May 20, 1887.] 



SCIENCE. 



481 



Professor Jastrow gave quite a number of in- 

 stances to prove the existence of this phenomenon. 

 He also suggested, that, with the aid of the 

 ikonomatic method, certain phases of the poly- 

 phonic character of the cuneiform signs — accord- 

 ing to wliich the sign hn, for example, could also 

 be read pn; the sign ag, also dk and ak ; and 

 many more similarly — could be more satisfac- 

 torily accounted for than by assuming, as has 

 hitherto been done, that such an interchange of 

 consonants is purely arbitrar\^. Professor Jastrow, 

 in conclusion, dwelt upon the bearings which all 

 this had on the question as to the origin of the 

 cuneiform writing. 



After a discussion on this paper by Professors 

 Lyon, Ward, and Toy, the last named read an in- 

 teresting paper on the famous Lokman, the Aesop 

 of the Arabs. After presenting the various theo- 

 ries that have been brought forward about this 

 very mysterious personage. Professor Toy de- 

 veloped a new one, which may perhaps be best 

 described as the legendary hypothesis with some 

 historical basis. 



Dr. Richard Gottheil of Columbia college fol- 

 lowed with a learned disquisition on Baheira, and 

 presented a careful copy of one of the Baheira 

 legends in Syriac, which he had made from a 

 Berlin manuscript. Besides this. Dr. Goltheil 

 gave descriptions of two Syriac manuscripts now 

 in New York. Papers were also presented by 

 Professor Avery, Rev. Jos. Chandler, Dr. Jack- 

 son of Columbia college, and three by Profes- 

 sor Hopkins of Bryn Mawr college, which were 

 only read in abstract by Professor Lanman. Dr. 

 Selah Merrill, late U.S. consul to Jerusalem, made 

 some remarks on the discovery of the second wall 

 of Jerusalem and the bearings this discovery had 

 upon determining the site of the holy sepulchre. 



Before adjourning, the society elected the fol- 

 lowing ofificers for the ensuing year : president, 

 Prof. W. D. Whitney ; vice-presidents. Professors 

 Peabody and Saulsbury and Dr. Ward ; recording 

 secretary. Prof. D. G. Lyon ; corresponding secre- 

 tary, Pi'of. C. R. Lanman ; executive committee, 

 Professors Thayer and Hopkins, President Gilman 

 of Johns Hopkins, Dr. Hall, and Mr. Cothiel. A 

 number of new members were elected, and it was 

 decided to hold the next meeting in October, at 

 either New Haven or Baltimore. 



HEALTH MATTERS. 



A EAEE DISEASE. — The ship Albana recently 

 arrived in New York from Manila. Of her crew 

 of nineteen, seventeen became ill on the voyage, 

 four of whom died. Five of the patients were 



removed to the Long Island college hospital, 

 where the diagnosis of beri-beri has been made. 

 This disease has already been referred to in 

 Science as a rare one, not occurring in this lati- 

 tude except when imported from Japan, India, or 

 other countries. It begins with fever, and pain 

 in the loins and extremities ; these are soon fol- 

 lowed by paralysis of the lower then of the upper 

 extremities, and sometimes extend to the mus- 

 cles of the trunk, particularly those of respiration. 

 The disease is in reality a multiple neuritis, in- 

 volving especially the spinal nerves. The prog- 

 nosis is usually considered grave, though the 

 statistics of the Japanese navy would indicate 

 that the mortality is not so great as is generally 

 supi^osed. The cases that recover require consid- 

 erable time, howev er, for the regeneration of the 

 affected nerves. The medical director-general of 

 the Japanese imperial navy has just published a 

 report on this disease as it occurs in that branch 

 of tlie service. In 1878 there were 1,485 cases, 

 with 32 deaths; in 1879, 1,978 cases, with 57 

 deaths ; during 1885 there were biit 9 cases ; and 

 in 1886, only 3 cases, none of them being fatal. 

 This remarkable result is attributed by the direct- 

 or to the improvement in the food furnished to 

 the sailors. The tew who contracted the disease 

 in recent years had not had the benefit of the im- 

 proved food. 



Small-pox hospitals. — One of the important 

 subjects connected with sanitary administration 

 is the location of small-pox hospitals in towns and 

 cities. For the sake of the patients who are re- 

 moved to these institutions, it is very essential 

 that the distance which they are transported 

 should be as little as possible ; while, on the other 

 hand, for the protection of the public, such hos- 

 pitals should be situated so far froui the inhabited 

 portions of the town as not to be a factor in the 

 spread of the disease. Mr. W. H. Power, a med- 

 ical inspector of the English local government 

 board, has given especial attention to this subject, 

 and the evidence accumulated by him seems to 

 indicate that a small- pox hospital in a town causes 

 a greater incidence of small-pox in the vicinity. 

 Within an area contained by a circle described 

 three-quarters of a mile from the West Ham 

 small-pox hospital, the death-rate from this 

 disease was never less than twice, and sometimes 

 even ten times, greater than the general rate ; the 

 number of cases showing a progressive decrease 

 as the distance from the hospital increased. Mr. 

 Power has studied the theories that the wind was 

 a factor in this increase of cases near the hospital, 

 and that the nurses and others were the channel 

 of communication, but has found them madequate 

 to explain all the facts. 



