October 26, 1888.] 



SCIENCE. 



199 



no doubt be greatly increased within a short time. Whatever our 

 opinion of the political institutions of Russia may be, in Central 

 Asia they prove themselves able and energetic civilizers, and their 

 influence upon the vast extent of country east of the Caspian Sea 

 has been highly beneficent. 



Mining Industries of New Zealand. — The report on the 

 mining industries of New Zealand for the year 1887, which has 

 recently been issued, shows the great importance of these industries 

 to the colony. There are nearly 12,000 persons engaged in gold- 

 mining, the average annual earnings of miners being S325, and the 

 value of the gold exported being somewhat less than $4,000,000. 

 About 1,500 persons were engaged in coal-mining, their average 

 earnings being S540. While the value of gold-production has been 

 decreasing continually ever since 1866, when it was more than St4,- 

 000,000, the amount of coal has steadily increased, being at present 

 over half a million tons, of which only a small portion is exported. 

 The total value of mineral exports other than gold has made rapid 

 progress during the past ten years, being more than $2,000,000 in 

 value, as compared to §750,000 in 1878. Of special interest is the 

 production of kauri-gum, on which the mining department reports, 

 although it is a vegetable product. This product is the resinous 

 exudation of the kauri-pine {Dammara Austrab's). It is found in 

 deposits which extend more or less over the northern portion of the 

 Auckland Provincial District, in forests, and more extensively in 



advertised as "not a rum drink," contains 13.2 per cent of alcohol. 

 Another, admitted to contain Marsala wine, contains as much 

 alcohol as that wine. A coca beef tonic, advertised as made " with 

 sherry," contains 23.2 per cent of alcohol, while sherry contains 

 but 18 or 20 per cent. Parker's tonic, claimed to be a purely vege- 

 table extract, " stimulus to the body without intoxicating," contains 

 41.6 per cent of alcohol. Whiskey and brandy contain but 50 per 

 cent of alcohol. The advertisement of this tonic says, " Inebriates 

 struggling to reform will find its tonic and sustaining influence on 

 the nervous system a great help to their efforts." Schenck's sea- 

 weed tonic, said to be distilled from seaweed, and to be perfectly 

 harmless, contains 19.5 per cent of alcohol ; Baker's stomach bit- 

 ters, 42.6 per cent ; Hoofland's German bitters, advertised to be 

 purely vegetable, and free from alcoholic stimulant, 26.5 per cent; 

 and Hosteller's stomach bitters, 44.3 per cent. Kaufmann's sul- 

 phur bitters contains no sulphur, and is advertised to contain no 

 alcohol, but was found by Dr. Davenport to contain 20.5 per cent. 

 Richardson's concentrated sherry-wine bitters contains 47.5 per 

 cent, 2.5 less than whiskey and brandy. Walker's vinegar bitters 

 contains 6.1 per cent; and Copp's White Mountain bitters, about 

 the same quantity. 



Cheese-Poisoning. — From the Sanitary htspeclor vie. learn 

 that already this season there have been reported many cases of 

 cheese-poisoning, particularly in Ohio. The State Board of Health 



SARAFSHAN. 



open country. The latter is evidently the site of ancient forests, of 

 which, except the valuable gum, not a vestige remains. The ex- 

 tensive use of the gum as a varnish in America and Europe has for 

 many years led to a large export trade. The value of the export 

 in 1887 was ,£362,449 (about $1,750,000), or equal to nearly one- 

 half the value of the gold export of the colony for the same year. 

 The search for the gum is engaged in by both Europeans and 

 Maoris ; and at certain seasons of the year as many as ten 

 thousand persons are engaged in connection with this industry. 

 The gum-digger's outfit consists of a steel-tipped prod, a spade, 

 and a bag, and, although he cannot indulge in the dreams of sud- 

 den wealth which fascinate the gold-seeker, he is sure, at least, of 

 always averaging fair wages. Since the commencement of this in- 

 dustry in 1S53, the quantity exported to March 31, 18S8, represents 

 a value of more than $22,000,000. 



HEALTH MATTERS. 



Tonics and Bitters. — In a former number of Science we 

 called attention to the excellent work done by Dr. B. F. Davenport, 

 chemist to the State Board of Health of Massachusetts, in the ex- 

 amination of foods and drugs. Recently he has been analyzing the 

 tonics and bitters with which the market is flooded. The number 

 of these which have been examined by him is forty-seven. Of this 

 number, forty-six contain alcohol, in quantity varying from 6 to 47.5 

 per cent, 21.5 per cent being the average. One of the tonics. 



of that State was, within a short time, notified of many cases, dis- 

 tributed as follows : at Urbana, sixty-five cases ; Mansfield, fifty ; 

 West Liberty, thirty-five ; Mutual, fourteen ; Marion, fifty. The 

 symptoms were vomiting, accompanied with much pain in the 

 stomach, and, in many cases, violent purging. The sickness usually 

 lasted from twelve to forty-eight hours, and great prostration was 

 a marked feature, with syncope in some cases. No deaths occurred. 

 Tyrotoxicon is suspected. 



The Typhoid-Bacillus. — Dr. C. Seitz, after a careful study 

 of the relation of Eberth's bacillus to typhoid-fever, comes to the 

 following conclusions : i. Typhoid-fever is produced by the im- 

 migration of the typhoid-bacillus. The specific bacillus is found 

 exclusively and is present without exception in typhoid-fever. In- 

 asmuch as typhoid-fever is an exclusively human disease, the nega- 

 tive experiments on animals should not be brought in opposition to 

 theinfluenceof the bacillus as the cause of the fever. 2. The bacillus 

 finds in the intestinal canal qf man the conditions for its- multipli- 

 cation, and from there, without penetrating deeply into the tissues, 

 can endanger the organism with its virulent chemical products. 3. 

 The bacillus leaves the intestinal canal (rarely the vie urinarie) of 

 the typhoid patient in a condition capable of infecting. 4. On 

 account of its essential biological qualities, it can retain its vitality 

 a long while in the earth (here the saprophytic, or common putre- 

 factive bacteria, impede its multiplication). 5. In water it can live 

 at least a week ; in ice, much longer. 6. In milk it can undergo a 

 notable multiplication. 7. The principal means by which the 



