Abstract
Bulletins de la Societe d'Anthropologie de Paris, 5me Fascicule, 1884.—On ancient superstitions still surviving among the Bretons, by M. Bonnemere. An interesting paper, showing among many other proofs of superstition that the peasantry believe in the possession by certain individuals, whom they characterise as “Ribotteurs,” of the power of injuring others by causing their milch cows to lose their milk. The so-called “Ribotteurs” are believed to acquire this power by roaming naked through the fields on the night of April 30 to gather, at early dawn, the May dew, in which dwells the malevolent property of drying up the milk of cows.—On the uni-discoidal placenta of a mandril, by M. Chudzinski.—On the degree of atrophy of the olfactory nerves compatible with the persistence of the sense of smell, by M. Mathias Duval. The writer draws attention to the number of cases in which a post-mortem examination has proved the atrophy, or even total absence, of olfactory nerves, although there had been no apparent defect in the sense of smell during life. M. Dally is of opinion that in such cases an excess of the gray matter of the brain at any one point may serve to supplement a deficiency in some other cerebral region.—M. Topinard presented to the Society a copy of his great chart of the relative heights, registered among the conscripts and in the public schools of different parts of France.—Report of proceedings at the first meeting of the “Conference Transformiste,” organised last year in memory of Darwin. In accordance with the scheme of the Conference an address was to be annually delivered by a member of the Anthropological Society of Paris, who was to indicate the influence which Darwinian (“Transformist”) views had had on the special branch of scientific inquiry which the lecturer prosecuted.—This year's address in the Physical Section of the Conference was delivered by M. Duval, who chose for his theme the evolution of the eye from the early development of the visual organs among the lower animals. His treatise is profusely illustrated by admirable diagrammatic woodcuts.—In the Psychical Section of the Conference M. Letourneau treated of the evolution of morality, tracing the rise and progress and various fluctuations of the moral sense among different races.—M. Pozzi, in announcing the decision of the Committee for awarding the Broca prize, explained that he and his colleagues had. selected the works of three among the numerous competitors, viz. MM. Collignon, Chudzinski, and Testut, as of pre-eminent merit. The prize was, however, unanimously awarded to the last-named, M. Testut's great work, “Muscular Anomalies in Man explained by Comparative Anatomy,” having secured him this distinction both on account of its able and exhaustive character and its great literary merits. The selected essays of MM. Collignon and Chudzinski, treated respectively of the “anthropometric differences of the leading races of France,” and of the “Anatomy of the Negro.” In his address M. Pozzi gave a summary of M. Testut's work, of which he spoke in terms of unqualified praise, both as regards the methods with which his observations had been conducted, and the manner in which the results were compared and tested.—Report of the eulogy on Paul Broca, delivered by M. Dally on the day the Broca prize was awarded for the first time. As an old friend and colleague, M. Dally, in his historical and literary notice of the life and works of I'roca, was able to give many hitherto unknown particulars, which add largely to the interest of his address.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Scientific Serials . Nature 32, 165–166 (1885). https://doi.org/10.1038/032165b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/032165b0