IS THERE A "TWILIGHT" OF AMERICAN NOVELISTS? MR. R. EDGAR FAWCETT says in The Independent that there surely is just now a twilight of American novelists. Recalling the American rage for George Eliot, Anthony Trollope, Charles Reade, Wilkie Collins, Miss Braddon, Ouida, Rhoda Broughton, and other English writers, he comes to the time when American fiction largely displaced their stories with us, and in this connection mentions the names of Mr. Henry James, Mr. Howells, Mr. Lathrop, Mr. Bishop, Mr. Julian Hawthorne, Professor Boyesen, Mr. Cable, Mrs. Ellen Olney Kirk, Charles Egbert Craddock, Mrs. Burnett, Amélie Rives, and others, and then says: "Ten years ago, America presented for the criticism of the civilized world an astonishing group of novelists. The psychologic aroma of George Eliot clung to most of them, but by many was shown a tendency to draw largely upon such writers as Daudet, EDGAR FAWCETT. Maupassant, Cherbuliez, and even Zola, in the way of inspiration and aid. The method of these masters, and especially their technical security and dispassionate self-effacement, underwent obvious tho never slavish reproduction here. In critical gatherings, even among weekly and daily journals, English novelists were seldom discussed. If their works had signal transatlantic sales, I can not say, but cultivated people rarely either extolled or abused them; they simply ceased to extend them more than meager heed." And now, exclaims Mr. Fawcett, what a wave of change has swept over our public mind! Referring to a taunt in one of our leading newspapers about the deadly stupidity of the American novel," he says that "it seems to be the fashion to say this and to write this, whether one really thinks it or no," and continues: "Every new month some new English writer dawns with the splendor of an immense popularity upon our firmament of fiction. Does he so dawn-or has he previously so dawned-upon his own? All the vivid, strenuous, thoughtful, poetic work of our native novelists has passed into oblivious disregard. A troop of men and women, who are, for the most part, imitators of Robert Louis Stevenson, usurp attention and comment. It would be foolish to deny that merit exists amid this flood of rather hectic and flamboyant literature. But in it, I should say, are few signs of permanency. The stories are mostly written with an aim of mere passing amusement; some of them are literature, but few are good literature. Cleverness in plenty they may contain, but seldom either subtlety, meditation, or depth. They often have the air of being dashed off at a white heat; and the impressions which they make, whether historic or contemporaneous, are in few cases lasting. Their style is mainly one of staccato pertness; at their best they are apt to be etched rather than painted. They have plenty of 'color' and 'go;' sometimes they bristle with bayonets and rattle with gunshots. A great deal is 'done' in them; the 'action' is prodigious. But too frequently their good people and their bad people are the merest shadows. Epigram is substituted for analysis, and a dread of fatiguing the reader by giving him anything really to think about is so prevalent that it suggests the very drollery of commercialism. "Meanwhile the poor American novelist can only bow his head and accept his destiny. If he has gone out of fashion, he should console himself with the reflection that fashion is, after all, but another word for caprice; and he should recollect, too, that thus far, in the entire esthetic history of nations, his own American country people (as regards loyalty to their writers of books, painters of pictures, and even molders of statues) are the most hot-and-cold, fast-and-loose, whimsical, freakish, and generally unpatriotic ever yet known. "Just now it is surely the twilight of our American novelists. Will night follow, or another morning? I, for one, very firmly believe the last." NOTES. ALEXANDRE DUMAS the younger died on November 27, in Paris, where he was born July 28, 1827. At the age of 17 he published "Les Péchés de Jeunesse, a small collection of poems of no value. After traveling with his father through Spain and Africa, he returned to Paris, and thenceforth his life was devoted to authorship. His "La Dame aux Camelias," which was based on fact, created a great sensation. It was written first as a novel, and attained such success that Dumas dramatized the story. Afterward it was reproduced in Verdi's "Traviata." Dumas was exceedingly prolific both of novels and plays, among his successes being "Le Fils Naturel" (1858), "L'Ami des Femmes" (1864), "Les Idées de Mme. Aubray " (1867), "La Princesse Georges" (1871), "La Femme de Claude," and "Monsieur Alphonse" (1873), "L'Etrangere" (1877), "La Princesse de Bagdad" (1881), "Denise' (1885), and "Francillon' (1887). "La Femme de Claude " dramatic version of his novel "L'Affaire Clemenceau." He was made a member of the French Academy on January 30, 1874, succeeding Pierre Lebrun. Victor Hugo appeared for the first time at a meeting of the "Immortal Forty" after his return to France in order to vote for Dumas, who was elected by a vote of 22 to 11. Within the last year he was made Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor. was a THE late Alexandre Dumas recently quoted Maupassant's ideal of a literary life: "If I were rich enough, not to be obliged to write,' that peferct writer and remarkable observer said to me one day, 'my dream would be to write only one more book, a short one, at which I should always continue to work, and which I should order to be buried on the day of my death.'" And M. Dumas flattered himself thas he was beginning to realize this dream of Maupassant. He had been at work for some time on a play called "La Route de Thèbes;" but he was getting old, disinclined to work, and fastidious. When he thought the play in a fit state to be presented to the public, he would present it. Or he might put it back in his desk. He said he had arrived at an age when the best thing a man can do is to hold his tongue. What does Mr. Gladstone say to that?-The St. James's Gazette. GEORGE MACDONALD'S lectures in America were not a success. He never prepared a lecture, but talked gracefully and easily. This was not appreciated in his day. The evening that he was to lecture in Music Hall, Boston, he dined with James T. Fields, who asked him what he was to lecture about. His reply was, "I don't know, I shall decide what to say after I get upon the platform. I have made no preparation." Wilkie Collins was frequently at the home of Dickens. The two men were great friends. After Dickens's success with his readings in America, Collins came over. He was never a success upon the platform, tho his first evening in any city was sure to call forth a large audience. His invariable practise was to take a recess in the midst of an evening's reading, retire to an ante-room and take a generous draught of English ale.-The Journal of Education. MR. STEDMAN has publicly confirmed the report that he had declined an offer of the Billings chair of English Literature at Yale University. To a Sun reporter he said: "If such a post had been offered to me twenty years ago, I should have accepted without the least hesitation, but coming, as it does, late in life, I think it would take up too much of my time to learn the requirements of the place. I have never been a teacher and do not know how I should succeed as a utilitarian at this time of life. effort to better her English departments, and I think it best to put young Yale is making an blood in the places; men who are vigorous and active and can devote their whole time and energy to the work and grow up with it." MR. HENRY CAVLING, a Copenhagen journalist visiting in this country, said to the Boston Advertiser: "Journalism in Denmark is decidedly different from the American. For instance we have on our paper about forty editorial writers and five reporters. We have no need of any more reporters, because nothing ever happens. Why, we do not have a murder once in ten years. So, of course, the papers there are more devoted to literary articles than to news. Your editorial page is much like our entire paper. MR. F. HAYDON WILLIAMS calls attention, in The Speaker, to the fact that the phrase "sweetness and light" is not one of Matthew Arnold's own making, as is commonly supposed; that the phrase was made by Dean Swift in his "Battle of the Books," published in 1704, who wrote: "We have rather chosen to fill our hives with honey and wax; thus furnishing mankind with the two noblest of things, which are sweetness and light." 24, had M. BARTHÉLEMY SAINT-HILAIRE, who died in Paris on November occupied a prominent place in French literature and politics for nearly seventy years, and to the last preserved an extraordinary degree of bodily and intellectual activity. He was born in Paris in August, 1805, and began his public career in the Ministry of Finance under Charles X. He enjoyed a peculiar distinction as one of the few living men familiar, from actual experience, with the person of the first Napoleon. BARON JOHN BYRNE LEICESTER WARREN DE TABLEY, .the English poet, died November 24. He was the only son of Baron George de Tabley, was born in 1835, was educated at Eton, and was a lawyer by profession. He held a high place among the minor English poets, and was master of a refined and elevated style. His title becomes extinct by his death, but a cousin succeeds to the baronetcy which he held. AN organ has been placed in St. Margaret's Church, Somersby, bearing the following inscription on a brass plate: "To the Glory of God, and in memory of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate, this organ was given by subscription to St. Margaret's Somersby, the church of his birthplace and of his baptism." ARTHUR ARNOULD, the French littérateur, and formerly a member of the Commune, died in Paris, November 25. He was born at Dieuze in 1833, and was the son of a professor of foreign literature at the Sorbonne. SCIENCE. ARE OUR ENGINEERING WORKS PERMANENT? S the traveler looks up at the mighty piles of masonry left by the Egyptians of long ago, or at the less massive but more graceful structures of the Greek, or at the utilitarian roads and aqueducts of the Roman, he can not help wondering whether the boasted scientific skill of our age will enable us to leave any Such a such evidences of our existence in centuries to come. question can be answered approximately by bringing into play what science has taught us of the permanence of various materials and of the forces of nature that are continually at work upon them. It is thus answered in The Scientific American (November 16) in an editorial article from which we quote a few faragraphs, as follows: "The question of the comparative durability of our nineteenthcentury engineering and architectural works is an interesting one. "We will assume-altho we see nothing to indicate the fact— that the tide of Western civilization has reached its high-water mark, and that in the splendid achievements in the arts and sciences, which have marked the closing years of the nineteenth century, the Western races have reached the zenith of their powers. We will assume for the sake of argument that from this time on a decline shall set in which shall ultimately lead to a decrepitude and decay as complete as that of the races of Assyria and Egypt, Greece and Rome-and at the same time ask the question: How many of our great public works will be left standing upon the earth forty centuries hence, to bear witness to our nineteenth-century knowledge and skill? " 'Are there in New York, London, or Paris buildings that will stand for forty centuries the buffeting of wind and weather as those stately edifices by the Euphrates and Nile have stood? Probably not; nor is the fact any reflection upon the work of the modern builder. It is merely a result of the more artistic modern taste, which expresses itself in a style of architecture that is at once more picturesque and less durable than the gloomy temples and palaces of the ancient builders. "This is the age of steel and iron, materials for construction of may "The great systems of water-works, both for municipal supply and for irrigation, will provide many lasting monuments to the energy and skill of the nineteenth century. Nothing constructed in Egypt or Assyria was more durable than is the masonry of the great dam of the Croton water-works. "In constructing our vast system of railroads we have written our history in monumental lines of rock and earth, that will probably last as long as this globe turns upon its axis. Should some glacial period return and grind these embankments and cuttings out of existence, there would yet remain the great tunnels, to show with what unconquerable energy we pushed our way even through the heart of the hills themselves." ΤΗ STUDY OF THE CRIMINAL. HE whole science of modern criminology gathers around the name of Lombroso. The Italian professor has taught us that the criminal is worthy of study, and we owe to his life-work the great mass of what we now know in this line of research. To have founded a science is in itself a proud distinction, but Lombroso is not content with that-he is still one of the chief laborers in the field that he was the first to cultivate. Hence much interest attaches to a new edition of his celebrated work on the criminal, giving the results of his latest researches, and we translate, in part, a review of it that appears in the Revue Scientifique (Paris, October 26). After stating that an idea of the indefatigable activity of the author may be gathered from the fact that instead of 100 skulls described in the first edition 384 are here dealt with, while the number of criminals examined has risen to nearly 6,000, the reviewer goes on as follows: a "The new edition contains also researches on the numerical proportion of anomalies according to sex and to crime; study in the living subject of anomalies of the thorax, feet, and hands, notably the anomalies of the ear, which have been studied in 25,000 individuals. "M. Lombroso has also completed his study of tattooing, taking advantage of work already done by our countrymen [the French], and of his own examination of more than 10,000 individuals. Finally, molecular changes, ́. calorimetry, weight, sensa—are all elements that have formed the objects of new investigations. tion "All these elements are grouped by the author with a view to the demonstration of his thesis, which is, as is well known, that the born criminal is a separate type, ancestral or pathologic, differing only in degree from the morally insane, and of the same class as the epileptic. All criminals, in fact, are, for M. Lombroso, epileptoids, which may be grouped thus, according to the increasing amount of their deviation from the normal man: The occasional criminal. "The criminal from passion. "The morally insane. "Above all, the reader should turn to the chapter on criminaloids, that is, those criminals that yield only to an extremely powerful temptation. . . . All degrees can be observed between the normal and the abnormal state, and he takes up here the interesting study of those who are at the foot of the scale, the most similar to well-balanced people, the abnormal persons that one meets at each step in society, and that have more chances of remaining honest than of falling into crime, provided only that circumstances favor them. "These individuals are of the attenuated type of the born criminal, and the study of these attenuated or transition forms is, in the whole domain of biology, the most interesting for minds of a philosophical bent. "In fine, whatever one may think of the value of all these elements and all these documents, taken by themselves, it is none the less true that, in their entirety, they confirm without any possible doubt the theory of M. Lombroso. Perhaps one may dispute some of the terms of the author's formulas, but--we wish to repeat this again—almost everybody is at the present time in accord on the point that the criminal is an abnormal person whose responsibility must be considered from another point of view that that to which we had become accustomed in former times, that he is really in some degree of unbalanced mind. "Now this new conception of the criminal, which is in a fair way to change our ideas and our customs regarding criminal justice, is due almost entirely to the agitation provoked by M. Lombroso regarding this question, and as it is a problem eminently human, very fertile, and surely very just, we ought to recognize the part that its author has had in its elucidation.”Translated for THE LITERAry Digest. "IT is reported," says The Electrical World, "that Mr. Wenter, of the drainage board, stated that 10,000 horse-power might be obtained from the water-fall of the Chicago drainage-canal at Lockport, and that this would furnish more than enough power for lighting the entire city of Chicago." THE ADHESIVE ORGANS OF ANIMALS. THE HE adhesive organs, such as suckers, that have been developed by different animals for various purposes are treated in an interesting way (Knowledge, November 1) by R. Lydekker, from whose article we quote a few paragraphs. In introducing his subject, Mr. Lydekker says: "Either for the purpose of holding on to inanimate substances, and thus securing protection from attack or safety from the buffetings of the waves, or by attaching themselves to the bodies of other creatures, and thus obtaining an ample supply of food without any exertions of their own, a considerable number of animals have developed suckers, or other adhesive organs, on some parts of their bodies or limbs, and as these suckingorgans vary considerably in their specialization and plan of struc FIG. 1.Adhesive Disks of Suckerfooted Bat. a, b, Disk of wing; c, that of hind foot. ture in different groups, then comparison forms an interesting subject of study. In addition to these sucking-disks, which are purely for the purpose of adhesion, there are in certain animals, such as the lampreys and leeches, suckers formed by the mouth, thus enabling the fortunate owners of such organs not only to attach themselves, but likewise to procure their food by devouring the blood or flesh of the animal to which they are temporarily fastened." The simplest type of sucker is that of the limpet and similar creatures, consisting merely of the soft under-surface of the body. They are common in insects, but rare in mammals, the best examples being found in bats, not the so-called "blood-sucking" varieties, which merely scratch the skin with their claws and then swallow the flowing blood, but those that bear the suckers on their feet, for clinging to rocks and the like, as shown in Fig. 1. In fishes there is greater variety, a simple type being that of the goby, or lump-sucker, shown in Fig. 2. The wonderful suckingorgans of another fish are described thus by Mr. Lydekker: "The most extraordinary adhesive organ is, however, that of the far-famed sucking-fishes, or remoræ (Echeneis), of which there are about half a score species, some of which may attain a couple of feet in length. In these fishes the organ takes the form of a flat, oval disk, covering the upper surface of the head and neck, divided into a number of chambers by a middle longitudinal ridge, and a series of pairs of transverse partitions, varying in number from twelve to twenty-seven. The disk causes the upper portion of the head to be so flattened that, when the fish is placed in the ordinary position, it looks as tho it were upside down; the illusion being in tensified by the circumstance that generally the lower surface of the body is darker than the upper. Unlike what obtains in the fishes noticed above, in the remora the adhesive disk is formed out of the spinous or front portion of the back-fin, which has completely lost its original character. When the remora applies the disk to any flat surface, such as the skin of a shark, the shell of a turtle, or a ship's bottom, the plates, which are usually depressed, are raised, and a series of vacua produced, and by this means the creatures adheres so tightly that it can scarcely be detached except by pushing or pulling it along the surface. Many fables have collected round the remora, which was known to Aristotle, and in Ovid's time it was believed to have the power of stopping a vessel on its course; altho how this was effected the poet is careful not to say. The dark coloration of the lower parts is due to the circumstance that, when attached to a foreign body, the fish generally has this surface turned upward." FIG. 2.-The Lump-Sucker and its Adhesive Disk (a). In all these cases the sucking-organs are for the purpose of attaching the body to some object. In leeches, however, they have a true sucking function, acting to draw the blood from the victim's body into the creature's mouth. Mr. Lydekker reminds us that the leeches belong to the great group of annelids, or worms, and goes on to say: "In these, the anterior end of the body terminates in a large circular sucker, within which, or the pharynx, is the mouth. Very generally, as in the common medicinal leech, the mouth is armed with sharp teeth, and thus presents a curious structural similarity to that of the lampreys, altho there is, of course, no genetic connection between the two groups. Many leeches also have a sucker at the opposite extremity of the body, by which they are in the habit of attaching themselves to the leaves of trees, from which basis they extend their bodies in the hope of catching hold of a passing animal. In their habits leeches also present a curious similarity to lampreys, except that they only suck the blood of their victims, instead of feeding on the flesh.” COIN AS AN ANTISEPTIC. THE bacteriologist has something to say on the money ques tion. Viewing the matter from a hygienic point he "comes out" for hard money and for silver or copper in preference to gold. It has long been known that "hard money," as well as paper money, comparatively clean as the former looks, may harbor microbes by the mass, but recent experiments go to show that disease-germs do not thrive on the metal, which seems to possess natural antiseptic qualities. The Medical News (November 16), in a note discussing the most recent information on this subject, speaks as follows: "The bacteriologist has declared that, altho we may acquire riches and escape unhappiness, we must accept the risk of serious contagion every time we realize any of them in the form of money; that the surfaces of coins of all metals and denominations and bank-notes of every description are simply swarming with germs of various degrees of virulence. Cultures have shown the presence of from 450 to 3.500 germs upon a single coin, ranging from the streptococcus and staphylococcus pyogenes to tubercle bacilli and typhoid bacilli. These have been deposited, of course, from contact with saliva, pus, discharges, soiled fingers, and dirty pockets. The list is an appalling one, and literally supports the Apostle's statement that 'money is the root of all kinds of evil.' That these germs are virulent has recently been shown by inoculating rabbits with their cultures and obtaining characteristic reactions. So far everything is discouraging, and the bacteriologist simply emphasizes the maledictions of the preacher upon literally 'filthy lucre.' But it was soon noticed that the proportion of fatal results from these inoculations was extremely small considering the nature of the germs present, and a series of recent experiments at an Algerian military hospital has developed the surprising fact that coins possess actual bactericidal properties and rapidly destroy or weaken any germs lodged upon their surfaces. In a cold chamber the germs of typhoid and the Friedlander bacillus were destroyed upon sterilized silver or copper coins in eighteen hours; at a temperature of 37° C., about that of the pocket, the bacilli of typhoid, of diphtheria, of blue pus, and the streptococcus are destroyed in six hours. The Löffler bacillus is the most resistant, and upon cold silver or copper coins will live for from three to six days. Moisture and warmth greatly hasten the process, which is probably due to the formation of poisonous oxids and other salts of the metals. A similar action upon the germs of dental caries has been noted by Willoughby as due to the copper amalgam used in filling teeth. Nature's protective mechanisms are even more wonderful than her destructive ones. We have been loudly assured by the socialist and labor-sympathizer that 'capital can always be relied upon to protect itself,' but we little thought to see the statement verified in this wise. Gold coins are much less actively bactericidal than either silver or copper, and germs may survive upon them for five or six days, which may partially console us for their infrequency in our professional pockets. Some kindly disposed individual should certainly bring this latter fact to the knowledge of our bimetalist friends, as it would furnish them with a strong argument against 'the yellow metal.' SOLIDIFIED PETROLEUM-A NEW FUEL. THE HE invention of a fuel that, if half that its inventor claims for it be true, will turn the world topsy-turvy, is reported in The Railway Review (November 16), as follows: "There are being shown in Sheffield samples of compound compressed solid petroleum, the invention of Paul d'Humy, a French naval engineer. M. d'Humy claims to have solved the problem of solidifying petroleum and low-grade bituminous oil. Under his process, which he does not intend to patent, relying upon preserving the secret, he states that 3 cubic feet will represent the bulk of a ton of coal, and will last combustible as long as 50 tons. The samples shown were soft, but the inventor states that they can be rendered as hard as marble. They were of two kinds-one for domestic use and the other for manufacturing purposes. Both samples placed in the fire gave a strong flame with abundant heat, and lasted considerably longer than equal specimens of coal. Experiments have recently been made in Liverpool, and these are stated to have given surprising results. M. d'Humy says that this compound compressed petroleum is not dangerous, can be easily stored, will not evaporate or occasion any explosion. In addition to that it requires very little draft to burn, produces no smoke or smell, and will not give more than 2 or 3 per cent. of ash. A cubic inch, he adds, will produce a light-bluish flame many hundred times its volume with intense heat. The new fuel burns only on the surface, thereby insuring slow combustion." The ordinary man of science will doubtless remain incredulous until he sees all these things with his own eyes. Meanwhile, taking these reported tests as his point of departure, the busy prophet is already at work. To quote the article again : "M. d'Humy expects a great future for this fuel. He looks forward to the time when Atlantic-going steamers, instead or carrying 5,000 to 6,000 tons of coal, will require only 2,000 tons, and with that weight easily do the voyage in four days. He anticipates that it will also render coaling stations less essential to vessels of war, as the battle-ship will be able to stay at sea for several months without taking fresh coal or reducing speed. It will be useful, he says, to armies, as the troops can carry the petroleum about with them in their knapsacks ready for use for cooking or for other purposes on the field. Nor are these advantages all he anticipates. For pleasure-yachts, and even for open grates in private houses, compressed petroleum he expects will supersede raw coal." WE HEN the good housewife is preparing her stock of pickles and preserves for the winter, she is merely preventing or delaying the destructive action of the microbes of decay upon the food that she is putting up, by the use of simple antiseptics, such as the sugar used in making jam, or the salt and vinegar of the pickles. The same result is attained by rigidly excluding air, as in canning. These antiseptic methods have the advantage of introducing only substances that are pleasant to the taste and not injurious to the system. But recently people have discovered that there are scores of other antiseptics, much more powerful and efficacious than these, and able to prevent souring or decay if used in quantities so small as to be imperceptible to the taste. Hence the use, in preserving or canning, of such chemicals as salicylic acid or boracic acid. This is condemned by The British Medical Journal in a recent note on "Antiseptics in Foods," which we quote in part below: "The recent prosecution [in England] for selling orange wine containing a little over three grains to the pint of salicylic acid suggests the propriety of discussing shortly the general question of preserving foods by antiseptics. Wines are sulfured and doctored with salicylic acid, fluoborates and fluosilicates; to milk in hot weather all sorts of antiseptics are added, the chief being boracic acid, varied of late by the addition of formalin. Boracic acid or borax is also the favorite antiseptic for butters. It may indeed be stated generally that all decomposable articles not sterilized by boiling, or preserved from change by cold, are liable to be treated with small quantities of antiseptics. There may not be in any one article a percentage sufficient to cause, when given in a single dose, appreciable effect, but a person taking boraxed milk and butter for breakfast and tea, and a salicylated wine for dinner, will be consuming day by day a sufficient amount of active drugs to produce some effect on his health. Salicylic acid is a poison. In 1878 a case happened in which so small a dose as 3 grams (46 grains) caused death in forty hours; possibly the acid was impure. In three other cases in which decided and dangerous symptoms were produced the dose was much larger, being 15, 22, and 50grams respectively. Salicylic and benzoic acids are, therapeutically, attenuated phenols, phenol being most poisonous, then comes salicylic acid, and lastly benzoic acid. It is no sufficient answer to accusations under Section 6 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act to prove that single large doses of a particular addition have been taken by a number of persons without injury; nor indeed is it an answer if such addition is really proved to have been beneficial to health. The question is narrowed down as to whether the nature and quality was that which was demanded by the purchaser. An individual might have no objection to drink a salicylated liquid, always provided he knew that salicylic acid was there, but he would naturally feel aggrieved at buying an article which he believed to be pure if he found it to contain a foreign chemical substance." After discussing the possible chemical changes of the acid in the system, and the effects of the compounds that may thus be formed therein-a subject on which there is at present no very exact knowledge-the article concludes thus: "Be this as it may, the growing use of antiseptics constitutes a possible danger to health. Persons with sound excretory organs have for years daily taken chemicals of the kind in their food without injury, yet it can be confidently predicted that other persons with damaged or weak kidneys will be affected by minute doses. It must also be remembered that digestion in the intestines is carried on to a great extent by what, outside the intestines, would be recognized as a fermentative or putrefactive process. In short, just as the nourishment of a number of plants depends on the microbes around their rootlets, so the assimilation of our own nourishment depends to a large degree on the activity of hosts of colonies of microbes in the intestinal canal. All antiseptics, even in minute quantity, will inhibit the activity of these colonies or affect unequally various species, the net result in ordinary individuals being an impairment of digestion or an actual dyspepsia. The time has apparently come for some definite action with regard to antiseptics in foods and beverages. They should be absolutely prohibited unless a label be placed upon everything sold after being thus treated, stating the nature of the preservative in as large type as any other announcement. Then if the public like to take daily small doses of salicylic or boracic acid or of formaldehyd they can do so, but with the immense advantage of knowing what they are consuming." a recent meeting of the National Academy of Science, reported in Science, November 15, Prof. Carl Barus read a paper discussing the sounds made by the wind whistling across a slender ob stacle, like a wire. "He showed that the velocity of the wind could be computed from the pitch of the note observed in case of a given diameter of wire and for a given temperature of the air. By aid of a special microphonic attachment such sound could be conveyed to any distance and isolated from the attendant noises at the place of exposure. So represented, the wind was given in every detail of its gusty and variable character, and the term micro-anemometry seemed to be applicable to observations of this nature. Finally the direction of the gust could be inferred from the sounds obtained from three wires at right angles to each other." A HYGIENIC SEWING-MACHINE TREADLE. THOUSANDS of weary women can testify to the fatigue caused by running an ordinary sewing-machine all day, and the medical profession is authority for the statement that this fatigue is but the expression of an actual injury to the system resulting from this work. The fatigue is due largely to the peculiar treading motion required to drive the machine. This has just been obviated by the invention of a new form of treadle which is hailed by The Lancet (London, November 16) as a boon to afflicted womankind. We quote the description given by that paper, and reproduce from it an illustration showing the arrangement of the new device: "Sewing-machines adapted for useful general work are invariably driven by a treadle to which either one or both of the feet may be applied. The ordinary treadle answers well for the stitching of exceptionally stout materials and for the purposes of various machines driven with the foot by men such as turners or printers, but for average sewing-machine work it has the drawback of requiring more effort than is necessary. This extra fatigue is a serious consid HYGIENIC TREADLE FOR SEWING-MACHINE. eration in the case of females employed all day long at the machine, but an ingenious modification of the ordinary treadle has now been introduced by which the labor of the worker will be greatly economized without any sacrifice of efficiency. The "As is well known, the ordinary treadle is horizontal when at rest and has to be forcibly depressed by the foot in order to turn a fly-wheel by means of a crank. In the new system the fly-wheel and crank are retained, but the horizontal treadle is replaced by a vertical one which is hinged to the under side of the table on which the machine rests, and hangs down almost to the floor, where it ends in a horizontal platform for the foot. worker's foot is not moved up and down to drive the machine by pressing the treadle, but produces the same effect with less labor by a gentle swinging of the foot backward and forward. muscles chiefly employed are the flexors and extensors of the knee-joint, and the weight of the foot and leg is, of course, supported by the platform on which the foot rests. An important advantage is that the continual movement of the thigh, inevitable under the present system, is so diminished as to be hardly perceptible." The Origin of Color-Blindness.-"A Frenchman, M. Dubois, has made an interesting suggestion as to the origin of color-blindness,' says Knowledge, November 1. "This defect of vision almost invariably consists in inability to recognize red. Now a body cooling down from incandescence extends its spectrum toward the red end, or, in other words, the white-hot to violet-colored body becomes yellow and finally a dull red as it cools. A few stars such as Sirius are white-hot, many others like our sun are cooler and therefore yellow, while others are so cooled down as to shine with a dull-red light. Primitive man, according to M. Dubois, lived when the sun was in either the Sirius or the pre-Sirius stage, that is, when the sun, which is the source of all color, was white-hot, and had no red component in its spectrum; he had, therefore, no power of recognizing red. fore, says M. Dubois, is merely atavism or degeneration to the The objection to this ingenious theory is that we have no reason whatever for supposing that primitive man was contemporary with a white-hot sun; further, all white-hot suns that we know of have some red at any rate in their spectrum. The intensity of particular components of the spectrum may vary, but the components are still there." primitive type. Color-blindness, there The Sand-Bath as a Curative Agent.—“The Mohammedans, in their ablutions, says Cosmos, November 16, "replace water by sand when needful. This religious practise has, it appears, be come an element of modern therapeutics. At the reunion of Swiss physicians held this year at Ouchy, Dr. Suchard read a paper on the sand-bath. Invalids have been completely or partially cured by sand heated to a temperature varying, according the case, from 45° to 65° C. The sand, containing air between its particles and being a bad conductor of heat, transmits it in a gentle and almost insensible manner. Perspiration is favored up to the point where a patient may lose two quarts of liquid in one sand-bath. Thanks to this evaporation, the invalid may support continued high temperature without the actual temperature of the body rising more than a few degrees, and this without fear of heart affections, if care be taken to put hot sand on the feet at the outset. The number of ailments that may be treated by this powerful curative agent is considerable. In the first place it is especially beneficial to chronic rheumatism and to gout. Neuralgia and sciatica are cured or benefited by local or general baths. The most various organic troubles of the nervous system, cardiac or digestive affections have been treated by this method, sometimes with remarkable success. The same is true of tuberculous affections of the bones and joints. The account given by Dr. Suchard contains statistical tables relating to more than 100 patients annually.-Translated for THE LITERARY DIGEST. SCIENCE BREVITIES. "A GERMAN surgeon, Dr. Hoenig, has designed an apparatus which he calls a cyclo-ambulance," says The British Medical Journal. "It consists of a car covered in with canvas, which contains a folding-litter, and rests on four side-wheels, and a fifth wheel in front pedaled by a cyclist. A seat and pedals are also provided at the back for another cyclist. The top part of the car can be lifted off, a patient can then be placed on the litter, and the top replaced on the axles. The patient can be watched by the cyclist at the back through a glazed window; but the patient is also provided with the means of attracting the attention of the cyclist by using the rubber ball of a cycle horn. An aperture in the side of the car affords access to the patient when he is in need of help. The ambulance is reported to be in experimental use in Berlin, and is easily steered and manipulated." WEIGHING A PENCIL-MARK.-" Scales are now made of such a nice adjustment," says The Railway Review, "that they will weigh anything, to the smallest hair plucked from the eyebrow. They are triumphs of mechanism, and are enclosed in glass cases, as the slightest breath of air would impair their records. The glass cases have a sliding door, and as soon as the weight is placed in the balances the door slides down. Two pieces of paper of equal weight can be placed in the scales, and an autograph written in pencil on either piece will cause the other side to ascend, and the needle which indicates the division of weight even to the ten-millionth part of a pound and less will move from its perpendicular. A signature containing nine letters has been weighed and proved to be two milligrams, or the fifteen thousand five hundredth part of an ounce, troy. THE electric searchlight was used recently to put down riot in Lancashire, England. A manufacturer, whose men had struck, was determined to keep his mill going, and he promptly secured new hands and set them to work. At the same time he fixed a searchlight on the factory building, to prevent the strikers from setting fire to the sheds erected for the the new hands. During the continuance of the strike this light was used nightly, in and to illuminate the parts where pickets were placed. It was found so conjunction with the police established in the works, to scour the country effective that a large number of temporary police were dispensed with. SPEAKING of Hertz's experiments and of electrical radiation in general, in The Physical Review, Dr. A. G. Webster deplores the present popularity of the subject. He says: "The ether is a favorite subject of conversation and of publication by authors whose knowledge of mathematics is of the most rudimentary character. This is one of the unfortunate results of the existence of fashions in science, and of the attempt at popularization of difficult subjects by such men as Kelvin and Lodge." "Not," it is added, "that the reviewer wishes to discourage popularization, but that it has its disadvantages. One has only to pick up a newspaper or magazine article with the heading Tesla to see an example." "WHAT we ought to do," says The Hospital, "is to take measures to insure the prompt slaughtering of all cattle which are obviously tuberculous ;' and the most certain means of effecting this object would be to offer reasonable compensation for every animal thus killed in the interests of the public. That done there would only remain the discovery and isolation of those apparently healthy animals which are really in the early stage of tuberculosis. Bovine tuberculosis is a real danger to the community. Tho it is not a danger which justifies panic, it is yet so important as to demand legislative action." .... 1 REGARDING the much prophesied "passing of the horse," The Railway Age, Chicago, November 22, speaks as follows: "The Horseless Age is the decidedly premature title of a new monthly periodical. The recent 'motocycle fiasco at Chicago, where, instead of a hundred or so self-propelled vehicles of various sorts that were to compete madly over a hundred-mile course, only a single one, a clumsy carriage built in France, managed to lumber around to the goal, showed the horse is very far from being superseded for purposes of both pleasure and work." |