1890.] Society of Wisconsin, Madison; Colorado Scientific Society, Denver; Prof. Joseph Le Conte, Berkeley, Cal.; Prof. Daniel Kirkwood, Riverside, Cal. Accessions to the Library were announced from the K. Böhmische Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, Prag; K. K. Geologische Reichsanstalt, K. Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna, Austria; Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, etc., Deutsche Geologische Gesellschaft, Gesellschaft für Erdkunde, Messrs. Friedländer & Son, Berlin; Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft, Naturwissenschaftliche Verein des Reg.-Bez., Frankfurt a. M.; Verein für Erdkunde, K. Leopoldina Carolina Akademie, Halle a. S.; Sociedade de Geografia, Lisbon; Meteorological Council, Society of Arts, Prof. B. Loewenberg, London; Trustees of Prof. James Henry, Dublin; Nova Scotian Institute of Natural Science, Halifax; Natural History Society, Montreal; Theological Seminary, Andover; American Statistical Association, Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, Boston; Museum of Comparative Zoology, Prof. Samuel D. Scudder, Cambridge, Mass.; Essex Institute, Salem; Editor of "The Traveller's Record," Hartford; Meteorological Observatory, American Institute of Electrical Engineers, New York; Mr. William John Potts, Camden, N. J.; American Pharmaceutical Association, Wagner Free Institute, Editor of "The Naturalist's Leisure Hour," Daniel G. Brinton, I. Minis Hays, Henry Phillips, Jr., Philadelphia; Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Harrisburg; Prof. Ira Remsen, Baltimore; Treasury Department, Smithsonian Institution, Department of the Inte rior, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Hydrographic Office, Anthropological Society, Washington, D. C.; Charles C. Jones, Jr., Augusta, Ga.; State Board of Health, Nashville, Tenn.; Public Library of Cincinnati; State Historical Society, Iowa City, Ia.; Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, etc., Madison; Washburn College Laboratory of Natural History, Topeka, Kans.; Los Angelos Public Library; University of California, Sacramento; Observatorio Meteorologico-Magnetico Central, Observatorio Astronomico Nacional de Tacubaya, Sociedad Cientifica "Antonio Alzate," Mexico; Museo [Feb. 7, Michoacano, Morelia, Mexico; Deutsche Wissenschaftliche Verein, Santiago, Chili. The death of Gustav Adolph Hirn, Colmar, Alsace, January 14, 1890, æt. 75, was announced. Dr. Daniel G. Brinton presented a paper on "Etruscan and Libyan Names." Prof. Houston made a communication on "Muscular Contractions following Death by Electricity." Pending nominations Nos. 1203, 1201, 1205, 1206, 1207, 1208 were read. On motion, the Society subscribed to "American Notes and Queries," and ordered the purchase of the three previous volumes. Dr. Oliver reported the following preamble and resolutions, which were adopted, and the same committee continued and requested to make all the arrangements necessary to carry out the same: The Committee to which was referred the following preamble and resolution: "Deeming it both honorable and just that we, the present representatives of American Philosophical Society, should show our affection and regard for our illustrious Founder and First President, Dr. Benjamin Franklin, who died on the 17th day of April, 1790, be it resolved that we commemorate his life, his wisdom, his labors and his achievements by proper and fitting ceremonies becoming such an occasion, on the 17th day of April, 1890; the form of the commemoration to be referred to a special committee of five members, who shall be empowered to take all necessary action," presented by Dr. Oliver at the meeting of the Society on the 17th of January, 1890, begs respectfully to submit the following report: Resolved, That we commemorate in a becoming manner the approaching Centennial Anniversary of the death of Benjamin Franklin. Resolved, That a series of short addresses upon his life, character and work be delivered before the Society upon this occasion. The Committee on the Michaux Legacy reported in favor of an appropriation of $150 to assist the expedition of Prof. Heilprin to investigate the forest growths of Mexico and Yucatan; and on motion the amount was granted for the purpose. 1890.] [Houston. The Finance Committee offered the following resolution which was adopted: Resolved, That J. Sergeant Price, Treasurer, be and he is hereby authorized to sell and transfer three thousand dollars of the loans of the City of Philadelphia now standing in the name of the Society. And the Society was adjourned by the presiding member. On Muscular Contractions Following Death by Electricity. By Prof. Edwin J. Houston. (Read before the American Philosophical Society, February 7, 1890.) Accurate data are wanting as to whether death resulting from accidental contact with electric conductors conveying the powerful currents employed in systems of electric lighting or power distribution is, or is not, practically instantaneous. Certain facts, however, are known which show that when the nature of the contacts is such that the discharge passes through the respiratory, the cardiac or the brain centres, that true physiological death, as evidenced by the complete failure of these centres to perform their normal functions, and their inability to afterwards perform these functions, is practically instantaneous. In cases of death from a lightning bolt, for example, instances are on record where death has been so nearly instantaneous that the bodies have remained so nearly in the positions occupied during life that passers-by have failed to recognize the presence of death. On the regaining of consciousness lost by a lightning discharge or a contact with an electric conductor, the subject as a rule has no memory of pain or suffering, and in many instances is even ignorant of the cause of the accident. A fact, however, which appears to disprove that practically instantaneous physiological death follows a powerful electric discharge, should be alluded to. In some instances, it has been observed that the body of the person receiving the discharge showed prolonged convulsive muscular contractions and contortions. The question thus arises, Do such muscular movements necessarily prove actual suffering on the part of the subject? Do they even necessarily prove the existence of life while they are taking place? While, of course, the answer to this question must necessarily be to a certain extent uncertain, the following considerations are offered to show that in all probability such muscular contractions follow physiological death, and are, therefore, unattended by consciousness or suffering. Two general cases of contact resulting in death may occur, viz.: 1. A momentary contact, where the discharge is only temporary, as in the case of the lightning discharge, or the case of a person falling against the wires and remaining in contact therewith but a few seconds or fractions of a second. 2. A prolonged contact where the current continues to pass through the body for some time after death. In cases of death by the first class of contacts, no convulsive movements occur. Death results from physiological shock, or possibly from changes in the nervous or muscular tissues. In the second class of contacts, death in many cases probably occurs practically instantaneously. The question then arises, How can the muscular contractions be explained? The classic experiments of Galvani with the excised legs of recently killed frogs prove conclusively that the passage of an electric current causes convulsive muscular movements. The same phenomena, too, have been observed in the human subject, as numerous experiments with the bodies of criminals shortly after their execution have shown. It would seem, therefore, probable, to say the least, that when the electric current continues to pass through the body of the subject after physiological death has occurred, such convulsive muscular movements may occur, and that, therefore, their existence do not prove suffering. When a powerful current traverses the body, tetanus occurs, and muscular movements in such parts cease. The nerve loses its sensibility, and, if the current is too strong, changes occur in its structure or composition, either as a result of polarization, or electrolysis, or otherwise, which prevent it from being further affected by the electric discharge. Since such changes presumably occur in cases of death by electric discharges, it would appear that muscular contractions would therefore be impossible after death. A brief consideration of the manner in which an electric current traverses the human body will show that such a conclusion is unwarranted. When the electrodes of any source are applied to any two parts of the human body, a current passes through the body from the positive to the negative electrode. The density of current that passes, or the current strength per unit of area of cross-section, is different at different parts of the body. Those portions that lie in the paths of least resistance, which, in general, are situated in paths of least distance between the electrodes, receive the denser and more powerful current, while those lying in paths of greater resistance, receive weaker currents. In other words, in the passage of the electric current through the human body, a diffusion of the current occurs. While, therefore, the nerves and muscles lying in the direct path of a fatal discharge may be almost instantly deprived of their sensibility by the passage of the powerful and fatal discharge through them, the nerves and muscles which lie in the paths of less powerful currents may still retain their power of electric excitation. It is therefore probable, that in cases of prolonged fatal contact with electric conductors, the ensuing convulsive muscular contractions do not of necessity prove suffering. I offer these views with some diffidence from the standpoint of an electrician rather than that of a physiologist. On Etruscan and Libyan Names. A Comparative Study. By Daniel G. Brinton, M.D. (Read before the American Philosophical Society, February 7, 1890.) §1. Introductory. Libyan Epigraphy. In October last (1889) I laid before this Society a series of considerations drawn from the physical traits of the Etruscans, their customs, arts and language, going to show that they were an offshoot or colony of the Libyans or Numidians of North Africa-that stock now represented by the Kabyles of Algeria, the Rifians of Morocco, the Touaregs of the Great Desert and the other so-called Berber tribes. So far as I was aware, this opinion had never been advanced before, although it would seem a natural and obvious one. Nor have I yet found that any writer had clearly stated it previously; though I have discovered that occasional earlier observers have been struck with some of the resemblances which so impressed me, and I am glad to add the weight of their testimony to my own. Thus, M. Louis Rinn, Vice-President of the Historical Society of Algiers, after alluding to what he considers a point of resemblance between the Berber and the Etruscan language, adds, "A comparative study of these two peoples would certainly bring into prominence other similarities, yet more remarkable, in their customs, in the forms and designs of their potteries and in their tongues."* M. Rinn quotes the old traveler, Dr. T. Shaw, as suggesting one or more similarities in Kabyle and Etruscan place-names, but he gives no exact references, and a search through Shaw's Travels has not enabled me to find the passages. In the present article, I shall carry out to a limited extent a comparison between the proper names preserved in the oldest Libyan monuments and a series of similar names believed to be genuine Etruscan. I am aware that this is not the way to study the relationship of languages à fond; but the material is not obtainable in this country to do more, and if it were, I have not that familiarity * Les Origines Berbères. Etudes Linguistiques et Ethnologiques, p. 196 (Alger., 1889). I regret that I cannot speak favorably of this laborious production; but its author is fantastical rather than scientific in most of his researches. The similarity referred to is that of the geographical name Tuderta which I mention hereafter. |