SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



125 



used for warmth would keep the cold out, or, more 

 correctly, the warmth of the body in. The 

 skin seems perfectly insensitive to the intense cold, 

 so that one might be quite frozen to death without 

 knowing it. This curious unconsciousness of the 

 nervous system to a stimulus of an unusual kind 

 can be easily paralleled in many other branches of 

 physics ; thus the extraordinary experiments of 

 M. Nicola Tesla some few years ago, in which he 

 passed a current of electricity of such intensity 

 through his body that a hundredth part would 

 in the usual way have been amply sufficient to 

 kill him. This was, however, of an unusual 

 kind, being what is known as a rapidly alter- 

 nating current ; that is to say, the direction of 

 the current changes many thousand times in a 

 second. To return to our freezing experiments. 

 M. Pictet had a pit which was maintained at this 

 extremely low temperature ; he lowered himself 

 into this, but naturally had an arrangement by 

 which he could be quickly pulled out if necessary. 

 After about four minutes he states that he ex- 

 perienced a most intense feeling of hunger, he then 

 came out, waited for some little time, and sub- 

 sequently repeated the treatment several times. 

 After each occasion he satisfied his hunger, without 

 experiencing any of the extremely unpleasant 

 results which had always followed before, as he 

 severely sufierfed from indigestion. It was only 

 after some little time and several freezings that he 

 felt himself to be cured of this unpleasant ailment, 

 but now he states that he feels a new man. It is 

 to be hoped that the medical profession in this 

 country will seriously consider these results and 

 see if many sufferers cannot be cured in this very 

 simple and pleasant manner. H H. F. Hyndman. 

 5, Denning Road, Hampstcad. 



UTILITY OF NAMES. 



T READ your article on the "Utility of English 

 Names" in the July Science-Gossip {ante 

 p. 41), with much interest and feelings of sympathy 

 with your protest against the unfortunate muddle 

 into which we are drifting with the scientific names 

 for our plants and animals. Nomenclature is 

 coming to such a pass, that it is useless any longer 

 to obtain the technical magazines devoted to 

 botany, entomology, or zoology generally ; for one 

 cannot follow the articles. They may be treating 

 of some rarity or possibly only a common thing, 

 for the identity is obscured by unfamiliar nomen- 

 clature. Even the reports of societies in Science- 

 Gossip have become nearly as useless, for it is 

 impossible to follow them for the same reason. I 

 feel sure other persons, like myself, who have for 

 many years taken an active interest in several 

 branches of Natural History, will, in consequence, 

 cease to take in the modern literature of the sub- 



jects. This is solely in consequence of what you 

 rightly describe as a chaos of names being intro- 

 duced, which render abortive the efforts of a life- 

 time to become acquainted with our plants and 

 animals. Like myself, there must be many persons 

 who could not, as you rightly point out, on account 

 of other occupations, continually re-learn the mul- 

 titude of changed names that appear in every new 

 book and magazine one picks up. 



I lately bought the last edition of the " London 

 Catalogue of British plants," and in this is sad 

 evidence of the misfortune of which we complain. 

 In it well-known specific names are changed and 

 genera classed under fresh orders. I looked for a 

 plant which is fast becoming so plentiful as to posi- 

 tively choke some of the ditches in the Thames 

 Valley, the well-known naturalised Impaticns fitlva. 

 To begin with, in the last "London Catalogue" there 

 is no order Balsaminaceae and no Impatiens fulva ; 

 but I find under the order Geraniaceae, /. biflora, 

 though there is nothing to indicate that it refers to 

 the familiar /. fulva. In the same order is 

 placed the genus Oxalis, which we had all learnt 

 to honour as possessing its own order, Oxalidaceae. 

 Further instances can be readily given of a like 

 character which renders this otherwise valuable 

 list almost useless. The same remarks apply to 

 other divisions of nature, until one becomes so 

 discouraged as to feel like cutting the whole thing ; 

 as there seems to be no finality to the worry. 



What I think is, that well-known and generally 

 accepted names of any plants or animals should be 

 continued until some recognized society or com- 

 mittee of European celebrity decides that the time 

 has come for the publication of a new standard Ust 

 of nomenclature of the subject. No such list 

 should be issued unless it is synonymic with the 

 alteration to be accepted, if any, in distinct type at 

 the top of the list of synonyms. 



If editors of scientific journals would make the 

 rule of adhering to these recognized lists, and 

 insisting on their contributors following them, or 

 at least placing the name there accepted in 

 brackets indicating any change from the list, 

 the readers would be able to take their wonted 

 interest in their pages, which pleasure is now 

 denied to them. I have no desire to become so 

 tenacious of my first-learned names as to deny the 

 claims of others, if sanctioned by priority and 

 more general agreement. What I do complain 

 of is the absence of finality in their use 

 by every irresponsible writer, who may, or may 

 not, be mistaken in his opinions on nomenclature. 

 Thus has arisen the chaotic muddle into which we 

 have drifted. It will do an immensity of harm by 

 disgusting many who might otherwise contribute 

 items of knowledge of more than passing interest. 

 S. Arthlk Sewell. 

 Primrcse Club. Park Place. St. James'. Lnidon. 



