262 Scientific News. [March, 



in hammocks in the tops of trees. Dr. Crevaux, in the course of 

 his travels, met with geophagous, or earth-eating tribes. The clay, 

 which often serves for their food whole months, seems to be a 

 mixture of oxide of iron and some organic substances. They 

 have recourse to it more especially in times of scarcity ; but, 

 strange to say, there are eager gourmands for the substance, in- 

 dividuals in whom the depraved taste becomes so pronounced, 

 that they may be seen tearing pieces of ferruginous clay from 

 huts made of it, and putting them in their mouths. 



— Wasps are such an obstacle in the way of English fruit 

 growers that one of them, Mr. William Taylor, thinks it worth 

 while to pay three pence each for queens. And this season he 

 bought and destroyed no less than 1192; about 230 nests have 

 been annihilated within a mile of his premises, and still there is 

 enough left for seed. He declares that the price named is not 

 too high, " since it takes considerable skill to catch them," and 

 because of their enormous fecundity, of which he says in the 

 Cottage Gardener : " Understand that every wasp seen before the 

 middle of June is a queen, and liable to have a nest of 10,000 

 at least. I lately estimated the number of cells in a rather large 

 nest, and made out 9000 of them. A great many of the young 

 had flown, and fresh eggs were laid in their places, and I have 

 reason to believe that there is often more than one succession of 

 young insects from the same cells, therefore 10,000 is a compara- 

 tively small family." 



— It has been found by M. de Lacerda that permanganate of 

 potash is very efficacious as an antidote to the poison of snakes. 

 He experimented on dogs, injecting a one per cent, solution of 

 the substance into the cellular tissue or into the veins, after the 

 poison, and the usual effects of the latter were strikingly obviated. 

 In one series of experiments the poison was allowed time to take 

 some effect before the permanganate solution was injected, the 

 dogs showing dilatation of the pupil, respiratory and cardiac de- 

 rangements, muscular contractions, &c. Two or three minutes 

 after the antidote was given these troubles disappeared, aryd after 

 15 to 25 minutes of some measure of prostration, the animal 

 would be able to walk and even run about, and recover its normal 

 aspect. The same dose of poison, not counteracted, caused death, 

 more or less rapidly. 



—Mr. J. M. Swanks' Statistics of the Iron and Steel Productions 

 of the United States, 1 881, is issued by the Census Bureau, and 

 bears the marks of careful preparation. The historical sketch is 

 interesting reading. The statement is made that " we are to-day 

 the second iron-making and steel-making countrv in the world. 

 In a little while we shall surpass even Great Britain in the pro- 

 duction of steel of all kinds, as we have already surpassed her in 

 the production of Bessemer stee! and in the consumption of all iron 

 and steel products. The year 1882 will probably witness this con- 



