Nov. 1 6, 1888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



511 



prepared are undoubtedly poisonous. Benzol has re- 

 peatedly proved fatal to all lower animals to which it 

 has been given. If the vapour is inhaled by man, it 

 gives rise to irritation of the brain, dizziness, ringing in 

 the ears, nausea, and drowsiness. Only one serious 

 case is on record, which, however, did not terminate 

 fatally. It is, however, very probable that the constant 

 or frequent breathing of this vapour must have a debili- 

 tating effect. 



Nitro-benzol, the intermediate step between benzol 

 and aniline, is more formidable. It produces difficulty 

 of breathing, dizziness, drowsiness, and convulsions, 

 death often occurring from general paralysis. Re- 

 markably enough, these symptoms sometimes do not set 

 in until;) twenty-four hours have elapsed. Forty-four 

 cases of acute poisoning in human subjects, due to con- 

 tact with this substance, have been observed, of which 

 fourteen proved fatal. 



Aniline itself is also a well-recognised poison, whether 

 in its pure state or as the " aniline oil " of commerce. 

 According to circumstances, it may produce either acute 

 or chronic poisoning. 



We shall, perhaps, call forth the scepticism of our 

 readers if we say that the pure salts of rosaniline, e.g., 

 magenta if only free from arsenic, as well as the deriva- 

 tives of rosaniline, such as aniline blue, violet, and green, 

 are harmless ! Such, however, is indisputably the case. 

 The men employed in the magenta-house have good 

 health, and on frequent and careful examination they 

 have been found free from those affections which ma- 

 genta was suspected to bring on. It has also been 

 administered to animals, and medical men have 

 experimented on themselves, but without result. Dr. 

 Grandhomme considers that the irritation of the skin 

 occasioned by wearing stockings dyed with magenta has 

 been due to the presence of arsenic. 



The manufacture of the lovely colours, eosine and 

 erythrosine, seems injurious. Though these colours, 

 when administered to animals, produce no symptoms of 

 disease, yet the health of the workmen in the eosine- 

 house was not satisfactory. Of the seventeen persons 

 employed in this department, sixteen were annually on 

 the sick-list for a longer or shorter time. A curious 

 effect produced is violent perspiration of the hands, 

 sweat rolling down in drops from the tips of the fingers. 

 Upon the whole, however, it may be considered that 

 the manufacture and use of the coal-tar colours are not 

 specially dangerous employments. But from all this it 

 does not follow that such colours, even non-arsenical, 

 can be safely worn in immediate contact with the skin. 

 Certainly many stories of " blood-poisoning " (!) from 

 the use of garments dyed with aniline colours are merely 

 ca?iards. Sometimes, on rigid scrutiny, both the alleged 

 victim and his or her medical adviser are found to be 

 non-existent. Sometimes the cause of the mischief is said 

 to be some colour which is not in the market at all. Still 

 we should recommend our readers, as far as may be pos- 

 sible, to eschew the present rage for dyed under-clothing. 

 We have thus briefly surveyed the manufactures 

 most dangerous to public health. There are not a few 

 others, less important, which space does not allow us to 

 take into consideration. 



Italian Exhibition. — This exhibition closed on Wednes- 

 day, Oct. 31st. The exhibition has proved so attractive that it is 

 in contemplation to present a further display of the arts and 

 industries of Italy next year. 



Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania,, 

 for 1887. Hobart : Mercury Office. 



Among the more noteworthy papers in this volume 

 is one by R. M. Johnston, F.L.S., raising the question 

 " How far can the general death-rate for all ages be 

 relied on as a comparative index of the health or the 

 sanitary condition of any community ? " He concluded 

 that while the total death-rate for all ages may be used 

 locally as a fairly trustworthy index of the health and the 

 sanitary condition of any given place from year to year, 

 it is a most fallacious index as regards the comparative 

 health and sanitary condition of different localities. 



Mr. W. Saville Kent, F.L.S., discusses the acclimatiza- 

 tion in Tasmanian waters of the true salmon (Salma 

 salar), and an epidemic said to have occurred at the 

 fish-breeding institution at Plenty. The disease in 

 question is one too well known in England and Scotland, 

 and is due to the parasitic fungus, Saprolegnia ferox. 

 For this disease, temporary immersion in sea-water is 

 recommended. Hard waters, caustic alkalies, and other 

 chemical agents seem to favour the spread of the disease. 

 Perhaps it would be well if waters which have been 

 used in washing sheep were kept out of the rivers. 



There are a fair number of botanical and zoological 

 papers, but as these consist for the most part of the 

 description of species, they are not well suited for notice 

 in our columns. We may here except certain papers by 

 Colonel W. V. Legge, F.Z.S., namely, " A First List of the 

 Birds of Maria Island," the "Highlands of Lake St. 

 Clair," and the " Breeding of some Sea-birds on the- 

 Actaeon and Adjacent Islands." 



Primary Methods in Zoology Teaching, for Teachers in 

 Common Schools. By W. P. Manton, M.D. Boston 1 

 Lee and Shepard. 

 The reader who is sanguine enough to hope that this 

 "jumble of comparative anatomy and physiology," to 

 use the author's candid phrase, will qualify him to teach 

 the subject, is doomed to disappointment. A book so 

 slight and hasty is insufficient even to guide the first 

 steps of the learner — it is a mere extempore effusion of 

 amateurish notions. The excellent manuals of Huxley, 

 Parker, and Morse show a better way to that knowledge 

 which must be possessed by every teacher ot zoology 

 who would not be a humbug. We are sorry to say that 

 we can find no merit or usefulness in Dr. Manton's little 

 book. The illustrations, which are " purposely crude," 

 are also ill-selected and ill-drawn. 



Star Atlas, containing Maps of all the Stars from 1 to 6" 5 

 Magnitude between the North Pole and 34 South 

 Declination, and of all Nebula? and Star Clusters in 

 the same region which are visible in telescopes of 

 moderate power. With explanatory text by Dr. 

 Hermann J. Klein. Translated and adapted for 

 English readers by Edmund McClure, M.A.,_ 

 M.R.I. A. London: Society for Promoting Christian 

 Knowledge. Price 7s. 6d. 

 This atlas contains eighteen maps, printed by E. A» 

 Funke, of Leipsic. The first twelve are beautifully clear 

 and exquisitely engraved star charts. The remaining six 

 maps contain a reproduction of the Brothers Henry's 

 photograph of the star cluster of the Pleiades, and various 

 other nebulae and star clusters, all marvels of typo- 

 graphy. There is also a well-written introduction con- 



