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638 
during the war of Xerxes with the Greeks, makes 
an attempt to decide upon the most probable nature 
and dates of these ‘ eclipses,’ which have occasioned 
chronologists so much trouble, from the assumption. 
that they were solar eclipses, and from the difficulty 
of finding any such eclipses that could be identified 
with them. In the history of Herodotus, two ‘ por- 
tents’ are said to have happened in the sky (besides 
many terrestrial ones) during the memorable war be- 
tween the Greeks and the Persians under Xerxes, and 
(after his flight from Salamis) under Mardonius. The 
first of the two is mentioned in the seventh book of 
Herodotus, where he says, that in the early spring, 
while Xerxes was at Sardis preparing to set out on 
the Grecian expedition, ‘‘ the sun, leaving his seat in 
heaven, became invisible, and, instead of day, it be- 
came night.’’ The date when this expedition, and 
the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis, took place, 
is considered to have been B.C. 480. No eclipse of 
the sun could, however, have been visible in western 
Asia during the spring of that year. Sir George 
Airy suggested, in 1853, that the total lunar eclipse 
of B.C. 479, March 14, was the probable cause of 
the alarm and inquiry of Xerxes. Mr. Lynn, re- 
viewing briefly the evidence on this point, concludes 
that this ‘portent at Sardis’ (respecting which He- 
rodotus could not have been in possession of full 
information) was really of the nature of some re- 
markable meteorological phenomenon. But of the 
other ‘ portent’ referred to by Herodotus in his 
ninth book, Mr. Lynn regards his account as likely 
to be more accurate, as it was visible in Greece. The 
prodigy was this: ‘‘ While he was offering sacrifice 
to know if he should march out against the Persians, 
the sun was suddenly darkened in mid-sky.”? Mr. 
Lynn finds that a large solar eclipse (but not nearly 
total) occurred on the 2d of October, B.C. 480; and 
he is inclined to the belief that this was the phenom- 
enon which frightened Cleombrotus, the brother of 
Leonidas, who was in command of the Spartan 
troops. 
—In a recent scientific feuilleton in the Paris 
Débats, Mr. Henri Parville quotes a reference to the 
singular action of oil on waves by Theophylactes, the 
Byzantine historian of the sixth century. The passage 
occurs in a dialogue on ‘various natural questions.’ 
The question propounded is, why does oil make 
the sea calm? and the answer given is to the effect, 
that as the wind is ‘a subtle and delicate thing,’ and 
oil is ‘adhesive, unctuous, and smooth,’ the wind 
glides over the surface of the water on which oil has 
been spread, and cannot raise waves, not being able 
to obtain any hold on the water. 
— The Linnean society of New South Wales offers a 
prize of a hundred pounds for an essay on ‘ The life- 
history of the bacillus of typhoid-fever.’ The essay 
should be received by the society not later than Dec. 
31, 1884. The intention and wishes of the donor of 
the prize will be best given in his own words: — ‘‘ The 
questions chiefly to be solved in the investigation of 
the life-history of the bacillus of typhoid-fever are: 
1°. What are the specific characters of the organ- 
ism, as distinguished from other bacteria? 2°. What 
SCIENCE. 
word is cut. 
My Tee Pte ee eee 
“F 
[Vou. IL, No. 68. 
are the changes, if any, which the organism under- 
goes in the human body? 3°. What are its modes of 
development and reproduction in the human body? 
4°, What changes or metamorphoses, if any, does the 
organism undergo after ejection from the human body, 
or in any other condition of its existence? 5°. What 
fluids or other substances seem best adapted for the 
growth and multiplication of the organism? 6°. Can 
the organism live or be cultivated in pure or distilled 
water? 7°. What are its limits of endurance of heat, 
cold, dryness, or humidity? As far as these points 
are concerned, the author should confine himself en- 
tirely to facts which come under his own observation; 
and those should be given in detail, with a full expla- 
nation of the method of investigation. But in deal- 
ing with the results obtained by these investigations, 
and the consideration of the means whereby a knowl- 
edge of the life-history of this most dangerous organ- 
ism may help towards its eradication, the theories and 
observations of others may appropriately be referred 
to; but in every such case the authority must be cor- 
rectly cited. The chief points to be ascertained in 
this branch of the subject are: 1°. How, and under 
what conditions, does the organism get access to the 
human body? 2°. How can its growth be impeded, 
or its vitality destroyed, in the human body, without 
serious injury to the individual affected? 3°. How 
can it be eradicated or rendered innocuous in wells, 
water-holes, drains, etc.? ”’ 
The president of the society, in announcing the 
prize, remarked that the present seemed to be a very 
opportune time to bring this matter forward, as the 
subject was now engaging the serious attention of 
medical men, owing to the prevalence of typhoid-fever. 
He had been given to understand that Australia 
offered exceptional opportunities for the investigation 
of the bacteria, as the climate was favorable for their 
growth during the greater part of the year. 
— Professor Tyndall has given during the past 
winter, at the Royal institution, a course of lectures 
on ‘The older electricity, its phenomena and in- 
vestigators,’ showing what was known of electricity 
up to the time of Faraday; at first thought, not a 
promising subject, but apparently successfully worked 
out by the lecturer. 
— Prof. C. A. Young’s ‘The sun’ (one of the Inter- 
national science series) has been translated into Rus- 
sian, as well as into French, German, and Italian. 
In England eight thousand copies have been sold, 
and it has been very favorably received in this coun- 
try. 
—A very ingenious arrangement has been made 
by the Great northern telegraph company of Eng- 
land for telegraphing to China. The peculiarity of 
the Chinese language is, that the single characters — 
do not stand for letters, but words, of which there are 
six thousand. For use on the new Chinese lines, the 
company has had special wood blocks made, on one 
end of which the word and facsimile are cut, while © 
on the other end a number specially standing for the 
The telegrapher substitutes the num- — 
bers for the words in transmitting a telegram, while 
