420 



SCIENCE, 



[Vol. VI., No. 145. 



trichinae, or some other form of parasite, was at 

 first suspected, the microscope gave no clew to the 

 cause of the sickness. Chemical search for the 

 ordinary mineral and vegetable poisons was also 

 fruitless, but further examination left no doubt in 

 the mind of the investigators that ptomaines were 

 responsible for the trouble. Ptomaines derive their 

 name from ptoma (' a corpse'), and were so called 

 because first discovered in a corpse. Selmi, 

 in 1870, while examining the body of a man 

 who was supposed to have been poisoned, 

 found an alkaloid totally unlike any which 

 had been described. Gautier and others, work- 

 ing on the same problem, have demonstrated 

 that, duruig putrefaction, certain substances are 

 formed, variously described as * ptomaines ' and 

 ' cadaveric alkaloids,' which are peculiar in them- 

 selves, and which have poisonous properties. It 

 is probable that the dried beef purchased in. 

 Momence had previously begun to putrefy, and 

 these poisonous substances were formed. The fact 

 that several of those affected noticed a bitter 

 taste to the meat would confirm this opinion. 

 It is a fact wliich has not received the attention 

 it deserves, that in many of the reputed cases of 

 poisoning from dietary articles, disagreeable, pe- 

 culiar, or bitter tastes are often noticed by the 

 patients, and that those who are wise enough to 

 take the hint which nature thus gives them, and at 

 once refuse to partake further of the article in 

 question, usually escape ; while the others, who 

 neglect this warning, suffer. This has been noticed 

 in poisoning by canned tomatoes and apples, as 

 well as by meat. 



The recent studies upon the movements of 

 anadromous fishes in our Atlantic rivers and 

 estuaries, the results of wliich are in part an- 

 nounced in another column, are of considerable 

 moment from several points of view. Much has 

 already been written in a theoretical way concern- 

 ing the influence of temperature upon the migra- 

 tions of fishes, upon their times of spawning, the 

 period of hatching, and their rates of growth. The 

 literature of the subject has not, however, been 

 entirely satisfactory, since a definite correlation of 

 observed fact with explanatory hypothesis has 

 rarely been attempted. The same may be said of 

 the literature of fish-culture, which has been to a 

 considerable extent prophetic in character. One 

 of the most important of recent conclusions is 

 that fishes do not of necessity always return to 



spawn upon the grounds where they themselves 

 first left the egg, but that slight variations of tem- 

 perature are sufficient to divert a school of fishes 

 from any river-basin into another. An important 

 practical conclusion is at once suggested ; namely, 

 that the success of fish-culture in any hydrographic 

 basin is so dependent upon similar operations in 

 adjoining waters, that co-operative action of the 

 states is absolutely necessary, either through the 

 agency of the general government or by combina- 

 tions between the state commissions. It is grati- 

 fying to know that the mass of water-temperature 

 records which has for fifteen years been accu- 

 mulating through the labors of the United States 

 fish commission, the signal service, and the light- 

 house board, has at last become sufficiently great 

 to afford data for the comparative study of peri- 

 odical averages. All students of marine zoology 

 will profit by the study of these temperature 

 tables, which, we are informed, are soon to be 

 published. The rapid advances which are now 

 being made toward the elucidation of the life his- 

 tories of American fishes lead us to hope that the 

 time is not very remote when our knowledge of 

 the phenomena of marine life shall be made more 

 definite in character than at present. 



The attempt to establish a zoological garden 

 in America after the plan of those already in exist- 

 ence in Europe was a novel and interesting one at 

 the time that the Philadelphia zoological society 

 was organized. The garden was opened under the 

 most favorable circumstances. The popular senti- 

 ment was successfully appealed to, and during the 

 centennial year the garden received a fair share of 

 the public patronage. But the favor which at- 

 tended the beginning of the enterprise has not 

 continued. The society has been conducted at a 

 loss for several years. The anticipated deficit for 

 the current year is seven thousand dollars, an 

 amount so large as to induce the directors to in- 

 vite the citizens of Philadelphia to meet to hear a 

 statement of the society's affairs, and to discuss 

 measures for their rehef. At a representative 

 meeting of the citizens, held November 5, it was 

 quickly discerned that the garden of the society 

 had a firm hold on the affections of the people. 

 There appears to be no doubt that a successful effort 

 wUl be made to meet the year's deficit, and to 

 devise means by which the society can be placed 

 upon a permanent basis. The management of 

 zoological gardens in America wiU be found to be 



