Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/501

, 1885.1

��of figlit ilrops of a Tresli, tinileiit cullure ia the region oE Llie triceps brachlalU produces a Lot and painful swelling, which binders the movetuGDlA of the ui'iii: follawiiig this cumes a localized fever, which soiiii ilisappcars; Cbrce hours after the injection, this plienomenon commences, continues about twenty- four hours, and then all effects disappear completely. If nn Injection of flve-lenths of a cubic centimetre be made in each arm, the local symptoms are inleii- slBed, and general symptoms appear. These gen- eral symptoms bear on undoubted resemblance to true cholera; as, general coldness, rigors, lassitude, cramps, vomiting, dull mind, cold and clammy sweats, more frequent evacuations (but never reach- ing the true diarrhoea of cholera).

All of these symptoms are followed by a general rise of temperature, reaching even 2.o° C. above nor- mal. More frequently there are more or less acceu- Inated chilliness, general lassitude, dulness, desire to vomit, and fever. All of these symptoms cease at the end of from twenty-four to thirty-six hours, without necessity for a recourse to thcrapeusis. Sometimes they are more severe, and the blood from any part of the body gives the same microscopic appearances as in animals.

If, six or eight days after the injection of flve-tentha of a cubic centimetre lu each arm, the same dose, and of the same virulence, be injected into the same subject, the general tymploms do not occur, whilst the lotal phenomena are much less severe.

The writer draws these conclusions from his ex- periments, and offers to reproduce Uis results before the academy: 1°. " Choierization is possible in man, as in animals, by hypodermic injection." 2°, " The prophylaxis of cholerlzation is obtained through graduated doses, or Attenuated virus."

Dr. Fermn, no doubt to add weight to his paper, gives the names of twenty-foiu' physicians, Ave medi- cal studenlB, Qve other males, and live females, upon whom he bos experimented.

These experiments are said to have been carried on farther, hul no proper report of them has as yet reached us Our criticism would be that the con- clusion as to the efHciency of the Inoculation against cholera, granting that the true bacillus of cholera was used, is an exceedingly hasty one, inasmuch as the protected (?) persons had not yet been brought in contact with the disease.

��HERAT'S IMPORTANCE.'

' The reasons for the ImporUnce of Herat are of three kinds, — geographical, ethnological, and his- toricivl,

With regard to Herat's geographical situation, it will be seen at once that from Siberia to India, with the exception of the onsis in the Zerafshitu basin, there i* scarcely a point to be found which can bear comparison with Herat in regard to fertility and climatic advantages. Lying on the western and

< From nn arUoIe by II. VAnaftRT in Ihe OrHrrrrlrli'^rAi manaUMcArifl /Or ilta arlinl.

��northern spurs of the Pariipamisus Range, which is connected with the lower mountain range of Persia by the ridge of ^inh-Behek, the district of Herat is provided with an extraordinarily full rivt'r-system. Water, the most important auxiliary of agriculture in Asia, is therefore to be bad in plenty; and the canals leading from the numerous water-courses, can, in consequence of the undulating surface of the district, be turned lo account for irrigation In a very effective manner. Under the protection of political quiet, and with modemie industry, Herat could easily be turned iuio a garden; and that it frequently has indeed been a fruitful garden, whose manifold pro- ductions have awakened the envy of the neighboring powers, we have the testimony of history.

In reganl to climate, Herat ia e(|ually favored. While with two degrees north or south the beat be- comes unbeambic, Herat enjoys a surpassingly raild climate, under whose influence the products of the north and the south ripen in equal perfecttoa, and an agreeable habitation tirr mankind has always been provided.

It ia no wonder, then, that the wesiem district of Herat, commonly called Baghiz, was, even in antiq- uity, described by the geographers wilh enthusiasm, Xbn Haukal, Mukadassi, Edrisi, and others call B»- ghiz the 'crown of Khoraaan:' the author of the gei^raplilcal work ' Heft-Iklim ' calls it a flower-gar- den of enchantment, with a thousand vales of trees and streams, — a camp-ground rich in gi'ftss and water, peculiarly suitable for the resting-place of the largest armies.

Indeed, this fame extends back even to pre-lsla- mltlc times. Herat's wealth was proverbial; as wit- ness the expression, " Eliomsan Is the mussel of the world, and Herat is Its pearl."

As to the bomidaries of this Baghiz, wbicli to-day l^gures as the cause of the r|uarrel between England and Russia, they have been understood from the earliest limes to lie, on the west the Hari-Rud, and on the north the edge of the steppe, wldch, extend- ing from Put-i-Klilsti to Sblr-Tepe, marks the line between the cidtivated oasis and the bottomlets sand -desert.

In passing now to the ethnical features of Herat, it is to be noticed at the outset that it is exactly the miscellaneous character of the population which makes the work of conquest easy, and furnishes such means of civilization as would be sought elsewhere in vain. Among the million and a half Inhabitants o( Herat and its surroundings, the autochthonous Iranians hold the first place. For the most part, they are dwellers lu lawns, and have at all times distin- guished themselves by ibctr industry, perseverance, and special intellectual talent. It was they who produced so many brilliant periods of the Moslem culture; and the literary productions of the Herat writers, as well as the monuments of Herat artists and architects, are still subjects of admiration.

The population of the outlying dislticts bears the general name of Tshehar-Eimafc,— i.e., four tribes, — and traces its origin back to the times of the TlinurUles. The former word is of Persian origin:

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