THE WEST AMEEICAN SCIENTIST. 67 



OUR IGNORANCE OF MEXICO. 



Although geographically near, and having been in commercial relations with the 

 rest of the world for over three hundred and fifty years, there is probably less 

 known to-day about Mexico than of almost any other country claiming to be civil- 

 ized; certainly not as much as concerning Egypt, Pales line or the leading States of 

 British India; and not any more than concerning the outlying provinces of Turkey, 

 the states of Northern Africa, or the seaport districts of China and Japan. It is 

 doubtful furthermore, if as larg3 a proportion as one in a thousand of the fairly ed- 

 ucated men of the United States or of Europe could at once, and without reference 

 to an encyclopsedia, locate and name the twenty-seven states or politi al divisions 

 into which the Republic of Mexico is divide I, or so many of its towns and cities as 

 have a population in exc ;!es of fifteen or twenty thou:?and. The explanation of this 

 is that, prior to the construction and opening of the Mexican 'Central' and Mex- 

 ican ' National ' railroads, or virtually prior to the year 1883, the exploration of 

 Mexico — owing to the almost total absence of roads and of comfortable hospicia 

 ■(inns) for man and beast, the utter insecurity for life and property, the intervent'on 

 of vast sterile and waterless tracts, and the inhospitality and almost savagery of no 

 small proportion of its people — was so difficult and dangerous that exploration has 

 rarely been attempted; and those who have attempted it have greatly imperilled 

 their lives, to say nothing of their health and property. Mexico, furthermore, is 

 not fully known to the Mexicans themselves. Thus, a large part of the country on 

 the Pac-fic coast has scarcely been penetrated outside of the roads or * trails ' which 

 lead from the seaports to the interior. There are hundreds of square miles in 

 South arn Mexico, especially in the states of Michoacan and Guerrero, and also in 

 Sonora, that have never been explored; and whole tribes of Indians that have never 

 been brought in contact with the white man, and repel all attempts at visitation or 

 government supervision. — [Hon. David A. Wells, in Popular Science Monthly. 



I For the West American Scientist. ] 



LANOLIN. 



Apropos to your recent note upon the remarkable solubility of wool in alkaine 

 solutions, it may interest some of your readers to learn that wool contains a most 

 valuable fat also, which is now being saved and utilized for therapeutic purposes. It 

 is composed of the ethers of fatty acids and is called "Lanolin." 



Liebrich has shown that it is not merely a secretion from the sebaceous glands, 

 but is a component part of all keratin tissues, such as hair, whalebone, feathers, etc. 

 Ordinary wool contains about forty -five per cent, by weight of lanolin, while un- 

 washed merino wool is said to yield sixty per cent. 



As a menstruum, or base, for various ointments, it will be greatly appreciated 

 by physicians and others, for the reason that never becoming rancid it does not irri- 

 tate the skin; medicines are more readily absorbed when combined with it; and it 

 can be supplied almost as cheaply as lard. A Rfader. 



