739 
Facts and Observations. 
Hydrophobia. —The Minister of Agriculture and Com¬ 
merce in France has addressed a circular to all the prefects, 
requesting them to furnish the Committee of Public Salubrity 
^Yith every information necessary for the general inquiry into 
canine madness, which has been going on since 1850. The 
' veterinary schools are also directed to draw up statistical 
accounts of all the cases which come under their notice, with 
every particular connected with them. The circular, more¬ 
over, proposes to establish* in each department a special in¬ 
firmary, where anim^als which have been bitten can be con¬ 
fined, and the effects of the bite closely watched. 
Determining the Sex in Breeding of Cattle.— 
Professor Thury, of Geneva, has enunciated a law, which has 
been confirmed by M. Cornaz, that sex depends on the degree 
of maturation of the egg at the moment of fecundation^ In 
uniparous animals, fecundation at the commencement of the 
rutting period gives females, at its termination males. In 
multiparous creatures, the first eggs that descend from the 
ovary generally give females, the last males. But M. Thury 
says, that in a second generative period that succeeds the first, 
the circumstances are changed, and the last eggs give females. 
M. Cornaz, carrying out this method, states that in twenty- 
two successive cases, females were obtained, according to his 
desire. The animals bred from were Swiss cows and a Dur¬ 
ham bull. Having purchased a Durham cow he desired to 
obtain by breeding a Durham bull, and he succeeded. He 
also desired to breed six bulls, crossed between the Durham 
and the Swiss, and by selecting cows of the colour and height 
he wanted, he was again successful. He therefore regards 
Professor Thury^s method as of the highest importance to 
breeders of cattle. 
Preservative Principle of Coal Tar. —M. Rottier 
asserts that the principle in coal-tar, which gives to it the 
power of resisting the decay of wood, is a green oil, obtained 
by distillation at a temperature of about 572 F. The other 
compounds contained in coal-tar do not possess the like pre¬ 
servative properties. 
Constitution of Ozone. -—M, Soret confirms the 
