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"25. and the whole of mankind turned to corruption

"26. like seeds the corpses floated. "27. I opened the window, and the light broke over my face,

"28. it passed, I sat down and wept, "29. over my face flowed my tears. "30. I perceived the shore at the boundary of the sea,

"31. For twelve measures the land

rose.

"32. To the country of Nizir went the ship;

"33. the mountain of Nizir stopped the ship, to pass over it it was not able. "34. The first day and the second day the mountain of Nizir the same

"48. at the bottom of them I placed reeds, pines and Simgar

"49. the gods collected at its savour, the gods collected at its good savour; "50. the gods like flies over the sacrifice gathered."

There is a column or two more describing the blessing pronounced on Hasisadra by the gods; the promise that there shall not be another flood, but if men are sinful they shall be destroyed by pestilence or by the increase of wild beasts and the removal of Hasisadra and his wife to dwell among the gods in a remote

"35. the third day and the fourth day place at the mouth of the rivers.

the mountain of Nizir the same

"36. the fifth and sixth the mountain of Nizir the same.

"37. On the seventh day in the course of it

"38. I sent forth a dove and it left. The dove went and turned and

"39. a resting place it did not find, and it returned

"40. I sent forth a swallow and it left. The swallow went and turned and

"41. a resting place it did not find and it returned

"42. I sent forth a raven and it left. "43. the raven went, and the decrease of the water it saw and

"44. it did eat, it swam and wandered away and did not return.

"45. I sent the animals forth to the four winds I poured out a libation,

"46. I built an altar on the peak of the mountain,

"47. by sevens herbs I cut,

Finally Izdubar is restored to health by the process of bathing in the water of these rivers, and he returns to Erech, where he seems to undertake great buildings, and among the rest a temple to Ishtar. Then follows again mourning for Heabani, whose ghost, at the command of Merodach, appears again above the earth, but he refuses to tell the secrets of the world below. The whole series closes with a perfect column of writing describing apparently funeral rites, probably those of Izdubar himself. Appended is the note:

"The twelfth tablet of the legends of Izdubar

Like the ancient copy written and made clear."

NOTES ON RECENT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

BY THE REV. W. H. WE now note a few facts in recent scientific discovery and speculation which have been omitted in former articles from lack of space.

At the Metropolitan Scientific Association, a discussion has been opened by Mr. W. R. Birt on the applicability of the theory of evolution to the origin of man. He puts

the facts with clearness and force on both sides. The primary ideas of the contending theorists are

DALLINGER, F.R.M.S.
readily summarized.
The one as-
sumes the gradual development of
a species of animals to another of a
higher and more perfect grade; the
moulding and modifying a primal
archetype for the express purpose
of producing an almost infinite
variety of animal existences. The
most powerful evidence on this side
is derivable from a comparison of
the skeleton of the ruminants, par-
ticularly of the ox or the horse,

with the brain development of the monkey and of man. Professor Cope, for instance, takes his departure for comparison from an ancient plantigrade, animal-that is, an animal which, like a bear, applies the sole of the foot to the ground in walking, and he traces a variety of changes in the arrangements of the bones of the leg, ankle and feet of the mammalia, culminating in the perfect ankle-joints of the ruminants, such as oxen, sheep, deer, etc. But in man there has been in the same direction scarcely any osteological development, the structure of this part of his skeleton being that of the most primitive types. Yet, on the other hand, man has progressed become developed through the expansion of his brain.

But it is asked, Does not the conception of a fundamental archetype on which the skeletons of fishes,'reptiles, birds and mammals may have been formed answer the requirements of the facts far better? It is not difficult to discover a unity of design running through the whole of these skeletons. Realise to the mind as best we can the Great Designer Who, before a single fish came into existence, saw the end from the beginning, and planned the vertebrate skeleton, adapting certain portions of it for. aqueous progression, others for aërial progression, others for arboreal progression, and giving the most recent animal in the order of time-manthe power of erect progression. It is contended that the passage from the simplest fish-skeleton to the most complex mammal is very slow indeed, and that the theory of a Designer able to produce contemporaneous forms of each class of vertebrates, apart from every other consideration, may be advantageously compared with the theory of evolution.

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In the "Notes" for November of last year we referred to the discovery of a new metal by M. Lecoq, which was named gallium. Its discoverer has been engaged in investigating its properties. The metal is most easily obtained by the action of a galvanic current on one of its sulphates. If it be deposited on a plate of platinum and burnished, it presents a whiter and more brilliant surface than platinum. It decomposes water under the influence of hydrochloric acid; hydrogen being disengaged. It is found in a great many zinc ores, and its discoverer believes that it will be found in all the sulphites of zinc. An oxide of gallium, and several salts have been prepared; and the former appears to be analogous to that of the metal alumina.

It is well known that Britannia metal, pewter, and the "white metals" generally, may be instantly distinguished from the hard metals, such as "nickel silver" or "german silver," by its want of resonance. It has no "ring," but gives a mere dull sound when stricken. Prof. Silliman has just obtained a patent for imparting resonant qualities to this group of alloys. He submits the articles for a short time to a temperature just below their melting point. A bath of oil or paraffin is employed for this purpose; but great care has to be taken that the articles be not touched in this condition, since from their extreme softness they would instantly yield. The result of this tempering is that on becoming cold the articles are capable of giving a clear resonant ring" and the explanation is that the molecules of the alloy have, by the slow heating, undergone a re-arrangement equal to crystallization, which renders the metal more capable of producing a definite vibratory sound.

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It is a curious fact that the Screw Propeller, so great a power in the maintenance and development of modern civilization, is fully represented in nature. Indeed it is extremely probable that we may yet, learn something as to the "pitch" of the screw-a critical scientific question-by the study of nature. The seed of the ash is provided with a delicately-twisted screw, by which it rapidly revolves; and by this means it is kept suspended in the air for a very long time, and so is sent far away from the parent tree. It is nearly the same with the seeds of the maple and the sycamore, although the screw is not so marked. But we may learn from these and similar instances lessons in detail which may prove of the utmost value. The benefits to be derived from a minute study of nature are constantly making themselves manifest to the inventor and the mechanic.

Mr. Edison, an American electrician, has made an addition to our knowledge of the properties of the electric force. It was found several years since that, when the contact of an electric current which

magnetized a large electro-magnet was broken very near the poles of the latter, the spark was greatly increased in intensity, and a powerful snap like the report of a small pistol resulted; but if contact were broken at a distance from the electro-magnet no such result ensued. It was further found that sparks could be drawn from the iron electromagnet. It is the nature of these results that Mr. Edison has investigated, and he proves that the spark drawn from the core of the magnet does not possess the ordinary properties of ordinary electricity. The galvanometer, which indicates the

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presence and measures the force of an ordinary galvanic current, is unmoved; and the delicate gold-leaf electrometer for indicating an electric current suffers no deflection, and a Leyden jar cannot be charged by it. But it may be observed that none of these phenomena are absolutely new in static electricity. This lastnamed form of electric force possesses great tension, is not much developed by friction, but is greatly so by evaporation and induction— as in thunder-storms. In common with other forms of electricity, it is well conducted through metals; but the human body-even the dry human hand-and water are, also, good conductors. Then we have another form of the same force originating in chemical action, generated in our galvanic batteries. Not all metals are good conductors for this; and the human body is a very bad one, a dry skin being an actual non-conductor. And, lastly, we have what is known as Thermo-electricity, or electricity generated by heat. For this, water or the human body are absolute non-conductors, and even a thin metallic wire is but a poor one; but it passes powerfully through a thick wire.

Now, it is suggested that a fourth kind of electricity has been discovered by Mr. Edison-one that is analogous to Thermo-electricity. It passes very readily over large surfaces requiring very little insulation, for it will pass over an ordinary gaspipe; but it has no effect whatever upon the human body, nor upon the most delicate organic tests ever yet employed. Every modification of the electric force is, in effect, a new power at the disposal of man's ingenuity; and one so marked in negative features as this may be of great service to man.

HAYMAN BROS. AND LILLY, HATTON HOUSE, FARRINGDON ROAD, E.C.

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