POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



141 



on injecting the solution into animals, that 

 its power was not altered. He found also 

 that the effect of the virus was subject to very 

 well denned limits, and that a quantity which 

 would kill an animal of a certain size was 

 much less powerful, or inert, upon larger 

 animals. If a large snake should bite a 

 goat of about fifty pounds' weight, and after- 

 ward two children of corresponding weight, 

 he might kill the goat, while the children 

 would survive, because not enough virus was 

 left after the goat was bitten seriously to 

 harm the children; then, if whisky were 

 given to the children, their recovery would be 

 attributed to it, while it really had nothing 

 to do with the matter. It is rare that an 

 adult person dies from the bite of a rattle- 

 snake. Whisky may, however, be regarded 

 as physiologically antidotal, in so far as it 

 will sustain the flagging powers while the 

 poison is being eliminated by the excretory 

 organs. 



The Teak-Tree.— Teak-wood is the most 

 important of the forest products of Siam. It 

 is used in immense quantities throughout 

 the East for house-building, and is largely 

 exported to China and Europe for ship-build- 

 ing purposes. It is said to be unsurpassed 

 for resisting the ravages of the white ants 

 and the effects of the weather. It grows in 

 the northern part of Siam and Burmah at a 

 height of 1,200 feet and more above the sea, 

 and reaches its greatest perfection in about 

 a hundred and twenty years; but a good- 

 sized tree that can be cut down when qual- 

 ity of wood is not an object, can be grown 

 in ten or fifteen years. The teak district is 

 from 100 to 150 miles wide. The forests 

 are in charge of the governors of the prov- 

 inces in which they are situated. They are 

 generally leased for a term of ten years, and 

 the lessee is obliged to fell and remove the 

 greatest number of logs possible, paying a 

 definite royalty to the governor. The trees 

 are girdled, and are left standing for two 

 years to allow the sap to run out and the 

 wood to become perfectly dry. The cutting 

 down takes place in the dry season, and the 

 logs are left until sufficient rain has fallen 

 to allow of their being dragged to the river 

 with the help of elephants. After the logs 

 are made up into rafts, they are delivered 

 to the raftsmen to convey to Bangkok ; when 



all is ready, the evil spirits of the river must 

 be propitiated, the cost of which is paid by 

 the owner of the timber. This custom re- 

 mains in force, despite the efforts of the 

 foreign and educated classes to stop it, and 

 should any one ignore it he would be unable 

 to procure raftsmen. 



Discovery by Observation.— The circum 

 stances attending an archaeological discovery 

 recently made in German Altenburg, on the 

 Danube, illustrate in the most striking man- 

 ner the value of intelligent observation. 

 Prof. Hauser was interested for a month in 

 watching the colors of an extensive corn- 

 field, which varied in every part. He found 

 an elevated post of observation, and, after a 

 week's close attention, declared it to be his 

 opinion that the corn was growing over 

 the site of an ancient amphitheatre. His 

 drawings showed that the oblong center- 

 piece was somewhat concave, and the corn 

 was quite ripe in that part, because there 

 was much soil between the surface and the 

 bottom of the theatre. Elliptical lines of 

 green, growing paler the higher they rose, 

 showed the seats, and lines forming a radius 

 from the center showed the walls supporting 

 the elliptical rows of seats. Excavations 

 were made as soon as the corn had been 

 harvested, which confirmed the professor's 

 theory in nearly every particular. At six 

 inches below the soil the top of the outer 

 wall was found, and from there the soil 

 gradually grew thicker until the bottom of 

 the arena was reached, the pavement of which 

 is in perfect condition. From the theatre a 

 paved road leads to the Camp of Carnuntum. 



The Buddhist Story of the Partridge.— 



Among the Buddhist stories which Mr. T. 

 W. Rhys Davids has made known to the 

 public is a legend of 400 b. c, pertinent to the 

 question of the standards of precedence. It 

 runs to the effect that a partridge, a monkey, 

 and an elephant, friends, dwelling near a great 

 banyan-tree, discussing which should be con- 

 sidered first, inquired which was the oldest 

 among them. The elephant, when asked 

 how far back he could remember, replied- 

 that when he was a little elephant he used 

 to walk over the banyan-tree, and its top- 

 most twig just grazed his belly. The mon- 

 key, when quite a little monkey, could gnaw 



