Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 12.djvu/130

 removed the cerebellum from pigeons in successive slices, and found that, on cutting away the superficial layers of the organ, there appeared only a slight feebleness and want of harmony in the movements; but that when the deepest layers were removed the animal lost completely the power of standing, walking, leaping, or flying. Volition and sensation remained; the power of executing movements remained; but the power of coordinating those movements into regular and combined actions was lost. Flourens's experiments have been again and again repeated, always with the same results. But now the subject has been investigated anew by Ovsiannikoff, whose conclusion is that, even though the entire cerebellum be cut out, the faculty of coordination still remains. In one of his experiments a rabbit remained alive during two whole weeks after all the upper half of the cerebellum was cut out, nor did it lose its faculty of coordinating its movements after all the cerebellum was cut out until an effusion of blood produced this result.

Appearance and Habits of the Andaman Islanders.—The natives of the Andaman Islands are described by Surgeon-Major Hodder, of the British Army, as not exactly prepossessing in appearance, though not deformed and hideous, as has been stated. In height they vary from four feet nine inches to five feet one inch; they are extremely black, more so than the African negro, and some of them have "a dull, leaden hue, like that of a black-leaded stove." They are fond of dancing, have a strong sense of the ridiculous, are exceedingly passionate, are easily aroused by trifles, and then "their appearance becomes diabolical." The men go entirely naked, and the women nearly so. They cover their bodies with rod earth, and, as ornaments, wear strings of their ancestors' bones round their necks, or a skull slung in a basket over their shoulders. They are tattooed all over their bodies; their heads are shaven, with the exception of a narrow streak from the crown to the nape of the neck. They rarely have eyebrows, beard, mustache, whiskers, or eyelashes. They are very fond of liquor and smoking; are short-lived and not healthy, not many passing forty years of age. Their language consists of few words, harsh and explosive, and chiefly monosyllabic. Almost their only amusement is dancing to a monotonous chant and the music of a rough skin drum, played by stamping with the feet. Their courtship and marriage usages are very simple. The male candidate for matrimony eats a sort of ray-fish, which gives him the appellation of "goo-mo"—bachelor desirous of marrying. The marriageable girls wear a certain kind of flower. The ceremony consists in the pair about to be married sitting down, apart from the others, and staring at one another in silence; toward evening the girl's father or guardian joins the hands of the pair; they then retire, and live alone in the jungle for some days. The only manufactures of the islanders are canoes, bows, arrows, spears, and nets. Of late years "homes" have been established for the Andamanese, consisting of large bamboo sheds, in which those who come in from the jungle put up, coming and going at will. They seem, however, to prefer the jungle, and the attempts made to cultivate their acquaintance do not appear to have been very successful.

The Ancient Ruins of Colorado.—A correspondent of the Worcester Spy writes as follows of certain highly interesting discoveries recently made by the Geographical and Geological Survey of the Territories conducted by Dr. Hayden:

"Prof. Hayden has given Southwestern Colorado a new interest, by discovering and describing the ancient ruins in that section and in Southeastern Utah. The fertile valley of the Animas was densely inhabited and highly cultivated by an enlightened race of people centuries ago. The ruins of the houses, corrals, towns, fortifications, ditches, pottery-ware, drawings, non-interpretable writings, etc., show that many arts were cultivated by these prehistoric people which are now entirely lost. Their houses were built of almost every kind of stone, from small bowlders to the finest sandstone.

"The finest of these ruins, and the nearest perfect, are situated about thirty-five miles below Animas City, in a large valley fifteen miles long by seven wide, on the west side of the river. This valley has