768 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tion to the error, Mr. F. M. King, of White- 

 stone, L. I., who has been on the spot and 

 knows the two animals, points out a few of 

 their characteristic differences. The sea- 

 otter is rarely seen on land, but eats, sleeps, 

 and is said even to bring forth it3 young in 

 the water. It is provided with a tail, has 

 legs with webbed feet, and handles its food 

 with its fore-paws, and is in fact an otter. 

 The fur-seal breeds on shore, and is cap- 

 tured mostly out of the water. It has nei- 

 ther legs nor paws, but flippers like all the 

 other seals. 



The death of the great German anato- 

 mist, Max Schultze, is announced. He was 

 in the prime of life, and had just experi- 

 enced the satisfaction of seeing his labora- 

 tory at Bonn — the amplest and most ele- 

 gantly-constructed in Europe — finished, un- 

 der his direct supervision. His death is a 

 great loss to biological science. 



A writer in the American Naturalist 

 suggests that one of the most important 

 uses to which the Yellowstone National 

 Park can be put- is, " the preservation from 

 extinction of at least the characteristic 

 mammals and birds of the West, as far as 

 they can be domiciled in this section." 



A German engineer proposes to combine 

 hard ingots, or blocks of steel, in the pro- 

 cess of casting, with laminae of soft steel or 

 wrought-iron, in such a manner that the 

 latter, in undergoing the rolling process, 

 may assume an internal position, thus com- 

 bining a certain amount of elasticity, duc- 

 tility, and toughness, in the interior, with a 

 hard exterior to withstand wear and abra- 

 sion. 



A cemetery is now being searched at 

 Luzarches, in the vicinity of Paris, where 

 articles of the times of polished stone have 

 been found. Hatchets, knives, scissors, 

 arrow-points, and delicately-worked blades, 

 made of flint, have been discovered ; also 

 awls of bone from various animals ; and, on 

 the remains of a female skeleton, a kind of 

 medallion with two holes was seen, which 

 probably formed part of a necklace. Sev- 

 eral skulls have been examined by Dr. 

 Broca, who will communicate the results of 

 his investigations to the Anthropological 

 Society of Paris. 



It is stated that, at the recent Scientific 

 Congress at Rome, two Neapolitan physi- 

 cians submitted to the meeting a liquid 

 preparation for stopping instantaneously 

 the flow of blood from wounds of every 

 description. A commission of physicians 

 have performed experiments with it in one 

 of the Roman hospitals, and have reported 

 on it as one of the happiest of recent dis- 

 coveries, and as particularly serviceable on 

 the field of battle. 



A curious addition was lately made to 

 the aquarium of the Paris Jardin d'Accli- 

 matation, viz., a polyp of the Medusa kind. 

 The day after its admission to the compart- 

 ment assigned to it, all the other animals in 

 the same tank were found to be dead. An 

 analysis of the water showed the reason of 

 this strange mortality — the polyp had 

 changed the water to vinegar. The so- 

 called vinegar-polyp has the power of pro- 

 ducing in itself alcohol, which is soon trans- 

 formed into vinegar ; this, however grateful 

 it may be to the polyp that produces it, is 

 fatal to other aquatic creatures. The poi- 

 sonous Medusa was at once removed from 

 the basin and put in a tank by itself, where 

 it will be permitted to carry on its cheap 

 vinegar-manufacture as iong as it pleases. 



An exhibition of appliances adapted to 

 economize fuel is to be held in Manchester, 

 England. The exhibition will comprise : 1. 

 Appliances which may be adapted to exist- 

 ing furnaces, etc., whereby an actual saving 

 is effected in the consumption of fuel. 2. 

 Appliances which may be adapted to exist- 

 ing furnaces, etc., whereby waste heat is 

 utilized. 3. New steam-generators and fur- 

 naces, boilers and engines, specially adapt- 

 ed for saving fuel, and appliances whereby 

 waste products are utilized, the radiation 

 of heat prevented, etc. A variety of simi- 

 lar apparatus for manufacturing, agricul- 

 tural, and domestic purposes, will also be 

 exhibited. The exhibition promises to be 

 interesting and instructive. 



An institution of novel character was 

 recently founded in France. The Villa 

 Emilia, at Meudon, half-way between Paris 

 and Versailles, was thrown open on January 

 1st, to explorers of any nationality, to young 

 men who propose making scientific voy- 

 ages, and to all who wish and are able to 

 encourage them. The expenses of the in- 

 stitution are to be defrayed by an associa- 

 tion. The property already embraces instru- 

 ments and laboratories, scientific books, etc. 

 Free courses and lessons will be given, and 

 travelers may leave their collections there, 

 to be kept till their return. Gifts of money 

 will be made to those who may serve the so- 

 ciety in certain specified ways. The associa- 

 tion, " Cercle des Explorateurs," as it is 

 called, will have its Gazette, giving news of 

 explorers, and there will be two meetings, in 

 spring and fall. Those wishing to join the 

 society are desired to communicate with its 

 originator, M. Mehedin, Meudon, Seine et- 

 Oise. 



Dr. Ferrier has received a grant from 

 the Royal Society, for the purpose of en- 

 abling him to pursue his investigations on 

 the brains of monkeys, etc. The results of 

 his researches will, in due time, be em- 

 bodied in a paper which will be read before 

 that society. 



