570 



SCIENCE, 



[N. S. Vol. IV. No. 94. 



recently reported in the newspapers, but nam- 

 ing two of our most prominent inventors and 

 two of our leading men of science among the 

 alchemists. 



A BACTERIOLOGICAL laboratory has been es- 

 tablished at Anglers, France, with an annual 

 appropriation of about $500. 



Prof. H. Newell Martin's 'The Human 

 Body,' one of the text-books in Henry Holt & 

 Co.'s admirable American Science Series, has 

 been revised by the author for the seventh edi- 

 tion just issued. It is the longer of the three 

 courses in the subject, all of which have long 

 been accepted by men of science and teachers 

 as model text-books. In this edition new mat- 

 ter has been added, especially on the cardiac 

 and vascular nerves and on the physiology of 

 the brain, and many pages have been rewritten. 

 The author's style is unusually clear, the sub- 

 ject-matter is free from both dogmatism and 

 indefiniteness, and the book remains the best 

 compendium we have covering the anatomy, 

 physiology, psychology and hygiene of the 

 human body. 



The rapid development now sure to take 

 place in the manufacture and use of auto-mobile 

 carriages has been long delayed. As early as 

 1834 the British Parliament appointed a select 

 committee to ' ' enquire into and report upon 

 the tolls and prospects of laud carriages by 

 means of wheeled vehicles propelled by steam 

 or gas on common roads." According to Poiver 

 and Transmission, the report of the committee 

 may be summarized as follows : 1. "That car- 

 riages can be propelled by steam on common 

 roads, and at an average of ten miles an hour. 

 2. That at this rate they have conveyed up- 

 wards of fourteen passengers. 3. That their 

 weight, including engine, fuel, water and at- 

 tendants, may be under three tons. 4. That 

 they can ascend and descend hills of consider- 

 able inclination with facility and ease. 5, 

 That they are perfectly safe for passengers. 6. 

 That they are not (or need not be if properly 

 constructed) nuisances to the public. 7. That 

 they will become a speedier and cheaper mode 

 of conveyance than carriages drawn by horses, 

 8. That, as they admitted of greater breadth 

 of tire than other carriages, and as the roads 



are not acted upon so injuriously as by the 

 feet of horses in common draught, such carri- 

 ages will cause less wear of roads than coaches 

 drawn by horses. 9. That rates of toll have 

 been imposed on steam carriages which would 

 prohibit their being used on several lines of 

 road were such charges permitted to remain 

 unaltered." 



We have already called attention to the me- 

 morial to the late Dr. D. Hack Tuke, which 

 will probably take the form of a library in con- 

 nection with the British Medico-psychological 

 Association, to which Dr. Tuke's library has al- 

 ready been given. An American committee 

 has been formed and subscriptions for the me- 

 morial may be sent to Dr. Charles W. Pilgrim, 

 Poughkeepsie, N. Y.; Dr. Charles G. Hill, 317 

 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Md., or Dr. 

 Frank C. Hoyt, Clarinda, la. 



The Lancet states that, in the Berliner Klin- 

 ische Wochenschrift of August 31st, a paper is 

 published by Dr. C. Kaiserling, describing a 

 process for preserving tissues which he has 

 introduced, and with very encouraging re- 

 sults. The organ to be preserved is first 

 placed in a solution of the following compo- 

 sition ; Formalin, 750 c. cm.; distilled water, 

 1,000 c. cm.; nitrate of potash, 10 grammes; 

 acetate of potash, 30 grammes. The organ 

 is disposed in such a position as to preserve 

 its form as far as possible, and the fluid should 

 be large in proportion to the size of the speci- 

 men. This solution does not abstract any 

 color, but remains quite clear, and can be used 

 for a large number of specimens. An immer- 

 sion of twenty-four houi's in the fluid is sufiicient 

 for any tissue, but double this period will not 

 do any harm. The organ is then allowed to lie 

 for twelve hours in 80 per cent, alcohol and 

 then for two hours in 95 percent., and is subse- 

 quently preserved in equal parts of water and 

 glycerine, with the addition of thirty parts of 

 acetate of potash. Very delicate tissues, such 

 as intestine, are best kept in equal quantities of 

 glycerine and water after the addition of abso- 

 lute alcohol in the proportion of one part of al- 

 cohol to ten of the mixture. By this method 

 Dr. Kaiserling has succeeded in retaining the 

 natural color of blood and the transparency of 



