^cwntifit Jims 



FOR GENERAL READERS. 



Vol. I. — No. 15. {New Series.) 



APRIL 13th, iJ 



rWeekly, Price ! 

 L By Post. 3jd. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



Current Events 337 



Scientific Table Talk ... 338 



Measuring Deep Sea Currents (ilhis.) 339 



Structure and Purpose 340 



The Pyrenees seen from Marseilles 



(illus.) 341 



Minor Phenomena of the Electric Glow 



Lamp 342 



General Notes 343 



Economical Sphygmographs (illus.) ... 345 



New Method of Counting Air-germs... 345 

 Natural History : 



What is the Duckbill ? (illus.') ... 347 



A Village of Beavers ... ... 348 



Cunning of the Fox 348 



Miscellaneous Notes 348 



Acclimatisation. — II. ... 

 Showers of Blood 



Reviews . 



Tenants of an Old Farm... 



First Annual Report of the Agri- 

 cultural Adviser tothe Committee 

 of Council for Agriculture 



Transactions of the Institution of 

 Engineers and Shipbuilders in 

 Scotland... 



Journal of the Society of Tele- 

 graph Engineers and Electri- 

 cians 

 The Formation and Function of Sto- 



mates. — II. 



PAGE 



349 



350 



352 



Abstracts of Papers, Lectures, etc. : 



Royal Society of Edinburgh ... 354 



Royal Geographical Society ... 354 



Geological Society of London ... 354 

 South London Microscopical and 



Natural History Club 355 



Zoological Society ... ... 356 



Royal Horticultural Society ... 356 

 Modern Photographic Engraving and 



Printing. — II „ ... 357 



Recent Inventions 358 



Announcements ... ... ... 359 



Diary for Next Week 360 



Sales and Exchanges ... ... ... 360 



Selected Books 360 



CURRENT EVENTS. 



The Extinction of Infectious Diseases. — In his 

 little pamphlet, entitled •' National Strategy against 

 Infection," Mr. Rollo Russell aims at the suppression 

 and eventual extinction of the common infectious diseases, 

 and he points out that no subject is less fitly local, or 

 more completely national. It is highly probable that 

 preventable diseases, such as hydrophobia, small-pox, 

 scarlet fever, diphtheria, and typhoid, might, one and all, 

 be exterminated if the public were less ignorant and in- 

 different, and if thorough measures were taken for their 

 suppression. In Mr. Russell's opinion, we must have 

 recourse to a well-organised body of men of science and 

 practice to cope with those subtle hosts of misery and 

 destruction known as infectious diseases and fevers. For 

 this purpose he invokes State aid, and proposes a 

 " Ministry of Health," a large number of county Boards, 

 and 250 health officers, each aided by ten inspectors. 

 The health officers are to be men of high scientific attain- 

 ments, and as they are to be debarred from private 

 practice, they are each to receive the modest stipend of 

 ;^i,ooo a year, and the inspectors ;^iSo. 



It will thus be seen that the scheme of supervision and 

 enlightenment is conceived in no niggard spirit, and we 

 are far from saying that the money thus spent would 

 not be well spent. It is probable, indeed, that a great dimi- 

 nution in disease would follow, and Mr. Russell estimates 

 that, after paying all the expenses of the supervising staff, 

 there would be a saving to the nation of nearly two 

 millions per annum. In addition to this there would be 

 the inestimable benefit of reducing the severe privation, 

 suffering, and enfeeblement of this and succeeding 

 generations. The force of this cannot be denied, and 

 we fully appreciate Mr. Russell's good intentions ; but 



we cannot help feeling that it would be a mistake to have 

 a Government centre of organisation. There would soon 

 be the inevitable system of routine, and doubtless house- 

 holders would resent being under the peremptory orders 

 of Government officials. All are agreed that sanitary 

 reform is urgently needed in many directions, and that 

 it should be based on the best hygienic teaching of the 

 day. It will, however, be far better to encourage com- 

 petent local authorities to take their share of responsi- 

 bility, and to carry out such improved sanitary 

 administration as may be necessary. 



The Lighting of the Suez Canal. — It will be re. 

 membered that, contrary to the hopes and wishes of many 

 advocates of electricity, the Canal Company decided to 

 light the canal at night time by means of oil gas. Some 

 interesting particulars have recently been pubhshed of 

 the system adopted, and from these it appears that the 

 whole length of the canal, as well as the Channel in the 

 intervening lakes, are to be marked out by floating buoys 

 or standard beacons carrying lights. The buoys are to 

 be charged with compressed gas, in the same way as 

 those which have for some time been used for lighting 

 the roads of Port Said. The buoys are spherical, 

 about ten feet in diameter, and each one contains enough 

 compressed gas to serve a light continuously day and 

 night for two months. The standard beacons are served 

 from reservoirs of the same capacity as the buoys. The 

 system cannot be said to be ideal, seeing that gas is to bg 

 burnt at the same rate during the day as at night-time ; 

 it has, however, been ascertained that the cost of hghting 

 and extinguishing the lights daily would be much greater 

 than that of the gas consumed during the day-time. The 

 leading lights are to be white, while the channel lights 



