6i6 



SCIENTIFIC NEAVS. 



[June 29, 18 



as tests of the purity or of the uniformity of composition 

 of dissolved substances. 



The " minimum point " varies with : — ist, the chemi- 

 cal composition of the liquid; 2nd, the kind of positive 

 metal ; 3rd, to a less degree with the kind of negative 

 metal ; 4th, the temperature at the surface of the positive 

 metal and at that of the negative one ; and, 5th, with the 

 kind of galvanometer employed. 



The order of the degree of sensitiveness is manifestly 

 related to that of the degree of free chemical energy of 

 the liquid, also to the atomic and molecular weights of 

 the dissolved substances, and to the ordinary chemical 

 groups of halogens. The greater the degree of free 

 chemical energy of the dissolved substance, and the 

 greater its action upon the positive metal, the smaller 

 the proportion of it required to change the potential. 



As the " minimum point " of a chemically active sub- 

 stance dissolved in water isusuallymuch altered by adding 

 almost any soluble substance to the mixture, measure- 

 ments of that point in a number of liquids at a given 

 temperature with the same voltaic pair and galvano- 

 meter will probably throw some light upon the degree 

 of chemical freedom of substances dissolved in water. 



EDINBURGH BOTANICAL SOCIETY. 

 At the monthly meeting held on the 13th inst.. Dr. Craig 

 presiding, an obituary notice of the late Professor De 

 Bary was contributed by Professor Bayley-Balfour, who 

 spoke of the abundance and extraordinary richness of 

 De Bary's botanical work, and his great services to 

 biology, mentioning specially his work on the compara- 

 tive morphology and biology of the fungi. Mr. R. 

 Lindsay read a paper on dimorphism in the leaves of 

 New Zealand veronicas, pointing out some remarkable 

 instances that had come under his observation. The 

 Secretary read a paper by Mr. W. E. Fothergill on the 

 leaves of climbing plants; and Mr. P. Sewell made a 

 contribution on similar modifications in the characters of 

 different plants. The report of Mr. R. Lindsay, curator, 

 on the progress of open-air vegetation at the Royal 

 Botanic Garden stated that the month of May had been 

 in general dry and cold, with easterly wind. The ther- 

 mometer was six times at or below the freezing-point, 

 indicating collectively 5 degrees of frost, as against 12 

 degrees in the corresponding month last year. The 

 foliage of most of the ordinary forest and ornamental 

 trees and shrubs came rapidly forward, and notwith- 

 standing the backward kind of weather experienced, 

 fine luxuriant leaves had been developed. Those which 

 had already flowered — such as horse-chestnut, lilac, 

 azaleas of all sorts, magnolias, and the various species of 

 pyrus and prunuE — were considerably above the average 

 in this respect. The profuse manner in which the many 

 varieties of holly had flowered was very rerharkable. 

 Herbaceous plants were generally late in flowering, but 

 promised to be finer later on. The rock-garden was very 

 attractive during the month, from the large number of 

 plants in blossom. During May, 367 species and 

 varieties came into flower, while a large proportion 

 of those which began to flower during the previous 

 month were still in good condition. 



Pheasants' Nest in a Fir Tree. — Mr. Digby Owen, 

 writing in the Field, mentions that a hen pheasant was 

 found sitting on her eggs in the deserted nest of a wood 

 pigeon, at the height of 5c feet from the ground. 



THE SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE 

 BABYLONIANS. 



Abstract of a Course of Lectures delivered by Mr. 

 G, Bertin, M R.A.S., at the British Museum. 

 Second Lecture — Social Organisation. 



BABYLONIAN monarchy was what may be called a 

 limited despotism, for the king, though having full 

 power over the life and property of his subjects, had to 

 take into account the established laws, the recognised 

 rights of the citizens, and, to an extent greater than is 

 generally thought, the opinion of the priests, the scribes, 

 the administrators of the laws, and lastly of the mass of 

 the people. For instance, the capture of Babylon, by 

 Cyrus's general, who entered it without fighting, was 

 due to the general dissatisfaction on account of the king, 

 Nabonidus, having neglected his duties. There was no 

 aristocracy, in our modern sense of the word ; the two 

 principal races, Akkadian and Semitic, had been so well 

 amalgamated that they formed an united nation, and 

 Akkadians and Semites were on an equal footing before 

 the laws. If the king occasionally granted certain 

 privileges to private persons, it was only for special 

 services rendered to the State ; and as these privileges 

 were not hereditary, an aristocracy was never created. 



From the point of view of wealth and influence, the 

 Babylonian society may, however, be divided into four 

 classes. These classes did not form castes as in India, 

 and a man successful in life could pass from one class to 

 another ; we have even examples of people of the lowest 

 rank of society rising by their own capacities to the 

 highest post in the State. The first class of this division 

 comprised the members of the royal family, the governors 

 of provinces and towns, the high civil and military officers, 

 the magistrates, the large land owners and the great 

 merchants. The members of this higher class had no 

 idle life, as happens frequently in modern Europe : all 

 the civil officers had to render an exact account of their 

 conduct, and by numerous reports keep the king or the 

 central power well acquainted with everything going on 

 in the provinces or in Babylon itself The magistrates 

 had to sit every day in their tribunal to read the state- 

 ments brought to them, hear the witnesses, and give 

 their judgments. The large land owners, and the great 

 merchants did not despise their calling, but both super- 

 intended their respective occupations, the former visiting 

 their farmers and entering into direct contracts with 

 them, the latter carrying on an active correspondence with 

 their agents abroad, as well as attending to their business 

 at home. 



The priests and the scribes might be included in this 

 higher class, on account of the great influence they exer- 

 cised, but this influence was entirely moral : the priests 

 had to perform the religious ceremonies considered 

 indispensable to the safety of the State ; the scribes were 

 the depositors of all the knowledge and science of the 

 past, and to them the king had often to refer. 



The civil officers of lower grade, and the smaller land 

 owners formed the second class, in which were also 

 included : the merchants of smaller fortune ; the bankers, 

 who generally were also money lenders ; the slave 

 owners, making a profession of letting out the the slaves 

 and dealing in them ; the artists, poets, and architects, 

 forming a class which must have been numerous, judging 

 from the remains found in Babylonia; and lastly, the 

 magicians, who used to answer to our medical men or 

 the medicine men of the Red Indians. The magician^ 



