June 5, 1S85.J 



SCIENCE 



465 



of eight drops of a fresh, virulent culture in the 

 region of the triceps brachialis produces a hot and 

 painful swelling, which hinders the movements of the 

 arm; following this comes a localized fever, which 

 soon disappears; three hours after the injection, this 

 phenomenon commences, continues about twenty- 

 four hours, and then all effects disappear completely. 

 If an injection of five-tenths of a cubic centimetre 

 be made in each arm, the local symptoms are inten- 

 sified, and general symptoms appear. These gen- 

 eral symptoms bear an undoubted resemblance to 

 true cholera; as, general coldness, rigors, lassitude, 

 cramps, vomiting, dull mind, cold and clammy 

 sweats, more frequent evacuations (but never reach- 

 ing the true diarrhoea of cholera). 



All of these symptoms are followed by a general 

 rise of temperature, reaching even 2.5° C. above nor- 

 mal. More frequently there are more or less accen- 

 tuated chilliness, general lassitude, dulness, desire to 

 vomit, and fever. All of these symptoms cease at the 

 end of from twenty-four to thirty-six hours, without 

 necessity for a recourse to therapeusis. Sometimes 

 they are more severe, and the blood from any part of 

 the body gives the same microscopic appearances as 

 in animals. 



If, six or eight days after the injection of five-tenths 

 of a cubic centimetre in each arm, the same dose, 

 and of the same virulence, be injected into the same 

 subject, the general symptoms do not occur, whilst 

 the local phenomena are much less severe. 



The writer draws these conclusions from his ex- 

 periments, and offers to reproduce his results before 

 the academy: 1°. " Cholerization is possible in 

 man, as in animals, by hypodermic injection." 2°. 

 "The prophylaxis of cholerization is obtained through 

 graduated doses, or attenuated virus." 



Dr. Ferran, no doubt to add weight to his paper, 

 gives the names of twenty-four physicians, five medi- 

 cal students, five other males, and five females, upon 

 whom he has experimented. 



These experiments are said to have been carried 

 on farther, but no proper report of them has as yet 

 reached ns Our criticism would be that the con- 

 clusion as to the efficiency of the inoculation against 

 cholera, granting that the true bacillus of cholera 

 was used, is an exceedingly hasty one, inasmuch as 

 the protected (?) persons had not yet been brought 

 in contact with the disease. 



HERAT'S IMPORTANCE. 1 



The reasons for the importance of Herat are of 

 three kinds, — geographical, ethnological, and his- 

 torical. 



With regard to Herat's geographical situation, it 

 will be seen at once that from Siberia to India, with 

 the exception of the oasis in the Zerafshan basin, 

 there is scarcely a point to be found which can bear 

 comparison with Herat in regard to fertility and 

 climatic advantages. Lying on the western and 



1 From an article by H. Vambery in the Oesterreichische 

 monaUschrift far den orient. 



northern spurs of the Paropamisus Range, which is 

 connected with the lower mountain range of Persia 

 by the ridge of Siah-Bebek, the district of Herat 

 is provided with an extraordinarily full river-system. 

 Water, the most important auxiliary of agriculture in 

 Asia, is therefore to be had in plenty; and the canals 

 leading from the numerous water-courses, can, in 

 consequence of the undulating surface of the district, 

 be turned to account for irrigation in a very effective 

 manner. Under the protection of political quiet, 

 and with moderate industry, Herat could easily be 

 turned into a garden; and that it frequently has 

 indeed been a fruitful garden, whose manifold pro- 

 ductions have awakened the envy of the neighboring 

 powers, we have the testimony of history. 



In regard to climate, Herat is equally favored. 

 While with two degrees north or south the heat be- 

 comes unbearable, Herat enjoys a surpassingly mild 

 climate, under whose influence the products of the 

 north and the south ripen in equal perfection, and 

 an agreeable habitation for mankind has always been 

 provided. 



It is no wonder, then, that the western district of 

 Herat, commonly called Baghiz, was, even in antiq- 

 uity, described by the geographers with enthusiasm. 

 Ibn Haukal, Mukadassi, Edrisi, and others call Ba- 

 ghiz the 'crown of Khorasan:' the author of the 

 geographical work 'Heft-Iklim' calls it a flower-gar- 

 den of enchantment, with a thousand vales of trees 

 and streams, — a camp-ground rich in grass and 

 water, peculiarly suitable for the resting-place of the 

 largest armies. 



Indeed, this fame extends back even to pre-Isla- 

 mitic times. Herat's wealth was proverbial; as wit- 

 ness the expression, "Khorasan is the mussel of the 

 world, and Herat is its pearl." 



As to the boundaries of this Baghiz, which to-day 

 figures as the cause of the quarrel between England 

 and Russia, they have been understood from the 

 earliest times to be, on the west the Hari-Rud, and 

 on the north the edge of the steppe, which, extend- 

 ing from Pul-i-Khisti to Shir-Tepe, marks the line 

 between the cultivated oasis and the bottomless 

 sand-desert. 



In passing now to the ethnical features of Herat, 

 it is to be noticed at the outset that it is exactly 

 the miscellaneous character of the population which 

 makes the work of conquest easy, and furnishes such 

 means of civilization as would be sought elsewhere 

 in vain. Among the million and a half inhabitants 

 of Herat and its surroundings, the autochthonous 

 Iranians hold the first place. For the most part, they 

 are dwellers in towns, and have at all times distin- 

 guished themselves by their industry, perseverance, 

 and special intellectual talent. It was they who 

 produced so many brilliant periods of the Moslem 

 culture; and the literary productions of the Herat 

 writers, as well as the monuments of Herat artists 

 and architects, are still subjects of admiration. 



The population of the outlying districts bears the 

 general name of Tshehar-Eimak, — i.e., four tribes, 

 — and traces its origin back to the times of the 

 Timurides. The former word is of Persian origin: 



