

 powerless to wonder at or speculate about it; the state seemed 

 familiar rather than strange, and although accompanied by a 

 strong feeling of elation, I did not know it — did not know that 

 something had come between me and my intellect — until I lost 

 it and returned to my former self — to thinking, and the old in- 

 sipid existence." 



The peculiar state of mind here described the author attributes 

 to a reversion to a primitive and savage mental condition, a state 

 of intense watchfulness and alertness, but without the exercise 

 of any of the higher mental faculties. He believes that man 

 still retains much of the sava:<e in him and this is brought out 

 in wild and desert places, in times of great danger and under 

 many adverse circumstances. This, like many other questions, 

 touched upon or discussed, is food for thought for the reader. 



Joseph F. James 



Washington, D. C. 



Tlie Coal-Tar Colore, with Especial Reference to Their Injurious 

 Qualities and the Restriction of Their Use : A Sanitary and 

 Medico-Legal Investigation. By THEODORE Weyl, Trans- 

 lated, with permission of the author, by Henry Leffmann, 

 M.D., Ph.D. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston, Son, & Co. 



The coal-tar colors having replaced the vegetable products in 

 all branches of dyeing, a study of their sanitary relations becomes 

 of great interest, and the more particularly, too, because of their 

 rapidly extending application in the coloration of foods and of 

 articles of daily household use. The call for active legislation in 

 these matters has become imperative, but the exact legal status 

 of the new colors has not yet been clearly defined, nor has their 

 physiological action been sufficiently demonstrated. The civilized 

 governments have passed laws regulating the sale and use of 

 certain coal-tar colors, but, in correspondence with the imperfect 

 knowledge we have as yet attained in this branch of science, 

 these legal statutes proved inadequate and failed in their pur- 

 pose. To determine by direct experiment the physiological action 

 of the colors in question, and thus to provide a basis for a new 

 and better legislation, was the work undertaken by Dr. Weyl, 

 and this little book upon the sanitai-y relations of the coal-tar 

 colors, translated from the German by Dr. Leflfmann, is the pub- 

 lished account of these same experiments, together with much 

 else of importance and interest. The book is somewhat techni- 

 cal, but this need deter no one from its perusal, for, as Dr. Leflf- 

 mann remarks in his preface, "the essential matter is so distinctly 

 set forth that the chemical portion may be passed by those who 

 are unable to comprehend it." There is no portion that may not 

 be read with profit by all, the technicalities are well masked be- 

 hind good English, and, thanks to Dr. Lefl'mann, we have a book 

 of live interest from beginning to end. Reviewing the hook criti- 

 cally, we have but one fault to find, and that with the arrange- 

 ment. It will suffice to name the parts in their order as follows: 

 Translator's Preface, Preface, Contents, Introduction, General 

 Part, to page 34, Appendix, pages 35-60, Special Part, pages 

 61-148, Appendix, Index. This seems to us an original system 

 of book-making, but, after all, change the names of the parts, 

 and we have everything in proper place. 



Beginning the book with the General Part, we have a few 

 pages on the preparation of the coal-tar colors, their classification, 

 nomenclature, commercial forms, uses, etc. The so-called poison- 

 ous colors are then discussed, and the arsenical nature of many 

 of the earlier manufactures is pointed out. Fuchsine, for exam- 



