Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 38.djvu/733

Rh the result of teaching by experience till it covers most of the field of human intelligence. But a break occurs at the moment when the ghost idea intrudes. That can not be derived from experience; for no man has ever lived again the present life, nor has a ghost ever been observed except in fancy, and if in fancy, how did the fancy originate? It can not be explained, either, as the result of dreams, for, while people may dream odd things and whimsical combinations, they do not dream absolutely new things—that is, things outside their experience and outside the imagination developed from thinking about the collected results of experience either personal or inherited. Two suppositions are mentioned by the London Spectator in reviewing Lady Welby's paper as admissible on the subject. The first is that primitive man had evidence that he had seen or heard, at some time or other, that which inspired conviction in his mind, and became sure of another life because he had watched its manifestations. The other is that, whatever be the truth about the evolution of thought, some thoughts must be intuitional—that is, have been generated in man originally by some external power.

Chinese and Indian Tea.—The supremacy of the tea trade is gradually shifting from China to India and Ceylon to such an extent that the Chinese Government is said to have instituted an investigation into the matter. The cultivation of tea as an industry is hardly fifty years old in India, and not more than ten years old in Ceylon; yet the British importations from those countries almost equal in weight and exceed in money value those from China; and while the exports of China tea doubled between 1866 and 1886, those of Indian teas increased fourfold. The causes of the change were found by the Chinese investigation to rest largely in differences in the preparation of the commercial product. The Chinese method is characterized as careless. The crop is raised in small gardens by men who own them and whose capital is small. The picking is done by the family, with hired help only when it can not be got along without. To save expense it is pushed forward, and the plucked leaves are allowed to stand, deteriorating in quality, till it is finished. Consequently, the leaves are not evenly withered. In India, tea is grown in large gardens, under skilled superintendence, with thoroughly organized methods. The picking is attended to with extreme care, so that each leaf is plucked at the proper stage, the plants being gone over again and again as the leaves successively mature. The plucked leaf is started at once on the course of "making," so that no time is given for deterioration to begin. Like differences in care and system prevail through all the details and processes, down to the packing and transporting to market; and the Indian teas are prevailing by virtue of the real superiority which they thereby obtain.

Infant Serpents.—As described by Dr. Walter Sibley, in his paper in the British Association on The Incubation of Serpents' Eggs, the first sign of the process of hatching is a slit, usually Y-shaped, appearing at the highest part of the egg-shell, whether the egg is placed on its side or on one end. The snout of the young reptile appears at the crack. After a time the head is protruded, and often remains out of the shell for some hours before the body and the tail are hatched. If disturbed, the head is again withdrawn into the shell. The author had seen fully-hatched young snakes return into their shells when alarmed. The young snakes, when first hatched, are smooth and velvety to the touch, with the yellow ring (of the common English snake) beautifully marked from the first, and the eyes open; but often there is some opacity about the cornea, which disappears in the course of a few hours. They are about six inches long, and weigh about eighty grains. They begin to hiss in the first few days.

Compressed Air as a Motor Power.—The power of compressed air was described by Prof. Alan Lupton, at the British Association, as suitable for large or small motors, and one that could be cheaply and safely introduced into workshops, houses, and shops. It will do the heavy work of a mill-course or iron-works, and the light work of the tailor, shoemaker, hair-dresser, and grocery, and will drive a dynamo for electric lighting. In Birmingham, by the agency of three steam-engines of 1,000 horse-power, air