7H 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



phon made of cut stone pipes, and ended a 

 short distance thence in a large infiltration 

 gallery, the roof of which is arched over with 

 brick, supported by the natural sides of the 

 excavation formed of trap rock. This gal- 

 lery, which is 9,460 feet long, is twelve feet 

 below the bed of the river, and evidently ob- 

 tains its supply from subterranean stores from 

 the subsoil rock on its way to its natural 

 outlet, the river. The position of the gal- 

 lery has been chosen with great astuteness, 

 which shows that the engineer of Malik Um- 

 ber knew exactly what he was about. Be- 

 hind it stretch hills surrounded by table 

 land, having an area of twenty miles, with a 

 configuration that would argue that the col- 

 lecting area of the gallery must be at least 

 twelve square miles. The hills contract in 

 the direction of the river, till a semicircular 

 valley is formed bounded by the river Ur- 

 sool. The gallery has been so placed be- 

 tween the river and the hills as to form the 

 chord to the arc. The works are now dilapi- 

 dated, and do not furnish one third of the 

 supply of water for which they are calcu- 

 lated. 



Hygienic Value of the Bicycle. — The bi- 

 cycle is highly commended as a hygienic in- 

 strument in a paper by Dr. Seneca Egbert on 

 that vehicle " in its relation to the physician " 

 — the relation, according to the author, being 

 apparently one of keeping the doctor away. 

 " In the first place," he says, " as aff exercise 

 cycling is superior to most if not all others 

 at our command. It takes one into the out- 

 door air ; is entirely under control ; can be 

 made as gentle or as vigorous as one desires ; 

 is active and not passive ; takes the rider out 

 of himself and the thoughts and cares of his 

 daily work ; develops his will, his attention, 

 courage, and independence ; and makes pleas- 

 ant what is otherwise most irksome. More- 

 over, the exercise is well and equally distrib- 

 uted over almost the whole body, and, as 

 Parkes says, when all the muscles are exer- 

 cised no muscle is likely to be overexercised. 

 This general muscular exercise also has its 

 direct effect upon the other and vital organs 

 of the body, the heart, lungs, and digestive 

 organs especially ; and the improvement in 

 general health and digestion, after a few 

 weeks' riding, is by no means illusory or fleet- 

 ing. We all know that the trouble with 



many of our patients is purely functional, 

 and that their maladies have been brought 

 on by lack of pure air, too little exercise, 

 and too much mental worry over their work 

 or business. For these the bicycle furnishes 

 an agreeable remedy." It is thus recom- 

 mended specifically for venous or anaemic 

 dyspepsia, torpor of the liver and intestines ; 

 for tuberculous diathesis, incipient consump- 

 tion, nervous troubles, rheumatic disorders ; 

 and " is destined to be of great benefit to 

 women. It gets them out of doors, gives 

 them a form of exercise adapted to their 

 needs, neither too violent not too passive, one 

 very pleasant withal that they may enjoy in 

 company with others or alone, and one that 

 goes to the root of their nervous troubles." 

 A correct position in bicycling is important ; 

 it is the upright one, and not " a posture re- 

 sembling a half-opened jackknife," which 

 cramps the chest and interferes with the flow 

 of blood. Excess either in quantity or in- 

 tensity of bicycle work must be avoided. 



" Crocodile Tears." — The figure " croco- 

 dile tears " rests, it appears upon a real fact, 

 although the tears appertain more particu- 

 larly to the snake. According to the expla- 

 nation of the matter offered by Mr. E. H. 

 Burne, of the Royal College of Surgeons, the 

 eye of the snake is protected from dust, etc., 

 by the eyelids, which are transparent and 

 joined to each other so as to form a layer of 

 skin between the eye and the outer lid ; in 

 other words, the snake always goes about 

 with its eyelids shut. Thus the real occupa- 

 tion of the tears is gone, there being no dust 

 on the surface of the eye to be washed off. 

 Instead, however, of the tear-gland being re- 

 duced in size, it is exceptionally large; in 

 some snakes, indeed, in which the eyes are 

 reduced and practically functionless, the 

 gland is some two or three times larger than 

 the whole eye. This peculiar state of affairs 

 was explained by the discovery that the gland 

 had lost its connection with the eye, and 

 opened through the mediation of the tear- 

 canal directly into the mouth, thus doubt- 

 less, by means of its secretion, making the 

 descent of Avernus smooth and easy to any 

 unfortunate creature that this snake may 

 have taken a fancy to. This is possibly not 

 quite what was meant by the fable of the 

 crocodile's tears, but it affords a curious 



