tures of the disease-germ of each, actually growing on some sterilized nutrient medium.

The last department of this portion of the museum represents the effect of injury of every known kind upon all portions of the human body. The whole museum presents collectively, therefore, a full history of the human body from its very beginning to its end in old age, under all circumstances of health, disease, and injury.

Special work is also being done in the several separate departments of the museum. One of the most important now in progress is the preparation of a series of sections through the human body, made in every possible direction. The object of these, of which similar ones have never before been prepared, is to show the organs of the human body from every possible point of view, thus, in the complete series, exhibiting, as has never been done before, all the minute relations of adjacent organs. The ordinary anatomical specimen, either of the whole body or of a separate organ, only shows this from one direction. This series of sections is being beautifully mounted, and when completed will be of great practical value to physicians and surgeons.

Another department now being arranged will present, when completed, a full collection of all supplies furnished to an army medical hospital. Not only will all drugs and medicines be shown, but all the instruments used, all the books furnished, and every appliance for the care and comfort of the patient. In fact, there will be nothing ever used in a United States army hospital, from an ambulance to the most common drug, that may not there be seen. These are also arranged, as far as possible, in the manner in which they should be kept in an army hospital; so that, in fact, this exhibit becomes a model for all surgeons in actual charge of hospitals. To supplement the collection above described, there will be added those peculiar articles and appliances supplied in foreign countries to their army hospitals, but not at present to be found in one of our own. A fine collection has already been received from Russia, and there will in due time be added similar collections from all other countries.

One of the assistants in the museum is now engaged in mounting for exhibition the collection of medical medals which Dr. Billings has been several years in making. This includes four hundred specimens, from all countries, of medals specially granted to physicians for distinguished services; as, for instance, in great epidemics, and other circumstances in which great and exceptional services have been demanded. These are being uniformly mounted for exhibition in frames. The collection, already a very fine one, is by no means complete, about two hundred more specimens being needed. Dr. Billings hopes gradually to obtain these. The medals are not only interesting in themselves, many of them being very curious, but scores of them have an immensely added value for the interesting history which they suggest.

An International Marine Conference.

The Pilot Chart for September contains the following: "An act of Congress, approved by the President July 9, 1888, provided for an international marine conference to secure greater safety for life and property at sea. Invitations have accordingly been extended to each maritime nation to send one or more delegates, to meet in Washington, April 17, 1889. The purposes of the conference are defined as follows: To revise and amend the rules, regulations, and practice concerning vessels at sea, and navigation generally, and the "International Code of Flag and Night Signals;" to adopt a uniform system of marine signals, or other means of plainly indicating the direction in which vessels are moving in fog, mist, falling snow, and thick weather, and at night; to compare and discuss the various systems employed for the saving of life and property from shipwreck, for reporting, marking, and removing dangerous wrecks and obstructions to navigation, for designating vessels, for conveying to mariners and persons interested in shipping, warnings of approaching storms, of dangers to navigation, of changes in lights, buoys, and other day and night marks, and other important information; and to formulate and submit for ratification to the governments of all maritime nations proper international regulations for the prevention of collisions and other avoidable marine disasters.'

ence that no questions relating to trade and commerce are within the scope of the discussion, and that, in the disposition of any questions which may be presented to the conference, no State shall be entitled to more than one vote, whatever may be the number of delegates representing it.'

"The importance of this subject is so great, and the need for concerted international action so pressing, that a full attendance of delegates is confidently expected. This office will gladly do all in its power to facilitate the collection and proper presentation of data, and the officers in charge of the various branch hydrographic offices will receive and foward any well-considered suggestions that may be handed to them. It should be remembered, however, that an intimate knowledge of all the conditions of the problem is very necessary to the suggestion or invention of any scheme likely to possess such merit as to render its adoption at all probable, and every plan should be thoroughly considered in all its details before being submitted. In this way the work of the conference itself will be greatly facilitated."

It is only just to say that this most important conference-important not only to mariners and ship-owners, but to every person who intrusts his life or that of his friends, or his property, to the treacherous sea was conceived, its purposes defined, and its plan perfected, by the United States Hydrographic Office, which also recommended it to Congress in such a way as to induce that unwilling body to make provision for its expenses. It is certain to be

a success.

Disinfectants that neutralize Each Other.

Dr. Joseph Holt, formerly president of the New Orleans Board of Health, in a letter on the yellow-fever in Florida, recently published, used this language: "When the sulphurous fumigation is used after the wetting of surfaces with the mercuric solution, ‘ the sulphurous gas' does not 'unite with the mercuric salt forming a compound which impairs the germicidal power of both,' as declared by Assistant Surgeon J. J. Kinyoun, of the United States Marine Hospital Service, in his recent report on the Louisiana quarantine. That officer was sent here as an expert, and has made a positive statement in regard to a point in chemistry without having taken the trouble to try the experiment. When sulphurous-acid gas or liquid, or sulphuric acid, is added to a solution of the bichloride of mercury, there is absolutely no chemical interchange, but the solution remains perfectly clear. A drop or two of the solution of the iodide of potash will reveal the mercuric element by an abundant precipitation."

This is a very important matter, on account of its practical bearing on the effectiveness of the two agents mentioned, in disinfection, and the results that follow from using one after the other. Dr. Kinyoun has therefore written a reply, from which the following extracts are taken: "As Dr. Holt is a man who wields a large influence in the Southern country in regard to sanitary matters, I think it only a matter of justice to the public to correct the error that Dr. Holt has himself made in stating that the sulphurous fumes do not form an insoluble compound with the mercuric salt,

etc.

"In this connection I would respectfully state that the fact had been long known to me, even prior to my inspection of the Louisiana quarantine, that when SO, is passed through, or brought in contact with, a solution of bichloride of mercury, a change took place. The mercuric was changed to a mercurous salt; and, observing it during the process of fumigation, I confirmed it before submitting my report. Owing to the want of time, I have not undertaken to find out the exact proportion of the constituents due to the re-action. Suffice it to say that the precipitate is calomel.

66

It is apparent, that, if bichloride solution is used prior to sulphur fumigation, the amount of water alone which is present would absorb a great quantity of the gas, and prevent its penetration where the bichloride solution does not reach; and when the change occurs in the solution of bichloride, it is obvious that the germicidal power of both is impaired. When SO, is passed through a solution of bichloride containing an equal quantity of ammonia at the temperature of 25° to 40° C., the change takes place slowly; but when the solution or gas is heated to from 40° to 90° C., the change takes place rapidly, converting nearly all the mercuric to a mercurous salt."

EXPLORATION AND TRAVEL.

The Kongo Free State.

CAPTAIN THYS, on his return from Africa, delivered some very interesting lectures on the state of affairs on the Kongo, which were recently published in the form of a pamphlet. The following notes are taken from this publication. The establishment of easy communication between the upper and lower Kongo is of vital importance for the development of western Central Africa: therefore the Kongo Industrial and Trading Company has taken active measures for the establishment of good roads. A few months ago an expedition was sent out to study the feasibility of a railroad leading to Stanley Pool. After five months of hard work, a hundred miles of the proposed road were surveyed. The whole district to be traversed by the road was mapped on a scale of 1:2,500, with five-metre contour-lines. After this work was completed, the expedition, which is commanded by Captain Cambier, proceeded inland to make a reconnaissance and survey of the upper part of the road. After this preliminary survey has been made, the line will be located and resurveyed. It is expected that this work will be completed this year, and the company expects to make its detailed plans and estimates in the beginning of next year. So far, no serious difficulties have been met with. As the railroad will not be completed for a few years, the company has made an attempt to organize regular caravans for carrying the trade between Matadi and the Pool. At present sixty thousand loads of sixty-five pounds each are transported by carriers through the district of the cataracts. As this method of transportation is expensive and unsafe, it has been proposed to use cattle instead of men. With this aim in view, attempts have been made to raise cattle, and have been found to be successful; and it is hoped that by this means the cost of transportation will be greatly diminished. While the railroad is being surveyed, M. Delcommune has been sent on a commercial reconnaissance of the upper Kongo. In March he started on the steamer Roi des Belges' up the Kassai. The pamphlet is accompanied by a sketch-map of the Kongo Free State, by A. T. Wauters, showing the present state of our knowledge of this vast territory. A number of special maps show the situations of the important stations and the route along the Kongo from Matadi to Leopoldville.

THE KASSAI. The observations of Captain Thys on the Kassai, and its principal tributary the Lulua, have been published by the Institut National de Géographie at Brussels in the form of a large map on a scale of 1: 200,000. The map is mainly intended for the use of steamers going up and down the Kassai and Lulua, and the notes on the character of the rivers and their banks have been carefully compiled from the observations of Captain Thys and of Wissmann. While this map is particularly valuable on account of the large amount of detail it contains, Dr. B. Hassenstein's map of the Sankuru, which was published in the July number of Petermann's Mitteilungen, must be considered one of the most important contributions to the geography of Africa. In it the surveys of Dr. Ludwig Wolf in 1886, and those of Wissmann and François in 1884-85, have been made use of. The astronomical observations of these travellers have been carefully scrutinized, and the final results obtained by Hassenstein must be considered the most probable, considering the present state of our knowledge. The construction of the upper part of the Lulua is based upon the longitude of Mukenge, near Luluaburg, which has a probable error of 17'. The barometer observations have been reduced, and a great number of elevations are contained in the map. The scale of the latter is 1 : 600,000, and a considerable amount of detail is given. The great value of this publication becomes obvious when comparing it with the preliminary maps compiled from the surveys of these travellers.

BOOK-REVIEWS.

A Guide to the Study of the History and the Constitution of the United States. By WILLIAM W. RUPERT. Boston, Ginn.

12°.

THE first part of this book presents a selection of topics covering the whole period of American history, and accompanied by a numerous list of authorities, the whole being designed as a guide to

young students. The author remarks in his preface that "young persons are incapable of distinguishing between important and unimportant historical facts," and therefore need guidance in the study of such facts. This is undoubtedly true; but unfortunately Mr. Rupert is not always successful in making the required distinction himself, for he gives altogether too much attention to military affairs, and too little to some political and social events of far greater importance. In other respects, however, his work is well done. The second part of the book is a brief exposition of the Constitution, giving an explanation of its provisions, and in some cases the reasons why they were enacted. The decisions of the Supreme Court on questions of constitutional law are not given, probably because they were deemed somewhat beyond the province of a schoolbook; but the author's exposition, so far as it goes, seems well adapted to the wants of students in the high schools.

NOTES AND NEWS.

IN the Overland Monthly for September is a short paper on orange-culture, by Mr. Adolphe Flamant of Napa; the Grand Cañon of the Colorado is described by Mr. J. G. Lemmon, botanist of the State Board of Forestry; and among the short stories is' A Question of Will-Power, a Psychological Study,' by A. G. Tassin. Ginn & Co. announce The Elements of Plane Analytic Geometry,' by John D. Runkle, professor of mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as in press. They also invite attention to Taylor's Calculus' (differential and integral, in one volume), lately adopted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Relation of the Sexes to Government' will be discussed by Prof E. D. Cope in the October Popular Science Monthly. The differences between the two French schools of hypnotism will be set forth by Dr. Christian A. Herter, under the title Hypnotism: What it is, and What it is not.' Under the title Ethics and Economics,' Mr. Robert Mathews will give a thoughtful view of our social outlook. Henry Carey Baird & Co. will publish on Sept. 15 a new book on steam-engineering, entitled The American Steam-Engineer, Theoretical and Practical,' by Emory Edwards, the well-known author of The Practical Engineer's Guide,' etc. The author in the forthcoming book will give examples of the latest and most approved American practice in the design and construction of steam engines and boilers of every description. -The J.

B. Lippincott Company will publish on Sept. 14 the second volume of the new edition of Chambers's Encyclopædia, from Bea to Cat. The same thorough revision and accuracy that characterize the first volume are also found in the second. It contains 828 pages, is profusely illustrated with new woodcuts, and supplied with maps of Belgium, Burma, California, Dominion of Canada, Eastern Provinces of Canada, Cape Colony, and South Africa. They will begin at once the publication of a series of biographical studies of the great men who have influenced the social and political history of the world, under the general title of International Statesmen Series.' It is to be edited by Mr. L. C. Sanders, and its scope will be comprehensive, embracing the ancients and the moderns, and including not only the creators of the English Commonwealth, but also the makers of European and American politics, and the founders of the Indian and Colonial Empires. The initial volume of the series is Lord Beaconsfield,' by T. E. Kebbel, author of a History of Toryism.'- Messrs. Trübner & Co., London, announce The Literature of Egypt and the Soudan,' by H. H. Prince IbrahimHilmy, Mediæval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources,' by E. Bretschneider, M.D.; Table of Quarter-Squares of all Numbers from 1 to 200.000,' calculated by Joseph Blater; Bibliography of South Australia,' compiled by Thomas Gill; and · Manual of New Zealand History,' by J. Howard Wallace.

During the total eclipse of the moon on Jan. 28, 1888, Prof. W. H. Pickering searched, by means of photography, for a lunar satellite. The results of his observations have been published in the Annals of Harvard College Observatory.' The method of observation was to direct the telescope, with the camera attached to it, towards the moon, and to adjust it so as to follow the motion of the latter. The effect is, that the stars are represented as short lines, while any satellite, whose motion would probably be in accordance with that of the moon, would appear as a point or a line

having a direction different from that of the stars. The search was unsuccessful; and Pickering concludes from the results that the satellite, if existing at all, has a diameter of less than two hundred

metres.

Rudolf Clausius, the eminent physicist, died on Aug. 25 at Bonn. Clausius was born on Jan. 2, 1822, at Koeslin. In 1840 he commenced his studies at the University of Berlin. After having taken his degree, he became lecturer of physics at this university, holding at the same time the position of teacher at a military academy. In 1855 he was appointed professor of physics at Zürich, and in 1867 he was elected by the faculty of Würzburg, at which university he remained for two years. Since 1869 he has been professor of physics at the University of Bonn. His work on the theory of heat is so well known that we do not need to sum up his merits. His important researches on this subject were first published in Poggendorff's 'Annalen, and later on collected in a work of two volumes, the first of which treats of the theory of heat, while the second refers to the applications of the theory to electricity. With admirable modesty he termed his most important discovery the principle of Carnot,' as in following his line of research he was led to its discovery.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Mississagua Etymology.

A RECENT visit to the Mississaguas of Scugog Island (a remnant of a once powerful branch of the great Ojibwa confederacy) has enabled me to collect some interesting philological and folk-loristic information. Their language is nearly pure Ojibwa, and was in its uncorrupted form a purer dialect than that of Baraga's Dictionary. This conclusion is based upon a vocabulary of some five hundred words collected during my visit, and upon a manuscript FrenchIndian vocabulary of the region between York (Toronto) and Lake Simcoe of a date circa 1803. The words dealt with here were explained to me carefully by Mrs. Bolin, an aged member of the Scugog tribe, a very intelligent woman. Her Indian name is Nawigishcoké (the sun in the centre of the sky'). She is about sixty-five years old.

Manitoominis (bead') literally means 'mystery-seed.' The Indian was very much puzzled when he saw beads for the first time. Musawkwodon ('beard') literally means 'fuzzy-mouth.' Musons (caterpillar '), the same word as that for 'nettle,' means 'fuzzy thing.' Muskegamin (cranberry') means 'swamp-fruit.' Shaganosh (Englishman') was explained as meaning 'sailing round the world.' The brother of the Mississagua chief at Scugog is called Shawanosh (sailing from the south'). It is the termination of these words that gives the idea of sailing. Wamitigoshi (Frenchman '), Mrs. Bolin explained to me as meaning 'he who carries a trunk.' She said that no doubt the first Frenchman with whom the Indians got acquainted carried, for some purpose or other, a trunk or box, hence the name. Shabomin (gooseberry') is the transparent fruit.' Pajicogoshi (horse') is the animal with one hoof.' Piwabik (iron ') is the metal that crumbles off.' Oshkikwomin (lead) is that which can be cut with a knife.' Wabimojichagwan (looking-glass') is a most interesting word. Mrs. Bolin explained it as meaning 'where ghosts are seen.' When the Indians first became acquainted with looking-glasses, they imagined that in them they saw their ghosts or spirits (ojichag). Ashebojanak (oar') is from ashebojan (to row), the literal meaning of which is 'to sit backwards,' referring to the position assumed when rowing as opposed to paddling. Pajicogoshinijin (oats') are literally 'horse's food.' Ocadak (sarsapa

rilla) is the leg-root.' Menagwacomis (sassafras') is 'the scented tree.' Manitanis (sheep') is the animal that has the damaged hide,' or the hide that is not durable, as that of deer, etc. Papakawaiyon (shirt') means literally thin wear.' Shishibanwing (shot') is literally duck-stones.' Muskeg (swamp') is a place which is full of sticks.' Nibanakwanisitan (toes') are so named from their running in rotation. Pakweshikanusk (wheat') literally means 'bread-herb.' Wasaijakon (window') is that by which the light (wasaija) comes in.'

A few other examples might also be given. Miskotchies (‘beet ') literally means 'red turnip.' Osawascopineshi (bluebird ') means

the same as in English. Osawatchies (carrot') is 'the yellow turnip.' Eshkon (‘chisel ') means literally horn,' showing of what material these implements were made in the past. Papiga omukaki (toad') is literally the rough frog.' Papassa (woodpecker') means literally 'the pecker.'

At Scugog, English is fast superseding the native Indian language, and soon one of the most interesting and most constructive of American aboriginal tongues will have ceased to exist upon the island. A. F. CHAMBERLAIN.

Toronto, Aug. 15.

The Limit of Drift.

MAPS showing the drift-limit fix the boundary in Kansas a few miles south of Lawrence and Topeka. These are possibly correct so far as the drift-sheet is concerned, but erratic bowlders have strayed from their native ledges about Lake Superior to a greater distance. One of granite, weighing over 360 pounds, was found by the writer near the summit of a divide thirteen miles east-northeast of Eureka, and seventy-five miles south of Topeka, Kan. The elevation is about 1,160 feet above the ocean. It lay nearly buried in the soil near the head of a draw tributary to West Creek, a tributary of the Verdigris River. The draw trended south-south-west; and the configuration of the country immediately northward, on the opposite side of West Creek, lends weight to the supposition that that was the direction the emigrant travelled when he entered southern Kansas.

No other bowlders have been found in the neighborhood. This one has five planed faces, and bears other marks of having travelled, part of the way at least, at the bottom of a glacier. The country immediately north has never been visited by the writer, and so it is possible that other drift-material lies in that quarter, but none exists here.

If the attenuated margin of the glacier stopped some miles to the northward, and this country was flooded with water, it seems strange that so few bowlders floated away in bergs or floes. If this country was flooded to a sufficient depth to float bergs with bowlders, the eastern margin of this State must have been occupied by a river of extraordinary dimensions, emptying southward, etc. The find is very suggestive of questions. L. C. WOOSTER. Eureka, Kan., Sept. 5.

A Brilliant Meteor.

ON Sunday evening last a meteor was seen by several people in and around this city, but, so far as I can learn, Mr. J. C. Mayo was the only one who made reliable time-observations of its appearance and disappearance.

Mr. Mayo is the telegraph-operator and stenographer of the Blue Bird Mining Company, Limited, and resides at the Blue Bird Mine, about three miles west of Butte City.

At 6.30 P.M. by Mr. Mayo's watch, which was five minutes slow of local time, a meteor burst into view in the southern heavens, and moved in an apparent downward and north-easterly direction. About two seconds (estimated) after its appearance the meteor burst, first into two parts, and then into fragments which immediately disappeared. Mr. Mayo, having his watch in hand, noted the time at which the meteor burst, and then listened for a report. At the expiration of five minutes and thirty seconds two loud reports, nearly simultaneous, were heard. These reports were like the explosions of heavy blasts of powder, and were followed by a rumbling like near thunder, lasting about ten seconds.

The place in the sky where the meteor was first seen, as pointed out to me, was S. 60° E. from the Blue Bird Mine, at an elevation of 50° from the horizon. The place where it burst was due eas1 and at an elevation of 25°.

Mr. Mayo describes the meteor as having a well-defined body, egg-shaped, with the smaller end foremost. This body was distinctly visible," resembling white-hot iron," giving off a pure white light, and was followed by a "bright blaze," which shaded into a dense white," sulphurous" smoke. The trail of smoke left behind remained visible for fully ten minutes.

The sky was clear and the sun shining brightly; but the meteor apparently emitted as much light as the sun, and lighted up its shadows. A. B. KNIGHT.

Butte City, Montana, Aug. 22.

THE WANT which has been long felt in cities for properly trained nurses has been fully met by the training-schools, which have sprung up in almost every city, and in connection with almost every hospital. But in the smaller towns and villages the need is as great as ever, and, so far as we know, no effort has been made to meet it. It has been claimed that the supply has not been furnished because there was no demand for such services. This may be true to some extent, but does not account for the almost total lack of properly educated nurses in the country. The explanation is, we think, rather that, the system being a comparatively modern one, it was but natural that it should at first be put into operation in the large centres of population; and, as these are now fairly well supplied, it will doubtless follow that when the supply exceeds the demand, as it bids fair soon to do, the trained nurse will naturally seek employment in the smaller towns and villages. In the mean time residents of these villages who desire to introduce such a system into the places of their residence will find the fullest instructions in a book recently written by Dr. Worcester of Waltham, entitled A New Way of training Nurses.'

THE STANLEY EXPEDITION.

IT may be well to review at the present time the progress of the Stanley expedition and the events on the upper Kongo, in order to understand the real value of the numerous rumors that have been reported as to the fate of the explorer and of his caravan. On March 18, 1887, Stanley arrived at Banana, and with some difficulty reached Leopoldville on Stanley Pool on April 20. On June 2 he left his camp at the mouth of the Aruvimi, ascending the latter river. At that time it was hoped by well-informed persons that he might be able to reach Wadelai towards the end of July, although a delay of many months did not seem at all improbable. On Aug. 4 it was announced that on the 18th of June, Stanley had reached the rapids of the Aruvimi, and that he was preparing to make a portage. On June 23 Stanley sent a letter from Yambuya on the Aruvimi, and on July 12 a despatch was sent that all was well. He was proceeding up the Aruvimi with a caravan of fifty Europeans and four hundred and sixty-five soldiers and carriers.

Near the mouth of the Aruvimi, Major Barttelot was left in command of a fortified camp with four European and one hundred and twenty-five Zanzibar soldiers, and ample provisions, with the instruction to follow on Stanley's route as soon as Tippo-Tip should have gathered a sufficient number of carriers. It will be remembered that at that time the Arabs were in possession of Stanley Falls Station, and that, by appointing Tippo-Tip chief, the Kongo Free State hoped to again get control of that place. On May 31 Stanley and Tippo-Tip separated, after having passed Bangala. The latter, accompanied by ninety-six persons, and Major Barttelot, who was in command of forty Sudanese soldiers, proceeded up the Kongo. On June 22 Barttelot reached Yambuya, where he met Stanley. Tippo-Tip, on his arrival at Stanley Falls, and on announcing his appointment as chief of the Falls Station, met with some resistance among the Arabs, particularly from one Said-benHabub, who refused to obey him. Tippo-Tip then demanded from the Kongo State two officers and thirty soldiers for enforcing his commands. When this news reached Europe, Captain Liévin Van de Velde was appointed commander of the garrison of Stanley Falls, and left Antwerp on Oct. 23. Unfortunately he died a few days after his arrival on the Kongo. For a long time no news from Barttelot reached the coast, until a despatch from St. Paul de Loanda, dated May 1, announced that Mr. Ward had arrived from

Yambuya at Boma, with the news that nothing had been heard from Stanley since July, 1887. Tippo-Tip had left for Kasongo, situated above the Falls, on Nov. 16, but in March he had procured only two hundred and fifty carriers. Jamieson had gone to the same place to urge the despatch of three hundred and fifty carriers more who were wanted. He was expected back at Yambuya on May 14, and Barttelot did not expect to leave until June 1. It was his intention to proceed via Stanley Falls, where he intended to leave an officer in charge of every thing he could spare. Later on, Jamieson reported their intention to start. The last news from this region was that the Falls Station was re-occupied by the Kongo Free State, under command of Captain van Gèle.

The numerous reports of Stanley's death or of his progress that were published at brief intervals were without any foundation. The only rumors from the west coast that had any elements of truth were

contained in Barttelot's last letter, which was received in Brussels on the 15th of June. In December, 1887, several deserters from Stanley's expedition were met with several days' journey up the Aruvimi by Arabs. They told that they had left Stanley after five months' hard travelling in a mountainous region, covered with dense forest and very populous, the expedition having to fight frequently against the natives. In one of these struggles Stanley was said to be wounded. The situation at Yambuya was very difficult on account of scarcity of food. Tippo-Tip, although not unwilling to keep his promise of sending carriers, found it extremely difficult to induce the natives to take part in an expedition toward the unknown northern regions.

It is well known that deserters always describe the state of the caravans as hopeless, in order to exculpate themselves, and therefore their tale must be accepted cum grano salis. This report was repeated, somewhat amplified and exaggerated, by a despatch of Reuter's Bureau.

We turn to considering the news coming from East Africa. A despatch of May 28 shows how slowly trustworthy information travels this way. This telegram, which was published in the London Times, stated that letters were received from Barttelot, dated Stanley Falls, Oct. 25, which referred to some deserters having come down to that station.

While this meagre news is all we know about Stanley, letters from Emin Pacha come in comparatively regularly, showing that an open route exists from his province to Zanzibar. The last letter from the region occupied by Emin Pacha was written on Dec. 5, 1887, by Casati, at Guaia in Unyoro. He says, "I do not believe that Stanley will arrive very soon. No news, however vague, has come here from the West. I am convinced that he cannot be here before March. The size of his caravan, and consequent difficulty of obtaining provisions, sickness, etc., - these are serious obstacles to his rapid progress."

Another report from this region was obtained at Cairo, July 5. A messenger who had left Khartum May 25 says that he has noticed the preparations made by the Mahdi since the middle of March for an expedition against Emin. The expedition consisted of four thousand men, who took passage in four old steamboats of Gordon. The last exciting reports from this region are the Reuter despatches referring to the white pacha who was said to be encountered by Arabs in the Bahr-el-Gazal region. It is hardly possible to tell what may be the foundation of these repeated reports.

From all these facts we conclude that there is no foundation to the numerous reports of Stanley's death. The difficulties he must have encountered on his march must have been unexpected, or he may have had in view an object entirely different from the alleged 'relief' of Emin Pacha. So far, we are not justified in supposing that he has perished, else some news to this effect would have reached the Kongo.

A few days ago a despatch was sent from the Kongo reporting

A

the death of Barttelot, who was murdered by his carriers. It has not been stated how this news reached the coast, but, since the reestablishment of intercourse with Stanley Falls, its authenticity seems not improbable. The cable (London, Sept. 14) reports, despatch from St. Paul de Loanda states that Major Barttelot was shot on July 19 by his Manyema carriers. The head Arab and his men thereupon ran off to Stanley Falls, where Jamieson is making arrangements with Tippo-Tip for the organization of an expedition. He will proceed as quickly as possible. The London newspapers are unanimously of the opinion that Major Barttelot was betrayed by Tippo-Tip, who organized the native portion of the expedition; and the question is asked, Why may not Stanley have been also the victim of his treachery? Nyangwe, the home of Tippo-Tip, is three hundred miles distant from Stanley Falls. The first despatch said that Tippo-Tip was at Nyangwe. The second does not indicate whether he is still there, or has returned to Stanley Falls. Colonel De Winton is of the opinion that Barttelot was murdered between the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth degrees of east longitude at about the second degree of north latitude. The Manyema twice attempted to take Livingstone's life. The second despatch removes from the Arabs the suspicion of treachery."

All the evidence tends to show that there is no intention on the part of Tippo-Tip to betray Stanley. Furthermore, it must be borne in mind that Barttelot at an early date had an encounter with natives of the same tribe, in which several of Tippo-Tip's men were killed. It seems that he was almost too energetic in his dealings with the natives.

A despatch dated London, Sept. 16, says, “Captain Vangele, who has just returned to Europe from the Kongo country, says he is convinced of Tippo-Tip's innocence of the murder of Major Barttelot. Tippo-Tip, he says, is engaged entirely in commerce, and had an interest in the success of Major Barttelot's expedition. The porters who accompanied the expedition were furnished by Tippo-Tip. They agreed that they should be paid on reaching Zanzibar, and to this fact Captain Vangele partly attributes the murder, because the payment of the porters depended upon the success of the journey. He thinks the strict discipline preserved by Barttelot may also have aroused hostility. He believes that Jamieson will find it difficult to organize a new expedition. Captain Vangele is convinced that Stanley is safe."

It is not quite clear to us whether Vangele' is the same Van Gèle who left Leopoldville on April 26 to occupy Stanley Falls. His return to Europe at this time seems hardly probable, although we do not know what has been going on on the upper Kongo during the last months.

Meanwhile committees are forming in various countries for the relief of Emin, or rather for supplying Emin with ammunition and opening a route to his province. Foremost in these endeavors is at present the German East African Association, but so far no definite results have been obtained.

MEDICAL MUSEUMS.

THE Congress of American Physicians and Surgeons closed its meeting in Washington last evening with an address in the National Museum from the president, Dr. John S. Billings, and a reception in the Army Medical Museum. Dr. Billings's audience was a large and appreciative one; and he made his address on medical museums, with special reference to the Army Medical Museum at Washington, exceedingly interesting as well as instructive and suggestive.

The necessity of economizing space prevents the reproduction here of the very interesting historical enumeration of the leading medical museums of the world, with which Dr. Billings opened his address, and we pass at once to the central topic, condensing as the exigencies of space demand. He said:

garded as valuable, together with projectiles and foreign bodies removed, and such other matters as may prove of interest in the study of military medicine or surgery.' By the end of the year, over a thousand specimens had been collected, and the catalogue printed in 1866 showed that it contained 7.716 specimens. It is not my purpose in this address to trace the history of its development that must be done elsewhere. It has recently been placed, with the library, in a conveniently arranged fire-proof building, and on the 1st of July last contained over 15,000 specimens besides those contained in its microscopical department, divided as follows:

"Besides these, there are 375 specimens pertaining to normal human anatomy, and 726 to pathological anatomy, which are in what is called the provisional series.'

"At first the Army Medical Museum was limited to military medical subjects; but of late years its scope has been greatly broadened, and is now nearly the same as that of the Royal College of Surgeons. It includes human anatomy, physiology, pathology, somatological anthropology, instruments and apparatus, and illustrations of methods of teaching connected with special departments of practical medicine. It does not at present include hygiene or materia medica, except in their immediate relations to the military medical service; and this for reasons which will be stated presently. That our National Medical Museum should be broad and comprehensive in its scope, there can be no doubt, its requirements in this respect being quite different from those of collections formed and used more especially for the purpose of teaching medical students. The most practically valuable of these last are those formed by individual professors to suit their own specialties and methods of teaching. They need not, as a rule, be large. I may even say that they should not be large; for the labor of properly preserving a large collection is great, and the student, with his limited time and want of knowledge of what to look for, can examine but few specimens so as to profit by them. For the same reason specimens of rare abnormities, of double monstrosities, etc., are of little use in ordinary medical teaching as given in this country, and are not specially desirable in the museums of our medical schools.

"You may have noticed, that, in speaking of the scope of our museum, I said it included human anatomy.' This phrase does not mean that it has no specimens illustrating the structure of other animals, for it has many, and needs many more; but it means that in this department its main purpose is not to make comparative anatomy an end to itself by exhibiting all known variations in structure throughout the animal kingdom as a basis for their study in relation to development and environment, causation and results: in other words, it is not an anatomical museum, but a medical museum. The broad field of general biology, including natural history and comparative anatomy, will ultimately be covered by the National Museum; and in our medical collection it will be quite enough to illustrate human anatomy fully, using so much of the structure of the lower animals as will be useful in explaining why certain parts of the human body are thus and so, and not otherwise. No sharp line of distinction can be drawn between the field of work of the general and that of the medical museum. So far as morphology is concerned, they must necessarily overlap somewhat, since both want a certain number of the same specimens, although using them to illustrate different points of view.

The kind of specimens most valued for illustrating anatomy in a museum is now very different from what was sought for in the first half of this century. Dried and varnished dissections showing blood-vessels, etc., are now looked on as nearly useless, and are kept only as historical relics. Elaborate dissections under alcohol, mounted in opaque dishes with flat glass covers, and sections of frozen bodies similarly mounted, are what the student and the practitioner most desire to see. In our museum there are some ex