Page:Science vol. 5.djvu/51

 1 iu effects from iliat ot the ralilnsnake, lew atoo msinlnineil by Dr. Milcbell. The cure T means of Injecting permanganate of soda Into the bito b>s been subjected to fiinber experiments hy Dr. Liicerdk. Tbese prove tbal the injection must be freih, and done immediately, iiiid would be of no avail if the bite had penetrated an artery; also the injection musi. he made rre>|iieDt1;, and all miind the bit^. He liaa already cured aeveral cases of ^nake-bitu tliereby.

— Tbe Ruulan geographical society has received a report from Its meDit>er, M, A. V. Adrianof, vho Is travelling in the A.llal and Sayan ranges. After traversing the Shapsbalfca Fa^s, he followeil llie roiirse oF the river Kemlslk, a branch or tributary of the Uiu £em. In these regions he met with only a few Russian traders, but found a colony of Russian dissenters, who settled near the Chinese frontier in the Mtne of the Patriarch Nikon, and placed the whole of their joint properly under the uncontrolled adminis- tration of their leader, forming themselves into a kind of commune. Their occupations are agriculture and bnnting. The native population which surround Lhsm niann/acture a sort of felt, and Imve learned to weave a tissue of wild hemp. They prepare an intoxicating drink from milk. whTeh liiey consume in notable quantity. These peoples who live In the basin ot the river Kemtaih are Ssyanlans, or Sajantsi. They display a remarkable capacity for mixing with neighboring races without being merged, — a process which, however, succeeds better with Turanian and Finnic than with Mongolian tribes. There e.xist some important and Interesting monuments of the past among there Sayanians, who are also known imdcr the appellation 'Tuiba,' in their burying-ptaces, Tliese are either marked by conical Calms, or are Hal areas surrounded by a circular mw of stones, which are sometimes plahi. but often covered with figures and Inscriptions, and bear in some Instances rude represenlations of the human figure. Remains of sacrlHces, generally of a hone, are found near the tombs.

— The Russian explorer, Col. Prjevalski, sjieiil liwl sninm<rr in exploring the plateau lakes of Thihei.. llie height of tUoi<e at the source of the Yellow River he estimates at 13,600 feet, and those of the plateau at a thousand feet more. The climate he deKri1)es as detestable, cold, snow or rain, the whole Bimimer through. The quantity of rainfall brought from the Indian Ocean by the 9outh-c so great that all summer the north of Thibet i;reat swamp. Flth and quadrupeds birds rare, lUc flora poor but peculiar. Prjevalski's party was twice attacked by robbers, whom they suc- cessfully repulsed. He means to continue his expio- rations.

— Ahi>ut ten per cent o( the plants collected in the ii»rt.h-wes1«rn Hcxicaii slates by recent collectors prove to be new species.

— Prof. David S. Jordan has bean appointed presi- dent of the Indiana university.

— J. Miiller, aOermanmhihigengincer.haij applied ^^teClrolysis to the rectltlcalioti of light coins. The

��prncCice obtains of reducing the weight of orer-hoavy coins by disaolving off some of the metal with acid; but in Germany, at least, no attempt has hitherto liocn made to add metal to the coin by cleclro-doposi' tlori in order to bring it up to its proper weight. Tbe method answers well for small losses of weight, bo- cause the metal added In that case docs not deface llic I'haracters on the coin.

— The Allimaeum stales that the ■fovemment of Slam Is about to take steps for the opening of the Interior of its fertile territory. With this object, an expedition for survey and exploration will shortly set outfarKabin, where there are said to be mines of con- siderable value. The idea is to connect this place with Bangkok by a railway, which would lie ulti- mately carried on to Karat, Sohai, and Phitsalok. By this means Zimmay and the fertile regiim of Laos would be brought within convenient distance of the

— The naturalist, Groura Grahiniailo, has returned from eastern Turkestan, where, during the past spring and summer, his expedition was mainly employed In investigating the zoology of the conntry. He has col- lected seventeen thousand specimens of lcpIdoplerou.<i insects, of which a large number are of hitherto un- known species. The altitudes of many mountains were taken, and tbemiometricai readings rcglstereil throughout the journey. The general observations of Grihimailo tend towards an affirmative solution of the contested question of a glacial period in central Asia. Tie reports the existence, on Thlan-Shap Mountain, of forms which up to nowhail been found only iu North America. Lapland, and Iha Swiss Alps. This explorer proposes to start next year from Samarkand in order Iji pursue his researches on the western spurs of the Tliian-Shan range, which have not as yet been the object of wiiilogical investigation.

— Mr. Edwin Guthrie has published a pamphlet on rhe development of the art ot numeration, in which lie has brought together in n condensed form a very considerable amount ot information on a mo^t inter- esting subject. The pamphlet Includes a table of the Assyrian, Egyptian. Hebrew, Greek, Roman, and Arabic systems of notation.

— The ninth volume of Ihe OrnUhiilogiitandoologlnl. formsa large octavo volume of a hundred and fifty-two pagen, and, as regards both quality of matter and liter- liry execution, is greatly superior to any of Us prede- cessors. It consists wholly of original matter, and con- tains very little trash, and a large amount of valuable information, particularly about the nesting-habits of illtte-known species. It la carefully printed on heavy paper, la creditable In its new publisher and editor, and has a fair claim upon the attention of the orni- thologist as well as the non -scientific bird-lover,

— Cleiinont Ganntiau is publishing a book entitled ' Lm frandes archfologiques en Palestine ' (Paris, Erncat Leroux). This volume, lllustralcd with nu- merous engravings, contains a full account of the false Moabite potteries at Berlin, of the celehrateil Shapira Deuteronomy, and nf different spurioii.i monuments ot Palestine andiPhoenlcia.

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